Posted by Matty on April 20, 2009, 13:20:31 Message modified by board administrator January 24, 2011, 9:20:24
--Originally Instituted 4/20/09--
This is the thread for updates and comments on this refit and upgrade, of a build which was pretty innovative to begin with: my RAAF 22 Squadron A-20 Boston-II, circa the Battle of the Bismarck Sea - the decisive, or certainly one of the final, naval battles sealing the fate of the Guadalcanal campaign, of 1942-3.
Anyway, the great experiment with this build was fabricating a replacement nose greenhouse: originally in "clear" resin - which subsequently proved not so clear - and now, in a refit, out of heat-formed clear packaging plastic (some kind of PET, polycarbonate, etc..).
Plus, with the passage of time has come the discovery of a major cache of historical reference pics - both of the build subject explicitly, as well as 22 Squadron RAAF during the Pacific War, more generally.
I hope you find something(s) here of help, and/or interest, in your own modelling!
Cheers,
-Matty
2/7/11: Repairs and Revision
Posted by Matty on March 12, 2011, 21:53:43, in reply to "Refit: Bismarck Sea RAAF BOSTON" Message modified by board administrator March 13, 2011, 10:07:39
This is another project creeping forward - occasionally slipping back slightly - for months now, looking for a good place to summarize progress:
Some significant damage, sustained long before, was first addressed:
On the starboard engine (left, at top), the kit OOB shaft - made out of that black, gummier type of (propylene?) plastic - had either fused over time or I had (and then forgot) glued it to the prop, so that both were damaged when I (obviously, too forcibly) removed the latter. After the failure of attempted shaft repairs in-place, the cowl and entire engine were carefully broken free, and an entire replacement shaft (light gray, at left-top) fabricated and installed.
The above also damaged the starboard prop - followed in short order by the port prop, during molding to provide a resin replacement(s) - fortunately, not before enabling the casting of a few "copper-rebar"-reinforced duplicates (left, at bottom, and right, purple), now with (a choice of) separate hubs, attached subsequently (right). This time both cowlings and props were friction-fitted, and remain detachable.
With both engines once again easily accessible, I took the opportunity to improve their paint jobs a bit:
Originally painted all-silver, the engines were just "too much" visually, and so - after unexpectedly difficult masking (left, at top) - the crankcase covers were repainted in a neutral, glossy engine-type gray - no doubt much more accurate, as well. Even with cowlings replaced (left, at bottom), the engines remain plenty visible, and their features distinct.
By this point - as so often happens with builds that are taking a long time, with a lot of handling - the nose gear had been accidentally broken - and repaired - twice. The original fork having broken beyond repair the second time, a replacement from the spares box was fitted with a brass tube (right, at top), to mate with the brass peg already set, in the first repair, into the gear leg. This time, the shock compression spring was rotated to point forward (right, at bottom): the accurate orientation, which was missed the first time around.
Note also by now the nose (painted a slightly different green) had been resurface flush with the edges of the clear dome, fastened temporarily with water-soluble (white-type) glue. This could have been its final installation, had the Boston's greenhouse actually extended down to a horizontal edge, as on this replacement clear dome - however the edge on the real thing angled diagonally down towards the nose, and it was realized the excess clear plastic would seriously impede this depiction, as 1) it is too thin to accept scribed panel lines, and 2) it is very flexible, and would probably reject and/or produce a different paint finish from the surrounding area. Thus it was concluded that the underlying nose had to be built up, and the clear dome trimmed back accordingly, to make the resulting joint follow the true path as on the real thing.
That work is now in progress - before which the last appearance of the build was this:
Click on Image for FULL RES
Propellers now painted black - with this horizontal-edged greenhouse, she looks rather more like a B-25 than a Boston (A-20), however corrections to the nose (and pilot, it also turns out) are now well in progress.
And great results repairing the engine/prop housings. Always a pain - you appear to have licked it with excellent results. I notice some delicate bolt detail on the crank-case. Nice dry brushing. The green house on this type is always a tough proposition.
The original Airfix attempt was a nightmare. A lot of companies got around it by doing the solid "gun nose" Boston/Havoc. Will yours have the cheek gun pods? I can't see a clear photo of any Bismarck Sea Boston/Havoc to know if it was just Aussie or USAAF birds.
I notice your coloring on the bottom is spot on. That's a tough shade to get right. Top marks for it. It stands out. All in all, a great update.
