<-- **** DONE: 1/48 Beaufighter TF X - Twin Engined Aircraft of WWII (1 Viewer)

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Thanks guys.

It's been a while since I posted some interesting tidbits on 404 Squadron. I couldn't let this build go by without mentioning the contributions of Sydney Shulemson to the Squadron's success, especually now that I'm about to set the rocke rails as you will see. Here is a synpopsis cobbled together from the web, a lecture I attended that was given last year by Dr. Stephane Guevremont, and excerpts from the book "Aces, Warriors, and Wingmen: The Firsthand Accounts of Canada's Fighter Pilots in the Second World War" by Wayne Ralph:

Sydney Simon Shulemson was born on Oct. 22, 1915, in Montreal. He dreamed of becoming an aeronautical engineer but money was tight in Depression-era Canada so Shulemson was forced to find work, first with a New York advertising firm, then his uncle's Montreal printing business.

The day Canada declared war on Germany, Sept. 10, 1939, the former army cadet signed up with the RCAF. Shulemson graduated near the top of his pilot-training class in 1942 and was sent to Charlottetown for advanced training. After completing his advanced training, he was sent to RCAF 404 Squadron, then stationed in Wick, Scotland.

Only a few months into his combat tour in 1943, Shulemson earned a Distinguished Service Order for engaging a German fighter after a successful strike.

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The main driving force and inspiration for the success at 404 was Squadron Leader Ken Gatward, RAF, and Flight Lieutenant Syd Shulemson, RCAF (#3 in the below pic).

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W/C Ken Gatward, RAF in the cockpit of Beaufigher LZ451, the subject of this build:

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By trial and error they developed the appropriate tactics to destroy vessels in a way that had previously been done, but at a great personal cost, by torpedoes. Early experiences with rockets as armament were mediocre and only two squadrons were allowed to continue to develop rocket tactics, 404 being one. The rest continued with torpedoes. Over time, as various rocket tactics and trials were perfected, Shulemson trained all 404 pilots, and later others of Coastal Command units, to fire at exactly 400 yards distance in a 12.5 degree dive at a speed of 265 knots. The precision required was explained by Shulemson:

"We used a regular gunsight adapted for use to give us exact range from the target. The gunsight had adjustable light bars to tell us when we had exactly 400 yards' range. We developed a way of attacking a ship or convoy that proved very successful, whereby we fired at 1000 yards range with our cannons. They were harmonized to give a range of fire, raking the deck. After releasing the rockets at well below 100 feet, we had to climb very quickly to miss the wires and masts of the ship. The rockets were designed to hit the ship below the waterline. To hit the ship that way, you have to hit the water before the ship. When the rockets hit the water, they tended to flatten out and strike the ship at ten to twelve feet below the waterline. If you fired at 400 yards' range, the rocket motor would still be burning and it would cause havoc inside the ship, ricocheting around inside the ship, causing explosions, even though it was not an explosive head but simply a twenty-five pound, solid, bullet-shaped head."

The use of the 25lb heads proved more successful than the earlier use of 60lb HE heads and these became the exclusive armament as of late 1944. A further refinement of the tactics saw the use of varying angle settings of the rocket rails on each aircraft to increase the chance of achieving "wet hits", i.e. below the water line, in any given attack. Note the angles of the rails in the below pic, illustrating this:

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In the following pic showing a typical attack, note the vertical stagger of the rockets at right, resulitng form setting the rails at varying angles. Some "dry" and some "wet" hits may have been the result.
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When the Banff Strike Wing was formed in September 1944, Shulemson's success with 404 Squadron resulted in his being assigned the responsibility of "rocket projectile officer" for the Wing's squadrons. His duties included setting the rocket rails properly, adjusting the gunsights, training the crews in marksmanship and tactics, as well as briefing the crews priors to ops. His contribution was considered so vital that W/C Max Aitken refused to allow him to fly on ops after his 49th mission.

In February of 1945, Shulemson was awarded the DFC for his leadership and contributions to the success of Coastal Command.

Following the war, Shulemson returned to his uncle Ted's print shop, but in 1947 he became seriously involved in helping Israel's pre-state army, the Haganah, build an air force. His contributions included recruiting veteran pilots to fly for Israel, and finding surplus aircraft for acquisition. The latter included 200 De Havilland Mosquito fighter-bombers that he arranged to buy from the Republic of China.

Sydney Shulemson died in 2007 at age 91.
 
Many superlatives, Andy. (this is what happens with a weak/non-existent camp internet, I have 2 pages of catch-up and the best compliments are already used) History is great as well
 
Thanks Glenn.

Working through my checklist of things to complete. With thanks to Chris for the catch, I matte coated the cowl rings:

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I also roughly applied primer around the fabric machine gun covers and highlighted the rivets on the plated-over landing light.

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The small opening for the supposed drift recorder was finished off with the addition of the little door made of thin styrene card.

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The props were chipped with a silver pencil, a little more on the back side, and given a light coat of Future to give them a bit of shine.

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Per Glenn's suggestion, I replaced the too-thick sprue whip antenna with one cut from a spool of fishing line. Much better.

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Soon it will be on to the rockets and here's the raw material I will use: left over Revell rockets from my Mosquito kit. These have the correct rails that I need but I will modify these a bit by first cutting off the supports and adding some hangers that are correct for the Beaufighter. I will also be mounting the rails at different angles so the hangers will need to vary in length somewhat.

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Thanks for watching.
 
More stuff ticked off the checklist:

Whisker antennae added:

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Signal lamps finished off:

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Some underside weathering started using Tamiya pastels:

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The upper surfaces also got some dark pastel treatment behind the louvers and around frequently-opened hatches:

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More to come later this weekend.
 
Sweet. Haven't seen those pastels in PG since the one true hobby store shut down a few years ago. Great White just moved to a large location and brought in more stock including Tamiya products so I'll have to check.
 

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