Halifax Mk V from the Revell Mk I / II boxing

[Mark Harmsworth]

The crew were:

 

Pilot: Flying Officer Keith Alan M Foottit

Flight Engineer: Sergeant Raymond Charlton

Navigator: Flight Sergeant Alistair Chisholm Goodwin

Air Bomber: Flying Officer James Hunter

Wireless Operator: Sergeant Arthur Melvyn Roberts

Air Gunner: Sergeant James Currie

Air Gunner: Sergeant Albert Edward Grant

 

In the late afternoon of 20th January 1944 they flew Halifax Mk V LK725 KN - B, along with 18 others from 77 Squadron, on a mission to Berlin. Having taken off from RAF Elvington at 16.17 they returned at 23.52. Along with a mixed load of bombs they also carried 'nickels'. They had dropped leaflets as well as bombs.

 

Less than twenty hours later on Friday 21st January 1944 the same crew took off again, in Halifax V LK730 KN – G, with 9 others, on a mission to Magdeburg – again deep into Germany. They took off at 19.32 but this time they didn't return. Three other 77 sqn Halifaxes also didn't return from that mission.

 

That night Bomber Command had suffered the heaviest losses of any night so far: 57 aircraft were lost; 35 Halifaxes and 22 Lancasters, representing 8.8 per cent of the force. The Halifax loss rate was 15.6 per cent and almost double that of the Lancasters but 77 squadron's loss rate on this mission was 40 per cent (ten planes sent and only six returned).

 

The RAF noted that many night fighters were in the bomber stream before it had crossed the German coast; they believed that the night fighters had accounted for about three quarters of the losses.

 

The crew of LK730 are buried in graves, side by side, in the Berlin 1939-45 War Cemetary.

 

One month later, because of the continuing high loss rates, ACM Sir Arthur Harris withdrew Halifax II and V aircraft from operations against German targets.

 

 

On to the model and my attempt at LK730.  This is my build thread if that's of interest:

 

 

This is the Revell 1/72 Halifax Mk I / II boxing. I had originally thought LK730 was a Mk II as the squadron's Operations Record Book for January 1944 lists it as such. The ORB shows all the Mk Vs as Mk IIs - not sure why. However after some great help in the WW2 sub forum it was clear that LK730 was in fact a Mk V built by Fairey Aviation.

 

The Revell Mk I / II boxing has parts which are suitable for the Mk V but not mentioned as such in the instructions. This meant using saxaphone style exhausts, rectangular tail fins, the clear nose and the Dowty undercarriage (marked not for use).

 

Overall the kit is well engineered with good fit, some nice detail and plenty of options. However it is badly let down by inaccuracies, particularly the nacelles, propellers, spinners and wheels, and also by poor instructions.

 

So, in addition to very nice Revell (Eduard manufactured) photo-etch, the extras were AML resin replacement radiators, propellers and spinners and AML main wheels. With all those windows I just had to have some Eduard masks.

 

I opened the bomb bay which required some minor surgery. The inner doors are molded as one piece but the instructions show where to cut. The outer doors are molded as part of the fuselage halves, again with lines showing where to cut, although this is not mentioned in the instructions. Pictures of the Halifax with bomb bay open clearly show these two sets of doors.  

 

I'm pleased with the end result and she seems to be a fair approximation of a Halifax – at least to my very untrained eye.

 

So here's some pics starting with a couple of WIP ones. The bombs and trolleys are from the Airfix Bomber re-supply set.

Comments appreciated

All the best

Mark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 4, 2019 by MarkH206
Pictures missing

[russ c]

Hi Mark, your photo`s disappear after the first two, just heads up

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Ditto on the photo's ? 

 

EDIT: Well done on your Halifax.  ... Its ok we all do silly things like that. I did it myself about a week ago, i only realized it the next day when reviewing a WIP thread.  

Edited June 4, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle

[Mark Harmsworth]

14 hours ago, russ c said:

Hi Mark, your photo`s disappear after the first two, just heads up

Thanks Russ. I'd done some housekeeping on imgur (code for me being stupid)

Hopefuuly all good now

Mark

[Steve27752]

Nice, very nice.

[Buzby061]

Lovely Hallybag & a nice tribute. 

 

Pete

[MikeR]

Excellent!

 

Mike.

[Harley John]

That's very nice. Well done. 

[72modeler]

Looks very good- can't add to what the others have said; a very nice tribute to the crew. A shame Revell really messed up on the nacelles, props, spinners, and wheels, but everything you did really improved the appearance.

Mike

[Robert_]

Looks great-well done!

I'm currently working on Revell's Mk3 variant which will be a tribute to my grandfather who flew them in '44.

