From 1942 to 1946,
the RAAF flew 342 Vultee Vengeances in RAAF colours
with the Australian type identification serial A27-xxx. This total number of
aircraft was comprised of 99 Mk Is, 122 Mk IIs, and
121 Mk IVs, with the type used by five operational squadrons (12, 21, 23, 24 and
25 Sqns). Despite the numbers flown, the aircraft
was considered to be unsuitable for its primary operational role and is recorded
as having an undistinguished RAAF career. Once removed from front-line service,
a number of aircraft were flown by communications and target-towing units.
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images below to see larger images
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Keeping
to my theme of lesser-known aircraft types used by the RAAF, I had hoped to add
a Vultee Vengeance to my collection for some time. I
initially tried to build up the Revell Vengeance
kit. After much effort, this kit just became too much of a chore to fix all its
inaccuracies to make it resemble the real aircraft type! It now resides in my
spare parts kit, with the wings and fuselage finding a niche role as my paint
scheme and colour test sample. One can almost find a parallel between this kit
and its final use and the career of the actual aircraft type in RAAF use!
I
eventually purchased a Special Hobby (SH) limited run injection moulded
kit of the Vengeance MkI/II. What a good decision
– this kit was a joy to make. With some resin pieces, nicely moulded
plastic and a very good decal sheet, I happily tinkered away and definitely
added to my overall modeling skills, experimenting with a few tips and tricks
for resin use, airbrushing and decal application.
The SH
kit comes with three options for colour schemes, with two being RAAF aircraft as
flown in Australia and New Guinea during the war, and the other being for an RAF
aircraft flown in India. While one of the RAAF choices was for an attractive
aircraft with a white tail and a naked lady on the side under the slogan ‘Lest
we forget’ , I opted for the other choice with the
‘fat man’ caricature and the slogan ‘YGOTTABKWIK’ (‘or in English
‘You gotta be quick’!). This slogan just
appealed to me as being quite Australian!
In the
end of the day, undaunted by the Revell kit
experience, I have managed to add a Vengeance to my shelf. Now to make another
one, this time as a target tug!
David
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