PR and NF Hellcats on HMS Formidable, June 1945

[Seahawk]

In "Alarm Starboard" (see: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.p...=54522&hl=), Geoffrey Brooke says that during a stay around May/June 1945 HMS Formidable embarked from HMS Indomitable "six Hellcats - four night fighters and two photographic". He later refers to the night fighters being flown off to provide CAP over a bombardment by King George V and others of targets including the Hitachi engineering works.

This is the first evidence I have come across of FAA Hellcat night fighters actually being operational during WW2. (I'm aware of 891 and 892 Sqns in the immediate post-war period). Brooke was Chief Flight Deck Director of Formid at the time so ought to have known what he was talking about. I've haven't had time to go combing Sturtivant's "FAA Aircraft" yet for more precise details and was just wondering if anyone else has trodden this trail? Are you aware of any details or, even better, photographs of these 6 aircraft (eg colour schemes, serials, codes)?

TIA

Nick

[ROGERD]

In "Alarm Starboard" (see: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.p...=54522&hl=), Geoffrey Brooke says that during a stay around May/June 1945 HMS Formidable embarked from HMS Indomitable "six Hellcats - four night fighters and two photographic". He later refers to the night fighters being flown off to provide CAP over a bombardment by King George V and others of targets including the Hitachi engineering works.

This is the first evidence I have come across of FAA Hellcat night fighters actually being operational during WW2. (I'm aware of 891 and 892 Sqns in the immediate post-war period). Brooke was Chief Flight Deck Director of Formid at the time so ought to have known what he was talking about. I've haven't had time to go combing Sturtivant's "FAA Aircraft" yet for more precise details and was just wondering if anyone else has trodden this trail? Are you aware of any details or, even better, photographs of these 6 aircraft (eg colour schemes, serials, codes)?

TIA

Nick

Have you tried contacting the FAA museum? they have a good archive section, if you cannot get there, drop me a pm as I am trying to arranfge a vist to research PR hellcats

Rogerd

[Seahawk]

Have you tried contacting the FAA museum? they have a good archive section, if you cannot get there, drop me a pm as I am trying to arranfge a vist to research PR hellcats

Rogerd

Don't they charge a research fee? Think I ought to see what digging around in Sturtivant uncovers first. I have been through the FAA's folder of Hellcat photos about 6 years ago and didn't spot any NF or PR aircraft in BPF markings. But, if you should spot any during your visit, could you please tip me off with the photo ref nos?

But an excellent reminder: it's time I saved up my pennies and treated myself to another rummage through the FAA museum photo archive. If you haven't been before, you're in for a fascinating day.

PS I'm sure you know this already but the Hellcat on display is a PR variant.

Nick

[iang]

I have copies of the deck logs of all the 6 fleet carriers during 1945. For operations off Japan, Formidable embarked a detachment of 6 Hellcats from 1844 Squadron. Two of these were PR aircraft. The remaining four regularly flew 'Dusk CAP'. During the entire period, nothing took off from Formidable after 1945 hours. On 25th July Formidable's 'Dusk Cap' of 4 Hellcats claimed to have shot down 3 Graces.

From the aircraft serviceabilty records for each carrier, which is the only place I've found serial numbers listed for July/August operations, one 1844 Hellcat was unserviceable with engine trouble on 23/7, which was JX. 778. This was later flown by S/L Mackie RCN on 25/7 when he claimed one Grace shot down on fire.

I have only one photograph of these Hellcats on Formidable, and it's not very clear, though the rearmost aircraft carries Formidable's 'X' code on the tail.

Edited August 24, 2010 by iang

[DCRanger]

Deleted - I had a senior moment.

Edited August 24, 2010 by DCRanger

[Seahawk]

I have copies of the deck logs of all the 6 fleet carriers during 1945. For operations off Japan, Formidable embarked a detachment of 6 Hellcats from 1844 Squadron. Two of these were PR aircraft. The remaining four regularly flew 'Dusk CAP'. During the entire period, nothing took off from Formidable after 1945 hours. On 25th July Formidable's 'Dusk Cap' of 4 Hellcats claimed to have shot down 3 Graces.

