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HMS Eagle 1965 aircraft


fatalbert

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Evening all,I am a big fan of the big E and have been gathering kits to show her air wing during the mid 60's.I have the following ....

Airfix/herritage.....Buccaneer S1

Xtrakit .....Sea Vixen FAW 2

Xtrakit......Scimitar F1

Frog.........Wessex Has1

Revell.......Gannet (conversion project for a COD machine)

Alley cat....Gannet AEW 3

Now,I have been wondering,did she carry any whirlwind helicopters at this time,if so can anyone provide me with any details please.Also did she carry any other aircraft/helicopter types during her 64-66 commission.

Many thanks.....Neil

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Yeap airgroup in 1965:-

800 Buccaneer S1

800B Scimitar F1

820 Wessex HAS1

849D Gannet AEW3

899 Sea Vixen FAW2

Edited by Geoff_B
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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi fatalbert, just thought I would drop you a line to say I'm currently in the process of building all the fast jet and 50's types that flew off Eagle at the moment.

To date in 1/72 scale I have built;

Novo Attacker

Airfix Seahawk- really simple kit that's easy to build. I used Model decal set to get 897 NAS. I also later built another Seahawk I was given that I had no box or instructions for so I don't know where it came from but wish I'd had it first its a lovely model!

Sea venom- although I have yet to put any squadron markings in it as I don't have an Eagle NAS for her yet.

XTRAKIT Scimitar- nice model to build with a few little bits needed to be corrected. Kit decals for 800 B flight (I think)

Revel Sea Vixen- quite a poor model needing lot of work to make presentable. Kit decals for 899NAS

Airfix Buccaneer SB2- basic kit and used modeldecal set to get 800sqn

Frog Wessex HAS 1 as the ships flight rescue bird- model decal set 99

Novo Gannet AS1- budget getting tight to went "cheap n basic" I scratched together decals for 826 squadron

Sword Gannet AEW 3- nice model, loved building it, used Alleycat decals for 849NAS

And finally, Sea King HAS1 - scratch made from an EBay acquired Airfix SAR kit (I got it for 99p) I filled and flatted bits and bobs including Windows etc then scratched together the markings from various places for 826NAS but have yet to pluck up the courage to hand paint the sea beast thing that is the white squadron emblem on the cabs side behind the cockpit.

I've yet to build a Wessex HAS3 but will do soon.

Just as I said I thought I'd mention it as Eagle has always been in my opinion in Ark Royals shadow so nice to know someone shares my interest!

Edited by Gannetfan
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Agree with your comments there Gannetfan.Eagle tends to get neglected.

Did she ever have Sea Venoms as part of her air wing though?

Here's some more ideas:

Sea Hornet NF21 809, Firebrand 827, Sea Fury 811, Wyvern 813, Firefly 820, Skyraider 849 and the Shipo's Flight Dragonfly and Whirlwind.

RG

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Hi scimitar, yes I believe sea venoms operated off Eagle, online there are some views of them certainly during the Suez Crisis. I'd admit I worked on an assumption they had flown off her as the Sea Venom was an important type to the FAA and served off most our flat tops of the era.

The Skyraider REALLY interests me but the kit in 72nd really puts me off. I've been building models for years but two things I'm not great with. Resin and vac form. I don't have the patience. As for things like the Wyvern I'm going to be controversial now and say it has to be the ugliest aircraft in British history and that's from me, a fan of the Gannet! The final issue with the other types you suggest, and it's a lovely list, is space. Im running out! My cabinet is bursting at the seams.

I have also built up a collection of Westland built choppers and would love to have a 1/72 dragonfly to add to it but it would be easier to find the proverbial rocking horse manure!

I have one whirlwind a helicopter I do like and my youngest daughter says is "cute", go figure, but I did mine as an RAF SAR aircraft and it looks nice as a splash of colour on the shelf!

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Of course they did..senior moment earlier I guess. An example is WW212/445J of 892 Sqn.

Somebody (Whirlybits ,Heritage ??) has a Dragonfly listed for future but I typically now can't find it.

It shouldn't be too difficult to convert the R-5 / S-51. Mach and MPM did one I think.

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Hi guys,thanks for the replies,I agree with you about Eagle,my favourite carrier due to my father serving on her during the early 50's.Thats an excellent list and yes she did operate Sea Venom.I can heartily recommend a book about HMS Eagle by Neil Mccart,lots of very good picks and a damn good read too.......Neil

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As a boy at Lossie in the sixties I remember that our wee group of spotters got quite excited when 800's Buccaneer S2's appeared with the red chevron with 'E' on top!

Another good one was the 800B Scimitar where the 'E' had been zapped to read 'empty'

Have you seen this site ?

http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/index.php

Richard

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It's nice to be able to contribute to a thread like this about a subject I really like with like minded people. I never knew either of our two "big carriers" (this is my polite way of saying I'm a bit younger than you guys ;-) but I imagine they were something to see. I had the good fortune to visit a couple of our US cousins floating cities in the early 90's when we contributed to thier expedition to the Middle East. I also went aboard all three of the Invicible class at one time or another. They were exciting trips and left me with a real interest in naval aviation.

I'll certainly try to get hold of that book on Eagle, I recently finished a 1/700 scale conversion of the Fujimi kit of Eagle to her in her final guise using the photo refs I could get off line. I have two of these kits, as launched and now as decommissioned and they sit in my cabinet surrounded by the 1/72 scale planes that flew off them.

Good luck with the builds, will we get pics? And if you feel the need to talk about the models you will need give me a shout I may have some tips on them! He said immodestly.

Rick

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Absolutely fantastic pics, not just a wealth of useful reference material but such good quality images showing so much detail on the aircraft. I love to link various different squadrons from one ship to the next so it was really nice to see the F8's and A4's on the deck. I'm looking at cross decking USN squadrons that visited the Eagle so l can look at the options from the USN to build in to my collection

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A little bit off topic, I was a Hangar century 1969/70. Maybe this pic might be of interest to you which i have posted before but can no longer find it here. I am out of sight on the other side shaking with fear because immediately after I had a little meeting with Captain Treacher which resulted in 2 weeks punishment so my only visit ashore in Boston was to empty a dustbin. :chair:

Eagle_zps86726994.jpg

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Here is my Alley Cat Gannet AEW3 along with the background story.

The Gannet was purchased and built because, when I was in the 31st Streatham Air Scouts, we had an assistant named John Sillett who joined the Royal Navy as a pilot.
One of the AEW3s that he flew was XL493. He related this incident to me when on leave at the time. My book of "FAA fixed wing aircraft since 1946” tells that “XL493 - Night GCA approach to HMS Eagle, STB engine failed, prop failed to feather, ditched port beam near Singapore - pilot Lt. JM Sillett: 24/6/66” .
Unfortunately, there was not decal sheet available for that aircraft so I looked a bit further and found the following: “XL473 - Partial cockpit lighting failure after lift-off on night roller, aborted, nose oleo collapsed. Lt. J.M. Sillett 31.1.67”. This aircraft appeared on the additional sheet of AEW3 aircraft so I was able, at least, to make one of his aircraft.
For the full story, check out my blog entry at Gentle Scale Modelling
IMG_6097.jpg
Edited by Long haired david
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