Mark Harmsworth Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 The subjects for my models are often the result of coming across a story which catches my interest. This is one of those. In late 1941 / early 1942 there was a need for something (anything) to lift morale. The victories in North Africa that marked a turning point were still months away and Europe was shrouded in gloom. An SOE specialist undercover in Paris had noted in September 1941 that the German army paraded daily at midday along the Champs-Élysées. He suggested that the RAF could mount an attack on the parade as a morale boost for both Britain and occupied France. After a rather daft idea from Fighter Command involving three Spitfires and coloured smoke, the mission was assigned to Coastal Command to use a Bristol Beaufighter Mk Ic which had both the range and a navigator as a second crew member. Several crews volunteered with pilot Flt Lt Ken Gatward and navigator Sgt George Fern of 236 Sqn being selected. The mission needed complete cloud cover so was delayed many times but finally on 12th June 1942 they took off from RAF Thorney Island in T4800 at 11.15am. The flight would have been roughly 200 miles (320 km) to Paris most of which was over German occupied France so they flew at less than 100 feet, often as low as 30 feet. The pictures taken by George Fern are a vivid testament to this. See this image of Le Grand Palais - apparently 'La Vie Nouvelle' was to be that night's show. They arrived at midday but the Champs-Élysées was empty. Their secondary target was the Gestapo HQ in the Kriegsmarine (navy) building so this was attacked with the four 20mm cannon in the nose. They also dropped two French tricolour flags, one over the Arc de Triomphe and one as they passed the Gestapo HQ. The return trip was as uneventful as the outward - without being fired at by AA guns or by Luftwaffe fighters. They landed at RAF Northolt in west London two hours after departing Thorney Island and were debriefed and instructed not to discuss the details. Rather nicely George's parents heard about the mission from the BBC whilst he was on leave with them. It seems that they missed the opportunity to attack the parade due to the Germans having synchronised French time with Germany. Time in northern occupied France was moved an hour forward to match German time (the unoccupied south remained unchanged). And they didn't tell the British. How mean. On to the model and my attempt at T4800 ND-C. I have used Tamiya's 1:48 Mk VI backdated to a Mk Ic. To do that I used a conversion set from Resinair with zero dihedral horizontal tails and short exhaust manifolds (that shows quite clearly in the first pic). I also filled in the wing .303 machine gun holes and cartridge ejection slots as I believe the wing guns were replaced by extra fuel tanks in the Mk Ic. Other extras were Eduard steel seatbelts and canopy masks plus a Yahu instrument panel. Paints were Ultimate acrylic primer and Xtracrylix acrylics. Decals were largely from various Xtradecal sets with the stencils from the excellent Aviaeology set. Weathering was done with Winsor and Newton oils with pastels for the exhaust stain and darkening the collector ring / exhausts. The historical info mostly came from an article in 'Aeroplane' magazine of March 2010 which was based on an interview with George Fern and was my inspiration for this build. I also used the Modeller's Data File on the Beaufighter which has a profile of T4800. I've made a couple of mistakes. One I'll own up to – I forgot to install the gunsight. The other might be spotted by those that know the Beaufighter. I'll probably live with it as it is. As usual - comments appreciated. All the best Mark 61 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamiltonian Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Great story, lovely clean model. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorby Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Nice job (and the Tilly as well). Beautifully painted. I often think the Beaufighter looks too cute an friendly to be a war plane. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenko Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Really nice result and great story. Wish Tamiya would do one in 1/32...…………... Dick 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNAFU Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 A very nice ''clean machine'' the paint work is FAB. Gerhard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamiltonian Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 6 minutes ago, Gorby said: Nice job (and the Tilly as well). Beautifully painted. I often think the Beaufighter looks to cute an friendly to be a war plane. Yes. Short nose, big engine nacelles - makes it look like some sort of juvenile animal, with a short snout and big feet. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildeSau75 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 That was indeed a special mission - must have had big balls theses crew members. Great tribute your model - like how it turned out. Cheers, Michael 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Very nice model and story! I'm no Beau authority- just a fan, but before @tonyot logs on, I'll take a stab at your "mistake." Possibly you left off the housing and port in the nose for the gun camera? A model to be proud of, for sure! Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Superb finish, well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Very nice indeed,..... and isn`t it great story too! Seeing as I have been called out above,...as I wasn`t going to say anything,........ all I will say is that the spoked wheel hub section should be outboard on each wheel,..... an easy 1 minute fix,..... and you might want to double check the air intakes above the engine with photos of the real aircraft,........ but they are just teeny snags on what is a very,..very nice model indeed,...... well done. Cheers Tony 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzby061 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 A nicely finished model & a fascinating bit of history. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stéphane Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Hello, Very nice model and great story. Too bad for the time change that would certainly have enlighted the parisians' day . 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Harmsworth Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 22 minutes ago, tonyot said: Very nice indeed,..... and isn`t it great story too! Seeing as I have been called out above,...as I wasn`t going to say anything,........ all I will say is that the spoked wheel hub section should be outboard on each wheel,..... an easy 1 minute fix,..... and you might want to double check the air intakes above the engine with photos of the real aircraft,........ but they are just teeny snags on what is a very,..very nice model indeed,...... well done. Cheers Tony Hello Tony. You're right - I realised I'd used the wrong intakes far too late to do anything about it without making a real mess (or I'm just not brave enough). And thanks for the hint about the wheels. all the best Mark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldy Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Lovely Beau Mark - I really like the colours and build quality. One other thought for future builds would be to put a little weight on those tyres (or display on some grass). Cheers Malcolm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Beautifully done 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Great story and a model to match. Great stuff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 2 hours ago, tonyot said: Very nice indeed,..... and isn`t it great story too! Seeing as I have been called out above,...as I wasn`t going to say anything,........ all I will say is that the spoked wheel hub section should be outboard on each wheel,..... an easy 1 minute fix,..... and you might want to double check the air intakes above the engine with photos of the real aircraft,........ but they are just teeny snags on what is a very,..very nice model indeed,...... well done. Cheers Tony I am awed, as always by the encyclopedic knowledge of the Great One! I guess he should know- I think he's built as many Beaufighters as Bristol did! 😜 Mike 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Never heard that story before! Absolutely wonderful work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Great looking Beaufighter there, really nice work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Nice model and a great story. Post war, the Navigator was a teacher in the school of someone on here. I can't remember who it is though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Excellent, I read about the escapade in Aeroplane Monthly some time ago. Coincidentally I saw the magazine upstairs a couple of hours ago. I must re-read the article. Surprisingly the exploit was never repeated using a Mosquito or two. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Harmsworth Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 11 hours ago, noelh said: Excellent, I read about the escapade in Aeroplane Monthly some time ago. Coincidentally I saw the magazine upstairs a couple of hours ago. I must re-read the article. Surprisingly the exploit was never repeated using a Mosquito or two. I just love the story - even including the fact they got the time wrong. The part that makes me smile was Fighter Command's bonkers idea of three Spitfires flying to Paris and back and, whilst there, letting off red, white and blue smoke. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natter Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 On 1/1/2019 at 5:58 PM, Gorby said: Nice job (and the Tilly as well). Beautifully painted. I often think the Beaufighter looks too cute an friendly to be a war plane. Definitely not cute and friendly to those unfortunate enough to be looking down the barrels of the four cannon and multiple machine guns of course... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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