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Sea Fury VW234 low EDSG camo with Korean stripes - whats the gen?


Jon Kunac-Tabinor

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Black and White stripes were also used as exercise markings in the late 40s.  However, VW234 was 122/T on Theseus in 1950 from July to the end of November, which overlaps (just) with the ship's service in Korea.  However, as she was written off at Kai Tak on 22.11.50, it seems likely that she had left the ship before the tour.  B&W stripes could well have been applied well in advance, of course, but would also have been underwing, with serials.  It's possible but perhaps not probable that she had retained the earlier scheme, but surely not a yellow ring to the roundel?

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I'm with Graham here on it being an exercise marking.                                                                                                                                                                                      HMS Theseus' Korean tour was from 28/9/50 to 23/4/51.

VW234 went with 807 on the ship and she was involved in a deck accident on 21/8/50 when she taxied into the deck park and was damaged after she hit some Fireflies.

She could have been ashore for repairs. She was written off there as Graham says when her starboard wing folded on take off.

All the photographs I can find of Sea Furies on her are in the late scheme although it is possible of course that she hadn't been re-painted.

In the book 'With the Carriers in Korea' by John R P Lansdown mention is made of the invasion stripes being painted on the aircraft on board the ship which although it doesn't rule out pre-painting,tends to suggest not.

VW234 was with 807 Squadron in 1948 when she would have had that scheme. She was coded 124T then though. 

She went back to 807 in 7/50 having been with 736.

 

I think the artist has painted her in her 1948 colours with exercise markings although he has got the codes wrong for that time.

No underwing serials and that yellow ring though!

 

 

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A few words of caution.  There is a photo in Larry Davis's Air War Over Korea (squadron Signal) claiming to be 805 Sq's Sea Furies on Theseus.  Unfortunately, the stripes are only b-w-b, and 805 Sq didn't serve on Theseus but Ocean.  There is a large T on the tail of the Sea Fury's so Theseus it is.  The visible codes are 143 and 144, which belonged to 898 Sq - though there are lots more Sea Furies than any one squadron could muster.   898 Sq dates the photo to 1952/53, in the Mediterranean.  So it is pretty safe to say those in that photo are exercise markings

 

I vaguely recall discussion on this point some (many?) years back, identifying these or similar stripes as being exercise markings.  I cannot recall whether it was said any exercise used the old D-Day markings unmodified.  I'm inclined to doubt it.

 

By pre-painting I meant before arriving in Korean waters - there was plenty of time when sailing from South Africa to the Far East.  I think that this aircraft could well have been so painted before her crash.  Whether it was still in its old colours is another matter.  There are Korean War period photos of Fireflies on Triumph still in wartime colours, so it can't be ruled out completely.

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That's the one, just trimmed slightly differently.

 

Notice that 898 Sq carried the last digit of the code on the wheel door, whereas the other unit carries all three. As noticed elsewhere, each squadron on a carrier had its own individual ways of expressing its identity.  FAA Squadrons (Ballance) does not identify the unit from the 13x codes, but I suspect it is 807 again.  (He has 13x as Seafires in an earlier period, and 807 Sq this period as 15x.)

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11 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

A few words of caution.  There is a photo in Larry Davis's Air War Over Korea (squadron Signal) claiming to be 805 Sq's Sea Furies on Theseus.  Unfortunately, the stripes are only b-w-b, and 805 Sq didn't serve on Theseus but Ocean.  There is a large T on the tail of the Sea Fury's so Theseus it is.  The visible codes are 143 and 144, which belonged to 898 Sq - though there are lots more Sea Furies than any one squadron could muster.   898 Sq dates the photo to 1952/53, in the Mediterranean.  So it is pretty safe to say those in that photo are exercise markings

 

1950 805 Squadron belonged to us as part of 20th CAG and was still at Nowra.

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There is a photo of the aircraft after it ditched in Hong Kong on page 56 of Tony Buttler's Sea Fury in British, Australian, Canadian and Dutch Service (Dalrymple and Verdun).  It is in the scheme in the profile above with a yellow? ring around the roundel, fin flash, old colour scheme and no visible wing stripes or serials. I've tried posting a scan of it but not working so far!

 

 

Edited by Glen
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  • 1 month later...

This is the photo that Srecko and I used to develop that profile.

 

02-VW234

 

 

According to Sturtivant (FAA Fixed Wing A/ since 1946, Air Britain), VW 234 joined 807 Sqn in July 1950 as 122/T; taxied into Theseus deck park 21 Aug 1950, damaging Fireflies WB375 &WB376; Kai Tak 22 Nov 1950, stbd wing folded in take off, stbd u/c collapsed, a/c skidded off the end of runway into sea. This is what is pictured. A/C SOC 24 Nov 50.

 

According to Neil McCart's Colossus Class Aircraft Carriers (Fan Publications), on 14 Aug 1950, HMS Theseus embarked 17th CAG (807 Sqn Sea Furies and 813 Sqn Fireflies) at Portsmouth bound for the Far East. Arrived Hong Kong 24 Sep 1950. Departed 2 Oct 1950 for Sasebo and operational waters.

 

So is it possible that this hybrid early pattern and late pattern colours and markings scheme was a result of partial repainting onboard Theseus by the time of her original accident? Clearly, she was not repaired onboard, but was kept onboard until Theseus arrive in HK, then sent ashore for repair and later embarkation on another carrier. Were the fuselage stripes and anomalous markings painted on in HK? Was this a test flight after repair, but before completion of re-painting? Who can tell now. One thing is certain - these are very unusual markings!

 

This is the caption I wrote for the book in which the profile is also included:

  1. Sea Fury FB.11, VW234, T/122, 807 Sqn, HMS Theseus, Hong Kong, 1951

    Early pattern colours, EDSG over Sky with a low demarcation line; Sky spinner. There are a number of anomalies with the markings of this aircraft, as seen on a period photo.  Unusually, this Pattern 1-marked a/c served in the Korean War, hence the stripes around the rear fuselage. However, the a/c does not have stripes around the outer wings, nor does it appear to have underwing serials. Furthermore, the a/c has Type D roundels, rather than the C and C1 normally associated with Pattern 1; however, the fuselage roundels have the narrow Yellow ring normal with C1 but not D roundels. The fin flash is a Type C. The fuselage fleet code ‘122’ has had its normal white overpainted with black, leaving a thin white border. Finally, the base identifier ‘T’, for HMS Theseus, is in Black rather than the normal White for a Pattern 1 a/c.

This is how I am finishing my Airfix Sea Fury!

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On ‎08‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 23:54, Paul Bradley said:

This is the photo that Srecko and I used to develop that profile.

 

 

This is how I am finishing my Airfix Sea Fury!

Well as they say a photo is worth a 1000 words!

 

Look forward to seeing your finished model.

 

Julien

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On 4/8/2018 at 11:54 PM, Paul Bradley said:

This is the photo that Srecko and I used to develop that profile.

 

02-VW234

 

This is how I am finishing my Airfix Sea Fury!

Nice one!  No-one will ever believe it.

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