Gallery

[AnonymousDFB1]

All finished builds in here please

Edited December 30, 2012 by Mish

[Col.]

In order to keep the gallery 'clean' and easier for when we run a vote can we set a limit of 4 pics max per entry and no commenting in the gallery thread please gang.

[pabbi]

Ta-183 Huckebein, AMteck 1/48.

Link to build.

What if new technology would have made Germany able to stop the allied invasion in WW2 and they could have continued improving their Aero, nuclear and Jet technology ?

09.11.1946. A new squadron of the revolutionary TA-183 Huckebeins have been formed, Jagdgeschwader 183. Black number one is a personal plane for Hauptmann Immelborn Bad Salzungen.

This morning they are leaving for an escort mission with He 177's loaded with nuclear warheaded V1’s. The plan is to fly over the Atlantic using a new air to air refueling system designed by the Horten brothers .

Immelborn had a technical failure during the mission but could land at Vestmannaeyjar in Iceland. His Huckebein can now be seen at Reykjavik Aviation museum.

[tc2324]

Project Pye

By June 1939 Power Jets, (The company set up by Frank Whittle and partners), could barely afford to keep the lights on when yet another visit was made by Air Ministry personnel. This time Whittle was able to run the W.U. (Whittle Unit), at high power for 20 minutes without any difficulty. One of the members of the team was the Director of Scientific Research, David Randall Pye, who walked out of the demonstration utterly convinced of the importance of the project. The Ministry agreed to buy the W.U. and then loan it back to them, injecting cash, and placed an order for a flyable version of the engine.

By the 12th June 1943, the prototype Meteor airframe was already complete and took to the air. Production versions of the engine started rolling off the line in October, first known as the W.2B/23, then the RB.23 (for Rolls-Barnoldswick), and eventually became known as the Rolls-Royce Welland.

With the Air Ministry satisfied that their first jet fighter was now going to successfully become operational, Whittle was approached to see if his engine designs could be applied to bomber aircraft. Earlier, in 1940, Whittle had met with Stanley Hooker of Rolls-Royce, who in turn introduced Whittle to Rolls-Royce board member, Ernest Hives at a subsequent meeting. Hooker led the supercharger division at Rolls-Royce, which was naturally suited to jet engine work and it was this team that Whittle approached to see if it was feasible to produce an engine suited for bomber aircraft.

The Aircraft

In the meantime, Roy Chadwick and his team of designers at Avro were tasked with designing a bomber aircraft for the new jet powerplants. With Lancaster production in full swing in mid 1944, it was logical that time and money could be saved by re-designing the current airframe very much as they did with the Manchester in 1940. By July 1944 design work had started on the fuselage modifications and a basic specification was formalized. The aircraft would rely on height and speed to evade enemy interceptors. With a crew of three, the pilot would sit in a fighter style cockpit fitted with a bubble canopy with the bombardier and navigator sitting side by side at their stations below and aft of the pilot. All would be sealed in a pressurized forward compartment, all defensive armament was removed to increase power to weight ratio`s and aiming the bomb/s would be done via an optical periscope device fitted under the nose of the aircraft. The main undercarriage was also modified so that it lifted straight up into the deepest recess of the main wing. One third of the tyre would be exposed to the slipstream, very much like the Boeing B-17`s and would be filled with the inert gas nitrogen.

Coincidentally, it was at a meeting with Avro in late June 1944 while discussing final details for his famous Grand Slam bomb, that Barnes Wallis was informed of the proposed jet bomber and soon enquired if he could attend the meeting between the project teams in London on the 14th August 1944.

It was during this meeting between Whittle, Rolls Royce, Avro and Wallis that the project acquired a name, Pye. This was Whittle`s idea to honour the man, who back in 1939, had convinced the Air Ministry to back the development of the W.U.

Avro had also given their design a name, although it was quite lacking from imagination, the Lancaster JPX. The JPX standing for Jet Propulsion eXperimental.

The Bomb

Wallis also had something to bring to the table. While the Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs had not been designed to directly penetrate concrete roofs, he was aware during trials that they tended to detonate prematurely or break up. Nonetheless they were still far more effective than any existing bomb but Wallis had been working on a weapon that would penetrate hard targets and felt that this new aircraft could be the ideal delivery system. Named the Lancer, Wallis had based his design on a `Phillips Head and screw` theory as he put it. The head of the weapon was angled, almost like a Philips head screwdriver, while further down the body of the weapon grooves had been installed very much like a screw. One second after release, fourteen small fins would deploy turning the bomb and creating a stabilizing spin at a very high rate of rpm. The idea being, that once the weapon had achieved penetration of the target, it would act like a screw and bore through before detonating. That was the theory anyway. Weighing in at 25,000 lb it was by far the heaviest bomb yet conceived and a working model would be ready before the end of the year.

The Engine

Rolls-Royce had started to develop the RB.41 Nene centrifugal compressor turbojet engine and put this forward for the project. The Nene was essentially an enlarged version of the Rolls-Royce Derwent with the minimal changes needed to deliver 5,000 lbf, making it the most powerful engine of its era. The Nene was Rolls-Royce's third jet engine to enter production, designed and built in an astonishingly short five-month period in 1944, first running on 27th October 1944. It was named after the River Nene in keeping with the company's tradition of naming its jet engines after rivers.

Epilogue

The prototype Lancaster JPX took to the air on it`s maiden flight from RAF Ringway on the 5th January 1945. After a short flight of 25 minutes to check systems the aircraft landed safely with the test aircrew commenting on how well all had gone and the smoothness of the flight. Over the next two months the aircraft flew on a number of test flights culminating in it setting a new, if unofficial, altitude record of 61,258 feet. (This would not be beaten, officially, for another eight years). With both engines generating around 10,000 lbf, the maximum speed recorded was 389mph at 40,000 feet. Normal cruising speed at this altitude was put at around 330mph and while not as dynamic as hoped, this and the operating altitude made the JPX almost untouchable to the Luftwaffe`s fighters.

