Alan 45 Battle of Britain Aircraft , RAF, Luftwaffe

[monica]

oh wow Alan,do wish you luck,it is going to be huge,

im with Aaron,that would go in the happy place called a bin for me,

will wait and see what magic you work on it,

[dave]

Looking forward to seeing this one.

[Alan 45]

Glad to have you all onboard folks

I've now got the wings on and I'm surprised by the fit TBH , [ATTACH]98843.IPB[/ATTACH]

only issue here was a little bit of filing on the seams [ATTACH]98845.IPB[/ATTACH]

I just need a little bit of filler behind the intake to even that out
[ATTACH]98844.IPB[/ATTACH]

[Alan 45]

Now this is wierd , the photos I posted the other day have gone but explanation for the photos are there

Well here is the photos that are missing then

[ATTACH]98942.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]98943.IPB[/ATTACH]

That needs filling [ATTACH]98944.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]98945.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]98946.IPB[/ATTACH]

Base colour is on and I filled that area behind the intake

[Alan 45]

First camo is on [ATTACH]99044.IPB[/ATTACH]

and to break up the solid line of the camo ive done a stippling effect to make it look a bit more natural [ATTACH]99045.IPB[/ATTACH]

just a little dry brush here and there to add the weathering next

[Dave W]

First camo is on [ATTACH]100616[/ATTACH]and to break up the solid line of the camo ive done a stippling effect to make it look a bit more natural [ATTACH]100617[/ATTACH]just a little dry brush here and there to add the weathering next

Looking good Alan.I seem to remember having that problem with the seat bulkhead when I built one.I think I cut it off the wing and moved it a bit further forward.

[Alan 45]

Looking good Alan.I seem to remember having that problem with the seat bulkhead when I built one.I think I cut it off the wing and moved it a bit further forward.

Cheers , That's not a bad idea dave , I was thinking of actually fitting it where it should be then adding the rest seperatly

[Alan 45]

This might be a little big but I think it looks ok

On reading up about 242 squadron they all had this on them [ATTACH]99071.IPB[/ATTACH]

and this is what i did [ATTACH]99077.IPB[/ATTACH]

as you can see its a bit ropy close up but it looks like this from a normal view [ATTACH]99078.IPB[/ATTACH]

I'll get better as I go on I have to paint 8 more of these

[aaron]

Good on you for adding that hand painted detail mate.

I like the camo too.

[Alan 45]

Cheers Aaron I'm glad you like it

[Alan 45]

I've now got the gloss coat on and have decaled her up once the decals have fully cured I will matt coat it and slightly weather it as 242 only went up seven times during the BoB

I've done a bit of research on my first one and have decided to do this with all of my featured planes if possible [ATTACH]99250.IPB[/ATTACH]

ive not done any decaling on the underside as this will be fixed to a base and never be seen
This was Jimmy Gardners hurricane

Commander (Sub/Lt. during the Battle) R E "Jimmy" Gardner, who has died aged 84, was one of the Fleet Air Arm fighter pilots who took part in the Battle of Britain in 1940.

In June, Gardner went to No 7 Operational Training Unit at RAF Hawarden, in north Wales, for an intensive two-week course in flying Spitfires and Hurricanes. Early in July, he and two other naval pilots, Sub Lt Dickie Cork and Midshipman Peter Patterson - neither of whom survived the war - joined 242 Squadron RAF, flying Hurricanes under the celebrated Douglas Bader.

Gardner had an early success on July 10 when 242 were patrolling off Lowestoft. Gardner recalled:

I came out of cloud over a small convoy of freighters going up the East Coast and there was a Heinkel 111 bombing them. I was able to latch on to him as he quickly dived back for the Dutch coast having spotted me. I must admit I had to go full throttle to catch him up. I fired when in range and he went down halfway between the English and Dutch coasts.

Gardner shared a Dornier Do17 on August 21 and shot down another on September 7. His best day was September 18 when he shot down two Do17’s over the Thames Estuary and was credited with a "probable". As the battle proceeded, 242 settled down to the routine of spending their nights at Coltishall and days at Duxford. There was a serious shortage of pilots, due to accidents of combat, but plenty of aircraft. Gardner remembered:

If your aircraft was shot up and you were OK the mechanics just pulled out another Hurricane and off you went again. I had my Bugatti and my Matchless motorcycle with me at Coltishall and took them out whenever I could, enjoying the peace and quiet.

