Yet another MB5/6/7 whatever......

[Martin H]

Not the 1911-1967 RAN White Ensign(some Poms may recognise it );

Hm yes. It does look a tad familer 

[NARSES2]

If you have some links I'd be pleased to see them,

As long as my brain isn't playing trick on me it will be in a book. I'll have a look in the obvious places, but if their not in them, then it will be pure luck if I turn them up I'm afraid Kit 

I don't think it was the Royal navy.
It was I believe but one of the many schemes used by our colonial cousins on their F4U's in the Pacific.

Ah cheers Martin. Might narrow the browsing down 

[PR19_Kit]

I just KNEW one of you 'down under guys' would give me a tough time over that flag, but....

The RAAF didn't adopt the 'roo roundel on the flag till AFTER the Sea Monsoons had visited Sydney in early 1946, so I just 'advanced' the use of the pale blue flag a year or so.

This is Whiff World, remember..............

[PR19_Kit]

As predicted, the Sea Monsoon's finished, thank goodness.



The landing gear doors fought me all the way to the finish, but I prevailed. 

A few detail shots before the backstory etc.



The mighty Griffon and its contra-prop.




The radome and folding wing tips, some of the major differences between the RAF's Monsoons and their FAA stablemates.




The arrestor hook and larger rudder, also Sea Monsoon exclusives.

===================================

Once the Martin Baker MB5 prototype had been assessed at the A&AEE, with an outstanding report on its performance given by Capt. Eric 'Winkle' Brown', the 'word' about the aircraft spread throughout the UK's fighter squadrons quite quickly. Demands that the MB5 be put into production with all speed arose and with a great deal of support from the RAF's hierarchy an initial production order of some 750 aircraft was placed with MB. However their Denham and Chalgrove factories were nowhere near large enough for such an order, and the entire production run was sub-contacted to Hawker's Kingston plant.

The MB5, officially titled the 'Monsoon', in both its F1 and more powerful F2 versions, flew with a number of RAF fighter squadrons during the closing years of WWII, and a longer spanned photo reconnaissance version, the PR3, saw service for some years later. With jet aircraft being developed the Monsoon's superb performance soon became outstripped and many were passed to RauxAF squadrons from early 1947 onwards. However the Fleet Air Arm had been very interested in the Monsoon, primarily because of Capt. Brown's glowing report on the prototype, and requests were made for a carrier borne version.

Martin Baker wasted no time in modifying the F2's design to take folding wing tips, an arrestor hook below the rudder and catapult spools under the wing roots, together with an appropriate Naval radio fit. One of the F2s was modified to this standard at Chalgrove and was flown to NAS Yeovilton for assessment, and naturally these flights were flown by Eric Brown. Capt. Brown was not as impressed with the naval variant as he had been with the prototype, questioning its unstable sink rate on approach to the carrier deck and its roll tenderness as it entered the disturbed air aft of the carrier's round down. The FAA also wanted a longer range without carrying drop tanks, although these were a standard fit on the land based F2.

The design was updated to what was to become the Sea Monsoon F21 with the span extended by some 12 ft, with the just the extensions arranged to fold, leaving the inner fixed sections almost as standard as the RAF's Monsoons, but with increased fuel tankage. The F21 had a small dorsal fin and the tailplane was given a slight dihedral angle to improve the stability on approach, plus a 'stinger' arrestor hook under the rudder, and this naval mark went into production at Kingston. The F21s soon proved to be a very good sea-borne fighter, out-performing the current Griffon engined Seafires in many areas, but primarily in its carrier landing characteristics, the wide track undercarriage proving a much better platform than the narrow tracked Seafire's outward retracting gear. As a result the number of deck landing incidents dropped off markedly.



The current FAA night fighter was the Fairey Firefly in its various marks, and suggestions were made that a radar equipped version of the Monsoon F21 would have higher performance than the Firefly. Martin Baker were contracted to design a two seater version of the Sea Monsoon, the FAA insisting that a night fighter required a second crew member to handle the increased work load. The night fighter's observer was housed in a second seat behind and above the pilot beneath a long, clear vision canopy that slid rearwards for access, and with the ASV Mk IX radar pod mounted on the leading edge of the starboard wing, outboard of the 20 mm cannon. With the increased side area of the two seat cockpit, the NF23 Sea Monsoons were fitted with an even larger dorsal fin than the F21s, plus a larger rudder.



