Hawker Feather F.Mk1

Spey_Phantom · June 21, 2009, 05:44:05 AM

Back History.

in 1945, Germany introduced a whole new line of jet fighters. after the Me262, FW229 Flitzer and He162 fighters, the Luftwaffe also fielded a whole new generation of jets that quickly prevented the allies from entering the German borders. as of december 1945, France, the low countries and Scandinavia were the only regions liberated from the nazi regime. these countries now had to be defended against the German war machine, but the Spitfire and Mustang were no match for germany's new jets, and there wasnt enough Gloster Metoers and DH Vampire's to be sent to europe. the liberated countries were also re-equiping there air force with leftover RAF and USAAF prop fighters.

the RAF needed more jet fighters to fight off the germans, but the development of new aircraft that could outperform the luftwaffe fighters was progressing very slowly. the Soviet Union, who during 1942 and 1944 recieved large numbers of Spitfire's and Hurricanes did not have enough money to pay back there debt, as part of the bargain, Stalin handed the RAF over 125 YAK-15's as part of the payment, these were infact powered by british Rolls Royce Nene engines witch were currently in mass production. in 1946, the first 15 yaks were flown over from Russia via Scandinavia and the Baltics, the rest were shipped in kitform and assembled by Hawker.

the Yak-15 was designated Feather F.1 in RAF service, but it was only a used as an interim point defence fighter/interceptor in Europe, they were quickly replaced as of 1950 by more advanced and more powerfull fighters, like the new versions of the Meteor and the P-80.

the Model:

the model is a 1/72 PM YAk-15 (ex-KP mold) build straight from the box, the decals are from an academy Spitfire Mk XIV.
the quality of the kit is something left to be desired, but for 3 euro's what do you expect

there's practicly no detail and requires a lot of putty, especially arround the canopy, cause the fit is terrible

.
all and all, i tried to finish it the best way i could

The Rat · June 21, 2009, 07:40:52 AM

Lovely, and 'City of Winnipeg' certainly suits a Russian aircraft, the Canuck nickname for the town is Winterpeg!

sequoiaranger · June 21, 2009, 08:04:39 AM

A novel idea. The early Yak-15 was a lightweight jet fighter and not very capable, but I could readily see the Yak-15 being used as jet trainers whilst the larger and more capable Meteors and Vampires were sent to combat units. The Soviet Union was all about overwhelming NUMBERS, so a flood of Yak-15's/"Feathers" might just give the Luftwaffe too many targets (like a "bait ball" of sardines!!).

Tophe · June 21, 2009, 11:25:31 AM

So British indeed, isn't it?

--- By the way, I have red on the Web (Russian sources in French language) that in 1944, the USA tried to become allies of the 3rd Reich to face communism (both Stalin and Yakovlev...). Many German leaders accepted but at last Hitler refused. The History may have been rather different - what-if...

redstar72 · June 21, 2009, 12:00:14 PM

Yak-15 in RAF service - it's an interesting idea... But, Yak-15 with NENE?

The Nene is 2.5 times more powerful than Jumo 004, which real Yak-15 was powered by. Nevertheless, Yak-15 was only Yak-3 version, adapted for jet engine. In real life, even Yak-23 wasn't powered by Nene - only by Derwent V (RD-500)...

So, maybe Welland, Derwent I, or Goblin? Or in this universe, Nene wasn't the same Nene we know?

And the undercarriage legs' angle isn't natural - they are "tilted" rearward very much. Here is a photo for comparison:

sequoiaranger
In Soviet VVS, Yak-15s were used rather as trainers - for acquaintance with new jet technic, before much more capable (but also more complicated and "unusual") MiG-9s came to the units. So, your idea about a trainer is very close to the reality...

Spey_Phantom · June 21, 2009, 12:05:35 PM

i guess i could replace the nen with a Derwent engine

i knew there was something wrong with the landing gear when i read the instructions again

but still, that why they call it what-if, even when a part is in wrong place, that make's a model a whif

redstar72 · June 21, 2009, 12:29:12 PM

Quote from: Nils on June 21, 2009, 12:05:35 PM
i knew there was something wrong with the landing gear when i read the instructions again

but still, that why they call it what-if, even when a part is in wrong place, that make's a model a whif

Yes, I'm agree

. But in this case, the legs' position isn't only innaccurate - as for me, it also looks very unnatural. I think it would be better to turn them some more forward.

It's only my IMHO, of course you can leave them as they are - if you like this appearance.

PR19_Kit · June 23, 2009, 01:40:42 PM

Quote from: redstar72 on June 21, 2009, 12:00:14 PM
So, maybe Welland, Derwent I, or Goblin? Or in this universe, Nene wasn't the same Nene we know?

Would the Yak-9 airframe be large enough to take a Derwent (Klimov RD500)?

The Tumansky RD10 engine fitted to the Yak-15 was an axial engine developed from the Jumo 004B whereas the RD500 was a centrifugal engine with a much larger compressor stage. The Yak-23 was overall quite a bit larger than the -15 or -17 and presumably was made wider as well to take the big engine.

I still like the idea of a -15 with a Nene though, the pilot would have been flying about 1/2 mile behind the airframe!