DONE +++ 1:72 Fokker D.XXI-5, Jagevingen (Norwegian Air Force)

KiwiZac · September 24, 2015, 02:51:54 PM

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on September 23, 2015, 12:02:36 AM
I think that you built another incarnation of the Pioneer 2 model, which came also in a PM Models and Matchbox re-boxing.

I think you're right. I don't even know how I came to have it, but I remember playing with it a lot. This, a Wessex and a Dornier twin (Do.28?) are the only "Matchbox" kits I remember building.

Nice work DF!

Dizzyfugu · September 25, 2015, 02:13:11 AM

Quote from: perttime on September 24, 2015, 06:14:17 AM
Quote from: Dizzyfugu on September 24, 2015, 05:08:37 AM
Yes. Any D.XXI has its armament in or under the wings.
I'm not quite sure about that. Right now the Finnish Wikipedia article is the only source I can find, but I've seen books mentioning fuselage machineguns and moving guns from fuselage to wings for the Twin Wasp Junior powered version. I cannot see them in photos that I can find now but nose-installed guns are not always very obviously visible.

Did some more legwork and this turned out that the Dutch D.XXI had two of thier machine guns in the fuselage, two in the wings. The Danish machines had a pair of MGs in the ings, plus 20mm Madsen cannons under the wings, and the Finnish machines has all the MGs in the wings - the configuration I chose, too.

Dizzyfugu · September 25, 2015, 02:37:22 AM

Besides, the Jagevingen Fokker D.XXI-5 is done:

1:72 Fokker D.XXI-5; aircraft "440" of Norwegian Army Air Service's Jagevingen; Fornebu, near Oslo, Norway; April 1940 (Whif/modified PM Models kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Fokker D.XXI-5; aircraft "440" of Norwegian Army Air Service's Jagevingen; Fornebu, near Oslo, Norway; April 1940 (Whif/modified PM Models kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The Fokker D.XXI fighter was designed in 1935 for use by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger, ML-KNIL). As such, it was designed as an inexpensive and small, but rugged aircraft, which had respectable performance for its time. Entering operational use in the early years of World War II, it provided yeoman service for both the Luchtvaartafdeling (Dutch Army Aviation Group) and the Finnish Air Force. Other operators were Denmark and Norway, and a few were built by the El Carmolí factory before it fell into rebel hands during the Spanish Civil War.

1:72 Fokker D.XXI-5; aircraft "440" of Norwegian Army Air Service's Jagevingen; Fornebu, near Oslo, Norway; April 1940 (Whif/modified PM Models kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Fokker D.XXI-5; aircraft "440" of Norwegian Army Air Service's Jagevingen; Fornebu, near Oslo, Norway; April 1940 (Whif/modified PM Models kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Fokker D.XXI-5; aircraft "440" of Norwegian Army Air Service's Jagevingen; Fornebu, near Oslo, Norway; April 1940 (Whif/modified PM Models kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The Fokker D.XXI was a low-wing monoplane with a fixed spatted undercarriage. Following standard Fokker design practice of the period, it had a steel tube fuselage covered in large part by fabric, with wooden cantilever wings. Power was provided by a Bristol Mercury radial driving a three-blade two-pitch propeller. When it entered service in 1938 it was a significant leap forward for the Dutch Army Aviation Group, whose fighter force had until that time consisted of aging biplanes with open cockpits.

The new Fokker proved to be an extremely sturdy aircraft capable of attaining a speed of 700 km/h in a dive, making it one of the few aircraft that could follow a Stuka bomber into its dive. The Fokker D.XXI, although much slower and more lightly armed than the Bf 109, performed surprisingly well in dogfights, due to its maneuverability.

1:72 Fokker D.XXI-5; aircraft "440" of Norwegian Army Air Service's Jagevingen; Fornebu, near Oslo, Norway; April 1940 (Whif/modified PM Models kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Fokker D.XXI-5; aircraft "440" of Norwegian Army Air Service's Jagevingen; Fornebu, near Oslo, Norway; April 1940 (Whif/modified PM Models kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

With its rugged design, a simple, radial engine and fixed undercarriage the Fokker D.XXI was also very suitable for nordic conditions. The fixed undercarriage lent itself to both unimproved runways and conversion to skis for winter use, both of which were advantages in this demanding theater of operations. That did not help much when Norway was invaded in April 1940, though: At that time only five Fokker D.XXI-5 were operational with the Norwegian Army Air Service, while eight more were still on order and never reached their destination. The Fokker D.XXI-5s differed from the Dutch standard machines mainly through an upgraded engine: the Bristol Mercury with 830 hp (680 kW) was replaced by a Bristol Pegasus XX, rated at 920 hp (686 kW). The most obvious difference from the Mercury-powered machines was a shorter but more angular cowling, coupled with a three blade propeller, an aerodynamic spinner and an engine fairing. The armament still comprised four 7.7mm Vickers machine guns in the wings.

