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Interesting fleet procurement is also underway at the British Transport Police, with a whole host of new vehicles now assigned to Hull Paragon Interchange, I believe. Meanwhile at Beverley railway station, the odd van that swans up every now and then has arrived in the form of a new-shape Sprinter - mark that the third new-shape Sprinter I've seen with an individual force. Police presence here... doesn't appear to be very constant, as Beverley is hardly a major railway station in this neck of the woods. But it is good to know they're about!
The first BTP vehicle I've caught for well over a year, the British Transport Police's C833, a 2021 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter carrier, is seen parked up unattended at the front of Beverley railway station.
Peacock kale procurement by hair of the dog. Identification by @sueph52 & @oldbluerawhoney. Styling by me.
11 Likes on Instagram
1 Comments on Instagram:
oldbluerawhoney: @sueph52 gets no credit for the ID
I was very sad a few months ago when, in a moment of true genius, I had accidentally deleted all of my photographs on my trip to Barcelona. Everything. All 4 gigs worth to be exact. And I was close to tears and quite gutted about the whole thing.
But thankfully, after managing to find some shareware software that could read my external drive and deleted files, I was able to recover about 70% of them. So not a total loss and an added sigh as well.
personal pointer: learn to master Wacom tablet pen with blanks.
this might work better large
Evolved Starfighter: Twin Ion Engine Interceptor Observer TIEIO (tee-eye-ee-eye-oh)
Seinar Fleet Systems TIEIO Lead Engineer: Ald Mikdaun Ald
Onboard weapons include a laser cannon on each wing-tip and ion cannons on either side of the cockpit, shunted with the engines for additional power. Several hardpoints along the wings can be used to carry additional ordnance. Variable geometry wings allow for close quarter stowage on spacecraft carrier ships. In reconnaissance observer mode, the wings are fully unfolded, which configures the sensor array for maximum sensitivy. The wings can be locked in various positions depending on the mission payload and desired attack pattern, but the TIEIO is most agile with the wings fully retracted in the interceptor configuration.
With the fall of the Empire, it became difficult to procure specialized replacement parts for TIE fighters. Rebel and New Republic activities controlled and curtailed the production of Imperial equipment. Manufacture of the military-grade solar panels used in TIE fighters ceased. However, a smaller, more efficient, albeit less ruggedized, solar panel unit was readily available in the civilian marketplace, and could be bought in large quantities. The TIEIO was designed to be easily manufactured from materials like this to better hide the Imperial rebuilding efforts.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The history of the Swiss Air Force began in 1914 with the establishment of an ad hoc force consisting of a handful of men in outdated and largely civilian aircraft. It was only in the 1930s the military and civilian leadership decided to establish an effective air force. On 13 December 1929, in what was in retrospect referred to as the "bill to create an air force", the Federal Council asked the Swiss Federal Assembly to approve the spending of 20 million francs for the purchase of 65 French Dewoitine D.27 fighters and the manufacture of 40 Dutch (Fokker C.V-E) reconnaissance planes under license.
Although the opposition Social Democratic Party collected 42,000 signatures in a petition opposing the bill, Parliament passed it handily and declined to allow a referendum on the issue, optional at that time for spending bills. This was the start of a massive armament program that would consume more than a billion francs over the next ten years, but after Hitler's rise to power in Germany, the Social Democrats added their support to the efforts.
The program not only included the procurement of foreign aircraft the domestic industry also started to develop its own products. One of the leading manufacturers of its time in Switzerland was the Eidgenössische Konstruktionswerkstätte (English: "Federal Constructions Works"), short K+W or EKW, and later also known as F+W. It was a Swiss state-owned enterprise, established in 1867 in Thun. The company produced artillery, vehicles, and other typical military equipment, and in 1914 EKW had already started the production of the Häfeli DH-1 reconnaissance biplane. Long-standing connections to the ETH Zurich ensured the necessary know-how. EKW started the program with three military aircraft, the indigenous C-34 single-seat fighter and the fast C-36 long-range light bomber/reconnaissance monoplane, plus the C-35 two-seat reconnaissance and ground-attack biplane, which was actually a license-built Fokker C.X with a water-cooled Hispano-Suiza HS-77 V12 engine, a license-built version of the 12Ycs that also powered the C-36.
The C-34 was the direct response to a requirement issued by the Swiss Air Force for a new fighter, and was the winner of a competition against the German Arado 80, which had been offered for export and eventual license production. The German monoplane was a modern construction, but the type was uninspiring in terms of performance and suffered from a number of failures (so that the German Luftwaffe rejected it, too). Although Arado’s low-wing monoplane Arado heralded the design standard for future fighter aircraft, the Swiss Air Force preferred EKW’s conservative but more maneuverable C-34 biplane, which also offered better starting and landing characteristics and a superior rate of climb – important features in Switzerland’s mountainous theatre of operations.
The C-34’s structure was conventional and of all-metal construction. To overcome the biplane layout’s inherent speed disadvantage, EKW’s design team used flush-head rivets and as little as possible stabilizing rigging to reduce drag. The fuselage was fully planked with aluminum, as well as the fixed parts of the tail surfaces, wings and rudders were still fabric-covered. It had unequal-span biplane wings, braced by struts, with upper-wing ailerons but no flaps yet.
The prototype, which flew for the first time in March 1935, was powered by an imported German liquid-cooled BMW VI 6.0 V-12 engine with 660 hp, which drove a metal three-blade propeller with fixed pitch. The C-34’s production version, which was already introduced in September of the same year, was outfitted with a more powerful, now license-produced BMW VI 7.3 with 633 kW (850 hp), which required a bigger radiator and higher-octane fuel to achieve this performance, though. Armament consisted of two 7.5 mm (.295 in) Darne machine guns, imported from France and synchronized to fire through the propeller. Provisions were made to carry up to four 20 lb (9.1 kg) bombs under-wing, but these were hardly ever used in service.
An initial production run comprised 30 aircraft to equip a complete fighter unit. The first C-34s were delivered in a typical three-ton splinter camouflage in ochre, khaki green and red brown, over grey undersides. The machines were allocated to the so-called “Überwachungschwader” (Surveillance Squadron) at Dübendorf near Zürich, and the new biplane proved to be an instant success. The C-34 was commonly well liked by its crews, being very maneuverable and benefitting from a relatively strong fuselage structure, a favorable control arrangement, a tight turning circle. An excellent handling made the type furthermore ideal for executing aerobatic displays. After a brief and successful period of testing, orders for 80 additional C-34s were placed in 1936.
During the rising tensions in Europe Switzerland remained neutral and isolated, and the Swiss Air Force machines received prominent identification stripes in red and white on fuselage and wings. The air corps furthermore confined its activities to training and exercises, reconnaissance, and patrol.
The Swiss Air Force as an autonomous military service was created in October 1936, and the units were re-arranged to reflect this new structure. In 1938 Gottlieb Duttweiler's launched a popular initiative calling for the purchase of a thousand aircraft and the training of three thousand pilots. After 92,000 citizens signed in support, nearly twice the number necessary for a national popular vote, the federal government offered a referendum proposal in 1939 that was nearly as extensive, which was accepted by a 69 percent majority. This led to a massive procurement of additional and more up-to-date aircraft, namely the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Morane-Saulnier 406 fighters from Germany and France, respectively, and the Moranes were license-built as D-3800 in Switzerland. By that time, the Swiss Air Force changed its aircraft designation system, and the C-34 was officially renamed C-3400.
Despite these new and more modern aircraft the C-3400s remained in service, and to supplement the fleet a further eight aircraft were built between 1941 and 1942 from spares. These machines received a simplified camouflage with dark green upper surfaces over a light blue-grey underside, similar to the imported Bf 109s from Germany, and some older C-3400s were re-painted accordingly, even though many machines retained their pre-war splinter scheme for the rest of their service life. During the same period, almost all aircraft received prominent neutrality markings in the form of bright red and white stripes on wings and fuselage.
From 1941 on, most C-3400s were gradually upgraded during overhauls. Several new features were introduced, which included a fully closed canopy that greatly improved pilot comfort esp. in wintertime, a variable pitch/constant speed propeller, a better radio set, a new gun sight and spatted main wheels. The Darne machine guns were replaced with belt-fed MAC 1934 machine guns of the same caliber from domestic production, because they were more reliable and had, with the license production of the Morane Saulnier M.S. 406, become a standard weapon in the Swiss arsenal. These modified aircraft were re-designated C-3401, even though the aircraft under this designation did not uniformly feature all improvements.
When enough monoplane fighters had widely become available for the Swiss Air Force in 1943, the C-3400/-3401 biplanes were quickly removed from front-line service. They served on in second-line surveillance and aerial patrol units, or they were transferred to training units, where most of the type (a total of 119 were built) survived the hostilities. The last C-3400/-3401 was finally withdrawn from service in 1954, and only a single specimen survived in the collection of the Aviation Museum (Flieger Flab Museum) in Dübendorf, Switzerland.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 7.2 m (23 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 10.02 m (32 ft 10 in)
Height: 3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 23 m2 (250 sq ft)
Airfoil: NACA M-12
Empty weight: 1,360 kg (2,998 lb)
Gross weight: 1,740 kg (3,836 lb)
Powerplant:
1× BMW VI 7.3 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 634 kW (850 hp),
driving a three-bladed variable pitch metal propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn) at 3,000 m (9,843 ft)
Service ceiling: 11,500 m (37,700 ft)
Rate of climb: 16.67 m/s (3,281 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 5,000 m (16,404 ft) in 5 minutes 30 seconds
Wing loading: 75.7 kg/m2 (15.5 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.36 kW/kg (0.22 hp/lb)
Armament:
2× fixed, forward-firing 7.5 mm (.295 in) MAC 1934 machine guns with 600 RPG
4× underwing hardpoints for 20 lb (9.1 kg) bombs (rarely used)
The kit and its assembly:
This whiffy biplane was/is just a kit travesty – the fictional EKW C-34 is a Kawasaki Ki-10 (the ICM kit) with mild mods and Swiss pre-WWII markings. I had an eye on the quite elegant Japanese fighter for a while, and due to its engine with German roots (its Kawasaki Ha9-IIa was a license-built water-cooled BMW VI V12 engine) I thought about a European operator – and eventually I decided to make it a Swiss aircraft.
The ICM kit was built almost OOB, the only changes I made were the spatted wheels (IIRC left over from an ICM Polikarpov I-15 biplane), which needed some tweaks on the OOB struts, and the different, closed canopy (from a Hobby Boss A6M Zero), because I wanted a relatively modern look, comparable with the contemporary Avia B-534 biplane. Mounting it was tricky, because of the “step” under the windscreen, so that I had to add a console under it, and some PSR was necessary to blend the canopy, which was cut into three parts for open display, into the rounded back of the Ki-10. A scratched antenna mast was added, too, to fill the respective opening in the rear part of the dorsal glazing. Thanks to the many braces of the A6M canopy, the implant looks quite organic.
