MPM 1/72 Boston Mk V or A Pilot Poet in the Po Valley

[Mark Harmsworth]

These men knew moments you have never known,

Nor ever will; we knew those moments too,

And talked of them in whispers late at night;

Such confidence was born of danger shared.

We shared their targets, too; but we came back.

 

From 'Let It Be Hushed' by David Raikes

 

On the evening of 21st April 1945 RAF 18 Squadron based at Forli, in northern Italy, was tasked with attacking crossings on the river Po. Douglas Boston Mk V 'B' serial no. BZ590 with a crew of 4 didn't return.

 

In the words of the RAF:

 

"The aircraft took off from Forli aerodrome at 20:54 hours on 21.4.45. to attack the river crossing at Taglio Di Po, and then carry out an armed reconnaissance of the Po Valley.  Since that time, nothing is known."

 

It was assumed that BZ590 had been brought down by German anti-aircraft fire.

 

Three of the crew were only 20 years old when they died - the pilot, Sergeant David Raikes, the navigator, Flight Sergeant David Perkins, and the wireless operator / gunner, Flight Sergeant Alexander Bostock. The crew's other gunner was 21 - Warrant Officer John Hunt, of the Royal Australian Air Force.

 

The crew of BZ590 - from left: Sergeant David Raikes, Flight Sergeant David Perkins, Flight Sergeant Alexander Bostock and Warrant Officer John Hunt

 

Looking at this picture it is hard to believe that the eldest is only 21.

 

 

Then, sixty-six years later, the wreck of the plane was located by Italian archaeologists (Archeologi dell'Aria) following up on the recollections of someone about a crash on farmland.

 

Following painstaking work by the archaeologists, the plane and her crew were formally identified.

 

As a result, on 18th July 2013, a military ceremony was held at Padua War Cemetery. Organised by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force with the help of the British Embassy in Rome.

 

Participating in the ceremony were serving representatives of both Air Forces, including members of the Queen’s Colour Squadron and of 18 Squadron, as well as Italian military and civilian representatives and, of course, relatives of the crew.

 

At the graveside, David Raikes, nephew of Sergeant David Raikes, read his uncle's poem 'Let it be Hushed' and Ray Madge, the half-nephew of Warrant Officer John Hunt, played the last post. A lone piper played a lament at the crash site.

 

The remains of the crew were laid to rest in a single coffin.

 

The 'Po River Museum of the Second World War', in the small town of Felonica, has a room dedicated to BZ590 and her crew. There are belt buckles, badges and parts of the aircraft, including the front-landing gear.

 

The link below to the museum has photos of the display and of the ceremony. Scroll down to the 7th set of images. The reference to Flying Officer Peter Long seems to be because he piloted BZ590 on 4th March '45 as shown by the page from his logbook. I assume he is the white haired gentleman in some of those pictures.

 

Lots of great images further down the page too.

.

http://www.museofelonica.it/?page_id=77

 

 

David Raikes' poetry was published after the war by his family. His poem 'Let It Be Hushed', written shortly before his own death, deals with the loss of another crew (I assume also 18 squadron) who crashed into the sea.

 

It starts:

Let it be hushed, let the deep ocean close

Upon these dead...

 

and then:

... At first just overdue,

Till minutes changed to hours, and still no news.

One went to bed; but roused by later crews,

Asked 'were they back yet?' And being answered 'No',

Went back to sleep

One's waking eyes sought out the empty beds,

And 'Damn', you said, 'another kit to pack.'

I never liked that part. You never knew

What privacies your sorting might lay bare.

I always tried to leave my kit arranged

In decent tidiness. You never knew.

 

 

I can't help wondering if he did tidy his kit before that last flight.

 

 

On to the model which is the MPM 1:72 Douglas Boston Mk IV / V. When I started the build I knew nothing about David Raikes and my intention was to do an out of the box build. An 18 squadron Boston. A conversation with my wife's stepfather changed all that. He asked me if I had come across any of the WW2 poets he had on a list. One of the names he mentioned was David Raikes. Some research revealed he was an 18 squadron pilot. One of life's little coincidences. Having already decided on an 18 squadron scheme it seemed important that I do BZ590.

 

This was a challenging build with plenty of fit problems, which others have mentioned, but I'm fairly happy with the end result and enjoyed almost all of it.

 

Extras were Eduard p.e. and masks – both for the A20-G. I couldn't find them for the Boston IV / V so I was creative with the transparent nose area.