The Norwegian Campaign in early 1940 saw both Norwegian and British fighters battling the Luftwaffe, with the Norwegian Jagevingen fighting in the defence of Oslo on the first day of Operation Weserübung, the German invasion. Later British fighters fought to provide cover for the allied reinforcements sent to the assistance of the Norwegian government.
The pilots of the Norwegian Jagevingen (fighter flight) were based at Fornebu Airport, equipped with a mix of Fokker D.XXI-5s and Gloster Gladiators. On 9 April, the first day of the invasion of Norway, the total of twelve serviceable aircraft managed to shoot down six German aircraft: two Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters, two He 111 bombers and one Fallschirmjäger-laden Ju 52 transport, all downed by Gloster Gladiators, while the only air victory of a Fokker D.XXI-5 was a Bf 109 escort fighter.

1:72 Fokker D.XXI-5; aircraft "440" of Norwegian Army Air Service's Jagevingen; Fornebu, near Oslo, Norway; April 1940 (Whif/modified PM Models kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Fokker D.XXI-5; aircraft "440" of Norwegian Army Air Service's Jagevingen; Fornebu, near Oslo, Norway; April 1940 (Whif/modified PM Models kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Fokker D.XXI-5; aircraft "440" of Norwegian Army Air Service's Jagevingen; Fornebu, near Oslo, Norway; April 1940 (Whif/modified PM Models kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Fokker D.XXI-5; aircraft "440" of Norwegian Army Air Service's Jagevingen; Fornebu, near Oslo, Norway; April 1940 (Whif/modified PM Models kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

One Gladiator and one Fokker were shot down during the air battle, while three more aircraft (one Fokker, two Gladiators) were strafed and destroyed while refuelling and rearming at Fornebu airport. The remaining operational fighters were ordered to land wherever they could away from the base, landing on frozen lakes around Oslo. They were abandoned by their pilots, then wrecked by souvenir-hunting civilians or destroyed through further air attacks strafing. None of the Norwegian Fokker D.XXI-5s survived.

1:72 Fokker D.XXI-5; aircraft "440" of Norwegian Army Air Service's Jagevingen; Fornebu, near Oslo, Norway; April 1940 (Whif/modified PM Models kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

General characteristics:
Crew: one
Length: 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 11 m (36 ft 1 in)
Height: 2.92 m (9 ft 7 in)
Wing area: 16.2 m2 (174 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,594 kg (3,514 lb)
Gross weight: 1,970 kg (4,343 lb)

Powerplant:
1 × Bristol Pegasus XX 9-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engine, rated at 920 hp (686 kW).

Performance:
Maximum speed: 460 km/h (286 mph; 248 kn)
Cruising speed: 429 km/h (267 mph; 232 kn)
Never exceed speed: 700 km/h (435 mph; 378 kn)
Range: 930 km (578 mi; 502 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,350 m (37,238 ft) service ceiling
Time to altitude: 6,000 m (19,685 ft 0 in) in 7 min 30 sec
Power/mass: 0.309 kW/kg (0.188 hp/lb)

Armament:
4 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Vickers machine guns in the outer wings

1:72 Fokker D.XXI-5; aircraft "440" of Norwegian Army Air Service's Jagevingen; Fornebu, near Oslo, Norway; April 1940 (Whif/modified PM Models kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Captain Canada · September 25, 2015, 05:10:22 AM

Looks good ! The wing bars look excellent over that camo. Too bad none of them survived. Maybe one or two can be recovered from the Fjords ? Surely they must have sank to a cold grave at some point ?

NARSES2 · September 25, 2015, 06:44:28 AM

That does look good

The Norwegian national markings have always been a fav of mine

Hotte · September 25, 2015, 06:49:27 AM

Excellent

I like it very much!

Hotte

Dizzyfugu · September 25, 2015, 08:30:19 AM

Thanks a lot!

That one was very quick, and I actually did not pay too much attention to the finish because of the rather poor kit. $:-\$
Anyway, the odd cammo scheme and the bright national markings really make the aircraft "look different" - and the spinner on the propeller adds also a lot to that.

AURI · September 26, 2015, 04:53:51 AM

Excellent work

love that camo