From the aircraft serviceabilty records for each carrier, which is the only place I've found serial numbers listed for July/August operations, one 1844 Hellcat was unserviceable with engine trouble on 23/7, which was JX. 778. This was later flown by S/L Mackie RCN on 25/7 when he claimed one Grace shot down on fire.

I have only one photograph of these Hellcats on Formidable, and it's not very clear, though the rearmost aircraft carries Formidable's 'X' code on the tail.

Interesting: thank you. Were these the only Hellcats on Formid' at this time? (Can't for the moment think which of my references would give me a simple rundown of which squadron was on which carrier at which time.) Your photo shows a midnite Hellcat. Brooke's book shows a X-coded Hellcat in TSS in company with midnite Corsairs but I couldn't rule out its being from an embarked fighter squadron. The serial is unreadable: I think the blue border of the national marking has been partly applied over it.

PS The 25 July engagement is described on p.263 of Brooke's book.

[airjiml2]

The use of the term night fighter for these Hellcats is somewhat confusing. As stated above they were used for CAP and were not NF equipped at all. The most famous use of these Hellcats was by RCNVR pilot Bill Atkinson who became an ace on July 25, 1945 in Hellcat JX772/X-119. See here for a little more info:

http://www.naval-museum.mb.ca/people/a/atkinson.htm

It is my understanding that the aircraft were overall GSB as shown in the picture above.

Also there are a few pics of the Hellcats near the middle of this link here, but you must ignore all the nice Corsairs.

http://www.vintagewings.ca/page?a=1272〈=en-CA

Btw, I think S/L Mackie was a Kiwi and not RCN.

Jim

[ROGERD]

Don't they charge a research fee? Think I ought to see what digging around in Sturtivant uncovers first. I have been through the FAA's folder of Hellcat photos about 6 years ago and didn't spot any NF or PR aircraft in BPF markings. But, if you should spot any during your visit, could you please tip me off with the photo ref nos?

But an excellent reminder: it's time I saved up my pennies and treated myself to another rummage through the FAA museum photo archive. If you haven't been before, you're in for a fascinating day.

PS I'm sure you know this already but the Hellcat on display is a PR variant.

Nick

yes , the FAA example has a mounting for the camera, but not sure if it was rever configuared as such. ny suspicion is that the the camera stations ware inplemented at factory / depot level plated over so that there could converted ad hoc by the users as and when.

I,m sure that there should be an areodymanic fairing, but not yet seen any evidence . the port is clearly shown on Arthur Bentleys plans, and suggests that some airframes had cameras on both sides.

all rather confusing, which is why I am trying to arrange a visit, I,ll let you know if I find anything intersesting

Rogerd

[ReccePhreak]

yes , the FAA example has a mounting for the camera, but not sure if it was rever configuared as such. ny suspicion is that the the camera stations ware inplemented at factory / depot level plated over so that there could converted ad hoc by the users as and when.

I,m sure that there should be an areodymanic fairing, but not yet seen any evidence . the port is clearly shown on Arthur Bentleys plans, and suggests that some airframes had cameras on both sides.

all rather confusing, which is why I am trying to arrange a visit, I,ll let you know if I find anything intersesting

Rogerd

If you find anything definitive on the camera ports, I would also be interested in that info. I have a future project to make an FAA photo-recce Hellcat in 1/48 scale, but am unsure as to the number of, dimensions and location of the camera port(s).

Regards,

Larry

[Seahawk]

A little update on this topic.

I've just been going through a DVD I purchased called Royal Navy At War - A Sailor's View: British Pacific and East Indies Fleet. Amongst the many treasures I found was 14 seconds of footage showing 4 Hellcats on Formidable's flight deck of which we see 2 taking off. The 2 Hellcats taking off are in SBG, carry a drop tank and wear an X tailcode. Neither aircraft is a night-fighter variant (tallying with airjiml2's post above). One of them is coded 122 in white repeated in a rounded style on the undercarriage doors. It also looks very much as if the top of the port aileron was painted white. The top of the starboard aileron, the undersides of the ailerons and the ailerons of the other aircraft naturally never come into view.

