PBY-18 KINGFISHER

[Rafael]

Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, near the Island of Tegawan's Coast, August, 2024


The sea. Flat as flat there is. A blue-green expanse of tranquility and beauty. The Tegawani first officer aboard MV Maria Luisa, an American Cargo Ship sailing under Panamanian Flag, stood on the bridgewing admiring this piece of paradise. So beautiful, the place of his Youth, now was also dangerous, ever since The Troubles began. The Troubles. So named by the Tegawani People, a peaceful people now terrified by an unending series of frightening events.

Tegawan was a big island, a nascent, struggling democracy, admired and reported in the news as only that, news. After decades of dictatorship, the recently born regime struggled to get on its feet with the on-again, off-again help of the international community, specially the neighboring Kingdom of Furisia. King Mehmet II, the Bombastic, Jet Setter, Populist Sovereign had been a constant influence in the events that developed in the Island. With his immense oil riches, the King had imbued billions of dollars into Tegawan's economy, making it almost his own. Nothing happened in Tegawan without his Royal knowledge.

Besides the obvious benefits, a much darker menace lurked in the relationship between the two countries. Mehmet's expansionist dreams were steadily materializing, while covertly he financed Guerrillas and Piracy, encouraged drug trafficking and smuggling of goods. Having offered every Criminal Kingpin in the region a safe haven in Tegawan after his takeover, and fabulous bribes among certain Tegawani corrupt politicians, Mehmet slowly undermined the Island's peace and its very existence as a nation.

The first officer caught a glimpse of something moving in the horizon. Training his "big eyes" binocs toward the movement, he distinguished a pair, then five, no, eight, small, fast boats approaching directly to Maria Luisa. A chill ran through his spine from the knowledge of what was coming, and suddenly he found himself darting to the radio shack where he startled everyone as he took the handset and radioed into the open: -"This is Maria Luisa MV, with forty souls aboard, at the Malakagong Pass, we're under attack, repeat, we're under attack by maybe eight boghammar-type boats!!!". As if punctuating his words, several RPG explosions tore chunks of the old Lady's side, and a new transmission arrived –"Help is on the way, Maria Luisa, we're two minutes away!!!".

Help came in the form of four fast, sea-skimming....things. Opening up from the distance with missile and cannon fire on the circling pirates. Three Boghammars died on the first Volley, and the remaining perpetrators scattered everywhere, firing back, to no avail. Two of the flying Patrol boats "landed" on the flat sea and came to heave to on the side of the wounded ship to start rendering assistance, while at the same time deployed its rigid-hull, inflatable boats for perimeter protection and boarding. Meanwhile, in the distance, a bloody battle closed to an end, when the remaining pair finished off the fleeing criminals.


THE BOEING/SYKORSKY PBY-18 KINGFISHER:
The Kingfisher originated in the need for a small, long range, long endurance, fast Patrol ship. The original Navy Program called for a platform incorporating state-of-the-art technology to operate small groups of mutually supporting formations to assist in the Caribbean and Pacific theaters, protecting the sea lanes against crime with military force. Deadly Force.

Boeing and Sykorsky teamed and won the Fly/Sail-off with an incredible concept, that incorporated an old Jolly Green Giant and a Wing in Ground (WIG) effect, Advanced Propfans and floaters/propulsion pods. The apparently lumbering, ungainly-looking machine proved to be a fast vehicle, and with an ample load of weapons, it transited the stages of test to service without flaws.

The stub, thick wing housed an internally stowed, telescoping extensible wing for long flights and out-of-WIG regime operations, giving the Kingfisher an airliner-like handling and performance. But it was in the low, sea-skimming altitude where this beast excelled. High speed, and a manoeuverability belying the thing's cumbersome appearance made it the favorite of their crews and services. This was noticed immediately by USOCOM, which ordered a special operations version, to equip the Joint Forces aboard Seabases and to shadow task forces and civilian traffic alike.

Aboard with the crew, there was optional space for a squad of heavily armed marines, who deployed on an ingenuously wing-mounted rigid-hull, inflatable boat.

Its performance, armament, and wolfpack-like tactics earned the KingFish the name of "Sea Skimming Death", in the Pacific Campaign, when it became famous for its almost unending list of successes securing the coasts of Tegawan from pirates and smugglers, before the Tegawani-Furisian war.


Comments from the crews:
"A marvelous thing, I want to live inside those beautiful Floats" Capt. John "Howling Mouse" Kenner, USN
"So quiet, it won't disturb my Baby's sleep!!"  Sr. Lt. Ian "Flying Daddy" Hunter-Gathers, USOCOM
"Now, it only needs Spats to horrify the enemy!!!" Airman 1st. Brian "da Basher" Huntington III


For PanzerWulff. Get well soon, Chris!!!

[Rafael]

Another view. Wings extended

[Rafael]

showing payload and RHIB over wing. Wings retracted. 25mm Bushfire (?) Gun

[Rafael]

and

[Rafael]

Rear end. 32 Blades, tedious work. Closer loo at the wing-mounted RHIB

[Archibald]

showing payload and RHIB over wing. Wings retracted.

Wow! Very sci-fi, and absolutely stunning! That's very nice (good backstory, too)    

[lenny100]

not again !!!!!!!!!!!



i had one of these is the planing stage using a old airfix seaking

nice job anway just have to try again myself.

[Rafael]

Please go ahead and do it, Lenny, and show us!!!  I think the Seaking is a marvelous platform to chop into a WIG Thing....

Thank U Archi!!!, Your Comments and critiques are always very welcome!!

Rafa

[The Rat]

WOW!

WOW!!

WOW!!!

You absolutely MUST show us how you made those blades!    

[B777LR]

"A marvelous thing, I want to live inside those beautiful Floats" Capt. John "Howling Mouse" Kenner, USN
"So quiet, it won't disturb my Baby's sleep!!" Sr. Lt. Ian "Flying Daddy" Hunter-Gathers, USOCOM
"Now, it only needs Spats to horrify the enemy!!!" Airman 1st. Brian "da Basher" Huntington III

     Beer all over the screen again      

[nev]

Like Archie said, very sci-fi  B)   Like the funky props.

[Chap]

Fantastic, I love the rectractable wings. I second what The Rat said, please show us how you constucted those propellers.

~Steve

[Brian da Basher]

Holy Moley Rafa! That's one absolutely astounding amazing build!!!

YOWSA!!!!!

Those blades and camo are fantastic! Please share your secrets with us! Of course, we will pay you royalties for the knowledge!

Your work continues to impress and delight me!

Brian da Basher

[Rafael]

Please, B777LR, put something transparent and liquid-proof in fron of your screen....But            never stop drinking beer!!!!!


Hey Rat, here are some Pics:

The blades are a crescent moon from predrawn figures in PowerPoint. Then cut in half to approximate the scimitar shape. Then glued in styrene sheet and scissored until my figers numbed. Problem is, I printed the crescents on cardboard (Cardboard, Yum!!!) and glued them whith white glue, and kept falling off the plastic under the pressure and bending from the scissors - cutting with a knife was out of the question. The engines are, REAR PART: 1/2 F-15 Belly Tank, the tips Cut off then cut again to have a different diameter to simulate the pointy end of the exhaust. FRONT PART: The forward part of an F-16 wing tank w/o the tips.

The blades were glued with CA calculating their location by eye.

Rafa

[Rafael]

From afar....