 

For the first time, for weight, I used Liquid Gravity poured under the cockpit floor with some white glue mixed in water. That seemed easy and she was happily nose down. Result. Then at some point late in the build I put her down on her legs again and she was a tail sitter. Oh bother. You can just see the clear sprue support in some of the pics.

 

However, the most frustrating part of the build was attaching the nose. MPM has this as three transparencies and the fit to the fuselage then had a noticeable step – at least the way I did it. I put a lot of work into dealing with that and had it to the point where the fit looked ok to the naked eye. And then the nose fell off.

 

When I eventually returned to the desk some time later I simply reattached the nose as best I could. I couldn't face any more sanding, polishing . . . . so that's the one area I'm not happy with. From a distance on the shelf it'll look ok – at least if I'm not wearing my glasses. I need to rethink how I blend poorly fitting transparencies to the fuselage.

 

Paints were Ultimate acrylic primer and Xtracrylics; Winsor and Newton oils and pastels for weathering. Decals partly from the kit and the spares box. I had lots of fun chasing those tiny serial numbers around before getting them (nearly) in position.

 

Finding the story of this crew was a real bonus for me. So a thank-you to my wife's step-father.

 

Anyway, here's some pics.

All the best

Mark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Steve27752]

Very nice specially with the background story.

Also, the photo of the crew shows how hap hazard the uniform supply chain was. There are three possibly four different styles of BD's being worn, from army Khaki to Australian Dark Blue.

[Greg Law]

You done the crew proud with this one. Good to see the story behind it.

[RMCS]

Nicley done

[Spitfire31]

Very good model with a solemn, touching background story.

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

[72modeler]

A wonderful tribute to four fine young airmen. Amazing that they were recovered and fitting that they were interred together. Thank you for sharing their story as well as your model. I think tribute models are one of the best ways we model builders can preserve the history and sacrifice of airmen of all nations.

Mike

[tonyot]

Fantastic research mate and the model is a fine memorial to these brave lads.

 

Cheers

          Tony

[bruce bay]

Lovely research, story, and build. I am always taken aback by how curvy the Boston is every time I see it. 

[Navy Bird]

Nicely done and a poignant back story. I just finished watching Ken Burns' "The War" on Netflix, and I can't imagine what all these brave young lads went through. Those who survived were changed forever. I don't think I could do what these kids did, but thank God they could.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[stevehnz]

Super Mark in every way, the model, the story behind it & the tribute to the crew, to say I was moved is an understatement. You've done them proud mate.

Steve.

[Natter]

[Michael51]

If there is one thing that really gets my attention, it is a 'context rich' build: the kit is almost secondary to the background story.

 

I think you have done a great job on bringing the plastic to life with the account of those four young men.

 

By the way, where did you get that mug?

 

Michael

[rob85]

This is a great tribute!

 

brilliant build, love a Boston 

 

Rob

[Mark Harmsworth]

2 hours ago, Michael51 said:

If there is one thing that really gets my attention, it is a 'context rich' build: the kit is almost secondary to the background story.

 

I think you have done a great job on bringing the plastic to life with the account of those four young men.

 

By the way, where did you get that mug?

 

Michael

Thanks a lot. To be honest I'm slightly overwhelmed by all these nice comments.

 

The mug was a gift from my sister in law - and it's my favourite. I've just looked it up and realised I should've been a bit more grateful. This is it on amazon uk:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Royal-Force-Centenary-Emma-Bridgewater/dp/B07JPYP5T8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1551815739&sr=8-2&keywords=emma+bridgewater+raf+mug

 

 

[Meatbox8]

Absolutely brilliant in every way.  I'm so glad these young men have now been laid to rest.  All losses during war are tragic but to lose their lives so near to the end is particularly poignant.  Great work.

[F-32]

Great work, looks awesome

[Mark Harmsworth]

I've realised that I didn't thank @Sydhuey for his help in my initial research on 18 squadron and the Bostons in Italy. That set me on the right track although I ended up following the David Raikes story. 

 

Hopefully Syd will appreciate that its an 18 squadron plane.

Mark

[MikeR]

Very nice indeed!

 

Mike.

[goggsy]

Brilliant work and a very moving back story too. Thanks for sharing.

[Sydhuey]

Mate she is a bloody ripper ! Glad I could help.

[Andwil]

Nice model and a fine tribute.

 

AW

[Stefaan]

Love it. Fitting tribute.

[SAT69]

Excellent model, most befitting the story behind it. Very good photography as well.