The DVD is quite excellent by the way. 3 hours of archive footage shot for newsreel purposes but not necessarily used for that purpose. Covers the people as well as the ships and aircraft so be prepared for jackstay transfers and crossing the line ceremonies as well. Surprising how much more vivid it is to see these fine old ships and aircraft actually alive. Two other highpoints for me were a fleeting glimpse of a natural metal Seafire on Indefatigable and an extended sequence of US colour footage showing the ships of the Eastern Fleet (Renown, Queen Elizabeth, London, Richelieu, Tromp, etc, etc) passing by the USS Saratoga when they went their separate ways at the end of Operation Transom. A few (very few) anachronistic bits do creep in - Mark VI Bofors mounts and post-war pennant numbers are giveaways - but 95% of the time it does exactly what it says on the tin. The commentary is a bit wooden but sparse and reasonably well-informed. I've got more from this £9.99 than from any number of more expensive books: I'm just astonished that so mch good quality footage still exists.

[alvin5182]

Gents:

Further to this discussion, in the IPMS Canada magazine "Random Thoughts" Volume 25 Number 4/5 there was an article prepared by Vic Scheuerman and Bradley Forsberg. The main gist of the article is the a/c Lt. Henry Atkinson flew while on board HMS Formidable in July of 1945. A questionaire was prepared by one of the authors and forwarded to Mr. Atkinson. In reply to the questions asked Mr. Atkinson he provided the following info.

1) While on board Formidable the letter on the tail of the a/c was switched to "X"

2)There a/c were GSB

3)The a/c were heavily weathered

4)They carried no radar

5) As well as the armed Hellcats present, there were two unarmed PR Hellcats

6) Non painted spinners

7) No "night exhaust" just standard exhausts

The serial # of the a/c he flew when he became an ace has been found to be JW772 . A/C identifier 119 which was repeated(smaller) on the landing gear doors.

Mr. Forsberg prepared a side profile of Atkinson's a/c based on the information he had received.

Rather than run afoul of copyright issues, I can show you a picture of a model I built based on the info and the profile. Unfortunately it's the rather poor 1/72d scale Italieri kit. I'd like redo this with an Eduard Hellcat if/when I get a hold of one.

Alvin5182

[Seahawk]

Gents:

Further to this discussion, in the IPMS Canada magazine "Random Thoughts" Volume 25 Number 4/5 there was an article prepared by Vic Scheuerman and Bradley Forsberg. The main gist of the article is the a/c Lt. Henry Atkinson flew while on board HMS Formidable in July of 1945. A questionaire was prepared by one of the authors and forwarded to Mr. Atkinson. In reply to the questions asked Mr. Atkinson he provided the following info.

1) While on board Formidable the letter on the tail of the a/c was switched to "X"

2)There a/c were GSB

3)The a/c were heavily weathered

4)They carried no radar

5) As well as the armed Hellcats present, there were two unarmed PR Hellcats

6) Non painted spinners

7) No "night exhaust" just standard exhausts

The serial # of the a/c he flew when he became an ace has been found to be JW772 . A/C identifier 119 which was repeated(smaller) on the landing gear doors.

Mr. Forsberg prepared a side profile of Atkinson's a/c based on the information he had received.

Rather than run afoul of copyright issues, I can show you a picture of a model I built based on the info and the profile. Unfortunately it's the rather poor 1/72d scale Italieri kit. I'd like redo this with an Eduard Hellcat if/when I get a hold of one.

Very interesting: thank you. That pretty much chimes with information earlier in the thread, which is a pleasant change. Comments on the questionnaire results:

1. Confirmed in both Alarm Starboard and the archive film.

2. In Alarm Starboard by Formidable's former Flight Deck Director, Geoffrey Brooke, there's a photo of an unidentifiable X-tailcoded Hellcat on Formidable (p.248). The serial and RN titles are present, though the serial seems partly covered over by the roundel-and-bar marking. The fact that the title and serial are in black suggest to me that the aircraft is in Temperate Sea Scheme (TSS). No idea whether it's a "nightfighter" or PR aircraft but I could believe that, PR aircraft being less common than standard aircraft, Formidable may have had to take older aircraft. But that is pure speculation.

