RCN Skyhawk

[Gary]

Another Jennings inspired model. Sorry, no backstory on this.

[Gary]

Home made decals and some learning about acrylic washes for weathering

[Gary]

Actually, the weathering was a result of huge problems with flat finishes and my getting bleeped off about it. So I decided that before I stripped all the paint and started over, I'd fiddle with the weathering. It's really waaaaay too heavy, but what the heck, fun is fun eh?

PS Thanks Jennings for the inspiration

[Captain Canada]

Looking good, Gary !

Nice to see a two-holed Skyhawk. Weathering doesn't look that bad, might have been a longish deployment, eh !

Would be even cooler if she were flying off the HMCS Pomerleau, tho, don't you think ?

 

[Brian da Basher]

Nice Canuck scooter there Gary! I like the weathering! Makes it look like it just got back from a rough cruise countering the Danes off Greenland (seed of a backstory).

Brian da Basher

[AeroplaneDriver]

I think it looks great     .  Every now and then you have to make a real dirty bird.  Gotta have a backstory with a little combat to explain the filth though!!  Get to brainstorming!

[K5054NZ]

Looks so good!  

Must.....not.....write.....backstory.....for.....someone else's....model.....

[The Rat]

Nice to see one...


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As it should have been!    

[Gary]

Thanks guys.

Insert one backstory.

In 1983 the aging HMCS Bonaventure is prepared for her last deployment, a world tour so to speak. Plans are made to have her sail to England, down to the Med, thru the Red Sea, out to the Indian Ocean to Australia, Japan, the West Coast of the Americas and returning to Halifax for her striking off ceremony.  She was well beyond her years and the cat could barely fling her Skyhawks off the deck with sufficient speed. It was so bad in fact that RATO rockets were stored aboard in case they were deemed necessary. Conditions aboard Canada's flagship and her last carrier were bad. Crews spent more time welding and bodging parts together than actually doing their normal jobs. When she went to launching stations, she shuddered so badly that internal gyros and navigation gear on the aircraft were often thrown out of alignment. The old Scoots were showing their age a well. Most nearing 20 years old, their days were as numbered as the Bonnie's. But they hid their age as the neared ports of call along the coastal cities of Europe. Impromptu airshows happened anywhere there was a crowd to see the roundels. It started to be routine to carry red and white smoke cans to wow the locals.
Then, terrorism showed its ugly face. The blast in Beirut caught all in the fleet off guard and the tempo of operations went into high gear and the fleet was called into alert status to support the operations of rescue and recovery of injured Marines. Without hesitation the RCN went into operations to support the country's greatest friend. Aircrews flew round the clock low level missions to cover ambulances and soldiers who had the grisly task of removing the dead from the shambles of what was once the Marines barracks. US helicopters were supported as they rushed engineers back and forth from the amphibious carriers off the coast.
During these operations 03 of the 423 Naval Air Wing was asked to investigate a high speed boat approaching the US Hospital ship Mercy. It turned out to be a "stolen" Syrian patrol boat and the gun crew aboard it opened fire on Captain Mike MacIntosh and Lt. Dave Whipple. The seas were heavy and the gunboat road a crest firing 23mm AA at the CFA4, nicknamed Pronto. Pronto made 2 passes with 20mm but with negligible effect. The gunboat was still steaming at nearly 50 knots on a collision course with the Mercy. With no bombs or rockets on board, Mac decided to use the only thing he had at had, three half empty drop tanks. At wave top height he made a run at the gunboat from ¾ astern and skipped the drop tanks off the water into the boat. Two struck amidships and the third missed. He reefed the Scooter into an immediate turn and brought the guns to bear and fired the last of his 20mm into the now kerosene washed decks of the gunboat. The result was predictable, the boat caught fire, but just before Pronto passed overhead, the estimated 11 tons of explosives packed into the boat exploded. Aboard the Mercy, the shockwave knocked dozens of sailors to the deck. In the terrible aftermath few thought the old CFA4 could survive but through the smoke and flame came Ol' Pronto, shaken and full of holes.
Combat operations continued for nearly 6 weeks in support of the US operations. The Bonnie didn't stand down until US forces themselves stood down. Through it all the airwings aboard the Great Lady flew nearly 1100 missions and dropped ordinance on 61 suspected targets, including Pronto's adventure.
As she made her way into the Red Sea from the Suez, with aircrews up in a large display to impress crowds along the shores, HMCS Bonaventure struck a mine. Unable to land her aircraft, aircrews flew to Egypt and were treated with great respect. Bonnie lay crippled with her back broken and her ancient hull, cracked from years of North Atlantic pounding succumbed to the torturous strain of a gaping hole pulling her apart and began unloading her crew. With all crew and the flag removed she was towed toward deep water, her final resting place. As the sun set on the Red Sea, the Great Lady rolled on her back and took her final rest. Many onboard the Canadian destroyers and frigates wept as they watched her pass from view, but all agreed, she deserved to go this way. The Great Lady had carried them through more than 30years of Atlantic gales as she warned off the Soviets, she took them into war zones and supported peacekeeping efforts around the world. She deserved to go the way a warship should go, not cut apart into scrap metal and razorblades. She was the pride of the Canadian fleet, and brought great honour to herself and her crew on her last mission.
The surviving aircraft of 423 Nava Air Wing were flown from Egypt to Italy and loaded aboard a freighter. Delivered to Halifax in January of 84, Pronto and her stable mates were struck off and sold to Brazil. Pronto was retired in 1996 and surviving crew of HMCS Bonaventure purchased her from the Brazilian government to be put on display at the Shearwater Museum. During the strip down and cleanup for the display, a wing panel that had a patch on it was removed and nestled inside was a 23mm shell, casing and all. A bit of the gunboat had been blown into Pronto's innards and had never been removed. Using old reference pictures they returned her to her colours at the time of the Beirut operations, albeit a lot cleaner. She resides in the Bonaventure display at the museum along side the 23mm shell.

[Captain Canada]

Nice to see one...


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As it should have been!  

Amen Brother Rat !

 

[Captain Canada]

Great story, Gary ! Very patriotic.....almost maddening that it's not true !

 

[Sentinel Chicken]

Love the backstory. Reminds of the occasion during Operation Desert Storm when an S-3 Viking crew thought they were attacking an Iraqi patrol boat with bombs and mistakenly dropped the buddy refueling pod instead.

Sank the boat anyway, but with much chuckles and laughter from the air wing.  

[viper29_ca]

Holy crap Gary, ever thought of writing fiction??? A what if fiction book surrounding the Pronto and her crew flying off of ole Bonnie.

Would be a best seller I am sure!!!!!!!

[Bryan H.]

Great model & great story!  

Pronto's going to have a single-seat squadron mate soon!  I'll be painting my RCN Scooter this week (& hopefully decaling her, too).

Bryan

[Ollie]

I'm in love...