1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h = Tempest), Suez Crisis, summer 1956

Dizzyfugu · February 12, 2018, 07:06:52 AM

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
Today's Israel Aerospace Industries was founded in 1953 as Bedek Aviation Company under the initiative of Shimon Peres, then Director general of the Ministry of Defense, in order to maintain Israel Defense Forces (IDF) aircraft'. The company originally had 70 employees and recruited American born aviation expert Al Schwimmer as the company's founder and first president.

The Israeli Air Force (Kheil HaAvir) was formed on May 28, 1948, shortly after Israel declared statehood and found itself under attack. It consisted of a hodge-podge of commandeered or donated civilian aircraft converted to military use. A variety of obsolete and surplus ex-World War II combat aircraft were quickly sourced by various means to supplement this fleet.

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Israel's new fighter arm first went into action on May 29, 1948, assisting the efforts to halt the Egyptian advance from Gaza northwards. The first dogfight against enemy fighters took place a few days later, on June 8, when Gideon Lichtaman shot down an Egyptian Spitfire. As the war progressed, more and more aircraft were procured, including Boeing B-17s, Bristol Beaufighters, de Havilland Mosquitoes and P-51D Mustangs, leading to a shift in the balance of power.

Anyway, experience revealed that a powerful, fast and cannon-armed fighter bomber was still required. This led to the adaptation of the Hawker Tempest, which had become available after WWII from RAF surplus stocks. 24 Mk. II airframes without engines or other military equipment were transferred by ship from RAF squadrons in Germany to Israel, where the young Bedek Aviation Company re-equipped them and modified them to local needs.

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Most obvious change was the new engine, a P&W R-2800-32(E) 18 cylinder radial engine with a two-stage supercharger and a maximum output of 2,760 hp (2,060 kW) emergency power, which replaced the former Centaurus. Anyway, due to the high local ambient temperatures and the desert theatre of operations, the engines had to be equipped with extra oil coolers (a second cooler was added to the port side wing's leading edge) and dust filters. With all these modifications, the engine' effective power was 2,500 hp (1,865 kW).
Further modifications included optional launch rails for up to British RPGs and a pair of bomb hardpoints under the outer wings for bombs of up to 1.000lb caliber each, or a pair of drop tanks. Furthermore, the cockpit received additional armor plating against small caliber weapons.

The modified type was christened סערה (S'erh = tempest) and introduced to IDF service in 1954, mostly replacing the obsolete Avia S.199 (essentially Czechoslovak-built Messerschmitt Bf 109s with Junkers Jumo 211F engines) and Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk IXEs (also purchased from Czechoslovakia). They were all allocated to IDF/AF's newly founded 104 tajeset, a dedicated fighter bomber unit with its home base near Tel Aviv.

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

It was not long before the S'erh became involved in a serious conflict: the Suez Crisis. The Israeli Air Force played an important part in Operation Kadesh, Israel's part in the 1956 Suez Crisis. At the launch of the operation, on October 29, Israeli P-51D Mustangs and S'erh fighter bombers severed telephone lines in the Sinai, some even using their propeller blades, while 16 IAF DC-3s escorted by fighters dropped Israeli paratroopers behind Egyptian lines at the Mitla Pass and Et-Tur.
The Israeli Air Force also conducted attacks on Egyptian ground units and assisted the Israeli Navy in capturing an Egyptian warship that bombarded the Israeli city of Haifa – an airstrike damaged the Egyptian ship's engines, enabling Israeli ships to reach it and capture it.

After this conflict, though, the S'erh was quickly taken away from front line duties. Seven machines were lost during the Suez operations, and the remaining airframes started showing severe signs of fatigue. Furthermore, spare parts for the R-2800 engines became more and more costly - the age of the jet engine had begun. Dassault Mystere IV and Dassault Mirage IIICJ eventually replaced the piston-engine aircraft in the Israeli Air Force.

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Consequentially, Bedek began in 1959 manufacturing its first aircraft, a V-tailed twinjet trainer of French design, the Fouga Magister, locally called Tzukit (Monticola). The first aircraft to be fully designed and built by IAI, the IAI Arava STOL (short take-off and landing) transport aircraft, first flew in 1969 after three years of development.

