With my ever present assistants, "Just Build It" and "Research", and every intention to listen to "Just Build It", "Research" has won out yet again.
It turns out that NF547 is a hotly debated airframe in FAA modelling circles for:
1. Wing configuration
2. Colour scheme
3. Invasion stripes
4. Tail colour
Many a FAA boffin has insisted that only Seafire L.II's had clipped wings and all L.III's had full span. There are now photos surfacing of NF547 and her stable mates with clipped wings as well as pilot accounts describing 885 NAS Seafires with clipped wings.
Some of these same boffin's also insist that all FAA aircraft were finished in TSS (Temperate Sea Scheme). From the photos, the scheme appears to be of a much higher contrast, like DFS (Day Fighter Scheme) on RAF Spitfires. Information from Westland, the factory that built NF547, indicates that all Seafires produce by them were finished in DFS. Photos also show NF547 with either a Sky or Black spinner. The photo showing the Black spinner is generally accepted to be of a post D-Day date, long after 885 NAS had completed their duties with TAF and was converting to Hellcats to deploy to the Pacific.
NF547 with clipped wings, DFS & Sky spinner
There are no known photos of NF547 wearing invasion stripes. But knowing that orders for aircraft operating over the beaches were to have the stripes applied and photos of other aircraft from the Recce Group (5 RAF, 1 USN and 4 FAA squadrons) have the stripes, it is very unlikely the FAA would have left their aircraft unmarked.
Possibly the most contententious issue is the tail colour. Several profiles and decal sheets show the tail painted in a green-grey primer. Some consider this correct, others believe that the primer should be a blue-grey colour. It has also been suggested that the tail could have been taken from an airframe finished with a mirrored scheme. The fabric covered rudder and elevators should be finished in red dope when primed but were usually supplied pre-painted with the appropriate camouflage so they could be properly balanced before leaving the factory. From FAA records, the only major damage to NF547 occurred in Oct 1944 when the tail wheel collapsed on a hard landing and could have resulted in the repair or replacement of the tail assembly. There is a photo of NF547 from the port rear quarter that shows this unusually coloured tail and also hints at the Black spinner.
So for the puposes of this build, to show the aircraft as it would appear from D-Day until D+26, it will have:
1. Clipped wings
2. DFS with Sky spinner
3. Full invasion stripes
4. DFS tail assembly as damage occured in Oct
So, with "Research" satisfied (for the moment), time to "Just Build It". Hopefully a productive evening and some new pics by the end of it.
Cheers,
Rich
