Ventura Training Crash at 34 OTU (AE728 Reg Cook, WAG)

[marvinneko]

THE FINISHED MODEL

WW2 training was dangerous but it's not commonly modelled or discussed. This is RCAF Ventura Mk.I, serial AE728 after it suffered a crash while landing at the end of a night flying training exercise. Its brakes failed and it swung off the runway, collapsing its starboard landing gear. Pilot Sgt. Baker could have escaped from the cockpit hatch, and my great uncle, P/O Reg Cook (Wireless Air Gunner) from the side door. 

 

 

THE BACK STORY

[Photo of Reg Cook J11618. Note his Wireless Air Gunner half wing. Family photo.]

 

William Reginald "Reg" Neil Cook was the son of a coal deliveryman. Born Jan 31, 1915 in the tiny southwestern town of Clinton, ON Canada, he loved music and wanted to "be somebody." Reg went to teachers' college and taught in the remote town of Dryden, ON.

 

RCAF TRAINING

[First class training on the Ventura. Reg is in the very middle. Courtesy Christian Larsen]

 

In 1941, after a year in the army ambulance corps, he switched to the RCAF, perhaps inspired by movies and posters. After wireless training in Winnipeg, and gunnery training in Mossbank, he received his commission to Pilot Officer (J11618) and was assigned to the first training course for the Ventura daylight bomber at 34 OTU in Pennfield.  They trained as operational crews comprising pilot, navigator, and wireless/air gunners.

 

In these early days, Pennfield had few Venturas ready to go. Even when they had planes, they had few flying days because of the East Coast weather. The daily diary for July showed they only got a quarter to a half of their expected hours of flying. When the skies were clear, men had to fly as much as possible, sometimes many times a day. When one crew landed, another might take the plane up again.

 

THE CRASH

In late August, there were many days of misty weather. The men were grounded and watched movies on base. They may have been thinking about the disastrous raid on Dieppe only days before when over 900 Canadians were killed. 

 

On the 24th, the weather cleared. Reg went up in Ventura AE879 for night flying as wireless air gunner. When they landed at 125am their tail wheel collapsed, causing serious damage to the plane. The very next day, Reg went up again, this time with student pilot Sgt. Albert Baker (GB1435654). Only a month before, Baker had tipped a Ventura onto its nose during landing. Baker flew four times on the 25th. During the last two, he and Reg flew together to practise night flying, first with dual controls and a staff pilot on AE931, and then solo on AE728.

 

[AE728 after its training crash. Photo courtesy of Andy Thomas]

 

AE728, construction number CN 37-4071 was a Mk. I Lockheed Ventura. Destined for overseas use, it was diverted to the RCAF for training. It lacked guns, turret or astrodome.  The RCAF version of the plane had nose windows and a clear nose dome.

 

[Crash report for AE728. Courtesy of Christian Larsen.]

 

On the last flight, Baker and Reg spent an hour night flying AE728. At 245am they came back for a landing. The brakes failed and they swung onto rough ground. The starboard landing gear collapsed and the prop and pitot tube were damaged. The tarp over the cockpit may indicate the escape hatch was used. The plane was sent for repairs but not used in training again.

 

THE KIT

[The partially-assembled & painted kit as I received it]

 

In March, 2023 I attended the HeritageCon model show in Hamilton, ON for the first time. I had a 1/48 Ventura kit that I was afraid to touch. I was hoping to find cheap kits to learn on. My wife found a partially built and painted 1/72 Academy/Minicraft Ventura for sale that I got for $5. 

 

THE BREAKDOWN

[The kit after dis-assembly and stripping... I went on to disassemble the wings as well, damaging their trailing edges]

 

I broke the model down using time in the freezer, soaking in isopropyl alcohol,  bleach, a qtip with acetone, and a little force. After much work, I had a stripped and somewhat damaged bunch of parts.

