August 201827 8Volume Issue SUN BR UE

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Fifty Years Ago...Iroquois helicopters land to take members of

7RAR back to Nui Dat after completion of Operation Ulmarra, August 1967.

Feb AugMar SepApr OctMay *Jun DecJul Feb (1 )

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President:

Secretary:essmc@ozemail.com.au

Treasurer:bigspin1@bigpond.net.au

Newsletter:essmc@ozemail.com.au

tankbloke88@gmail.com

Michael Howe 0414 246 523

Frank Spinosa 0418 555 324

Michael Howe 0481 853 633

Ken Noble 0419 560 283

EVENTS & INFORMATIONCalendar

August 19th 2018IPMS Swap & SellSamarinda Aged Services High Street. AshburtonRef; IPMS Facebook

September 9th 2018Northern Area ModellersModelling Competition & Swap MeetUlm Reserve, Rear 81 Loongana Ave. Glenroy

October ?? 2018Waverley InterclubWadham House, 52 Wadham ParadeMount Waverley

November 18th 2018Southern Model Club Competition & SwapChurch of Christ Community Hall2 - 12 Chesterville Road Cheltenham

(Details subject to confirmation)

(Date subject to confirmation)

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Editorial

I’d like to thank Roger Trewenack for the loan of his BMW, Stephen Bromfield for his Tiger Tank and, of course, Brian Davis for the card model of Ulm Cathedral for the display-case in the Stonnington Phoenix Park Library this year. Along with my big ‘ G o l d f i n g e r ’ A s t o n M a r t i n a n d t h e Katana/Kusenagi tableau they made quite an impressive exhibition.

Thanks are also due to Gunnar for his help in transporting the models down there and Roger for assisting in the recovery operation.

Organized at short notice because we weren’t expecting (or intending) to exhibit there this year, there wasn’t time to ask anyone else to contribute, but half a dozen large models actually made an imposing display. Whether it’s worth persisting with the library display next year is up for discussion.

Michael

I can also recommend the Paella at the RSL, very Vietnam Veterans Museum Tripnice...An enjoyable day was had by all at the National

Vietnam Veterans Museum last weekend. I'd IPMS Swap Meetespecially like to thank our guest of honour, Mr

Dave McCallum, who himself was a veteran of Don't forget the IPMS swap meet later this the Battle of Coral in 1968 and gave some of us a month....Sunday the 19th I believe. Frank and I personal insight into what went on. have a table so we hope to see you there.

The museum is run by a group of volunteers with Also later this month, five of us are jet-setting off little or no government funding. Despite this they to Cairns for the Ausarmourfest at the Australian run a top class display with lots of weapons, Armour and Artillery museum. What more could uniforms, models and dioramas, as well as you ask for, warm weather and tanks, tanks and vehicle and aircraft exhibits. Plans are afoot to more tanks!! Look for a photographic report in build a new structure to house their ever- next month's Seamlines....increasing displays. If you're heading down to Phillip Island, forget about the penguins and Happy glueing,tourists, drop in and check out the museum - it's worth the trip. Ken

Ken Noble

What HG got right was the use of armoured fighting Life imitates Art

vehicles to break through the enemy position, as happened in 1916. His other prediction was the “tank

In 1903 a well known writer of fiction penned a short shock”, where the enemy soldiers when first story titled ‘The Land Ironclads’. His name was confronted with these machines they could not stop, Herbert George Wells. I don’t usually bother to read simply broke and fled. The Germans experienced fiction, because I find reality more interesting. Yes, tank shock, and so did the British when German James Bond has a Lotus with the submersible option, operated tanks first appeared. What HG missed was but what people like Kim Philby got away with was caterpillar tracks. This feature was the key to mobility even more amazing. across the WW1 battlefield which a Pedrail wheel

