Pappy Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 (edited) Ahoy shipmates!, Here are a few pics of my just finished IJN Midget sub. Three of these craft (I-14, No. 21 and Midget A) were launched from their mother submarines during a raid into Sydney Harbour on the 31st May, 1942. The primary objective was the USS Chicago, and although one of the submarines fired its two torpedo's (one of the torpedoes failed to explode) the raid was ultimately unsuccessful, culminating in the sinking of the "Kuttabul" a Sydney Harbour ferry converted to an accommodation ship with the loss of 21 lives, and all three midget submarines did not return to their mother ships. Two of the submarines (I-14 and No.21) were recovered from the harbour immediately following the raid. In both cases the two man crews had committed suicide instead of facing capture. The fate of the third submarine (Midget A) had remained a mystery for 64 years until a group of scuba divers chanced upon the resting place in 2006. The site is now a protected war grave and is undergoing a conservation programme. The Finemolds kit is a ripper and the kit flew together over a weekend. The instructions consist of clear exploded assembly diagrams and Japanese text, no English translation being provided. This is a shame as the instructions include what appear to be a description of the raid as well as technical details. It would have been interesting to read these, esepcially as these are from the perspective of the 'other' side. cheers, Pappy Edited September 16, 2008 by Pappy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Pappy, Very nice, I do like subs. Are they a favourite modelling subject of yours? What sort if size is this finished? Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Now that's different, nice one Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoine Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Oooohhh, nice!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousER99 Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Awesome work Pappy.....you have some serious talent my friend. BTW did your box arrive yet?? One last question, which end of that little cigar do you light?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnerdad Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Different! Stunningly finished, beautiful job. Fascinating story too, so much i don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Tango Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 That is different, lovely job Pappy, beautiful finish and a great story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dahut Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Thats very nifty. Can you imagine beng a crewman on that thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 16, 2008 Author Share Posted September 16, 2008 (edited) Pappy,Very nice, I do like subs. Are they a favourite modelling subject of yours? What sort if size is this finished? Daniel G'day Daniel, This is my second sub kit, the first was the 1/35 Italeri Maiale which is in the maratime folder somewhere. the finished item is about 25cm or a bout a foot in the old money. I am happy with the result. I have a couple more subs I want to do but I wouldn't say it was a favourite genre, more like an interesting diversion from jets! Awesome work Pappy.....you have some serious talent my friend. BTW did your box arrive yet??One last question, which end of that little cigar do you light?? G'day Mike, thanks for the kind words. I just picked up the package today, thanks very much for that! These things actually had scuttling charges. Thecrew of the first submarine in the attack (I-14 ) actually blew up their sub (and themselves) when faced with capture. Thats very nifty.Can you imagine beng a crewman on that thing? Not wanting to glorify the acts of the 'enemy' but the bravery of those men certainly cannot be denied. There were many errors made by both sides before and during the raid. The admiral in charge of Sydney Harbour's defences ordered that the remains of the two recovered submarines be cremated and they were given a funeral with full military honours. This was not without controversy at the time, understandably so when the Japanese invasion of Northern Australia seemed imminent, however this was in recognition of their bravery. The admiralty susequently ordered that no future honours would be bestowed on fallen enemy. The remains were repatriated at the conclusion of hostilities The remains of the last sub, Midget A, are still inside the hull. At this stage, there are no plans to raise the sub, but there is a galvanic protection in place to preserve the remains of the hull. The site is actually a secret, and seismic detection and active surveillance measures are in place to deter souvenir hunters cheers, Pappy Edited September 16, 2008 by Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 16, 2008 Author Share Posted September 16, 2008 Now that's different, nice one Pappy G'day Mish, Thanks very much for that. I like to keep doing different stuff. Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 16, 2008 Author Share Posted September 16, 2008 (edited) Different! Stunningly finished, beautiful job. Fascinating story too, so much i don't know. G'day and thanks, That is one of the great bits of this hobby, you get to learn stuff as well. The real story is pretty interesting reading, especially so since a great many errors were committed by the allies. All three subs were detected entering by the harbour's magnetic loop system and the dock light were not turned off until several hours into the raid. The truth is always stranger than fiction, cheers, Pappy Edited September 16, 2008 by Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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