Donny, take a look at my 22 Squadron RAAF reference pics for this build: their "glass-nose" Bostons (and so will mine) definitely have the 20mm cheek paks. Although it looks like most of theirs were indeed "solid-nose" gunships, of one type or (at least two) other(s) - only the earliest of which retained the cheek 20mms. In short, it looks like the RAAF had every "flavor" of A-20 the USAAF did - and maybe a few additional, custom field-modifications, to boot.
I have more pics of the 22 Squadron gunships - undoubtedly present in quantity at Bismarck Sea - and an article describing and analyzing them in detail, about ready to post.
Meantime, as always, Thanks for the compliments, and encouragement, Don!
Cheers,
-Matty
Historical Pics: 22 SQUADRON BOSTON-IIs
Posted by Matty on January 23, 2011, 19:47:21, in reply to "Refit: Bismarck Sea RAAF BOSTON" Message modified by board administrator January 24, 2011, 9:46:35
--Originally Posted 1/ 23/11--
Like so many other things, with every passing month and year, more historical references - including these pics, directly relevant to my builds in progress are being revealed by the Internet (and, I suppose, also by my increasing abilities to use it).
The pics presented here - all of which purport to show 22 Squadron Bostons - with some, as above, exhibiting pretty much exactly the fit and paint job I set out to depict on my model - together constitute a prime example. So, take a look at what 22 Squadron RAAF, and their (several versions of) Bostons actually looked like, during WWII:
At left (top and bottom), two pics annotated only "22 Squadron", show a Boston-II essentially identical to my depiction - its only discernible differences being the slightly later-style of engine nacelle, with its collar of vent slots and slightly more conical cowling. Note both the nose "greenhouse" and cockpit canopy are sun-shaded: the after 1/3 of the former being painted- or possibly flashed-over, as well as the back (at least) half of the latter. Note the (30cal) machine gun in the nose, and identical (ball-in-socket) mounting on (at least) the starboard greenhouse cheek, as well. Lower down is a 20mm cannon pod, whose barrel protrudes just a tiny bit out of the fairing.
Note very high visibility into the greenhouse - accordingly must, for any model - as also graphically demonstrated at top-right, in a night pic dated 3/31/43, with a searchlight beam reflecting strongly back from within the nose (as well as creating a striking burst effect, in the dust kicked up behind). Note a large "8" - or, it could be a "B" - marking, below the cockpit. At bottom-right, dating from just a few months later, on 7/17/43, a Boston verifiable as from 22 Squadron by its code letters "DU", is just as clearly painted in a (minimum) 2-tone upper camouflage - undoubtedly an olive-type green and sandy-type tan. A glimpse of the roundel shows it to be relatively small, with a relatively narrow blue border, compared to others (see below).
The majority of 22 Squadron pics show Boston gunship conversions - in (at least) three different fits - none of which, of course, are what I'm (re-)building - nevertheless, they contain a wealth of marking references:
Apparently very rare on 22 Squadron aircraft, nose art was seen on these two Bostons, in the earliest-known field-conversion gunship fit: at top, "Retribution" - seen close-up from the other side, at middle-left - and at bottom, Boston "K", adorned with a cartoon animal ("Cleo the Lioness"?) - likewise, seen closer-up at middle-right. Between them, these were annotated "Port Moresby", "Papua" and/or "circa 1942" - all of which, along with the early gunship fit, are consistent with 22 Squadron's deployment at Port Moresby in Papua, New Guinea, during the early- to mid-war. Despite very poor photo-quality at top, "Retribution" appears to have a (at least) 2-tone upper camo, while "K", at bottom, is clearly in a (minimum) 3-color pattern.
The latter also provides a glimpse at one of if not the earliest of our examples showing an RAAF roundel: slightly smaller than the code letter(s), with a relatively narrow (blue) border. This style of roundel was seen in other, earlier-war pics as well:
At top-left, in another pic annotated simply "Papua", gunship "F" exhibits the same type of smaller roundel as above. Also labeled "Papua", however, was the pic at top-right, showing gunship "W", with a roundel larger than the code letters. While "F" is in the earliest gunship-conversion fit, "W" has received the slightly later, 2nd-generation field-conversion (easily distinguishable as lacking the cheek 20mm pods), suggesting a time frame probably circa 1943, and the introduction at that time of the slightly larger roundels. This may well reflect the hasty overpainting of USAAF insignia, on aircraft newly transferred/diverted therefrom.
