1/48 Martlet Mk II - from the very aged Monogram Wildcat

[Chewbacca]

As a direct result of a lack of investment in naval aviation in the inter-war years, at the start of WW2 the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm (FAA) was in a pitiful state.  Whereas the RAF were starting to take delivery of modern, high performance fighters such as the Hurricane and Spitfire, the FAA’s most capable front line fighters were the Blackburn Skua and Roc.  Now whilst the Skua did have the honour of achieving the first confirmed kill of the war, when aircraft from 803 Naval Air Squadron, embarked in HMS ARK ROYAL, shot down a Dornier flying boat over the North sea on 26 September 1939, they were not a match for modern German fighter aircraft and combat losses rapidly became unsustainable. 

The replacement for the Skua and Roc, the Fairey Fulmar, first started to roll out of Fairey’s Stockport factory in April 1940 but this too was not a great success.  Based on the Fairey Battle, it was heavy, sluggish and whilst it could hold its own defending the fleet against bomber attack, it was no match for a BF 109.  The Admiralty tried to get some navalised Hurricanes and Spitfires but the Air Ministry, who still controlled all aircraft production for both services, refused stating the RAF had to take priority.  The solution came from the United States.  The Grumman Aircraft Corporation had recently unveiled its new carrier based fighter, the F4F Wildcat.  This was Grumman’s first monoplane fighter but because it was built to a US Navy carrier specification, it was the ideal choice.

 
Interestingly, although it was designed for the US Navy, the Royal Navy’s pressing need for shipborne fighters meant that they were the first to take delivery and when France fell in June 1940, an order for 80 Wildcat F4F3s, or Martlet MkIs as the Royal Navy christened them, originally destined for the French Navy was transferred to the Fleet Air Arm.  Deliveries began in August 1940 and the first aircraft were sent to 804 NAS operating out of Hatston in the Orkneys.  The Martlet MkIs had no wing fold mechanism so were limited in carrier borne operations as they could not be stowed below decks.  A further order for 100 MkIIs was placed which would have the Grumman patented Sto-Wing wing fold mechanism which while both innovative and very effective was reliant on “mandraulics” to manoeuvre the wings in and out of position with a hand crank on the wing’s leading edge.
The late, great, Eric "Winkle" Brown, who flew Martletts with 802 NAS from HMS AUDACITY until he was torpedoed and sunk in December 1941 described it as: “the outstanding naval fighter of the early years of World War II ... I can vouch as a matter of personal experience, this Grumman fighter was one of the finest shipboard aeroplanes ever created”.

Which is more than can be said for the model!  It is based on the extremely aged 1/48 Monogram kit, purchased for £5 at the Yeovilton Model Show about 5 years ago.  It was just marketed as Grumman Wildcat with no indication of which mark.  From deduction it appeared to most closely represent an F4F-3 with the 14 cylinder Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engine which was a close match to the Martlet II; this particular aircraft represents a an aircraft flown by 888 NAS on board HMS FORMIDABLE in the Indian Ocean providing cover for the operations against Madagascar in May 1942, and sorties against possible Japanese invasion.

 

There was no cockpit at all – that has all been scratchbuilt, and although the wingfolds do work on the original kit they were completely inaccurate and toylike so they too  have also been wholly scratchbuilt.  Figures are converted from Eduard US Navy personnel, chain lashings from WEM 1/600 PE anchor cable and decals come from Xtradecal.

Overall it was a fun if sometimes challenging build just proving what is possible from an old, clunky kit (I found a date stamp on the inside of one of the wings which read , if I remember correctly, 1958).  With hindsight I perhaps should have bought the Tamiya, but then with the current Airfix policy of upscaling their new models from 1/72 to 1/48 and a lovely little 1/72 Wildcat joining their range in 2015, perhaps I ought to wait to see if Airfix produce a new mould before I make my next one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[polo1112]

Looks very good !

[Buzby061]

Good work on an ancient bit of plastic.

 

Pete

[Vinnie]

Well done on such an old kit

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

The only thing I need to say is WOW ... Ive built one of these and know what its like. 

[Darby]

The old girl scrubbed up well. Nice touch with the chain lashings and ringbolts.

[Unfinished project]

Cracking wee diorama and a really nice build 

[keith in the uk]

That's a great result on an old kit , just goes to show what can be done with a little extra work and patience. 

 

[Chewbacca]

Thanks everyone for your kind comments