DONE +++ Blackburn Bonxie T.I 'NY-B'/‘T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron

[Dizzyfugu]

Actually, a lot happened there, under the real "Operation Valentine". Stumbled across the Faroes and their history during 1940 while researching potential operators for the BoB GB, and this is a kind of tribute to a rather forgotten strategic outpost in the Northern Atlantic.

More infos to come with the background story and beauty pics soon. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Here we go... the 1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940.

1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Some background:
The British occupation of the Faroe Islands in World War II, also known as Operation Valentine, was implemented immediately following the German invasion of Denmark and Norway.In April 1940, the United Kingdom occupied the strategically important Faroe Islands to preempt a German invasion.

At the time of the occupation, the Faroe Islands had the status of an amt (county) of Denmark.
On 12 April, two destroyers of the British Royal Navy arrived in Tórshavn harbour, the Faroe capital. Following a meeting with Carl Aage Hilbert (the Danish Prefect of the Islands) and Kristian Djurhuus (President of the Løgting, the Faroese Parliament), an emergency meeting of the Løgting was convened the same afternoon.

1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Pro-independence members tried to declare the independence of the Faroe Islands from the Kingdom of Denmark but were outvoted. An official announcement was made later, announcing the occupation and ordering a nighttime blackout in Tórshavn and neighboring Argir, the censorship of post and telegraphy and the prohibition of the use of motor vehicles during the night without a permit.

On 13 April, the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Suffolk arrived at Tórshavn. Colonel T B W Sandall (the British military commander) and Frederick Mason (the new British Consul to the Faroe Islands) then met with the Danish Prefect. The Prefect responded with what Sandall took to be a formal protest, although Hilbert maintained that owing to the occupation of Denmark he was unable to formally represent the Danish government. He duly accepted the British terms on the basis that the UK would not seek to interfere with the internal affairs of the islands. A formal protest was made by the Løgting, albeit expressing the wish for friendly relations. 250 Royal Marines were disembarked, later to be replaced by other British troops.

1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


In practice, cordial relations were maintained between the British forces and the Faroese authorities.
On 25 April 1940 the British authorities recognized the Faroese flag — Merkið — as the civil ensign of the Faroe Islands. The traditional Faroese coat of arms was, however, not reintroduced until the formal introduction of home rule on 23 March 1948. As a consequence and sign of respect, Faroese ships were allowed (and actually had) to hoist the Faroese flag and paint FAROES / FØROYAR on the ships' sides, thus allowing the Royal Navy to identify them as "friendly".

This principle was also adopted for other British equipment under Operation Valentine, underlining the defensive nature of the task and the islands' special status.

1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In May 1940, the Royal Marines were replaced by soldiers of the Lovat Scouts, a Scottish Regiment, and more military equipment was deployed to the islands, including ships and aircraft. Since it was not before 1943 that an operational airfield on the island of Vágar by the Royal Engineers was established, all aircraft had to be waterborne. The small air force with Faroese markings included three Fairey Seafox reconnaissance aircraft, two Supermarine Walrus flying boats and five Blackburn Bonxie floatplanes (a torpedo bomber based on the Blackburn Skua dive bomber), which were later replaced and augmented by several Fairey Swordfish and Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V on floats.

All these aircraft were allocated to the newly established RAF 362 Squadron and piloted by Danish and Norwegian crews in British exile, purely dedicated to the Faroe Islands Defense. The machines kept their original British serial numbers and tactical codes, but the RAF roundels were replaced by Merkið banners on the wings and the fin rudder.

1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


On 20 June 1940, five Swedish naval vessels arrived in the Faroe Islands. Four were destroyers bought from Italy, one with civilian passengers; the fifth was a tanker converted to military status. Britain seized all the ships under armed threat, and moved them to the Shetland Islands. Although Sweden was a neutral country and not at war with Britain, the British were afraid that Germany would seize them if they continued to Sweden. After political negotiations, Sweden secured their return. The British Navy had stripped equipment and caused damage to the ships, for which Britain later gave compensation.