On the 9th test flight the aircraft was loaded with Wallis`s new Lancer bomb for the first time. Both aircraft and bomb had been given a `gloss` look to reduce any effects of drag. That afternoon the first test drop of the weapon took place from the rather `low` altitude of 30,000 feet. Only two words were noted on Wallis`s note book page, `it works`. A further three more test drops took place at higher altitudes, however the results of these drops cannot be found in official records other than a comment with regards to the performance drop off of about 50mph once fully loaded.

Like many British projects to come, Project Pye is the `unknown` first to be cancelled. With the war in Europe coming to a climax and word reaching the British government of a new US `super weapon` to be used in the Pacific against the Japanese shortly, budgets were now being looked at and attention to the war debt now seemed to take priority within Parliaments walls. Project Pye was cancelled on the 3rd May 1945.

All was not lost however, with Avro proceeding with the design, refining it and then flying the Avro 691 Lancastrian. Rolls Royce’s Nene engine went on to power the Hawker Sea Hawk and the Supermarine Attacker and infamously the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15. In the US it was built under license as the Pratt & Whitney J42, and it powered the Grumman F9F Panther. The only real casualty of the project was the Lancer bomb, which never saw action and was soon superseded by the Atomic era.

Hope you enjoyed.

Edited November 7, 2012 by tc2324

[Paul J]

CF-116H Wolf 117705 of 419 Squadron at CFB/BFC Cold Lake. Marked with the last two on the rear for Maple Flag exercise.

AAR probe detached at this time. The overall finish is in a transition stage of camo colour and all other insignia so has a mix of toned down red blue roundels on a grey paint job. A bit of a confusion of markings!

Edited November 6, 2012 by Paul J

[Kallisti]

FRS1 Sea Vespid, 041/R 890 NAS, HMS Queen Elizabeth Summer 2017

The story starts in 2010 when the British Government's Strategic Defence and Security Review recommended the installation of CATOBAR on the two new aircraft carriers being build by BAe Systems and VT Group, so that the more capable F-35C version of the Joint Strike Fighter could be used and to preserve cross-platform utilisation with the French and US Navies. BAe Systems calculated the projected costs of installing this system to be twice the estimates given in the Defence Review. This projected cost was rejected by ministers and BAe Systems told to stop taking the piddle and just do it. (This is of course a complete fantasy, but one can wish!).

Fast forward to 2014 - the cost of conversion to CATOBAR ends up being a fraction of the cost BAe Systems quoted and senior management in the company are hauled into court to face charges of attempting to defraud the taxpayer (see I told you it was a fantasy!). The problem now is the F-35 programme is vastly overdue. Problems getting the F 35B STOVL version working in a safe and reliable manner have pushed back the development of the carrier version, which has seen its own share of problems due to the short distance between the main landing gear and the rear of the aircraft. With only 2 years left before HMS Queen Elizabeth is launched, it has no combat aircraft to fly from its deck.

The Ministry of Defence suddenly discovers a long dormant stain of common sense (yet more fantasy!) and decides that in order to not look like total idiots and have aircraft carriers with nothing to fly from them, promptly leases some F/A 18 Super Hornets to use as a temporary stop-gap. Sadly, their common sense ran out and they allowed British Aerospace to persuade them that these new planes needed to be "upgraded" to work with the "new systems" on HMS QE. Thus in 2015, BAe took delivery of the first tranch of FA-18 E's and promptly stored them in a hanger. The costs of the "upgrade" escalated until eventually some VPs of BAe were lined up against a wall and shot. Subsequent progress was rapid and cost effective. The aircraft were re-designated the FRS-1 Sea Vespid and eventually started flying in 2016. Of course HMS QE was also delayed and was not ready for launch in 2016, but finally in the Summer of 2017 the first aircraft in the newly reconstituted 890 NAS arrived on board and HMS Queen Elizabeth undertook her maiden voyage...

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Build thread here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=234927285

[robw_uk]

Folland GNAT-TESS (Twin Engine, Super Sonic).... full details on back story on the wip thread http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=234927252

[stevehed]

Back story quoted on the WIP but in brief the Paralyser lost out to the Handley Page 0/100 for contracts to supply the Admiralty with a heavy bomber. The pre - production aircraft were sold to Imperial Russia where they were operated by the EVK heavy bomber unit alongside Sikorsky Ilya Mourometz aircraft on the Eastern Front.

Regards, Steve

Edited November 11, 2012 by stevehed

[Procopius]

USN F3H Sea Hawk 406 (BuNo 143479) of VF-122, USS Rodman (ex-HMS Victorious), July 1956. This aircraft was shot down by Egyptian anti-aircraft fire over Suez in November of the same year.

"Two of the defining moments of World War II in the Pacific would have to be, respectively, HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse appearing out of the morning mist off Kota Bahru to shatter the Japanese invasion convoys on December 8, 1941, and the crushing defeat of the American carriers at Midway on June 5, 1942. In retrospect, one of these events seems inevitable; we now know the Japanese invasion force was pitifully small, and could likely never have defeated the British garrison, but historians will forever wonder what would have happened had the USS Hornet's aircraft not lead the American strike aircraft in the wrong direction, or if Spruance, instead of Halsey, had commanded the American ships.

"However, we live in the now, and we can only proceed from knowing how events did happen. The subsequent transfer of the Indian Ocean Fleet to Australia, Somerville's surprise victory over the Japanese in the battles of Guadalcanal, these are now forever enshrined in Anglo-American memory, part of the epic of the war in the Pacific. Less discussed are the ramifications for the American carrier force. Between the defeat at Midway and the havoc wreaked by the Nazi atomic attack on Newport News, the American carrier fleet was gutted, and the Americans forced to rely on British carriers for the duration of the war. As the mammoth Malta-class ships were completed, the manpower-starved Royal Navy transferred the older armoured-deck ships to their "impverished cousins", and a generation of US Navy aviators were raised flying Seafires, Barracudas, and Firebrands off of British-built ships. After the war, the US Navy struggled to keep pace, but the nascent Air Force brutally won the wars for funding, gutting the army (suspected of communist infiltration, anyhow) and the navy, and the old British carriers soldiered on, well into the 1970s, by which time they were hopelessly out of date and badly in need of refit.

