DONE@p.4 +++ 1:72 Douglas P-70C "NightHawk", USAAF, England, late 1944

NARSES2 · August 02, 2023, 06:21:37 AM

Looking impressive Dizzy

Dizzyfugu · August 02, 2023, 07:14:57 AM

Thanks a lot. We're on the finishing line; wheels were added, I have to mount a wire antenna and the paint position lights.

Wardukw · August 02, 2023, 11:45:20 AM

buzzbomb · August 02, 2023, 03:29:10 PM

Really good work. Seamless change almost.

Although I do hear "allo this is Nighthawk" in a Gordon Kaye French accent every time I see this build pop up

NARSES2 · August 03, 2023, 12:38:21 AM

Quote from: buzzbomb on August 02, 2023, 03:29:10 PMAlthough I do hear "allo this is Nighthawk" in a Gordon Kaye French accent every time I see this build pop up

Dizzyfugu · August 03, 2023, 06:53:59 AM

Photo session finished.

Dizzyfugu · August 03, 2023, 08:46:01 AM

First "wartime impressions".

by [url="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dizzyfugu/"]Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

More to come soon, plus the P-70C's background story

Wardukw · August 03, 2023, 12:59:59 PM

Love it Diz 😀
The colour pics are gonna look epic which they should ..it's a epic build after all 😃😊

Dizzyfugu · August 04, 2023, 05:12:59 AM

So, here we are, a 1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944.

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
To shore up its need for a dedicated night fighter in 1940, the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) went ahead with modified Douglas A-20 "Havoc" / "Boston" light bombers to suit the role. Development began in 1942 in anticipation that the series would not have to fight for long as the Northrop P-61 "Black Widow" - purposely designed for night fighting - would soon arrive in 1943. An XP-70 served as the series prototype to prove the validity of the conversion and the aircraft then operated under the formal designation of P-70 "Nighthawk".
It was the British Royal Air Force (RAF) that first realized the A-20 as a night fighter when they converted their A-20 Havocs for the role by installing appropriate air intercept radar and a ventral gun pod. The glazed nose section was painted over/covered to shroud the radar suite and an additional internal fuel tank was fitted for extended operational ranges. The USAAC followed suit, arming their A-20s and outfitting them with local copies of the British AI Mk IV radar (as the SCR-540). These aircraft too lost their glazed nose sections. Some fitted a ventral cannon tray with 4 x 20mm cannons while others utilized a "gun nose" mounting six or eight 0.50 M2 Browning heavy machine guns - continuing the American reliance on all-machine-gun armament for their aircraft. In these forms, the radar suite was moved to the bomb bay. The armor protection encountered in the original A-20 was reduced to help lighten the operation loads of the P-70s. It was deemed that such an aircraft, in its given role, need not burden itself down with unnecessary protection.

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The Douglas A-20 airframe proved a solid choice for the mission ahead. Its dual-engine configuration, particularly over expansive oceans, meant that the aircraft could fly on a single engine if forced. The machine's handling was very good and even the bombers turned out to be agile aircraft. The multiple crew spread the workload around helping to reduce pilot fatigue. Cannon armament - or similar forward-firing firepower - was a prerequisite considering that the crew would have, at best, a single attack against an enemy target and best make the first shots count.

The designation P-70 marked the original base Nighthawks which were all converted from bombers numbering 59 examples. The P-70A-1 mark emerged from the A-20C production model and totaled 39 examples while the 65 P-70A-2s came from the A-20G. The P-70B-1 was the A-20G-10-DO night fighter conversion even though only a single example was built and tested, and P-70B-2s were A-20G and A-20J models reserved for training future P-61 crews. These aircraft were outfitted with SCR-720 and SCR-729 radar kits.
In practice, the P-70 proved a serviceable machine and was initially only fielded in the Pacific Theater, even though there was already a converted A-20 with radar on station over California after the Japanese attack at Pearl to prove the aircraft-radar combination sound. Later, the machines were also operated in Europe. First P-70 deliveries arrived in April of 1942 with machine gun noses while retaining support for 2,000lb of internal stores if needed. The A-1s then followed in 1943 during a period when night fighters were in constant need against marauding Japanese raiders.

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

While the early P-70s lacked much in the way of flat-out speed and high-altitude work (they lacked superchargers), they provided a workable and effective stopgap solution while frontline units were waiting for the dedicated P-61, which was severely delayed, though, and would not arrive before mid-1944. Especially for the European theatre of operations the Allied forced required high performance night fighters, which potentially could escort bombers to target in Germany and fend off German night fighters that attcked the bombers, so that British Bristol Beaufighters had to be operated by USAAF night fighter units. This led to the emergency development of the P-70C, a thoroughly redesigned and upgraded night fighter variant of the A-20 airframe that could fill this imminent operational gap.

