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Edgar

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About Edgar

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  • Birthday 10/08/1940

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  1. Don't believe everything you read; the Mk.XII prototype DP845 was converted from the Mk.IV prototype.
  2. It seems likely that it was all done "ad hoc," since the serials are not 100% consecutive. The EN serials came from the same series as the Mk.IX, so fixed tail wheel, while MB serials were from the Mk.VIII series, so had retractable wheels.
  3. I've no idea where that came from, but it's a complete nonsense; Mk.II production ceased 25-7-41, and all serials were in the PXXXX range, while the first XII wasn't built until October 1942. The Mk.II was produced at Castle Bromwich, with only the "A" or "B" wing, while the XII was built by Supermarine, had the "universal" wing first seen on the production Vc, and had a fully flush-riveted fuselage. There was a need for a low-altitude Spitfire, to counter low-level Luftwaffe attacks, but a shortage of low-altitude Merlins dictated the use of a low-level Griffon. Two Squadrons were felt to
  4. Actually, no, that's not true; the Defiant II had the Merlin XX, with a two-SPEED supercharger, in place of the Merlin III, and, like the Hurricane II versus the Mk.I, the fuselage was 4" longer than the Defiant I. The same 4" applied to the abandoned Spitfire III fuselage length, while the Spitfire VII/VIII/IX fuselages were 9" longer than the Mk.I-VI.
  5. Sand .5mm off the spine/upper cowling; sand .5mm off the keel.
  6. Moulds - made in China; mouldings - made in India.
  7. With as much courtesy as I can muster, I suggest you undertake some proper research, and cut down on the guesswork. Aircraft types were issued with specific camouflage patterns, and manufacturers were expected to comply with those patterns, as were MUs, CRO units and Service airfields. They were also given a list of acceptable paints to use. It would be interesting to know where a German or Italian paint store was overrun in Malta. Read "The War Magician," by David Fisher, about the desert war, and you'll learn how, far from using captured materials, the forces in the desert used whatever
  8. Malta's requested scheme, dating from the days of the Hurricanes, was "sea camouflage," by which they meant Dark Mediterranean Blue over Light Mediterranean Blue. Whether they got the undersides in LMB is debatable, and it's possible they remained Sky (Sky Blue was never a colour advocated for the undersides of fighters.)
  9. It's quite possible that it was thought not to be worth it, with the Hurricane being considered obsolescent when the IIC was built. To fit the fairings on the Spitfire, Tempest and late Typhoon, it needed a special rigid casting to be let into the wings' leading edges, and a casting, in the Hurricane's wings, would have had to be cut off, to decrease drag, on the IID.
  10. Before flight guns were normally cocked ready for firing; this meant that the barrel, all the way back to, and including, the breech mechanism, was open to cold (actually freezing) air, which could (and did) freeze the mechanism solid, and cause weapons to jam. Blast tubes (and fairings on cannon,) with the addition of seals, either metal or fabric, kept the cold air out until the guns had started firing.
  11. Apparently not, and I would never bet money on Tamiya failing to properly research a subject.
  12. If he was in "A" Flight (and there was another Wellington - LP355 FB-S) codes were FB- with blue spinners; "B" Flight was TY- with yellow spinners; "C" Flight (unlikely, as it was Fighter Affiliation) UF- with white spinners.
  13. That's if you ignore the IXs which went to Russia.
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