"The 1950s, however, were a golden age of sorts, as British firms teamed up with American companies to market jets to the USAF and USN; the Hawker-North American F-100 Hunter, the Boeing-Vickers Valiant, and the McDonnell-Hawker Sea Hawk all served well, and well into the 1960s."

My apologies for the photography, I've only my phone's integral camera.

[DaveJL]

Tomcat F.1, 56SQN, Royal Air Force. Build thread is here

Based on the D model Tomcat, the RAF ordered 46 new build jets from Grumman in 1993 for delivery from 1996 onwards. The jets were to supplement/replace the Tornado F.3 fleet and provide the RAF with the best interceptor available at the time. The F.1's were modified with a new communications suite, defensive aides and the ability to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. BAE systems wanted a monopoly on the jets to include installing new ejection seats, fire control system and radar warning receivers, but the MoD said no, and only allowed the minor modifications mentioned above to be added to the finished Grumman product.

56 Sqn was the first to receive the new jets and had its full compliment of 12 by early 1996. The squadron was deployed on Operation Northern Watch, Southern Watch and policed the skies over Kosovo along with her sister squadrons. In November 1999, one 56 Sqn jet successfully engaged and destroyed three Iraqi Air Force MIG-23's that had violated the Northern 'No Fly Zone' in Iraq with the potent AIM-54C+ Phoenix missile. Two were direct hits at a range of 85 miles, while it was believed the 3rd MIG crashed into the ground while trying the evade the Phoenix.

Deliveries of the Tomcat F.1 were completed by 1998 and eventually equipped 3 frontline squadrons, two for QRA and one for operational deployment (although the jets were pooled for the latter). A single training/OCU was also established, with the crews regularly deploying to both 'Red Flag' at Nellis AFB and 'Top Gun' at NAS Fallon, both in Nevada USA. One aircaft was lost in a 'bird strike' flying out of RAF Coningsby. The crew ejected safely. 4 jets were rotated through 1345 Flight at RAF Mount Pleasant on a yearly basis.

The QRA jets regularly intercepted Russian TU-95 Bears and TU-160 Blackjacks off the UK coast.

Dave

[ChancerUK]

Mi 36 Hammer

To meet the demands for greater range payload and speed the Mil design bureau decided that their Mi 24/35 Hind workhorse was still a viable platform for development. Based on the success of the Eurocopter X3 they looked to apply the core principles of twin props on the ends of quite substantial wings, along with the removal of the tail rotor. Unlike the X 3 the Mil design team opted for separate engines for the forward thrust props. They are however, linked by a transverse dive shaft. This has not proved popular among ground crew, though the pilots aren't complaining.

As the helicopter's speed increases the powered lift provided by the main rotor is reduced until it almost operates as an autogyro. Effort was also focused on drag reduction, hence the more streamlined single canopy cockpit and general aerodynamic clean up. Some versions feature a cannon in a retractable mounting while a common configuration is for a chin mounted search radar a pair of fixed 20mm cannons on the starboard side. 6 hard points under each wing offer a very useful payload in some cases this has required rolling takeoffs to be employed. To avoid tying up external hard points with drop tanks, the Mi36 features internal flexible fuel blisters that can be installed in the enlarged cabin. This has become a standard fit and for the most part 8 troops remains the normal capacity. If more are carried getting out in a hurry becomes even more of a challenge, due to the close proximity of the stores and the outboard rotors. The later have earned the nickname of “recruit choppers”.

With tensions increasing over Arctic Circle mineral and oil deposits, the extended range Mi36s provided the on station persistence and capability necessary to ensure that, the Russian state maintained control over its strategic resources. VDV (Airborne) units have regularly seen off American, Norwegian and Canadian incursions into territories yet to be formally recognised as Russian sovereign holdings . As the warming climate makes the Arctic waters increasingly accessible. The Mi36s have been involved in protection of valuable fisheries against unlicensed trawlers, Russian marine units regularly board and inspect suspect vessels. A glance at the Mi36s all to evident offensive capability tends to pacify even the most corsair of captains.

NATO analysts retained the deferential naming practises of recent years by calling the Mi 36 the Hammer, a moniker that was met with approval by its crews.

The Mi36A shown here is Red 22 of the 607th Helicopter Regiment (The Arctic Wolves) based at Monchegorsk Murmansk Oblast adjacent to northern Finland and Norway. During a last years NATO Winter Shield exercise they were observed shadowing Royal Naval amphibious operations. When attempts were made to escort them from the area they easily outpaced the Lynx Wildcat helicopters, only to return soon after and continue the game of hunter and hunted. Though which was which remains uncomfortably open to debate.

Edited December 30, 2012 by ChancerUK

[theplasticsurgeon]

Fully developed TSR-2 deployed to 2 communities of operation.

Know as the Venomous in the strategic strike role, and the Buzzard to tactical squadrons,

it has nose refueling probe, 70s/80s camo scheme, full weapons load - including Sidewinders, full radar and sensor fit, and a field hook.

Edited December 8, 2012 by theplasticsurgeon

[Fifer54]

De Havilland Bisquito F.3

This modelling project grew out of a previous "what-if" build for a GB elsewhere. The backstory was that the Luftwaffe succeeded in destroying all of Britain's bomber manufacturers,

so that an Emergency Heavy Bomber programme was commenced, which resulted in the De Havilland Dagenham B.1 (2 stops past Barking), (which was basically a Twin Mosquito),

and which can be found at http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=234913952&hl=dagenham.

The Dagenham was a great success from the start, taking the fight to Germany very effectively, and taking part in Thousand bomber raids, and

special operations, including attacking the ruhr dams, and sinking the Tirpitz.