While the P-70C was based on the late A-20G/J airframe, it featured significant modifications. The most obvious change was the upgrade from the original Wright R-2600-23 Twin Cyclone 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines with 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) each to much more powerful R-2800-10s with two-stage, two-speed superchargers that produced 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) at 2,700 rpm at 1,000 ft (300 m); 1,800 hp (1,300 kW) at 2,700 rpm at 15,500 ft (4,700 m), and up to 2,250 hp (1,680 kW) WEP with water injection. These powerful, engines dramatically improved the type's performance, especially at higher altitude even though new engine mounts and cowlings had to be designed to.

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Another obvious change was a new solid nose with a distinctive, perspex-covered radome at its tip for a rotating dipole 29-inch paraboloid reflector dish antenna of an American SCR-720 radar. This was the same system that had been earmarked for the P-61, and it was capable of detecting target both in the air and on the ground. Bombers could be reliably detected and tracked at 10,000 ft at a 17,000 yd. range, fighters at 17,000 ft at a distance of 8,500 yd. Over the open sea and without ground clutter, ships could be detected at 40 miles (64 km).
Through the new, solid nose and the bulky radar equipment that was stored between radome and cockpit the armament had to be re-arranged. The earlier P-70s' main armament consisting of a ventral tray with four machine 20 mm cannon was retained, even though its fairing was re-contoured and more streamlined now, with a staggered weapon arrangement and an extended ammunition supply carried partly inside of the former bomb bay. The A-20s' pair of 0.5" machine guns in the lower nose with 400 RPG was retained, even though these lighter weapons were outfitted with tracer ammunition to ease aiming with the main guns. The bomb bay was filled with auxiliary fuel tanks, a SCR-695 tail warning/IFF radar (with its antenna in the nose cone) and early electronic countermeasures equipment.
Reinforced plumbed hardpoints under the outer wings allowed to carry even more fuel and other loads. Drop tanks of up to 165 US gal (624 l; 138 imp gal) volume could be carried, even though smaller 100 US gal (378 l; 83 imp gal) tanks were more common. Alternatively, for attack missions, the P-70C could carry single iron bombs of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg) caliber on each pylon, triple tube t30/m10 rocket launchers or conformal pods with 2× 0.5" M2 Browning machine guns each on the pylon hardpoints under the wings, primarily for strafing ground targets but also used to improve the aircraft's weight of fire against aerial targets.

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The SCR-720's operator sat in the former gunner station behind the wings. All defensive armament had been deleted to save weight and make space for the radar equipment, and due to the late A-20G airframe with its widened fuselage section for the powered twin-gun turret, the P-70C had a different glazing of the radar operator cabin from previous P-70 versions and earlier A-20 bombers. Like before, the crew member in the rear compartment was provided with minimal flight controls that allowed to steer the aircraft and make a controlled landing in case the pilot became incapacitated, even though sight from the rear compartment was very limited, with virtually no field of view ahead.

P-70C crews trained in a variety of ways. Several existing night fighter squadrons operating from Great Britain were to transition into the P-70C from Bristol Beaufighters, though most crews were to be made up of new recruits operating in newly commissioned squadrons. After receiving flight, gunnery or radar training in bases around the U.S., the crews were finally assembled and received their operational training in Florida for transfer to the European Theater, mostly on early P-70 machines.
The P-70Cs arrived in the UK in April 1944 as part of 422 NFS and started flying operational missions in June, just ahead of the D-Day invasion and only a few months in advance of the P-61, the aircraft the night fighter units were actually waiting for. While the first P-70Cs were put into service with 422nd and 425th NFS the P-61 had an inauspicious start to its combat in the European theater, when an initial aircraft was delivered in May 1944 and immediately tested.

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

During the first deployments the P-70Cs' showed a very good capability (their high speed of up 400 mph / 650 km/h was appreciated, together with a much improved performance at higher altitude and the solid radar on board), but the crews complained about a lack of ammunition for the main weapons, so that soon two more optional pairs of 0.5" M2 Browning machine guns in separate external pods along the fuselage flanks under the cockpit were introduced, and hardpoints to mount them in the field were integrated into the running production. Each pod was self-sufficient and contained 400 RPG, and these weapons could be fired separately from the 20 mm cannon and the nose machine guns. In practice, almost all P-70Cs were outfitted with them.
On the other side, the P-61 was not received well, and the situation deteriorated when the squadrons learned that several USAAF generals – including General Hoyt Vandenberg – believed the P-61 lacked the capability to successfully engage German fighters and bombers, being too slow. General Spaatz asked for de Havilland Mosquito night fighters to equip two U.S. night fighter squadrons based in the UK, but this request was denied due to insufficient supplies of Mosquitoes which were in demand for a number of roles. The P-70C had good handling and was faster than the P-61, but it was apparent that the A-20 airframe had reached its development potential. At the end of May, the USAAF insisted on a competition between the P-70C, the Mosquito and the P-61 for operation in the European theater. RAF crews flew the Mosquito Mk XVII while crews from the 422nd NFS flew the P-70C and the P-61. In the end the USAAF determined that the P-61 had a slightly better rate of climb and could turn more tightly than the Mosquito, while the P-70C only offered marginal performance benefits at the cost of less range. Colonel Winston Kratz, director of night fighter training in the USAAF, had organized a similar competition earlier.

