Special Hobby Fairey Barracuda Build in 1/72 Scale Part II

Primer revealed some additional filling was needed on the upper part of the fuselage.

Mr. Color paints were used, with mixes for the uppersurface colors. The camouflage scheme was masked off using poster putty.

The Barracuda displays some unusual design choices. The undercarriage configuration is unique, I pinned it together to make sure it was strong enough. The flaps are free-floating and are positioned below the wing, another unusual feature. I found I had overlooked some of these parts during construction and had to add them later than I would have liked.

There are several parts which need to be positioned on the upper wings, I added these at the end of the build to avoid any problems with placing the decals. The bronze wire pins were used to make sure the parts didn’t get knocked off.

The unusual features of the design make this a more complex subject to model than most, but by the same token it results in an uncommon model.

More finished photos here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2023/07/04/special-hobby-fairey-barracuda-of-hms-illustrious-in-1-72-scale/

Hobby Boss Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet of Leutnant Hans-Ludwig Löscher in 1/72 Scale

Hans-Ludwig Löscher was the pilot of “White 10”, assigned to 1./JG 400 at Brandis in February 1945.

Junkers Ju 52/3m Color Photographs

Junkers developed the Ju 52 as a single-engined civilian airliner in the early 1930s. The design soon picked up two additional engines (with the /3m designation) and was produced for the Luftwaffe as a transport. It served throughout the war wherever the Luftwaffe had a presence. Production continued after the war in France and Spain, and several airworthy examples survive today.

This example is seen in Poland during September 1939 bringing in supplies to the invading German army. The corrugated skin of the Ju 52 was designed to strengthen the aircraft. (Hugo Jaeger photograph)

A useful view of the interior as some of the supplies appear reluctant to be unloaded. (Hugo Jaeger photograph)

Borders between European nations were re-drawn frequently, often leaving civilians on the “wrong side” of a boarder after a conflict. Here ethnic Germans are being returned to Poland in an area now under German control. This photograph gives a good impression of the similar tones of the RLM 70 / 71 greens used in the splinter camouflage. (Hugo Jaeger photograph)

An important utilization of the Luftwaffe’s transport arm was in supplying Rommel’s’ Afrika Korps. Here a Ju 52 is seen arriving at an airfield in Tunesia.

Transport flights were often conducted in large groups, especially as Allied fighter strength grew and efforts were increased to incept them. This has resulted in a congested airfield, a tempting target.

Transport efforts were costly, as attested to by this Ju 52 wreck seen at Gabes Airfield in Tunesia in March 1943. A British column passes in the background.

Ju 52 wreckage at the edge of a Tunisian airfield, including one example which appears rather intact. Note the yellow recognition panels on the underside of the engine cowlings.

The “Tante Ju” (Auntie Ju) was often utilized in the casualty evacuation role, and some examples were dedicated “air ambulances” as their primary mission. These aircraft often replaced their Balkenkreuz markings with the Red Cross, as seen here.

A different application of the Red Cross is seen on WNr 2999 on the Eastern Front.

Standard transports were also used to evacuate wounded, as seen here in France. (Hugo Jaeger photograph)

Academy Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet of 6./JG 400 in 1/72 Scale

WKNr 191329 was a Junkers-built Komet assigned to 6./JG 400 which was captured intact at Husam airfield in May 1945. Staffelkapitän of 6 Staffel was Oberleutnant Franz Woidich, who had amassed a total of 109 victories flying mainly with JG 52 in the East before being transferred to JG 400. Woidich scored his 110th victory flying a Komet, a B-17 downed on 22APR45, which was also the last victory attributed to an Me 163. Unfortunately, the identity of the particular Komet Woidich used on this mission is currently unknown, so this 6 Staffel machine will be as close as I can get for now.

Voyage of Mercy Audio Book Review

Voyage of Mercy: The USS Jamestown, the Irish Famine, and the Remarkable Story of America’s First Humanitarian Mission

By Stephen Puleo, Narrated by Sean Patrick Hopkins

Audiobook, 10 hours and 9 minutes

Published by Macmillian Audio

Language: English

ASIN: B07T91L1BC

The Irish economy of the early to mid-1800s was sustained for the most part by tenant farming. The land was owned by Englishmen, Irish farmers worked the land to pay the rent. Grains were raised for export, the farmers and their families subsisted mainly on the potato crop. Unfortunately the potato plant was subject to blight, which spread quickly and could wipe out the entire crop in the matter of a week. Ireland had endured several blights in the early 1800s, but the blight of 1846 was severe and in 1847 the crop was wiped out almost in its entirety. Unable to pay their rent, many families were evicted from their homes. The population soon began to succumb to malnutrition, exposure, and “the fevers”. Aid from England was insufficient and English aid policies were highly bureaucratized and exasperated the situation. Those who could sold off their possessions and fled.

