Old Man Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 This is a Great War type, but not a Great War subject. It is a Bristol F2b of No. 2 Squadron, operating in Ireland during 1920. No. 2 Squadron, with operations in Shanghai in 1927 and in Ireland in 1920-22, has the odd distinction of having been in service in both the nearest and the farthest place that the RAF could be found in the period between the world wars. It is not generally appreciated that 'air control' was tried not just in Near Eastern and Central Asian colonial possessions, but also in the British Isles themselves, during the 'Troubles' in Ireland after the Great War. It was far from full-bore air control, certainly; the Cabinet, and Gen. Trenchard, were worried about untoward incidents, and the paramilitary bands which conducted much of the fighting for England lacked the professionalism and training for effective co-operation with aircraft. The aeroplanes of the RAF in Ireland flew un-armed for most of the period, and provided shows of force aloft over urban areas at certain times, conducted liaison and light transport duties, including the movement of high ranked officers and movement of mail and dispatches to isolated garrisons, and maintained some surveillance of solidly Republican areas. In the spring of 1921, armed flights were authorized, but under such strictly limited conditions that they generally constituted less than five percent of the flying time in any given month. By then the period of armed conflict was nearing it end, in the settlement that produced the Irish Republic. This particular aeroplane, H1490, was built and delivered after the end of the Great War, and served with No. 2 Squadron from its re-establishment at Fermoy early in 1920. It came to grief in November, 1920, at Waterford Town, crashing onto a roof on Barrack Street while delivering mail and dispatches to the garrison there. Flying Officer Briggs was piloting, with Flying Officer McKeechan in the rear seat; despite appearances, their injuries (one received a broken leg, one a broken arm) were not too serious. The aeroplane struck pretty square at the junction of a Mr. Aspell's public house, and the home of a Mrs. McSweeny. The kit fought me pretty hard, and I am not completely happy with the result. I left it lay a long time before doing the final rigging and touchings-up (most of the work here was done this past April), but I figured I really ought to get the thing completed, if only to be shut of it.... 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham T Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Astonishing work in 1/72! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Interesting story and a fine build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HL-10 Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 I love the Bristol Fighter! They've got one at Old Warden and I've spent hours looking at it when I visit. I just wish I could build bi-planes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bri48 Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 It amazes me just how you put these planes together, especially the rigging....way out of my league and patience. Top class! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 Thank you for the kind words, Gentlemen: much appreciated. I will do better on my next pass at this kit. I have a number of subjects from the Bristol's career in the twenties I would like to get to. For those thinking of giving a small-scale biplane a try, I would recommend Eduard's N-17. The kit fits together pretty well (you will need to trim a little on the lower end of the Vee struts, but that is all), looks a gem when done, and has pretty simple rigging. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasticbutcher Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I say Old Man, that's very interesting, I know the story of the Waterford crash very well and am chuffed to see that build. Well done sir! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbuna Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 A crackin build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingo Degenhardt Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 Good looking model! I have myself a 1/48 Roden F2b in the stash, together with Xtracolor's "RFC Green" for the upper side. This colour (at least in the little jug) seems to be far more on the green side than the upper surfaces of your model. Where there different color schemes or may be rules not so strictly obeyed...? Ingo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Norman Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 Great Story there, Just got a pressie of these decals from a friend. Fermoy is only 10 miles from where I live, the old Aerodrome hangars where there till just a few years ago, They could of reached there 100th Birthday but thanks to the celtic tiger were torn down and road built into a proposed industrial estate which was never built. A nice heritage centre could of been situated there if there was enough insight. Never seen the picture before of the Waterford crash so thanks for sharing!! Cheers George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belle Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 (edited) I like your Bristol. Really good build. The history of the crash is also very interesting. Belle Edited October 14, 2012 by Belle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKirwan Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Link to newspaper article covering the events Waterford News 19th November . Scoll down to page 2 http://snap.waterfordcoco.ie/collections/enewspapers/WNS/1920/WNS-1920-11-19.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 A beautiful model well done 👏 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted February 12, 2021 Author Share Posted February 12, 2021 On 1/29/2021 at 2:11 AM, BKirwan said: Link to newspaper article covering the events Waterford News 19th November . Scoll down to page 2 http://snap.waterfordcoco.ie/collections/enewspapers/WNS/1920/WNS-1920-11-19.pdf That's a great article, Sir. Fascinating stuff. Nice to find out more about the matter. Thank you very much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now