--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Like so many other things, with every passing month and year, more historical references - including these pics, directly relevant to my builds in progress are being revealed by the Internet (and, I suppose, also by my increasing abilities to use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:

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FULL RESAt 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:


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FULL RESApparently 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:


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FULL RESAt 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:


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FULL RESAt 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