1:72 Helwan HA-100, Royal Egyptian Air Force No. 2 Sq.; Edku, 1951

Dizzyfugu · October 04, 2021, 04:38:32 AM

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
As the Egyptian border was threatened by an Italian and German invasion during the Second World War, the Royal Air Force established more airfields in Egypt. The Royal Egyptian Air Force was sometimes treated as a part of the Royal Air Force, at other times a strict policy of neutrality was followed as Egypt maintained its official neutrality until very late in the war. As a result, few additional aircraft were supplied by Britain, however the arm did receive its first modern fighters, Hawker Hurricanes and a small number of Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks. In the immediate post-war period, cheap war surplus aircraft, including a large number of Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXs were acquired.

Following the British withdrawal from the British Protectorate of Palestine and the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, Egyptian forces crossed into Palestine as part of a wider Arab League military coalition in support of the Palestinians against the Israelis. During 1948–1949, Egypt received 62 refurbished Macchi C.205V Veltro (Italian: Greyhound) fighters. The C.205 was an Italian World War II fighter aircraft built by the Aeronautica Macchi. Along with the Reggiane Re.2005 and Fiat G.55, the Macchi C.205 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful German Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine.
The C.205 Veltro was a refinement of the earlier C.202 Folgore. With a top speed of some 640 km/h (400 mph) and equipped with a pair of 20 mm cannon as well as two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns, the Macchi C.205 had been highly respected by Allied and Axis pilots alike. Widely regarded as one of the best Italian aircraft of World War II, it proved to be extremely effective, destroying a large number of Allied bombers, and it proved capable of meeting fighters such as the North American P-51D Mustang on equal terms.

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

For the Egyptian order, eight C.205 and 16 C.202 were upgraded to C.205 standard in May 1948. In February 1949, three brand new and 15 ex-C.202, and in May another ten C.205 and C.202 each were brought to the Egyptian C.205 standard. This last contract was not finalized, though: Israeli secret services reacted with a bombing in Italy, which at the time was supplying both Israel and the Arab states, which, among others, destroyed Macchi facilities and damaged Egyptian C.205s still on order.

Only 15 completed Macchis were delivered to Egypt before the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, seeing brief combat against the Israeli Air Force. The new Veltros were fully equipped, while the Folgore conversions were armed with only two 12.7 mm Breda machine guns. They were the lightest series of the entire production, and consequently had the best performance, but were seriously under-armed. Some Veltros, equipped with underwing bomb racks were used in ground-attack sorties against Israeli targets.

This left the Egyptian air force with a lack of capable fighters, so that Egypt ordered nineteen additional Fiat G.55 fighters from Italian surplus stocks and searched for ways to remedy the situation, since the relations with Great Britain had severely suffered under the Arab-Israeli War. This led to the plan to build and develop aircraft independently and just based on national resources, and eventually to the Helwan HA-100, Egypt's first indigenous combat aircraft – even though it was rather a thorough upgrade program than a complete new construction.

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Opened in late 1950 to manufacture airplanes, the Helwan Aircraft Factory, located in the South of Cairo, took on the challenge to create a domestic, improved fighter from existing C.205 and C.202 airframes in Egyptian service and its Fiat engines still available from Italy. The resulting Helwan HA-100 retained most of the forward fuselage structure of the C.205 with the original engine mounts, as well as the wings, but measures were taken to improve aerodynamics and combat value. One of these was the introduction of a new (yet framed) bubble canopy, which afforded the pilot with a much better all-round field of view and also improved the forward view while taxiing. This modification necessitated a lowered spine section, and wind tunnel tests suggested a deteriorated longitudinal stability, so that the tail section was completely redesigned. The fin was considerably enlarged and now had a square outline, while the stabilizers were raised into an almost cruciform tail configuration and also enlarged to improve the aircraft's responsiveness to directional changes. The wings were clipped to improve handling and roll characteristics at low to medium altitudes, where most dogfights in the Arab-Israeli War had taken place.
The HA-100 retained the license-built Daimler Bent DB 605 from Italy, but to adapt this Fiat Tifone engine to the typical desert climate in Egypt with higher ambient temperatures and constant sand dust in the air, the HA-100 received an indigenous dust filter, a more effective (and larger) ventral radiator and a bigger, single oil cooler that replaced the C.205's small drum coolers under the engine, which were very vulnerable, esp. to ground fire from light caliber weapons. To gain space in the fuselage under the cockpit for new fuel tank, both radiator and oil cooler were re-located to positions under the inner wings, similar in layout to early Supermarine Spitfire Marks.