The ICM Ki-10 went together quite well, it’s a rather simple kit with only a single sprue and few parts. The biggest challenge was the upper wing, though, which is only carried by the struts. The locator pins are only marginal, and finding a proper position took some time and superglue.
I furthermore modified the propeller with a long metal axis and a tube adapter inside if the fuselage, so that it could spin freely.
Painting and markings:
The reason why the Ki-10 became a Swiss aircraft was the paint scheme – a quite attractive tricolor splinter pattern (apparently inspired by the similar German camouflage in RLM 61,62 and 63?) was the Swiss Air Force’s standard at the breakout of WWII, and I adopted it for the C-3401, too.
The pattern is vaguely based on a real C-35 biplane (presented at the Dübendorf Aviation Museum), which I deem to look authentic, and I tried to emulate its colors as good as possible. I settled on Desert Yellow (Humbrol 94, the tone is officially called “Ochre” but appears to be quite yellowish), French Khaki Green (ModelMaster 2106) and Chestnut Brown (ModelMaster 2107, another French WWII aircraft tone), with light grey (Humbrol 64) undersides. Painting the splinter scheme with a brush on a biplane like this was tricky, though. The cockpit interior was painted with a grey-green tone similar to RLM 02 (Humbrol 45), the wing struts became black.
As usual, the model received a light black ink washing, plus some post-panel shading and dry-brushing to emphasize details and to weather it, but only lightly, because the aircraft would not have been involved in fights.
The roundels on the upper wings came from a generic TL-Modellbau national markings sheet, while the red bands for the national insignia under the lower wings and on the rudder were painted. The white cross on the fin comes from a Swiss BAe Hawk trainer (Italeri), while the slightly bigger white cross under the lower wings was scratched from white decal stripes. The tactical code comes from a Croatian MiG-21UM trainer (KP kit), the unit badge is fictional and came from a Spanish Heinkel He 70.
The model was sealed overall with matt acrylic varnish, and as a final step the rigging was applied, made from heated black sprue material, using the real Ki-10 as benchmark for the connections/positions.
A pretty result, and the simple travesty of the elegant Ki-10 into a late interwar biplane from Continental Europe works surprisingly well. The spats and the closed canopy might not have been necessary, but they modernize and change the aircraft, so that its use during WWII – even though not in any offensive role – becomes even more believable. The splinter scheme suits the aircraft well, too, even though its application was a bit tricky, as well as the Swiss roundels.
Grange the home of Captain Charles Sturt explorer and surveyor, and a founder of South Australia. Now the Charles Sturt Memorial Museum
“Captain Charles Sturt 39th Regt.
Explorer and a Founder of South Australia built this house and lived here 1840 –1853.
Plaque was unveiled by His Excellency the Governor of South Australia Lieut Gen Sir Edric Bastyan KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB, October 2nd1967.
President Sir Henry Simpson Newland CBE DSO
Vice President & Hon Architect F Kenneth Milne FRAIA
Charles Sturt Memorial Museum Trust Inc.”
*Sturt’s home was built on his property ‘Grange’ in the area known as the Reedbeds, and is now the Charles Sturt Memorial Museum. The buildings house some of Sturt’s original possessions.
Captain Charles Napier Sturt was born 1795 in Bengal, India where his father was a judge under the East India Co.
In 1799, having narrowly survived a bout of smallpox, Charles aged four and his sister Susan aged five were sent to England to live with their mother’s widowed sister, Anna Wood. Their voyage by sailing ship was a perilous journey of six months. Charles and Susan were not to see their parents again for nearly ten years.
While living with his aunt Charles formed a lifelong friendship with his cousin, Isaac Wood.
His father’s economic difficulties prevented Charles’ entry to Cambridge: in 1813 he procured, through the intercession of his aunt with the Prince Regent, a commission as ensign in the 39th Regiment. He served in the Peninsula War and against the Americans in Canada, as well as three years with the army of occupation in France – in 1818 he went with his regiment to Ireland on garrison duties.
In December 1826 he embarked with his regiment in charge of convicts for New South Wales and arrived at Sydney 23 May 1827.
In Sydney Sturt was appointed military secretary to the governor and major of brigade to the garrison. He wrote to his cousin, Isaac Woods, that the governor agreed to his leading an expedition into the interior.
Sturt selected as his assistant, Hamilton Hume. On 2 February they came suddenly to a river: Sturt named it the ‘Darling’.
Under instruction from Governor Darling to “follow the course of the Murrumbidgee River, wherever it led” Sturt led the second expedition from Sydney on 2 November 1929, with several officers in the party from the first expedition, as well as soldiers and convicts. On 14 January the rapid current of the ‘Murrumbidgee’ carried them to a ‘broad and noble river’ which Sturt named for Sir George Murray. After finding a stream flowing in from the north, Sturt decided it was the ‘Darling’ and returned to the ‘Murray’ where they continued until finding Lake Alexandrina on 9 February. After exploring the sandhills and finding the channel there was unsatisfactory for shipping, it was decided to return to Sydney. The return journey was started 12 February and finally arrived safely on 25 May.
Although an interim dispatch carried by Macleay in advance of the returning main party had been published in the Sydney Gazette Governor Darling did not report to England about the expedition until February 1831. Meanwhile Sturt, after an illness, was sent to Norfolk Island as commandant of the garrison. There he earned the respect even of the mutineers for his humane outlook. He was relieved and returned to Sydney, albeit after another illness. With his health failing he was granted leave to visit England. On the voyage his failing eyesight broke down, leaving him blind.
After some successful treatment for his condition he published an account of his two explorations: many petitions later, to the Colonial Office, he was promised a grant of 5,000 acres in New South Wales on condition that he sold his commission and renounced all other rights arising from his military service.
On 20 September 1834 he married Charlotte Greene in St James Chapel in Dover and within a fortnight they had set sail for Australia.
The couple arrived at Sydney mid 1835. He located his grant near Canberra and bought 1950 acres at Mittagong. While there his first son Napier George was born. In 1837 he bought 1,000 acres at Varroville where he established another home. The next year financial difficulties forced him to sell the Mittagong property and caused him to join a venture for overlanding cattle to South Australia. News had been received that the Province of South Australia was in crisis and was short of food supplies. The overlanding was delayed en route: trouble with cows and running short of supplies contributed to the venture’s financial failure.
Sturt was received well in Adelaide. On 30 October he returned to Sydney and news of the birth of his second son, Charles.
In Adelaide he had been invited to join the South Australian public service and on 8 November 1838 was formally offered the position of surveyor-general. He sold his property in New South Wales and sailed with his family on 27 February 1839. In spite of illness and financial worries all seemed well. A shattering blow came in September when Lieutenant Edward Frome arrived from London with a commission as survey general. Gawler attempted to help Sturt and appointed him assistant commissioner of lands, though at reduced salary.
In 1841 Sturt was offered the resident management of the South Australian Company but refused. Soon afterwards Sturt made a mistake when he wrote to the Colonial Office objecting to Captain George Grey’s appointment as governor, and offered himself as candidate for the office. That offer failed, and made him unpopular with Grey.
Sturt’s affairs continued to decline. Governor Grey confirmed his provisional appointment as assistant commissioner, but later refused him the office of colonial secretary on the grounds of his poor eyesight. The Colonial Office then decided to abolish the assistant commissioner’s office, leaving Sturt with the inferior post of registrar general at a much lower salary.
Deeply in debt and poorly paid Sturt sought financial compensation from the Colonial Office. He was refused.
Sturt came up with a plan for exploring and surveying, within two years, the entire unknown interior of the continent. In 1843 he forwarded the plan to the Colonial Office through his old friend Sir Ralph Darling. While waiting for reply he and Grey continued sparring.
This was the same year that Charlotte, Sturt’s only daughter, was born at the Grange on 19 January.
In May 1844 the secretary of state rejected Sturt’s original plan but approved a more limited proposal to penetrate the centre of the continent in an attempt to establish the existence of a mountain range near latitude 28 degrees south.
On 10 August 1844 Sturt left Adelaide with 15 men including John McDouall Stuart, 6 drays, a boat and 200 sheep. In eight days the party reached Moorundie and followed the ‘Murray’ to its junction with the ‘Darling’, up the ‘Darling’ to the vicinity of Lake Cawndilla and camped there for two months, making scouting expeditions into and beyond the Barrier Range. In December the party was short of water and some men showed signs of scurvy, but they moved further north into the Grey Range. There they made camp on permanent water at Depot Glen on Preservation Creek. Summer heat had dried all other water within reach and from 27 January 1845 to 16 July they were trapped in inhospitable country: all men suffered and Sturt’s second in command, James Poole, died of scurvy.
In July heavy rain fell. Sturt moved his party towards Fort Grey, from where he made a series of reconnoitring expeditions culminating in a 450 mile journey towards the centre of the continent. Sturt abandoned the idea of an inland sea.
Sturt and the party returned to Fort Grey: after a trip to the Cooper’s Creek area from 9 October to 17 November they found the waterhole was rapidly drying.
Return to the ‘Murray’ became imperative but Sturt proposed that the main party should go home, while he and John McDouall Stuart made a trip to the centre. The surgeon, J H Browne, resisted the idea and the whole party went off together. Sturt succumbed to a serious attack of scurvy and Browne took command through the most difficult part of the journey. By using Aboriginal foods Sturt had almost recovered when the expedition reached Moorundie on 15 January 1846. He arrived at Adelaide on 19 January 1846 ahead of the party which followed a few days later.
While Sturt was away Charlotte had managed the mixed farm, kitchen garden and dairy while caring for their four young children. The children later recalled how they loved life at the Grange where they were able to roam the sand hills, swim in the ocean and catch yabbies in the creek.
In 1847 the Royal Geographical Society of London awarded Sturt the Founder’s Medal and the family sailed to England in order for him to prepare his journals for publication.
He left for England on 8 May and arrived in London just too late to receive personally the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society, but was able to complete a published account of the expedition.
In 1849 the family returned to South Australia and Sturt was appointed Colonial Secretary.
Sturt was known to have expressed a love for Australia and a determination to never return to England. However, the need to secure the future of his children forced him to change his mind and he left Australia 19 March 1853.
He lived at Cheltenham in England, being widely respected and continually consulted about Australian affairs, in particular the preparations for the North Australian expedition of 1854.
In England he applied for governorships of Victoria and Queensland and was unsuccessful. He sought a knighthood, at the instigation of friends, but died before the formalities were completed. Later the Queen permitted his widow use of the title Lady Sturt.
