Vic Balshaw
Major General
Both sides look brilliant George, you should be pleased. 
**** DONE: GB-62 1/48 Spitfire Mk.Vb(1) - Spitfires
- Thread starter fubar57
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Like your work so far Geo. Good luck on the surgery business...
Great job Geo
- Thread starter
- #125
fubar57
General
Thanks guys. So, going through the books I find that Castle Bromwich had the IFF antennae entering the fuselage via the red centre if the roundel. Just need to find out how they were attached to the stabilizer. Aaaaaaaand, I find out, all CB built Vbs retained windscreens with the external armour. I'll leave this one on until after the painting and then replace.....maybe
Berny5664
Senior Airman
Sorry Fubar,
I wanted to ask about a particular feature on your model that reproduces two rails on both wings.
I was wondering what they were and if they are present on all the Mk V's.
Thank you Berny
I wanted to ask about a particular feature on your model that reproduces two rails on both wings.
I was wondering what they were and if they are present on all the Mk V's.
Thank you Berny
Attachments
- Thread starter
- #127
fubar57
General
Wheel well reinforcement strips which were later added to the inside of the wheel well. Not sure when the change was made
Berny5664
Senior Airman
Thank you Geo.
So you have to understand if the subject to be reproduced had them or not.
The usual mysteries for us modelers
So you have to understand if the subject to be reproduced had them or not.
The usual mysteries for us modelers
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Not a very good pic (below), but this shows the attachment bracket on the tail-plane for the IFF wire (wrongly described as an HF radio antenna wire in the SAM book, from where the pic was sourced).
It was simply a metal tab, with a hole in it, where the wire attached. (somewhere, I have a better, more detailed pic I took myself, but it's hidden somewhere in the 1,000s of images on file !).
However, note that the presence of the lead-in socket on the fuselage was not necessarily evidence of the presence of the "cheese cutter" wires, as the socket was still present on MkIX, Mk.XII and some early Mk.XIV airframes, even though these normally had the IFF Mk.III dipole antenna beneath the starboard wing.
Also, I'm not sure that all CBAF Mk.Vs had the external windscreen armour. Certainly early production CBAF airframes had this, but I think that later production CBAF MkVs had the internal armour and "blown" canopy fitted, as in the Supermarine production, and these were also known to be retro-fitted either in the field or at MUs.
Don't forget that the Mk.V also retained the undercarriage indicator pegs, protruding through the upper wing surface when the gear was down and locked.
It was simply a metal tab, with a hole in it, where the wire attached. (somewhere, I have a better, more detailed pic I took myself, but it's hidden somewhere in the 1,000s of images on file !).
However, note that the presence of the lead-in socket on the fuselage was not necessarily evidence of the presence of the "cheese cutter" wires, as the socket was still present on MkIX, Mk.XII and some early Mk.XIV airframes, even though these normally had the IFF Mk.III dipole antenna beneath the starboard wing.
Also, I'm not sure that all CBAF Mk.Vs had the external windscreen armour. Certainly early production CBAF airframes had this, but I think that later production CBAF MkVs had the internal armour and "blown" canopy fitted, as in the Supermarine production, and these were also known to be retro-fitted either in the field or at MUs.
Don't forget that the Mk.V also retained the undercarriage indicator pegs, protruding through the upper wing surface when the gear was down and locked.
Crimea_River
Marshal
Geo, the attachment points of the IFF wires go to the tips of the horizontal stabs and are almost flush with the leading edge. Here's a grainy pic of the attachment point:
I'd suggest that at 1/48, just glue the thread to the leading edge where the elevator starts. The entry point at the fuselage can be seen below relative to the radio hatch:
AW, dang, crossed posts with Terry. At least we have consistent info!
I'd suggest that at 1/48, just glue the thread to the leading edge where the elevator starts. The entry point at the fuselage can be seen below relative to the radio hatch:
AW, dang, crossed posts with Terry. At least we have consistent info!
IIRC the stiffeners appeared in October/November 1941. As I have mentioned it in the another thread ( see the quotation above ) the strengthening strakes were attached to these Spits that showed the damages to the metal skin there. Therefore these were retrofitted to the early models as well. Regarding the Spitfire Mk.V there were three mods regarding the reinforcing of the wheel-well top skin, the Mod 455, 529 and 532. None of them stated what kind of the exact modification it was. Anyway the Mod 455 was incorporated 10 October 1941.
Crimea_River
Marshal
Just to belabour the point, the sketch posted by Wojtek in the GB62 intro thread shows the IFF antenna wires. Not 100% proof but indicates they were probably present:
Berny5664
Senior Airman
Thank you Wurger.
It's true you had already written it, but I didn't realize that they were the ones.
Now I'm going
to remember it. Thank you
Lovely work so far George!
OK. I went through the footage titled "64 Squadron At RAF Station Hornchurch 1942" of the IMW collection . There are seen the squadron Spitfires Mk.Vb. Their codes are SH-D, Z, X, F, G, N, B and also the SH-V and a few more but from distance. To sum up my observations ...
1. Almost all Spits had the bulged cockpit hood type with the oval small window covered with the thin glass on the port side (the exception SH-Z, no small window). The bullet-proof front glass was of the external type for all.
2. the wheel hubs were the full rim version.
3. the prop was the Rotol mostly with the longer pointy spinner but at least two of the Spits there had the De Havilland one with the smaller and not that pointy one.
4. the exhaust pipes were the fishtail mostly, except those with the De Havilland prop that had the "kidny" type ones. The exception is the SN-Z having the fishtail pipes and the De Havilland prop + the smaller spinner.
5. the top antenna was the VHF one contained within the mast itself. No "pennant" on the mast but just two small "teeth" at the back edge. There is no mount of the antenna wire on the fin tip.
6. The IFF antennae ... although the insulators on the fuselages can be found, there was no wire going to the horizontal stabilisers noticable. Also no traces of the mounts there.
the general view ...
the props, spinners, exhaust pipes , antanna mast , SH-D, SH-Z, SH-B
IFF antennae
the sourde of the screenshots: 64 SQUADRON AT RAF STATION HORNCHURCH [Allocated Title]
- Thread starter
- #136
fubar57
General
Beauty. Everything in the kit but the mast will need slight modification. The aircraft was damaged during the Operation Jubilee. Damage included the area in front of the fin so I'm thinking a more modern fin flash was installed and possibly the fuselage roundels as well
Vic Balshaw
Major General
Beautiful info. Your a star master Wojtek.
I'm wonder if it is not the one you are talking about.
the pic source: John Worthington Harder - RAF Museum
And another kite of the squadron .. SH-H ... at the Hornchurch airfield 1942. The Rotol prop, the fishtail exhaust pipes, the VHF antenna mast, the small oval window at the port side of the bulged cockpit hood, the wheel solid rim and the IFF antana wire insulator but no wire attached.
the source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...ron_RAF_at_Hornchurch,_7_May_1942._CH5772.jpg
the source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...ron_RAF_at_Hornchurch,_7_May_1942._CH5772.jpg
Crimea_River
Marshal
Great info, but can we find the small antenna under the starboard wing or did these guys fly without IFF for a while?
