Picture of the Week 18

The battleship USS New Mexico (BB-40), loading projectiles for her 14-inch/50-caliber guns prior to the invasion of Guam, July 1944. The yellow noses of the projectiles indicate these were the Mark 19 High Capacity rounds, each weighing 1,275 lb (578 kg).  The New Mexico class carried twelve 14”50 guns, each of which could fire at a rate of two rounds per minute. (80-G-K-14228).

Douglas Boston IIIs of No. 24 Squadron South African Air Force Color Photographs

Color photographs of Douglas Boston IIIs of No. 24 Squadron South African Air Force taken at Zuwarah (also spelled Zuara), Tripoli, March 1943. The squadron was originally equipped with the Martin Maryland, but converted to the Boston in late 1941 when these became available. They flew the Boston until December 1943 when they converted to the Martin Marauder. (IWM)

A line of No. 24 Squadron Bostons with engines running, AL683 nearest to the camera. Aircraft often began their take-off runs into the wind in line abreast to avoid the inevitable dust clouds kicked up by the prop wash. (IWM)

Aircrew are briefed outside the Operations tent as a formation of Bostons passes overhead. Note the various combinations of uniform items on display.

A series of photos of a Boston formation in flight. This photo is particularly interesting as it demonstrates the relative effectiveness of the camouflage over a sample of the North African terrain. (IWM)

Supermarine Spitfire Vb of No. 40 Squadron SAAF Color Photographs

A short but excellent series of original color photographs featuring a Supermarine Spitfire Vb of No. 40 Squadron, South African Air Force.  These were taken in March 1943 while the squadron was operating from Gabe, Tunisia.  All feature WRD serial ER622.  No. 40 Squadron had just converted from the Hawker Hurricane in February, so these Spitfires had been in service for approximately one month.  Enjoy!

A beautiful aerial shot of WRD with WRC in the background.

A crop of the previous photo to show detail.

A similar perspective with the wingman in the distance. (IWM)

ER622 on the ground.

Interesting details of the pilots’ flight gear. Note the SAAF orange in place of the RAF red on the fin flash and roundel, as well as the gear down indicator on the wing.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 301st Bomb Group Color Photographs

A series of beautiful color shots of B-17s of the 301^st Bomb Group taken by famed photographer Robert Capa.  These were taken at RAF Westover, many of these aircraft arrived in England in August 1942.

A peaceful scene as cows graze near B-17F-1-BO serial 41-24359 “Turd Burd” was assigned to the 325th BS. The aircraft survived the war, fate of the cows is unknown.

Nose of B-17F-1-BO serial 41-24361 “Wabash Cannon Ball”, a common name for aircraft due to a song popular at the time. Assigned to the 348th BS, survived the war. Note the canvas cover over the Norton bomb sight and .30 caliber nose gun.

Crew gathers under the nose of B-17F-1-BO serial 41-24363 “Bad Penny” of the 32nd BS. She went Missing in Action 28NOV42 over Bizerte, Tunisia.

Another photo of “Bad Penny” undergoing maintenance.

A fine view of B-17F-1-BO serial 41-24366 “The Puffin’ Hussy II”. She crash landed on 19AUG44 and was salvaged.

Additional photos of “The Puffin’ Hussy II”.

“The Puffin’ Hussy II”

“The Puffin’ Hussy II”

B-17F-5-BO serial 41-24407 “The Goon”, which was another common aircraft name. She was assigned to the 346th BS and survived the war.

B-17F-5-BO serial 41-24422 “Dickie Doodle II” of the 352nd BS. She survived the war.

An unidentified Fortress on the taxiway.

More B-17 color photographs here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2019/05/29/color-b-17g-flying-fortress-nose-art-of-the-490-bomb-group/

Avro Lancaster Color Photographs Part I

A selection of color photographs which show details of the Avro Lancaster useful for modelers. 

