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A No.514 Squadron Spitfire PR.XIX - s/n RM637. ****My Last Project of 2022 is FINISHED****


mark.au

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I've long wanted to get around to modelling RM637, ever since I did my PR.X as an RAF No.541 Squadron in "Alone Above All".  In researching for that piece, I came across the story of how F/L R.F.C. Garvey's won a Bar to his DFC in RM637 and knew I would have to add his aircraft to it.  

 

On the 6th of October, 1944 F/L Garvey was photographing Job 773 - Westkapelle Dyke and near Koblenz at only 6500' was at the same time faced with heavy anti aircraft fire.  The flak was fortunately inaccurate but after completing his second run he saw two Fw190s above and to the southwest of his position. F/L Garvey immediately opened up his unarmed PR Spitfire's throttle in a climbing turn to the west in an attempt to outrun them. As he made the turn however, he noticed some form of vapour trail from the leading Fw190 which he assumed to indicate methanol injection was being used to boost its power. Indeed, the enemy aircraft was able to close the range to only 700yds, opening fire as he did so. Garvey immediately pushed his Spitfire over into a tight spiralling dive down to zero feet in a desperate evasive manoeuvre but at least one of the Fw190s was able to pursue him downwards. Now flying at zero feet and with throttle still wide open, Garvey pulled another steep turn which again the pursuing enemy aircraft attempted to follow. Part way through that turn however, Garvey needed to evade some trees and while he was able to pull his Spitfire up and over them, the enemy aircraft did not, exploding as it crashed into them. The other enemy aircraft had not followed and was nowhere to be seen so Garvey set course for home. For this remarkable feat of airmanship in downing an enemy aircraft by superior flying skills alone, F/L R.F.C. Garvey was awarded a Bar to his D.F.C..  The events of that day were recorded in the Squadron Record of Operations thus...

 

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If that weren't enough reason to build RM627, the following day Garvey was in the thick of it again, in the same aircraft.  His mission that day was to take low-level oblique photographs of the barrage on the Rhine River at Kembs, near Mulhouse in Germany, prior to a planned attack by No. 617 Squadron RAF on the night of 7th October 1944. This is the image he captured that day.

 

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Copyright: © IWM

 

Remarkably, shortly before taking this image his aircraft had been hit in the tail by flak which jammed its elevators for a short time.  He was eventually able to free some movement by "extreme pressure on the stick" and for the trip home "was able to control the aircraft's attitude by throttle," though it flew tail down for the remainder of the sortie. With ultimate professional pride, his report expressed regret this meant the images "would show a slant".

 

 

 

So, here's another entry in the unofficial PR Spitfire GB, which is my third Spitfire this year.  The last one welcomes the new one to the bench...

 

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Work on this one begins tomorrow.

 

Cheers.

 

 

 

Edited by mark.au
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Looking forward to this one! I built an aircraft like this from the Airfix kit a while back. Photos are no longer available because they were on Photobucket, but perhaps some of my research will help you:

 

With the exception of the propeller (if I recall correctly) from the box this kit builds into a type 390 - the actual, proper PR.XIX. I'm interested in building one of the early PR.XIXs, which were sort of rushed into production, officially designated the type 389. Ted Hooton describes these as a "panic conversion" based on F.XIV fighter airframes. Supermarine built 22 type 389s in April and May 1944. The first operational sortie with a XIX was on May 24th, 1944

 

The main difference between the 389 and 390 was that the latter was pressurized. For modeling purposes, this means a few modifications to the Airfix kit: On the exterior, the air scoop on the nose on the left hand side needs to be removed. 389 aircraft also had the cockpit side door. The 389 had 4-spoke wheels, and fishtail exhausts. Since the cockpit wasn't pressurized, the aft bulkhead was also standard, not a closed off bulkhead. To make these changes, starting with the cockpit interior, I've cannibalized an Eduard Spitfire IX overtrees kit I have in my stash for some parts. I'm using the Eduard seat and the aft bulkhead which fits the Airfix kit perfectly (I just had to cut off a little from the bottom to make the shelf with the oxygen tanks fit).

 

I left off any parts that are connected to the pressurization system. I wasn't sure about the temperature gauges fitted to each side of the cockpit sidewalls so I did install those.

