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

[Airframes]

Good stuff Andy.
Not sure about those rear 'bracing bars' - my references only showed the forward pair when I built my 1/32nd scale model. They were fitted with red-painted grab handles, to assist boarding and exit.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks guys. Terry, I looked closely at a number of references and based it on these pics. The cutaway is for a TF X.

 

[Airframes]

Ah, b*gger !
Wish I'd had that pic when I built mine - my refs only show part of the forward braces.

 

[Wurger]

 

[JKim]

Great progress on the Beaufighter innards! Always impressed with your research Andy!

 

[Gnomey]

Looks great so far Andy!

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks all.

The following text has been copied in part from 404 Squadron, RCAF - Welcome

404 "Buffalo" Squadron RCAF

The 'Herd' is Born.....

At the beginning of the war, 404 Squadron's future command, Coastal Command, had the principal duty of trade protection, reconnaissance and co-operation with the Royal Navy. At that time, the importance of the German Navy or "Kriegsmarine" and the attacking of enemy shipping were considered but no specific plans were actually put in place. Maritime interdiction was thought to be the duty of the Navy.

For the first years of the war, the Command flew obsolete aircraft such as Vickers Vildebeest torpedo bombers and Handley-Page Hampdens. A direct result of employing inappropriate aircraft and poor tactical training was the fact that between April and September of 1940 the Command was directly responsible for the sinking of only two small vessels. Still, mines dropped by Coastal Command dealt a much harsher blow, accounting for 56 enemy vessels.

Even though the response to enemy shipping opportunities seemed weak, military leadership fully understood the need to interdict the shipping into Germany. The highest-grade iron ore available to German foundries was mined in neutral Sweden, and was shipped from the ports on the country's east coast. German and German-controlled ships carried the ore south, through the Baltic to northern German ports. This, however, was not possible in winter when the Baltic froze over. The ore was then transported by rail to the Norwegian port of Narvick, which, being on the Atlantic coast, remained ice-free all winter. Following close to shore, the convoys were relatively safe until they reached the southern coast of Norway. If the vessels safely reached the vicinity of the Skaggerak they were relatively safe until they reached Kiel. It was in these open waters as well as amongst the islands, leads and fjords of Norway that 404 Squadron was to see the bulk of its anti-shipping actions.

Authority to form 404 Coastal Fighter (CF) Squadron of the RCAF was granted by Headquarters, Coastal Command on 15 April 1941. It was to be part of No. 16 Group of the Royal Air Force Coastal Command. The new Canadian squadron was to take the Command's motto, "find the enemy, strike the enemy, protect our ships" to heart.

Early 1941 was a cruel time for the Allied cause. Though the Battle of Britain was past, and the skies over Britain were relatively safe, the Battle of the Atlantic was raging, with U-Boat attacks inflicting horrible losses on Allied shipping, and the enemy still holding air superiority over most of Europe. The USA was yet to join the cause, and Russia lay in quietude far to the east. It was during these dark and uncertain times that the nucleus of the newly formed 404 Squadron started to coalesce in southern England. The squadron was formed and commenced training at RAF Station Thorney Island in Southern England.

As a unit in Coastal Command, it was to serve in the anti-shipping role along with two other RCAF squadrons: 407, flying Hudsons and 415 flying Beauforts. Even though they fought within the same Command, these units would not fly together on operations at any time through the duration of the War. 415 Squadron eventually transferred to Bomber Command in 1944.

The original plan for the manning of the Squadron called for as many Canadians to be posted in as was possible, with the original squadron strength to be 66 comprised of ten pilots, two observers, six wireless operators/ air gunners, and ground staff. The Canadian identity was hoped to be a result of taking on national aircrew graduating from the Empire Air Training Scheme (later the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan - BCATP). Though other RCAF Squadrons were able to quickly develop this Canadian character, as will be seen in this history, 404 Squadron would take a much longer time to achieve the same goal.

Through its four years of wartime existence, the squadron was to face many challenges, such as 18 moves to different bases, exult in breathless victories, such as protecting the west flank of the D-Day invasion by taking on three deadly destroyers, and suffer cruel tragedy, such as the loss of 6 of 11 aircraft during a mission on the infamous Black Friday; 9 February, 1945. The squadron was to inscribe 116 names on the Roll of Honour, commemorating fallen comrades and celebrate the awarding of two Distinguished Service Orders (DSO), one George Medal (GM), sixty Distinguished Flying Crosses (DFC) and ten Distinguished Flying Medals (DFM) by the time the Squadron was disbanded in May, 1945.

 

[Crimea_River]

So.....

Having trouble finding pictures of what the TF X radio equipment arrangement looks like in the center section so, in the absence of better info, I'll likely replicate the Aires resin pit shown below.

Lots of interior pics on the net but they are mostly of an Aussie Mk XXI or don't show the radios.

 

[Wurger]

I have found these diagrams via the net Andy. Perhaps these can come in handy...

 

[Airframes]

Useful stuff there - good find Wojtek.

 

[Wurger]

My pleasure..

Any trouble with unzipping?

 

[Airframes]

No problem, it unzipped immediately - unlike my ski jacket zip this morning, which jammed, and had to be pulled off over my head, which took some time, with my head stuck inside the jacket. But I only walked into the wall once ..............

 

[Wurger]

Oh boy ...... I'm glad there was one wall around there only.

 

[Crimea_River]

Wojtek, these are excellent and yes, they unpacked nicely. You know, I did dozens of searches with different tags and could not find those. What did you write for the search criteria?

 

[Wurger]

To be honest I don't remember. One thing though, I had to use the Russian and the Cyrilic as memo serves..

Anyway I glad I helped.

 

[Crimea_River]

Ah that could be it. Thanks anyway. I recognize the style and know what book it's from but I don't have the book. Great help.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Crimea_River]

So with Wojtek's nice references I was able to get on with the center section behind the pilot. I started by cutting out the door in the bulkhead as no pics I saw of this area had this closed off.

Next, I added the handrails along the top of the fuselage using solder and a rack of hydraulic lines made of copper wire (to be painted). You can also see the thicker rib that I added just behind the canopy opening. Obviously, I'm not bothering to fill in the ejector pin marks as these won't be see through the glazing.

And here I've added representations of the radio gear. I've just made the basic rough shapes as these will be painted black and details won't be visible. Also seen are the grab handles made with solder.

Still to come on this part is a fuel gauge cluster which I'll need to scratch build and place on the spar to the right of the pilot seat. Then I'll move on to the navigator's position and add a few parts that might be seen through the small turret.

 

[fubar57]

Looking good Andy and nice references Wojtek

 

[Wayne Little]

Sweet!!