Japanese Seversky 'Convoy Fighter'

[Old Man]

The Seversky SVA-2PA 'convoy fighter' was the only U.S. manufactured war-plane to see combat service under Imperial Japanese auspices, twenty being purchased by the Imperial Japanese Navy, which designated the type A8V-1.

The design was a close relative of the Seversky P-35, and closed a circle, in a

manner of speaking, as the original prototype Seversky built for the U.S.A.A.C. pursuit competition in 1935 was a two-seat machine. The two-seat 'convoy fighter' closely resembled the single-seat P-35, but was slightly longer, to allow for the rear-seat crewman, and had a greater wing-span to support the increased weight.

When the I.J.N. commenced aerial operations against Nationalist China in August of 1937, they ran into considerable difficulties conducting long range bombing strikes, as their fighters lacked the range of their medium bombers, and Chinese fighters inflicted severe casualties when the medium bombers operated without escort. The flamboyant Maj. Seversky's emphasis on the range of his fighter designs (from nine hundred to eleven hundred miles) suggested them to the I.J.N. air staff as a possible 'off the shelf' solution for their escort problem.

The purchase was handled in a clandestine manner, not only owing to restrictions of the U.S. Neutrality Act, but to the unpopularity of Imperial Japan's attack on China in the United States. The purchaser of record was the Aircraft Trading Corporation, a shell corporation with a Broadway address in New York. The aircraft were built between April and August of 1938, and delivered shortly thereafter.

Late in October it was discovered that these aircraft were loaded on a Pacific

freighter bound for Japan. With what could be described, without too much of a stretch, as first-line U.S. Army Air Corps equipment en route to an unpopular foreign power under suspicious circumstances, something of a scandal erupted. Maj. Seversky denied any knowledge the 'convoy fighters' were intended for Japanese use; Mr. Miller of the Aircraft Trading Corporation denied being in the business of exporting airplanes, and would not reveal who he had sold the airplanes on to to inquiring reporters. The whole incident put Maj. Seversky solidly in the ill graces of the U.S. government, and within a year he had been ousted from his company, which became Republic Aviation.

The Seversky fighters were assigned to the 12th Kokutai, based at Nanking, near the end of 1938 or the start of 1939. Soon after their entry into service, the Navy decided the Seversky machines were not suitable fighters after all, lacking the manouverability I.J.N. fighter tactics were based upon. Difficulties with maintainance of the 'wet wing' fuel tanks (the key to the type's long range), and the improbability of acquiring spare parts, let alone new aircraft of the type, probably played some role as well. De-rated from fighter duties, the A8V-1 aircraft were used as reconnaisance machines. They were gone from front-line service by early 1940; several were sold to a leading Japanese newspaper, the Asahai Shinbun, as fast courier aircraft.

This is my first resin kit, and I found it a very enjoyable build. There is a hand-made quality about the thing that, as a scratch-builder, I found very engaging.

The trickiest part was closing the fuselage: I do not know if this is usual or not for resin kits, but the fuselage halves had to be glued portion by portion, and pushed and pinched to match in each step. Once this was done, however, there was very little seam-work necessary, and the parts matched together well. The plan-form of the wings does not quite match, and a little filing to adjust this is indicated. I get the feeling the canopy was a little too wide, or perhaps I just lost my nerve in trimming it. However, either the canopy is a bit too long or the vertical fin is too broad, or both, because as the pieces stand, they cannot both be attached without interfering with each other. I sanded back the leading edge of the fin, and filed back a bit of the rear of the canopy. I made my own hydraulic members for the undercarriage, and pitot tube, rather than employ the photo-etch of the kit. The interior is very nice, but gives the rear-seat man the same seat as the pilot, which I doubt is right; I substituted a stool. The machine-gun provided for the rear man is very much oversized, and I worked a drum-less Lewis from the spares box into something usable.

None of this should be taken as indicating I found this a bad kit. I liked it very much, and suspect I may have gotten lucky in selecting it for my rookie effort in the medium.

The finish is kitchen foil. Some pieces were aged by boiling with egg-shells, some by steeping in bleach with lead and copper. The kit I got was a boxing for a camouflaged example, so I had to improvise the service markings: the alpha-numerics and theater band came from a Fujimi Type 96 Carrier Fighter kit.

[Aggressor Supporter]

Never seen this plane before. Excellent realistic finish on it and the nice display base sir! :)

[HOLMES]

Totally AWESOME..and LOVE the finish.

Like the Diorama display

[JackMan]

Awesome built but more than that, I really enjoyed reading the clandestine history of this aircraft. Thanks for writing all that. Very interesting :wacko:

[gearheadrandy]

This is the first time I have ever written or spoken these words:

Nice Dick! :wacko:

[Old Man]

Never seen this plane before. Excellent realistic finish on it and the nice display base sir! :)

Thank you, Sir. It is a fairly obscure beastie. You may have heard of its U.S. incarnation, the AT-12 Guardsman: Sweden ordered something like fifty of them, but the order was commandeered by the War Department before more than three had been delivered.

[Old Man]

Awesome built but more than that, I really enjoyed reading the clandestine history of this aircraft. Thanks for writing all that. Very interesting :)

Thank you, Sir! Glad you liked it, and found it informative. I like to have a bit of a story behind a model, and this one is a corker.

[Old Man]

This is the first time I have ever written or spoken these words:

Nice Dick! :)

When trying to find more information about the kit, when I had just learned it existed, in all innocence I typed 'Kora Models Dick' into the Google box....

[Old Man]

Totally AWESOME..and LOVE the finish.

Like the Diorama display

:)

Thank you, Sir!

I am firmly in the 'nothing but metal looks like metal' camp. Foiling is easier than people seem to think: tedious, yes, but not hard.