 

KEY POINTS OF THE BUILD

- cut the nose windows into the front and glazed with UV resin

- cut off the nose, vacuformed a new one using a 3d-mould, and added gun port covers with painted vinyl

- rounded engine nacelles under cooling vanes and cut vanes to make more prominent

- added other covers on the bottom, noticeable in photos

- covered wheel hubs

 

- bent props on the collapsed side

- added curtains to this side of the radio room as well

 

- vacformed a new canopy that featured bubbles in the pilot side and co-pilot roof to allow for better visibility

- cut escape hatch out of top

- converted cockpi to RAF style with a single seat, consoles and levers, and a side-mounted steering control

- added curtains to radio room window

 

- replaced df loop (fragile wire)

- scratchbuilt the cool "bat wing" Fowler flaps Venturas had

- cut out door, added dinghy bulge, and hinges to attach it in the open position. I ensured there were stringers and formers on the inside wall

- covered astrodome and gun turret holes

 

- collapsed / damaged landing gear

- bent the pitot tube

- added distributors to the engines

 

- cut and deflected the twin rudders

- cut and lowered the elevators

 

- made custom vinyl masks and painted the squadron code (FY*F), serial number (AE728), and national markings

- cut slots in leading edges of wings

 

- on the nose. "painted over" the factory constructor number with the green rectangle (CN was 4071)

 

FULL CIRCLE

One year later, I am returning to HeritageCon with my little $5 Ventura utterly transformed. I entered the competition, not expecting to win anything, but to force myself to complete the build and participate as a modeller rather than just a buyer and observer. This $5 kit was meant to be a learning experience to prepare me for the 1/48 Revell kit... so I took risks, messed up, fixed things, and spent 9 months getting it done. I hope to learn from my errors for my next projects. In the future, I hope to make other planes Reg would've flown in during his wireless training (Norseman, Tiger Moth) and gunnery training (Fairey Battle).

 

Edited March 25 by marvinneko

[Dunny]

David,

 

Great to see this finally finished. A wonderful personal connection and a pleasure to follow the WIP,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[ColinChipmunkfan]

Nice to have a model and a back story.  Are you going to put it in a diorama?

[AdrianMF]

Your WIP for this has been thoroughly absorbing and the finished model reflects all the care and skill that you have put into it. I'm looking forward to following your next project!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Nerazzurri]

2 hours ago, ColinChipmunkfan said:

Nice to have a model and a back story.  Are you going to put it in a diorama?

 

Lovely job on the Ventura.

 

I second this idea, would look great.

 

Gavin.

[Andrés S.]

I think that we modelers have largely forgotten that this hobby is nothing more than the miniature representation of a real object that had a particular story behind it and we limit ourselves to gluing together four pieces of plastic and painting them sometimes more and other times with less fortune. However, I love discovering the big or small story behind it. I loved the history of this plane, directly related to a relative of yours and you have also done a magnificent restoration job with this Ventura.

 

I can't help but congratulate you on your work and for making me have a pleasant time reading.

 

Andrés.

[zigster]

And now, you should put all of your :72 figures around to mumble about something as exciting as "bent plane in our base".

Great kit! 👍

zig

[elger]

this has been such a fantastic build to follow. congratulations on a beautiful result!

[bigbadbadge]

An epic build David, you have done an amazing job , especially considering what you started with , this is absolutely phenomenal and with a personal cconnection too.  Stunning model. 

Chris

 

[JWM]

Very nice results,

it is rare to see modeled airplane after crash or in general - with broken symmetry (like those in Cuatro Vientos museum painted on one side as Republican on another as Franco, or more frequently - with one wing in folded position and second one proudly spread) . This is something we are not use to see (and to do as well). Is it your first and last "crashed model" or do you have an idea for a bigger set?

Regards

J-W

  

[AliGauld]

A brilliant build and finish David.

Have fun at HeritageCon. I'm a bit envious about that bit.

 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Johnson]

Hi David,

 

A very personal piece of aviation history for you and a great result. Well done for persevering with your Ventura, she looks great. A pleasure to follow along!

 

Cheers,

 

Charlie

[CH-53D]

Having followed the "destruction" of the original form of the kit, and on through its conversion and reassembly, I have been very impressed with your work.  The family history that motivated this the build has also been very interesting.  Well done!