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

While the HA-100 left the drawing boards and an initial converted C.205 went through trials, relations with Britain had been restored and the official state of war with Israel ensured that arms purchases continued. This gave the REAF an unexpected technological push forward: In late 1949, Egypt already received its first jet fighter, the British Gloster Meteor F4, and shortly after some de Havilland Vampire FB5s, which rendered the HA-100 obsolete. Nevertheless, the project was kept alive to strengthen Egypt's nascent aircraft industry, but the type was only met with lukewarm enthusiasm.
The first HA-100 re-builds were delivered to 2 Sqn Royal Egyptian Air Force at Edku (East of Alexandria) in mid-1951, painted in a camouflage scheme of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides, using leftover RAF material from WWII. Later, REAF 1 Sqn at Almaza near Cairo received HA-100s, too. Eventually, around forty HA-100s were built for the REAF until 1952. The only export customer for the HA-100 was Syria: sixteen machines, rejected by the REAF, were delivered in early 1952, where they served alongside former RAF Spitfire F.Mk.22s.

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The REAF HA-100s only had a short career, but they eventually faced frontline duties and fired in anger. This also marked their last deployments, which occurred during the early stages of the Suez Crisis in 1956.
Only about 15 HA-100s of REAF No. 2 Squadron were still in flying condition due to quickly worsening engine spares shortages, and the aircraft had, in the meantime, been hardwired to carry up to four "Sakr" unguided 122mm rockets on the underwing hardpoints. Due to their agility at low altitude, the HA-100s were primarily used for ground attacks and low-level reconnaissance duties. On their missions the aircraft still performed well, but at that time, all Egyptian aircraft had been stripped off of their camouflage and were operated in a bare metal finish – a poor decision, since the glinting airframes were highly visible both in the air and on the ground. Consequently, the vintage propeller aircraft became easy targets, resulting high losses, and the HA-100s were grounded. They were officially retired by April 1957, after the end of the Suez conflict, and scrapped.

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 9,10 m (29 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 10.01 m (32 ft 9½ in)
Height: 3.52 m (11 ft 6¼ in)
Wing area: 16.8 m² (181 sq ft)
Airfoil: root: NACA 23018 (modified); tip: NACA 23009 (modified)
Empty weight: 2.695 kg (5,936 lb)
Gross weight: 3.621 kg (7,975 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4.100 kg (9,030 lb)

Powerplant:
1× Fiat RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone (license-built Daimler Bent DB 605) V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston
engine with 1,100 kW (1,500 hp), driving a 3-bladed constant-speed propeller#

Performance:
Maximum speed: 642 km/h (399 mph, 347 kn) at 7,200 m (23,600 ft)
Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn)
Range: 950 km (590 mi, 510 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,500 m (37,700 ft)
Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 2 minutes 40 seconds
Wing loading: 202.9 kg/m2 (41.6 lb/sq ft)

Armament:
2× 12.7 mm (.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, 400 RPG, in the nose
2× 20 mm MG 151 cannon, 250 RPG, in the outer wings
2× underwing hardpoints for 160 kg (350 lb) each for bombs or four 122mm Sakr unguided rockets

The kit and its assembly:
This oddity was spawned from curiosity – when read about the lightweight Helwan HA-300 fighter from the early Sixties, I wondered when and how the Egyptian aircraft industry had started? I was even more curious because I had already attributed a what-if model, the purely fictional (and later) HA-410 fighter bomber, to Egyptian engineering. So, I researched Helwan's origins, checked the time frame of its establishment and eventually came across the REAF's post-WWII C.205 Veltros. What if there had been an indigenous update program...?

Consequently, this conversion's basis is a C.205V kit from Delta 2. This kit is based upon a unique mold, quite similar to the later Italeri kit, but it is different and has some curious solutions. For instance, the landing gear struts are mounted into the wings with L-shaped attachment pegs – as if the landing gear is supposed to be retractable. Odd, but very stable. Another weird solution: the wing gun barrels are attached to the wings together with massive plastic wedges that fit into respective openings. Another quite rigid construction, even though it calls for trimming and PSR. Beyond these quirks, the kit is quite nice. It comes with a convincing mix of recessed panel lines and raised rivet heads. Some parts are a bit soft in shape, though, e. g. the cowling fairings, but overall I am positively surprised.

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

To change the aircraft's look I did some conversions, though. The most obvious change is the new tail section, which was transplanted wholesale from a KP Yak-23 and had the C.205's tail wheel attachment section transplanted from the Delta 2 kit. Originally, I wanted to move the whole cockpit forward, but then just replaced canopy and spine section with a clear part from a Hobby Boss MiG-15 and putty. Other, rather cosmetic changes include clipped wing tips to match the Yak-23's square tail surfaces shape, and the C.205's small elliptic stabilizers were replaced with tailored, slightly bigger parts from the scrap box. A bigger/deeper radiator and a different oil cooler replaced the original parts, and I placed them under the inner wings behind the landing gear wells. Both donors come from Spitfires, even though from different kits (IIRC, the oil cooler from an AZ Models Mk. V kit and the radiator from a FROG Mk. XIV). The flaps were lowered, too, because this detail was easy to realize with this kit.