could not match. Somehow, quite noticeably to me Several years ago I read anyway, was that HG ‘Panzer Gunner’, a true m i s s e d t h e o t h e r account written by a obvious feature of panzer crewman on the cannons and turrets, as E a s t e r n F r o n t . contemporary pre-Meanwhile we know the d r e a d n o u g h t impossible exploits of battleships. Also, the Sven Hassel are just so tanks of the Great War m u c h b u l l s h i t . were much smaller than Nevertheless, I heard HG’s ironclads, more a b o u t ‘ T h e L a n d g u n b o a t s t h a n Ironclads’ and set about battleships.tracking it down, which I did about 20 years ago. One reason for my

interest is that I wanted To summarize, Wells to make a model of a describes a minor battle Wells Land Ironclad, in in a future war from the 2003 as this was the e y e s o f a w a r centenary of Wells correspondent. One story. That was fifteen side, and Wells never years ago, which simply says who this is, is shows how slack or preparing an attack on preoccupied I am. It’s a the similarly nameless one-day job, meaning enemy. The attacker’s that I intend to do this main weapon is a unit of the eponymous land ‘one day’. I might take a bit of artistic license too. My ironclads. HG goes on to describe these machines version will be the size that HG envisaged. Some 1/35 (Above) as about eighty feet long, running on large road wheels can be the basis of Pedrails. Since I don’t Pedrail wheels, eight each side. Pedrails were a have any I will have to do a raid on someone’s 1/35 wheel with movable shoes. spares stash. Wells described a central conning

tower or bridge, so I will go with that, but my idea will be The ironclads, rather obviously, were armoured to the turrets with single cannon fore and aft, and some side extent of invulnerability. How HG powered his sponsons with smaller guns, just like a 1903 era ironclads is something I have forgotten, probably battleship. I will make this one day. Really... When I steam. Each ironclad, commanded by a captain, had get around to it. a large crew with gunners operating single shot weapons from behind shutters in the sides.

Zim

Gary ZimmerArtist’s impression ofWells’ Land Ironclad

Douglas's next single seat, single engine jet was the Vroom! Vroom!! Part IIA4 Skyhawk of 1954. It would feature a cropped delta wing.

Paris. Two weeks following VE Day May 1945. Convair's affair with the delta wing began in August Douglas Aircraft engineers meet Alexander Lippisch, 1945 when the USAAF announced a competition for a now in Allied custody, and listen to what his vision is for supersonic interceptor. It was awarded the contract to the future of aviation and the part flying wings will play. build three experimental aircraft designated XP-92 in Impressed with what they hear these engineers return May 1946. Various wing configurations were tested home bringing with them results of German high but none proved viable. Aerodynamicist Ralph Shick speed wind tunnel research. Extensive testing suggested a triangular shaped wing. July would throughout 1946 using this data gives encouraging prove to be a prophetic month for this wing. On the results as Douglas begins working on a new fighter in fifth it was reported that a 60° swept delta wing would anticipation of the forthcoming USN competition of be tested and on the twelfth it was recorded as having 1947. This competition will be for a short ranged, the best wind tunnel performance. Later that month, carrier based delta winged interceptor that is able to Shick, arranged to have a conference with Lippisch, shoot down an aircraft at 15,240m within five minutes who was at USAAF's Wright Field, about his progress of being scrambled. Lippisch's studies of delta with the delta. In October Lippisch and two other winged aircraft attract the interest of both the USAAF German scientists spent a few weeks at Convair San and USN as these are seen as offering great potential Diego. Surprisingly there are claims that Lippisch had for the fast climbing interceptor. no impact on the Convair delta, even though it is irrefutable that he had consulted them on that very At Douglas the Lippisch inspired delta platform grew a subject. I don't think he went to San Diego with the fuselage and morphed into a cross between a delta intention to participate in a pontoon tournament.winged and tailless aircraft. The resulting wing