*It was not until 1877 that Lady Sturt sold the Grange which was then subdivided and later became the ‘Township of Grange’, now the suburb of Grange.
A bronze statue of Captain Charles Napier Sturt (1795–1869) was unveiled in Adelaide in 1916: a stark contrast to staid monuments in the city.
Other memorials include:
“City of Charles Sturt”, a local government district in South Australia
South Australia’s floral emblem the Sturt’s Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa), discovered during the 1844 expedition
Sturt Street in the city of Adelaide, South Australia
Sturt River, South Australia
Suburb of Sturt, South Australia
Northern Territory’s floral emblem Sturt’s Desert Rose (Gossypium sturtianum)
University of Charles Sturt, New South Wales
[Refs: Charles Sturt Memorial Museum Trust publications, Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol 2, (MUP) 1967 H J Gibbney]
“Captain Charles Sturt 39th Regt.
Explorer and a Founder of South Australia built this house and lived here 1840 –1853.
This plaque was unveiled by His Excellency the Governor of South Australia Lieut Gen Sir Edric Bastyan KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB, October 2nd1967.
President Sir Henry Simpson Newland CBE DSO
Vice President & Hon Architect F Kenneth Milne FRAIA
Charles Sturt Memorial Museum Trust Inc.”
*Sturt’s home was built on his property ‘Grange’ in the area known as the Reedbeds, and is now the Charles Sturt Memorial Museum. The buildings house some of Sturt’s original possessions.
Captain Charles Napier Sturt was born 1795 in Bengal, India where his father was a judge under the East India Co.
In 1799, having narrowly survived a bout of smallpox, Charles aged four and his sister Susan aged five were sent to England to live with their mother’s widowed sister, Anna Wood. Their voyage by sailing ship was a perilous journey of six months. Charles and Susan were not to see their parents again for nearly ten years.
While living with his aunt Charles formed a lifelong friendship with his cousin, Isaac Wood.
His father’s economic difficulties prevented Charles’ entry to Cambridge: in 1813 he procured, through the intercession of his aunt with the Prince Regent, a commission as ensign in the 39th Regiment. He served in the Peninsula War and against the Americans in Canada, as well as three years with the army of occupation in France – in 1818 he went with his regiment to Ireland on garrison duties.
In December 1826 he embarked with his regiment in charge of convicts for New South Wales and arrived at Sydney 23 May 1827.
In Sydney Sturt was appointed military secretary to the governor and major of brigade to the garrison. He wrote to his cousin, Isaac Woods, that the governor agreed to his leading an expedition into the interior.
Sturt selected as his assistant, Hamilton Hume. On 2 February they came suddenly to a river: Sturt named it the ‘Darling’.
Under instruction from Governor Darling to “follow the course of the Murrumbidgee River, wherever it led” Sturt led the second expedition from Sydney on 2 November 1929, with several officers in the party from the first expedition, as well as soldiers and convicts. On 14 January the rapid current of the ‘Murrumbidgee’ carried them to a ‘broad and noble river’ which Sturt named for Sir George Murray. After finding a stream flowing in from the north, Sturt decided it was the ‘Darling’ and returned to the ‘Murray’ where they continued until finding Lake Alexandrina on 9 February. After exploring the sandhills and finding the channel there was unsatisfactory for shipping, it was decided to return to Sydney. The return journey was started 12 February and finally arrived safely on 25 May.
Although an interim dispatch carried by Macleay in advance of the returning main party had been published in the Sydney Gazette Governor Darling did not report to England about the expedition until February 1831. Meanwhile Sturt, after an illness, was sent to Norfolk Island as commandant of the garrison. There he earned the respect even of the mutineers for his humane outlook. He was relieved and returned to Sydney, albeit after another illness. With his health failing he was granted leave to visit England. On the voyage his failing eyesight broke down, leaving him blind.
After some successful treatment for his condition he published an account of his two explorations: many petitions later, to the Colonial Office, he was promised a grant of 5,000 acres in New South Wales on condition that he sold his commission and renounced all other rights arising from his military service.
On 20 September 1834 he married Charlotte Greene in St James Chapel in Dover and within a fortnight they had set sail for Australia.
The couple arrived at Sydney mid 1835. He located his grant near Canberra and bought 1950 acres at Mittagong. While there his first son Napier George was born. In 1837 he bought 1,000 acres at Varroville where he established another home. The next year financial difficulties forced him to sell the Mittagong property and caused him to join a venture for overlanding cattle to South Australia. News had been received that the Province of South Australia was in crisis and was short of food supplies. The overlanding was delayed en route: trouble with cows and running short of supplies contributed to the venture’s financial failure.
Sturt was received well in Adelaide. On 30 October he returned to Sydney and news of the birth of his second son, Charles.
In Adelaide he had been invited to join the South Australian public service and on 8 November 1838 was formally offered the position of surveyor-general. He sold his property in New South Wales and sailed with his family on 27 February 1839. In spite of illness and financial worries all seemed well. A shattering blow came in September when Lieutenant Edward Frome arrived from London with a commission as survey general. Gawler attempted to help Sturt and appointed him assistant commissioner of lands, though at reduced salary.
In 1841 Sturt was offered the resident management of the South Australian Company but refused. Soon afterwards Sturt made a mistake when he wrote to the Colonial Office objecting to Captain George Grey’s appointment as governor, and offered himself as candidate for the office. That offer failed, and made him unpopular with Grey.
Sturt’s affairs continued to decline. Governor Grey confirmed his provisional appointment as assistant commissioner, but later refused him the office of colonial secretary on the grounds of his poor eyesight. The Colonial Office then decided to abolish the assistant commissioner’s office, leaving Sturt with the inferior post of registrar general at a much lower salary.
Deeply in debt and poorly paid Sturt sought financial compensation from the Colonial Office. He was refused.
Sturt came up with a plan for exploring and surveying, within two years, the entire unknown interior of the continent. In 1843 he forwarded the plan to the Colonial Office through his old friend Sir Ralph Darling. While waiting for reply he and Grey continued sparring.
This was the same year that Charlotte, Sturt’s only daughter, was born at the Grange on 19 January.
In May 1844 the secretary of state rejected Sturt’s original plan but approved a more limited proposal to penetrate the centre of the continent in an attempt to establish the existence of a mountain range near latitude 28 degrees south.
On 10 August 1844 Sturt left Adelaide with 15 men including John McDouall Stuart, 6 drays, a boat and 200 sheep. In eight days the party reached Moorundie and followed the ‘Murray’ to its junction with the ‘Darling’, up the ‘Darling’ to the vicinity of Lake Cawndilla and camped there for two months, making scouting expeditions into and beyond the Barrier Range. In December the party was short of water and some men showed signs of scurvy, but they moved further north into the Grey Range. There they made camp on permanent water at Depot Glen on Preservation Creek. Summer heat had dried all other water within reach and from 27 January 1845 to 16 July they were trapped in inhospitable country: all men suffered and Sturt’s second in command, James Poole, died of scurvy.
In July heavy rain fell. Sturt moved his party towards Fort Grey, from where he made a series of reconnoitring expeditions culminating in a 450 mile journey towards the centre of the continent. Sturt abandoned the idea of an inland sea.
Sturt and the party returned to Fort Grey: after a trip to the Cooper’s Creek area from 9 October to 17 November they found the waterhole was rapidly drying.
Return to the ‘Murray’ became imperative but Sturt proposed that the main party should go home, while he and John McDouall Stuart made a trip to the centre. The surgeon, J H Browne, resisted the idea and the whole party went off together. Sturt succumbed to a serious attack of scurvy and Browne took command through the most difficult part of the journey. By using Aboriginal foods Sturt had almost recovered when the expedition reached Moorundie on 15 January 1846. He arrived at Adelaide on 19 January 1846 ahead of the party which followed a few days later.
While Sturt was away Charlotte had managed the mixed farm, kitchen garden and dairy while caring for their four young children. The children later recalled how they loved life at the Grange where they were able to roam the sand hills, swim in the ocean and catch yabbies in the creek.
In 1847 the Royal Geographical Society of London awarded Sturt the Founder’s Medal and the family sailed to England in order for him to prepare his journals for publication.
He left for England on 8 May and arrived in London just too late to receive personally the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society, but was able to complete a published account of the expedition.
In 1849 the family returned to South Australia and Sturt was appointed Colonial Secretary.
Sturt was known to have expressed a love for Australia and a determination to never return to England. However, the need to secure the future of his children forced him to change his mind and he left Australia 19 March 1853.
He lived at Cheltenham in England, being widely respected and continually consulted about Australian affairs, in particular the preparations for the North Australian expedition of 1854.
In England he applied for governorships of Victoria and Queensland and was unsuccessful. He sought a knighthood, at the instigation of friends, but died before the formalities were completed. Later the Queen permitted his widow use the title Lady Sturt.
*It was not until 1877 that Lady Sturt sold the Grange which was then subdivided and later became the ‘Township of Grange’, now the suburb of Grange.
A bronze statue of Captain Charles Napier Sturt (1795–1869) was unveiled in Adelaide in 1916: a stark contrast to staid monuments in the city.
Other memorials include:
“City of Charles Sturt”, a local government district in South Australia
South Australia’s floral emblem the Sturt’s Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa), discovered during the 1844 expedition
Sturt Street in the city of Adelaide, South Australia
Sturt River, South Australia
Suburb of Sturt, South Australia
Northern Territory’s floral emblem Sturt’s Desert Rose (Gossypium sturtianum)
University of Charles Sturt, New South Wales
[Refs: Charles Sturt Memorial Museum Trust publications, Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol 2, (MUP) 1967 H J Gibbney]
The paddy procurement center in Mahasamund District, Chhattisgarh, India.
Project Result:
India Agriculture: Better Irrigation Boosts Rice Yields
In India, Communities Manage Water Resources, Empower Women
Facilitating Irrigation Sector Reform in Chhattisgarh
Read more on:
by Samuel Musungayi.
Captured with a Yashica T5 and an expired roll of Fuji Fujichrome 100 from April 1991.
CanoScan 8800F.
Notes:
- Expiration date: 04/1991
- Box speed : ISO 100
- Shot speed: ISO 100
(*) The slides came out so faded - almost transparent - and the colors were so drifted... 'Had to dub dem hard. I'm leavin' that there and sharing it just for the love of experimentation.
#expiredfilm #expiredslidefilm #candid #lotteryroll #backfromthepast #backtothefuture #experiment #testroll
Old 128Mb USB drive from work with some added logos.
Made it look like perhaps the original owner didn't "voluntarily" leak the information.