[Adam Poultney]

Very nice build! Now I kinda want to build one....

[Mark Harmsworth]

2 hours ago, Robert_ said:

Looks great-well done!

I'm currently working on Revell's Mk3 variant which will be a tribute to my grandfather who flew them in '44.

Now that's a fantastic reason to build one. I hope you enjoy the build - I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Mark

[kapam]

That's brilliant! 

You've incorporated all the upgrades beautifully.  The work really paid off.

[Eric Mc]

Very nice. I really need to get on with my old tool Matchbox build.

[IanC]

Fantastic build. And great interior detail - even a Gee display on the nav's table!

 

Ian

[Mark Harmsworth]

2 hours ago, IanC said:

Fantastic build. And great interior detail - even a Gee display on the nav's table!

 

Ian

Thanks Ian. I'm really like that Revell p.e. set (manufactured by Eduard) and enjoyed putting it together - definitely worth buying.  There's a fair bit of careful folding to be done which can be a bit frustrating at times and I lost a few small pieces to the carpet monster but I'm pleased with how the interior turned out. 

[RidgeRunner]

Very nice, mate. The poor old Halifax gets a rough deal when praise is handed out. Despite being an inferior design (my understanding) I think it deserves more consideration. Many, many went to war and many, manty perished in them. If for now other reason it should be modelled more often. I'm not a WW2 modeller but I can appreciate skill and this build exemplifies this.

 

Martin

 

[F-32]

She's an absolute stunner

[Eric Mc]

The Halifax was not inferior to anything. It turned out to be a highly adaptable and versatile aircraft - after initial teething troubles.

[tonyot]

Very well done,...... it is always nice to see a well made Halibag.

 

Just one thing,..... you should really add fin stripes to the  inside of the fins too!

 

Cheers

           Tony

[dogsbody]

1 hour ago, Eric Mc said:

The Halifax was not inferior to anything. It turned out to be a highly adaptable and versatile aircraft - after initial teething troubles.

 

Yes, like the B-24 in USAAF service.

 

 

Chris

[stevehnz]

Impressive, a lovely job on this, I really like the way you've finished it, spot on to my eye.

Steve.

[Mark Harmsworth]

15 hours ago, tonyot said:

Very well done,...... it is always nice to see a well made Halibag.

 

Just one thing,..... you should really add fin stripes to the  inside of the fins too!

 

Cheers

           Tony

Thanks Tony.

 

Yes I missed that - and it's even in the Revell instructions 🙄.   Maybe later!

Mark

[stever219]

16 hours ago, Eric Mc said:

The Halifax was not inferior to anything. It turned out to be a highly adaptable and versatile aircraft - after initial teething troubles.

Quite!  The Hercules-engined variants were superior in some respects to the Lancaster, particularly bombing height.  The Halifax would never be able to carry its entire bomb load as a single item (bomb bay dimensions wouldn't allow carriage of a single 12,000 lb or 22,000 lb bomb) but the main part of the fuselage was more commodious than that of the Lancaster, which made the Halifax better suited to SOE work and as an ECM/ESM platform.  The Halifax was also, reputedly, easier to escape from in an emergency, particularly for pilots.  A lower percentage of Lancaster pilots escaped than Halifax pilots.

 

In post-war India and the Far East the crews of radial-engined Halifaxes didn’t have to call for take-off clearance before starting engines, unlike their Merlin-engined Lancaster-operating compatriots who could well have suffered overheating problems during start up, taxy and holding for the runway.

 

It’s a pity that the animosity between Sir Frederick Handley Page and Sir Arthur Harris so badly affected the Halifax’s development and deployment.  It’s always amused me that, post war, the Merlin-engined York with its lower and easier freight-loading facility (and some commonality with the remaining Lancaster and Lincoln fleets)was phased out of RAF service before the Hercules-engined, higher-level access Hastings with fewer Halifax spares on which to draw (and that much of the Hastings fleet needed to be resparred  due to the use of DTD683 alloy in their construction).

 

 

[IanC]

It was a bit more than teething troubles. The early Halifax was definitely inferior. Some crews described it as a death trap - underpowered and aerodynamically unstable. The loss rates are the proof, which is why the Mk II and the V were eventually retired from main force operations. 

 

The initial design had to be modified extensively, but once the the re-engined Mk III became available in numbers at the end of 1943, yes things started to look up. It was almost a new aircraft, but sadly by that time the Lanc - almost perfect from the start - had established itself and would remain the prime wartime heavy bomber. I don't blame Harris for wanting to stop production altogether. He needed a proven bomb lifter, and the Halifax, like the Stirling, had had its chance.