1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "(Swept wing) Skyknight" of VF-61, early 1958

Dizzyfugu · May 11, 2014, 11:56:29 PM

With one week delay (waiting for decals

), and already shown in WiP elsewhere, here it is: the swept-wing Skyknight in hardware form, in the colors of USN VF-61 "Jolly Rogers" on board of USS Saratoga (CVN-60) during its first tour across the pond into the Medterranean Sea in 1958:

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The Douglas F3D Skyknight (later designated F-10 Skyknight) was a United States twin-engined, mid-wing jet fighter aircraft manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company in El Segundo, California. The F3D was designed as a carrier-based all-weather night fighter and saw service with the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The mission of the F3D-2 was to search out and destroy enemy aircraft at night.

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The F3D was not intended to be a typical sleek and nimble dogfighter, but as a standoff night fighter, packing a powerful radar system and a second crew member. It originated in 1945 with a US Navy requirement for a jet-powered, radar-equipped, carrier-based night fighter. The Douglas team led by Ed Heinemann designed around the bulky air intercept radar systems of the time, with side-by-side seating for the pilot and radar operator. The result was an aircraft with a wide, deep, and roomy fuselage. Instead of ejection seats, an escape tunnel was used.

As a night fighter that was not expected to be as fast as smaller daylight fighters, the expectation was to have a stable platform for its radar system and the four 20 mm cannon mounted in the lower fuselage. The F3D was, however, able to outturn a MiG-15 in an inside circle. The fire control system in the F3D-1 was the Westinghouse AN/APQ-35.

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The AN/APQ-35 was advanced for the time, a combination of three different radars, each performing separate functions: an AN/APS-21 search radar, an AN/APG-26 tracking radar, both located in the nose, and an AN/APS-28 tail warning radar. The complexity of this vacuum tube-based radar system, which was produced before the advent of semiconductor electronics, required intensive maintenance to keep it operating properly.

The F3D Skyknight was never produced in great numbers but it did achieve many firsts in its role as a night fighter over Korea. While it never achieved the fame of the North American F-86 Sabre, it did down several Soviet-built MiG-15s as a night fighter over Korea with only one air-to-air loss of its own against a Chinese MiG-15 on the night of 29 May 1953.

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In the years after the Korean War, the F3D was gradually replaced by more powerful aircraft with better radar systems. The F3D's career was not over though; its stability and spacious fuselage made it easily adaptable to other roles. The Skyknight played an important role in the development of the radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow missile in the 1950s which led to further guided air-to-air missile developments.

In 1954, the F3D-2M was the first U.S. Navy jet aircraft to be fitted with an operational air-to-air missile: the Sparrow I,an all weather day/night BVR missile that used beam riding guidance for the aircrew to control the flight of the missile. Only 38 aircraft (12 F3D-1Ms, and 16 F3D-2Ms) were modified to use the missiles, though.

One of the F3D's main flaws, which it shared with many early jet aircraft, was its lack of power and performance. Douglas tried to mend this through a radical redesign: The resulting F3D-3 was the designation assigned to a swept-winged version (36° sweep at quarter chord) of the Skyknight. It was originally to be powered by the J46 turbojet, rated at 4.080 lbf for takeoff, which was under development but suffered serious trouble.

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

This led to the cancellation of the J46, and calculated performance of the F3D-3 with the substitute J34 was deemed insufficient. As an alternative the aircraft had to be modified to carry two larger and longer J47-GE-2 engines, which also powered the USN's FJ-2 "Fury" fighter.
This engine's thrust of 6.000 pounds-force (27 kN) at 7,950 rpm appeared sufficient for the heavy, swept-wing aircraft, and in 1954 an order for 287 production F3D-3s was issued, right time to upgrade the new type with the Sparrow I.

While the F3D-3's outline resembled that of its straight wing predecessors, a lot of structural changes had to be made to accommodate the shifted main wing spar, and the heavy radar equipment also took its toll: the gross weight climbed by more than 3 tons, and as a result much of the gained performance through the stronger engines and the swept wings was eaten away.

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Maximum internal fuel load was 1.350 US gallons, plus a further 300 in underwing drop tanks. Overall wing surface remained the same, but the swept wing surfaces reduced the wing span.
In the end, thrust-to-weight ratio was only marginally improved and in fact, the F3D-3 had a lower rate of climb than the F3D-2, its top speed at height was only marginally higher, and stall speed climbed by more than 30 mph, making carrier landings more complicated.

It's equipment was also the same - the AN/APQ-35 was still fitted, but mainly because the large radar dish offered the largest detection range of any carrier-borne type of that time, and better radars that could match this performance were still under construction. Anyway, the F3D-3 was able to carry Sparrow I from the start, and this would soon be upgraded to Sparrow III (which became the AIM-7), and it showed much better flight characteristics at medium altitude.

