Re: Spinners' Strike Fighters Thread

[PR19_Kit]

Oooh yes, so they do. Thanks for that. 

[NARSES2]

That just looks so right 

[SPINNERS]

Dornier Do 22P - 4th Attack Regiment, Parani Army Air Force, 1939

Dornier's Do C3 was a three-seat, single-engined, parasol wing monoplane floatplane that first flew in 1935. With little or no interest from the Luftwaffe, Dornier looked for export customers with small numbers of the floatplane version eventually being sold to Yugoslavia, Greece and Latvia. In March 1938, the Republic of Paran expressed interest in the proposed Do 22L landplane version and Dornier offered a new export version to Paran designated as the Do 22P. Powered by a Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs engine driving a three-bladed propeller the Do 22P could carry up bombs under the fuselage and had a defensive armament of one fixed forward-firing machine gun plus two in the rear cockpit and one in a ventral tunnel. Paran ordered 12 Do 22P's and, with no requirement for a prototype, production at Dornier's factory at Friedrichshafen began in November 1938.

Entering service with the 4th Attack Regiment (The Jerboa's) of the Parani Army Air Force in the Spring of 1939 the Do 22P's were docile to fly and easy to maintain. By the end of September 1939 the 4th Attack Regiment were fully equipped and Shah Mushani of Paran was keen to use the Do 22P's against Dhimar. With the outbreak of World War Two Dhimar had seen the RAF leave the region and, with Dhimar's defences down, Shah Mushani wanted revenge for the attacks on Parani settlers in the Kerman Valley. On October 1st, 1939 Shah Mushani launched an attack on the Dhimari oilfields at Al'Haramlek and Najahaf and also an attack on the port of Al'Duhok. The 4th Attack Regiment were tasked with the strike on the two oilfields and dispatched two flights of four Do 22P's achieving total surprise and destroying both objectives.







Wow! The Do 22 is so ugly it must be a Blackburn product!

[PR19_Kit]

Wow! The Do 22 is so ugly it must be a Blackburn product!

NOTHING'S that ugly!

[NARSES2]

The Do 22 certainly looks as though it's had a fuselage extension.

I actually think it's quite attractive, or at least slender 

[SPINNERS]

I actually think it's quite attractive...

You silly twisted boy...

[NARSES2]

I actually think it's quite attractive...

You silly twisted boy...

Thank you kind sir 

[Rick Lowe]

I actually think it's quite attractive...

You silly twisted boy...

Thank you kind sir 

Appreciation is always nice... 

[PR19_Kit]

I've just ordered an Ikarus IUK-2 from the Big H. Guess what scheme it's going to end up in...............   

[Rick Lowe]

Ukrainian! Kiwi!

Well, you didn't specify an accurate guess, did you... 

[PR19_Kit]

Well, you didn't specify an accurate guess, did you... 

True, but I bet you can work it out. I MAY have to print some special decals for it....

[SPINNERS]

Fairey Fulcrum Mk.I - No.15 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command, 1938

During 1931, the British Air Ministry released Specification G.4/31 calling for a general purpose aircraft capable of carrying out level bombing, army co-operation, dive bombing, reconnaissance, casualty evacuation and torpedo bombing. Fairey's proposal was the Fairey G.4/31, a single-engine, two-seat biplane but this was rejected by the Air Ministry and the requirement was eventually met by the Vickers Wellesley. But even as work proceeded on the construction of the Fairey G.4/31 prototype, the Fairey design office had already started work on Operational Requirements for a light-bomber to Specification P.27/32 and also for a naval torpedo-bomber to Specification P.2/33. Marcel Lobelle, Fairey Aviation's chief designer, led the design team responsible for the light-bomber (a project that would eventually lead to the Fairy Battle) whilst John Walvis led the design team working on the naval torpedo-bomber.

With the Air Ministry strongly favouring a radial engine for the naval torpedo-bomber, Walvis set about designing the Fairey P.2/33 as an all metal, single-engine monoplane powered by the promising Bristol Pegasus XX nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial aero engine with a planned rating of 925 hp. During the design phase Walvis was able to incorporate aerodynamic innovations such as wing fillets, a fully enclosed cockpit and a fixed landing gear covered in streamlined spats. By mid-1934, Air Ministry officials could see such a high demand for the Rolls-Royce PV-12 (Merlin) engine that a decision was taken to prioritise production of the PV-12 for the planned interceptor/fighter aircraft (most notably F.36/34 & F.37/34) and the Fairey Battle. However, the Air Ministry were so impressed with Fairey's P.2/33 radial-engined design that they asked Fairey to submit it to a new Specification P.41/34 for a general purpose attack bomber for the RAF and authorised the production of three P.41/34 prototypes.

Renamed as the Fairey Fulcrum, development moved swiftly and on December 8th 1935 the first Fulcrum prototype (K4404) equipped with an early Bristol Pegasus IV rated at 680 hp made its maiden flight at Hayes in Middlesex before being transferred to RAF Martlesham Heath for service trials. The second and third prototypes were both powered by Bristol Pegasus VI engines rated at 750 hp and completed an accelerated programme of service trials during the Spring of 1936 leading to a production order of 145 Fulcrum Mk.I aircraft. Entering service with No.15 Squadron in March 1937 the Fulcrum Mk.I eventually served with seven RAF Squadrons and whilst largely obsolete by the start of the Second World War it remained in front-line service. However, it was not deployed to France as part of the British RAF Advanced Air Striking Force but served at home with No. 1 Group in operations against German shipping massed in the Channel ports for Operation Sealion. Their last combat sorties included raids on Boulogne and Calais in late 1940 but by early 1941 the remaining Fulcrums were transferred to Northern Ireland for coastal patrol work.







I've always loved the relatively short-lived NIVO Green schemes seen on the Fairey Hendon and also on the Handley-Page Heyford pre-war RAF bombers. In plastic model form, my Fairey Battle and Armstrong Whitworth Whitley all had this scheme but that was probably because all I had as a cash-strapped teenager in the 1970's was an 'M3' tinlet to choose from! Anyway, this is the Northrop Gamma 2E - another rare bird from the DAT stable and it comes with painted-on Chinese markings which I've managed to either overpaint or simply decal over.

[PR19_Kit]

I rather like the look of that. 

As you say, that NIVO scheme is very redolent of the period, and quite attractive too.

I see hints of the Karas there too, but then I see that in EVERY dive bomber of the time. 

[zenrat]

Marvellous spats.   

[NARSES2]

I rather like the look of that. 

As you say, that NIVO scheme is very redolent of the period, and quite attractive too.

Agree with both comments