General characteristics:
Crew: One
Length: 34 ft 11 in (10.66 m)
Wingspan: 41 ft 0 in (12.49 m)
Height: 16 ft 1 in (4.90 m) (w. tail down)
Wing area: 302 ft² (28 m²)
Empty weight: 9,250 lb (4,195 kg)
Loaded weight: 11,400 lb (5,176 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 13,640 lb (6,190 kg)

Powerplant:
1× P&W R-2800-32(E) 18 cylinder radial engine with a two-stage supercharger
and a maximum output of 2,500 hp (1,865 kW), driving a four-bladed Rotol propeller

Performance:
Maximum speed: 435 mph at 19,000 ft (700 km/h at 5,791 m)
Range: 740 mi (1,190 km) with internal fuel only,
1,530 mi (2,462 km) with 90 gal (409 l) drop tanks
Service ceiling: 36,500 ft (11,125 m)
Rate of climb: 4,700 ft/min (23.9 m/s)
Wing loading: 37.75 lb/ft² (184.86 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.21 hp/lb (0.31 kW/kg)

Armament:
4× 20 mm (.79 in) Mark V Hispano cannons, 200 rpg.
2× underwing hardpoints for 500 lb (227 kg) or 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs
or 2× 45 gal (205 l) or 2× 90 gal (409 l) drop tanks
Alternatively up to 8× unguided 3 in (76.2 mm) RP-3 rockets

The kit and its assembly:
This converted Hawker Tempest was original inspired by a CG artwork from a flight simulation game, where someone had copied the skin from a D-Day P-47, in US olive drab/neutral grey livery with invasion stripes and some colorful cowling trim, onto a Tempest Mk. II. This looked very good and natural, but I found the overall concept to be fishy. The Tempest belongs to a later war period, and I could hardly imagine that the US forces, with potent fighters like the P-47 or the P-51 at hand, would operate the Tempest, too?

But the idea kept haunting me, and resulted in the idea of an engine switch to an R-2800 radial. Another unlikely move, at least during WWII, and so I kept searching for a post-war niche for this conversion. After ruling out some option (India, Myanmar) I eventually settled for the young state of Israel during the nascent period of its air force in the early Fifties – and about the time when Tempest airframes would become available. Still not a 100% bulletproof story, but I liked the idea.

Technically, this is just the (actually very good) Matchbox kit of the Hawker Tempest, which comes with an optional Sabre and a Centaurus nose section, with an engine transplant from an Italeri F4U-5 and some minor cosmetic changes.

The engine switch was easier than expected, both the Centaurus and the R-2800 have almost the same diameter – even though the Corsair cowling is a bit wider and more massive. But the stunt works pretty well, without major PSR work.
Another feature that changes IMHO the Tempest's look considerably is the new, spinner-less propeller. It suits the "new" aircraft well, and makes the Tempest look much more American, and somewhat menacing?

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In order to blend the engine into the fuselage lines I added a shallow air scoop under the cowling, and an additional oil cooler was, scratched with styrene sheet and putty, added to the port wing, for a more or less symmetrical arrangement.

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In the cockpit, I just added a dashboard and the canopy was cut into two pieces for display. The landing gear was taken OOB.

In order to tell the fighter bomber story I added ordnance under the wings in the form of two US style 500 lb bombs (from a Smer F4U) plus a pair of scratched pylons, plus two pairs of resin RP-3 rockets and launch rails (Pavla) on the outermost positions.

Painting and markings:
This was a bit tricky. The classic brown/blue IDF livery of the Suez crisis would have been a natural choice, but I wanted something different – and eventually found a P-51 of that era ("19") which became the inspiration for the S'erh.

The Mustang carried a relatively simple scheme in sand and green, with light blue undersides – but interpretations of the tones vary greatly. Furthermore I was only able to dig up side views of the machine, and apparently it had a symmetrical pattern on the fuselage, with large blotches instead of color bands.

I used Tamiya XF-57 "Buff" and "Olive Green" (XF-58) as basic tones for the upper surfaces and Humbrol 247 (RLM 76) for the undersides - kind of a "sand & spinach" livery. Later, the model received a black ink wash and post shading with lighter tones (Humbrol 167 "Hemp" as well as RAL 6003 and RLM 76 from Modelmaster). Cockpit and landing gear wells became Tamiya XF-67 (Field Grey), an slightly darker alternative to the classic RAF Interior Green.

