FUJIMI 1/700-scale ROYAL NAVY CARRIER PLANES SEAFIRE GANNET WESSEX SEA FURY KIT RN FAA

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Additional Information from Internet Encyclopedia

The final version of the Seafire was the Seafire F Mk 47 and FR Mk 47. There was no true prototype, instead the first production aircraft PS944 and PS945 served as trials aircraft. As the "definitive" carrier based Seafire, the Mk 47 incorporated several refinements over earlier variants.[1] After the first four aircraft, with manually folded wings, the Mk 47 incorporated hydraulically powered wing folding, the outer wings folding upwards in one piece, without the folding wingtips of earlier marks. All Mk 47s adopted the Rotol contra-rotating propellers. The Mk 47 also featured a long supercharger air-duct, the intake of which started just behind the spinner and a modified curved windscreen, similar to that used on the Mk XVII. Other features unique to the Mk 47s were spring-loaded elevator tabs, a large inertia weight in the elevator control system and beading on the trailing edges of the elevators. These changes improved longitudinal stability, especially when the aircraft was fully loaded. The modified windscreen proved to be unpopular with pilots because of continual problems with misting and the thicker, repositioned frames obstructed visibility during deck landings. In spite of recommendations to change the windscreen back to a standard Spitfire 24 unit, this was never done. Performance tests showed that the Mk 47 was slightly slower than the Mk 46 in maximum and climbing speeds, mainly due to the long supercharger air intake, which was less efficient than the shorter type fitted to earlier Seafires. The first fourteen aircraft were powered by the Griffon 87, but the rest of the 89 production aircraft (built by Supermarine at South Marston) were powered by the Griffon 88, which used a Rolls-Royce fuel-injection system instead of the carburettor used on earlier Spitfires and Seafires. [30] The Seafire 47 saw action with 800 Squadron on board HMS Triumph during the Malayan Emergency of 1949 and during the Korean War in 1950. However, in 1951 all Seafires were withdrawn from front-line service.[31] In all 90 F Mk 47s and FR Mk 47s were built, all by Supermarine. VR971, the last of the 22,000 aircraft built under the Spitfire/Seafire program, left the production line at Supermarine on 28 January 1949. The maximum level speed for this mark was: 451mph at 20,000ft or 433mph at 24,000ft, ceiling: 43,100ft, range: 405 miles plus 15 minutes combat.

In 1950, HMS Triumph started a tour of the Far East, embarking 800 Naval Air Squadron with Seafire 47s along with 827 Naval Air Squadron equipped with the Fairey Firefly following the outbreak of the Korean War, HMS Triumph was diverted to operations to try to stem the North Korean offensive, Seafires were engaged in performing ground attack and combat air patrols from July until September 1950, when HMS Triumph was replaced by HMS Theseus, equipped with the newer Hawker Sea Furys. During operations off Korea, Seafires flew 360 operational sorties, losing one aircraft shot down by friendly fire from a Boeing B-29 Superfortress and a second aircraft lost when its arrestor hook failed to extend. The Seafire proved more vulnerable to the stresses of carrier operation with many aircraft suffering wrinkling of the rear fuselage brought about by heavy landings. Following the end of operations, when peacetime airworthiness rules were re-imposed, all but three of 800 Squadron's Seafires were declared unserviciable owing to wrinkling.

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The Fairey Gannet is a carrier-borne aircraft that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed for the Royal Navy, being the first fixed-wing aircraft to combine both the search and strike portions of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations to be operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA).

The Gannet was originally developed to meet a Second World War era requirement for a dual-role ASW and strike to equip the FAA.[3] It was a mid-wing monoplane with a tricycle undercarriage and a crew of three, with a double turboprop engine driving two contra-rotating propellers. On 19 September 1949, the prototype Gannet performed its maiden flight. Four years later, it was brought into regular service with the FAA. The service would use the type from the majority of its aircraft carriers throughout the Cold War. Various export customers were also secured for the Gannet, including the Royal Australian Navy, the German Navy, and the Indonesian Navy, most of these operating the aircraft exclusively from land bases.