In America, word of the plight of the Irish fell on sympathetic ears. Committees were formed in cities and towns for Irish Relief. People began donating food, money, and clothing to help those in need. In Boston, merchant and ship captain Robert Bennet Forbes agreed to raise a crew and transport the donations to Ireland. In an unprecedented move, Congress agreed to supply two U.S. Navy warships, the USS Jamestown and the USS Macedonian, to be used as relief ships. Forbes would take the Jamestown and 800 tons of supplies from Boston with the Macedonian to follow from New York. Thus the grassroots effort to aid the Irish became the first instance of America providing humanitarian aid to a foreign country, a precedent which remains to this day. More than one hundred relief ships sailed for Ireland in the following months. The author tells the story mainly through two protagonists, Captain Forbes of the Jamestown and Father Theobald Mathew of Cove in County Cork, Ireland, who ministered to and coordinated relief efforts for the sick and starving. Many of their letters and records survive, allowing personal insights into the events which humanize the story. On a personal note, at least one of my sixteen pairs of Great-Great-Great Grandparents endured the Irish Famine and immigrated to America as a result, the distant connection made book all the more interesting for me. Recommended.

Grumman F-14 Tomcat Walk Around Part IV

Photographed at Fort Worth Aviation Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, by Don Gilman.

Part I Here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2020/09/20/grumman-f-14a-tomcat-walk-around/

Women Warriors 225

1st Lt. Amy Moore, 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron co-pilot C-17 Globemaster III

Norwegian Sailor aboard minesweeper KNM Otra

USMC mechanics with PBJ, MCAS Cherry Point

ww497b_norwegian soldier julie sletten — **Norwegian soldier Julie Sletten**

http://ww2db.com/ — **WAVES in a 40mm gun mount aboard the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63), 1944**

ww300 — **Air Transport Auxiliary at Berkshire, Pauline Gower at center**

ww100RCAMC02 — **Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps**

To see more Women Warriors, click on the tags below:

Special Hobby Fairey Barracuda Build in 1/72 Scale Part I

Special Hobby first released their Barracuda kits in 2016, this is their 2018 “Pacific Fleet” boxing. It is an unusual aircraft in many ways, and one which is not often seen at model shows. It has a certain awkwardness to its appearance which I find appealing.

The main sprues show a conventional parts breakdown. This is a limited run kit and features recessed panel lines where appropriate.

The third sprue consists of parts specifically for this boxing. This sprue is noticeably more refined and has sharper detail than the other two. There is a choice of bomb or torpedo for loadouts, and the underwing racks are provided but no smaller bombs for them. There are options for the wheels and a choice of three- or four-bladed prop.

The interior is adequate for a closed canopy build, I only added belts to the seats. Everything fits, but care is required to get the spacing right so the rollover brace behind the pilot will fit correctly.

Wheel wells are the full depth, parts are provided to build up the internal walls. I generally install the landing lights at this point in the construction so they can be sanded smooth and polished back to clear,

Fit is pretty good overall. For greenhouse canopies a good mask set is a must. These are from KV Hobbies and they performed well.

The seam on the underside of the fuselage was persistent and required some extra filling to smooth out. The seam runs down the inside of the cowl vent which is a difficult place to sand, so I covered the inside with a thin sheet of Evergreen.

Part II here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2023/06/30/special-hobby-fairey-barracuda-build-in-1-72-scale-part-ii/

Academy Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet of Kurt Schiebeler in 1/72 Scale

Kurt Schiebeler of 1./JG 400 survived 59 “sharp starts” (powered flights) in the Me 163, which may be a record on the type. “White 2” was a Messerschmitt-built Me 163B-0 and was the aircraft Schiebeler was piloting on 11SEP44 when he claimed his fist Komet victory, a B-17. He claimed a second Fortress on 01OCT44. Schiebeler survived the war.

Typhoon Cobra Part II

In addition to the three Destroyers lost during Typhoon Cobra, Task Force 38 lost a total of 146 aircraft destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Some aircraft which broke free of their tie-downs on deck simply rolled (or were washed) over the side, but an aircraft rolling free in a hanger deck became a missile, smashing anything in its way and often starting fires.

“Planes went adrift, collided, and burst into flames. Monterey caught fire at 0911 (18 December) and lost steerageway a few minutes later. The fire was brought under control at 0945 and the C.O., Captain Stuart H. Ingersoll, decided to let his ship lie dead in the water until temporary repairs could be effected. She lost 18 aircraft burned in the hangar deck or blown overboard and 16 seriously damaged, together with three 20-mm guns, and suffered extensive rupturing of her ventilation system. Cowpens lost 7 planes overboard and caught fire from one that broke loose at 1051, but the fire was brought under control promptly; Langley rolled through 70 degrees; San Jacinto reported a fighter plane adrift on the hangar deck which wrecked seven other aircraft. She also suffered damage from salt water that entered through punctures in the ventilating ducts. Captain [Jasper T.] Acuff’s replenishment escort carriers did pretty well. Flames broke out on the flight deck of Cape Esperance at 1228 but were overcome; Kwajalein made a maximum roll of 39 degrees to port when hove-to with wind abeam. Her port catwalks scooped up green water, but she lost only three planes which were jettisoned from the flight deck; it took one hour to get them over the side. Three other escort carriers lost in all 86 aircraft but came through without much material damage.”

Morison, Samuel Eliot, History of United States Naval Operations in World War II Volume XIII: The Liberation of the Philippines—Luzon, Mindanao, the Visayas 1944–1945