Quote from: kerick on May 14, 2024, 08:32:30 AMAt first glance at the HC-97 I thought it was a C-130 with a new face. That would be quite a whiff! Perhaps a C-97 fuselage with C-130 wings and fuselage. It would have to be a one of a kind hammered together by a backwater depot as I can't see Boeing and Lockheed working together on a production version.

They tried to build a turboprop version of the C-97 as the YC-97.  It wasn't adopted.

There is a 1/72 C-130 model kit which has a full clear front section with the separate nose, it could be an old ESCI. The 1/72 Academy C-97 I think would be the donor and the C-130 wings would fit. The tail fits as well and you could glue the nose from the C-130.
On one of my started builds I have combined the Alison T-56 turboprops with the cowlings from the C-97, I trimmed the C-97 propellers.

If you want see it on dA: click here
Backstory:
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Sava Alari Islands (CIA World Fact Book) – A tropical volcanic island chain running in an approximate arc to the northwest across the northern coast of continental Londthyria, from approximately 10-1000 nautical miles. 
Sidikadahl Island, around 300 square miles in area and one of several moderately sized islands in the chain, is the northwestern most occupied point of the Londthyrian Confederacy, with a year-round civilian population of 8000 land and sea elves.  The island is a major source of tropical fruit, sugarcane, and coffee.  Fishing, a nascent eco-tourism economy, and a portion of the population is employed directly by the Londthyrian Ministry of Defense, round out the non-agricultural economy of the island.  The island has biweekly ferry service from the mainland, twice weekly SARO Princess combi seaplane service (ex G-ALUN), and weekly Sandringham service via Confederation Steam Packet and Airlines.  Military personnel and their dependents transferring between Sidikadahl Military District and the mainland have weekly VC.10 rotator service. 

Geographically, Sidikadahl Island is an extinct weathered shield volcano.  The large caldera forms the eastern side of the island, allowing for terraced agriculture along the northern and western caldera walls; the eastern and southern walls have collapsed and form a large, shallow harbor and port facilities sheltered from most storms.

The Sidikadahl Military District, currently commanded by Rear Admiral of the Red Ariawyn Raycraft, Lady Raycraft, was set up by the Londthyrian Ministry of Defense after the end of the Pacific War (World War II, Pacific Theater of Operations), providing an early warning and defensive forward base along a presumed axis of attack. One key factor for the development of the island was both the remoteness and low civilian population.  The District takes up a significant area of the western portion of the island (141 square miles), and is comprised of Sidikadahl Airbase (35 square miles), Sidikadahl Naval Station (6.7 square miles), and Camp Sidikadahl (99.3 squaremiles).  Several Londthyrian Confederacy Forces specialty schools also occupy the District. Sidikadahl Airbase is home to the First Strategic Air Division of the Londthyrian Confederacy Air Service.  The remainder of the western portion of the island is dense tropical rain forest, managed jointly by the Londthyrian Ministries of Defense and Interior.

The southwest portion of the island has a shallow water harbor is home to Sidikadahl Naval Station and Sidikadahl Airbase on the southeastern shore.  The harbor itself is occupied by a large (441 acre (178 ha) island; this island is used as both anchorage and base for 57th Rescue Squadron, LCAS (Sunderland) and 66th Squadron, LCAS (Albatross), and anchorage for CVBG-1's vessels.  Sidikadahl Airbase is home to the First Air Force (Composite), which began as the First Air Division (Strategic) during the early 1960s, and CVW-1.

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The First Air Division began first as a headquarters only unit, tasked with coordinating naval air and air service units with intercepting Sino-Soviet intruders, with air assets rotating in and out of Sidikadahl Airbase.  On 29 April 1962, a pair of Tu-95 Bear-E photo-reconnaissance bombers penetrated the Londthyrian Confederacy's air defense identification zone. The outgoing interceptor squadron, the 519th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, had already sent most of their F-104As back to home station, and the incoming 539th (F-106C/D) was still in the process of standing up prior to taking over duties. On 30 April, Air Defense Command suspended the 519th's commander and operations detachment commander pending the outcome of the investigation.  On 1 May, the 539th's orders were amended from 180-day temporary duty to permanent change of station orders.  Throughout the winter (northern hemisphere summer) of 1962 non-TDY personnel, dependents, and household goods were relocated, at government expense, to Sidikadahl Military District.  Construction for dependent housing and facilities (commissary, primary and secondary schools, exchange), permanent MWR facilities were also started at this time.  In 1967, the 57th Tactical Fighter Squadron was assigned to support the 539th FIS in air intercept, while also working with Londthyrian Army elements at Camp Sidikadahl to develop an integrated close air support mission.

Throughout 1963 through 1964, the MoD entered negotiations with the AVRO, Handley Page, and Vickers for the purchase of V-bombers; with the withdrawal from service of the Vickers Valiant from the RAF for fatigue cracks and crystalline corrosion in the wing spars, the MoD commissioners instead began negotiating with Vickers/BAC for the purchase of VC.10 in single class and combination configurations and looking into the Model 1180/1181 Super VC.10.  Contracts were signed with AVRO and Handley Page for three squadrons of both Vulcan and Victor bombers, and sufficient reconnaissance pallets to equip one full squadron and one half-squadron of Victors.  An additional contract was signed with AVRO for conversion of four existing squadrons worth of Shackleton MR.2Ls into Shackleton WR.1Ls.

