DONE +++ 1:72 Fokker D.XXIII night intruder of RAF 322 (Dutch) Squadron

Dizzyfugu · October 07, 2015, 09:38:10 AM

Classic colors - the scheme concept with all-black frontal areas was lent from an experimental RAF DB-7 scheme. Looks good on the Fokker, but reminds a bit of a Vietnam era gunship (à la AC-119)!?

1:72 Fokker D.XXIII-1, aircraft 'VL-B/AS468' of Royal Air Force (Dutch) 322 Squadron; Hornchurch Airfield (Essex), August 1940 (Whif/RS Models kit conversion) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

NARSES2 · October 08, 2015, 07:49:38 AM

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on October 07, 2015, 07:58:51 AM
There's be plenty of space in the cockpit, the canopy is long enough. You just have to throw out the fuselage tank? There's just hardly space for more equipment - it's a pretty compact aircraft, despite being a twin engine design.

Yup, I was thinking of adding a fuselage plug for a fuel tank

Captain Canada · October 08, 2015, 12:08:03 PM

That looks so good ! The blackness on it makes it look like a P-61

Dizzyfugu · October 09, 2015, 11:26:25 AM

1:72 Fokker D.XXIII-1, aircraft 'VL-B/AS468' of Royal Air Force (Dutch) 322 Squadron; Hornchurch Airfield (Essex), August 1940 (Whif/RS Models kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The Fokker D.XXIII was designed as a twin-engined single-seat aircraft. To overcome the problems of asymmetric flight it had a tractor engine at the front and a pusher engine at the rear. The D.XXIII was a cantilever monoplane with the twin tail units on booms.The pilot had an enclosed cockpit in between the tractor and pusher engines and it had a retractable tricycle landing gear.

The prototype first flew on 30 May 1939 powered by two Walter Sagitta I-SR air cooled vee piston engines. The trial flights identified problems with the cooling of the rear engine and general engine performance. It was proposed to use Rolls-Royce or Daimler-Benz engines in the production aircraft, but tensions with Germany and Great Britain's own need for the Merlin engine eventually led to the Hispano Suiza 12Y engine. While not as powerful as the British or German alternatives, the 640 kW (860 hp) of each engine instead of the Walter Sagittas' 400 kW (530 hp) meant a considerable improvement in performance, even though the engine compartments had to be modified considerably.

1:72 Fokker D.XXIII-1, aircraft 'VL-B/AS468' of Royal Air Force (Dutch) 322 Squadron; Hornchurch Airfield (Essex), August 1940 (Whif/RS Models kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Fokker D.XXIII-1, aircraft 'VL-B/AS468' of Royal Air Force (Dutch) 322 Squadron; Hornchurch Airfield (Essex), August 1940 (Whif/RS Models kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Concerns were also raised about the pilot clearing the rear propeller if he had to bail out and an ejector seat was studied. As a provisional solution, rails were put on both sides of the forward fuselage for the Fokker test pilot, Gerben Sonderman, to use to bail out in an emergency.

The aircraft was flown with Walter Sagitta I-SR 11 times for a total flight time of less than four hours, then the first machine with Hispano Suiza 12Y engines and a modified rear fuselage paneling was introduced, which cured the chronic rear engine cooling problems. On the 11th flight in April, the undercarriage of the Walter Sagitta prototype was damaged beyond repair, and in May 1940 serial production of the Hispano Suiza powered Fokker D.XXIII-1 started - just when the German forces invaded the Netherlands. At this time about twenty airframes were more or less complete, and instead of throwing these aircraft into the country's defence (maybe a dozen was airworthy, and maybe five or six armed) the machines were flown over the Channel into British exile.

1:72 Fokker D.XXIII-1, aircraft 'VL-B/AS468' of Royal Air Force (Dutch) 322 Squadron; Hornchurch Airfield (Essex), August 1940 (Whif/RS Models kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Fokker D.XXIII-1, aircraft 'VL-B/AS468' of Royal Air Force (Dutch) 322 Squadron; Hornchurch Airfield (Essex), August 1940 (Whif/RS Models kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

There, with the help of other Dutch volunteers, RAF 320-322 (Dutch) Sqaudron were formed, among others with Fokker T.8 torpedo bombers and Avro Ansons from the Dutch Naval Service. Eleven Fokker D.XXIII-1 became the core of RAF (Dutch) 322 Squadron - orginally a fighter unit, but it became soon clear that the Fokker was, despite its two engines, not a match for German fighters like the Bf 109E. Hence it was decided to relegate the Dutch machines to ground attack and night intruder missions, which were taken up from July 1940 on.