 

Some emergency plastic surgery was needed at the rear section of the canopy. As I'm backdating the 390 to the 389 I discovered a bit too late that the rear section of the canopy is like the standard fighter version. I can use the clear part from another kit without any major fit issues, except that the fuselage sides have to be built up. That's what's going on in this photo: I've glued a piece of plastic as a strip on top of the sides, and I've covered it with plastic putty. When this is dry, it can be sanded and hopefully everything will just blend in.

 

Here's a photo of my completed model; I am now doubting about the armor plate configuration (doubting if it should have any) but that should be a fun thing to figure out.

 

xPyPuvp.jpg

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Looking forward very much to this one Mark. Fascinating story. Must've been a disturbing situation to be caught by a 190 while flying such a fast and powerful spit. Perhaps it was in Clostermann's autobiography that I read the higher gear of the IXs supercharger would kick in and leave 190s for dust above a certain height, I guess rather higher that 9000ft. I guess the two stage griffon was similar? I wonder if the 190 was a dora? (Sorry wild random questions coming from a place of no actual knowledge!)

 

I'll see if I can get these last two builds squared away soon and then perhaps I'll join this GB if I may?

 

Andy

 

 

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Thank you all for the info and encouragement.  I've already learned something - I didn't know about the type 389 and 390.  Many thanks to @elger for the notes on the required changes to the Airfix kit.  I assume the windscreen was a PR windscreen though and not the original fighter spec Mk.XIV windscreen.

 

My PR.XIX will be modelled as as it was in early October 1944, specifically as it was on the morning of 7 October before leaving on the job in which it was damaged.  It will have painted-over stripes on the topsides but the underside probably still wore its stripes as the Squadron's Summary of Operations for October 1944 states the underside stripes were painted over during October.  It will be weathered as a machine that had been in frequent use since mid June.  The original PR blue paint will have begun to go chalky while the areas of painted-over stripes will be fresher, though not much as the upper stripes were covered in July.

 

I'm likely going to have to take a punt on the ID letter it wore; perhaps I'll go with "G" for Garvey.

 

15 hours ago, Ngantek said:

Looking forward very much to this one Mark. Fascinating story. Must've been a disturbing situation to be caught by a 190 while flying such a fast and powerful spit. Perhaps it was in Clostermann's autobiography that I read the higher gear of the IXs supercharger would kick in and leave 190s for dust above a certain height, I guess rather higher that 9000ft. I guess the two stage griffon was similar? I wonder if the 190 was a dora? (Sorry wild random questions coming from a place of no actual knowledge!)

 

I'll see if I can get these last two builds squared away soon and then perhaps I'll join this GB if I may?

 

Andy

 

You most certainly may join in, it's practically a requirement!  

I suppose it's possible the 190's were Doras; they only way to make an educated guess would be to research the Luftwaffe squadrons based in the area at the time and what they flew.  If indeed they were fast enough to catch a PR.XIX then it leans heavily towards a Dora, doesn't it?

 

15 hours ago, Fritag said:

Looking forward to another history and and modelling lesson, Mark.  

 

15 hours ago, Winded Penguin said:

This

 

14 hours ago, AliGauld said:

As has been said for the history as much as the skill shown in the build.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

 

Indeed, the stories are the best bit.  As Chris says...

 

12 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Very brave pilots. 

 

...which was the inspiration for this particular piece on my site.

 

Cheers.

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Mark,

 

Crikey - you are on a Spit run! I think I may have one more in me this year (a Mk.IIa), but will certainly look forward to this one!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

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What a fantastic subject - I just love that line in the Combat Report: "PR unarmed Spit XIX claims one FW 190 Destroyed"! I wonder if his claim was confirmed? (You can just picture a kill marking on a PR Spit!) What incredible flying - F/L Garvey deserved his Bar.

 

Looking forward to following this build!

 

All the best,

Mark

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Excellent Mark, another Spitfire build to follow! One of my favourites too (OK, they're all great).

 

Like @elger I built RM643/Z, but mine was the 1/72 Airfix kit. I found this thread useful at the time;

 

Cheers,

 

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On 22/11/2022 at 10:44, elger said:

The main difference between the 389 and 390 was that the latter was pressurized. For modeling purposes, this means a few modifications to the Airfix kit: On the exterior, the air scoop on the nose on the left hand side needs to be removed. 389 aircraft also had the cockpit side door. The 389 had 4-spoke wheels, and fishtail exhausts.

Thanks for that information elger,  I knew about the the un-pressurized 389 version, but I wasn't sure what type of exhausts and wheels it had. :like:

Here is a photo I took of the BBMF Spitfire PRXIX PM631 at RAF Leeming back in July 2011 when I worked there.

