Radar Posted November 12, 2008 Posted November 12, 2008 (edited) Hi All, Finished at last, and just in time for SMW 08- My ACI Vickers Wellington R1629, Radar Research Aircraft from 1941. Built using the MPM Wellingtom Mk 1C. A horrible kit made from the worst plastic that doesn't like being glued. An unusle and historic if very little known research aircraft. We had airbourne radar 2 years before the Americans. Ian S. Edited November 12, 2008 by Radar 2
avro683 Posted November 12, 2008 Posted November 12, 2008 Lovely job ther Ian and very different. I understand that the kit is due out in an Airfix box soon. I wonder if the plastic will be any better? Tony
AnonymousFO98 Posted November 12, 2008 Posted November 12, 2008 Problems? What problems? nice work Ian. you must be happy with the results- and great to show something very different and little known. top job
Tizzy Posted November 12, 2008 Posted November 12, 2008 Very nice.An unusual subject that looks amazing. The only question remaining is,can it pick up Channel 5?
keith in the uk Posted November 12, 2008 Posted November 12, 2008 Blimey never seen a Wellington with a washing line stuck on the top before
Nev Posted November 12, 2008 Posted November 12, 2008 Well there's an aircraft I've never seen before - very interesting choice of subject. Oh, and my comiserations on having to build the MPM Wimpey
Radar Posted November 13, 2008 Author Posted November 13, 2008 Thanks for the appreciative comments folks. The aircraft R1629 was pulled from squadron service and lent to Telecomunications Reserach Establishment for the trials in Feb 1942, the task being to create an Airborne platform that could find the FW Condors transitting from N/W France to spot convoys for the Submarine Wolf Packs that were decimating our supplies from America at the time, and direct long range fighters on to them. Events overtook the situation with the solution being found in Hurricanes on catapults on Merchant Navy ships. The TRE Wellington was then used in May 1942 operating from Wick in Scotland to try and find the Battleship Lutzow on the Norwegian Coast. It was also used to try and locate the coastal raiding E- Boats in the North Sea before the equipment was removed and the R1629 was returned to Sqn service in late Feb 1943. Many commentators have assumed that these trials were conducted using modified ASV Radar sets but this was a misconception. As this fit with the Yagi aerial was the first time a rotating time base radar was transmitted and recieved through the same aerial in an aircraft. The main reason the trials were pulled were that the radar fitted to the Wellington was a metric radar and advancements were so rapid at the time (before MIT and Project Cadillac in America) that centimetric radars and smaller cavity magnatrons were coming on line that made the ACI obsolecent before it could enter service. Churchill then directed that all of our reserach and technical knowhow should be handed over to the Yanks, who had the numbers of people, money and facilities to develop the kit quicker than we possibly could have done, unfortunately on reading their history books they seem to have forgotten where alot of their technology came from ! Sorry to be long winded but it is a subject I am passionate about and an area where our scientist deserve due credit. Ian S. 1
keefr22 Posted November 13, 2008 Posted November 13, 2008 Very nice job! And another aircraft I'd not come across before - you learn something new every day! Must be something going on with eastern European plastic though - I've been fighting the Sword Hurricane Mk1 for a few weeks & the plastic in that didn't like being stuck either - even with superglue! Almost impossible to rescribe cleanly as well..... Anyway, your Wellington shows no sign of any of the problems - great build! Keef
Dave Fleming Posted November 13, 2008 Posted November 13, 2008 Very nice! I'd only ever seen the sketch of this aircraft that appeared in Flypast.
AnonymousFO98 Posted November 13, 2008 Posted November 13, 2008 Need to do my homework, Radar, sorry, i haven't a clue! but fascinating. thanks for the thread great stuff much appreciated.
Heraldcoupe Posted November 13, 2008 Posted November 13, 2008 Nice job - you have my full understanding on what building that kit involves! Cheers, Bill.
T-Tango Posted November 13, 2008 Posted November 13, 2008 Lovely build of a most unusual aircraft Ian, well done.
kitnut617 Posted December 3, 2008 Posted December 3, 2008 (edited) There's an account of the operation that this Wellington did in the Crowood book about the Shackleton written by Barry Jones. It's in the chapter about the development of the Shackleton AEW.2 which starts off with an account of AEW development. Very interesting book and a very interesting model too Ian. According to the book the mission failed because the ship they went looking for after an intelligence tip-off, left harbour a day later than when it was supposed to go. IIRC, there's an account of it in the book Radar Reflections too. Edited December 3, 2008 by kitnut617
cetinsarf Posted July 1 Posted July 1 Hi Ian. Very nice execution on an unusual subject. Do you have any idea about the dimensions of the yagi antenna used in this aircraft?
RidgeRunner Posted July 8 Posted July 8 On 11/12/2008 at 12:11 PM, Radar said: We had airbourne radar 2 years before the Americans. of course we did
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