I have been given a task

[rickshaw]

My good lady wife's father is retiring to a RAAF retirement home in the new few weeks.

She has come up with bright idea that I build him a model "typical of his service in the RAF in Egypt in the late 1940s".

Now, I have no idea what he did in the RAF but I can think of several aircraft which might have been typical that he worked on as ground cew.  They were:

Meteor
Vampire
Canberra
Mosquito
Spitfire

Now, I am throwing it open to you my fellow Whiffers, what should I build?  I am thinking 1/48.   Does anybody have any ideas/pictures as to what markings it would have carried and what Cam it might have had?

Remember, this is just after WWII and during the troubles in Palestine and Egypt...

I'm looking more for real world than Whif.

[tigercat]

How much space does he have before you choose 1/48?

[zenrat]

Can you have a chat with him and without giving anything away get him to reveal his favourite?

[rickshaw]

I think a chat would be the best way to go.  However, as after 20 years of being married to his daughter, we don't really have much of what could be called a "relationship", I suspect I won't get too far... 

[Nick]

....I build him a model "typical of his service in the RAF in Egypt in the late 1940s".

..... this is just after WWII and during the troubles in Palestine and Egypt...

I'm looking more for real world than Whif.

That narrows it down to 1947-1957, give or take a few months. So many aircraft he could have seen...    http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/Aircraftbetween1946andpresent.cfm

Spitfire, Mosquito, Beaufighter, Lincoln, Lancaster, Neptune, Shackleton, Meteor, Vampire, Gnat, Sabre, Canberra, Vulcan/Victor/Valiant, Swift, Hunter.
Hastings, Valetta, York, Dakota, Sunderland, Anson. Whirlwind helicopter.

This site might be helpful apart from the annoying auto-play music.... http://www.rafkasfareet1953-56.com/
This is good too   http://www.suezcanalzone.com/pics01.html

[PR19_Kit]

Was he serving directly in the RAF or was he seconded to the Egyptian Air Force as my Dad was at the same time?

If the latter you can add Wellingtons and Hurricanes to the list as well.

[Dizzyfugu]

AFAIK the RAF also operated some Thunderbolts in Egypt, either in the final months of WWII or right after it. There's an 1:72 Xtradecal sheet with P-47 in RAf services that features - beyond many Burma/SEA machines - also a NMF P-47 with European RAF roundels and a Sky fuselage band that was based in Egypt (the lowest one):



Looks pretty unusual.

And here's a profile from another one, same unit as it seems:



And here's another one, pretty fancy  :

[Rheged]

Is it feasible to take a retirement home staff member or friend in the current RAAF  into your confidence and get them to talk to him about his service.  Generally speaking (from a lot of work I've done collecting oral history material)  he's much more likely to open up about his favourite aircraft to others "in  the same gang".   Discount this if it's not practicable, and the best of luck!!

[Thorvic]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/RAF-Fighters-1945-1950-Overseas-Camouflage/dp/0953904075/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1486377643&sr=8-11&keywords=raf+camouflage

Paul Lucas - RAF Camouflage & Markings 1945-50  - Overseas Bases should give an idea of the types, schemes and markings of the types based in Egypt at that period. I don't think I have a copy just the home based one but i'm sure others on here will have a copy to hand.

My late father was in the FAA at the time and covered the withdrawal from Palestine with their squadrons Seafires and Fireflies going ashore to cover whilst the RAF evacuated.

[NARSES2]

Paul Lucas - RAF Camouflage & Markings 1945-50  - Overseas Bases should give an idea of the types, schemes and markings of the types based in Egypt at that period.

Have it in front of me now. Basically the types are Spitfire, Tempest, gradually replaced by Vampires as day fighters with the Mosquito as night fighter. Interesting mix of colour schemes which includes Spitfires and Tempests in the theatre "unique" desert scheme of Light Slate Grey and Dark Earth uppers over Medium Sea Grey.

Tempests were the F6 which I can only think of as a 1/72 kit, Spitfires were FR.18's.

There were some Mustangs in Palestine in 1946.

[PR19_Kit]

And here's another one, pretty fancy  :

That one's pretty well known, it was the CO's aircraft IIRC.

I paddled in the Red Sea at Fayid, when I was 4 as I recall.