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Eventually, the P-61 receive priority and production of the P-70C was stopped again in October 1944, after only 72 aircraft had been built and sent to Europe. Beyond Great Britain the type was also deployed to the MTO, where it replaced Beaufighter night fighters in USAAF service, too. Another factor that quickly rang the P-70C's death knell was the fact that both the R-2800 engines as well as the radar systems were in short supply, and to simplify logistics the P-70s' production line was terminated and rescoureces shifted to more modern types.

By the start of 1945 all early P-70s were removed from frontline service and served as trainers until their final days. Indeed, the P-70 trainers graduated some 485 persons to serve in American night fighter squadrons. The more potent P-70Cs were kept in service until the end of hostilities, even though many lost their radar equipment from early 1945 on when the Allied forces had claimed air superiority in many regions and were more and more used for daylight ground attack missions, using their potent gun armament for strafing ground targets. At this stage many P-70Cs also had their radr equipment removed to save weight in favor for more fuel or external ordnance.

General characteristics:
Crew: 2 (pilot, radar operator)
Length: 48 ft 2 3/4 in (14.72 m)
Wingspan: 61 ft 3.5 in (18.68 m)
Height: 18 ft 1+1⁄2 in (5.52 m)
Wing area: 464 sq ft (43.1 m²)
Airfoil: root: NACA 23018
tip: NACA 23009
Empty weight: 16,031 lb (7,272 kg)
Gross weight: 24,127 lb (10,944 kg)
Fuel capacity: 400 US gal (330 imp gal; 1,500 l) internal capacity, plus
676 US gal (563 imp gal; 2,560 l) in four auxiliary tanks in the bomb-bay, plus
200 US gal (174 imp. gal; 900 l) in optional underwing drop tanks

Powerplant:
2× Wright R-2800-10s Double Wasp 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines,
2,000 hp (1,500 kW) each and up to 2,250 hp (1,680 kW) emergency power with water injection,
driving 4-bladed Curtiss Electric C542S constant-speed propellers, 11 ft 0 in (3.36 m) diameter

Performance:
Maximum speed: 400 mph (650 km/h, 350 kn) at 23.000 ft (7,500 m)
332 mph (534 km/h, 288 kn) at sea level
Cruise speed: 450 km/h (280 mph, 240 kn) at 14,000 ft (4,300 m)
Stall speed: 98 mph (158 km/h, 85 kn)
Range: 848 mi (1,365 km: 737 nmi) at 23,000 ft (7,000 m) with internal fuel only,
1,560 mi (2,510 km; 1,350 nmi) w. 2× 100 US gal (454 l; 87 imp gal) drop tanks
Ferry range: 2,300 mi (3,700 km, 2,000 nmi)
Service ceiling: 35,800 ft (10,900 m)
Rate of climb: 3,000 ft/min (15 m/s)
Time to altitude: 26,000 ft (8,000 m) in 14 minutes 30 seconds
Wing loading: 52 lb/sq ft (250 kg/m2²
Power/mass: 0.141 hp/lb (0.232 kW/kg)

Armament:
4× 20 mm Hispano M2(C) 20 mm cannon in a ventral tray with 100 rpg
6× 0.5 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in the nose with 400 rpg,
two in the lower nose section, four in external pods on the fuselage flanks
2× underwing hardpoints for 1.000 lb (454 kg) each

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Douglas P-70C 'Nighthawk'; 's/n 44-2547' a.k.a. 'Eileen', United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 422nd Night Fighter Squadron; Podington (Bedfordshire, UK), July, 1944. (What-if/modified Matchbox kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

An engine conversion project that helped to save a kit from it incompleteness. And the resulting fictional P-70C looks pretty mean and purposeful, the conversions and esp. the risky implantation of the rear cabin and its canopy paid out and the result looks quite plausible. And the partly overpainted invasion stripes add a bit of extravaganza to the otherwise rather dull all-black aircraft.

zenrat · August 04, 2023, 05:19:06 AM

Good job Dizz.

Old Wombat · August 04, 2023, 05:37:55 AM

Great story & an excellent build, Dizzy!

Dizzyfugu · August 04, 2023, 06:02:52 AM

Thank you very much!

PR19_Kit · August 04, 2023, 06:35:14 AM

A Dizzy Classic if ever I saw one!

Vulcan7 · August 04, 2023, 08:41:02 AM

Great looking build, top photos & paintwork

Wardukw · August 04, 2023, 12:53:58 PM

Points out of 10 ...14.5 😊😊👍👍