1:72 Fokker D.XXIII-1, aircraft 'VL-B/AS468' of Royal Air Force (Dutch) 322 Squadron; Hornchurch Airfield (Essex), August 1940 (Whif/RS Models kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Fokker D.XXIII-1, aircraft 'VL-B/AS468' of Royal Air Force (Dutch) 322 Squadron; Hornchurch Airfield (Essex), August 1940 (Whif/RS Models kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In the field all machines were also outfitted with British equipment, including 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns instead of the original two 7.9mm (0.31in) machine guns, and the pair of heavy 13.2mm (0.52in) machine-guns in the front of the tail booms were replaced by two 30mm Oerlikon cannons, left over from armament experiments with Hawker Hurricanes in 1939. Further modifications for the night intruder role included flame dampers and glare shields.

1:72 Fokker D.XXIII-1, aircraft 'VL-B/AS468' of Royal Air Force (Dutch) 322 Squadron; Hornchurch Airfield (Essex), August 1940 (Whif/RS Models kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Fokker D.XXIII-1, aircraft 'VL-B/AS468' of Royal Air Force (Dutch) 322 Squadron; Hornchurch Airfield (Essex), August 1940 (Whif/RS Models kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Fokker D.XXIII-1, aircraft 'VL-B/AS468' of Royal Air Force (Dutch) 322 Squadron; Hornchurch Airfield (Essex), August 1940 (Whif/RS Models kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In this guise the Fokkers flew night missions over France, with mild success. These attacks lasted until early 1941, when 322 Squadron was disbanded due to lack of operational aircraft: maintenance of the small D.XXIII fleet proved to be too costly, and lack of spares for the Hispano Suiza 12Y frequently grounded most of the Fokker fleet.
Anyway, on 12 June 1943, No. 322 squadron was re-instated again as a separate squadron within the Royal Air Force, formed with Dutch pilots already flying in the RAF but operating British aircraft like the Supermarine Spitfire. From then 322 Squadron also actively participated in the war and fought along the allied forces until the end of the war.

1:72 Fokker D.XXIII-1, aircraft 'VL-B/AS468' of Royal Air Force (Dutch) 322 Squadron; Hornchurch Airfield (Essex), August 1940 (Whif/RS Models kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Fokker D.XXIII-1, aircraft 'VL-B/AS468' of Royal Air Force (Dutch) 322 Squadron; Hornchurch Airfield (Essex), August 1940 (Whif/RS Models kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Specifications:
Crew: 1
Length: 10.40 m (34 ft 1 in)
Wingspan: 11.5 m (37 ft 9 in)
Height: 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 18.5 m2 (199 sq ft)
Empty weight: 2,180 kg (4,806 lb) equipped
Max takeoff weight: 2,950 kg (6,504 lb)

Powerplant:
2× Hispano Suiza 12Ydrs piston engine, rated at 640 kW (860 hp) each

Performance:
Maximum speed: 525 km/h (326 mph; 283 kn) estimated
Range: 840 km (522 mi; 454 nmi)
Service ceiling: 9,000 m (29,528 ft)

Armament:
2× 30mm (1.18in) Oerlikon machine cannon in the tail booms
4× 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns, two in the tail booms and two
above the front engine, synchronized to fire thorugh the propeller arc.

1:72 Fokker D.XXIII-1, aircraft 'VL-B/AS468' of Royal Air Force (Dutch) 322 Squadron; Hornchurch Airfield (Essex), August 1940 (Whif/RS Models kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Captain Canada · October 10, 2015, 05:06:31 AM

Great stuff ! Love the chunky look of this one. Love the black nose as well. OK, all of the colours and markings ! The orange Dutch triangle is a nice touch. My favourite part was the ground crew walking up to it and then the next shot with the front engine running.....excellent !

NARSES2 · October 10, 2015, 05:22:36 AM

Looks good. Heavily armed beastie for the period

Dizzyfugu · October 10, 2015, 09:29:47 AM

Quote from: Captain Canada on October 10, 2015, 05:06:31 AM
My favourite part was the ground crew walking up to it and then the next shot with the front engine running.....excellent !

Thanks a lot!

The retro pics are a coincidence, but now I see that the picture sequence even makes sense! Unintentional, but appreciated.

Hotte · October 11, 2015, 01:32:38 AM

great work

Hotte

PACOPEPE · October 11, 2015, 03:07:07 AM

Very good. I like it very much!

Regards
Fran

Dizzyfugu · October 12, 2015, 03:08:59 AM

Thank you very much!

Tophe · October 24, 2015, 06:19:33 AM

Belated congratulations!

Is this (as shape) a normal D-XXIII with more modern (bigger) engines?

Dizzyfugu · October 24, 2015, 06:28:14 AM

Thank you, yes - with two Hispano Suiza 12Y engines, popular at the time and with considerably more power than the original Walter Sagitta engines.