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Painting and markings:
The HA-100 received a contemporary camouflage, the RAF Tropical Paint Scheme consisting of Dark Earth and Middle Stone with Azure Blue undersides. The pattern was adapted from RAF Spitfires, and Modelmaster (2052 and 2054) and Humbrol (157) enamels were used, with a light overall black ink washing and some post panel shading. Being a former Italian aircraft, I painted the cockpit in a typical, Italian tone, a very light grayish green called "Verde Anticorrosione", which was used during WWII on many interior surfaces – I used a mix of Revell 59 with some 45. The landing gear and the respective wells became aluminum (Humbrol 56), though.

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

One challenge became the characteristic black-and-white REAF ID bands on the wings. These were improvised with generic decal material from TL-Modellbau: on a 1 cm wide black band I simply added two white 2.5 mm stripes, for a very good result. Most other markings belong to an early REAF MiG-15, taken from a Microscale omnibus sheet for various MiG fighters. This provided the green-trimmed white fuselage band, the roundels and the fin flash, and a white spinner completed the REAF ID markings. Unfortunately the decals turned out to be brittle (ESCI-esque...) and disintegrated upon the first attempt to apply them, so I tried to save them with Microsol Decal Film, and this actually worked like a charm, even though the resurrected decals did not adhere well to the model's surface. The REAF 2 Squadron emblem comes from a vintage PrintScale Hawker Hurricane sheet, the white code letter on the fuselage came from an Xtradecal RAF codes sheet, and the black Arabic serials came from a Begemot sheet for MiG-29s.

The kit received some soot stains around the exhaust ports and the gun muzzles and was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Helwan Aircraft Industries "HA-100 (حلوان ١٠٠‎)"; aircraft "G/٦١٠٣ (6103)" of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (سلاح الجو الملكي المصري‎; Silah Aljawi Almalakii Almisrii) No. 2 Squadron; Edku airfield, mid 1951 (What-if/Modified Delta 2 kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Even though it's just a modded Macchi C.205, the result looks ...different. From certain angles the aircraft reminds a lot of a P-51D Mustang, like one of the lightweight prototypes? The Egyptian markings add a confusing touch, though, and while the bodywork is not perfect, I am happy with the result. The Yak-23 tail fits perfectly, and with the narrow wings the HA-100 also reminds a bit of the two-engine Westland Whirlwind?

TomZ · October 04, 2021, 04:50:02 AM

Looks great & very good back story.

TomZ

NARSES2 · October 04, 2021, 06:26:51 AM

That really works Dizzy, both model and backstory

Oddly enough I was musing on a couple of late war Italian types the other day and what they'd look like with bubble canopies. Now I know

Dizzyfugu · October 04, 2021, 06:45:12 AM

Thank you, glad you like it, despite the model's roughness.

PR19_Kit · October 04, 2021, 08:24:06 AM

I give it a week before it appears on some web site claiming to be 'new' information about early REAF aircraft.

A really good looking model there Thomas.

Pellson · October 04, 2021, 09:25:14 AM

Superb whiffing!

Weaver · October 04, 2021, 12:02:49 PM

Nice one Dizzy!

perttime · October 04, 2021, 08:38:47 PM

Oh ... I'm stunned.

My first thought was "What is it? Sea Fury with a nose transplant? ... No."

ysi_maniac · October 04, 2021, 11:22:50 PM

Very well chosen subject, and built model! I loved italian fighters for years and, as NARSES2 -I think-, they just deserved booble canopy.

Dizzyfugu · October 04, 2021, 11:49:53 PM

Again, thanks a lot, everyone, highly appreciated.

Glenn Gilbertson · October 05, 2021, 02:53:20 PM

Interesting story a great model - well done!

flappydaffy · October 05, 2021, 03:07:44 PM

Impressive work

and excellent backstory

Pellson · October 07, 2021, 04:44:36 AM

Quote from: NARSES2 on October 04, 2021, 06:26:51 AM
That really works Dizzy, both model and backstory

Oddly enough I was musing on a couple of late war Italian types the other day and what they'd look like with bubble canopies. Now I know

On this topic - I stumbled across this pic of a Merlin engined Fiat G.55 evolvement, the G.59, today. It's not bad looking at all, is it?

NARSES2 · October 07, 2021, 06:06:07 AM

It is quite attractive, remove the chin radiator and it would be very attractive

perttime · October 07, 2021, 07:42:48 AM

Everything looks better with a DB engine