Phoebe: Blue Peter RAAF Tempest V (FE) - finished

[comrade harps]

Started on this




Think I'll make it dark blue, though. Operation Zipper, the Allied invasion of Malaya, September 1945, because as we all know, the bomb didn't stop the Japanese from fighting and the Germans surrendered to the western Allies in August 1945 after Hitler died in the 20 July bomb plot.

Will have 83 Sqdn, RAAF, marking from the Airfix Boomerang. Note the SEAC ID bands.

More later...

[NARSES2]

SEAC markings + Tempest + RAAF = 

Built a RAF SEAC Typhoon a year or so ago myself

[comrade harps]

SEAC markings + Tempest + RAAF = 

SEAC roundels were my original idea, but looking at the ones I've got spare they don'y look too good, so I'll go for the blue/white Pacific theatre roundels from the Boomerang instead. With the midnight blue I'm applying, this snould be a really high-contrast, high-viz machine.

Mote pictures soon. It's coming along nicely.

[NARSES2]

Pacific roundels always look good as well 

[comrade harps]

It's nearing decal time



It's been finicky, hand painting those stripes.

You get just a hint of the bigger drop tanks in these pics.

Will be completed soon. Figuring out how far I should go with the decals - all the way!

[NARSES2]

 

[Cliffy B]

Man does she look good in midnight blue!!!!!!! 

[comrade harps]

Hawker Tempest V(FE)
Phoebe, 83 Sqdn, RAAF, Parachup Khiri Khan, Siam, February 1946
Personal mount of F/L Peter Boyd





The plane
With the end of hostilities between the European Axis nations and the western Allies in August 1944, the RAAF was able to disband several fighter squadrons operating in Europe and re-deploy forces against Japan. Taking the opportunity to re-equip, an order was placed for a Far East version of the Tempest V, the Tempest V(FE) featuring modifications to make it suitable for long-range missions. The aircraft were sent to Ceylon where the RAAF was preparing to participate in Operation Zipper, the Allied invasion of Japanese occupied Malaya.

One of the squadrons to receive the Tempest V(FE) in Ceylon was 83 Sqdn. This unit had previously flown  in the Northern Territory and Queensland, but in Hurricanes early 1945 it was briefly disbanded before standing up again in Ceylon. As part of the Zipper plan, training included simulated take-offs from aircraft carriers, as they were to fly directly from carriers to an airstrip near the invasion beach. 83 Sqdn was to fly from HMS Begum, but this was damaged by a submerged object just before going abound and was replaced by the USN escort carrier, USS Block Island. USS Block Island had just come off supporting operations in the Dutch East Indies and was porting in Ceylon at the time; her aircraft were removed and replaced with the RAAF Tempests.




In transit to Malaya, the squadron received orders to camouflage their aircraft, which up to then wore a polished metal finish. The only suitable paint available on Block Island was the US Navy standard midnight blue, so this was applied to the upper and side surfaces and the squadron codes changed from black to white. The departure from the carrier was delayed due to the slow expansion of the beachhead at Port Sweetenham. During this time, the squadron's resident artist, Flight Lieutenant Peter Boyd, adorned the Tempests with large girlie images. This combination of midnight blue and Peter Boyd's "blue" artwork earned the squadron the "Blue Peter" nickname; also, their Squadron Leader was S/L George Peters.

Once ashore on 2 September, 1945, 83 Sqn performed air defence and close air support missions. As the front line moved away and other airfields became available, the unit moved forward, initially in the direction of Singapore but in early November they deployed to Butterworth in northern Malaya. Here they performed long-range mission into Siam, including fighter sweeps and escorting bombers and transports supporting armed Thai resistance fighters against the Japanese. From February, 1946, until the end of the war in May, they were based at Parachup Khiri Khan in Siam and mounted operations in Siam and across the Gulf of Siam into Japanese occupied French Indo China.

The pilot
Peter Boyd had served with 78 Sqdn flying Kittyhawks in New Guinea before transfer to 83 Sqdn in Ceylon. By the end of the war, Boyd was credited with 7 aerial kills (2 Oscars, 1 Zero, 1 Edna, 1 Emily, 1 Lorna, 1 Tabby), plus a share in the sinking of 3 Japanese ships.~

After the war, Peter Boyd (described by critic Robert Hughes as "the least talented of the Boyd family artistic dynasty") made a name for himself as a painter and photographer of nudes. In 1954, one of Boyd's exhibitions was closed down by Queensland police on the grounds of "obscenity"; a similar run-in with Victoria's Vice Squad saw several pieces of art removed from an exhibition in 1956. Along with former S/L George Peters (often described as a "colourful racing identity and night club owner"), Boyd pioneered erotic entertainment (including nude body painting and drag queen shows) in Sydney's Kings Cross during the 1960s. Both men were mentioned in royal commissions into police and political corruption in Qeensland and New South Wales during the 1980s and 90s; Boyd for his parties and orgies and Peters for his black market activities and encouragement of the "slab economy".



The publication of Peter Boyd's autobiography, Blue Peter, in 1979 caused a stir. He outed himself as bi-sexual and commented favourably on "the many" Australian homosexual servicemen he had met during the WW2. This saw him forced to resign his membership from the RSL (Returned Services League of Australia), whose policy on such matters at the time where best summed up by outspoken Victorian RSL President, Bruce Ruxton: "There are no poofters in fox holes." In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald following his "expulsion" from the RSL, he commented that "what really makes the likes of Ruxton mad is that I'm an ace. I'm a bona-fide war hero. Ruxton was a cook who never saw combat, never had to kill a man and never rose about the rank of Private." He drew more ire when, in 1980, he became a patron of the RSL (Rainbow Services League), an advocacy and support organisation for gay and lesbian current and past service personnel. He repeatedly wore his RAAF dress uniform and campaign medals (plus a fictional Rainbow Campaign ribbon of his own design) on Rainbow Services League floats during the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. Boyd's rainbow ribbon design has gone on to be a symbol of the GBLT cause.




Peter Boyd died in 1998 and George Peters in 1991.


Apparently, Phoebe was Peter Boyd's pre-war muse and sometime nude model.

[Cobra]

Superb Job This is Too cool! Dan

[NARSES2]

She suits the scheme - stunner 

[Weaver]

Excellent - looks good and an original back story too! 

[perttime]

Way better than the "Le Grand Charles" that I slapped together as a kid 

[pyro-manic]

Superb! The model is brilliant, and the backstory really works too. That spinner stripe sets it off beautifully.

[nebnoswal]

Very nice.  A touch of "Underbelly" and great timing as the Mardi Gras last weekend.

[rickshaw]

Oh, I can just imagine Ol' Bruce saying that.   He's passed on now but won't be missed as a stirrer and a larrikin.   Interestingly, Germane Greer was one of his champions because of the help he'd given her father in his declining years.   He always was a bit of a "controversial figure" with his views.

Nicely done!  Good background story as well.