World War One Whifs

[NARSES2]

Now that is interesting, like the scheme as well 

[Old Wombat]

Quite a common posture for the era.

[Glenn Gilbertson]

That looks neat - I like it!

[stevehed]

Thanks Gentlemen.

Regards, Steve

[stevehed]

This is a follow on from the Bulgarian Bristol Fighter that was built last year. As well as the Bristols the Bulgarians refurbished several British BE2c's that had been brought down on the wrong side of the lines. In addition the Germans sent some engineless SE5a airframes. Thanks to a considerable quantity of Russian war booty which included 155hp Salmson radial engines the engineers at Bourjisti air park  managed to create viable aircraft from the parts available. The Bulgar SE5 started life as the Revell SE5a. I cut off the locating rim for the nose radiator and then cut and filed nine slots into the paneling to accept the cylinders. A bulkhead was fitted into the engine compartment and with the help of a spacer the back of the engine was cemented to it. Although a radial the Salmson is water cooled. Most aircraft with these engines had two radiators so I gave it a small chin radiator and a German type airfoil radiator mounted in the top wing. A couple of water pipes and a nose cowl completed the conversion which was based on the engine installation of the Russian Lebed XII.  The exhaust collector rings are inside the engine compartment so it seemed logical that the fumes could exit via the original pipes. Compared to the 200hp SE5a I reckoned on a weight saving of 70lbs as I kept the Foster mounted Lewis for another project. The Bulgars ended up with more SE5 than 5a but still a capable little beast against Nieuports and Spad VII's. First, a before and after shot.

[zenrat]

Neat.

[loupgarou]

Very good. WW1 whifs are too rare, it's nice to see some.

[NARSES2]

Now that's an interesting build 

[stevehed]

Thanks again. It's a nice simple kit to build which makes it useful. Thinking cap required as there has got to be more whiffery within.

Regards, Steve

[stevehed]

These came about from a thought that the Winter War of 1939-40 was round two after an earlier spat in the 1920's.I had a quick delve into activities within the Baltic area during the Russian Civil War and decided that 1924 would have allowed the Finns and Soviet Union time to re-equip the respective air forces with more modern aircraft. Without getting too far into the politics I'm envisaging the Red Finns operating from Karelia trying to advance into Finland while backed by an aerial onslaught by the Red Air Force. Both sides are using the best that WW1 can provide. The Finns were keen to learn and sought help from the Allies in order to learn the air lessons of the Great War. The British Military Mission led by Gen.Kirke had advised the Finns to create an air force focused on bombers which conformed with the theories of Gen Douhet.  This was basically that the bomber will always get through. There was strong opposition to this from certain military leaders close to the air force. Their more realistic view was that Finland was more likely to be attacked than be the aggressor so wanted an air force in which fighters were predominant. I decided that this viewpoint came to the fore after the fighter brigade were helped by two decisions the Allies compelled the Finns to accept. First, the Finnish desire to build the Fokker DVII was thwarted when German production was shut down by the Allies. Anthony Fokker transferred his operation to Holland where he supplied the Dutch forces, and then in 1922-3, the Soviets with DVII's and CI's. The Finns tested the Martinsyde Buzzard next and bought 15 aircraft but were then left feeling gazumped when the British Aircraft Disposal Co. sold over 100 Buzzards to the Soviet Union. With production of the Polikarpov R1, an unlicensed DH9a, taking off the Finns were right to feel vulnerable. A Military Mission was sent to France and successfully acquired 50 Breguet XIV bombers for immediate delivery from storage. However they were unable to get any Nieuport 29's, the Finnish fighter of choice. The French were re-equipping their own forces with the N29 and with other countries orders already accepted the Finns were told to get into the queue. But it was discovered that an aircraft with similar performance could be made ready from storage with a guarantee of prompt delivery. There were many hundreds of Spad XIII airframes stored which were capable of accepting the late war 300hp Hispano Suiza engine. Late in the war the Spad XVII and XXI had been tested and would have replaced the XIII had the war continued. The main difference between the XIII and the XVII was the additional stringers along the rear fuselage which gave a slightly more ovoid appearance. The XXI had ailerons on both wings but was otherwise similar. However there are photos which show that the early XVII's had conventional XIII fuselages so the Finns had upgraded 300hp engines fitted, an increased wingspan with four ailerons to compensate for the increase in engine weight and the aircraft were redesignated Spad XXIIIE for export. At least 50 aircraft with spares and additional engines from storage were sent to Finland in 1923.