NASA Associate Administrator, Office of Small Business Programs, Glenn Delgado, gives remarks during an event unveiling the 2022 Small Business Federal Procurement Scorecard, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in the Earth Information Center at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy hosted Isabella Casillas Guzman, Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), for the unveiling of the annual scorecard which looks at how federal agencies rank on meeting their small business goals. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
In Sweden procuring and buying sex is illegal. But when in other countries the liquor company Vin & Sprit, owned by the Swedish government, follows a different set of standards. In the promotion of Absolut Vodka in Germany they use a big ad with a red lipstick lip print and the words Absolut Herbertstrasse. The street Herbertstrasse in Hamburg is a symbol of German prostitution. This kind of hypocrisy makes me laugh, but I'm not sure if Vin & Sprit understands what's so funny, so to make it a little easier for them I made this ad, adjusted to Swedish conditions. Malmskillnadsgatan is the traditional hooker street in Stockholm, and I think a used condom is a more appropriate symbol to use if you want to make a connection to prostitution, than a soft red lip print. I'm Absolutely sure the company would never ever use an ad like this in Sweden. But really, why should it be ok to buy German women if it's not ok to buy Swedish women? I don't believe in "the happy whore", not even if she's German.
The original ad can be seen on this picture by mparthesius.
UPDATE: Today Vin & Sprit announced that the German ad-campaign has been withdrawn since, as they claim, it has been misinterpreted. This is good, and I hope they have learned something. The sad thing though is that they apparently considered prostitution a positive thing as long as they thought it could help them make money, and only changed their minds when the publicity turned out to be negative. So it seems to me that they still think it's ok to be sexist (and why not racist or whatever) as long as they can profit from it.
IAEA Staff at the Office of Procurement Services under the Department of Management. IAEA, Vienna, Austria. 30 March 2023
Daniela Leinen, Director (MTPS)
Photo Credit: Dean Calma / IAEA
5 October 2016- Opening Forum on Procurement for Innovation at OECD.
Elzbieta Bienkowska, Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SME's of the European Commission and Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD.
OECD, Paris, France
Photo: OECD/Michael Dean
During the middle of the Vietnam War, the USAF faced a number of procurement problems. Losses to the F-105 Thunderchief community were mounting to the point that it was thought the aircraft might become “extinct,” while the F-111 Aardvark, which was to replace the F-105, was having numerous teething troubles. Another problem was that the Sandy escort units for rescue helicopters were forced to use Korean War-era ex-US Navy A-1 Skyraiders, which, while good aircraft, were not getting any younger. The USAF needed an aircraft that could replace the A-1 and supplement the F-105 until the F-111 finally reached maturity—and it needed the aircraft immediately, and at low cost. After reviewing a number of options, the USAF settled on the US Navy’s A-7A Corsair II. The Navy’s F-4B had been adapted to USAF standards, and it was felt that the A-7 could be as well. An A-7A was bailed back to LTV for conversion to the USAF-specific A-7D variant.
Though externally little different to the Navy A-7A, the A-7D was actually a significant upgrade. Since the reliability of the TF30 engine was a concern, the D model would use a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan; as the USAF did not use the 20mm cannon that the Navy preferred, these were deleted in favor of the more common M61 Vulcan 20mm gatling cannon. The refuelling probe was deleted in favor of the USAF-plug style refuelling receptacle. The first A-7D flew in September 1968. So successful was the A-7D in testing that the Navy would adopt a modified version as the A-7E.
Though at first reluctant to fly yet another Navy retread, especially one that was considered remarkably ugly—pilots quickly nicknamed the A-7 the SLUF (Short Little Ugly Fellow)—it soon gained a reputation for easy flying and, like its Navy “brother,” pinpoint bombing accuracy. In wing strength by 1970, it was soon deployed to Vietnam for combat operations, mainly to replace not just the A-1 but also the aging F-100 Super Sabre. USAF pilots found that the A-7 was not well suited to tropical operations: hot-and-high conditions meant that the A-7D took ten miles to generate enough power to climb above 500 feet, while a poor brake system caused it to be a real danger in landing on slick runways.
During Operation Linebacker, the A-7s went to North Vietnam, but only sparingly and usually in as Sandy escorts, which the Corsair II excelled at. They were far more effective in South Vietnam. Alongside Navy A-7Es, USAF A-7Ds brought the curtain down on the Vietnam War by participating in the Mayaguez rescue operation in May 1975, and were among the very last USAF aircraft to leave Southeast Asia. They had complied the best loss ratio of any combat aircraft during the war, with only six A-7Ds lost in over 12,000 missions.
With the post-Vietnam retirement of the A-1, F-100, and F-105, the A-7D was left as one of the few USAF attack aircraft, but the USAF planned to end procurement by 1975; postwar budget cuts led to additional Corsair II production to take up the slack. The F-111 had become a long-range strike aircraft, but for anticipated operations in Central Europe, the USAF preferred the development of the A-10 Thunderbolt II over A-7s. As a result, the USAF divested itself of most of its A-7s to the Air National Guard—somewhat to the chagrin of active-duty units, as ANG units began winning the coveted Gunsmoke bombing trophy with their A-7s. A minor upgrade mounting the Pave Penny laser designator to A-7Ds began in 1979.
The A-7D was well-liked by its ANG pilots, whose command became the sole domain of the Corsair II by 1983. One exception to this rule was the 4451st Test Squadron, based at Nellis AFB but operating from the small airbase at Tonopah, Nevada. No one quite knew what the 4451st was doing there, though rumors abounded; it was not until 1989 that it was revealed that the 4451’s A-7s were strictly for cover: its real equipment was the stealth F-117 Nighthawk.
With the A-10 in large numbers in theater, the USAF chose not to deploy ANG A-7s to the First Gulf War, though small numbers had seen action in Grenada and the 1989 invasion of Panama. At the end of Operation Desert Storm, with the Navy retiring their last two squadrons of A-7Es, the USAF decided to do the same, and the A-7D rapidly disappeared from active units in favor of the F-16, with the last leaving USAF service in 1993. A number were passed on to Greece, where it lasted until 2014 Of 1569 A-7s produced, just under half were USAF A-7Ds or two-seat A-7Ks, and today about 18 survive as museum aircraft.
Though A-7s have long disappeared from airshows, this nose section keeps the aircraft's history alive for a new generation. It started life as 71-0295, an A-7D that spent most of its active duty career with the 23rd Tactical Fighter Wing at England AFB, Louisiana. Since the 23rd TFW is heir to the American Volunteer Group--the Flying Tigers--it decorated its A-7s with sharkmouths (and continues the tradition with its A-10s). When 71-0295 left active duty service, it finished its career with the 132nd TFW (Iowa ANG) at Des Moines, until it was retired in 1992. Scrapped in 1997, the nose section was saved and went on display at Ellington ANGB, Texas.
Recently, it was purchased by a private company that repainted it in Vietnam-era Southeast Asia camouflage, complete with the 23rd's sharkmouth. It is carried on the back of a truck on the airshow circuit, and people can get their picture taken in the cockpit, complete with flight suit and helmet.
As A-7s are now only museum pieces, it was neat to see at least part of one at an airshow--in this case, the Wings Over the Falls airshow at Great Falls, Montana in July 2017. I don't know if the 23rd carried "teeth" inside the intake with their A-7s, but it looks good to me!
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
In July 1967, the first Swedish Air Force student pilots started training on the Saab 105, a Swedish high-wing, twin-engine trainer aircraft developed in the early sixties as a private venture by Saab AB. The Swedish Air Force procured the type for various roles and issued the aircraft with the designation Sk 60.
The Sk 60 entered service in 1967, replacing the aging De Havilland Vampire fleet, and had a long-lasting career. But in the late Eighties, by which point the existing engines of the Swedish Air Force's Sk 60 fleet were considered to be towards the end of their technical and economic lifespan and the airframes started to show their age and wear of constant use, the Swedish Air Force started to think about a successor and/or a modernization program.
Saab suggested to replace the Saab 105’s Turbomeca Aubisque engines with newly-built Williams International FJ44 engines, which were lighter and less costly to operate, but this was only regarded as a stop-gap solution. In parallel, Saab also started work for a dedicated new jet trainer that would prepare pilots for the Saab 39 Gripen – also on the drawing boards at the time – and as a less sophisticated alternative to the promising but stillborn Saab 38.
The Saab 38 (also known as B3LA or A 38/Sk 38) was a single-engine jet trainer and attack aircraft planned by Saab during the 1970s and actually a collaboration between Saab and the Italian aircraft manufacturer Aermacchi (the aircraft resembled the AMX a lot). It was to replace the older Saab 105 jet trainer in the Swedish Air Force, too, but the aircraft never got past the drawing board and was canceled in 1979 in favor of the more advanced Saab JAS 39 Gripen multi-role fighter.
Anyway, this decision left Sweden without a replacement for the Sk 60 as transitional trainer and as a light attack and reconnaissance aircraft.
In 1991, Saab presented its new trainer design, internally called "FSK900", to the Swedish Air Force. The aircraft was a conservative design, with such a configurational resemblance to the Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet that it is hard to believe Saab engineers didn't see the Alpha Jet as a model for what they wanted to do. However, even if that was the case, the FSK900 was by no means a copy of the Alpha Jet, and the two machines can be told apart at a glance. FSK900 had a muscular, rather massive appearance, while the Alpha Jet was more wasp-like and very sleek. The FSK900 was also bigger in length and span and had an empty weight about 10% greater.
The FSK900 was mostly made of aircraft aluminum alloys, with some control surfaces made of carbon-fiber / epoxy composite, plus very selective use of titanium. It had high-mounted swept wings, with a supercritical airfoil section and a leading-edge dogtooth; a conventional swept tail assembly; tricycle landing gear; twin engines, one mounted in a pod along each side of the fuselage; and a tandem-seat cockpit with dual controls.
The wings had a sweep of 27.5°, an anhedral droop of 7°, and featured ailerons for roll control as well as double slotted flaps. The tailplanes were all-moving, and also featured an anhedral of 7°. An airbrake was mounted on each side of the rear fuselage. Flight controls were hydraulic, and hydraulic systems were dual redundant.
The instructor and cadet sat in tandem, both on zero-zero ejection seats, with the instructor's seat in the rear raised 27 centimeters (10.6 inches) to give a good forward view. The cockpit was pressurized and featured a one-piece canopy, hinged open to the right, that provided excellent visibility.
The landing gear assemblies all featured single wheels, with the nose gear retracting forward and the main gear retracting forward and into the fuselage, featuring an antiskid braking system. The twin engines were two Williams International FJ44-4M turbofans without reheat, each rated at 16.89 kN (3,790 lbst). These were the same engines, that Saab had also proposed for Saab’s Sk 60 modernization program, even though a less powerful variant for the lighter aircraft.
The FSK900 could be fitted with two pylons under each wing and under the fuselage centerline, for a total of five hardpoint. The inner wing pylons were wet and could be used to carry 450 liter (119 US gallon) external tanks, a total external payload of 2,500 kg (5,500 lb) could be carried.
