Fairey (Sea) Mustang Mk1, 894 Squadron Fleet Air Arm, HMS Indefatigable, 1945

[Doug K]

Not much detail in the headline as I haven't decided on squadron, ship or location (it'll probably be BPF or Indian Ocean).....

Back story is still developing but the thinking's that the Admiralty saw the usefulness of the initial Mustangs in the RAF and knew t North American had experimented with the idea of a navalised Mustang. Given the propensity for rotary engines in the US Navy one could see that the Mustang would be a fish out of water but the FleetAir Arm had a number of Merlin aircraft oil stream or in service, a single seater fighter that was relatively compatible made some sense. Given the Seafire's somewhat "interesting" deck landing characteristics, the Sea Hurricane's relative speed disadvantages, and Fairey's procrastination about a single seater Firefly, their Lordships looked across the pond and told Fairey to do a license deal.

I'll figure out more of the back-story as I go, this was meant to be a quick build for the GB, as my initial idea of a Crusader in RN paint had failed for lack of a Hasegawa canopy.

I had P51 A/Bs in the stash, even if the type had gone into service and remained so in 1945, I doubt Ds would have made it to the front line. As you can see I began with the MisterCraft kit but as I removed the parts I had a bad feeling. Sure enough the slim laminar flow wing of the mustard seemed to be a sandwich of 2 Hurricanes by the time I put it together. Lovely decals in the kit (which I don/t need) less good plastic.

IMG_4068 by doug_alba, on Flickr

IMG_4071 by doug_alba, on Flickr


So back into the loft to get my venerable Revel version! Wing-folds have been scribed and rear undercarriage door opened up to accept a hook (per the Corsair). More later, I am fortunate enough to still be working in these weird times.

IMG_4072 by doug_alba, on Flickr

IMG_4073 by doug_alba, on Flickr

[PR19_Kit]

A Seastang! 

Looks promising, I always wondered why they didn't do it for real, but maybe with the Hellcat and Corsair they didn't feel the need.

[zenrat]

A Seastang! 

Looks promising, I always wondered why they didn't do it for real, but maybe with the Hellcat and Corsair they didn't feel the need.

Seriously!  You expect The Navy to fly Army planes?  Are you out of your mind?

[PR19_Kit]

A Seastang! 

Looks promising, I always wondered why they didn't do it for real, but maybe with the Hellcat and Corsair they didn't feel the need.

Seriously!  You expect The Navy to fly Army planes?  Are you out of your mind?

Well they did it the other way round, the F-4 Phantom. 

[Old Wombat]

A Seastang! 

Looks promising, I always wondered why they didn't do it for real, but maybe with the Hellcat and Corsair they didn't feel the need.

Seriously!  You expect The Navy to fly Army planes?  Are you out of your mind?

Well they did it the other way round, the F-4 Phantom. 

Much, much later ... & only after they had split from the Army, & only grudgingly.

[Doug K]

A Seastang! 

Looks promising, I always wondered why they didn't do it for real, but maybe with the Hellcat and Corsair they didn't feel the need.

Seriously!  You expect The Navy to fly Army planes?  Are you out of your mind?

🤣

[Doug K]

A Seastang! 

Looks promising, I always wondered why they didn't do it for real, but maybe with the Hellcat and Corsair they didn't feel the need.

This is interesting https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/30061/why-was-the-p-51-mustang-not-adopted-by-the-u-s-navy

I wonder if Fairey’s wizardry with flaps much have helped on the steal problem? Given the FAA had Seafire experience (in my fevered imagination), the Merlin’s power should have been OK. Remember it was the Royal Navy that took the Corsair to sea first and taught the US Navy how to do it! Maybe that answers some of my backstory problems....

[Captain Canada]

Seahorse 

[JayBee]

Seahorse 

A Sea Horse  Good grief no! You will find the truth here :

https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=39549.msg655895#msg655895

[PR19_Kit]

I wonder if Fairey's wizardry with flaps much have helped on the steal problem?

Being in the middle of a build that hopefully will highlight 'Fairey's wizardry with flaps' my mind is boggling at what Fairey could have done with a Mustang's wing.

I can imagine the entire assemblage folding up and vanishing inside a couple of cupboards  on either side of the fuselage! 

[Dizzyfugu]

There actually was a hooked Mustang for carrier tests...

Here's one I did a while ago, a rather late WWII interpretation.


1:72 North American F1J "Sea Mustang"; VF-82, USS Bennington (CV-20), April 1945 (Whif/Heller kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Doug K]

There actually was a hooked Mustang for carrier tests...

Here's one I did a while ago, a rather late WWII interpretation.


1:72 North American F1J "Sea Mustang"; VF-82, USS Bennington (CV-20), April 1945 (Whif/Heller kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Dagnabbit, knew it wasn't a new idea 🤣

[Doug K]

So it's done, and as the headline says I have now figured out a bit more of the back story.

The Mustang was effectively forced on Fairey as a licking build as stated above, Merlin engine compatibility with other fighters etc. Fairey and the RAE fund some of the same stall issues with the airframe and a modified flap arrange was was added, this (along with the FAA's requirements) caused an increase in landing weight and slight drop in maximum speed over the NA built aircraft. What he aircraft retained was the Mustang's excellent range, ideal for the Pacific war. The combination of range and wide undercarriage track pretty much prevented the Seafire IIIs use in the Pacific, where the Fairey-built Mustangs (Sea Mustang was always a nickname) excelled alongside Corsairs and Hellcats. The only real issue was that the high landing speed on escort carriers, even with enhanced flaps, could be "interesting".


The Model; Revell as I already said above, not a bad wee kit but very odd exhaust arrangement - I'm still not satisfied with these. Usual FAA camo with few adornments (their Lordships tend not to be of a whimsical nature). I'm working through my ancient stash of BPF roundels, they are not great, hence a bit of silvering and some bubbling I could not get rid of. Minimal weathering and no drop tanks, I wasn't happy with them but may take a another run at them and add later. She is wearing Seafire plumage including the ridiculously large roundels on the fuselage - slightly regret that decision.

IMG_4097 by doug_alba, on Flickr

IMG_4100 by doug_alba, on Flickr

IMG_4103 by doug_alba, on Flickr

IMG_4107 by doug_alba, on Flickr

IMG_4108 by doug_alba, on Flickr

I think my whiffy BPF FAA is almost complete.....

IMG_4098 by doug_alba, on Flickr

[Weaver]

Nice one!

Don't worry about the fact that somebody else had the same idea: there are few really new ideas in the world, what matters is what you did with it! 

[Old Wombat]

I like 'em all! Well done, Doug!