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After completion of the Hawker Hart, my attention has turned to another interwar workhorse, Fairey Gordon. The successor of Fairey IIIF, named after the famous officer killed in Khartoum in 1885, could have been either of Ramleh or of Amman, as I am going to build it as K3992 in service with No. 14 Squadron, which was divided between Ramleh and Amman for most of the 20 years of its patrol duties in Palestine and Transjordan. K3992 is well-documented airplane, one of the final series of 24 Gordons (K3986 – K4009), referred as Mk.II and delivered in 1934. It also belongs to the few Mk.IIs that in fact made it to the regular RAF squadron service. Most Mk.IIs were held in reserve, 14 (some sources list 13) of them were transferred to RNZAF in 1939. The kit was introduced here, around two years ago. Mk.IIs differed from the standard Gordon. The most obvious change was a taller rudder with a horn balance merging into the upper part of the fin (same as Seal) and other less significant changes to rear fuselage and the empennage. Furthermore, both wings were equipped with Frise-type ailerons. Some of the differences are represented in the kit by alternative parts (blue above), some of them are left for the poor modeller to take care of (yellow arrows). The balloon wheels are cast in resin. The same for the AS Panther engine. However here I can't help but notice rather significant differences from reality, which I do not like. Unfortunately, as far as I know, there has been no direct replacement available on the market since the white metal Aeroclub engine, which is now a hard-to-find-rarity. Nevertheless, I am still looking for solution. As there is no ultimate book on Gordon, the pile of the reference literature is higher than usual.😀
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Finished, Fairey Gordon II K3992, serving from the airports of Ramleh and Amman over Palestine and Transjordan with No. 14 Squadron sometime in 1936. The build thread is here: Build more or less OOB plus inevitably some scratchbuilding caused by my rather pedantic nature. Seat belts by Eduard, Venturi by S.B.S. and guns by Mini World and GasPatch. Waiting for the right engine by Michal Zervan (ex Radial engines & wheels 72) was rather long, however the result was in my opinion worth the wait. Brush painted with my usual mix of enamels by Humbrol, Model Master, Revell and Tamiya, roundels by Xtradecal, serial numbers combined from various surplus decal sheets in my stash. In the end, just the letter “F” on the fin comes from the kit decal sheet. The wing roundels are of rather unusual size and position for the period, but I have a theory. The roundels were the same size and position as on the Fairey Seal naval siblings of Gordon. Therefore, in my opinion, the Gordon II wings were probably taken directly from Seal production line/stock and no one considered it important to repaint the roundels according to the post-1934 RAF regulations. As usual with me, no rigging. By the way, it feels a bit weird to present you today an airplane used 90 years ago in Palestine to monitor and suppress the revolt caused by increased influx of Jewish immigrants fleeing Hitler’s Third Reich. We have 2023 now, and regrettably, for the region, there still doesn't seem to be a long-lasting solution in sight …
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After the Fairey IIIF (link), Kora Models has just relased a 1/72nd Fairey Gordon kit. - ref. 72125 - Fairey Gordon Mk.I - Brazilian NAVY - long type float late Complete plastic kit with photo-etched parts, resin engine and decals. Sources: http://www.lfmodels.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_5_73&products_id=3465 https://www.aviationmegastore.com/fairey-gordon-mki-brazilian-navy--long-type-float-late-kpk72125-kora-models-kpk72125-aircraft-scale-modelling/product/?action=prodinfo&art=174914 Box art V.P.- 9 replies
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