External stores included a centerline target winch for the target tug role, an air-sampling pod for detection of fallout or other atmospheric pollutants, jammer or chaff pods for electronic warfare training, a camera/sensor pod and a baggage pod for use in the liaison role. The aircraft also featured a baggage compartment in the center fuselage, which also offered space for other special equipment or future updates.
Potential armament comprised a conformal underfuselage pod with a single 27 mm Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon with 120 rounds (the same weapon that eventually went into the Saab Gripen).
Other weapons included various iron and cluster bombs of up to 454 kg (1.000 lb) caliber, unguided missiles of various calibers and the Rb.74 (AIM-9L Sidewinder) AAM. A radar was not mounted, but the FSK900’s nose section offered enough space for a radome.
The Swedish Air Force accepted the Saab design, leading to a contract for two nonflying static-test airframes and four flying prototypes. Detail design was complete by the end of 1993 and prototype construction began in the spring of 1994, leading to first flight of the initial prototype on 29 July 1994. The first production "Sk 90 A", how the basic trainer type was officially dubbed, was delivered to the Swedish Air Force in 1996.
In parallel, a contract was signed for the re-engining of 115 Saab Sk 60 aircraft in 1993; the number of aircraft to be upgraded was subsequently reduced as a result of cuts to the defense budget and the advent of the FSK900, of which 60 were ordered initially.
The Sk 90 was regarded as strong, agile, and pleasant to fly, while being cheap to operate. Sk 90 As flying in the training role typically painted in the unique “Fields & Meadows” splinter camouflage, although decorative paint jobs showed up on occasion and many aircraft received additional dayglow markings.
Some of the few aircraft given to operational squadrons, which used them for keeping up flight hours and as hacks, had apparently been painted in all-grey camouflage to match the combat aircraft they shared the flight line with.
With the Sk 90 S a new variant was soon introduced, replacing the Sk 60 C, two-seat ground attack/reconnaissance version for the Swedish Air Force with an extended camera nose. It featured a similar camera arrangement to the Sk 60 C with a panoramic camera, plus an avionics palet in the baggage compartment for a modular DICAST (Digital Camera And Sensor Tray) pod under the fuselage. Unlike the Sk 60 C, which was converted from existing Sk 60 A trainers, the Sk 90 S was an original design. 20 were delivered until 1997, together with the standard trainers, which were kept on the production lines at slow pace until 1999.
A total of 108 production Sk 90s were built, and the Swedish Air Force has no further requirement for new Sk 90s at present. Upgrades are in planning, including fit of at least some Sk 90s with a modern "glass cockpit" to provide advanced training for the Saab Gripen (which had entered service in June 1992), and a full authority digital engine control (FADEC) for the FJ44-4M turbofans. Integration of the Rb.75 (the AGM-65A/B Maverick in Swedish service) together with a pod-mounted FLIR camera system was also suggested, improving the Sk 90’s attack capability dramatically. These updates were started in 2000. The modified aircraft received the designation Sk 90 B and Sk 90 SB, respectively, and until 2006 the whole fleet was updated.
Tests were also made with reinforced underwing pylons that would allow the carriage of the RBS-15 anti-ship missile. Even though the Sk 90 did not carry a radar, the missile-armed trainers were considered as a linked multiplicators for Saab 39s with the appropriate avionics, so that salvoes of multiple missiles could be launched in order to overload ship defences and improve hit probability. While the latter assumption was proved as correct during field trials with two modified Sk 90s, the missiles’ extra drag and the consequent loss in agility, speed and range made the concept unpractical, since the armed Sk 90 could not keep up with the Saab 39, limit reaction time and would offer an easy target.
Another plan was the Sk 90 C, a two-seater with enhanced attack capabilities. Its most distict feature was a simplified PS-05/A pulse-Doppler X band multi-mode radar, developed by Ericsson and GEC-Marconi for the JAS 39 Gripen.
The system was based on the Blue Vixen radar for the Sea Harrier that also served as the basis for the Eurofighter's CAPTOR radar, and it would allow a highly improved air-to-air and air-to-ground capability, also in better concunction with the Saab Gripen as lead aircraft. Two technology demonstrators were converted from Sk 90 A trainers, but the project was shelved - due to budget restrictions and simply through the fact that the JAS 39 Gripen offered anything the Swedish Air Force had called for in just one, single weapon system, so that the Sk 90 remained in its advanced trainer and tactical recce role. The technology package was offered to foreign customers, though.
Despite its qualities and development potential, the Sk 90 did not attain much foreign interest. It suffered from bad timing and from the focus on domestic demands. It came effectively 10 years too late to be serious export success, and the Sk 90 was very similar to the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet (even though it was cheaper to operate) - at a time when the German Luftwaffe started to prematurely phaze out its attack variant and flooded the market with cheap second hand aircraft in excellent condition. Besides, the Saab Sk 90 had, with the BAe Hawk, another proven competitor with a long operational track record all over the world.
Modest foreign sales could be secured, though: Austria procured 36 Sk 90 Ö in 2002 (basically comparable with the updated Sk 90 B), replacing its Saab 105 fleet and keeping up its close connection with Saab since the Seventies. Malaysia showed interest, too, as well as Singapore, Myanmar, Finland, Poland and Hungary.
The latest interest came from the Republic of Scotland in late 2017 – after the country’s separation from the United Kingdom and building an independent air force with a supplier from a neutral country.
The Republic of Scotland’s Air Corps (RoScAC) started negotiations with Saab and the Swedish government over either eight newly built or refurbished, older Sk 90 As that were updated to C standard with the PS-05/A radar.
Scotland additionally showed interest in a small fleet of 1st generation Saab 39 interceptors that would replace the RAF fighters based on Scottish ground.
General characteristics:
Crew: two pilots in tandem
Length incl. pitot: 13.0 m (42 ft 8 in) for the A trainer, 13.68 m (44 ft 10 in) for the S variant
Wingspan: 9.94 m (32 ft 7 in)
Height: 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in)
Empty weight: 3,790 kg (8,360 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 7,500 kg (16,530 lb)
Powerplant:
2× Williams International FJ44-4M turbofans without reheat, rated at 16.89 kN (3,790 lbst) each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,038 km/h (645 mph)
Range: 1,670 km (900 nm)
Armament:
No internal gun; five hardpoints for 2,500 kg (5,500 lb) of payload and a variety of ordnance
The kit and its assembly:
A simple kit travesty! This is basically the 1:72 Kawasaki T-4 from Hasegawa, with little modifications.
Originally, I wondered what an overdue Saab 105 replacement could or would look like? The interesting Saab 38 never saw the light, as mentioned above, there was also an A-10-style light attack aircraft (maybe to be built as a kitbashing some day...) and I assume that neutral Sweden would rather develop its own aircraft than procure a foreign product.
Consideration of the BAe Hawk, Alpha Jet and the L-39 Albatros as inspirations for this project, I eventually came across the modern but rather overlooked Japanese Kawasaki T-4 trainer – and found that it had a certain Swedish look about it? Hmm... And coupled with a very characteristic paint scheme, like “Fields & Meadows”, maybe…?
I wanted to keep things simple, though, so the T-4 was mostly built OOB. A pleasant experience. The kit is relatively simple and fit is very good, with only minimal PSR necessary.
The only changes are the underwings hardpoints, which come from a Heller SEPECAT Jaguar, the pair of drop tanks (from an Academy F-5E, IIRC), a scratched recce pod for the ventral hardpoint and a modified bow section. This camera nose is a transplant from a Marivox Saab 105, assuming that the new trainer would be employed in similar roles as the Sk 60. The respective Swedish kit comes with a lot of optional parts, including the extended Sk 60 C’s camera nose - and it fits very well onto the T-4's rounded nose.
Painting and markings:
Well, when building a kit is not a true challenge, maybe the paint job is? The T-4 in a "Fields & Meadows" livery was the initial inspiration for this build, so I tried to stick with the concept as far as possible, even though I'd assume that Swedish aircraft in the kit's time frame would rather be grey with subdued markings. But there's hardly anything as Swedish and spectacular as "Fields & Meadows", and this scheme would also be perfect for the tactical recce role of this build.
The pattern was loosely inspired by the Saab Viggens’ scheme (I found pictures of Sk 60 in Fields & Meadows, but could not puzzle together a complete view) as benchmark.
Painting was done with a fine brush (size 2), free-handedly. Even the waterline was created without masking tape - a clean, bigger brush (size 6) was enough to create the sharp edge. This sounds bizarre and maybe suggest a masochistic touch, but it actually worked better than expected - and I was in the lucky situation that I did not have to slavishly copy and recreate the splinter pattern on a real-world model. ;-)
Finding proper tones for the famous and very characteristic Swedish paint scheme was not easy, though. Pictures of real aircraft vary largely, light conditions and weathering make a proper identification difficult, to say the least. Since I wanted a simple solution (a lot of corrections during the painting process was expected), I settled upon the following enamel tones:
• Modelmaster 2060, RAF Dark Green
• Humbrol 150, Forest Green FS 34127
• Humbrol 72, Khaki Drill, for the earth tone
• A 1:1 mix of Humbrol 33 (Flat Black) + Modelmaster 2094 (RAL 7021) for a very dark grey
• Humbrol 247 (RLM 76) for the undersides
Painting was done from black (starting here because it was the only mixed tone), then the earth tone, light green and finally the dark green - a slow (2 full days) but rather uncomplicated process. But I think that the effort paid out, and helps selling the fictional Sk 90 idea.
The cockpit was painted in neutral grey, while the landing gear and the air intakes became white. A very Swedish touch are the bright green headrests - seen on Saab 37.
The markings were kept simple, puzzled together from various sources. Tactical codes come from a Heller Saab 37 Viggen sheet, while the roundels come from an RBD Models sheet (great stuff!) from Sweden - they actually belong to a Saab 32, but since the roundel sizes are normed the transplant onto the smaller aircraft here was easy and even plausible.
Some stencils were taken from the T-4 OOB sheet or gathered together from the scrap box, e .g. the "FARA" warnings.
The silver trim at the flaps and the fin rudder were made with generic 0.5mm decal stripes in silver. Similar strips in black were used to create the de-icers on the wings' leading edges.
Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
Not tough to build, but still a challenge to paint. But the result is spectacular, and the T-4 under foreign flag looks disturbingly plausible. How could Sweden hide this aircraft from the public for so long...?
And it's certainly not the last T-4 I will build. A Scottish aircraft, as mentioned in the background, is a hot candidate - but the aircraft has a lot of OOB whiffing potential...
