Seahawk Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 And another one. I knew some FAA Hellcats were fitted with Firefly-style blast plates and 8 rails for British RPs rockets but reasonably clear photos of the installation are not that common. http://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/usa/aircrafts-2-3/f6f-hellcat/f6f-hellcat-mk-ii-landing-on-hms-ameer/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 A useful shot. It never fails to amaze me how bulky these blast plates were, they can't have done much for the aircraft's flight characteristics & when one sees how the Typhoons did without them, why they were necessary on the Hellcat? Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 (edited) Yes, even the humble Swordfish got away without them. And was the blast from a British RP that much more fierce than that from the HVARs launched from the minimalist US "zero-length" mounts? Edited December 30, 2016 by Seahawk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 I`ve been hoping that some resin manufacture will do these some day; There are some good photos scattered around in various books, Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junchan Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Hope this is what you are looking for. Jun in Tokyo https://www.flickr.com/photos/horaburo/albums 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 Thanks: useful. Good illustration of just how massive that blast plate is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainpeden Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 On 30 December 2016 at 0:24 PM, tonyot said: I`ve been hoping that some resin manufacture will do these some day; There are some good photos scattered around in various books, Cheers Tony Would anybody like to suggest the colour scheme for the top photo - looks to be a single top colour to me rather than edsg/slate grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 TSS often does look like a single top coat - you can see a camouflage demarcation on the rudder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 Just a reminder that there are some photos out there that show the test aircraft for RP fitment. These were a rather bulky fit and later operational rails were much neater. Somewhere in my messed-up heap of old aircraft magazines is an article on FAA Hellcats and the use of RP's. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted January 1, 2017 Author Share Posted January 1, 2017 Was just thinking that the installation on B8H didn't look as bulky as the trials installation. Don't think I would be the only one to be fascinated by that article on RP usage by FAA Hellcats if you ever manage to track it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85sqn Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 21 hours ago, iainpeden said: Would anybody like to suggest the colour scheme for the top photo - looks to be a single top colour to me rather than edsg/slate grey. It is TSS, there are more photos around of 896 squadron showing them more clearly. You can see the two paint tones on the rudder. I had a go at this aircraft a while back- needs the rockets though: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
occa Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 On 30.12.2016 at 2:17 PM, Junchan said: Hope this is what you are looking for. Jun in Tokyo https://www.flickr.com/photos/horaburo/albums They appear to be quite thick, I am amazed they didn't disturb the airflow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junchan Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 The Mark. I R.P. Carrier of the Firefly looks very similar to that on the Hellcat. Jun in Tokyo https://www.flickr.com/photos/horaburo/albums 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted January 2, 2017 Author Share Posted January 2, 2017 Makes me wonder if, for the Firefly at least, the blast plates and rocket rails from the Airfix Beaufighter could be adapted. Worth exploring at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Goodness knows what the Americans made of a lash up like that. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 It is always easier to improve on an idea than come up with one in the first place. Have you seen the Thunderbolts etc. with multiple bazooka tubes, which was the US's first attempts? For these rockets it was believed necessary to use rails in order to provide sufficient accuracy (never brilliant). This was possibly due to the low impetus provided by the early powder mix. Later the rails were found to be unnecessary but by then the setup was in production, lots available, people trained in the installation and use. The later larger US rockets did provide a greater impulse and thus less initial drop. Perhaps Selwyn could provide fuller details. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Would also be interesting to compare the explosive charge of an 60lb RP with that in a HVAR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 You'd also have to factor in the energy of the impact, presumably higher with an HVAR. It's interesting, if a little ironic, to note that initially the armour piercing heads were thought more appropriate for ground attack, with the 60lb heads for anti-shipping work. Use for real showed the reverse, partially because heavily armoured targets proved to be only a small proportion of the ground targets. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 When the British first started testing and using aircraft mounted RP's during the war, they were limited to a 3" diameter rocket body, as that was the largest size die they had for the cordite propellant. The Americans, on the other hand, were not restricted to this size and made their rocket bodies 5" in diameter. This gave more uumph on lightup, giving the RP's a higher velocity, allowing them to discard the large launch rails. As for the warheads, both the 60lb. SAP and HVAR were the same size, 5" diameter. Chris 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now