In any case, all roundels visible at bottom-left, on three Bostons in the earlier gunship fit, as well as at bottom-right, on Boston "U", a 2nd-generation converted gunship, are of the smaller, narrow-bordered type as on "F", above. The former pic was annotated only "22sqn", however the one of "U" was ascribed to "Noemfoors Island", a base to which the Squadron relocated apparently by November, 1944 - certainly sometime after 1943. Thus, while some enlarged roundels were already being painted on at Port Moresby, many of the smaller ones were retained through (at least) the relocation to Noemfoors Island, by late 1944
Note all code letters - and the tail fin flashes - appear to maintain the same dimensions, throughout. But the trend towards larger roundels, with relatively thicker borders, continued:
At top-left and -right, in two more pics annotated "Noemfoors Island", the larger/thicker-bordered roundels are again seen - ostensibly on the same aircraft "U" as above - now sufficiently close up to show obvious overpainting of adjacent bars: undoubtedly the overpainting of later-style USAAF insignia. This would not seem explainable except in terms of replacement with a completely different airframe - transferred from the USAAF - after loss or retirement of the original "U", above.
In any case, still larger roundels, with relatively thicker-yet borders, appear in the three pics at bottom: from left- to right annotated "Noemfoors Island", "22 sqn" and "Morotai, 11/45", respectively. Note the plane at bottom-left is again "K" - ostensibly the same (then-) gunship we first saw, above, with small/fine roundel and relatively narrow fin flash, at Port Moresby - now either repainted or, again, replaced after loss/withdrawal. Note the fin flash on this "K" is also unusually wide - more so than seen in any other pic(s). In the other two bottom pics, Bostons "G" and "H" share not only adjacent code letters, but also the same type of small, two-digit (airframe?) number under the tailplane - in addition to the roundels. Morotai - apparently the third deployment for 22 Squadron, by (at least) late 1945 - is thus very likely the location where "G" was photographed, probably at the same time as "H", as well. Thus, the very large roundels, with thick blue borders - and possibly the wide fin flashes as well - appear to have been instituted first at Noemfoors Island, and worn for roughly the last year of the war.
So, that's some jackpot of 22 Squadron photo-references, discovered after I first completed this build, huh? But that's not even all of it - there's more...
Cheers,
-Matty
Too Awesome to Toss'Em: BOSTON GUNSHIPS of 22 Squadron
Posted by Matty on March 27, 2011, 15:07:07, in reply to "Historical Pics: 22 SQUADRON BOSTON-IIs" Message modified by board administrator March 28, 2011, 14:18:33
Although not the version I am building, the gunship-Boston was apparently numerous - even dominant - at both the Battle of the Bismarck Sea and with 22 Squadron RAAF generally. More than that, though: they were 'way cool! As obviously also felt by the squadron, whose identification with this plane is clearly expressed in this pic:
Despite some web-attributions to the contrary, this photo dates from June, 1944, and depicts the latest of their (3) versions of Boston gunship (see below). The earliest-observed fit of Boston gunships with 22 Squadron had a significantly diffferent layout - and, presumably, different capabilities, as well:
All three of these pics, encountered in the Victory at Sea series, episode 13: "Mellanesian Nightmare" (though not ascribed to 22 Squadron), portray the earliest-known Boston gunship fit. Note all nose armament of the original Boston-II is retained: each side having a bulging 20mm cheek blister (note exposed cannon, at bottom, where the aeroshell is removed), and - just ahead, looking like a short stogie clenched in the teeth - a 50cal MG, buried in the fuselage. To these, and the (up to three) flexible-mounted 30cal machine guns of the original nose greenhouse, the conversion added a fourth, bundling them together to fire fixed, extending forward through the nose plexiglass, all of which was (at least) painted-over: note remaining traces of the greenhouse framing, especially at top-left. In low-quality/resolution images, (particularly as at top-right), these nose guns can be very hard or impossible to discern.
This fit appears to have been an ad hoc - maybe even uniquely RAAF - field modification to the production, glazed-nosed A-20 - with obvious intent to greatly increase the strafing ability - and appears to have been common among 22 Squadron Bostons:
At left, the top pic clearly shows the remnant pattern of greenhouse panels - some or all of which may be flashed-over or replaced outright with sheet metal or perhaps fiberglass, and both 20mm- and 50cal gunports are covered with maintenance/safety tape. The 30cal barrels extending from the nose are only faintly visible, but shown clearly in two pics of aircraft "K" (bottom), the one at left - as at top - taken 10/42 at Port Moresby, 22 Squadron's first base on (extreme southern) New Guinea - while the one at right, seen about a year later, after redeployment to Vivigani (just around the southeastern tip of New Guinea). Note all four nose MG barrels extend from well below its tip/midpoint: a distinguishing feature of this fit - also the only gunship to retain the cheek 20mms.