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Despite the ,many shortcomings the "new" aircraft represented an overall improvement over the F3D-2 and was accepted for service. Production of the F3D-3 started in 1955, but technology advanced quickly and a serious competitor with supersonic capability appeared with the McDonnell F3H Demon and the F4D Skyray - much more potent aircraft that the USN immediately preferred to the slow F3Ds. As a consequence, the production contract was cut down to only 102 aircraft.

But it came even worse: production of the swept wing Skyknight already ceased after 18 months and 71 completed airframes. Ironically, the F3D-3's successor, the F3H and its J40 engine, turned out to be more capricious than expected, which delayed the Demon's service introduction and seriously hampered its performance, so that the F3D-3 kept its all weather/night fighter role until 1960, and was eventually taken out of service in 1964 when the first F-4 Phantom II fighters appeared in USN service.

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In 1962 all F3D versions were re-designated into F-10, the swept wing F3D-3 became the F-10C. The straight wing versions were used as trainers and also served as an electronic warfare platform into the Vietnam War as a precursor to the EA-6A Intruder and EA-6B Prowler, while the swept-wing fighters were completely retired as their performance and mission equipment had been outdated. The last F-10C flew in 1965.

General characteristics
Crew: two
Length: 49 ft (14.96 m)
Wingspan: 42 feet 5 inches (12.95 m)
Height: 16 ft 1 in (4.90 m)
Wing area: 400 ft² (37.16 m²)
Empty weight: 19.800 lb (8.989 kg)
Loaded weight: 28,843 lb (13.095 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 34.000 lb (15.436 kg)

Powerplant:
2× General Electric J47-GE-2 turbojets, each rated at 6.000 lbf (26,7 kN) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 630 mph (1.014 km/h) at sea level, 515 mph (829 km/h) t (6,095 m)
Cruise speed: 515 mph (829 km/h) at 40,000 feet
Stall speed: 128 mph (206 km/h)
Range: 890 mi (1.433 km) with internal fuel; 1,374 mi, 2,212 km with 2× 300 gal (1.136 l) tanks
Service ceiling: 43.000 ft (13.025 m)
Rate of climb: 2,640 ft/min (13,3 m/s)
Wing loading: 53.4 lb/ft² (383 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.353

Armament
4× 20 mm Hispano-Suiza M2 cannon, 200 rpg, in the lower nose
Four underwing hardpoints inboard of the wing folding points for up to 4.000 lb (1.816 kg)
ordnance, including AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles, 11.75 in (29.8cm) Tiny Tim rockets, two
150 or 300 US gal drop tanks or bombs of up to 2.000 lb (900 kg) caliber, plus four hardpoints
under each outer wing for a total of eight 5" HVARs or eight pods with six 2 3/4" FFARs each

The kit and its assembly:
Another project which had been on the list for some years now but finally entered the hardware stage. The F3D itself is already a more or less forgotten aircraft, and there are only a few kits available - there has been a vacu kit, the Matchbox offering and lately kits in 1:72 and 1:48 by Sword.

The swept wing F3D-3 remained on the drawing board, but would have been a very attractive evolution of the tubby Skyknight. In fact, the swept surfaces resemble those of the A3D/B-66 a Iot, and this was the spark that started the attempt to build this aircraft as a model through a kitbash. This is the real design sketch - and my benchmark (with thanks to joncarrfarrelly for posting this):

This model is basically the Matchbox F3D coupled with wings from an Italeri B-66, even though, being much bigger, these had to be modified.

The whole new tail is based on B-66 material. The fin's chord was shortened, though, and a new leading edge (with its beautiful curvature) had to be sculpted from 2C putty. The vertical stabilizers also come from the B-66, its span was adjusted to the Skyknight's and a new root intersection was created from styrene and putty, so that a cross-shaped tail could be realized.
The tail radar dish was retained, even though sketches show the F3D-3 without it.

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight" (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight" (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The wings were take 1:1 from the B-66 and match well. They just had to be shortened, I set the cut at maybe 5mm outwards of the engine pods' attachment points. They needed some re-engraving for the inner flaps, as these would touch the F3D-3's engines when lowered, but shape, depth and size are very good for the conversion.

On the fuselage, the wings' original "attachment bays" had to be filled, and the new wings needed a new position much further forward, directly behind the cockpit, in order to keep the CoG.

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight" (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight" (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

One issue would be the main landing gear. On the straight wing aircraft it retracts outwards, and I kept this arrangement. No detail of the exact landing gear well position was available to me, so I used the Matchbox parts as stencils and placed the new wells as much aft as possible, cutting out new openings from the B-66 wings.

The OOB landing gear was retained, but I added some structure to the landing gear wells with plastic blister material - not to be realistic, just for the effect. A lot of lead was added in the kit's nose section, making sure it actually stands on the front wheel.

