Big Tony

Superb,.... I really do like this and I love the Bosun Blue scheme too.

What a lovely Hurri,...... respect!

Oh wow, that is very nice indeed, I love the interior detail too! I have one of these in the loft but there are quite a few missing parts holding me back from having a go at tarting it up a bit!

Cheers Steve, that is very kind of you. Hairy Sticks rule mate,.... LOL!

Thanks again Kev,.... glad you like it mate! Thanks Chris,.... glad you like it, cheers..

Thanks mate,..... I don`t think that the rockets were widely employed as their main role was fighter cover, but when out of range of German aircraft it appears that rockets were sometimes fitted. The secondary role of fighters on British escort carriers in the Atlantic was to support the Swordfish as they mad their attacks.

Thanks Matt,.... glad you like it.

Should be fixed now?

Should be fixed now?

Should be fixed now?

Sorry Folks,....I don`t know what has gone on with the photos,... I`ll try and sort it out.

Thanks mate,.... yes I have quite a soft spot for the old Hurri!

Thanks mate,..... yep very humbling indeed. Thanks mate.

Thanks Michael,.... yes i`ve wanted to make a Hurricane model from the Singapore campaign for some time,.... a tragic and little known battle.

Thanks mate,.... yep all hairy brush!

I would love to see a 1/32nd; Fairey Battle Fairey Barracuda Blackburn Skua Martin Baltimore cheers Tony

Thanks Mike, glad you like it and thanks for your kind remark. Cheers Tony

Thanks Dennis,..... yes they were brave men thrust into a hopeless situation under poor leadership and as usual working on a shoestring. Cheers Tony

232 Sqn was formed from B Flight of 3 Sqn at Sumburgh in the Shetland Islands in 1940 on Hurricanes for defensive duties but in April 1941 it moved to Ouston and prepared for posting overseas to the Middle East. The unit embarked in November 1941 but while at sea Japan entered the war by attacking Pearl Harbour and Malaya on 7th December 1941 and 232 Sqn was one of the many units to be diverted to Malaya which included two Hurricane units from their convoy, 232 & 258 Sqns. The ground echelon arrived aboard the aircraft transport vessel HMT Sussex along with 51 crated Hurricane Mk.IIb`s in January 1942 (with a further 39 arriving in Java aboard the HMT Athene in February 1942) and 48 more Hurricanes were flown ashore to Singapore from HMS Indomitable. Most of the pilots had never seen combat and yet they were thrust straight into the middle of a fierce battle against a battle hardened Japanese foe who was currently winning. The total confusion and lack of early warning of enemy raids did not help, nor did sabotage of their aircraft on the ground and the Buffalo pilots who had already been fighting over Singapore and Malaya warned them about their opposition, especially the O type or Zero naval fighter and the Ki 43 and Ki 27 Army Fighters which were extremely manoeuvrable and could turn inside a Hurricane. The RAF fighters were usually scrambled too late or even caught on the ground by incoming raids and losses soon mounted. Within three days 232 Sqn had lost 12 Hurricanes with six pilots killed including the CO. By the end of the first week 20 Hurricane`s had been lost with 15 out of the units 25 pilot either killed, missing or wounded. With the fall of Singapore the survivors were withdrawn to Palembang on Sumatra to fight on and then again to Java where they continued to fight against overwhelming odds until 7th March 1942 when the last two servicable Hurricanes had to be destroyed. Some of the men were lucky enough to be evacuated to Australia or Ceylon but most were captured and had to face the hell of Japanese PoW camps until the end of the war. On to BE208, coded O,.... (232 Sqn Hurri`s wore single code letter codes, 258 Sqn had no letters applied) this was the aircraft of 232 Sqn`s CO Sqn. Ldr. Arthur Llewellyn who had been a pre war long range pilot and he had the units Dragon Boat insignia applied in front of the windscreen along with his rank pennant. He was killed in a flying accident on the 7th February 1942 in Hurricane Z5482 when the aircraft failed to climb during a hasty scramble against a raid of over 80 Japanese bombers and it flew into the masts of Junks in the harbour, causing it to cartwheel and crash, sadly Llewellyn`s lucky black cat mascot was later found in the crew room where he must have dropped it. Battle of Britain veteran Flt. Lt. Eric `Ricky' Wright DFM (who had flown with 605 Sqn, and claimed 9 victories including 3 shared and 3 probables ) took over command and he was flying the CO`s aircraft, BE208 during another scramble the same day against 27 Japanese Ki 21 bombers with a strong fighter escort of Ki 27`s. During the attack three Hurricane`s were lost and when they returned to base they were jumped by Japanese fighters, said to be Zeros. Ricky Wright was one of those who were hit and he coaxed BE208/O down to a dead stick landing with damaged flaps, through a fence and across a road, ending up in a storm drain. After Singapore fell the Japanese recovered BE208, which had been stripped of much of its fabric rear fuselage by souvenir hunters and they repaired it and put it into service. Ricky Wright was captured by the Japanese in Java but he survived the war and was awarded the DFC in 1945 for his actions over Singapore. He led his men well during their captivity and fought for their rights with the Japanese camp commandant at the Habu Dockyard near to Hiroshima in Japan. He remained in the RAF post war and became an Air Commodore, retiring in 1973. The model,..... from Revell is an absolute beauty, the only problem I had was with the wing to fuselage joint which needed a section to be cut away, then it fitted well. The cockpit can be gone to town on with etched parts etc but I was happy with it and only added some seat straps made from tape. The model was brush painted and the decals came from DK Decals who I must thank for going along with my idea for some decal sheets for this kit and for including BE208 at my request. My 1/32nd scale Hurricanes & Sea Hurricanes,.... so far! For anybody interested in the role of the Hurricane in the air battle over Singapore, this book, `Hurricanes Over Singapore' is highly recommended, it also features BE208 on the cover! Cheers, Tony