At right, the top pics are various renditions - obviously of the same original photo - found attributed to 22 Squadron, but with additional data incorrect - just as they don't reliably (and then only faintly) depict nose guns - though cheek packs positively ID them as the early fit. Again at middle-right, subtle glimpses of a low-mounted nose MG, as well as cheek pack tag aircraft "F" as an early-fit gunship - anotated "December, 1943" and "Kiriwina", which must refer to the province (Kiriwina-Goodenough) containing Vivigani airstrip, to which the squadron redeployed no earlier than April, 1943, when the Allied advance first built it.
At bottom, by 8/44 we get a clear, side-by-side comparison between the early gunship (left foreground) versus a new fit visible on aircraft "U": now lacking cheek 20mms and with only stubby MG muzzles protruding from the very tip of the nose. By that time, this second-type conversion had been in service with 22 Squadron for (at least) the better part of a year:
Click on Image to Enlarge
At top, note this fit restores the number of nose guns to three, now mounted line-abreast across (actually slightly above) the tip of the nose, which now preserves - as the earlier configuration did not - the bomb-aimer's (clear) panels below: the obvious goal being to retain more of the original, level-bombing capability while upgrading strafing capability - the "best of both worlds" (as well as photo-recon, through the bomb-aiming glass). Note the pattern of greenhouse framing remains clearly visible - again looking like a field-conversion of the stock A-20, including strengthening (top-right) apparently with fiberglass and/or possibly sheet metal - glued (not rivetted, nor screwed) onto the plexiglass. Retaining the chin-mounted 50cals (at top-left removed only for servicing), this fit deleted the cheek 20mms - never to reappear on this, or any subsequent gunship (see below). Again, this would have better retained bombing capability: saving weight, accordingly available for bomb loads.
These pics of the same plane, plus another of aircraft "W" (middle, which could also be of the same plane) all originate 12/43, again from Vivigani ("Kiriwina"), while a glimpse of aircraft "U" (bottom, in background) was taken about 9 months later, at Kamiri airfield on Noemfoor Island, just (east) off the north tip of New Guinea: yet another redeployment with the Allied advance, building this airstrip in July, 1944. By then, for (at least) 3 months yet a third type of Boston gunship conversion had appeared in service with 22 Squadron:
At left, this fit is clearly seen (at top-left especially) to be the most refined so far: without trace of the greenhouse, nor its bomb-aiming glass, but of all-metal construction - its nose-cap accommodating (again back to) four guns, spread equally above- and below the tip of the nose: the unique ID feature of this fit. If not a production gunship straight from the factory, then this must certainly be a production kit, for conversions at (more) forward areas. Again lacking not only the 20mm cheek pods, but now even their attachment hard points as well - again, no doubt to save payload weight for bombs - though now also without the bomb-aiming/photo-recon windows. Explainable as, by 1944 - in fact, largely due to successes at Bismarck Sea - low level/"skip" bombing, aimed solely by the pilot, had been widely adopted (for attack bombers like these), and photo/recon work taken over by better-suited aircraft (e.g., "droop-snoot" P-38s, etc.).
In any case, this was the last type of Boston gunship seen in service with 22 Squadron - first over Hollandia (top-right) 4/3/44, and then mainly at Noemfoor Island: roughly two months later (bottom), again in August, 1944 (top-left), and at right (top- and middle, a single plane) again on 10/29/44. About a year later, a pic of aircraft "H" (bottom) may be the last-observed late- (or any) type Boston gunship with 22 Squadron - seen at their next deployment: Morotai, in the Palau Islands, north of New Guinea. Its canopy under a tarp, this was one of the few survivors of a Japanese bombing raid destroying 11 Bostons there - after which the squadron re-equipped with Bristol Beaufighters.
So - how cool is all that?!!
Although I'll still proceed with my clear-nosed Boston, the updated photo-record now argues strongly that the truly characteristic 22 Squadron Boston would be one of the above, gunship fits. Ironically, my original Airfix Boston mold started out as a solid-nosed, gunship version! ( So now this new greenhouse unpgrade better not give me any more problems - or else...)