This order was only a stop gap and the Finns were keen to have their own aircraft production facilities. The Fokker DVII was still highly regarded in Finnish air force circles. It was felt that the aircraft steel tube design was easier to manufacture and the lack of rigging reduced the man hours needed to keep the aircraft airworthy. However, the Finns were aware that time had caught up with the wartime variants. They had purchased several DVII's at the end of the war and had recently purchased a parasol winged DX to evaluate. They were also aware of the DIX which had been sent to the USA for testing. Both the latter aircraft were fitted with the 300hp Hispano which imparted a much improved performance compared to the BMW version of 1918 fame. The Finns fitted a HS engine to one of their earlier DVII's and after testing decided to manufacture their own version of the DIX. The frontal radiator was replaced by the rounded cowling of the DX and a chin radiator preferred instead of the side radiators of the DX. The Fokker rounded rudder and fin was replaced with a squarer shape which had proved effective on both the DIX and DX. Other than that the DVII airframe was retained as the HS engine was lighter than the BMW. Production facilities were built near Helsinki. The Finns recruited former employees from the Ost Albatros Werke, a subsidiary of the Albatros Company of Germany. OAW had built the DVII during the war and many former employees jumped at the chance of remaining in the aero industry. The Finns gave them new identities in case the Allies got touchy but given the uncertainties of the time the Finns weren't too bothered about sensitivities. Part of this confidence was due to the support from another new nation, Czechoslovakia. Formerly part of the Austro Hungarian Empire it was an industrialized nation that had quickly embarked on building an indigenous arms industry. They had acquired licence rights to the 300hp HS engine and were to prove a valuable asset to Finland during the oncoming struggle. In fact the first DIX's to enter Finnish service were made from old DVII airframes obtained from Czechoslovakia and Poland circa September 1923. Locally produced aircraft were introduced from February 1924. Over 60 aircraft had been manufactured when hostilities began in August 1924.

The kits used are the venerable offerings from Revell. The Spad can be built almost OOB. The kit wings measure at a scale 28ft. Early XIII's were 27ft with rounded wing tips while most XIII's were 26ft 10ins with squarer wing tips. The rest of the kit is ok so all I did was to score ailerons onto the lower wings and add a larger windshield from an Airfix Spad VII kit. Based on photos of the XVII and XX the engine installations appear to be the same. The camouflage was based on the Revell Finnish Fokker DVII issue and the transfers are Galdecal.

The DVII kit required the engine cut out to be filled with plastic card and filler and shaped to match. Slots for the engine cylinder heads to be cut out of the engine section. Using the upper longeron as a guide a line of holes were drilled and successively drilled larger and then filed to shape. The cylinder heads are represented by lengths of filed 60 thou card with holes to accept the exhausts. Inside the engine compartment they formed a Y with the heads protruding out of the slots. The nose is a Roden spare from an Austro Hungarian Albatros while the exhausts are shortened versions of the XIII kit pipes. The new rudder was adapted from a spare from the HB29. The radiator is card and some of the cabane struts were replaced with thinner rod. Galdecal provided the markings. The camouflage for both aircraft was based on a Finnish DVII option issued by Revell some time ago.
Spad XXIII




Fokker DIX




Regards, Steve

[zenrat]

Nice!  Love the paintjobs.

[NARSES2]

They are nice 

[Dizzyfugu]

Nice! 

[nighthunter]

Steve, great minds:

http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,38892.msg660636.html#msg660636

[stevehed]

Thanks Guys, appreciated. I remembered the Finnish SE5a and considered it for a while. Rejected it on the grounds of the overwing Lewis. Hadn't thought of staggered mgs. Or maybe an extra Maxim in between the cylinders like Guynemers cannon.

regards, Steve