Bisquito F.3 grew from a requirement for a long-range heavy fighter for the Pacific campaign, and benefitted from the capture of German gas-turbine

technology, enabling Rolls-Royce to produce axial-flow engines developed from the BMW 003 and Junkers JuMo 004. These became the famous

Rolls-Royce Rhein, Donau and Mosel engines

World war 2 took longer to finish than in the "real world", with D-day occuring in early 1945 with an invasion via the Pas-de-Calais into the Low

Countries and quickly into Northern Germany. Germany was in such chaos that the country was literally disintegrating. Several of the former

states of Imperial Germany decided that they'd had enough and seceded from the Reich. Individually these states surrendered to the Western

Allies, and some changed sides!

The first of these was the former Grand Duchy of Baden. After a short period of de-nazification, Baden formed its own armed forces and was allowed to

take its place in the Allied order of battle to continue the fighting in the rump of the Reich (basically Prussia and Brandenburg).

The Badener Fliegertruppen were equipped with De Havilland Bisquito F.3 ground attack fighters to take part in the great battle for Northern Germany in

April and May 1947.

They proved to be so effective against the Nazi Maus tanks that they nicknamed it the Katze!

The model represents a Katze of 1.Schlachtgruppe, Badener Fliegertruppen, as flown by Hauptmann Hans-Ekkehart Bob, Kommodore of 1.SchGr.

This Bisquito is armed with 8x20mm cannon, 2x57mm Molins guns, 1x30mm cannon in an underwing pod, 10x60lb RPs and 2x250lb bombs.

Hauptmann Bob went on after the war to found BOMAG, the drilling equipment firm. At the age of 95, he is today the world's oldest licensed pilot.

[Deanflyer]

"Early in the morning of January 4th 1967, Bluebird K7 skimmed across Coniston Water on its second run of the day through the measured mile. At the controls was Donald Campbell, (later Sir Donald) and as the end of the run approached, it was clear that the craft was travelling faster than it ever had before. To the immense relief of all, the craft shot past the end marker at 315.27mph, setting a new World Water Speed Record in the process. Subsequent examination of K7 showed that its fuel feed system was faulty, and could have caused the engine to flame out at any time. If this had happened at speed, the thrust necessary to keep the craft nose down in planing trim would have been lost, and could have resulted in disaster. When this was pointed out to Donald, his stoic response was typical: "Well, it didn't."

Donald’s fortunes were resurgent. Backers, so long absent from his record attempts, were buoyed up with the swell of national pride, and floods of offers of sponsorship arrived to regain the Land Speed Record. A vehicle was designed by the Norris brothers to achieve this, named, naturally, Bluebird CN8.

The vehicle was not wheel driven, as the LSR was now held by the Americans at 594mph, and as the record was now held by rocket propelled craft, it was considered to be beyond the reach of driven wheel technology. First, a rocket propelled vehicle was designed and even mocked up, then a jet propelled vehicle was proposed, subsequently revised to twin jet, to be powered by Rolls Royce turbojet engines. RR as a British company, were fully committed to the Campbell project, and donated six engines to the group, along with the necessary corporate backup and technicians to service them.

Construction of the 42ft, eight ton vehicle began at Motor Panels Ltd in Coventry in July 1968, and the first test runs were carried out in December the same year. Although the design deliberately used the twin jets close together along the vehicle’s axis to combat asymmetric thrust problems, longitudinal stability difficulties were still encountered. A single fin was added to the design as it had been with Bluebird K7, this one sourced from a scrap Lightning jet fighter. The vehicle was annotated as Bluebird CN8A.

Also, in line with Donald’s wishes, an ejection seat was fitted to the vehicle to enable rapid egress in case of an emergency. Donald, having already survived a high speed roll in one of the earlier Bluebirds, was not keen to end his life in similar circumstances. This led to problems with siting the steering wheel in a position where it would not obstruct an ejection, and in the end it was decided that the vehicle would be steered by pedals operating both the rudder on the fin and the front wheels, affording 4 degrees of lock. The cockpit was fitted with a grab handle on the right hand side, to stabilise the occupant whose left hand would be gripping the twin throttles.

In February 1969 a series of test runs determined that although stability was now greatly improved, the wheels were incapable of biting into the salt flat surface which would be its track, and tended to allow the vehicle to crab. The wheels were subsequently redesigned with the distinctive “locomotive lip” to aid traction, and it is in this final configuration that Bluebird entered the record books on 30th March 1970, with a new World Land Speed Record of 616.23mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in the USA. This record stood until Gary Gabelich’s Blue Flame reclaimed it for America in October of the same year.

Although successful, Donald declared the driving experience “horrible”, and the vehicle was never run under its own power again. It was on permanent loan to the Beaulieu Motor Collection until Sir Donald’s death in 1987, whereupon it was transferred to the Coventry Museum of Road Transport where it currently resides alongside its British LSR successors, Thrust 2 and Thrust SSC."

Here it is awaiting it's chance:

Cheers,

Dean

[Basosz]

Name: PBY-5 XL Extra Long Range Super Catalina

Kits used: Academy 1:72 Catalina and Revell 1:72 PB4 Y-2 Privateer

Paints used: Motip primer, Motip Aluminuim wheel spray, Tamiya

Decals used: Some kit supplied, rest from this set http://www.aviationm...=240&art=103458

Wash used: HGW Dark Dirt Weathering Wash

Build thread: http://www.britmodel...=234927355&st=0

Prior to the the period described in http://www.britmodel...opic=52978&st=0 the Dutch had a go at some extremely long range reconnaissance bomber/rescue craft based on the PBY Catalina. This research and the resulting airframe was a real boon to the efforts to keep the Japanese at bay during the period where they got the surplus German subs. To realise this they had a good look at a combination of the Cat and the Privateer.

The advantages of the Cat/Privateer combination were obvious: both used the same engines, both are of of the same manufacturer (Consolidated) and both were sea treated (the Privateer due to Navy bases being close to shore). In 1942, famous Dutch airplane designer Anthony Fokker (who rather fortuitously survived pneumococcal meningitis in 1939) went to work in a rather huge old barn if you can believe it because that was the only building available that was big enough to hold such a plane while not being used in the war effort by the US themselves. Progress was fairly rapid due to a high compatibility of parts between the two planes. Some things had to be re-done though like the retractable floats at the end of the Cat wings which were transplanted to the former wheel bays of the Privateer.