3. 122 does not look particularly weathered, though there is some exhaust staining over the wingroot. I've just spotted that it also appears to have a replacement cowling front ring from an aircraft in TSS.

4. Confirmed in the archive film for at least 2 aircraft.

5. As reported in Alarm Starboard.

6. Neither of the 2 aircraft taking off had unpainted prop hubs, though there's a bit of wear on the tip of 122's.

7. Confirmed in the archive film.

Pity no-one asked about aileron colours!

In a spirit of helpfulness, not criticism, I offer the following comments I'd have about your model (based on observation of 122, not 119) are that:

- I also think someone may have been misreading their Sturtivant, where Atkinson's aircraft is given as JX772, not JW772. There was a Hellcat JW772 but there's no record of its having come anywhere near Formidable.

- the code looks a bit high. In the footage of 122 (starboard side) the righthand (forward) edge of the 2nd 2 is in line on the panel line running down from the pilot's bulkhead. Top edge about 6" below the level of the cockpit sill and the lower edge about a foot up from the wingroot forward, aligning with a point about 1/2-2/3 the way down the white bar of the BPF roundel. About 6" separation between the white part of the roundel and bar and the "1". Not sure what that equates to in code size but am inclined to think that the Hellcats may have been marked in the slightly smaller than standard size codes used on Formidable's Corsairs.

- similarly the tail code is too high (based on the u/i other aircraft also seen taking off). The size and style are fine but the bottom edge is only an inch or two above the panel line running just above the tailplane. The letter is located about midway between the fin and rudder hinge line.

- I cannot discern ROYAL NAVY titles or serials on either aircraft, even as white blurs. Odd.

- 122 has a round rear-view mirror on top of the windscreen.

- I'm pretty sure about that white port aileron top: it stays constant as the angle changes through several frames.

In summary we now have 2 serials and 2 side numbers for Formidable's Hellcats: JX772 119/X, JX778 and 122/X

Agree with you about the Italeri kit, but you've built a nice authentic-looking model all the same. You've a treat in store with the Eduard kit: my candidate for 1/72 kit of 2011. And Eduard have just reissued it with FAA markings!

Edited for crimes against the apostrophe.

Edited January 28, 2012 by Seahawk

[alvin5182]

Nick:

In the book A Formidable Hero (The Hampton Gray biography) by Stewart E. Soward there is a picture of Atkinson standing on the wing of Mackie's a/c after the night engagement of 25 July '45. (Page 128) Doesn't show much of the a/c ,but it does show how worn it was. There are actually traces of the former "owners" (USN?) #s. You can make out the figures "59" on the starboard side of the fuselage about 4 inches below the cockpit sill! The photo is credited to Bill Atkinson. It also shows quite clearly part of the Sutton harness hanging over the side of the cockpit! In the IPMS article, Atkinson talks about how worn the a/c were.

To quote Atkinson from the questions posed by Forsberg.............." These a/c had spent about 3 months in heavy combats during the American landings on Okinawa. We, the BPF, supported this operation from the south around the Sakishima Gunto & as far as Formosa. We only had a couple of weeks in Australia after the Okinawa ops (Known to us as operation Iceberg) before we sailed again for Japan and the final attacks and we kept flying while ashore to keep our hand in. The aircraft had no rest............."

Alvin5182

[Test Graham]

There is a "bar story" that one of the British carriers was an Avenger short, so went to a USN base to beg a replacement. "Sorry guys, love to help, but we only let them go in sets of three!" An equivalent event with Hellcats is not beyond belief, and worn ones would be even easier to obtain. But whether JX772 or JW772, both were pukka FAA Hellcats with delivery details, not much service use and not ex-USN. So if we do have (other) heavily worn ex-USN Hellcats on a British carrier deck, and I don't doubt it, they were probably not carrying a British serial. Perhaps why it is not visible in the photo of 122?