With the arrival of Vulcans of 24th and 25th Bomb Squadrons (Medium), the Shackletons of Detachment 1, 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, and the KC-880s of 7th ARS added to the 539th FIS and 114th OCU, at the beginning of 1966 First Air Division was stood down, and Headquarters, First Air Division (Strategic) was stood up on the same day. Throughout 1966 and 67, the Londthyrian Air Ministry continued to transfer additional units to Sidikadahl Airbase; First Air Division (Strategic) was awarded initial operations capability (IOC) at the start of FY68. 

First Air Division operates in a manner different from other air divisions in the Londthyrian Air Service or allied air forces.  Units normally assigned at a group level, such as operations squadrons and aircraft maintenance squadrons, are consolidated into wing level organizations, centralizing command, control, and logistics.  First Medical Wing was stood up and is organized to support, in addition to Sidikadahl Airbase, Camp and Naval Station Sidikadahl, as well as local communities within the footprint of Camp Sidikadahl's training area.  Two C-141s of the 18th Airlift Squadron can be configured for mass casualty evacuation aircraft, while one of the VC-140s from 31st Airlift Flight can be configured into an air ambulance for patient evacuation. The First Security Forces Wing consolidates the Air Services' First Security Police Group, Naval Security & Shore Patrol Activity, Provost Marshal's Office, associated investigative divisions, with liaisons the Confederation National Constabulary and Sidikadahl Constabulary under one roof.

The capabilities of the First Air Division were put to the test over the 1968 Christmas holiday when a distress call from the NYK Lines passenger ship, the MV Kobayashi Maru (formerly the SS Normandie), was received by the Londthyrian Confederacy Rescue Coordination Center, which forwarded the distress call and the First Air Division's command post.  Within fifteen minutes, the alert HC-97 was roaring down the runway, followed by a KC-97M. Within 30 minutes, the alert Sunderland followed from Sidikadahl Naval Air Station.  One of 1st SRS's Victors, returning from a training sortie over Norfolk Island[1], was diverted to the disaster area.  Orbiting over the foundering passenger ship, the crew established contact with the ship and acted as both a radio relay and observation post. Reports were forwarded to the first responding HC-97, Sutherland, and Sidikadahl Command Post that the ship had been struck by a "wave of significant height when compared to the other waves, knocking out the bridge and main power.  Several hull plates were stove in, flooding her forward two compartments."  The Victor crew also reported that the ship was wallowing beam on in rough seas, with occasional larger rolling the ship towards her beam ends.

Over the course of Christmas Day 1968, a steady stream of aircraft, notably the Shorts Sunderlands of the 36th Rescue Squadron.  Coordinating with the RNZAF, Sunderlands would load survivors from lifeboats, launch, and fly to Aukland, where they would land in in the Upper Waitematā Harbor then disembark the survivors are RNZAF Whenuapai, refuel and make their way back to the shipwreck for more survivors.  All told, almost 3000 passengers and crew were successfully rescued from the wreck of the Kobayashi Maru before she capsized and sank. On the 29th of April 1969, pararescuemen MSgt. Zarlae Illykur and SSgt. Kelwarin Rosti were awarded the Japanese Medal of Honor (red ribbon) by Emperor Hirohito for their actions aboard the Kobayashi Maru, parachuting and then boarding the listing vessel ensuring all passengers and crew were off, before discovering and leading children abandoned in their dining room topside and on to one of the last lifeboats launched.
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[1] This training sortie was conducted with the approval of the RAAF and Australian government, with the resulting photographic and sensor data to be provided to the Australian Survey Office, Division of National Mapping, BMR, and Department of Defence

I take it that the WR.1 has the AN/APS-20 radar housed in the nose for weather reconnaissance, unlike the MR.3 L which uses the ASV.21 housed in the dustbin under the rear fuselage. This has three positions: fully-retracted for take-off,  transit and landing,  semi-extended for search with minimal drag and fully extended for making attacks.

Quote from: McColm on May 19, 2024, 05:09:10 AMI take it that the WR.1 has the AN/APS-20 radar housed in the nose for weather reconnaissance, unlike the MR.3 L which uses the ASV.21 housed in the dustbin under the rear fuselage. This has three positions: fully-retracted for take-off,  transit and landing,  semi-extended for search with minimal drag and fully extended for making attacks.

The WR.1s fly the exact same mission profile as the USAF's W(x)-series (currently WC-130) aircraft - penetrate the storm and sample the storm system, then report the data back about said tropical storm.  The sonobouy deployment system was modified for dropsonde deployment.  Other aircraft belonging to civilian government agencies are tasked with tracking the storms through radar-equipped aircraft (like WP-3s), and in coordination with LCAS WR.1s

Post 17 has been updated with the backstory