There were also some issues with the increased weight of the airplane. The new one was supposed to have six engines but the hull wasn't displacing enough water for that to work so Fokker stole an idea from the Germans (which was OK as he had grown to dislike them at the time, so he had no qualms about stealing ideas from them) and their seaplanes which sometimes were outfitted with small stubby wings. Fokker liked this for it served three purposes. First it gave the plane extra buoyancy in the water, second it gave the plane extra lift in the air (they are just waterproofed bits of wing) and third it generated the ground effect as first described in the 1920's. During take off the SuperCat (as it was being dubbed) became incredibly efficient and this made it a favourite among pilots who flew it. As soon as the plane attained the smallest amount of speed and the leading edge of the wing stubs got out of the water, the airplane just seemed to want to leap out of the water. This was helped by the 48,96 meter wingspan which gave the SuperCat incredible duration in the air and the opportunity to do long-haul flights at low speeds to aid Submarine spotting or SAR duties.

The SuperCat was eventually fitted with sleeping arrangements for reserve flight crews as flights of over 18 hours were more of a rule than an exception. Fuel for these extended missions was carried in the enlarged wings. The six R-1830 Twin Wasp engines gave the heavier SuperCat the power for take offs or to move in attack or emergency situations and many pilots were amazed at the speed the SuperCat could manage. This speed was especially useful when bombing or strafing subs and even some surface ships. During recon missions it wasn't uncommon to turn off 3 of the six engines (two left on for flight, one used for the light, see below). For defence and strafing Fokker had replaced the single .30 calibre in the nose with a twin .50 turret stripped from the Privateer. This turret somewhat hindered the pilots field of view during take-off, but a clever light-weight and retractable periscope system soon took care of that.

The SuperCat was equipped with the purpose built Cat-Eye light. This remote-controlled light was developed from the belly turret of the Privateer by inserting a HUGE spotlight into it. During nightly ASW/SAR missions one of the engines would be run just to supply the Cat-Eye with power. It was a bit of a drain, but the psychological effect of this light on Japanese subs was immense as it would completely blind them and gave the Cat's crew a brilliant light to bomb the target by. As the light was positioned right next to the bomb rack on the right wing, this made bombing runs extremely precise and effective. "Hit the light" got a whole new meaning during this time. The SuperCat was also equipped with several antennae for SigInt purposes during recon flights. The only thing that pilots didn't like about the SuperCat was its slight anhedral which meant that it was a fairly hands-on bird to fly and required a fair bit of constant attention from the pilots.

The design proved to be very successful though and several hundred of the SuperCats were eventually built with later versions being purpose built instead of grafting Privateer wings and other bits on existing Cats. Dozens of these magnificent planes were used in the Korean war to pick up shot-down pilots over water and even today there are several still flying although engines and engine parts are becoming a bit of an issue.

The plane seen in the pictures shown here is a comprehensive rebuilt of the second prototype after it was raised from the pacific ocean off the coast of Seattle where it was shot down by seven Japanese subs. The Dutch crew of that fateful flight was awarded the highest honour available for foreign military men by Congress for spotting the subs, preventing them from launching a devastating attack on the vitally important Seattle harbour, and destroying 3 enemy subs before going down themselves. This was done in a prototype which wasn't even supposed to be in a military engagement but was flight testing the weapons systems. The fact that they took out 3 enemy subs with what are basically practice bombs and a few .50's is simply astounding.

[DaveJL]

Lightning II FGR.1 (F-35B), Royal Air Force, 2022.

Build thread: here

After lengthly delays and political arguments, the F-35 (Lightning II FGR.1 in the UK) finally entered Royal Air Force service in 2020, but the fleet of just 40 jets was grounded almost immediately due to problems in the software for the Storm Shadow cruise missile. Six months later and at an additional cost, the jets were ready. Pilots weren't overly impressed by the aircraft and many preferred to remain on the Typhoon and ageing Tornado GR4. However, by late 2021, their opinions changed as newer software came 'online.' The updated computers and sophisticated avionics thrilled many of the younger generation of pilots and very shortly they would get the chance to prove their worth.

In February 2022, Iran launched a surprise attack on Iraq, fired ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia and Israel, killing many civilians, and attacked the USS Nimitz which was sailing in the Persian Gulf. Condemnation spread and fearing a Nuclear attack, the UN stepped in. Spearheaded by the US, UK and Saudi Arabia, Operation 'Urgent Response' was launched involving large scale air strikes across Iran. The Israeli Government was close to launching an all-out nuclear assault, but were talked down by the United States. The RAF's contribution included 12 Lightning II's.

Flying from Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia, the Lightning II's attacked key facilities around Southern and Eastern Iran and aided SF units on the ground. Armed with the Storm Shadow, enhanced Paveway II, III and IV, the jet performed magnificently, achieving a 98% sortie completion rate, with the advanced and costly avionics proving their worth when penetrating Iran's sophisticated air defence network. One Lightning II successfully engaged and destroyed an IRIAF SU-24, which was attempting to 'sneak' out into the Persian Gulf to attack allied shipping, with an AIM-132 ASRAAM.

12 Strom Shadows were launched by a mixed RAF flight of Typhoons and Lightning II's on the night of 22nd March in what was the prelude to a massive bombardment by USAF B-52's and B-1's on key targets in Tehran. The next day the Iranian government pleaded for a truce....

The aircraft shown here depicts a standard 'early' raid configuration, used to attack Iranian airfields in the south of the country.

Dave

[trickyrich]

CA-23 MkII Funnel Web

Link to build; http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=234929820

Alternate History and Geographic Setting December 1946

The war with Germany in Europe ended in late May 45 with the unconditional surrender of all German forces after the successful assassination of Hitler in the Reichstag by former Kreisau members.

