US Navy and USMC Between The Wars in 1/100

[gomidefilho]

Originally Posted by Rata

Not long after MichaelS started work on his Der Kampfflieger Hanriot HD-1, I thought it would make for an interesting comparison to do the Scissors and Planes version of the same plane. Just as I was putting the last of the rigging on mine, I read with horror of the demise of his Hanriot. I was a bit hesitant to post mine after that but of course being the sort of 'jolly decent chap' MS is he gave it the thumbs up.

Another nice design by the B-man this one- he also has WWI versions available of this pretty, under appreciated little French fighter too. Bruno I 'stuck' new 'decals' on the wings mate- hope you don't mind!

Don Boose will be along shortly to give his usual detailed description of this particular Hanriot.

Hope you like.

Beautiful HD-1 Harry! My build of Der Kampfflieger is planning to 2019, but with turret da deck from scratchbuilding...

[Rata]

Thanks Pér!

[Rata]

Work and other distractions continually get in the way of my modelling. 'Taint right I tellz ya! Anyway, finally finished this one: Der Kampfflieger Curtiss F11C-2 Hawk. A beautifully designed 1/48 scale job by Roman Vasilyev, building it in 1/100 presents some delicate building challenges- mainly the scale thickness struts and small parts. Took my time, invented some new swear words, and was rewarded with this.
Don Boose's meticulous research uncovered some interesting detail changes, which I added before printing (hope you don't mind Roman!).
Personally I dont really see the need for full cockpit detail in these small models, so I 'went the Bruno' and blacked out the cockpit aperture.
I hope you like her and as usual the head of our Research Dept. (the aforementioned Mr. Boose) will give us an insight into the real thing.

[Don Boose]

Garry’s model is of Curtiss F11C-2 Goshawk Bureau of Aeronautics Number (BuNo) 9279, in the markings it carried in 1933 as the lead aircraft of Section 5, of Battle Force Fighting Squadron 1 (VF-1B “Top Hats”) aboard USS Saratoga (CV-3).

The F11C-2 was a development of the Curtiss Hawk series of fighter aircraft that began in 1925 with the Army P-1 and the Navy F6C Hawks. In 1928, the Navy began experimenting with dive-bombing, in which aircraft dropped bombs at a steep angle with great accuracy. In April 1932, the Navy requested that manufacturers submit proposals for a fighter capable of dive-bombing. Curtiss submitted two prototypes. One, the XF11C-2 Goshawk (Curtiss Model 64A), was an already existing airplane, a company demonstrator called the Hawk II, which was the latest of a series of Hawk fighters built for export. It was essentially an Army P-6E airframe with a 700-horse power (hp) Wright single-row radial SR-1820f Cyclone engine. It mounted two forward-firing .50-caliber machine guns and could carry a 500-pound bomb or a 50-gallon fuel tank under the fuselage or four 112-pound bombs under the wings. The F11C-2 was capable of delivering the centerline bomb at a near-vertical angle and had a special bomb rack called a Displacement Gear that swung the bomb clear of the propeller arc.

Curtiss provided the XF11C-2 (BuNo 9213) to the Navy in June 1932 and later provided the second version, the XF11C-1 (BuNo 9219), powered by a fully-cowled 600-hp Wright R-1510-98 Cyclone twin-row radial engine driving a three-bladed propeller. The Navy ordered 28 F11C-2s in October 1932, while the XF11C-1, which encountered some problems during testing, was retained at Naval Air Station Anacostia as a test aircraft. In 1936, it was transferred to the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) at Langley Field, where it served until being withdrawn from use in 1939.

The Navy took delivery of the first F11C-2 Goshawks in February 1933, assigning them to Fighting Squadron 1 aboard USS Saratoga. The Top Hats were the only Navy squadron to fly the F11C-2s, flying them alongside Boeing F4B-3s throughout 1933. In March 1934 Curtiss sent out modification kits consisting of larger turtle decks containing inflatable life rafts and sliding half canopies. The modified F11C-2s became “bomber fighters” (rather than “fighter bombers”) and were re-designated BFC-2. The Top Hats were accordingly renumbered as Bombing Squadron 2 (VF-2B). In February 1938, as part of a renumbering scheme in which all carrier units were renumbered to coincide with the hull numbers of the carriers to which they were assigned, the unit became VB-3 and all aircraft assigned to Saratoga had their tails repainted white. Note that in the inter-war Navy and Marine Corps, it was the unit insignia and motto that identified an air squadron, rather than the number, which could change. In 1938, VB-3 turned in its BFC-2s, which were replaced with Vought SB2U-1s.

