A P-40 in Egypt and a mis-spelt Australian

[Mark Harmsworth]

 

Pilot Officer Robert 'Butch' Jeffries of the RAAF was posted to RAF 112 Squadron, from the Middle East Pool, on 30th August 1941. 112 sqn was then in Egypt in the process of converting to Curtis Tomahawks from their Gloster Gladiators which they had flown in Greece.

 

July had seen many of the Tomahawks arriving and their last two Gladiators being flown away. Two US pilots and four 'others' arrived at the beginning of the month to 'give technical and flying advice'. Official permission was received to convert to the Tomahawks on the 8th August and that started the next day. The first Tomahawk crashed and had to be returned to the Maintenance Unit but fortunately the pilot was not hurt and this didn't turn out to be an omen for the future.

 

P.O. Jeffries first operational sortie in a Tomahawk then was for a 'local protective patrol' on 14th September 1941 and over the next three months he flew 65 sorties in 15 different planes although over half of those were in AK541.

 

September itself was relatively quiet for the squadron, with the sorties being mostly uneventful patrols, although on three occasions planes were dispatched on interceptions only to find Blenheims. Squadron records state “someone will catch it one of these days” - fortunately it seems they didn't.

 

October was similar although on the 12th 10 Tomahawks on an army protection patrol 'ran into' 10 Fiat G.50s and 15 Bf109s. Three enemy aircraft were shot down with P/O Jeffries accounting for a Bf109F.

 

November brought an increase in activity with bomber escorts, fighter sweeps, cover for advancing tanks and ground straffing. On the 20th a Fighter Sweep surprised 6 Bf110s with predicable results: 2 destroyed, 1 probable and two damaged. P/O Jeffries engaged and damaged one of the Bf110s but his plane was 'severely hit' - however he 'brought it home and landed succesfully'. This was Tomahawk IIB s/n AN413 which he was to fly twice more.

 

AN413 had previously been the regular mount of P.O. Bartle (also from the RAAF) with P.O. Duke (yes, that one) recorded as having two sorties – both on 19th November. Following the damage on the 20th November AN413 next appears in squadron records on 12th December. A period of repair perhaps.

 

December started in a similar fashion with fighter sweeps and patrols. On the 9th a Wing fighter sweep with 3 squadron was lead by Wing Commander Jefferies (similar surname – but with the extra 'e')

 

12th December 1941 was to be a fateful day. At 07.40 P.O. Jeffries took off in AN413 again for a patrol, landing two hours later. At 11.00 AN413 was piloted by Sgt William E. Houston of the RNZAF on an interception – this was uneventful and he landed again twenty minutes later.

 

Mid afternoon on the 12th Wing Commander Jefferies was again leading a wing fighter sweep with 3 sqn which 'ran into' a large enemy formation of Bf109s and Macchi 202s. P.O. Jeffries was piloting AN413 and Sgt Houston AK457.

 

Squadron records refer to this action as “our first serious reverse”. P.O. Jeffries and Sgt Houston didn't return. They were reported missing with their names recorded on the Alamein Memorial.

 

Throughout his short time with the squadron P/O. Jeffries is referred to in the records as “Jefferies” (with that extra 'e'). I found that rather sad.

 

============

 

This is the Trumpeter 1:48 P40B Warhawk / Tomahawk IIA which might be described as classic Trumpeter in that there are a number of oddities to either deal with or ignore.

 

AN413 is one of two decal options in the kit but was a Tomahawk IIB. Fortunately the IIB was externally almost identical to the IIA so this was an 'ignore'.

 

The most obvious issue is the undersized cockpit sidewalls, seat and instrument panel which are all about 2/3rds the size they should be. I understand from some reviews that this is an issue brought forward from their 1:32 scale P40. So I purchased a cockpit set from Aires - this picture shows the issue clearly.

 

 

The instrument panel is also transparent - which should be a good thing - but the dial faces are holes. And there's no decal for the instruments. That's all a bit bizare even for Trumpeter. The Aires set includes a nice replacement.

 

 

Some of the external fuselage panels are shown as (very) raised so I reduced those down a lot. The kit does not include the RAF aerial (for the mid rear fuselage) so I had a go at producing one. It's a bit over scale but at least it's there. The pitot tube is probably wrong for an RAF plane but I've ignored that.

 

Trumpeter's instructions for AN413 show dark green / dark earth over sky but that would probably have been as delivered to the Maintenance Units where there would have been a re-paint in the desert scheme prior to delivery. Strangely the box art has that right.

 

The decals are from Cartograph but I thought the red in the roundels and fin flash too bright (rather like pre / early war) so I used xtradecals for those. AN413 is often described as having the outline of a kangaroo with the word 'Nan' below the cockpit. Both are shown on the box art but the decal sheet does not provide 'Nan' which is a shame.

 

The kit is provided with the individual 'K' but without the squadron codes of 'GA'. My interpretation is that showing this plane without the squadron codes could place it before the damage taken in the combat of 20th November.

 

Paints are Xtracrylics over Ultimate primer with some chalk pastels for the exhaust stain and a bit of muck on the wheels. I've made a mistake with the colour of the main wheel outer hubs as the gear folded up to show the inner wheel hubs (not the outer as I first thought) – so these may have been blue instead. A job for later. Maybe.

 

All the best

Mark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HansReggelsen]

It's a P-40 - with a sharkmouth🐬 - and a well built P-40 at that!  What's not to like - I do! 

 

Cheers 

Hans J

[Spitfire31]

This could serve as a template for a really good post: Excellent model, interesting (if sad) background story, some insight notes in the actual build.

 

Very enjoyable and inspiring!

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

[thorfinn]

On 10/3/2021 at 12:18 PM, HansReggelsen said:

It's a P-40 - with a sharkmouth🐬 - and a well built P-40 at that!  What's not to like - I do! 

 

Cheers 

Hans J

I concur wholeheartedly with my colleague. Excellent result!

[Roberto]

It’s always nice to see a well done P-40! Bravo.

[jackroadkill]

Firstly, that's a very well presented model.  It looks fabulous and seems to play to your style of finishing.  Secondly, the story of the pilot is extremely emotive and very eloquently written.  I always feel a responsibility to discover the fate of the crew; after all, after what they endured and sacrificed I feel it's the least I can do.  A very thoughtful and evocative write up - thanks for sharing it with us.

[corsaircorp]

Nice and tidy P-40 Mark !!

Also thanks for the historic background

And last but not least, thanks for the tip about the diminutive cockpit !!

Congratulations !!

Sincerely.

CC

[Wulfman]

Excellent build and finish, but shouldn’t the background to the serial be green ?

 

Wulfman

[Mark Harmsworth]

4 hours ago, Wulfman said:

shouldn’t the background to the serial be green ?

You are probably right but that background is the decal. Viewed up close it looks like a representation of bare metal.

 

Another Trumpeter 'ignore' as I didn't have the energy to create a new background area and fit individual  decal serials.