A Lancaster crew from No. 50 Squadron by the nose of their aircraft at Swinderby. The Lancaster normally carried a crew of seven: Pilot, Navigator, Wireless Operator, Bomb Aimer, Flight Engineer, Mid-Upper Gunner and Rear Gunner. Note the open sliding cockpit side windows and bomb bay doors. This was a common practice when aircraft were parked to reduce internal heat and the build up of gasoline fumes.

Armorers load a 4,000 pound high capacity bomb, giving another view of the nose. Note the overall condition of the bomb and the three fuses in the nose. A potential problem with any bomb or projectile is the fuse can be crushed or sheered off at impact before it can detonate the bomb, thus the fitting of redundant fuses.

A ground crewman posed next to a main wheel, showing its size and details of the struts. These are from a series taken of Lancaster BI R5540 taken at Waddington, Lincolnshire in September 1942.

A ground crewman touching up the code letters KM-O, showing details of the markings and dorsal turret. She was assigned to No. 44 Squadron.

A similar perspective. R5540 was lost in January 1943.

Another photograph from the same series.

A series of photographs taken of a No. 207 Squadron Lancaster at Bottesford in June, 1942, showing details of the Merlin engines.

The cowling panel can be seen on the wing. Note the absence of any tools and that only the nearest man is wearing coveralls, likely these are posed pictures. (IWM)

Detail of the tail gunner’s position of R5540. Interesting details of the gunner’s armor plate.

Curtiss XP-46 Color Photographs

The XP-46 was an attempt by Curtiss’ chief engineer Donovan Berlin to improve the basic P-40 design based upon European design concepts. The XP-46 was to have a more powerful engine, heavier armament, and be slightly smaller than the Warhawk. The USAAC ordered two prototypes on 29SEP39 which were given the serial numbers 40-3053 and 40-3054.

Armament was to be two .50 caliber guns mounted in the lower nose and four .30 caliber guns in each wing, inspired by British designs. To speed the test program both prototypes were delivered without armament or radios, although the USSAC added requirements for self-sealing fuel tanks and 65 pounds of pilot armor. 40-3054 was the first to fly on 15FEB41.

Power was provided by an Allison V-1710-39 twelve-cylinder inline engine which developed 1150 hp. The airframe was smaller and lighter than the Warhawk, due to the higher wing loading Curtiss designed wing slats similar to those of the Messerschmitt Bf 109. The design missed its performance goals, and handling was more sluggish than the Warhawk. Note the starboard inner wheel well door has failed to retract.

Given the mediocre performance of the XP-46 prototypes the USAAC decided to direct Curtiss to emphasize improving performance of the Warhawk already in production. The P-40D was designed around the Allison V-1710-39 to take advantage of the higher horsepower.

Curtiss sold testing data from the P-40 and XP-46 designs to North American, who used the information to help design their NA-73X prototype which eventually evolved into the P-51 Mustang. North American had already begun design of the NA-73X at the time, so there is debate as to how much influence the Curtiss data actually had.

In the end there was not anything revolutionary in the design of the XP-46, and incremental improvements to the P-40 design did yield increased performance while not requiring tooling up for production of a new design. Opinions vary as to the aesthetics of the design, but it does not look out of place compared to its contemporaries.

North American B-25 Mitchell Color Photographs Part X

A beautiful photo of B-25H-10-NA, fresh off the production lines with no unit markings. The B-25H model was designed as a strafer, with a 75mm cannon and eight .50 caliber machine guns mounted in the nose.

Another new B-25H off the California coast. The B-25G was also a cannon-armed gunship, the easiest way to differentiate between the two is the B-25G carried the dorsal turret further back and did not have the raised streamlined glazing for the tail gunner. (LIFE)

A posed photo showing the re-arming of a B-25H. .50 caliber rounds are being transferred into the ammo boxes for the nose-mounted guns in the foreground while 75mm rounds are being passed up through the crew access door in front of the bomb bay.