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The Spitfire had been on display at Blackpool, during the return flight to RAF Coningsby the aircraft developed a control problem, down below was Leeming's nice long runway, so even though the airfield was closed he landed and sought assistance from the duty crew, luckily, I had my camera with me.  :winkgrin:

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19 hours ago, Dunny said:

Mark,

 

Crikey - you are on a Spit run! I think I may have one more in me this year (a Mk.IIa), but will certainly look forward to this one!

 

 

A Mk.IIa can be a PR you know, it would be a PR.B I believe.  Just sayin'...

 

12 hours ago, 2996 Victor said:

What a fantastic subject - I just love that line in the Combat Report: "PR unarmed Spit XIX claims one FW 190 Destroyed"! I wonder if his claim was confirmed? (You can just picture a kill marking on a PR Spit!) What incredible flying - F/L Garvey deserved his Bar.

 

 

The claim was at least officially accepted. If only there was a pic, a kill mark on a PR Spit - surely they would have put one on???

 

10 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

I have to sit in and watch this one Mark as your Spitfire builds are compelling viewing.

 

Terry

 

Very kind of you to say so, Terry.

 

10 hours ago, Johnson said:

Excellent Mark, another Spitfire build to follow! One of my favourites too (OK, they're all great).

 

Like @elger I built RM643/Z, but mine was the 1/72 Airfix kit. I found this thread useful at the time;

 

Cheers,

 

 

Thanks for that info, there's such a huge amount of knowledge on BM, isn't there?

 

10 hours ago, Paulaero said:

What a fascinating story, love it when the build can relate to real life, would make a cracking diorama......

 

One day I'll do a PR.XI which repeatedly out-manoeuvred two Me163's over Hamburg and still brought the required pics home.

 

7 hours ago, Retired Bob said:

The Spitfire had been on display at Blackpool, during the return flight to RAF Coningsby the aircraft developed a control problem, down below was Leeming's nice long runway, so even though the airfield was closed he landed and sought assistance from the duty crew, luckily, I had my camera with me.  :winkgrin:

 

Oh, sometimes luck just works, doesn't it!?  Lovely pictures, what a treat to get that close.

 

 

Ok, so some progress to report.  First, a rummage around the spares box elicited the bits and pieces I need to convert this Airfix Type 390 into a 389.

 

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I have no idea when/why I bought the wheels but there they were.  The fishtail exhausts came from the KMC conversion kit I used on the Academy Mk.XIV the other month.  The one piece canopy is from an Eduard Mk.IX kit - I'm going with canopy closed on this one as it'll make the required adjustments to the canopy and rear glass easier (I'm not completely sure that a Mk.IX glass is correct though, anyone know?).  The frame also comes from the Eduard kit as it is apparently not required.  

 

As the 390 isn't pressurised, the frame at the back of the cockpit is open.  I had to make the Eduard frame fit.

 

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It seemed a straight forward task, cut the top off the Eduard frame and splice on the Airfix.

 

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The initial attachment was pretty ham-fisted.

 

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After clean up and drilling some holes it looked ok; I glued it in the fuselage half to fix its position for the rest of the internals' assembly.

 

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More will be required in that area because of the differing canopy styles between the 389 and 390.  I taped up the fuselage and checked the potential fit of the Eduard canopy.

 

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As it happens, the join to the windscreen is practically perfect (though obvs. not shown here).  The canopy is a little high though, but I think I can work around much of that with a little sanding on the bottom edge of the canopy and slightly reducing the height of the fuselage sill itself (though I can't go too far on that as it will negatively effect how it lines up with the windscreen).  Then, all that I need to do is build up under the rear canopy and shim the fuselage forward to meet it, and blend as needed.  However, this is what gives me pause on the canopy size - it's a fair bit to shim and I'm worries that I should actually approaching this a different way.  Any and all input gratefully received on that.

 

I've not ruled out an open canopy, and haven't gone so far that I couldn't do it - the hardest part of that would be creating the door internal detail.  Finally, note also that I've scribed the access door and filled the tiny sink marks.  I also removed all the pressurised cockpit rail hardware on the outside.

 

I also slapped some glue around the rest of the cockpit parts.

 

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As the canopy is closed (current plan at least) I need only make sure the colours are right, and in the right place.  There's no cockpit finesse required on this one.

