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Tamiya 1/72 Mosquito drop tanks - size?


Wm Blecky

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Drop tanks, in some photos without them you can see the mounting bracket,  and on coastal command strike wing mossies that used double tiered rockets on the outer two mounts special guard rails were fitted inboard of them to defloct the tanks away from the rockets when they were dropped.

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:)

I can certainly imagine the story, and it's a belter, but...  hmm... given that they have no stabilising fins I have a high degree of scepticism about a part-filled one's arrival at any particular point on the ground being a matter of anyone's intention. It's one thing to napalm a forest, but railway engines are only nine feet across...

Edited by Work In Progress
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They were in fact used as napalm bombs for attacks on enemy airfields and other non-precision targets by 100 Group squadrons in 1944 and 1945, so my napalm reference above wasn't totally tongue in cheek.

 

Other than that, long range photo-recce would be an obvious user.

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Banff strikewing aircraft used the smaller tanks - i think the 100's were used in the far east (at least i think i remember reading that somewhere).  The airfix pr came with 50 gal tanks me thinks.....

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1 hour ago, Dave Swindell said:

Up to early march 1945, they used 100 gal tanks after that. The double tier rocket/drop tank combination used 100 gal tanks.

 

Really? That's handy to know - I was thinking about doing another mosquito with the 2 tier rockets so I would have gone with the 50 gal ones.

 

forwarned is forarmed! :)

 

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There's a really good article with photo's drawings and plans on the Coastal Command Mossies by Terry Higgins (Aviaeology) in the current Airfix Modelworld Mosquito special. Plans show the tiered rockets, 100 gal tanks and various aerial setups.

Freightdog have re-released 100gal tanks

And aviaeology have a few interesting bits coming

Banff strike wing Mossies

Gee

de Havilland Mosquito R/P rig (tiered Mk.IIIA)

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Were these tanks actually filled with napalm or just Avgas and some form of igniter?

 

Here's an image of the double-tiered rockets and wing tank on a Mossie. Forgive me bot I do not recall the source. It's been in my Photobucket for about as long as this forum has been operating.

 

Roc002.jpg

 

 

Chris

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11 minutes ago, dogsbody said:

Were these tanks actually filled with napalm or just Avgas and some form of igniter?

 

Here's an image of the double-tiered rockets and wing tank on a Mossie. Forgive me bot I do not recall the source. It's been in my Photobucket for about as long as this forum has been operating.

 

Roc002.jpg

 

 

Chris

 

That's the photo I'm basing the rockets on....

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1 hour ago, Lawzer said:

 

That's the photo I'm basing the rockets on....

 

Problem with that photo is that it doesn't show an operational rig. The ones in use by the Banff Wing had a simple frame attached to protect the rockets and rails from the drop tanks if they were jettisoned. I don't have a photo I can post myself, but none of the ones I have in my references show that set-up on an operational Banff Wing aircraft.

 

Mark.

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12 hours ago, dogsbody said:

Were these tanks actually filled with napalm or just Avgas and some form of igniter?

 

 

100 Group used napalm gel. They experimented out of West Raynham with three different recipies giving different thixotropic qualities for different effects. Napthenic and palmitic acids combined with aluminium to make the thickening agents for the base petrol, and white phosphorus to set it off.

 

It's all in Martin Bowman's book

https://www.amazon.co.uk/100-Group-Bomber-Support-Aviation/dp/1844154181

Edited by Work In Progress
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14 hours ago, Lawzer said:

 

That's the photo I'm basing the rockets on....

That's the first trial installation. The rails are correct, but as Mark says the protection frame is missing between tank and rails. The rockets were installed staggered with the lower rocket far enough forward for the full set of fins to be fitted  to both rockets without interference. The lower rocket fins had slots at the rear to accommodate the mounting bracket.

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