 

I, too, would love to see it on even a small diorama base.

 

Cheers

[Armorrich]

Absolutely amazing. A miniature monument of sorts. Extremely well done craftsmanship. Thanks for sharing your work and the story that goes with it. Priceless history preserved. 

 

Cheers...Rich 

[Wlad]

Wow David, this turned out great. And you added the aerials. It's a joy to see it completed, and thanks for the back story. Well done.

 

Cheers,
Wlad

[R T Fishall]

A superb result; the family history that inspired it and the effort, ingenuity, and research that has gone into this build really shines through.

Cheers, Richard.


 

[Mig88]

Superbly recovered and adapted. Great work and brilliant idea on the family connection. Well done!

 

Miguel

[MOK61]

Fantastic to see Ellen finished, David.

 

You don't need me to tell you, but I'm going to anyway, that your WIP posts have been an inspiration. 

 

Thank you.

 

Murray

[marvinneko]

20 hours ago, Dunny said:

David,

 

Great to see this finally finished. A wonderful personal connection and a pleasure to follow the WIP,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

 

Thanks Roger. Feels good to have it done  

 

20 hours ago, ColinChipmunkfan said:

Nice to have a model and a back story.  Are you going to put it in a diorama?

 

Thanks Colin.  I would love to have it in a diorama. I was thinking people at the show probably had no clue what it represented and probably didn't read the description 😛 

 

19 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Your WIP for this has been thoroughly absorbing and the finished model reflects all the care and skill that you have put into it. I'm looking forward to following your next project!

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

Thanks Adrian. Your builds are always an inspiration of persistence and ingenuity. I'll be plumbing them for ideas on various byilds down the line.

 

17 hours ago, Nerazzurri said:

 

Lovely job on the Ventura.

 

I second this idea, would look great.

 

Gavin.

 

Thanks Gavin! I need to develop some diorama skills pronto  A base, some tufts of grass....some angry aircrew....

 

17 hours ago, Andrés S. said:

I think that we modelers have largely forgotten that this hobby is nothing more than the miniature representation of a real object that had a particular story behind it and we limit ourselves to gluing together four pieces of plastic and painting them sometimes more and other times with less fortune. However, I love discovering the big or small story behind it. I loved the history of this plane, directly related to a relative of yours and you have also done a magnificent restoration job with this Ventura.

 

I can't help but congratulate you on your work and for making me have a pleasant time reading.

 

Andrés.

 

So true, Andrés! Many thanks. There are stories everywhere when we look for them. Glad you enjoyed getting to know this moment I tried to capture  

 

16 hours ago, zigster said:

And now, you should put all of your :72 figures around to mumble about something as exciting as "bent plane in our base".

Great kit! 👍

zig

 

Yes... definitely need people. I want a pilot escaping the cockpit hatch, a WAG escaping the door. Potentially the rescue crew coming in...

 

16 hours ago, elger said:

this has been such a fantastic build to follow. congratulations on a beautiful result!

 

Thanks Elger. Hope you and your cat enjoyed the bits of drama 🙃

 

15 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

An epic build David, you have done an amazing job , especially considering what you started with , this is absolutely phenomenal and with a personal cconnection too.  Stunning model. 

Chris

 

 

Thank-you Chris. I often think about your brush painting skills and keep thinking I need to spend more time developing thise aesthetic skills!

 

14 hours ago, JWM said:

Very nice results,

it is rare to see modeled airplane after crash or in general - with broken symmetry (like those in Cuatro Vientos museum painted on one side as Republican on another as Franco, or more frequently - with one wing in folded position and second one proudly spread) . This is something we are not use to see (and to do as well). Is it your first and last "crashed model" or do you have an idea for a bigger set?

Regards

J-W

  

 

Thanks J-W. Thanks also for mentioning broken symmetry... I will look more into this! I have two other crash WIPs, one for a Hurricane (finished) and another for a P39 (started)

 

 

 

13 hours ago, AliGauld said:

A brilliant build and finish David.

Have fun at HeritageCon. I'm a bit envious about that bit.