The Matchbox Skyknight basically offers no real problems, even though the air intake design leaves, by tendency some ugly seams and even gaps. I slightly pimped the cockpit with headrests, additional gauges and a gunsight, as well as two (half) pilot figures. I did not plan to present the opened cockpit and the bulbous windows do not allow a clear view onto the inside anyway, so this job was only basically done. In fact, the pilots don't have a lower body at all...

I also implanted new fans for the engines - the OOB kit just features plain walls with a nipple. I had two lift jets from a Tsukuda Hobby Yak-38 left over, and these fans, though a bit small in diameter, went into the air intakes, and the rest of these small engines were used as exhaust pipe extensions, simulating different (longer) engines on the F3D-3.

Ordnance comprises of four Sparrow III - the Sparrow I with its pointed nose could have been an option, too, but I think at the time of 1960 the early version was already phased out?

Painting and markings:
This was supposed to become a typical USN service aircraft of the 60ies, so a grey/white livery was predetermined. I had built an EF-10B many years ago from the Matchbox kit, and the grey/white guise suits the Whale well - and here it would look even better, with the new, elegant wings.

For easy painting I used semi matt white from the rattle can on the lower sides (painting the landing gear at the same time!), and then added FS 36440 (Light Gull Grey, Humbrol 129) with a brush to the upper sides. The radar nose became semi matt black (with some weathering), while the RHAWS dish was kept in tan (Humbrol 71).

In order to emphasize the landing gear and the respective wells I added a red rim to the covers.
The cockpit interior was painted in dark grey - another factor which made adding too many details there futile, too...

The aircraft's individual marking were to be authentic, and not flamboyant. In the mid 50ies the USN machines were not as colorful as in the Vietnam War era, that just started towards the 60ies.

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The markings I used come primarily from an Emhar F3H Demon, which features no less than four(!) markings, all with different colors. I settled for a machine of VF-61 "Jolly Rogers", which operated from the USS Saratoga primarily in the Mediterranean from 1958 on - and shortly thereafter the unit was disbanded.

I took some of the Demon markings and modified them with very similar but somewhat more discrete markings from VMF-323, which flew FJ-4 at the time - both squadrons marked their aircraft with yellow diamonds on black background, and I had some leftover decals from a respective Xtradecal sheet in the stash.

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas F3D-3/F-10C "Skyknight"; aircraft "215" (s/n 51-336737) of VF-61 'Jolly Rogers' on board of USS Saratoga (CVA-60), Mediterranean Sea, early 1958 (Whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

IMHO a good result with the B-66 donation parts, even though I am not totally happy with the fin - it could have been more slender at the top, and with a longer, more elegant spine fillet, but for that the B-66 fin was just too thick. Anyway, I am not certain if anyone has ever built this aircraft? I would not call the F3D-3 elegant or beautiful, but the swept wings underline the fuselage's almost perfect teardrop shape, and the thing reminds a lot of the later Grumman A-6 Intruder?

The Rat · May 12, 2014, 05:10:53 AM

Gobsmacked X 10!

Dizzyfugu · May 12, 2014, 05:13:34 AM

Thank you very much!

Weaver · May 12, 2014, 06:22:42 AM

It looks gorgeous, and the photography is an excellent as usual.

This is a plane I'd like to do at some point too..

Logan Hartke · May 12, 2014, 06:54:12 AM

Fine job, it looks great! Well done!

Cheers,

Logan

TallEng · May 12, 2014, 06:57:17 AM

Now that is rather good

and I think the shape is elegant.
Lt gull grey and white is my absolute favorite USN colour scheme and I
Think you've nailed that to perfection

And the photos, as ever top notch

Regards
Keith

Dizzyfugu · May 12, 2014, 07:08:37 AM

Thank you, gentlemen. I was lucky that there was decent (sun)light on Sunday morning when I took the pics, so that no artificial light was necessary. Pics turned out well, and especially in flight (with the landing gear stashed away) the F3D-3 almost looks elegant...

On some or the worse shots (light issues) I exprimented with the dia frame filter, and these look quite realistic, too?

NARSES2 · May 12, 2014, 08:01:04 AM

It just looks so right

Gondor · May 12, 2014, 11:08:45 AM

Looks fantastic.

Gondor

PR19_Kit · May 12, 2014, 01:50:27 PM

To misquote a Guiness advert of many years ago :-

'I said it's ruddy MARVELLOUS!!!!'

Rheged · May 12, 2014, 03:30:57 PM

Quote from: PR19_Kit on May 12, 2014, 01:50:27 PM
To misquote a Guiness advert of many years ago :-

'I said it's ruddy MARVELLOUS!!!!'

I agree with you totally!

Dizzyfugu · May 12, 2014, 11:39:05 PM

Thank you VERY much!

Army of One · May 13, 2014, 02:02:01 AM

Great looking kit, finish and photography as usual.......

sandiego89 · May 13, 2014, 08:00:46 AM

Wow, really excellent. There is an expression about putting lipstick on a pig, and that is a great looking pig!

Dizzyfugu · May 13, 2014, 08:13:50 AM

Well, it flies...