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Hurricane IID 5 Sqn SEAC, Burma 1943-44 1:48 Hasegawa [COMPLETE]


Kallisti

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Coming in a bit late on this GB, having only just completed my Made in Britain GB entry. However, better late than never eh?

My entry will be another in my long-running series of building the aircraft my father worked on when he was in the RAF during WWII. 3 Years ago (bloody hell is it that long ago?) I built the 1:32 Revell Hurricane IIc (see build thread here) as one that operated in Burma while my father was attached to 5 Sqn from Dec '43 until they were replaced by Thunderbolts in Sept 44.

So how come (I hear you ask) did 5 Sqn also have IIDs - after all the logistics, operation tactics and target options are somewhat different between IIC and IID. Very good question and its puzzled me for a while. I've got several references that say 5 Sqn operated both, but one of the most authoritative sources is Christopher Shores "Air War for Burma" which claims 5 Sqn only operated IICs.

Then I found a reference in Michael Pearson's "The Burma Air Campaign: 1941-1945" which says "No 5 Sqn, which had been equipped with Hurricane Mk IID 'tank busters' but re-equipped due to a lack of suitable targets in the India/Burma theatre."

So that makes sense - they started off with IIDs and then swapped over to IICs at some later date. In that case this will be a build from the early stages of my Dad's deployment with 5 Sqn.

On to the kit, its the Hasegawa kit of the Hurricane IID. I picked it up some time ago, no idea where from now, its been in the stash for quite a while! Here is the box:

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and the obligatory sprue shot.

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You can see the Eduard Zoom etch set in there as well. I'll replace the decals with SEAC markings. I've got a possible set of serial numbers for IIDs, these may not be 100% accurate, but the best I can do at present.

Edited by Kallisti
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Fighter Squadrons of the RAF states that 5 sq was equipped with the Mk.IID in June 1943 but didn't fly any operational missions until January 1944, during which they destroyed 27 trucks and 14 bullock carts. In February they reverted to fighter duties, bomber escorts etc, presumably in their Mk.IIC.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hmm I appear to have forgotten to take any WIP photos while building this entry, so I guess I'll just have to post the completed photos!

This was a painless build, its a Hasegawa so went together without much trouble. The only difficulty I had was trying to make the open canopy fit over the fuseage behind the cockpit as the transparency was quite thick. I had to sand this down quite a bit then polish it up.

The Eduard Zoom added some extra details and at the end I added two figures from a company called Jaguar I've had in the stash for a while

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to represent some RAF chaps in Burma. I've got some photos of my Dad in bush hat and shorts, but he wasn't quite so buff as this figure :)

My research showed that one of the Hurrican IIDs with 5 Sqn was KW865 which was given the code "Q". At this point, they were not using squadron codes, so thats the limit to the markings!

So here goes:

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Edited by Kallisti
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The reason for model Hurricane canopy problems is that the original is flexible, and changes shape as it slides back. The canopy runners are closer together at the front than at the rear. If your model has a flexible canopy then it cannot fit in both the closed and open positions. You need the choice of a canopy for the open position and another for the closed. Or use a vacform, which is thin and flexible.

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Hmm I appear to have forgotten to take any WIP photos while building this entry, so I guess I'll just have to post the completed photos!

I guess that is too bad.

#5 - All builds must have a WIP thread showing progress, no completed models can go into the gallery unless there is a build thread. If you are building two or more identical models, then they may be combined in the same thread.

Cheers, Peter

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A pity about that Kallisti, its a really nice looking effort & one I'd like to replicate in 1/72 after reading "Hurricanes over the Arakan" & Air Battle for Imphal " by Norman Franks.

Steve.

Excellent books!

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