 

Not pictured but actually completed is the base coat painting for the cockpit too.  I'm on a roll 😉

 

Cheers.

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On 11/23/2022 at 3:00 AM, mark.au said:

I assume the windscreen was a PR windscreen though and not the original fighter spec Mk.XIV windscreen.

 

Worth noting that a type 389 would have had a PR XI type windscreen with a flat front (but still no framing), while the 390s had a new rounded windscreen. 

 

Justin

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5 hours ago, Bedders said:

Worth noting that a type 389 would have had a PR XI type windscreen with a flat front (but still no framing), while the 390s had a new rounded windscreen. 

 

Justin

 

Definitely worth noting!  Thanks, as it happens I have a suitable windscreen which will need a little sanding and polishing to be correct.

 

 

Considering I don't like cockpits, and I'm not planning on an open cockpit for this one, I seem to have spent an inordinate amount of time on this one...  Anyway, it's done, I'll call it practice.

 

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Just about none of that will be seen again once I button everything up.

 

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I have continued the finagling on the rear canopy fit.  

 

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I have changed tack a little and instead of a one piece I'm going to assemble the three glass pieces to make the set.  The first task was to measure the gap I needed to fill.  This was simply done by taping it in place and measuring.  It's about 2mm.

 

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After attaching it and blending the join with some sprue-goo it's almost there.

 

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After this last pic was taken, I found a slightly different sized glass piece which fit a little more closely.  I've still got a little fine tuning to do but I'm please with how it's shaping up.

 

My next task is to close up the fuselage, then I can attach the clear parts and wings (which I've already assembled and pre-shaded - gotta do something while I was thinking about the glass problem...).

 

Cheers.

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Not really relevant to your build thread but I was watching one of these Airfix kits on EBay, bidding finished at £41.00 plus post. These newer Airfix kits are really very nice but nearly £45.00 delivered seems awfully expensive or am I missing something.

Your build is coming on nicely.

 

Richard

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1 hour ago, Richard S said:

Not really relevant to your build thread but I was watching one of these Airfix kits on EBay, bidding finished at £41.00 plus post. These newer Airfix kits are really very nice but nearly £45.00 delivered seems awfully expensive or am I missing something.

Your build is coming on nicely.

 

Richard


Thanks.  I don’t think you’re missing anything except at any given time and place something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

 

 

Edited by mark.au
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How did I miss this one? “PR unarmed Spit XIX claims one FW 190 Destroyed.” Wow.

 

2 hours ago, Richard S said:

Not really relevant to your build thread but I was watching one of these Airfix kits on EBay, bidding finished at £41.00 plus post. These newer Airfix kits are really very nice but nearly £45.00 delivered seems awfully expensive or am I missing something.


People seem to be asking, and often getting, silly money for these OOP 1/48 Spitfires from Airfix - I’m thinking this PR XIX and the Seafire XVII and 46/47. When I got back into the Spits I saw this and thought these kits wouldn’t be finding their way into my stash anytime soon, but a bit of canny shopping around got me the two Seafires for £20 off of Faceache Marketplace and the PR XIX I got by putting a post on the “Wanted” thread on this very forum - £25 posted. @mark.au nails it though. They’re kind of rare and if somebody has that kind of money… (I loved it when Eduard put out a whistles and bells boxing of Hasegawa’s 1/72 B-25 and instantly shafted all those eBayers asking £50 or more! Airfix could do worse than reissue some of these….)

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7 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

How did I miss this one? “PR unarmed Spit XIX claims one FW 190 Destroyed.” Wow.

 

You're forgiven 🙂

 

 

Addendum to my earlier post.

 

Here's the current mock-up of the windscreen/canopy.  I'm not totally convinced but it seems to tick almost all of the boxes.  Both seem just a tad over sized though.  Am I overthink this one?

 

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I think I can trim/sand the windscreen's bottom edge to get it to blend more closely with the fuselage contours.  I'm not sure what kit these came from but the detail is quite soft.  I have better quality spare parts I could use but not the right shape, particularly the windscreen.

 

Cheers.

 

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The windscreen does look a bit chunky but I see what you mean about it having the right shape. Could it be from an early mk.I Spitfire kit?

 

Does this link work for you? This is a PR.IV windscreen posted by the folks restoring Spitfire AA810 on their Facebook page:
 

https://www.facebook.com/SpitfireAA810/photos/pb.100063595990930.-2207520000./3081306885426361/?type=3

 

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