A B-25A in flight sometime during 1941. There were 40 B-25As built but none were deployed overseas. The dorsal turret would eventually make an appearance with the B-25B, although early B-models initially came off the line without the planned turrets installed.

B-25B 40-2297 was flown from the USS Hornet (CV-8) on 18APR24 as ship #14 on the Doolittle Raid by Major John Hilger.

Another view of 40-2297. Major Hilger’s crew hit their targets in Nagoya Japan and bailed out over Shangrao China after running out of fuel. The crew successfully evaded the Japanese with the help of Chinese guerillas and returned to the U.S. Hilger eventually retired from the USAF as a Brigadier General.

In 1958 F-10 (photo recon B-25D) serial 43-3374 was taken out of storage and modified to represent B-25B serial 40-2344 which was Doolittle Raider #1, piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle.  One inaccuracy is it retains the individual exhaust ports of the B-25D series.  The modified aircraft was flown to the Doolittle Raiders’ annual reunion, where it was flown by several of the surviving Raiders.  From there it was flown to the NMUSAF, where it remains on display today.  Rather than correct the engine exhaust ports, the Museum has chosen to exhibit the aircraft with canvas engine covers to hide the exhausts.  Credit to James Welch for spotting the discrepancy.

A fine study of B-25C 41-12823 over California in October 1942. 1,200 were produced.

870 Mitchells were produced for the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease. This is B-25J-30-NC serial 44-31162 in factory-applied Soviet camouflage and markings. A very attractive scheme!

Another view of 44-31162 from above. Note that the red stars have been placed in the American marking convention instead of the Soviet style.

B-25 color photographs Part I here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2022/09/28/north-american-b-25-mitchell-color-photographs-part-i-production/

Picture of the Week 04JAN24

The B-17C was developed by installing more powerful engines and flush waist gun positions replacing the teardrop glazing of the B-17B. 38 B-17Cs were produced, receiving serial numbers 40-2042 through 40-2079.  Twenty of these were modified with self-sealing fuel tanks and a .50cal nose gun and used by the RAF as Fortress I’s.  The remaining US Army B-17Cs were later modified to B-17D standard, making the serial number the only sure way to distinguish between the two versions.  This Fortress was photographed at Wright Field in 1940.  The negative was misfiled in the NASM Archives and is not as well known as other views of this aircraft.  (Rudy Arnold Photographic Collection, National Air and Space Museum Archives)

USS Cowpens (CVL-25) Color Photographs

USS Cowpens (CVL-25) was an Independence-class Light Carrier and was commissioned on 28MAY43. The Independence class were built on the hulls of Cleveland class light cruisers and carried roughly one third of the aircraft of an Essex-class fleet carrier. Here is a beautiful color photo of Cowpens with a pair of Avengers on her deck in 1944. Modelers note the flag featured prominently flying from her island. The 48 star flag is correct for U.S. ships from 1912-1959, from 1959 on the U.S. flag has 50 stars. Flying the flag from the hoist on the island indicates the Cowpens is underway rather than moored or at anchor, these are two details which modelers often overlook.

A view looking towards the bow, with an SBD Dauntless spotted forward and a row of F6F Hellcats to the right. Arresting wires cross the deck in the foreground with the barrier laying further forward. During WWII all U.S. aircraft carrier decks were stained Deck Blue, the practice began during 1941 and all carrier decks had been stained before the Pearl Harbor Raid.

A row of F6F Hellcats with wings folded, chocked and tied down to the deck. Behind the Hellcats are Cowpens’ stacks and her SK air-search radar. Note the sailor to the left painting deck markings.

Hellcat warming up engines sometime during 1944. By this time her Air Group would nominally consist of 24 Hellcats and 8 Avengers. The number of Dive Bombers in a Carrier Air Group was reduced and fighters increased as the war progressed, by the end of the war the number of fighter types (F6F Hellcats and F4U Corsairs) were frequently loaded with bombs and rockets for fighter-bomber missions.