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The decals were puzzled together - the national markings and the Suez ID stripes came from a Heller Ouragan, the tactical code "57" came from an Italeri La-5FN (and is actually a "75"...) and the unit badge was lent from an Italeri A-4M, depicting a VMA-331 "Bumble Bees" machine.

Finally, the model received some soot stains around the exhausts and the gun ports, and it was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

1:72 Bedek Aviation Company "סערה" (Ser'h); aircraft "57" of the חֵיל הָאֲוִיר (Kheil HaAvir, Israeli Air Force)'s 104 tajeset "צרעות" ("Wasps"); Herzaleah (near Tel Aviv, Israel), during the Suez Crisis, summer 1956 (whif/Matchbox kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

I was a little skeptical whether the fictional Israeli origin of this what-if was sound or not, but when I look at the finished model I think it's a good story - and the Tempest with the massive R-2800 engine does actually not look that bad or unbalanced, despite the wider cowling and the lack of a propeller spinner. Esp. the latter detail males the aircraft look really different. The sleek Tempest is still there, but you immediately wonder "Well, there's something wrong with it...?".

Old Wombat · February 12, 2018, 07:16:50 AM

Nicely done, Dizz! Looks great!

DogfighterZen · February 12, 2018, 09:50:41 AM

As always, i like the idea and the end product.

Hotte · February 12, 2018, 09:52:40 AM

Great bird

Hotte

perttime · February 12, 2018, 10:19:45 AM

Certainly looks the part

I thought you might go for the bigger Wright R-3350, like people have done with Sea Furies in real life (Because the Bristol Centaurus is hard to get). Then I found out that the Sanders "Sea Fury Family" has also done an R-2800 installation on a Sea Fury:

http://www.sandersaeronautics.com/restoration_seafury-r2800.asp

(Lots of in-flight and installation photos of the R-2800 Sea Fury)

Logan Hartke · February 12, 2018, 11:06:25 AM

They've also put an R-4360 on the Sea Fury.

http://www.sandersaeronautics.com/aircraft_dreadnought.asp

From what I've read in an article on the conversions years ago, the issue wasn't availability, but rather mod-ability. Apparently, the Centaurus on the Sea Fury was a wonderful engine that ran great and did what was asked of it, but it didn't take well to "tinkering". Racers soup up those engines, replace components, and run them a lot hotter than they were designed. From what I was reading, the American radials take just fine to this treatment, but the Centaurus did not.

Cheers,

Logan

nighthunter · February 12, 2018, 11:13:17 AM

Looks fantastic, Thomas, I'll make a profile of it later

Snowtrooper · February 12, 2018, 02:34:19 PM

Lovely!

I'd guess that the R-2800-32(E) and its 2760 hp (before tropical mods) would have been a "good enough" update from Centaurus 2590 hp, especially if it could be tuned, equipped with water-methanol injection, run longer durations at WEP, tolerate overheating due to the hot climate better, etc. Bonus would be that it would be available in quantities from the Boneyard at the price of scrap iron, since most types using it would have been in the process of being retired/scrapped in the given timeframe. R-3350 and R-4360 however were still in active use and manufactured so would probably not have been available as cheaply.

Gondor · February 12, 2018, 02:44:11 PM

Wonderful

Gondor

Weaver · February 12, 2018, 04:49:08 PM

Oh well done Dizzy - I've thought about giving the Israelis some old Typhoons before now (acquired through a dodgy deal or scam).

Quote from: Logan Hartke on February 12, 2018, 11:06:25 AM
They've also put an R-4360 on the Sea Fury.

http://www.sandersaeronautics.com/aircraft_dreadnought.asp

From what I've read in an article on the conversions years ago, the issue wasn't availability, but rather mod-ability. Apparently, the Centaurus on the Sea Fury was a wonderful engine that ran great and did what was asked of it, but it didn't take well to "tinkering". Racers soup up those engines, replace components, and run them a lot hotter than they were designed. From what I was reading, the American radials take just fine to this treatment, but the Centaurus did not.

Cheers,

Logan

I can imagine. One thing sleeve valves do not like is running hotter than they're designed for.

Dizzyfugu · February 12, 2018, 11:55:05 PM

Thank you very much!

Quote from: nighthunter on February 12, 2018, 11:13:17 AM
Looks fantastic, Thomas, I'll make a profile of it later

Looking forward to it.

NARSES2 · February 13, 2018, 03:13:55 AM

That really does look the part