The first unit to switch to the new night fighter was 809 NAS which stood up at Brawdy Naval Air Station in Wales in mid-1945, and embarked aboard HMS Indefatigable on that ship's return from the BPF later that year. Somewhat bizarrely the Indefatigable's first peacetime task was to ferry the British Rugby team to Australia for their first tour post WWII. This voyage gave 809 a good opportunity to evaluate the Sea Monsoon NF23's performance in many climates and were able to demonstrate the excellence of the Martin Baker design on many occasions and to many other countries en route out to the Antipodes and on their return. On arrival at Sydney the Rugby Team went ashore for a series of test matches with Australian teams and the ship's air wing deployed ashore to RAAF Richmond as the RAN's Fleet Air Arm had yet to be formed. The RAAF were suitably impressed with the Sea Furies and Sea Monsoons which demonstrated their capabilities around the south east of the country for some weeks, and flew on exercises with the RAAF's Mustangs. As a result a number of the Indefatigable's aircraft were seen to have been 'zapped' with Australian flag markings on their return to the UK.



809 flew the Sea Monsoon for only a few years as their mounts were replaced by an even  more notable naval night fighter, the de Havilland Sea Hornet NF21, which offered even more power, having twin RR Merlins, and even better handling. Capt. Brown said of the Sea Hornet 'For sheer exhilarating flying enjoyment, no aircraft has ever made a deeper impression on me than did this outstanding filly from the de Havilland stable.'

The Sea Monsoons were transferred to the RNVR Squadron's Southern Air Wing at RNAS Culham for a number of years, but were then replaced in those units by jets, Supermarine Attackers and Hawker Sea Hawks. Sadly no Sea Monsoons escaped the scrap yards.

===================================



Maybe it's that monster canopy, maybe the folding wings, or maybe the larger fin, but I find it quite difficult to see the MB5's roots in the side view of the Sea Monsoon NF23.

[Tophe]

Good result! Congratulations!

[kitnut617]

Well done Kit, now I like that a lot ---

[PR19_Kit]

It's thanks to Dave Kitbasher's donation of the canopy and upper fuselage, without those it wouldn't have had such a distinctive shape.

Many thanks Dave. 

[chrisonord]

Very nice kit 
It would be right at home in my alternative  fleet air arm too
Chris

[rickshaw]

A good story but who is flying it with an mis-coloured Aussie flag below their canopy, Kit?  Nice plane!   

[NARSES2]

That's come out really well Kit  , and I've been wondering what to do with my AZ kit of the MB 6 

[PR19_Kit]

A good story but who is flying it with an mis-coloured Aussie flag below their canopy, Kit?  Nice plane!   

See post #62.................

[PR19_Kit]

That's come out really well Kit  , and I've been wondering what to do with my AZ kit of the MB 6 

The 'standard' MB6 canopy looks far too small to my mind, thus the conversion to the Meteor NF14 canopy and framework. But then the fuselage looks far too bulky, so the fin-rudder needs to be larger.

And so it goes on...........

I've got one more MB6 left over now, and an MB5 canopy, so that'll be a standard RAF Monsoon I think.

[rickshaw]

A good story but who is flying it with an mis-coloured Aussie flag below their canopy, Kit?  Nice plane!   

See post #62.................

No, no, that is far too subtle for the RAAF.  They'd add a small 'roo somewhere on the tail, just leaping into action (and few funnel web spiders to surprise the aircrew...)

[kitbasher]

Very smart, Kit. 

Glad you were able to sort out the canopy!

[kitnut617]

That's come out really well Kit  , and I've been wondering what to do with my AZ kit of the MB 6 

The 'standard' MB6 canopy looks far too small to my mind, thus the conversion to the Meteor NF14 canopy and framework. But then the fuselage looks far too bulky, so the fin-rudder needs to be larger.

And so it goes on...........

I've got one more MB6 left over now, and an MB5 canopy, so that'll be a standard RAF Monsoon I think.

Exactly what I thought Kit, when I built my MB6 Long Ranger