--Originally Posted 8/1/09--

Adhering to the First Principle of finishing a model, I have stuck to working on this build - not least because it still holds my interest - especially after I struck a gold mine of references, at a couple websites. The first of which describes in detail Chinese air operations during WWII, including the statement: "...Among the aircraft delivered to China from the beginning of 1941 were SBs of the last series with M-103 motors and the upper, enclosed MV-3 turret. The Chinese knew them as the SB-III...".

Bingo - but that was only the start; the next website I found was in Chinese (simple text) - and has all the photos:

Including this smiling Ruskie - and closeup of the SB-series cockpit he is strapped into - among a ton of others documenting in great detail the exploits of the Soviet Volunteer Air Group in China during WWII; the website title translating (via BabbleFish) as: "Soviet wish air unit () Bomber force in China (1937-1946)".

Note how small is the cockpit - looks like a fighter - even after you notice the wing-mounted engine, in the background. This and other pics (see below) only reinforced my growing impression of how gracile this plane was - rather similar even to the DeHaviland Mosquito:


Click on Image to Enlarge Like the Mossie, its wings, while having a very broad chord, are in fact rather thin - as is the fuselage, especially compared to the huge engines. The photo at top was accompanied by a caption translating as: "The China and Soviet Union ground crews maintain SB-2, prepares next time launching an attack". However, it is clearly an SB-3 - the later-model 2-M103 - as evidenced by the dorsal turret (and engines). (Though the turret in the photo does look a bit squashed, compared to my kit as well as other pics - so it is possible this one was some sort of earlier prototype turret, or even a field retrofit.)

In any case, the above prompted me to switch the build to an in-flight depiction - the better to show off its graceful lines - and also, I realized, would avoid the expected struggle with yet more crude kit parts comprising the landing gear. An airborne depiction would also better show off the bomb bay, which I decided to open up, especially after encountering the following:


Click on Image to Enlarge At left, a photo with caption translated "In the SB missile bay's ammunition box, this kind uses for to load 6 FAB-100 high bombs" shows, I would guess, a box rack for 100kg (220lb) anti-personnel bombs; dropped from low altitude - and vertically so they wouldn't skip past the target. Note the rest of the bomb bay - what can be seen of it - as well as the bomb doors are relatively featureless. And that the latter are not concave on the inside, but plated flat - good news for converting the thick, kit plastic doors (right), after being sawed loose.

What relevance this anti-personnel fit would have to a naval-related build would be problematic - except that in China in those days, it appears many missions which struck naval-related targets (mostly around the river deltas) had been sent out armed to attack any targets of opportunity, to wit:"...27 November 1942...Six Chinese A-29s and five SBs bombed enemy vessels and ferrying equipment at Shasi, Shayang and Tatukow. Airdrome and storehouses at Shadi were damaged..."

Meanwhile the prevalence of additional photos of the late-model 2-M103s argues they were employed in significant numbers in China:


Click on Image to Enlarge The illustration at top appears representative of the great majority of China-deployed SB-3s; solid (dark olive green) upper camo, sky blue undersides, blue/white striped rudder and prominent ID number on the vertical stabilizer - apparently yellow, as are the spinners, at top (and possibly at center, but not at bottom).

The bottom pic was the only one having a caption; it translated to, "The SB-3 engine radiator changes the ventral intake, reduced the resistance". However I realized with a jolt it is recognizeably the same airplane - now without the Chinese sentry standing in front of it - and undoubtedly photographed within minutes, as the one I first saw in my Martin Caidin book. So the circle closes, 40 years later - and that's all I needed to shift this build "officially" now to depict a Nationalist Chinese Air Force bird, of the Soviet Volunteer Group!

And that wasn't all (far from it) which I found at the Chinese website:


Click on Image to Enlarge Depicting the Japanese adversary, and presented with a caption translating "G3M2 96 type bomber aircrafts", the pic at top portrays (though with some inaccuracies) an aircraft with markings almost identical to the Genzan Air Fleet "Nell" which I just built.

And, on the final page (6) of the website - which for some reason wouldn't translate - so I did not know why this was included with discussion of the Soviet group - the illustration at bottom, showing a (export version of the) Lockheed Hudson; another plane I am building. It was only afterwards that I learned the export version of the Hudson was called "A-29" - the same plane reported (above) to have operated with the SB(-3) in anti-shipping strikes!

All the loops snapping "full circle", now - I will need a second Chinese twin-engined subject to satisfy my "paired twins" project (meanwhile I've got a ton of other British options to take the Hudson's place) - so I think another "defection" is now also in the works.

Stay tuned - there's (already) more...


Cheers,

-Matty