planform was not a true delta as the wingtips were On 18 September 1948 the Convair Model 7002 curved and the trailing edges swept. As this wing became the world's first jet powered delta to fly. This shape resembled that of the manta ray the aircraft was aircraft was to be a flying mock up for the jet and rocket named Skyray. It was officially known as Design-571 powered XF-92 (formerly XP-92) fighter that was to and accepted by the USN June 1947. The prototype attain Mach 1.25 at 15,240m. In March 1949 this XF4D-1 Skyray flew 23 January 1951. The fighter project was cancelled and in May the aircraft production F4D-1 achieved Mach 1 in level flight 5 was renamed XF-92A and used for flight testing for the June 1954. The Skyray certainly fulfilled the fast forthcoming F-102. The XF-92A was a failure as an climbing interceptor part of the contract when in May interceptor but it importantly proved the concept of the 1958 it shattered world climb-to-height records by jet delta wing fighter.reaching 15,000m in two and a half minutes.

Paul Kruger

The F-102 Delta Dagger was Convair's submission to briefly quantify just what area rule is but here is a two the 1950 USAF requirement MX-1554 for a single seat sentence summation lifted from Bill Gunston's 'Faster supersonic interceptor. They won the competition Than Sound': “That for minimum transonic drag, the September 1951 and the F-102 was to be 1.22:1 plot of cross-section areas should form a smooth scaled up version of the XF-92A Dart. Its mission was curve from nose to tail. Thus, if you add area such as to intercept bombers flying over the North Pole and a wing you must compensate by subtracting Artic routes from Russia to North America and was to elsewhere for example by making the fuselage be the first aircraft in the world to be armed with solely slimmer.” (See diagram on area rule). This was only with missiles. The Hughes MG-10 weapons control part one of area rule which dealt with transonic system was to enable the F-102 to seek and destroy speeds. In 1956 Whitcomb's treatise was expanded an enemy bomber at supersonic speed no matter to include higher Mach numbers.what the weather conditions, day or night. When the hostile aircraft was detected the MG-10 would take The F-102 now faced a major redesign where length control of the aircraft and automatically fire the AIM-4 was added to the front and area at the rear. The Falcon AAMs, of which six were carried. fuselage profile was reduced in the cross sectional

The F-102 flew 24 October 1953 but the problem was area over the wing which gave it that distinctive wasp-it would not go supersonic. No matter how much waisted or 'coke-bottle' shape. Other changes were thrust you gave the F-102 it would not get past Mach 1 revised air intakes and cockpit canopy, cambered in level flight and this was due to excessive transonic wing leading edges and the installation of a more drag. The solution, it has been suggested, was one of powerful version of the J57 turbojet. This panic those serendipitous moments in science, when in redesign was accomplished in 117 days. The 1 9 5 2 R i c h a r d transformed F-102A Whitcomb hit upon a exceeded Mach 1 on theory that would its second flight, 20 become known as December 1954. As Whitcomb's Area Rule o n l y t h e a r m e d w h i c h w o u l d services can vulgarize significantly reduce such scientific merit, transonic drag and the wasp-wais ted a l l ow supe rson i c f u s e l a g e w a s performance. compared to the

curves of Marilyn In 1951 initial tests M o n r o e a n d t h e w e r e b e g u n b y prominent bu lges W h i t c o m b a n d affixed near the jet colleagues with NACA e x h a u s t w e r e L a n g l e y ' s n e w technically known as transonic wind tunnel. 'love handles'. It is hard for me to

Continued next page.

Paul Kruger

The F-102 entered service April 1956, flew in Vietnam by making the first non-stop supersonic crossing of and was retired from the US Air National Guard in the Atlantic in 1963. On October 16 of that year a B-58 1978. Convair got the supersonic interceptor formula 'Greased Lightning' completed the longest supersonic right with the follow up F-102B, which was renamed F- flight in history when it flew from Tokyo to London in 106A Delta Dart. This was considered the best all eight hours and thirty five minutes at an average weather interceptor of its generation and retired from speed of 1,509 km/h. Despite this performance the B-service in 1986. 58 was phased out of service in 1970. What restricted

