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Beauty & the beast. Irving & Beau.

centaur567

centaur567

Well-known member
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My contribution to this campaign is an unlikely pair. A J1N1-Sa night fighter & a Beaufighter TF. Mark X. Both 1/48th scale by Tamiya and will have box top markings. Gary S.
 
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I sprayed most of the Irving parts whiney silver. Some of the interior will be coated with a clear blue green and the exterior parts are for paint chipping later in the build.
The inside parts of the Beau was painted RAF gray green years ago when there was leftover paint from a Spitfire build. Gary S.
 
Apologies if I appear to be raining on your parade, but there are a few details that can be added to make the Beaufighter more representative of a Coastal Command TF. X should you wish.

Both decal options, 236 Sqn MB-T and 254 Sqn QM-F, were part of the North Coates Strike Wing along with 144 Sqn. 144 & 236 Sqn were assigned the flak suppression role, attacking the escorts, flak ships and and merchantmen with rockets and 20mm cannon generally raising havoc with the flak crews clearing the way for torpedo armed 254 Sqn to attack the merchantmen. Although all TF.X aircraft were capable of carrying rockets, bombs or torpedoes, because of the specialized "art" of employing rockets and torpedoes, each squadron's aircraft were configured for their assigned role and trained accordingly. Thus, 144 & 236 Sqn aircraft had the rocket plates installed on the wings and didn't carry torpedoes. 254 Sqn aircraft were configured for torpedo carriage without the rocket plates. Both configurations were still capable of having the Universal Bomb Racks installed and were for practice, they don't seem to have been used operationally by Coastal Command.

While we are here, the yellow colour of the codes "MB-T" for the 236 Sqn aircraft are questionable. The colours officially in use with the Dark Sea Grey over Sky scheme were 36" Dark Dull Red characters with a thin Yellow outline when flanking the roundel and 24" Sky characters when placed forward of the roundel, centred over the wing.

The second option for 254 Sqn "QM-F" is a mixed bag of markings. The Dull Red codes would be correct for late 1944 and into 1945. The Black underwing serials appeared post-war. The upper wing Type B roundels are correct until the end of 1944. In January 1945 the RAF ordered the change to Type C roundels on the upper wing. Also in early 1945 Coastal Command began changing the ID codes to Black. I'm not sure if the thin White and Red tail bands were a late war or post war addition. Using the Dull Red codes without the underwing serials, Type B wing roundels and maybe the tailbands it could be a late 1944 aircraft. Moving into early 1945 would require type C wing roundels without underwing serials, Black ID codes and maybe the the tailbands. A post war aircraft would have the underwing serial added and the tailbands.

These are some TF.X features:
  • The port wing landing lights had the Perspex removed and were faired over with aluminium sheet on rocket configured aircraft.
  • 25 lb or 60 lb rockets could be used. 25 lb rock had a flatter trajectory, the 60 lb rockets had to be lobbed because of the warhead weight. The 60 lb warhead was originally designed for anti-shipping and the 25 lb warhead for anti-tank. Coastal Command found the 25 lb solid shot more effective as the warhead would penetrate the hull, the still burning rocket motor would break off in the hull and the warhead would continue on, often exiting out the other side of the hull. 2 TAF found the 60 lb warhead more effective when attacking ground targets. (kit has 25 lb rockets)
  • All aircraft retained the torpedo crutches (sway braces) but the locating socket (wedge shaped piece on the belly crew access door) was removed on rocket configured aircraft. A 200 gal drop tank could be carried, it was tested but doesn't seem to have been used operationally in Coastal Command. (the crutches will have to be cut from the torpedo)
  • Wing and fuselage universal bomb racks could be installed but were rarely seen (there are photos of a 254 Sqn acft being tested with bombs at A&AEE and a 404 Sqn acft with fuselage bomb racks).
  • A nose mounted strike camera was fitted. (missing from kit)
  • A long lens strike camera could be installed when required for a mission by switching noses caps. (missing from kit)
  • Thimble nosed TF.X's had the strike camera installed in a fairing on the upper fuselage just aft of the cockpit. (missing from the kit)
  • Some aircraft retained a gun camera in the LH wing leading edge, outboard of the oil cooler intake.
  • Additional wing fuel tanks were installed in the wing gun bays with the gun ports plugged or faired over with fabric and dope. The guns could be reinstalled but required the removal of the rocket rail plate as the plate covered the ejector ports.
  • Antenna configurations changed depending on the mod packages fitted for equipment fitted (GEE, ASV, REBECCA, etc).
  • A ram air venturi box was installed forward of the windscreen to improve de-icing/cleaning (included in the kit)
  • When installed, the torpedo had a plywood Aerotail installed that improved aerodynamics, stabilizing it during release and the drop. It broke off upon impacting the water. (missing from kit)
NT950 in flight. It has the venturi box, whisker antennas just aft of the nose cap, antennas under the tail planes and the wing gun ports and landing light are covered.
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A colorized picture of a 404 Sqn (RCAF) TF.X with the long lens strike camera and the wing gun camera.
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A late production (thimble nose) TF.X with the upper fuselage strike camera. They were sometimes removed post war. It also appears to have the wing gun camera.
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As we all know, it can be a minefield when it comes to knowing what mods were incorporated and when either on the production line on while in service. There is a laundry list of tweaks and details that can be added if you are an AMS afflicted Beaufighter fan to the Tamiya Beaufighter family, from interior details to major surgery correcting the tail planes and aft fuselage.

For your consideration.

Cheers,
RichB
 
Beaufighter just a passing interest for you Rich? That's a wealth of info! We don't hear a lot about this aircraft, was it a dogfighter at all?
 
moon puppy said:
Beaufighter just a passing interest for you Rich? That's a wealth of info! We don't hear a lot about this aircraft, was it a dogfighter at all?
Click to expand...
Much like the Hurricane to the Spitfire, the Mosquito got all the press.

It was an effective night fighter from 1940 until late 1942 until the Mosquito arrived in strength and the radar system got smaller. The USAAF operated 4 squadrons of Beaufighter night fighters in the MTO, France and Germany until early 1945. Against single engine day fighters they were at a decided disadvantage as were most heavy fighters. They were used in the day fighter role to hunt down Fw.200's, Ju88's and other German aircraft searching for Allied convoys and harassing ASW patrols in the Bay of Biscay and North Sea. They were most effective in the anti-shipping, interdiction and close support roles in all theatres. The 4 x 20mm cannons and 6 x .303 MG's could do a lot of damage. Add to that a 250 lb bomb under each wing and 2 x 500 lb bombs under the fuselage or 8 x 60 lb rockets, you could ruin somebody's day.

Cheers,
RichB
 
Thanks!! I also have the top picture of the MT-B aircraft and plan to use the rockets. As far as the decals, I'm ok with the kit decals. The trim tab actuators on the horizontal elevators need to be repositioned on the underside also. Gary S.
 
centaur567 said:
It also looks like the MT-B aircraft has black painted cowl rings with a lot of paint chipping. Thanks again for the clear pic, Gary S.
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It seems that by this point it was common to see Coastal Command aircraft using heat resistant paint on the collector rings to kill the glow. There was a black and a white paint available. Aircraft in the White ASW scheme can be seen with the white rings.

Cheers,
RichB
 
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