Along with the great closeup on-the-ground pics, a few incredible pics of 22 Squadron Bostons in action were found, as well:
Click on Image for FULL-RES
At top is a remarkable depiction, dated March, 1942, of exactly what was described (by Walt Krell, IIRC) as: "(when) we would go busting over Lae (air strip, at treetop level)" - in fact, note tree just off port wingtip, for convenient reference! Legendary Lae airstrip, near Rabaul in Papua, New Guinea, was a major Japanese outpost in the thrust against Australia, and as such, routinely attacked (and vice-versa) by 22 Squadron (and USAAF 22nb Bomb Group, wherein Krell served), operating from Port Moresby, further to the south. In that early-war period Lae was also home base of the IJN Air Fleet's Saburo Sakai, who would himself become legendary as Japan's highest-scoring act to survive WWII - and who very well could have been in the air - already, or shortly following the above pic - to go after this very Boston!
Directly behind the attacker, at the top edge of the photo, a column of dust from its bomb-strike(s) hangs in the air, while undoubtedly strafing has just been completed - at the G4M Betty, parked in the grass below. Note the Boston's nose exhibits none of the glint characteristic of the standard greenhouse - no shine at all - and is undoubtedly a gunship conversion (see below).
At bottom-left and -right, pics annotated "4/3/44 New Guinea" and "4/44", respectively, both undoubtedly portray a single raid, 4/3/44 against Rabaul harbor - and/or Salamaua, in the same vicinity. At left, three merchantmen - already sunk, spewing oil, and/or burning - are documented as the latter explodes, following the mast-height attack by a 22 Squadron plane, taking the pic as it climbs away. At right, bomb bay still open from its mid-altitude release, a 22 Squadron Boston - this time clearly seen to have its nose converted to a gunship configuration - jinks, to avoid flak bursts.
So, those are pretty awesome, huh?!! It seems to me that (at least a few) pictures of 22 Squadron at the Battle of the Bismarck Sea - the central historical component of this build - must surely have been taken, as well. Any leads or other assistance in finding these would be greatly appreciated!
it was pretty thin and weak for the ETO but against the paper-thin Japanese Zero's the Boston/Havoc was absolutely evil. I believe the final iteration had four cheek mounted 50's plus 50's in the wing, if I'm not mistaken. Then to add to the hijinx, the bombardier had a flexible 50 in the nose.
The Aussies and Chinese swore by them. As did the Brits in the desert. A very underrated type. Then again, the top allied ace (Kozedhub(sp)) flew a P-39 Aerocobra at one time. Just goes to show...
Cheers,
Don
4/20/09: Project Initiation
Posted by Matty on May 3, 2009, 0:43:42, in reply to "Refit: Bismarck Sea RAAF BOSTON" Message modified by board administrator January 24, 2011, 9:23:45
--Originally Posted 4/20/09--
In the continuing quest to finish a model , last week I rolled out this build:
Already "finished" a couple years ago, this depiction of an Douglas Boston - export version of their A-20 - flown by the Royal Australian Air Force in 1943 against a large IJN troop convoy to Guadalcanal, in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea - was slated for improvement with (among other things) a greatly improved, nose greenhouse clear part, which Don Czech and I made, over in his workshop, in October, '07:
Click on Image to Enlarge
Again, the problem was that the original greenhouse, which I cast in "clear" resin, proceeded to yellow markedly - a fault only accentuated by reflection of the yellow-green interior surfaces - and also that its depiction of the frame strapping was overly heavy. And while we're at it, I also want to (at least) upgrade the cheek gun blisters, which are overscale as well as pretty crudely finished - particularly when compared to surprisingly good-looking features of this Airfix mold, such as the twin-radial engines, one of whose cowl and prop I left removable; for display, as shown.
I started the refit right in on removing the resin nose:
Click on Image to Enlarge
Inside, the bombardier is mounted on a platform, with large angled "box" alongside, all made out of solid lead; recast from melted fishing weights. Without which this model would be a heavy tail-sitter. Although the replacement part (top) was formed as an entire nose piece, I reattached a lower foundation, chopped from the original resin (bottom) - so much the better for preserving weight in the nose - to whose edges thin plastic rims (white) were attached; to mate with the replacement part, trimmed accordingly.
However two problems - with seemingly incompatible solutions - were thus created: 1) the loss of substantial resin caused the plane again to sit on its tail; and 2) the much clearer greenhouse was going to demand additions/corrections to the interior detail. While adding lead chunks could solve the first problem, their appearance would only exacerbate the second - while adding plastic details would never restore sufficient nose weight.