Cowpens’ Marine Detachment musters on the flight deck, with TBM Avengers and SBD Dauntlesses behind them. A close examination of the national markings on the Dauntlesses reveals bars with a red border, placing the time as the summer of 1943. This was during the ship’s working up period in the Atlantic before her first combat operations.

A fine shot of Cowpens’ island, also from the summer of 1943. The Independence class carriers were fitted with very small islands which were crowded with electronics and antennas of all sorts. The ship’s crane was used to hoist aircraft aboard while pierside. The cylindrical objects with the star patterns on their faces are loudspeakers.

A TBM Avenger about to recover, hooking the number three arresting wire was considered optimal. The square structure at the corner of the flight deck is a wind screen for the Landing Signal Officer (LSO). It was the LSO’s job to guide the pilots in for landing, and wave them off if the approach was bad. There was a net rigged below the LSO platform so the Officers could jump for safety if a crash was imminent.

Underway Replenishment (UNREP) was perfected by the U.S. Navy during WWII. Rather than returning to port for supplies, U.S. Task Groups would replenish from specialized ships and could theoretically stay at sea in forward areas indefinitely. Here the Cowpens takes on fuel and aviation gasoline from the Fleet Oiler USS Platte (AO-24) while the Heavy Cruiser USS Minneapolis (CA-36) does the same to starboard. In the background are two Battleships of the Task Force’s screen, a South Dakota class nearer with a North Carolina class on the horizon.

A second shot from the same sequence. Operational requirements permitting, ships would replenish every few days to keep fuel, ammunition, and food supplies near maximum levels. UNREPs were generally conducted at 12 knots. While alongside, the ships had to maintain a constant course and speed which increased their vulnerability to attack, so UNREPs were conducted in safer areas and under the protection of screening ships.

HMS Forth (A187) Colour Photographs Part II

The Submarine Depot Ship HMS Forth (A187) is seen here at anchor in Halifax Harbor in 1941 with three submarines along her port side. Of particular interest is the innermost submarine, the Free French cruiser submarine Surcouf. Surcouf carried twelve torpedo tubes, an aircraft, and a turret with twin 8 inch (203 mm) guns. She was lost with all hands on the night of 18/19 February 1942, the cause of her sinking is still uncertain and her wreck has yet to be located.

A view from Forth at Holy Lock in 1942 with submarines HMS Seadog (P216) and Thunderbolt (N25). Seadog sank the German merchant ship Oldenburg and several small Japanese vessels during the war. Thunderbolt was originally commissioned as HMS Thetis, but sank on sea trials with the loss of 99 lives. She was raised and recommissioned as Thunderbolt, but was sunk by the Italian corvette Cicogna in 1943. (IWM)

A photo of three submarines moored alongside Forth. Nearest is HMS Sybil (P217), a very successful submarine which claimed German, Italian, Vichy French, and Japanese ships during her career. In the middle is P614, one of four submarines built by Vickers for Turkey but requisitioned into the Royal Navy when the war broke out. The third submarine is unidentified. (IWM)

A view inside the torpedo shop. Torpedoes are mechanically complex weapons and require considerable maintenance and servicing to ensure proper operation.

Torpedoes on the deck, the nearest two have been fitted with their warheads. On the bulkhead the two finned objects are paravanes, a type of float used in the sweeping of moored mines. Of interest is that the color separation of the ship’s camouflage is carried over onto the paravane to the right.

Two photos of sailors preparing to launch one of Forth’s boats, showing details of the davits and their rigging along with the boat itself. (IWM)

IWM

An unidentified O-class submarine coming alongside. (IWM)

Another view of the O-class submarine preparing to tie up, as senior officers look on from the sponson to the right.

Transferring cargo from a lighter. This is a typical operation for ships of any navy while in port, and a useful reference for diorama modelers.

Part I here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2023/12/20/hms-forth-a187-colour-photographs-part-i/