North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; 860th Squadron, NL-MLD, Indondesia region, 1960.

Dizzyfugu · February 04, 2013, 01:15:46 AM

Some background:
The North American FJ-4 Fury was a swept-wing carrier-capable fighter-bomber, originally developed for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. It was the final development in a lineage that included the Air Force's F-86 Sabre. The FJ-4 shared its general layout and engine with the earlier FJ-3, but featured an entirely new wing design. And it was, as a kind of final embodiment with the FJ-4B, a very different aircraft from the F-86.

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The first FJ-4 flew on 28 October 1954 and delivery began in February 1955. Of the original order for 221 FJ-4 fighters, the last 71 were modified into the FJ-4B fighter-bomber version, of which the Netherlands received 16 aircraft under the designation FJ-4B from the USA in the course of NATO support. Even though the main roles of the MLD were maritime patrol, anti-submarine warfare and search and rescue, the FJ-4B was a dedicated fighter-bomber, and these aircraft were to be used with the Dutch Navy's Colossus-Class carrier HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81).

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Compared to the lighter FJ-4 interceptor, the FJ-4B had a stronger wing with six instead of four underwing stations, a stronger landing gear and additional aerodynamic brakes under the aft fuselage. The latter made landing safer by allowing pilots to use higher thrust settings, and were also useful for dive attacks. Compared to the FJ-4, external load was doubled, and the US FJ-4Bs were capable of carrying a nuclear weapon on the inboard port station, a feature the MLD Furies lacked. The MLD aircraft were still equipped with the corresponding LABS or Low-Altitude Bombing System for accurate delivery of ordnance.

The Dutch Furies were primarily intended for anti-ship missions (toting up to five of the newly developed ASM-N-7 missiles - renamed in AGM-12B Bullpup after 1962 - plus a guidance pod) and CAS duties against coastal targets, as well as for precision strikes. In a secondary role, the FJ-4B could carry Sidewinder AAMs for interception purposes.

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The MLD's FJ-4B became operational in 1956, just in time to enhance the firepower of the Karel Doorman, which just had its 24 WW-II era propeller driven Fairey Firefly strike fighters and Hawker Sea Fury fighter/anti-ship aircraft backed up with 14 TBF Avenger ASW/torpedo bombers and 10 Hawker Sea Hawk fighters (the MLD owned 22 of these) for an ASW/Strike profile. The Furies joined the carrier in late 1957 and replaced the piston-engined attack aircraft.

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In 1960, during the Dutch decolonization and planned independence of Western New Guinea, a territory which was also claimed by Indonesia, the Karel Doorman set sail along with two destroyers and a modified oil tanker to 'show the flag'. In order to avoid possible problems with Indonesia's ally Egypt at the Suez Canal, the carrier instead sailed around the horn of Africa. She arrived in Fremantle, Australia, where the local seamen's union struck in sympathy with Indonesia; the crew used the propeller thrust of aircraft chained down on deck to nudge the carrier into dock without tugs! In addition to her air wing, she was ferrying twelve Hawker Hunter fighters to bolster the local Dutch defense forces, which the Karel Doorman delivered when she arrived at Hollandia, New Guinea.

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

During the 1960 crisis, Indonesia prepared for a military action named Operation Trikora (in the Indonesian language, "Tri Komando Rakyat" means "The Three Commands of the People"). In addition to planning for an invasion, the TNI-AU (Indonesian Air Forces) hoped to sink the Karel Doorman with Soviet-supplied Tupolev Tu-16KS-1 Badger naval bombers using AS-1 Kennel/KS-1 Kometa anti-ship missiles. This bomber-launched missile strike mission was cancelled on short notice, though, because of the implementation of the cease-fire between Indonesia and the Netherlands.

This led to a Dutch withdrawal and temporary UN peacekeeping administration, followed by occupation and annexation through Indonesia. While the Dutch aircraft served actively during this conflict, flying patrols and demonstrating presence, visibly armed and in alert condition, no 'hot' sortie or casualty occured, even though one aircraft, 10-18, was lost in a start accident. The pilot ejected safely.

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The MLD FJ-4Bs only served on the carrier until its overhaul in 1964, after which the carrier-borne attack role was eliminated and all aircraft were transferred to land bases (Valkenburg) or in reserve storage. The Seahawks were retired from service by the end of the 1960s after the sale of the Karel Doorman to Argentina, and the FJ-4Bs were returned to the United States, where they were re-integrated into the USMC until the end of the 1960ies, when all FJ-4 aircraft were phased out.

General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 36 ft 4 in (11.1 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 1 in (11.9 m)
Height: 13 ft 11 in (4.2 m)
Wing area: 338.66 ft² (31.46 m²)
Empty weight: 13,210 lb (6,000 kg)
Loaded weight: 20,130 lb (9,200 kg)
Max. take-off weight: 23,700 lb (10,750 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Wright J65-W-16A turbojet, 7,700 lbf (34 kN)

Performance:
Maximum speed: 680 mph (1,090 km/h) at 35,000 ft (10,670 m)
Range: 2,020 mi (3,250 km) with 2× 200 gal (760 l) drop tanks and 2× AIM-9 missiles
Service ceiling: 46,800 ft (14,300 m)
Rate of climb: 7,660 ft/min (38.9 m/s)
Wing loading: 69.9 lb/ft² (341.7 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: .325

Armament:
4× 20 mm (0.787 in) cannon
6× pylons under the wings for 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) external ordnance, including up to 6× AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs, bombs and guided/unguided ASM, e .g. ASM-N-7 (AGM-12B Bullpup) missiles.