Enter GHQ MicroArmorŽ, to the rescue::
Click on Image to Enlarge
Scaled at about 1:380, IIRC, GHQ's superbly detailed, white-metal GMC "deuce-and-a-half" truck (bottom-left) and Sherman tank (bottom-right) provided some relatively heavy little bits representing (completely made-up) inerior "padding" and "bomb sight" (top) whch both looked and weighted the nose better than anything else I could conjure up. And the oversized chunk of the Sherman turret - probably 4x wider than a scale Norden bomb sight - served also to cover an additional lead block (top-left), enabling the bird to nose-sit better now - even without the greenhouse yet - than ever before.
And I realized that cast-lead crew figures, bomb sites, nose decks and/or nose guns should have a big demand, among airplane modelers (in case anyone's interested...)
The above work took all afternoon the other day, such that I took the following pics with the interior paint still wet:
Click on Image to Enlarge
There - that's more like it; more fitting for the level of detail of the rest of the build (even though the large, angled "box" is still pretty ridiculous looking).
Of course, the installed greenhouse will hide some imperfections - but not much:
Compare this to the initail appearance, above; see now why this build so desperately needs this improvement? These thermoplastic parts are just insanely clear; bear in mind, this view is through the dirty part - still with random dust, finger oils, etc - as dry-fitted. In fact, I'm now starting to worry the replacement will look so good that the cockpit canopy is going to end up looking too cheesey!
Stay tuned to see if that's the case, and for further progress on the way...
Cheers,
-Matty
Great work on it!
Posted by Don Murphy on May 4, 2009, 12:18:10, in reply to "Great work on it!" Message modified by board administrator January 24, 2011, 9:25:10
--Originally Posted 5/3/09--
Definately one of the unsung heroes of WW2. A tank killer in the desert for - strangely enough - the RAAF and a big ship killer in the Pacific. Great coloring and parts building. Also a competent little kit. Not too shabby for it's age.
Cheers,
Don
Thanks, Donny!
Posted by Matty on May 4, 2009, 14:05:15, in reply to "Thanks, Donny!" Message modified by board administrator January 24, 2011, 9:26:49
--Originally Posted 5/4/09--
Yes, the Douglas A-20 was a great example of an essentially pre-war design, which excelled as a ground- (and sea-surface) attack bomber for all the allies - Brits, Ozzies and Ruskies - right alongside many, many later designs which didn't add anything particularly more than what the A-20 could already do. So, it doesn't surprise me (though I didn't know about this - thank you!) that the RAAF also had great results with 'em in tank-plinking.
In fact, the more I learn about the history in this country of weapons and their procurement, the more I am ready to conclude that all the same things could have been achieved with maybe 25% of the systems/expenses which were actually disposed of.
The even more penultimate example (and another one of my favorites) being the Douglas SkyRaider; a late-WWII design which remained ideal for practically all ground-attack (with the notable exception of Wild Weasel) clear through to the 1970s! I am beginning to suspect that, for ground-attack we could have got by without all those more "advanced" systems; the A-4 (much as I hate to say it); the F-105 (many of which got shot down, anyway) and the A-7 - not to mention a half-dozen more jet fighters inappropriately designated for ground attack - by simply using a smarter combination of SkyRaiders and escorting jets (e.g., Phantom-IIs) for AA supression.
I think the above were primarily the result of business and not military considerations; to keep as many defense contractors going as possible - and so we end up with a permanent, war economy - and the mess we're in today. Eisenhower's farewell "Military-Industrial Complex" warning was more right, IMHO, than even he let on. Too bad he didn't combat the problem harder at the beginning of his time in office. Or maybe by then he was finding that it was already too late...
Oh Jeez - drinking a lot of coffee again this morning!
Anyway, I will always admire the A-20 as a graceful aircraft, (more than) effective at the tasks required of it. And thanks for the encouragement, Donny!
Cheers,
-Matty
The RAAF served in the desert with great distinction
Posted by Don Murphy on January 24, 2011, 9:28:31, in reply to "Thanks, Donny!"
--Originally Posted 5/4/09--
In fact, Australian/New Zealand forces comprised over half of the Empire's efforts against the Afrika Korps. It was Aussies that were behind the defeat and victory at Tobruk. Like the Scots, they took no shit and their air force beat the crap out of Rommel's tank superiority overnight. A-20 bombloads were too tiny to be of any strategic use, but a bomb bay full of 250lb bombs was perfect for ground support.
And the fifty caliber was more than sufficient for tearing up a Panzer 3 or Italian Semovente. The RAF caught on to the air support potential and soon 40mm armed Hurricanes and RAF Bostons were joining the effort.