American modellers keep telling us that Sea Blue Gloss does not fade....at least over this timescale. Perhaps. However, although weathered aircraft obviously did exist, faded and stained, there would not be bare metal showing as scuffed aircraft would have been touched up with paint to avoid corrosion. Otherwise the air mechanic (whatever the RN rank) would have been on a charge sharpish. I suggest from what's said above that 122 was pretty scruffy but possibly not 119.

Edited January 28, 2012 by Graham Boak

[Seahawk]

There is a "bar story" that one of the British carriers was an Avenger short, so went to a USN base to beg a replacement. "Sorry guys, love to help, but we only let them go in sets of three!" An equivalent event with Hellcats is not beyond belief, and worn ones would be even easier to obtain. But whether JX772 or JW772, both were pukka FAA Hellcats with delivery details, not much service use and not ex-USN. So if we do have (other) heavily worn ex-USN Hellcats on a British carrier deck, and I don't doubt it, they were probably not carrying a British serial. Perhaps why it is not visible in the photo of 122?

American modellers keep telling us that Sea Blue Gloss does not fade....at least over this timescale. Perhaps. However, although weathered aircraft obviously did exist, faded and stained, there would not be bare metal showing as scuffed aircraft would have been touched up with paint to avoid corrosion. Otherwise the air mechanic (whatever the RN rank) would have been on a charge sharpish. I suggest from what's said above that 122 was pretty scruffy but possibly not 119.

The version of the story on the DVD I've just been listening to is that the USN guy said he only issued in them in sixes but that for a bottle of whisky they could have a round dozen. Unless times were really hard, I rather doubt this story, or at least the Avenger angle: there would be compatibility issues, not least in provision for the observer. But I was not there.

As regards the Formidable Hellcats, Brooke explicitly says they were transferred from Indomitable (p.260).

As regards scruffiness of 119 and 122, think you meant the other way round!

[alvin5182]

Gents:

Atkinson questions/answers confirm the transfer from Indomitable to Formidable and the change of letters on the tail.

Alvin5182

No copyright info from the photo in the book, so, here goes!

Certainly looks like a U.S. Font! It looks like there is a "ceiling" of some sort in the photo. So, it could be a posed photo below deck.

Alvin5182

Edited January 28, 2012 by alvin5182

[Seahawk]

Gents:

Atkinson questions/answers confirm the transfer from Indomitable to Formidable and the change of letters on the tail.

Alvin5182

No copyright info from the photo in the book, so, here goes!

Certainly looks like a U.S. Font! It looks like there is a "ceiling" of some sort in the photo. So, it could be a posed photo below deck.

Alvin5182

Ooh, thanks! Was about to see what price I could get the book for secondhand. Formidable's lettering style was rather akin to the USN one. However those numbers are way further forward than the code on 122 (which comes no further forward than the panel line visible on the left). They are also too degraded to be effective for the purpose of identifying the aircraft so the idea that they are a hangover from a previous identity is appealing. Also (guilty of logical thought here!) I would expect the codes, at least for the "nightfighters" to be consecutive. 119 and 122 are at either end of a range of four. 59 (or x59) is nowhere near.

Thanks for your contributions. Wonder what more we can turn up?

Edited January 29, 2012 by Seahawk

[Antoine]

There is a "bar story" that one of the British carriers was an Avenger short, so went to a USN base to beg a replacement. "Sorry guys, love to help, but we only let them go in sets of three!" An equivalent event with Hellcats is not beyond belief, and worn ones would be even easier to obtain.

I think there's a similar story involving Ronnie Hay and the Corsair, at some time.

By the way, anybody knows about an 1/48 conversion for a PR hellcat II?

If found it really difficult to figure out the shape of the camera fairing down the fuselage side.

[Seahawk]

By the way, anybody knows about an 1/48 conversion for a PR hellcat II?

If found it really difficult to figure out the shape of the camera fairing down the fuselage side.

I don't think there would be much to sell. I've looked at the Hellcat II(PR) in the FAA museum at Yeovilton. It's not a fairing, more a strengthening plate. Ahead of the camera port there's a roughly U-shaped oil/debris deflector strip and that's about all there is to it. The shape of the strengthening plate is shown on the Bentley drawings of the Hellcat.

