US Navy and USMC Between The Wars in 1/100

[OgdenBob]

Originally Posted by Butelczynski

Out of curiosity-why did US Navy planes had yellow wings? US Army also had yellow wings and blue fuselages on most of their aircraft.Fad of times or some practical reason?

I was told once that the yellow wings made it easier to locate a downed aircraft, be it on the water or on land. haven't heard a better explanation and it does kinda make sense.


Bob

[Rata]

Re the reason for the yellow wing colour, can't do better than quote Don from earlier in the thread:

"As early as May of 1920, the Pacific Fleet Air Detachment at North Island, San Diego, reported on its experiment with Yellow paint or enamel on the top surfaces of aircraft to increase visibility in the case of forced landings. Five years later, BuAer Technical Order No. 101 of 20 May 1925, required the use of Navy Yellow enamel on upper wings and the top surfaces of the stabilizer and elevators."

By the late 20s and early 30s, the yellow top surfaces of the horizontal tail surfaces disappeared as the Navy instituted a system of solid colors or stripes on tail surfaces as unit markings, but that's another story.

Source: Thomas E. Doll, Berkley R. Jackson, and William A. Riley (not Dana Bell), Navy Air Colors: United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Camouflage and Markings, Vol. 1 1911-1945 (Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal, 1983), p. 7.

Don

[Don Boose]

Karol - The Wikipedia article on Béarn (French aircraft carrier Bearn - Wikipedia) is good in my opinion, is well-documented, and has a useful list of references, in particular, John Jordan, "From Battleship to Carrier: Béarn," in John Jordan, ed., Warship 2020, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publications. pp. 8–27.

Also listed in the Wiki references is Norman Polmar, Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and its Influence on World Events, Vol. I, 1909-1945, Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2006 (for Béarn, pp. 65-66, 68-69, 86, 106, 108, and 202). Among Polmar's collaborators on this wonderful (in my opinion) book were Genda Minoru and Eric (Winkle) Brown!

Also good is the Béarn entry (pp. 63-65) in Roger Chesneau, Aircraft Carriers of the World, 1914 to the Present: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1984.

Don

[gomidefilho]

Originally Posted by Rata

Anyone who is familiar with the old Matchbox 1/72 plastic will know this one: Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver.
A conversion of the Scissors & Planes SBC-3, this one is presented in the attractive markings of the personal aircraft of Commander Air Group 6 on the USS Enterprise in Sept 1940.

Over to Don for a detailed description and type history.

Amazing SBC-4 Garry!

And amazing research by Don!

[Rata]

Thanks Péricles.

[georgerutherford1861]

Great SBC-4, I especially like the great work done on that complicated undercarriage.

Doug

[Brent]

Looks good!

Brent

[Rata]

Thanks Brent.

And thanks for your positive comments re the undercarraige Doug. Unfortunately most (if not all) of the US aircraft manufacturers of the subject types of this thread seemed to favour it at some point!

[Rata]

Next up is BuNo 9277, a Curtiss BFC-2 (modified from Bruno's F11C-2) of Fighting Sqn 3 (VF-3), aboard USS Saratoga ca 1937.
Here's Don with his usual in depth write up of the type and this particular Goshawk.

[Don Boose]

Garry’s model is of Curtiss BFC-2 Goshawk Bureau of Aeronautics Number (BuNo) 9277, in the markings it carried in 1937 as the lead aircraft of Section 5, of U.S. Navy Fighting Squadron 3 (VF-3 “Top Hats”) aboard USS Saratoga (CV-3).

In 1922, the Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Company of Buffalo, New York, received a contract to build 34 TS-1 fighters for the U.S. Navy. The TS-1 was a wood-framed, fabric-covered single radial engine biplane designed by the Naval Aircraft Factory. In 1924, the Navy contracted for Curtiss to design and build two aluminum-framed versions of the TS-1 with other modifications. These aircraft (Curtiss Model 39) were designated “F4C-1” – the fourth fighter designed by Curtiss. Three racing aircraft built by Curtiss for the Navy (CR-1, R2C, and R3C) had been carried on the Navy books as “experimental fighters” with the parallel fighter designations, hence the “F4C” designation for the modified TS-1s. The F4C-1 began an eight-year stretch during which Curtiss built carrier fighters for the U.S. Navy. Garry’s models and my write ups for the F6C-4 and the F9C-2 are available at
http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/635591-post4.html and
US Navy and USMC Between The Wars in 1/100. We have previously described the F11C and BFC Hawks at US Navy and USMC Between The Wars in 1/100 and http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/694735-post477.html Since some time has passed since those models were posted, this entry recapitulates the essential history.