The Allied forces then went on to plunder and seized control of all the advanced German technology that was scattered around the country while herding what was left of Germany’s armed forces into camps.

Tensions between Allied forces reach breaking point in late July after the Soviets and the US accuse each other of plundering Axis secret technology, which result in numerous small clashes in Berlin and surrounding areas between the former Allies.

Mean while in USA on the 15th July a major disaster occurred in San Francisco when the USS Indianapolis explodes in port while nuclear material for the first atomic bombs was being loaded. A Japanese Mini Sub had managed to break through the security of the US port an launched a strike on the largest ship in the port at that moment, which happened to be the USS Indianapolis. The resulting explosions destroyed most of San Francisco, and spread radiation over a huge area of North West California. With this one ship sinking the US lost 90% of all of the nuclear material that was required for the bomb production of the weapons to be used for two strikes on Japan

As a result of this tragedy, the US Congress halts all further work on the nuclear weaponry due to the huge loss of life (+200,000). Which then results in the creation of the 28^th Amendment, which bans the development of nuclear weapons on the continental USA being rushed through and ratified five weeks later (some thought though that this was secretly supported and pushed through by Soviet agents within the US government agencies). The loss of the nuclear program results in the US forces being locked in a stalemate with Japan with conflict stalled on the outer islands around Japan, with Japanese suicide bombers wreaking havoc with US fleets.

In September 45 after months of small skirmishes with their former allies, Stalin orders the Soviet forces there to launch an attack on Allied forces whist the US is distracted.

13th September; War is officially declared on the Russia by remaining Allied forces. They quickly are forced to regroup and form a new alliance that now is referred to as the Allied Alliance.

2^nd October; The Alliance conditionally allows the integration into its forces some of its former Axis foes to help withstand the Soviet onslaught. These new units are made up of former German Army and Airforce personnel and equipment (in some cases former Allied equipment) with new Alliance command structure. Old resentments aside both sides could quickly see what the outcome would have been if an alliance with old foes was not quickly formed.

With the US forces in the Pacific caught up in the stalemate with the Japanese, the Stalin decided to leave Japan alone, for the moment, and use this to his advantage. This presented him with an opportune time to launch a surprise second front south into unprotected Persian Gulf and further. This was to be a campaign for increase dominance and resources with the ultimate aim to make Europe and Asia one big Communist state with Stalin as its leader.

By the beginning 46 Stalin’s forces have continued their push their way through the Gulf States and continued into most of India with little to no resistance. Alliance forces have managed to push the Soviets out of Germany and Czechoslovakia, back into Poland and lower parts of Eastern Europe. The Soviets threat in Europe appeared with time to be just a feint to cover their real aims, which was to engulf Central and South East Asia to the east and completely divide the continent.

By February 46 the Soviet forces had advanced through India, basically unopposed and were advancing towards the border with Burma. Alliance forces in South East Asia try to use the land between the Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal on the border of Burma as a choke point against further Soviet advancement.

Ceylon was completely isolated by Soviet land forces in southern India and left to fend for itself, the Alliance forces operated clandestine operations from here which help keep the Soviets forces at bay and tired up at the same time.

Alliance ground forces rushed to base themselves out of Thailand and Malaya to face the Soviets advances. These forces were made up largely of the Commonwealth Pacific countries and what forces the US could spare from the Japanese theatre. All air operations were quickly moved to this region and were operated out of bases in Thailand, Malaya and Sumatra.

With the Allied Alliance drawing more and more equipment in the renewed conflict with the Soviets in Europe, the numbers of new and replacement from England and the US had taper off drastically for the Commonwealth countries in the Pacific. Resources and manpower they had, new equipment they didn’t.

Then there was the arrival of new Soviets jet powered aircraft, created from newly “captured” German technology. The Alliance was forced to send up worn out and outdated equipment against this new threat, and this was starting to cost them valuable lives.

With newly acquired German designs, along with limited supplies of new aircraft from England and the US, the Commonwealth nations of the Pacific began using their local industries to start the developing new aircraft to meet these new threats.

Back in December 45 while some Australian servicemen were being redeployed to SEA, by chance, secret technical documents (“souvenirs”) were found on some of those returning from Europe. The Australian high command was quick to seize on this and came up with a rather clever idea! Word was quickly spread that there may be some quick cash (and Rum) to be made by anyone that could “provide” any further documents or equipment from old Nazi Germany. So began a rather strange phase of the war where anything not nailed down was either “acquired” or “last seen” near somebody called Bruce or Neville! There is still a story to tell of a German “Pocket” Battleship that mysteriously appeared south of Townsville, it was found stuck in a creek just south of the city. It was found to contain hundreds of cases of Whiskey and French wine (plus lots of empties), though abandoned, there were lots of footprints found in the mud that seemed to be weaving off into the scrub!!

CA-23 MkII Funnel Web

From this activity the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) quickly got hold of both documents and examples of German jet technology. From these a series of new jet power fighter and attack aircraft were designed.

One urgent requirement was for an “All Weather Heavy Fighter/Heavy Attack” aircraft that was urgently needed in the monsoonal conditions uncounted in Burma and other parts of SEA. This resulted in the development of the CA-23 Funnel-Web, an All Weather Radar equipped Heavy Attack/Fighter aircraft in which there were initally two versions, this aircraft rapidly entered service late 46 after a frantic development schedule.

The design was very conservative in wing design, with a straight leading edge, this resulted in an aircraft not designed so much for top speed, but more something that could handle to punishing monsoonal conditions at very low to medium altitudes while still exhibit excellent handling. This also provided a stable weapons platform for the new advance weaponry and avionics that were to be fitted. From the start it was designed for a crew of three, Pilot and Weapons Operator up front and Navigator/Radar Operator in the rear section.

With large diameter wheels and a slight nose up attitude, it allowed the aircraft to operate safely on unprepared surfaces in all weather conditions and kept the engines away from most damaging materials.