This little whimsy inspired by the agonies documented in paulclarke.com/honestlyreal/2010/12/oh-christmas-tree/
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Supplemental Nutrition Safety Program (SNAP) Deputy Administrator Diane Kriviski addresses the 2015 Industry Meeting for USDA Foods Contractors and Suppliers in Arlington, VA on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. The annual meeting is an opportunity to discuss the contracting side of the cooperation between the federal government, commodity producers and suppliers. USDA photo by Bob Nichols.
Photo submitted by Allison Lewis
This photograph is being made available only for use by Montefiore and/or for personal use/printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in any media, commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, or promotions.
Solar energy is helping provide light to internally displaced people in Baharka Camp.
© Magnum Photos for UNOPS/Newsha Tavakolian
F E B R U A R Y A L P H A B E T F U N : P
"Penelope the playful pencil is a precocious, precious non-person. She is plump and pleasant, and always ready for a romp with other photogenic people. She's always there for me, whether I'm feeling productive or procrastinating. "
I think I've had a pencil in my hand from the second my mom plopped me out of her womb. I've always been more of the quite, indoor type. As a wee lass I preferred staying inside, doodling or reading, writing stories or in the margins of my books. As a teen I was a bit of a tomboy, so I went outside (following my brother around of course), but there was always a pencil and pad in my back pocket. To this day I don't leave the house without a handful of pencils and pens. They're a part of me.
Penelope is made of cardboard, sharpies, and watercolors. I'm wearing:
Red flowery dress - "Vintage Sport" - thrifted
Green Cardi - Mossimo - thrifted
Brown Leather Belt - no brand - Thrifted
Brown sandals - Rocket - (I got it at) Ross
Sweet sweet rainbow mug - part of my sweet sweet rainbow cup collection - thrifted
PERU_Delivery of laboratory equipment purchased in the framework of GLOSOLAN procurement 2020
©️LQA - VG
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Arado Ar 96 was a German single-engine, low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction, produced by Arado Flugzeugwerke. Designed by Walter Blume as the result of a 1936 Reich Air Ministry tender, the prototype first flew in 1938. In 1939, an initial batch of Ar 96A aircraft was produced, and this was followed by the major production series, the more powerful Ar 96B, fitted with the Argus As 410 engine.
The Ar 96 was the Luftwaffe's standard advanced trainer during World War II, being used, among others, for night and instrument-flying training. Shadow production was undertaken by Letov and the Avia factory in occupied Czechoslovakia, where manufacturing continued for some years after the war. These machines were designated the Avia C-2B, but virtually identical to the Ar 96 B.
Some Avia C-2Bs were sold, together with other types of Czech production, in 1948 to Israel, when the Israeli Air Force (IAF; Hebrew: זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as חֵיל הָאֲוִיר, Kheil HaAvir, "Air Corps") was founded, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence.
The Israeli Air Force was initially equipped with commandeered or donated civilian aircraft, but a variety of obsolete and surplus ex-World War II combat-aircraft were quickly sourced by various means to supplement this fleet. The backbone of the IAF was initially procured from Czechoslovakia and consisted of 25 Avia S-199s (essentially Czechoslovak-built Messerschmitt Bf 109s with a Jumo 211 engine instead of the Daimler-Benz DB 605 from wartime production) plus 60 Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk IXEs.
Several other second line duty types like transporters or trainers were purchased, too. Among these aircraft were also ten 2nd hand Avia C-2Bs, primarily for advanced training, but also with light attack/CAs and reconnaissance roles in mind. Consequently, these revamped machines were outfitted with two hardpoints under the outer wings for light loads of up to 50 kg (110 lb) each, and in order to better cope with the local high temperatures, the original two-blade propeller was replaced by a 3-bladed variable pitch metal propeller and the oil cooler was replaced by a more effective alternative with a bigger surface, standing out characteristically from the trainers’ chin.
Israel's new fighter-arm immediately went into action on May 29, 1948, only six days after Israel's declaration of independence and five days after the commencement of hostilities by Egypt, assisting efforts to halt the Egyptian advance from Gaza northwards. Creativity and resourcefulness were the foundations of early Israeli military success in the air, rather than technology (which, at the inception of the IAF, was generally inferior to that used by Israel's adversaries).
Six of the Avia C-2B trainers, based at Ekron together with the S-199 fighters from 101 Tajeset (Israel’s first operational fighter squadron), soon became actively involved in the conflict. They attacked supply routes and strafed enemy positions, initial operations were concentrated between Isdud and the Ad Halom bridge, south of Tel Aviv.
The majority, 15 out of the first 18 pilots in 101 Squadron, were foreign volunteers (both Jewish and non-Jewish), mainly World War II veterans who wanted to collaborate with Israel's struggle for independence, with the rest of the military-grade pilots being Israeli WWII veterans. Furthermore, pilots from Sherut Avir, the air force of the Haganah and the forerunner of the Israeli Air Force, founded in late 1947, were mainly locals who flew roundabout 25 light civilian aircraft for supply and reconnaissance duties, but they also carried out makeshift ground attack missions with hand-thrown light bombs and even hand fired light machine guns.
Since the S-199 proved unreliable and performed poorly in combat, (no more than five were typically airworthy at any one time!), many of the fighters’ duties had to be handled by the Spitfires or other, less-combatant types like the C-2s, which frequently flew CAS missions against Egyptian positions with only light aerial defense. At least one C-2s was modified in the field to carry two RP-3 unguided missiles of British origin with HE warheads and their respective launch rails under the wings – their effectiveness was doubtful, though.
Three Israeli C-2s were lost in action throughout the first weeks of the Palestine War, and two more aircraft were considerably damaged on the ground by Egyptian gun fire. Only a single machine survived long enough to serve until on 18th of July 1948, when the second truce of the conflict went into effect after intense diplomatic efforts by the UN, and four of the ordered C-2 trainers did not make it to Israel in time to be involved in the conflict.
Eventually, more aircraft were procured, including Boeing B-17s, Bristol Beaufighters, de Havilland Mosquitoes and P-51D Mustangs. Not much later, the Israeli Air Force played an important part in Operation Kadesh, Israel's part in the 1956 Suez Crisis, dropping paratroopers at the Mitla Pass. By then the Avia C-2 trainers had been completely replaced by more modern and versatile T-6 Harvard trainers, which themselves remained in active service until 1974.
General characteristics:
Crew: two
Length: 9.1 m (29 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 11 m (36 ft 1 in)
Height: 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 17.1 m2 (184 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,295 kg (2,855 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 1,700 kg (3,748 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Argus As 410A-1 inverted V-12 air-cooled piston engine, 347 kW (465 hp)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 330 km/h (205 mph; 178 kn) at sea level
Cruise speed: 295 km/h (183 mph; 159 kn)
Range: 990 km (615 mi; 535 nmi)
Service ceiling: 7,100 m (23,300 ft)
Rate of climb: 5.083 m/s (1,000.6 ft/min)
Armament:
1× 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 17 machine gun in the fuselage
2x 50 kg (110 lb) underwing racks for bombs or single unguided missiles
The kit and its assembly:
This is my entry to the 2017 “One Week” Group Build at whatifmodelers.com; this model was inspired by a post a couple of weeks ago from fellow forum member The Wooksta concerning the fictional use of the Ar 96 and other ex-German types from Czech production after WWII in Israel. I kept the idea in the back of my mind, and the upcoming GB was a good occasion to take the concept to the (model) hardware stage.
Since the building time frame was limited to just seven days, the vintage Heller kit (from 1977) saw only little modification – the most noteworthy being a new three blade propeller and an enlarged, scratched oil cooler under the engine. I also added a pair of underwing hardpoints (scratched, too) and a pair of 50 kg bombs (probably left over from an Airfix Fw 189) in order to emphasize the machine’s offensive capabilities in Israel service, and its CAS role during the War of Independence.
Inside of the cockpit and in the landing gear wells I added some structures with styrene profiles, and the clear canopy was cut into four pieces for later display.
The kit went together with only minimal problems, I only faced self-induced trouble when the cockpit floor somehow ended up a little deeper than it was supposed to be – the wings and their respective ventral fuselage connection would not fit anymore. My fault, though, and some trimming solved the problem with ease.
For its age, fit and detail is very good (like many other original Heller kits, they are highly underrated, IMHO), the raised surface details are very delicate, too. A small beauty!
Painting and markings:
Since the ex Czech aircraft would just have been delivered and immediately thrown into armed frontline service, I gave it a basic scheme close to Czech post WWII trainer aircraft, plus typical Israeli markings and an additional makeshift desert camouflage.
I found some reference that most Czech Avia C-2s carried NMF, with some parts sometimes painted with RLM 02. Some had black cowlings, too, and some even carried a uniform RLM 02 livery.
Early IAF trainers carried – AFAIK – yellow ID markings, e.g. wing bands or cowlings. I used this as a basis and gave the aircraft basically a uniform RLM 02 (Humbrol 240) upper surface, aluminum undersides (Revell 99) and yellow bands on wings (created with decal material), a yellow fin rudder and cowling flanks (painted). The cowling’s underside and an anti-glare panel up to the cockpit became black.
The interior became RLM 02, too, but I used Revell 45 (Helloliv) which is a slightly more saturated tone, and the color was further tweaked through black ink and some dry-brushing with light grey.
After a light black ink wash and some post-shading the decals with national markings, the tactical code and further ID markings like the red-and-white stripes on the fin (colors associated with 101 Tajaset: the S-199 fighters carried diagonally striped rudders) were added.
Decals were puzzled together from several sources, including David Shields from a High Decal Line MiG-17(!) sheet. The tactical code “B-02” is a guess; AFAIK the early IAF trainers had a “Beth/B-“ prefix to their code, while fighters had a “Daleth/D-“ letter code. This practice was later changed to a four digit numeric code, at least on the trainers.
Anyway, the green/silver livery with yellow markings would have been the original look of the aircraft upon delivery, but I wanted to add a twist and present the aircraft as an improvised light CAS aircraft.
Consequently, the upper surfaces as well as the yellow ID markings there were crudely painted over with sand (Revell 16, and some Humbrol 237), leaving out the markings.
Being a combat aircraft now, I added a relatively thin white-and-blue fuselage band. This marking was originally carried by contemporary S-199s, in order to make them more distinguishable from Egyptian Spitfires. This, as well as the fin stripes, were created with generic decal sheet and stripes (TL Modellbau).
As a final step, some weathering was done through a light sand paper treatment (blending the overpainted sand blotches with the RLM grey underneath, and emphasizing the raised surface details) and light dry brushing with RAF Hemp (Humbrol 168), primarily on leading edges. Exhaust soot was simulated with grinded graphite, but only very lightly. Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, while the aluminum lower surfaces received a semi-matt finish for a light shine.
A simple build, the painting process was the more challenging and time-consuming part – but it was intended as a 1-week-build, anyway.