During the 1960s, the Royal Navy transitioned to using helicopters, such as the Westland Whirlwind HAS.7, for ASW operations. Accordingly, several Gannets were adapted to perform alternative operations, such as an airborne electronic countermeasures platform and carrier onboard delivery aircraft. Perhaps the most extensive variant of the type was the Gannet AEW.3, which was developed as a carrier-based airborne early warning platform and was operated exclusively by the FAA. The service disposed of its Gannets on 15 December 1978, roughly aligning with the withdrawal of the last of the Royal Navy's large fleet carriers.

During April 1954, deliveries of the Gannet AS.1 formally commenced. On 17 January 1955, the 826 NAS became the RN's first operational Gannet squadron, which promptly embarked on the modernised aircraft carrier HMS Eagle.[18] During its initial at-sea deployment in the Mediterranean, no serious issues were encountered with the Gannet aside from the standard teething issues. Later that same year, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) stood up their first two Gannet squadrons.

The RAN ultimately operated 33 Gannet AS.1 and three T.2 trainers.[28] They were primarily flown from the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne as well as the shore base HMAS Albatross near Nowra, New South Wales. During 1967, the RAN withdrew its surviving 24 Gannets from service.

By the mid-1960s, the Royal Navy's Gannet AS.1 and AS.4 models had been replaced by the Westland Whirlwind HAS.7 helicopters. FAA Gannets continued to operate as electronic countermeasures (ECM) aircraft: the ECM.6. Several Gannet AS.4s were converted to COD.4s for Carrier onboard delivery—the aerial supply of mail and light cargo to the fleet.

Starting in May 1958, West Germany's Navy commenced operations of the Gannet AS.4; the country would obtain 15 Gannet AS.4s and a single T.5.[29] German Gannets operated as the ASW squadron of Marinefliegergeschwader 2 (2nd Naval Aviation Wing) from Jagel and Sylt. During 1963, the squadron was reassigned to MFG 3 at Nordholz Naval Airbase, where they remained until replaced by the newer and larger Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic three years later.

During January 1959, Indonesia ordered 18 Gannet AS.4 and T.5s for the Indonesian Navy.[30] These were purchased from Fairey via the Ministry of Supply and were re-modelled from existing Gannet AS.1s and T.2s prior to delivery. Several were used as ground-based trainers only. Additional Gannets were later acquired by other countries.

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The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34 (in US service known as Choctaw). It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main changes from Sikorsky's H-34 was the replacement of the piston-engine powerplant with a turboshaft engine. Early models were powered by a single Napier Gazelle engine, while later builds used a pair of de Havilland Gnome engines.

The Wessex was initially produced for the Royal Navy (RN) and later for the Royal Air Force (RAF); a limited number of civilian aircraft were also produced, as well as some export sales. The Wessex operated as an anti-submarine warfare and utility helicopter; it is perhaps best recognised for its use as a search and rescue (SAR) helicopter. The type entered operational service in 1961 and had a service life in excess of 40 years before being retired in the UK.

The Wessex was first used by the Royal Navy, which introduced the Wessex HAS.1 to operational service in 1961. Having been satisfied by the favourable initial performance of the Wessex but seeking to improve its avionics and equipment, the Navy soon pressed for the development of the improved HAS.3, which came into service in 1967. Operationally, younger models would be assigned to perform the key anti-submarine warfare and commando transport missions, while older and less capable models would be typically be assigned to land bases for search and rescue (SAR).

The RAF became an operator of the Wessex in 1962; those helicopters used for air-sea or mountain rescue duties helped make the Wessex a particularly well known aircraft of the service and contributed to the saving of many lives during its time in service. As one of the RAF's standing duties, multiple Wessex helicopters were permanently kept on standby to respond to an emergency located anywhere within 40 miles of the British coastline within 15 minutes during daytime, at night hours this response time was decreased to 60 minutes.[9] SAR-tasked Wessex helicopters were also stationed abroad, such as at Cyprus.[10] The qualities of the Wessex were described as being "ideal for mountain flying".