The kit and its assembly:
Originally, this model project was inspired by a (whiffy) Dutch F3H Demon profile, designed by fellow user Darth Panda here at whatifmodelers.com. I found the idea of a foreign/NATO user of one of these early carrier-borne jet fighters very inspiring – not only because of the strange design of many of these aircraft, but also since the USN and USMC had been the only real world users of many of these types.

Initially, I planned to convert a F3H accordingly. But with limited storage/display space at home I decided to apply the MLD idea to another smaller, but maybe even more exotic, type: the North American FJ-4B Fury, which was in 1962 recoded into AF-1E.
I like the beefy Sabre cousin very much. It's one of those aircraft that received little attention, even from model kit manufacturers. In fact, in 1:72 scale there are only vintage vacu kits or the very basic Emhar kit available. Th Emhar kit, which I used here and which is a kind donation of a fellow modeler (Thanks a lot, André!), a rather rough thing with raised panel lines and much room for improvements. As a side note, there's also a FJ-4B from Revell, but it's just a 1996 re-issue with no improvements, whatsoever.

Another facet of the model: When I did legwork concerning a possible background story, I was surprised to find out that the Netherlands actually operated aircraft carriers in the 1950s, including carrier-borne, fixed-wing aircraft, even jets in the form of Hawker Sea Hawks. The real life FJ-4Bs service introduction, the naissance of NATO and the Indonesian conflict as well as the corresponding intervention of the Karel Doorman carrier all fell into a very plausible time frame – and so there's a very good and plausible story why the MLD could actually have used the Fury fighter bomber!

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst (MLD); on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81), New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst (MLD); on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81), New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The Emhar kit was not modified structurally, but saw some changes in detail. These include a scratch-built cockpit with side walls, side consoles and a new ejection seat, plus a Matchbox pilot figure, a new front wheel (from a Kangnam Yak-38, I believe), plus a lot of added blade aerials and a finer pitot.
The flaps were lowered, for a more lively look- Another new feature is the opened air intake, which features a central splitter - in fact a vertically placed piece of a Vicker Wellesley bomb container from Matchbox. At the rear end, the exhaust pipe was opened and lengthened internally.

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst (MLD); on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81), New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst (MLD); on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81), New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The six weapon hardpoints were taken from the original kit, but I did not use the four Sidewinder AAMs and the rather bulky drop tanks. So, all ordnance is new: the Bullpups come from the Hasegawa air-to-ground missile set, the drop tanks are leftover pieces from a Hobby Boss F-86. They are much more 'delicate', and make the Fury look less stout and cumbersome. The guidance pod for the Bullpups (a typical FJ-4B feature with these weapons) is a WWII drop tank, shaped with the help of benchmark pictures. Certainly not perfect, but, hey - it's just a MODEL!

Painting and markings:
I used mid-1950ies MLD Sea Furys and Sea Hawks as a design benchmark, but this Fury is placed just into the time frame around 1960 when the MLD introduced a new 3-digit code system. Before that, a code "6-XX" with the XX somewhere in the 70 region would have been appropriate, and I actually painted the fuselage sides a bit darker so as if the old code had recently been painted over.

Dutch MLD aircraft tended to keep their former users' liveries, but in the FJ-4B's case I thought that a light grey and white aircraft (USN style) with Dutch roundels would look a bit odd. So I settled for early NATO style with Extra Dark Sea Grey upper sides (Humbrol 123) and Sky from below (Testors 2049 from their Authentic Line).

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst (MLD); on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81), New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

I also went for an early design style with a low waterline - early Hawker Sea Furies were painted this way, and a high waterline would probably be more typical. But in the face of potential seriosu action, who knows...? Things tend to be toned down quickly, just remember the RN Harriers during the Falkland conflict. I'll admit that the aircraft looks a bit simple and dull now, but this IMHO just adds to the plausible look of this whif. I prefer such subtleties to garish designs.

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst (MLD); on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81), New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst (MLD); on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81), New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The surfaces were weathered with dry-brushed lighter shades of the basic tones (mostly Humbrol 79, but also some 140 and 67, and Humbrol 90 and 166 below), including overpainted old codes in a slightly darker tone of EDSG, done with Revell 77. A light wash with black ink emphasizes edges and some details - the machine was not to look worn.

The interior was painted in medium grey (Humbrol 140), the landing gear is white (Humbrol 130), and some details like the air intake rim, the edges of the landing gear covers, the flaps or the tips of the wing fences were painted in bright red (Humbrol 174), for some contrast to the overall grey upper sides.

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst (MLD); on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81), New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The MLD markings were puzzled together. The roundels come from an Xtradecal sheet for various Hawker Sea Furies, the '202' code comes, among others, from a Grumman Bearcat aftermarket sheet. The 'KON. MARINE' line is hand-made, letter by letter, from a TL Modellbau aftermarket sheet.
Most stencils and warning sign decals come from the original decal sheet, as well as from a FJ-4 Xtradecal aftermarket sheet, from F-86 kits and the scrap box. I wanted these details to provide the color to the aircraft, so that it would not look too uniform, but still without flashy decorations and like a rather utilarian military item.

Finally, the model received a coat of semi-matt varnish (Tamiya Acryllic), since MLD aircraft had a pretty glossy finish. No dirt or soot stains were added - the Dutch kept their (few) shipborne aircraft very clean and tidy!

1:72 North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; aircraft '202', 860th Squadron, Netherlands Marine-Luchtvaartdienst/MLD; on board of HNLMS Karel Doorman R81, New Guinea/Indonesia region, 1960 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

So, all in all, a simple looking aircraft, but this Dutch Fury has IMHO a certain, subtle charm - probably also because it is a rather rare and unpopular aircraft, which in itself has a certain whiffy aura.

North American FJ-4B 'Fury'; 860th Squadron, NL-MLD, Indondesia region, 1960.

Dizzyfugu