The build has also (once more) confirmed my impression that old kits are not necessarily rubbish, and that the only good(?) model kits come from Japan. Even though the Heller Ar 96 moulds date back to 1977 (mine came in the 1979 boxing), it’s a beautiful kit with good fit and surface details – anything you could ask for. Nice lil’ plane, also in fictional markings!
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81) was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Formerly the British ship HMS Venerable, she was sold to the Netherlands in 1948 as a light attack carrier and operated Fairey Firefly strike fighters and Hawker Sea Fury fighters, which were in 1958 replaced by Hawker Sea Hawk jet aircraft. In 1960, she was involved in the decolonization conflict in Western New Guinea with Indonesia. After a major refit in 1964, following the settlement of issues threatening its former colonial territories and changes in the mission for the Royal Netherlands Navy within NATO, the role was changed to anti-submarine warfare carrier and primarily ASW aircraft and helicopters were carried. At that time, the last Dutch Sea Hawks were phased out and the Koninlijke Marine ’s FJ-4B fighter bombers were relegated to land bases and soon handed back to the USA and re-integrated into USMC units. As an alternative multi-role aircraft that could both deliver strikes against ground as well as sea targets and provide aerial defense for the carrier or escort its slow and vulnerable ASW aircraft, the American Douglas A-4 Skyhawk was procured.
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk was a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet-powered Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later by McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated A4D under the U.S. Navy's pre-1962 designation system. The Skyhawk was a relatively light aircraft, with a maximum takeoff weight of 24,500 pounds (11,100 kg), had a top speed of 670 miles per hour (1,080 km/h) and very good handling, making it a serious threat in an aerial dogfight. The aircraft's five hardpoints supported a variety of missiles, bombs, and other munitions.
The A4D (re-named into A-4 under the USA’s unified designation system) was capable of carrying a bomb load equivalent to that of a World War II–era Boeing B-17 bomber and could even deliver nuclear weapons using a low-altitude bombing system and a "loft" delivery technique. The A-4 was originally powered by the Wright J65 turbojet engine, but from the A-4E onwards, the more fuel efficient and powerful Pratt & Whitney J52 engine was used. The Skyhawk proved to be a relatively common United States Navy aircraft export of the postwar era. Due to its small size, it could be operated from the older, smaller World War II-era aircraft carriers still used by many smaller navies during the 1960s. These older ships were often unable to accommodate newer Navy fighters such as the F-4 Phantom II and F-8 Crusader, which were faster and more capable than the A-4, but significantly larger and heavier than older naval fighters.
At the same time as the Netherlands, Australia was looking for a new carrier-borne jet aircraft, too, and in negotiations with Douglas for newly built A-4s for the RAN's carrier HMAS Melbourne, a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier. These aircraft had a very similar duty profile to those the Royal Netherlands Navy was looking for, and in order to save development costs and speed up the procurement process, the Royal Netherlands Navy simply adopted the Australian specifications which became the unique A-4G variant, the Skyhawk’s first dedicated export version.
The A-4G was directly developed with minor variations from the current, most modern Skyhawk variant, the USN's A-4F. In particular, the A-4G was not fitted with the late Skyhawk variants' characteristic avionics "hump", had a simple ranging radar for air-to-air combat and was modified to carry four underwing Sidewinder AIM-9B missiles (instead of just two), increasing their Fleet Defense capability. Additionally, the A-4Gs for the Royal Netherlands Navy received the avionics package to deploy radio-controlled AGM-12 Bullpup missiles, which the Kon. Marine had been using together with the FJ-4Bs for some years, and Skyhawks’ capability to provide buddy-to-buddy refueling services with a special pod made them a vital asset for carrier operations, too.
A total of twenty A-4G Skyhawks were purchased by the Royal Australian Navy in two batches for operation from HMAS Melbourne, and the Koninlijke Marine ordered twelve. These aircraft were part of the first A-4G production batch and arrived in 1967, together with four TA-4J trainers, for a total fleet of sixteen aircraft. The machines were delivered in the contemporary US Navy high-visibility scheme in Light Gull Grey and White, but they were soon re-painted in a less conspicuous scheme of Extra Dark Sea Grey on the upper surfaces and Sky underneath, conforming to NATO standards of the time. After initial conversion training from land bases the re-formed MLD 861 Squadron (a carrier-based unit that had operated Fairey during the Fifties) embarked upon HNLMS Karel Doorman in February 1968 with a standard contingent of six carrier-based aircraft. The rest was stationed at Valkenburg Naval Air Base for maintenance and training and frequently rotated to the carrier.
However, the Dutch Skyhawks' career at sea was very short – it lasted in fact only a couple of months! A boiler room fire on 26 April 1968 removed HNLMS Karel Doorman from Dutch service. To repair the fire damage, new boilers were transplanted from the incomplete HMS Leviathan. But this did not save the ship, and in 1969 it was decided that the costs for repairing the damage in relation to the relatively short time Karel Doorman was still to serve in the fleet proved to be her undoing and she was sold to the Argentine Navy, renamed Veinticinco de Mayo, where she would later play a role in the 1982 Falkland Islands Conflict.
Additionally, the fatal fire accident coincided with the arrival of land-based long range maritime patrol aircraft for the Royal Netherlands Navy that were to take over the ASW role Karel Doorman had been tasked to perform ever since the start of the 1960s. These were one squadron of Breguet Atlantique sea-reconnaissance aircraft and one of P-2 Neptunes, while the international NATO anti-submarine commitment was taken over by a squadron of Westland Wasp helicopters operated from six Van Speijk-class anti-submarine frigates.
This left the Royal Netherlands Navy with a full operational squadron of almost brand-new aircraft that had overnight lost their raison d'être. To avoid sunk costs the government decided to keep the Skyhawks in active service, even though only land-based now and as part of the Netherlands air force's home defense – a plan that had been envisioned for the A-4Gs for the mid-Seventies, anyway.
In 1974, the A-4G's MLD 861 Squadron was disbanded (again) and the aircraft were formally transferred to the Royal Netherlands Air Force, where they received new tactical codes (H-30XX - H- 30YY) and formed the new RNLAF 332 Squadron, primary tasked with aerial support for the Netherlands Marine Corps. To avoid staff and equipment transfer costs to a different location, the Skyhawks stayed at their former home base, Valkenburg Naval Air Base, where they operated alongside the MLD’s new long-range maritime patrol aircraft.
At that time, the machines received a small update during regular overhauls, including the ability to deploy the new TV-guided AGM-65 Maverick missile (which replaced the unreliable and rather ineffective AGM-12) as well as more effective AIM-9J air-to-air missiles, and an AN/APQ-51 radar warning system, recognizable through small cone-shaped radomes under the nose, at the tail and under the wing roots. Being land-based now, some machines received a new NATO-style camouflage in Olive Drab and Dark Grey with Light Grey undersides, even though the Skyhawks’ full carrier capability was retained in case of a NATO deployment on another nation’s carrier.
In 1979, when the RNLAF received its first F-16A/B fighters, all Skyhawks eventually received a more subdued grey three-tone camouflage with toned-down markings which was effective both over the sea and in the sky, similar to the RNLAF’s NF-5A/B day fighters.
However, the arrival of the modern F-16, which was in any aspect superior to the A-4 except for a lack of carrier-capability, meant that the RNLAF Skyhawks’ career did not last much longer. In the early Eighties, all Dutch A-4Gs were replaced with license-built F-16A/B fighter bombers. They were placed in store and eventually sold to Israel in 1985, where they were revamped and re-sold with surplus A-4Es to Indonesia as attrition replacements after high losses during the anti-guerilla warfare in East Timor. They were delivered in 1986 and served in Indonesia until 2003, where the last Skyhawks were finally retired in 2007.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 40 ft 1.5 in (12.230 m)
Wingspan: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)
Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)
Wing area: 260 sq ft (24 m²)
Airfoil: root: NACA 0008-1.1-25; tip: NACA 0005-.825-50
Empty weight: 9,853 lb (4,469 kg)
Gross weight: 16,216 lb (7,355 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 24,500 lb (11,113 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Pratt & Whitney J52-P-6A turbojet engine, 8,500 lbf (38 kN) thrust
Performance:
Maximum speed: 585 kn (673 mph, 1,083 km/h) at sea level
Range: 1,008 nmi (1,160 mi, 1,867 km)
Ferry range: 2,194 nmi (2,525 mi, 4,063 km)
g limits: +8/-3
Rate of climb: 5,750 ft/min (29.2 m/s)
Wing loading: 62.4 lb/sq ft (305 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.526
Armament:
2× 20 mm (0.79 in) Colt Mk 12 cannon with 100 RPG
5× hardpoints with a total capacity of 8,500 lb (3,900 kg)
The kit and its assembly:
This what-if project was more or less a stopgap: I had a Hasegawa 1:72 A-4E/F kit in The Stash™, primarily bought for its separate avionics hump that is supposed to be transplanted on a Fujimi A-4C someday to create an A-4L, of which AFAIK no OOB kit exists. However, I played with potential fictional operators, and read about the Australian A-4Gs. When I compared them with the historic timeframe of the Dutch HNLMS Karel Doorman, I recognized very close parallels (see background above) so that a small Skyhawk fleet for a single carrier with a focus on ASW duties would make sense – even though Karel Doorman was soon struck by a fire and ended the story. However, this was a great framework to tell the story of Dutch Skyhawks that never had been, and my model depicts such an aircraft soon after its update and in late RNLAF colors.
The Hasegawa kit is not bad, but IMHO there are better offerings, you can see the mold’s age. It goes together easily, comes with a good pilot figure and offers optional parts for an E or F Skyhawk, plus lots of ordnance, but it comes with raised (yet very fine) panel lines and an odd canopy: the clear part is actually only the canopy’s glass, so that the frame is still molded into the fuselage. As a result, opening the cockpit is a VERY tricky stunt (which I eventually avoided), and the clear piece somehow does not fit well into its intended opening. The mold dates back to 1969, when the A-4E/F was brand new, and this was all acceptable in the Seventies and Eighties. But for today’s standards the Hasegawa kit is a bit outdated and, in many cases, overpriced. Permanent re-boxings and short-run re-issues do not make the old kit any better.
Despite these weaknesses the kit was built OOB, without big modifications or the optional camel hump for the A-4F, with the early straight IFR probe and with parts from the OOB ordnance. This included the ventral drop tank (which comes with an integral pylon) and the underwing pylons; from the outer pair the integral launch rails for the Bullpups were sanded away and replaced with a pair of longer launch rails for AIM-9B Sidewinder AAMs from the scrap box.
As a modern/contemporary detail I scratched a training/dummy AGM-65 Maverick without fins for one of the inner underwing stations, which would later become a colorful eye-catcher on the otherwise quite subdued aircraft. Additionally, some small blade antennae were added around the hull, e. g. on the front wheel well cover for the Bullpup guidance emitter.