The Wessex often found itself being used on the battlefield as a utility transport; as well as delivering supplies and equipment, the Wessex could also transport small groups of troops. Operationally, the Wessex could lift less than the RAF's Bristol Belvedere helicopters, but was more robust and required less maintenance; thus, when the Belvedere was retired at the end of the 1960s, Wessex squadrons were often tasked with their former duties in support of the British Army on an ad-hoc basis.[13] In large-scale helicopter assault operations, the type could be escorted by the RAF's Hawker Siddeley Harriers.[14] The HC.4 variant of the Westland Sea King began to replace the Wessex in this capacity from the late 1970s onwards, although troop-carrying missions would continue into the late 1990s.

The Wessex's service career featured long-term deployments to both Hong Kong and Northern Ireland to support internal security operations, performing transport and surveillance missions.[16] In Northern Ireland, the use of helicopters for supply missions proved a viable alternative to vulnerable road convoys; operations in this theatre led to the employment of various defensive equipment and countermeasures against the threat posed by small arms and man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS).

Wessex helicopters were also used by the Queen's Flight of the RAF to transport VIPs including members of the British Royal Family;[10] in this role, the helicopters were designated HCC.4 and were essentially similar to the HC.2, differences included an upgraded interior, additional navigation equipment and enhanced maintenance programmes.[18] Both Prince Philip and Prince Charles were trained Wessex pilots; occasionally they would perform as flying crew members in addition to being passengers on board the VIP services.[19] The Wessex was replaced in this role by a privately leased Sikorsky S-76 in 1998.

Wartime operations

In 1962, an international crisis arose as Indonesia threatened confrontation over the issue of Brunei, which was not in the newly formed Federation of Malaya. By February 1964, a large number of RAF and RN helicopters, including Westland Wessex, were operating from bases in Sarawak and Sabah to assist Army and Marine detachments fighting guerilla forces infiltrated by Indonesia over its one thousand mile frontier with Malaysia. Having removed much of the anti-submarine equipment to lighten the aircraft, during the campaign in Borneo the Wessex was typically operated as a transport helicopter, capable of ferrying up to 16 troops or a 4,000-pound payload of supplies directly to the front lines. Alongside the Westland Scout, the Wessex emerged as one of the main workhorses of the campaign, roughly half were operated directly from land bases and would regularly rotate with those stationed on RN vessels stationed off shore. From these operations the Commando Helicopter Force gets its nickname of the Junglies.

Around 55 Westland Wessex HU.5s participated in the Falklands War, fighting in the South Atlantic in 1982. On 21 May 1982, 845 Squadron's Wessex HU.5s supported British landings on East Falkland. The type was heavily used throughout the conflict for the transportation and insertion of British special forces, including members of the Special Air Service (SAS) and the Special Boat Service (SBS). A total of nine Wessex (eight HU.5s and one HAS.3) were lost during the Falklands campaign. Two HU.5s of 845 Squadron crashed on the Fortuna Glacier in South Georgia during an attempt to extract members of the SAS during a snow storm, six of 848 Squadron's Wessex HU.5s were lost when the container ship Atlantic Conveyor was sunk and the HAS.3 aboard HMS Glamorgan was destroyed when the ship was struck by an Exocet missile.

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The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy and one of the fastest production single reciprocating engine aircraft ever built.[2] Developed during the Second World War, the Sea Fury entered service two years after the war ended. It proved to be a popular aircraft with a number of overseas militaries and was used during the Korean War in the early 1950s, and by the Cuban air force during the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion.

The Sea Fury's development was formally initiated in 1943 in response to a wartime requirement of the Royal Air Force (RAF), with the aircraft first named Fury. As the Second World War drew to a close, the RAF cancelled their order for the aircraft. The Royal Navy saw the type as a suitable carrier aircraft to replace a range of obsolescent and stop-gap aircraft being operated by the Fleet Air Arm. Development of the Sea Fury proceeded, and the type entered operational service in 1947.

The Sea Fury has many design similarities to Hawker's preceding Tempest fighter, having originated from a requirement for a "Light Tempest Fighter". The Sea Fury's wings and fuselage originated from the Tempest but were significantly modified. The production Sea Fury was fitted with the powerful Bristol Centaurus engine and armed with four wing-mounted Hispano V cannon. While originally developed as a pure aerial fighter aircraft, the definitive Sea Fury FB.11 was a fighter-bomber.