BuNo 9279 was delivered to Saratoga on 20 April 1933. After conversion to BFC-2 configuration in 1934, the aircraft continued to serve aboard Saratoga until 14 January 1938, when the aircraft, piloted by Pilot Aviation Cadet F.R. Kerr, struck some bushes and overturned while taking off from Wilmer Field, Texas, en route to Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia. Cadet Kerr, who had almost 1,000 flying hours logged, was unhurt, but the aircraft was wrecked and was stricken from the Navy list on 30 April 1938.

Images

Image 1: Curtiss F11C-2 Goshawk BuNo 9279 (1-F-13) flying in company with 9280 (1-F-14) sometime in 1933. Listemann, p. 6.

Image 2: Color painting of 9279 in the marking of 1-F-13 showing the chevron on the top wing (willow green for Section 6) and the gunnery pennant awarded to the section for excellence in gunnery marksmanship. Listemann, p.17.

Image 3: Curtiss F11C-2 BuNo 9282, 1-F-16, lead aircraft of Section 6, VF-1B, USS Saratoga Air Group sometime in 1933 or 1934. The cowling and fuselage band are lemon yellow, designating the Sixth Section. Naval History and Heritage Command image available at https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-94000/NH-94812.html

Sources:

Joe Baugher, “US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos, First Series (A6002 to 9999),” available at US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos--First Series (A6000 to 9999)

Peter M. Bowers, The Curtiss Navy Hawks, Number 116, Leatherhead, UK: Profile Publications, 1966

---, Curtiss Aircraft 1907-1947, Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1979, pp. 274-277.

---, Curtiss Navy Hawks in Action, Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1995, pp. 16-18.

John M. Elliott, The Official Monogram US Navy & Marine Corps Aircraft Color Guide, Vol. 1, 1911-1939, Boylston, MA: Monogram Aviation Publications, 1987, pp. 67, 120, 123.

Roy A. Grossnick, United States Naval Aviation, 1910-1995, Washington, DC: Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center, 1997, available at: https://archive.org/details/UnitedStatesNavalAviation1910-1995

E.R. Johnson, United States Naval Aviation 1919-1941: Aircraft, Airships and Ships Between the Wars, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2011, pp. 81-83.

William T. Larkins, U.S. Navy Aircraft 1921-1941, Concord, CA: Aviation History Publications, 1961.

Phil H. Listemann, Curtiss F11C/BFC & BF2C, Allied Wings No. 11, Havertown, PA: Casemate Publishers, 2011.

Paul R. Matt and Bruce Robertson, United States Navy and Marine Corps Fighters 1918-1962, Fallbrook, CA: Aero Publishers, 1962, reprint of the Harleyford edition of 1962, pp. 34-40, 164.

J.V. Mizrahi, “Carrier Fighter: Curtiss and its Sea-Going Hawks,” Airpower, Vol. 2, No. 5, September 1972, pp. 18-29.

Gordon Swanborough and Peter M Bowers, “Curtiss F11C, BFC, BF2C, Goshawk,” United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911, New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968, pp. 135-137.

U.S. Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 14 website available at http://www.vfa14.navy.mil/

[Rata]

Thank you so much yet again Don. Looking at the photos on your write up, I only just noticed how prominent that gunsight(?) is in front of the cockpit. Might have to that detail methinks!

[Don Boose]

I enjoy researching and writing these little essays and am honored to have them associated with your excellent models, Garry.

The gunsight was also used as a bombsight when the aircraft was dive bombing. in his wonderful reminiscence of flying off USS Saratoga with VF-6B (Dive Bomber: Learning to Fly the Navy's Fighting Planes, New York: Holiday House, 1939), Robert Winston described the process. His description is accompanied by a pen-and-ink drawing by Walter I. Dothard of Winston, dive bombing in a Boeing F4B-4. In 1936, VF-6B transitioned to Grumman F3F-2s as shown on the frontispiece of the book.

Don

[Vinalssergio155]

I do not know what amazes me more, your impressive construction or the impressive information Don Boose provides. My congratulations to both of you, what you do is great.

[Mike1158]

Great care and deliberation result in a great build, this is a great build.

[MichaelS]

Excellent work there young fella!!

[PacificWind]

Truly amazing and really excellent work! Also with a great set of pictures.
I agree with you Garry about the cockpits in this scale. To me, they're just a problem which is completely not needed in 1/100.