Fairey Battle Mk.VI

[zenrat]

[b]Fairey Battle Mk.VI.  RCAF Aerodrome – Dartmouth, Nova Scotia[/b]

Fairey Battle Mk.VI - 5 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company.  It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Hind biplanes.  The Battle was powered by the same high-performance Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine that powered various contemporary fighters such as the Hawker Hurricane and Boulton Paul Defiant.  As the Battle, with its three-man crew and bomb load, was much heavier than the fighters, it was therefore much slower.  Though a great improvement over the aircraft that preceded it, its relatively slow speed, limited range and inadequate defensive armament of only two .303 machine guns left it highly vulnerable to enemy fighters and anti-aircraft fire.
The Fairey Battle was used on operations early in the Second World War, suffering many losses, frequently in excess of 50 per cent of aircraft sorties per mission.  By the end of 1940 the type had been withdrawn from front-line service and relegated to training units overseas. As an aircraft that had been considered to hold great promise in the pre-war era, the Battle proved to be one of the most disappointing aircraft in RAF service.
Over 700 Battles were supplied to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) who used them mainly as pilot or gunnery trainers.  While they filled these roles satisfactorily some thought was put to whether they could be upgraded for use in other roles and a number of prototypes were developed.  All the prototypes were classified under the catchall designation Battle Mk.VI.

Fairey Battle Mk.VI - 14 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

As it was with the RAF, the RCAF was structured into separate "Commands" - Attack, Bomber, Coastal, Fighter, Training, and Transport.  Coastal Command's duties included inshore patrolling against potential enemy coastal forces and raiders – a task for which it was thought an upgraded Battle might be appropriate.  A battleworn Battle Mk.I was completely overhauled and then modified for trials as a prototype to fit this role (being reclassified Battle Mk.VI in the process).  Fitment of a Merlin 63a (two stage two speed supercharged) gave a considerable power boost (from 1000 to 1700hp) while a modified Bristol Bolingbroke turret (twin 0.303 Vickers K machine guns) doubled defensive firepower.  Offensive firepower was also improved with the installation of a 20mm machine cannon in the starboard wing (replacing the .303 Browning, its ammunition being carried in what had been the starboard bomb cells).  The port wing bomb cells were sealed closed and a torpedo was mounted on the aircraft's centreline.
Mounting the Merlin's intercooler on top of the rear of the engine gave this prototype a distinctive look with the intake in front of the windscreen and exit gills on the fuselage sides.  Indeed, it's apparent resemblance to a Salmon led to a suggestion that should it go into production it might be named Chinook.  As far as the writer is aware this went no further than a suggestion and casual aircrew nickname.  There were also suggestions to use air which had passed through the intercooler to heat the cockpit but these were not taken up on this prototype.

Fairey Battle Mk.VI - 9 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Once complete, and after handling and weapons trials, at the end of 1941 the aircraft was sent to RCAF No.11 (Coastal Patrol) Squadron at Dartmouth Nova Scotia for testing with an operational squadron.  Regularly patrolling with the squadron's Lockheed Hudsons revealed the modifications had no effect on the Mk.I Battles benign handling although crews generally thought that range could have been usefully increased and strike power doubled by the fitting of a second cannon in the port wing.  Trials were carried out with slipper tanks fitted to the leading edges but in the end the concept of a maritime patrol Battle was dropped in favour of multi-engine aircraft.

Fairey Battle Mk.VI - 17 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The concept of a Two Speed Two Stage Merlin powered Battle briefly lived on in the shape of an AI radar equipped nightfighter armed with a Boulton Paul Type A turret (four .303 Brownings).

Fairey Battle Mk.VI - 21 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The Model.

Airfix Fairey Battle.  2010 boxing of the 1968 tool.
Engine nacelle and prop from Airfix Mosquito (1972 mould).
Turret from Airfix Blenheim Mk.I.
Torpedo from Airfix Beaufort.

Battle with previously built Airfix desert Fulmar.  An Airfix Firefly will eventually be whiffed and added to this small themed collection.
Fairey Battle Mk.VI - 22 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

[The Rat]

Just... wow!   

[Dizzyfugu]

Lovely! 

[PR19_Kit]

That's very nice indeed Fred, and the backstory is so believable I had to Google the Battle to make sure it really IS a Whiff! 

[rickshaw]

Interesting 

[chrisonord]

Very nice Fred

[Hotte]

Very nice 

Hotte

[NARSES2]

Well I must admit I was sceptical of this build at the beginning, but as I've watched its progress I've become more and more a fan of it. It simply works    Brilliant build mate 

As an aside, who's is the Fulmar ? Special Hobby, or one of those old toolings that seemed to have spent most of its life shuttling around Eastern/Central Europe ?

[scooter]

Battle with previously built Airfix desert Fulmar.  An Airfix Firefly will eventually be whiffed and added to this small themed collection.
Fairey Battle Mk.VI - 22 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

So...Desert Air Force and RCAF Coastal Command.  Will the Firefly be BPF?

[Old Wombat]

Battle with previously built Airfix desert Fulmar.  An Airfix Firefly will eventually be whiffed and added to this small themed collection.
Fairey Battle Mk.VI - 22 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

So...Desert Air Force and RCAF Coastal Command.  Will the Firefly be BPF?

Republic of Nauru Navy ... or maybe Republic of Kiribati Navy??  

[Old Wombat]

Really nice work there, Fred! Very believable!  

[Doug K]

Really great work! Love me some Faireys....

[Captain Canada]

Nice one ! Great story as well. Sure changes the look of her, eh ? And the pair look great together.

[Glenn Gilbertson]

Good looking & I enjoyed the story!

[PFJN]

Hi,
Your build turned out great.  I recently icked up an old Airfix Battle kit in the hopes of turning it into a torpedo bomber, but your build blows my simple conversion thoughts away