The CA-23 was fitted with three engines, all were Junkers Jumo clones, two wing mounted units were Jumo 012’s (an advance version of the 004) producing 2300lbs thrust, while in the fuselage a single larger Junkers Jumo 022 engine was fitted (a more advanced and larger version of the 004 engine which had only being in the design phase) which produced 5900lbs thrust. An unconventional engine layout it was, it still produced superb power for such a large aircraft and had class leading rate of climb, to which it used to its lethal advantage. There was also the added advantage that it could take off and land on just the wing mounted engines or alternately, just cruse at altitude on the single main engine to enhance endurance.

The Mark I was an Attack version that was fitted with the earlier SRC-720 radar from the Northrop P-61 Black Widow. Armament consisted of; 4x20mm cannons in lower fuselage pod and an upper turret with Quad 50cal machine guns. In addition it had six underwing stores points that could hold a large range of stores which could include torpedos, rockets, and the newly designed Air to Surface missiles based on the “Fritz X” and Henschel He 293’s.

The Mark II was the Heavy Fighter, it had a slightly longer radome to house a modified FuG 240 “Berlin” radar which gave it exceptional air to air tracking capability. Armament consisted of; 4x20mm cannons in lower fuselage pod, two wing mounted 20mm cannons, and upper turret with Quad 50cal machine guns, this made it a very formidable all weather heavy fighter. This version was to be the first to be equipped with the newly developed Air to Air missile, the “Currawong”, which was based on the German Ruhrstahl X-4, usually a single missile was mounted under each wing. In addition a newly developed radar detection system that was fitted to the wing tips, this allowed the Funnel-Web to detect and attack enemy aircraft with missiles without the need for the main radar being used!

The aircraft went on to be produced in large numbers, with additional versions being developed, including a swept wing variant. It was used throughout the Pacific and in Europe by most Alliance air forces and had a formidable reputation as the premier All-weather fighter of its time.

In determining a name for this new aircraft the Air Force Procurement Office had many choices to choose from, but in the end there could only be one name deadly assassin of the night!

(The Australian Funnel-Web spider is one of the most dangerous spiders in the world and considered by some to also be the most deadly.)

Edited December 16, 2012 by trickyrich

[trickyrich]

Number 2.....

CA-58 MkII Copperhead

Build link; http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=234929627&hl=

US supplies of new aircraft were slowing down due to the deteriorating conditions in Europe with the escalations of hostilities with the former Allied partner Russia. The Australian government wanted a new long range attack aircraft to counter the Soviet advance into the SEA region following the withdrawal of the Japanese Imperial army from Burma and Thailand.

With the push of Soviet forces into India in early 46, from the Middle East, it became very clear that they would not stop there. Alliance forces quickly drew up a plan to try and stop any possible advance into SEA through a “choke point” between the Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal on the border of Burma.

Alliance ground forces in SEA immediately started positioning themselves in Thailand and Malaya while airbases in Thailand, Malaya and Sumatra were quickly brought into service.

It was quickly realised by the High Command that their equipment was no longer up to the standard of the newer and more numerous Soviets aircraft. Alliance aircraft were in short supply, with most supplies flowing either into Europe or into the East China Sea to support the conflict with Japan.

New aircraft were either not being available or in very limited supply, which required the Australian government to place great stock on indigenously developed aircraft. This resulted in old and new designs from England, the US, and newly acquired German design being developed for RAAF and RNZAF service in SEA. These designs were given to the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC), which started the process of sorting out all the newly acquired material to find what would suitable for the conditions in SEA and what could be developed quickly.

One of the designs acquired under this new program was the Lockheed XP-58 which was original developed as a heavy Long Range Bomber Escort Fighter. After the program was cancelled rather than scaping it was given to the Australian Government in July 45 along will other projects as a good will gesture. The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) chose this project over others for further development as a replacement for the aging A20 Boston/Havoc’s and to replace Beaufighters and Mosquito’s lost in service.

CA-58 Mk II Copperhead

The sole XP-58 shipped to the CAC factory in Avalon, Victoria in September 45 where development was continued at a fast pace. Small changes were made to the overall design were made and a more powerful locally developed version of the Allison V-3420 engine, the V-3420-B, made under license, was fitted.

This resulted in an aircraft with superb handling characteristics both as a heavy escort fighter and ground attack aircraft. It was in the role of a Ground Attack/Anti Shipping aircraft it excelled with good low level speed and stability, plus it packed a big punch with a choice or heavy cannons and machine guns fitted in an interchangeable nose and in two powered turrets, plus and large range of under wing stores.

It still kept the original design for a crew of two, Pilot up the front and a Weapons Operator/Navigator in the rear section.

The aircraft was rushed into service after an accelerated development program late March 46 under the designation of CA-58, owing to it Lockheed roots. With the Mark I being an Heavy/Escort Fighter, the Mark II being the, and the Mark IIb entering service a few months later as an Anti-Shipping version.

• The Mark I was a Long Range Heavy Escort Fighter designed for bomber escort duties and was fitted with the 3000HP Allison V-3420-B engine. Its main consisted of; 4x20mm cannons and 2x50cal machine guns in the nose, with remote controlled upper and lower turrets each fitted with 2x50cal machine guns. The Mark I was designed primarily as a long range heavy escort fighter, but in the SEA conflict it found itself up against much smaller and more manoeuvrable conventional and later jet fighters. As a result of this the Mark I was not produced in any large numbers and many were converted to the Anti-Shipping MkIIb variant.
  

• The Mark II was the Ground Attack version and was fitted with additional under wing stores points and went into service May 46. The engine was upgraded to the new 3400HP V-3420-C5LA, this engine was more suited to the humid conditions of SEA and provided increased take off weights and reliability. Armament consisted of; 4x37mm LV Cannons and 2x50cal machine guns in the nose, with remote controlled upper and lower turrets each fitted with 2x50cal machine guns. In addition it had six underwing stores points that could hold a large range of stores which could include torpedos, plus the additional ability to mount 4x5””rockets under each wing. Aircrews quickly found the Mark II to be an excellent handling aircraft with performance to match. With a top speed in excess of 500mph and a range of 2700NM, it proved to be ideally suited for air operations over the Bay of Bengal.
  