service life was its lack of ability to fly and survive at Their last production delta was the B-58 Hustler and low level. It was not equipped with terrain following could be considered their hot one. So named for its radar nor structurally stressed for high speed low level outstanding performance it was the first supersonic flight.strategic bomber to enter service in 1960. The Hustler was one of the most expensive aircraft ever The model kits of the time for these aircraft were desk built and it was reputed to be literally worth its weight in models with minimum detail and part count to be gold. Unit cost was comparable to three B-52s. An mounted on a display stand. Hawk's XF-92A made its extravagant amount of time was lavished on appearance in 1952 and the 1/72 Skyray in 1956. developing this aircraft. An example of this is that Hawk were one of the first US plastic kit more wind tunnel hours were devoted on where to manufacturers whose first kit was 1/48 Curtiss R3C-1 place the engines on the airframe than was used for of 1946. The Skyray was another of their early kits the entire B-36 Peacemaker program. The B-58 also that was originally part of a series of preassembled had an unique feature which was known as the Voice recognition models for the US government. When Warning System. It was a magnetic tape that that contract had finished molds were retooled and it contained twenty recorded warning messages that was released as a kit in 1956. Among others in this would announce in a soft feminine voice problems series were the Supermarine Swift and Gloster such as 'hydraulic system failure' or 'check for engine Javelin. Testors took over Hawk in 1971. With later fire'. Known by crews as 'Sexy Sally' for its alluring reissues of the XF-92A included is a brace of what voice, the VWS was also known as 'The Bitch' looks like four AIM-7 Sparrow missiles. The kit was because it never had anything good to say. Despite reissued by Testors in 1995. Aurora's 1/121 F-102 of the VWS the B-58 had an appalling loss rate. Of the 1957 was for the first YF-102 prototype [FC994] that 116 B-58s that were built about 27 were lost due to crashed 1 November 1953 from engine flameout. accidents. This relatively inaccurate rendition combined later YF-

102A area rule features like the aft blister fairings. The Hustler claimed its fair share of records one of the Their 1/76 B-58 was released a year later in 1958. more unusual being a trophy from the Aéro Club de Aurora's kit production began in 1952 with copies of France. It had been donated by Louis Blériot in 1930 two Hawk kits, the Grumman F9F-5 and Lockheed F-for the first pilot to exceed the then unheard of speed 90A. Aurora went out of business in 1977 and of 2,000 km/h for 30 minutes. On 10 May 1961 a B-58 Monogram acquired their kit tooling.did just that clocking 2,095 km/h. This was followed

Continued next page.

Paul Kruger

So from the organic inspiration of the tropical No.2 maintained a speed of Mach 3 for nearly three cucumber that contributed to delta wing development and a half hours.we can see how it is possible to get a delta wing to cruise at Mach 3 by mowing your lawn. In 1955, Alfred The two prototypes that were built were to be used for Eggers, an aeronautical engineer at NACA Langley, test purposes only. At the time the XB-70 was whilst mowing his lawn was pondering calculations simultaneously the world's largest delta wing aircraft, that would lead to the phenomenon he would call the heaviest, the most powerful, the most costly and 'compression lift'. He coauthored a paper with with the exception of the X-15, the fastest. XB-70 No1 Clarence Syverston (with whom he would construct collected much data for the supersonic transport the first hypersonic wind tunnel) titled 'Aircraft (SST) program of which was soon to be defunct as Configurations Developing High L/D Ratios at well. In February 1969 it was retired to the USAF Supersonic Speeds' in 1956. This work underpinned Museum, Dayton, Ohio, where it is displayed in the layout of the North American XB-70 Valkyrie which company with the Convair XF-92A. Joe Cotton, would have a 65.5° delta wing. Compression lift would USAF project pilot likened flying the XB-70 to “driving see the XB-70 ride its own shock wave created from a Greyhound bus at 200 mph around the track at air being pushed from its wedge fronted air intakes Indianapolis.”and trapped under wing by folded down wingtips. This effect would increase lift by a third and allow the XB-70 Paulto cruise at Mach 3. On its thirty-ninth flight XB-70

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Paul Kruger