The BFC-2 was a re-designation and very slight modification of the F11C-2 (Curtiss Model 64A), a metal-framed, fabric-covered, open cockpit, fixed undercarriage biplane powered by a 700-horsepower 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 a dual-purpose fighter-bomber capable of delivering the centerline bomb at a near-vertical angle using a special bomb rack called a Displacement Gear that swung the bomb clear of the propeller arc. Curtiss assigned the popular name “Goshawk” in keeping with its designation of its fighter planes as “Hawks.”

The F11C-2 Goshawks were assigned to Battle Force Fighting Squadron 1 (VF-1B), the “Top Hats,” aboard USS Saratoga in February 1933. Thirteen months later, in March 1934, the F11C-2s were re-designated as “bomber fighters” with the designation BFC-2, and Curtiss sent out modification kits consisting of larger turtle decks containing inflatable life rafts and sliding half canopies. The Top Hats were then renumbered as Bombing Squadron 2 (VF-2B). In July 1937, 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 VB-2 became VB-3 and all aircraft assigned to Saratoga had their tails repainted white. In 1938, VB-3 turned in its BFC-2s, which were replaced with Vought SB2U-1s, and the era of Curtiss Navy fighters ended.

The markings and appearance of BuNo 9277 reflected the mission and designation changes. It was delivered to the Navy on 3 April 1933 as an F11C-2 and assigned to the Battle Force based at San Diego on 20 April of that year. It was assigned to VF-1B aboard Saratoga on 5 June as 1-F-11 (second aircraft of Section Four). At that time, all VF-1B aircraft had their tail surfaces painted Insignia Red, while Section Four had black cowlings and formation chevrons on the top wing. As the second aircraft in the section, BuNo 9277 would have had the top half of its cowling painted black.

In March 1934, BuNo 9277 became a BFC-2 and was modified with the enlarged turtle deck/life raft housing and sliding half canopy. When VF-1B was renamed VB-2B on 1 July 1934, BuNo 9277 was renumbered as “2-B-13” (lead aircraft of Section Five). VB-2B retained the Insignia Red tail surfaces, but as the Section Five lead aircraft, BuNo 9277 had a Willow Green cowling, fuselage stripe, and top wing formation chevron. During the 1935-36 Fleet communications competition, BuNo 9277 was awarded the white “C” for communications proficiency (air-to-air voice radios were a new development).

After the 1937 squadron renumbering, BuNo 9277 became 3-B-13. Its tail surfaces were repainted White (the Saratoga air group color, but it retained the Willow Green cowling, fuselage stripe, and upper wing chevron and the Communication White “C” all as depicted on Garry’s model. On 20 December 1937, BuNo 9277 was released to the San Diego Battle Force Fleet Air Base for overhaul. On 16 June 1938, it was transferred to Fleet Air Base Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, where it continued to serve at San Diego until it was stricken from the Navy list on 30 June 1939.

Images

1. Painting by Garry Gillard of Curtiss F11C-2 BuNo 9277 1-F-11 of Battle Force Fighting Squadron 1 (VF-1B), USS Saratoga (CV-3) air group, 1933.

2. Painting by Garry Gillard of Curtiss BFC-2 BuNo 9277 2-B-13 of Battle Force Bombing Squadron 2 (VF-2B), USS Saratoga (CV-3) air group, 1934.

3. Painting by Garry Gillard of Curtiss BFC-2 BuNo 9277 of Fighting Squadron 3 (VF-3), USS Saratoga (CV-3) air group, 1937.

4. Curtiss BFC-2 BuNo 9277 of Bombing Squadron 3 (VB-3), USS Saratoga (CV-3) air group photographed at Oakland Airport in 1937 by William Larkins. Larkins, p. 210.

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.

Clavework Graphics, “Curtiss Hawk,” WW2 Aircraft Forum, available at Curtiss Hawk | Aircraft of World War II - WW2Aircraft.net Forums

Bill Coffman, “Curtiss BFC-2 (Replica),” available at http://109lair.hobbyvista.com/DETAIL...N/bfc/bfc2.htm

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.

Thomas F. Gates, Fighter Squadron Fourteen “Tophatters,” Carrolton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1993.

George Grasse, “CURTISS BFC-2 (9277), 3-B-13 of VB-3, USS SARATOGA c. 1937,” Historical Miniatures, Classic Aircraft Between the Wars, available at http://www.histomin.com/Aviation/Cla...2%20(7610).htm

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/UnitedSt...ation1910-1995

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/