• The Mark IIb was a development of the MkII and was primarily design as an Anti-Shipping version with the main change being the removal of the Quad 37mm cannons and the fitment of a single 75mm cannon. This proved to be devastating on small to medium sized ships and was quickly entered into service with the American forces in the China Sea.
  

The aircraft was given the name Copperhead, which was a native snake commonly found in central inland Victoria.

[Max Headroom]

Spitfire I at Templehof in September 1939 - no war in Europe, because all the Nazis 'met with an accident'.

Moments after these photos were taken, the cat swiped it off the table

:shithappens:

Build thread

http://www.britmodel..._from=quickedit

Fortunately for the cat, the only damage was to the tailwheel........fixed.

Thanks for looking

Trevor

Edited December 19, 2012 by Max Headroom

[Enzo the Magnificent]

Supermarine Victor Mk XIV

What if the Rolls-Royce Vulture engine had been successful and so RR abandoned development of the Griffon?

The Supermarine Victor is a Spitfire with a Napier Sabre engine.

Build thread here.

[Arniec]

Sea Harrier FA3, 801 squadron, near Ascension island.

The Royal Navy was not entirely satisfied with the Sea Harrier 2 and were looking at a replacement. They were looking at the Harriers from the RAF and envied them for their modern stuff. Because the RAF Harrier force had to shrink there were comming some harriers GR 7's free for the FAA. These were accepted and were rebuild with the Blue Vixen radar sets taken from the Sea Harrier 2 force. Because the GR 7's were originaly meant to be attack aircraft, the FAA also got a good ground attack airplane for its forces.

Because of the start of the economic crisis the Royal Navy had to cut back. The cutback meant that the Royal Navy had to give up their carrier including the Sea Harrier force.

It also meant that the forces to defend the Falklands was given up and there was only a small force of Royal Marines left there. The Argantinians saw their chances growing to get the Malvinas back. Just a few months before the carriers including the Sea Harriers were mothbaled the Argantinians atacked again the Falklands and took them.

Again it was made the decision to free the citizens from the Falklands. Also the finding of oil and Gas reserves there were taken into this decision.

The Sea Harrier seen here is enroute to the Falklands on HMS Ark Royal, just before the second Falkland war started.

bulding tread here : http://www.britmodel...topic=234927316

cheers,

Edited December 27, 2012 by Arniec

[Daniel]

All done,

Dan

Edited December 29, 2012 by Daniel

[Adam Maas]

Luftwaffe Mi224D-1 Spitfire, II/JG3 of 2 TAF, near Murmansk, February 1947.

Academy Spitfire XIVc 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr

Academy Spitfire XIVc 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr

Academy Spitfire XIVc 1/72 by mawz_models, on Flickr

[Col.]

Experience gained in the Eastern and Pacific theatres by early 1943, where Japanese fighters had proved a deadly foe to their British counterparts, led the Royal Navy to look for an improvement over the Seafire III that was about to enter service. While a Rolls Royce Griffon engined Seafire was initially considered this option was seen as too far from service entry due to engine shortages following a V1 strike on the production plant, problems with the supercharger clutch failing at high RPM & boost settings, aileron reversal due to the opposite rotation of the new engine in comparison to the old Merlin, and the need for the then new Spitfire XII in the European theatre. An interim solution was offered by way of surplus Spitfire IXs mid-way through production at Westland's factory that could be more easily modified in a similar manner as was being done to the Mk. Vs during their re-working to Seafire III standard.

Wing folds, fuselage and undercarriage strengthening, catapult and arrestor gear were all rapidly worked into the Mk. IX airframe using experience gained from the Seafire I, II & III conversions to produce what was now known as the Seafire IV and the first prototype was ready for flight testing by November 1943. Full production was underway by February 1944 and deliveries to 802 Sqn. began during July of that year.

Initial combat trials showed the IV to be a better high-level fighter than the Seafire III whereas the latter had an advantage during lower-level operations. This, however, soon proved to be a point in the Seafire IVs favour when a new high-flying threat appeared in the Pacific theater.

On 10th March 1945 the US and British fleets were hit by guided missiles fired from a highly modified version of the Fw-200 Condor operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. This aircraft had a fully pressurised crew compartment reverse-engineered from technology found in crashed USAF B-29 and carried guided missiles developed by German scientists who had been evacuated along with Hitler and the Nazi high command when it became clear the Allies were too far advanced to be stopped. A further attack on the 14th from three of these machines inflicted notable damage upon two ships of the US Fleet without any effective defence and caused great concern amongst Allied commanders and personel alike. A third attack the following day was foiled by chance when two of the modified Fw-200 were intercepted by a Seafire IV operating at maximum altitude while on a test flight. One of the attackers was shot down and while the other pressed on its missiles failed to hit any ships before it was forced to retreat.

The Seafire IV were soon back in action and the following three months seen them claim the greatest share of victories over what was now known to be the Yokosuka/Mitsubushi G9M but at the time codenamed 'Booby'. Many Seafire pilots claimed the hardest part of their victories during those months came from gaining suficient warning to climb to the Booby's operating altitude before they were within launching range, for the G9M carried little in the way of defense and had no protection for its crew or fuel systems, a few well placed cannon shells were usually enough to get the job done.

The Seafire IV was also used in the intial invasion of mainland Japan just prior to being relegated to other duties when the Griffon-engined Seafire XV came into service. Post-war the majority of surviving aircraft were transfered to the French and Canadian navies with a few remaining in the Fleet Air Arm as squadron hacks.

[Dermo245]

Wiith limited modifications, Typhoon would be capable of carrier operations across the full range of environmental conditions, and would have comparable take-off and landing performance to equivalent multi-role naval aircraft. This would allow Typhoon's exceptional operational capability to be employed in the naval domain". - Eurofighter Consortium; 2011.

899 Naval Air Squadron operating the Sea Typhoon aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth II in Eastern Mediterranean, July 2014 in support of no fly zone over Syria.

Dermot