Painting and markings:
A Kon. Marine Skyhawk offers a wide range of painting options, but I tweaked the background that I could incorporate a specific and unique Dutch paint scheme – the early Eighties livery of the RNLAF’s NF-5A/Bs. These aircraft initially wore a NATO-style green/grey livery with pale grey undersides, but they were in the late Seventies, with the arrival of the F-16s, repainted with the F-16s’ “Egypt One” colors (FS 36118, 36270 and 36375). However, the Egypt One scheme was not directly adopted, only the former RAF-style camouflage pattern was re-done with the new colors. Therefore, the Skyhawks were “in my world” transferred from the Dutch Navy to the Air Force and received this livery, too, for which I used Humbrol 125, 126 and 127. The pattern was adapted from the sleek NF-5s as good as possible to the stouter A-4 airframe, but it worked out.
However, the result reminds unintentionally a lot of the Australian A-4Gs’ late livery, even though the Aussie Skyhawks carried a different pattern and were painted in different tones. Even more strangely, the colors on the model looked odd in this striped paint scheme: the dark Gunship Gray appeared almost violet, while the Medium Gray had a somewhat turquoise hue? Weird! Thankfully, this disappeared when I did some post-panel-shading after a light black in washing…
The cockpit became Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231, Humbrol 140), even though there’s hardly anything recognizable through the small canopy: the pilot blocks anything. The landing gear and the respective wells became classic bright white (Revell 301), as well as the air intake ducts; the landing gear covers received a thin red outline.
The Sidewinders and their launch rails became white, the drop tank was painted in FS 36375 like the underside. The dummy AGM-65 was painted bright blue with a white tip for the live seeker head.
The decals were gathered from various sources. The RNLAF roundels came from a generic TL Modellbau sheet, the tactical code from a Swiss F-5E. The small fin flash is a personal addition (this was not common practice on RNLAF aircraft), the red unit badge with the seahorse comes from a French naval WWII unit. Most stencils were taken from the OOB sheet but supplemented with single bits from an Airfix Skyhawk sheet, e. g. for the red trim around the air intakes, which was tricky to create. The interior of the fuselage air brakes was painted in bright red, too.
After a Koninlijke Marine FJ-4B Fury some years ago, here’s a worthy and logical successor, even though it would have quickly lost its naval base, HNLMS Karel Doorman. Really bad timing! Even though not much was changed, this simple looking aircraft has IMHO a certain, subtle charm – even though the paint scheme makes the Dutch Skyhawk look more Australian than intended, despite representing an A-4G, too. But time frame and mission profiles would have been too similar to ignore this parallel. Not a spectacular model, but quite convincing.
The Army’s procurement contracts for the Abrams tank and the Stryker vehicle represent successes for BBP. Here, Soldiers with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division (2/4 ID) prepare to assault an objective in M1A2 Abrams tanks Jan. 10 during a two-week field training exercise near Fort Carson’s Camp Red Devil, CO. (U.S. Army photo by SSG Andrew Porch, 2/4 ID Public Affairs)
Since 2016 – in an effort to improve the public health system – UNOPS has been working together with IGSS to improve transparency in public procurement, beginning with the acquisition of medicines and medical supplies, and later supporting wide-range institutional reform for IGSS.
Through this, UNOPS designed policies on sustainable procurement, infrastructure and project management, and trained 600 staff in public procurement and supply chain management.
The project further delivered significant savings for the government of Guatemala. Through 13 public tenders, UNOPS helped stock 114 hospitals and health centres across the country with 568 types of medicines, equaling around 450 million doses of medicine. Through the use of transparent and efficient procurement processes, the government estimated savings of around $270 million, reporting around 57 per cent savings on the purchase of medicines and 34 per cent savings on surgical medical supplies since they began working with UNOPS.
An estimated 3.2 million Guatemalans are benefiting from improved healthcare as a result. Importantly, the project has also left a legacy of transparency in a country with a high risk of corruption in public procurement and has helped lay the foundation for a more efficient and transparent future for procurement by IGSS.
© UNOPS/ John Rae
(The following is a fictional history of a fictional aircraft serving with a fictional air force...though at least the model is real.)
When the FIRAF was formed in 1974, Minister of Defense Akela Canis had no plans to acquire a bomber of any kind, save for strike aircraft like the F-105 Thunderchief or the Panavia Tornado. The small nation had no real need for a strategic bomber. However, groups in Congress disagreed, and Canis was overruled.
With Congress demanding a heavy bomber, Canis was forced to find a solution. He did, however, see some advantages to having a small heavy bomber force: as a veteran of Vietnam, Canis had seen firsthand the power projection ability of the B-52; having a “bomb truck” able to rain bombs onto a target might prove rather useful. It was suggested that the FIRAF procure the B-52D Stratofortress, which the USAF was planning to phase out; Canis demurred, citing the B-52D’s advanced age, while the Carter administration refused to sell it, as it would violate several arms-control treaties. With the B-52D unavailable and Canis’ only other alternative, acquiring the Avro Vulcan, also being refused by the UK, the only route left was for the FIRAF to develop its own design. The cost of such a program would be enormous and far beyond the FIRAF’s budget.
It was then that Canis heard of an abortive attempt by the USAF to replace the cancelled B-1 with an “off-the-shelf” conversion of the Boeing 747 into a massive cruise missile carrier. While converting an airliner to a bomber was not the best solution, it was the only one left. The FIRAF had already chosen the L-1011 for its tanker design, but program delays with the Tristar led Canis to approach McDonnell Douglas about converting the DC-10 into a bomber in June 1979. Canis expected to be flatly turned down or even laughed at, but instead, McDonnell Douglas reacted favorably. The reason was simple: the DC-10 program was in trouble, under attack from the media as being unsafe following the crash of American Airlines Flight 191, and even the USAF was feeling leery about the KC-10 Extender tanker. Canis’ initial proposal buy of 24 aircraft would help restore faith in the aircraft and give more orders to the beleaguered program.
Now that the political problems were solved, the question remained on how to convert the DC-10-30 airframe to that of a bomber. Through Intelani Airlines, two DC-10-30ERs were bought and built first as basic airliners, then gutted and rebuilt as DC-10Bs. This involved first the addition of weapons bays, plus hydraulic bay doors—two forward of the wing, and one aft of it. The basic cockpit of the DC-10-30 was retained, with a three-man crew, while a second compartment was added in what had been the first class section of the airliner, where the bombardier and navigator sat. The aircraft would be fitted with an attack suite based on that of the then-cancelled B-1A and built around the General Electric AN/APB-200 bomb radar, which was mounted in the aircraft’s belly. Finally, Canis insisted that some sort of defensive armament be placed on the DC-10B; a single M61A1 Vulcan 20mm gatling cannon was fitted in the tail below the engine. A gunner’s position was set in what had been the aft galley and restroom section of the DC-10-30; the gunner would control the gun via radar and a TV camera set below the cannon. The aircraft would also be fitted with a comphrensive electronic defense suite, based on that of the B-52H, which would be managed by the navigator.
The first of the DC-10B testbeds flew on 8 June 1981, and ran into problems. The aircraft handled sluggishly on takeoff—though at altitude it flew remarkably well—it was unstable, especially when the bomb bay doors were opened; altitude was less than that of the B-52 and its speed at maximum weight was less than hoped, which in turn also lowered its range. The latter could be solved through aerial refuelling, which had already been planned in the production version, but the DC-10B needed some work. The bay door problem was solved by the use of clamshell doors, but this only partially solved the stability problem, which was traced to the simple fact that the DC-10 had been designed to carry several tons of fuel, cargo, and passengers.
Predator Propulsion, which had joined the project in designing the tail barbette, provided the solution. It had been working on a ramjet design for a proposed reconnaissance UAV, and the company’s scientists proposed fitting one to the DC-10B. While ramjets are not very efficient below 100 mph, the rotation speed of a DC-10 is above that speed. By pumping fuel into the ramjet, it would give the DC-10B added thrust when needed, and as the bomber went faster, the ramjet became more efficient. MDD worried about adding weight to the tail, but the ramjet, since it lacked a fan, was actually lighter than the CF6-50 engines already fitted. One of the DC-10Bs was subsequently modified and test flown in October 1981, and found to be stable and easy to use; the only modification had been to add a reaction fuel tank in the tail, but this had the unintended consequence of helping stability. The higher thrust produced by the ramjet at high speeds did cause oscillation, so streamlined yaw dampeners were added to the sides of the engine. Because of this modification, the testbed was given the designation DC-10RS (Ramjet Special), which accidentally became the official designation of the aircraft—MDD had preferred using the designation B-10A, which the FIRAF had planned as well, but continuing use of the DC-10RS designation by test crews meant it would be the name that stuck.
With testing complete by February 1982, the FIRAF formally ordered 24 DC-10RS, with an option of 12 more; Canis felt that 36 aircraft, each capable of carrying 16 conventional or nuclear-tipped Tomahawks, would be a sufficient deterrent force. The first DC-10RS was accepted by the FIRAF in February 1983.
By 1987, the FIRAF had decided to gradually phase out the Dragon; while it had proven itself an excellent level bomber, it was deemed simply too vulnerable to survive. Work began on the B-3A Pterodactyl to replace it. MDD produced a further six DC-10RS in 1987 before the production line shut for good in September; these were among the last DC-10s produced, as MDD was already switching production to the MD-11. The Dragon was to have its swan song, however, with two squadrons deployed to RAF Fairford for operations against Iraq in 1991; for the first and only time in its career, the DC-10RS was to fire Tomahawks in anger. None were used in the conventional bombing role. After Desert Storm, the Dragon force was gradually drawn down, with the last leaving bomber service in February 1994.
(Back in the real world...)
When I started building models for my fictional "Free Intelani Air Force," getting a small 1/200 scale DC-10 airliner for conversion to a "DC-10RS" was easy. I cut down the tail engine to simulate the ramjet design (which some airline pilot friends of mine told me was indeed possible), and added some odds and ends to beef up the engine pod, as well as simulate the ECM suite on the forward fuselage. The end of a Matra rocket pod was used to simulate the rear turret, and I used a straw hat from a 1/35 scale Viet Cong figure for the bombing radar (which can't be seen in this picture). Throw on a military style camouflage scheme of two shades of gray over black for night operations, add a ghost motif on the tail for squadron art, and voila, one has the DC-10RS Dragon bomber.
This one was a lot of fun to build, and coming up with the history behind it even more so.
by Direct_Relief
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During the 2019 HMSDC HMSDC Procurement Luncheon held at the Omni Hotel in Houston, Texas on Thursday, March 21, 2019. (Photo by JRT | Video/Photography by J.R. | 281.703.9661 | www.vpjr.com)