I love it,...... what an inspirational build, I have an Aussie Mk.Vc planned and seeing this has made me go and look for the box,....... although it won`t be as good as yours. Well done indeed, Cheers Tony

Thank you for your kind comments folks, they are very much appreciated. Cheers Tony

Flying from the British built escort carrier HMS Vindex, 825 NAS was a Swordfish anti submarine squadron with an attached fighter flight consisting of six Sea Hurricane Mk.IIc`s and later three Fulmar NF.II`s for night fighter duties. This carrier covered Atlantic and Arctic convoys during 1944 & 45 and during 1944 825 NAS`s Swordfish sank four U Boats, sharing another with surface escorts and the Fighter Flight Sea Hurri`s also claimed their own U-Boat sunk and another damaged too. The fighter flight experimented with armament during its time aboard Vindex and often removed the outer cannon from each wing which gave them added manoeuvrability and speed while dealing with the aerial threat on the Arctic convoys but the cannon were replaced and four rockets were fitted beneath the wings during the Atlantic convoy runs when out of range of Luftwaffe aircraft, U Boats became the main threat. For the latter the rockets and rails were taken from the Swordfish. In March 1945 825 NAS transferred to HMS Campania and the fighter flight converted onto Wildcat Mk.VI`s. The subject of this model, JS310 was a Canadian built Sea Hurricane Mk.IIb (the Royal Navy used British variant numbers and not the Canadian Mk.XII ones!) which was one of a batch that saw service during Op.Torch and at some point it was fitted with Mk.IIc 4 x cannon armed wings. Delivered to 800 NAS in October 1942 and intended for ops off N. Africa aboard HMS Biter during Op Torch, it is listed as being with the AHU at Abbotsinch on the 19th November 1942, which is the the day that HMS Biter returned back from the Med and it does feature on an Aeromaster decal sheet wearing Op Torch markings with 800 NAS, but I cannot find a photo to substantiate this. It moved to 759 NAS at Yeovilton as part of the Naval Fighter Pilot School, between August 1943-March 1944 and then went to RNAS Macrihannish in Scotland where the new cannon armed wings could well have been fitted if they were not already in place. It joined 825F NAS in March 1944 until 6th July 1944 when Sub. Lt. JE Moore RNZN was forced to belly land out of fuel while flying from HMS Vindex. It went for repairs at Donibristle following which it joined 700 NAS at RNAS Worthy Down between February to August 1945. And here is an 825 NAS Fighter Flight Sea Hurricane Mk.IIc fitted with 4 x Cannons and 4 x rockets,..... which is how I depicted my model; The Model,..... from FLY is no shake and bake kit by any means but with care it does go together well and is a good representation of the Hurricane/Sea Hurricane with raised detail for the rivets on the wings being an especially nice detail. The cockpit interior is very fiddly but does go together OK with some patience. As the kit arrester hook section is resin and I struggled with the fit, I replaced it with the plastic item left over from the new Revell Hurricane Mk.IIb kit. Unlike MK.I`s, Sea Hurricane Mk.II`s were not fitted with catapult spools so there was no need to fit these, nor a head rest pad behind the pilots head. The rockets and rails that I fitted are white metal and they came from an ancient conversion set that I bought in the 80`s in a plastic bag, unfortunately I have no idea of the manufacturer,.... sorry. Pig tails for the rockets were made from wire with blobs of white glue on the end. Careful study of the reference photos will reveal that 825 Fighter Flight clipped the undercarriage doors of their aircraft to prevent damage during deck landing and I did the same for the model. The model was brush painted using Aeromaster acrylic Dark Slate Grey, Humbrol enamel Extra Dark Sea Grey and Humbrol acrylic Sky for the undersides. The decals came from DK Decal and I would really like to thank them for going along with my idea for this interesting scheme! The rear fuselage artwork is nice and the rattle and dummy were added to the nose panel by the ground crew as a surprise for the pilot after his wife gave birth to their baby girl, applying the names Carole Anne above! DK Decals sheet;

Thanks mate, but I just don`t have the facility for an airbrush, I model on a small tea tray table in the living room and believe it or not I enjoy brush painting. I`m not one for competitions and such, I model for myself and if people think they are OK,.... I`m happy with that!

Thanks Sasha,.... glad you ,like it, cheers.

Cheers Ray,..... much appreciated mate!