Although the naval pilots were fully integrated operationally into the RAF they wore naval uniform and guarded their Navy identities. Gardner had the flag hoist of Nelson's "England Expects" signal at Trafalgar painted on the side of his Hurricane. In general, they got on very well with Bader - "He wasn't the most diplomatic of people" Gardner said. He had very strong opinions and stuck to these no matter who he was talking to, a senior officer or otherwise. What he said had to go and that was that". In all, 56 Fleet Air Arm pilots flew in the Battle of Britain, 23 of them with the RAF. Nine were killed.

On November 5 1940, Gardner's Hurricane was damaged in an engagement with several Me109’s and he just managed to land at Southend. In December he joined 252 Squadron, Coastal Command at Chivenor, north Devon and flew with them until April 1941 when he returned to the Navy, joining 807 naval air squadron flying Fairey Fulmars from the carrier ‘Ark Royal’ in the Mediterranean.

In May ‘Ark Royal’ escorted the Tiger convoy, carrying tanks and Hurricanes through the Mediterra-nean to Alexandria. Gardner made four sorties on May 8, sharing an Italian Savoia SM79 and shooting down two Ju87 Stukas. His Fulmar was badly damaged but once again he managed to struggle back and crash-land on ‘Ark Royal’. He was awarded the DSC for his service in Tiger.

Gardner's final tally as a fighter pilot was six destroyed, four shared and one "probable".

Richard Exton Gardner, always known as Jimmy (because his father had the same Christian names) was born on July 24 1914 and went to Bryanston before joining the family firm of Yardley, cosmetic manufacturers. He learned to fly before the war, joining the Navy and starting flying training as a leading airman at Gravesend in May 1939. He was commissioned as a Sub Lt RNVR in September 1939, got his wings at RAF Netheravon in April 1940 and joined 760 naval air squadron at HMS ‘Raven’ Eastleigh.

After ‘Ark Royal’ was sunk in November 1941, 807 joined the carrier ‘Argos’ for convoy duties in the western Mediterranean. In April 1942, Gardner was appointed as an instructor to 760 Squadron, part of the Fleet Fighter School, at HMS ‘Heron’ Yeovilton. In July 1942, Gardner was CO of 899 squadron flying Fulmars from HMS ‘Greve’ at Dekheila near Alexandria and operating from Fayid for Canal Zone Defence. Part of the squadron moved to Syria to operate with 260 Wing RAF, re-equipping with ex-RAF Hurricanes in October. They then flew in the Western Desert until disbanding in February 1943.

Gardner's long experience as a fighter pilot was now much in demand. In May 1943 he was appointed as CO of 736 Squadron, flying Seafires from Yeovilton at the School of Air Combat, teaching the latest air combat techniques to experienced naval fighter pilots.

In September, 736 moved to HMS ‘Vulture’ St Merryn, Cornwall, to become the Fighter Combat School element of the School of Naval Air Warfare. Gardner remained Chief Fighter Instructor for the School of Naval Warfare until he left the Navy in March 1946 and was appointed OBE for his service there in 1945.

After the war he rejoined Yardley on the board and became chairman until it was taken over by BATS in 1969.

As one of the surviving Battle of Britain pilots, Jimmy Gardner was often asked for his signature on pictures of aerial combat and other memorabilia. He always obliged good-humouredly as his tribute to his friends who did not survive.

He married, in 1945, Jeanne Hose; they had three sons.

[dave]

It's looking good and thanks for the history.

[flyjoe180]

Nice one Alan. You can see a page from Douglas Bader's logbook here which shows the day he was posted to command No.242 Squadron.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/images/online_exhibitions/Posted-to-242LG.jpg

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[Alan 45]

Cheers joe that's great and a nice bit of history thanks mate

[Alan 45]

Well now I'm over my bought of illness I can carry on with this little project

I've done a couple of little figures this morning [ATTACH]99715.IPB[/ATTACH]

they do look a little ropey close up but normal view you can't see anything wrong
I've painted the pilot in a darker uniform to signify he is a loney from the FAA and they were alowed to wear there FAA uniform