Edited January 29, 2012 by Seahawk

[Test Graham]

As regards scruffiness of 119 and 122, think you meant the other way round!

No. 119 as JX772 is confirmed as a British Hellcat all the way. The aircraft in the photo, with apparent USN markings, is not Atkinson's 119 but suposedly Mackie's, which I presume from the above is 122. However, Sturtivant has Mackie's success of 25/7 in JX778, another indupitably British Hellcat. So if the other two can be identified, then the "worn USN airframes" becomes unjustifiable and just WTH were those markings under the cockpit? Of course, such a posed hangar shot could have been in any aircraft.

I can't find another two detached aircraft, but if they weren't involved in any incident then they would be indistinguishable in the career summaries from other 1844 Hellcats.

Re the markings, 1844 carried R5x codes before adopting the BPF numbers. So although the positioning doesn't look to be in any normal FAA style, the possibility remains that we are looking at ®5S. (see edit) It is rare to have a fighter squadron with a 5 code, normally TSR.

I don't think the USN/FAA incompatibilities would have prevented operations at least for a short while - the later deliveries were Lend-Lease with all that implies, and Victorious did operate an entire deck of USN aircraft earlier. I would normally be very doubtful about the likelihood of such borrowing happening, but the evidence appeared pretty good in this case. On closer investigation it appears less convincing, but still open.

These bar stories do vary: the one involving whisky I know is the BPF carrier missing a radar spare, and asking the USN destroyer delivering mail if the captain would trade for a bottle of whisky. "For a case of whisky you can have the whole boat."

EDIT. I am not typing an R in a circle. I am typing R in brackets to show that it may not have been present on all aircraft.

Edited January 29, 2012 by Graham Boak

[tonyot]

I think there's a similar story involving Ronnie Hay and the Corsair, at some time.

As far as I recall, Ronnie Hay was offerred a load of brand spanking new USN Corsairs of the latest version to replace his `war weary' old jobs whilst the carrier was being replenished at a forward US Navy island base (cannot remember the name off the top of my head) but he felt that he had to turn down the offer as even his Admiral was bound to notice the nice new aircraft finished in overall Gloss Sea Blue with 4 bladed propellers, so they retained the old 3 bladed, Temperate Sea camouflaged Corsair II`s ! That is a `WHIFF' that I intend to build one day, using an F4U-4 kit.

I must say that this thread has been very interesting and the photo showing the old numbers under the cockpit has had me scratching my head! I`ve recently been reseaching the Hellcat NF.II and although some did arrive in India/Ceylon by the end of 1944, the earliest allocation to a front line unit in the Far East is August 1945, but these were in dribs and drabs and I have a sneaking feeling that they had no radar fitted and were allocated to units as basic Mk.II`s, although I have no proof of this. There were at least two Hellcat night fighter units training up in the UK ready to join the BPF for the assault on Japan and my feeling is that most of the Hellcat NF.II`s allocated to Aircraft Servicing Units and Air Yards in the Far East were pre positioned as spares for these existing night fighter units. Of course the Atom bombs put paid to the night fighter deployment before they left the UK.

All the best

Tony O

[Test Graham]

As the Admiral was Vian I doubt that he'd have noticed, aviation not being his strong point. Just as long as they weren't Seafires, for which he had a deep dislike. This extended to ordering a fleet turnaround off Japan that would have left returning Seafires out of range to get home. His carrier captain might have done, though.

[iang]

These notes are work in progress and part of the appendices to the book I'm working on the BPF

Hellcat detachment 1844 Squadron, HMS Formidable, June-August 1945

6 Hellcats (inc 2PR); 7 Hellcats from 31.7.45

1xx/X: JX778 (possibly 122/X) Mackie (20.7.45 Noted as vibrating at altitude. Oil consumption high. Pressure irregular)

119/X: JX772 Atkinson

122/X: GSB replacement engine ring in TSS.

125/X: Unknown TSS?