 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

 

Thanks Alistair! I am amazed at your productivity. I am a real sluggo 😛  HeritageCon was great... but isn't Telford a huge show closer to you?

 

12 hours ago, Johnson said:

Hi David,

 

A very personal piece of aviation history for you and a great result. Well done for persevering with your Ventura, she looks great. A pleasure to follow along!

 

Cheers,

 

Charlie

 

Thanks Charlie. Glad you enjoyed the drama  . I had some meltdown moments including breaking the aerials a few times, but managed to recover  

 

11 hours ago, CH-53D said:

Having followed the "destruction" of the original form of the kit, and on through its conversion and reassembly, I have been very impressed with your work.  The family history that motivated this the build has also been very interesting.  Well done!

 

I, too, would love to see it on even a small diorama base.

 

Cheers

 

Thanks Rory. Yes, I really must get some diorama materials together. There is a diorama groupbuild planned and I was thinking to do it then with this readymade plane...

 

11 hours ago, Armorrich said:

Absolutely amazing. A miniature monument of sorts. Extremely well done craftsmanship. Thanks for sharing your work and the story that goes with it. Priceless history preserved. 

 

Cheers...Rich 

 

Thank-you Rich. Yes, a monument, exactly. His gravestone is already worn away and his family doesn't know much about him. But I figured the model and the WIP and RFI online and Google indexing it all would create kind of realword+virtual monument.

8 hours ago, Wlad said:

Wow David, this turned out great. And you added the aerials. It's a joy to see it completed, and thanks for the back story. Well done.

 

Cheers,
Wlad

 

Thanks Wlad. Yup... got the aerials on (and snapped them twice!) It really is  ice to have it done and have you share in it   I'm watching your Corsair come together!

 

3 hours ago, R T Fishall said:

A superb result; the family history that inspired it and the effort, ingenuity, and research that has gone into this build really shines through.

Cheers, Richard.

 

Thanks Richard. I do go overboard with the research   but it creates the energy to drive the nutty project to completion

 

2 hours ago, Mig88 said:

Superbly recovered and adapted. Great work and brilliant idea on the family connection. Well done!

 

Miguel

 

Thank-you Miguel! So many family stories for us to discover... often stories our family doesn't know about itself. I look forward to sharing more about Reg Cook and the planes he flew in

 

44 minutes ago, MOK61 said:

Fantastic to see Ellen finished, David.

 

You don't need me to tell you, but I'm going to anyway, that your WIP posts have been an inspiration. 

 

Thank you.

 

Murray

 

Murray, of course I need you to tell me  Many thanks to you for those kind comments! That Stirling is getting closer to the finish line, too. It feels great to finish, even when something is imperfect. I did obsess about errors last night, but got over it 😛 by sealing the "completed" model in a box!

 

 

[RET]

Fascinating story of a local fellow - loved following the build history and thankful I got to see it up close today!

 

All the best - Rob

[AliGauld]

7 hours ago, marvinneko said:

but isn't Telford a huge show closer to you?

 

It is a tad closer but isn't held in a museum with a Lancaster .

 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[stevehnz]

A great looking result on this. Unsurprising given the fastidious approach your WiP showed us so well. 👍

Steve.

[YorkshireT]

A labour of love with a great result. Very interesting story. Thanks for sharing.

[marvinneko]

On 24/03/2024 at 22:09, RET said:

Fascinating story of a local fellow - loved following the build history and thankful I got to see it up close today!

 

All the best - Rob

 

Thanks Rob. I may take a crack at fixing up some problems on it, plopping it into a diorama, and taking it to another show in a new category 

 

10 hours ago, stevehnz said:

A great looking result on this. Unsurprising given the fastidious approach your WiP showed us so well. 👍

Steve.

 

Thank-you Steve! "Fastidious" is a kind word... I tend to think of myself as "seduced" by details 😛 

 

9 hours ago, YorkshireT said:

A labour of love with a great result. Very interesting story. Thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks YorkshireT. Glad you enjoyed the story. You've been quite productive since joining in November! Hope to see more from you.

[RET]

Yes - I like the idea of a diorama with the story involved - very compelling!