The Sea Fury attracted international orders as a carrier and land-based aircraft. It was operated by countries including Australia, Burma, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, West Germany, Iraq, and Pakistan. The type acquitted itself well in the Korean War, fighting effectively even against the MiG-15 jet fighter.[1] Although the Sea Fury was retired by the majority of its military operators in the late 1950s in favour of jet-propelled aircraft, a considerable number of aircraft saw use in the civil sector, and several remain airworthy in the 21st century as heritage and racing aircraft.

United Kingdom

778 Naval Air Squadron was the first unit of the Fleet Air Arm to receive the Sea Fury, with deliveries commencing in February 1947 to the squadron's Intensive Flying Development Unit, while 787 Squadron, the Naval Air Fighting Development Squadron, received the Sea Fury in May that year.[35][36] The first operational unit to be equipped with the Sea Fury was 803 Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Canadian Navy, which replaced Seafires with Sea Furies in August 1947, with 807 Naval Air Squadron was the first operational Royal Navy Sea Fury squadron when it received the aircraft in September that year.[35] The Seafire was ill-suited to carrier use, as the pilot's poor view of the deck and the aircraft's narrow undercarriage made both landings and takeoffs difficult. Consequently, the Sea Fury F Mk X replaced the Seafire on most carriers.[37] For some years the Sea Fury and Seafire operated alongside each other, with the shorter-range Seafire operating as a fleet defence fighter while the Sea Fury was employed as a longer-range fighter-bomber.

Sea Furies were issued to Nos. 736, 738, 759 and 778 Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. The F Mk X was followed by the Sea Fury FB.11 fighter-bomber variant, which eventually reached a production total of 650 aircraft. The Sea Fury remained the Fleet Air Arm's primary fighter-bomber until 1953, at which point jet-powered aircraft, such as the Hawker Sea Hawk and Supermarine Attacker, were introduced to operational service.

The Sea Fury FB.11 entered service with the fighter squadrons of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in August 1951. The RNVR units also operated the Sea Fury T.20 two-seat trainer version from late 1950 to give reserve pilots experience on the type before relinquishing their Supermarine Seafire aircraft. RNVR units that were equipped with the Sea Fury were Nos. 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835 and 1836 Squadrons. No. 1832, based at RAF Benson, was the last RNVR squadron to relinquish the type in August 1955 for the jet-powered Supermarine Attacker.

Korean War

Following the outbreak of the Korean War on 25 June 1950, Sea Furies were dispatched to the region as a part of the British Commonwealth Forces Korea, Britain's contribution to the United Nations multinational task force to assist South Korea following an invasion by North Korea. Sea Furies were flown throughout the conflict, primarily as ground-attack aircraft, from the Royal Navy light fleet carriers HMS Glory, HMS Theseus, HMS Ocean, and the Australian carrier HMAS Sydney.[41] After a Fleet Air Arm Seafire was shot down by a United States Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress on 28 July 1950, all Commonwealth aircraft were painted with black and white invasion stripes.

The first Sea Furies arrived with 807 Naval Air Squadron embarked on Theseus, which relieved HMS Triumph in October 1950.[42] Operations on Theseus were intense, and the Sea Furies of 807 Squadron flew a total of 264 combat sorties in October. During a brief rest period at the Japanese port of Iwakuni the catapult was found to be excessively worn, necessitating the launch of Sea Furies with RATOG assistance until it was repaired. In December 1950, Sea Furies conducted several strikes on bridges, airfields, and railways to disrupt North Korean logistics, flying a further 332 sorties without incurring any losses. At this early point in the war little aerial resistance was encountered and the biggest threats were ground-based anti-aircraft fire or technical problems.

In addition to their ground attack role, Sea Furies also performed air patrols. In this role, a total of 3,900 interceptions were carried out, although none of the intercepted aircraft turned out to be hostile. During the winter period, the Sea Furies were often called upon as spotter aircraft for UN artillery around Inchon, Wonsan, and Songiin.[44] In April 1951, 804 Naval Air Squadron operating off Glory, replaced 807 Squadron, which in turn was replaced by Sydney in September 1951 with 805 and 808 Squadron RAN. The Australian carrier air group flew 2,366 combat sorties.[42] In January 1952, Glory with 804 NAS returned to relieve Sydney following a refit in Australia. For the rest of the war Glory and Ocean relieved each other on duty.