The Faroe Islands suffered occasional attacks by German Luftwaffe aircraft in the course of the war, but a full-scale invasion was never attempted. Frequently, German long-range reconnaissance aircraft were intercepted and a single Fw 200 Condor was shot down by a Spitfire floatplane of 362 Squadron. Drifting sea mines proved to be a bigger problem and resulted in the loss of numerous fishing boats and their crews.

Once the Vágar airfield became operational in early 1943, 362 Squadron exchanged many of its water-based aircraft for more modern, land-based aircraft, even though the Supermarine Walrus floatplanes were kept for SAR duties. From 1944 onwards the British Faroe garrison was considerably reduced, and British troops left shortly after the end of the war.



Specifications:
    Crew: 2
    Length (fuselage only): 35 ft 7 in (10.85 m)
    Length (over floats): 38 ft  (11.60 m)
    Wingspan: 46 ft (14.02 m)
    Height: 12 ft 1 in (3.68 m)
    Wing area: 310 ft² (28.8 m²)
    Empty weight: 6,121 lb (2,782 kg)
    Loaded weight: 7,950 lb (3,614 kg)

Powerplant:
    1 × Bristol Perseus XII radial engine, 890 hp (664 kW)

Performance:
    Maximum speed: 194 kn (223 mph, 359 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,050 m)
    Cruise speed: 117 knots (135 mph, 217 km/h) [20]
    Range: 704 nmi (810 mi, 1,304 km) with 70 imp gal (320 l; 84 US gal) long-range tank
    Service ceiling: 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
    Rate of climb: 1,500 ft/min (7.6 m/s)
    Wing loading: 25.6 lb/ft² (125 kg/m²)
    Power/mass: 0.11 hp/lb (0.18 kW/kg)

Armament:
    2× 0.303 in (7.7 mm) forward-firing Browning machine guns in the outer wings
    1× 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis or Vickers K machine gun on flexible mount in rear cockpit
    1 × 1,500 lb (680 kg) torpedo under the fuselage, or a single 1.000 lb (454 kg) bomb
    alternatively 4× 100 lb (45kg) bombs or 8× 30 lb (14 kg) practice bombs under the wings



1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Blackburn Bonxie T.I; aircraft 'NY-B'/'T1675' of RAF 362 (Faroe Islands) Squadron, Sørvágur Harbor/Vágar, during Operation Valentine, summer 1940 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Gondor]

Another great build where the mundane gets changed into something wonderful.

Gondor

[The Rat]

My gob has officially been smacked!

[Hotte]

a real beauty 


Hotte

[PR19_Kit]

That is the BUSINESS Thomas, the best of your huge GB run so far to my mind. 

As for where reality stops and Whiffness starts in the backstory, I'm still trying to figure it out. 

[zenrat]

It's all true isn't it?

Excellent work Dizz.  Even your "water" looks realistically cold.  I'm shivering just looking at it.

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you very much, the (positive) feedback ist highly appreciated. 

Yes, this one is a bit different, and it is because I had a real background as an inspiration. I then tried to blend the Bonxie (the basic concept of a Skua with floats and a torpedo) was already settled) into the real world events - and when you read the background there's actually nothing about the aircraft as such, just that it had been part of the early invasion force on the Faroe Islands. I thought that this would be so interesting in itself that the kit just had to step back, but IMHO it does not hurt the package at all?

The pics are in this case also a great example how the surroundings and the scenes influence perception: most of the landscapes are actually the Faroe Islands, so one gets a good impression how things must have looked like in the Atlantic, and the Bonxie in the middle of it all.

BTW: the water is an olive cardigan with three layers of clingfilm from the kitchen on top. The cardigan had been an experiment, with a softer and thicker fabric than before (before I have used a slightly darker shirt). While thsi new combo is easier to handle and more "organic", the fabric texture is too coarse and can be seen, esp. on the views from above. Still room for improvement - but the basic concept works, also in combination with the backgrounds. Esp. the "beaching scenes" work well. 

[NARSES2]

That certainly works 

[Glenn Gilbertson]

Great modelling, backstory & photography!

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you very much!

[Tophe]

Belated congratulations!

[Captain Canada]

Love it. Love the colours and markings, and the look of the floats !

[Dizzyfugu]

Again, thank you very much!