126/X: JXxxx GSB

1xx/X :Unknown TSS? (BFP fleet number looks to be 15x)

1xx/X: replacement 31.7.45

Possibly one other if 122/X is not JX778

Losses and replacements:

Airframes: 1 Hellcat (31.7.45) ; Pilots: 2 replacements 26.7.45

Serviceability :

17.7.45: 4

18.7.45: 4

20.7.45: 4

24.7.45: 6

25.7.45: 6 (0300); 2 (1900)

26.7.45: 4

27.7.45: 5

28.7.45: 5 (0400); 3 (1930)

29.7.45: 6

30.7.45: 6 (0400); 3 (1930)

31.7.45: 4

1.8.45: 6

2.8.45: 6

3.8.45: 7

4.8.45: 7

5.8.45: 7

6.8.45: 7

7.8.45: 7

8.8.45: 7

9.8.45: 7

10.8.45: 7

11.8.45: 7 (0400); 5 (1930)

This list has been compiled from a number of primary sources.

Photographic evidence suggests that on several of these GSB aircraft both the serial and Royal Navy legend was carried on the fin, above the letter 'X' tail code and not on the fuselage. This is true of both 122/X and 119/X, which I have good images of.

[Seahawk]

No. 119 as JX772 is confirmed as a British Hellcat all the way. The aircraft in the photo, with apparent USN markings, is not Atkinson's 119 but suposedly Mackie's, which I presume from the above is 122. However, Sturtivant has Mackie's success of 25/7 in JX778, another indupitably British Hellcat. So if the other two can be identified, then the "worn USN airframes" becomes unjustifiable and just WTH were those markings under the cockpit? Of course, such a posed hangar shot could have been in any aircraft.

I can't find another two detached aircraft, but if they weren't involved in any incident then they would be indistinguishable in the career summaries from other 1844 Hellcats.

Re the markings, 1844 carried R5x codes before adopting the BPF numbers. So although the positioning doesn't look to be in any normal FAA style, the possibility remains that we are looking at ®5S. It is rare to have a fighter squadron with a 5 code, normally TSR.

I don't think the USN/FAA incompatibilities would have prevented operations at least for a short while - the later deliveries were Lend-Lease with all that implies, and Victorious did operate an entire deck of USN aircraft earlier. I would normally be very doubtful about the likelihood of such borrowing happening, but the evidence appeared pretty good in this case. On closer investigation it appears less convincing, but still open.

These bar stories do vary: the one involving whisky I know is the BPF carrier missing a radar spare, and asking the USN destroyer delivering mail if the captain would trade for a bottle of whisky. "For a case of whisky you can have the whole boat."

I don't have the evidence to equate 122 to Mackie's aircraft. The film sequence shows 4 Hellcats ranged: we see numbers 1 and 3 take off of which 3 coded 122.

The R5x theory is an interesting possibility.

USN/FAA incompatibilities. Lend/lease aircraft underwent modification before release to the FAA. There's an article in the 24 Jan 1946 Aeroplane Spotter that describes Blackburn's involvement in this. I quote selectively. "Between the end of 1940 and 1945 over 400 modifications and Trial Installations were handled. Nearly 4,000 aircraft have been affected by this development work, of which over 600 have been modified by Blackburn Aircraft under contract. The Central Firm built in that time about 40,000 modification sets." "[Modifications] found to be necessary on all marks of each type included such things as the addition of British gunsights and oxygen systems, earthing provision and IFF wireless equipment" "Rearrangement of the Avenger second cockpit to accommodate the navigator immediately behind the pilot. A considerable amount of equipment had to be moved including most of the radio but squadrons using the Avengers so modified found the arrangement a great improvement." So it's more compatibility with the crews than with the carrier. I assume that that modification programme for lend-lease aircraft continued through to war's end, whether or not delivered via the UK. But who knows what happened in extremis?

[Antoine]

I don't think there would be much to sell. I've looked at the Hellcat II(PR) in the FAA museum at Yeovilton. It's not a fairing, more a strengthening plate. Ahead of the camera port there's a roughly U-shaped oil/debris deflector strip and that's about all there is to it. The shape of the strengthening plate is shown on the Bentley drawings of the Hellcat.

Many thanks, Nick, I appreciate!

I always thought it was more than a very simple deflector.