WWI Thornycroft Lighter— Long Term Project.

[Bradleygolding]

Hi Folks,

 

Hope this is the right place for this?

 

I managed to pick this up for about half price!

 

 

I am considering setting it on a Lighter, so does anyone have any scale drawings of one, or can point me in the right direction? I have found some very basic info on the Seawings site, but much more would be good. There is no hurry as I won't get around to this for a while.

 

Cheers

 

Steve

[thierry laurent]

Out of my memory someone was going or has released a resin one. I am sure one of the WW1 gurus knows more about that.

[seiran01]

ODG studios shelved their Lighter for a while, I talked with Dan at ODG last week and the project is back on.

[seiran01]

Love to see your project come to fruition, whichever approach you take!

[wunwinglow]

Restoring a real Lighter at the FAA Museum at Yeovilton.... 

Edited September 17, 2018 by wunwinglow

[Bradleygolding]

Yes, I've seen all the picks of that one, and the articles say that they have some original drawings. So they do exist, and I may have to approach the National Archives. I remember someone on here saying they were going to do a WNW Camel on a Lighter as well.

 

Steve.

[iang]

I've had a similar idea myself. Plans are available drawn by P.G. Cooksley from Admiralty documents. These are reproduced in Michael Goodall's article on Lighters,  Cross & Cockade (Great Britain) Journal, Vol.12, No.2 1981. Goodall's article focuses on Felixstowe lighters with good photographic coverage. There is also some coverage in Dick Cronin's article on Camel Lighters in Cross & Cockade (international) Journal, Vol.26, No.2 1995. eBay is sometimes a good source for paper copies of this journal, though most are available to purchase as PDFs from Cross & Cockade.

 

HTH

IG

[Bradleygolding]

The Goodall article is reproduced on the Seawings site and is the only 3 view I have seen so far. It's very basic. I will see if I can find the Camel Lighters one as well.

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

[LSP_Ron]

Ok,  call me dumb but what is a Lighter?

[seiran01]

Steve - if it's any help, here are some photos of the first test cast of ODG's 1/32 Lighter - this was done in a rotary cast that has since been abandoned. Their plan is taking this back to the drawing board to make it waterline with a water base. It's right on 22 inches long. 

 

Ron - Lighters are towed barges, in this case, a ferry to take Felixstowe flying boats out to see to increase their range for their patrols. Later some were modified with wooden decks to enable a Camel to take off when towed behind a fast destroyer - done for Zeppelin interception. A pilot from Nebraska (Culley) had his Camel 2F1 modified with the Vickers gun removed and a second Lewis added on top of the wing, successfully intercepted a Zeppelin at an insane height (18,000' IIRC). His aircraft was restored and is on display in the UK (Imperial War Museum I believe). 

 

Fun fact! The hull design of this barge was a key design factor in the hull of the PT boat. Some of these Lighters made their way to the US after the war, there's even a photo of a Catalina on one somewhere, think San Diego Air & Space has it in their collection. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bradleygolding]

Great photos. I'll have to keep an eye on those developments although I'd rather it wasn't a waterline model.

 

Steve

[LSP_Ron]

Well there you go, didn't know that.  I've always been more of a WW2 buff.

[Bradleygolding]

Just found your Cully's Camel thread Mike, it was you who was planning a camel on a Lighter! I knew I had seen it somewhere. Love the completed Camel by the way. When I first saw it in Lambeth in the 1960s I have a distinct recollection of it being quite green in colour, with the  metalwork almost black. Always liked PC 12 though.

 

Steve

Edited September 19, 2018 by Bradleygolding

[Fred Jack]

7 hours ago, LSP_Ron said:

Ok,  call me dumb but what is a Lighter?

Something to light your stoggies. But how you’re going to do it with a @|#%^ seaplane on it is beyond me. Lol! In truth they were a type of boat that a seaplane could be hoisted and towed behind a ship at a higher speed than the plane itself could be towed and taken closer to a suspected target or search area without danger of a plane lifting off. Don’t feel dumb. Modelers aren’t dumb, well most of us, some of us?, okay, you can be dumb if you want too.