Aircraft walkaround vol.48: Piasecki H-25 Army Mule/HUP Retriever

 Subject: Piasecki H-25 Army Mule/HUP Retriever

Location: Intrepid Air and Sea Museum, New York, USA, 2014.

Comments: The Piasecki H-25 Army Mule/HUP Retriever was a compact single radial engine, twin overlapping tandem rotor utility helicopter developed by the Piasecki Helicopter Corporation of Morton, Pennsylvania during the late 1940s and produced during the early 1950s. The company changed its name in the 1956 to Vertol Aircraft Corporation and subsequently was bought by Boeing Aircraft Company in 1960, and becameBoeing-Vertol. The design was a product of a competition by the U.S. Navy in 1945 for a compact utility/rescue helicopter to operate from ships including aircraft carriers, battleships, and cruisers. The prototype was designated as the XHJP-1, and first flew in March 1948. It was selected for production, as the HUP-1 in a side-by-side flight evaluation against the Sikorsky XHJS-1. It entered service with the navy in 1949. Versions of the HUP built for the U.S. Army were designated H-25 Army Mule. The tandem overlapping rotor configuration was a development by Piasecki and was used in future helicopter designs by the company and successors including the H-21, HRB-1/CH-46, and CH-47. The design featured two three-bladed, 35-foot-diameter (11 m) rotors in tandem in which blades could be folded for storage. The HUPs were powered by a single Continental R975-46 radial engine, with a take-off rating of 550 hp (410 kW). To provide rescue without crew assistance, an electrically-operated door, available after folding the copilot’s seat forward, opened through which a rescue sling could be lowered from an overhead winch. The HUP was produced for the navy in four versions: HUP-1, -2, and -3. The HUP-2 was the first production helicopter equipped with an auto-pilot. The US Navy also tested a system called 'Raydist that allowed an unmanned HUP-2 to be directed from a ground station and by radio ordered to hover within five feet of the desired point. Edo tested a HUP-2 with a fiberglass hull and outrigger floats for amphibious operations. In addition to those delivered to the U.S. Navy and Army the HUP/H-25 helicopter was also delivered to the Canadian and French Navies. A total of 339 aircraft were delivered over the 20-year life of the aircraft. The US Army H-25 designation was adopted by the other services in 1962. The final units were withdrawn from US service in 1964. It also served with the French Navy from 1953 to 1965. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piasecki_HUP_Retriever)

Aircraft walkaround vol.47 : North American F86D Sabre Dog

Subject: North American F86D Sabre Dog

Location: USAF Museum, Dayton, Ohio, USA, 2014.

Comments: The YF-95 was a development of the F-86 Sabre, the first aircraft designed around the new 2.75-inch (70 mm) "Mighty Mouse" Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket (FFAR). Begun in March 1949, the unarmed prototype, 50-577, first flew on 22 December 1949, piloted by North American test pilot George Welch and was the first U.S. Air Force night fighter design with only a single crewman and a single engine, a J47-GE-17 with afterburner rated at 5,425 lbf (24.1 kN) static thrust. Gun armament was eliminated in favor of a retractable under-fuselage tray carrying 24 unguided Mk. 4 rockets, then considered a more effective weapon against enemy bombers than a barrage of cannon fire. A second prototype, 50-578, was also built, but the YF-95 nomenclature was short-lived as the design was subsequently redesignated YF-86D. The fuselage was wider and the airframe length increased to 40 ft 4 in (12.29 m), with a clamshell canopy, enlarged tail surfaces and AN/APG-36 all-weather radar fitted in a radome in the nose, above the intake. Later models of the F-86D received an uprated J-47-GE-33 engine rated at 5,550 lbf (24.7 kN) (from the F-86D-45 production blocks onward). A total of 2,504 D-models were built. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_F-86D_Sabre)

Aircraft walkaround vol.45: Fiat G91

Subject: Fiat G91 R3

Location: Flugausstellung L.+P. Junior, Trier, Germany

Comments:The Fiat G.91 was an Italian jet fighter aircraft. It was the winner of the NATO competition in 1953 for a light fighter as standard equipment for Allied air forces. It entered in operational service with the Italian Air Force in 1961, with the West German Luftwaffe, in 1962, and later with the Portuguese Air Force. It was in production for 19 years with 756 aircraft completed, including the prototypes and pre-production models. The assembly lines were finally closed in 1977. The Fiat G.91 enjoyed a long service life that extended over 35 years. It was widely used by Portugal in the Portuguese Colonial War in Africa. A twin-engined variant was known as the Fiat/Aeritalia G.91Y. The R3 version was a single-seat ground-attack reconnaissance version powered by a Rolls-Royce Orpheus turbojet engine. It was armed with with two 30 mm DEFA cannons.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_G.91).

Boats vol.14: Richard Mohr's Midget Submarine "Neger"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neger

Subject:	Richard Mohr's Midget Submarine "Neger"
Scale:	1/35
Manufacturer:	Micro-Mir
Price	US$ 20,00 + shipping
Description	Injection molded with waterslide decals and photo etched parts
Comments	Neger (German for Negro) was a German torpedo-carrying craft generally described as a human torpedo. The vessel was used by the Kriegsmarine between 1943 and 1945. The name comes from the constructor Richard Mohr whose surname means blackamoor. The Neger was based on the G7e torpedo and sported a spartan cockpit covered by a perspex dome where the warhead would have been. It had sufficient positive buoyancy to run awash while supporting a second G7e, with warhead, slung below. The vessel had a range of 48 nautical miles at 4 knots and displaced 2.7 tons. The pilot navigated via a wrist compass and air was provided through a Dräger self-contained breathing device. The pilot aimed his weapon by lining up an aiming spike on the nose with a graduated scale on the dome. Subsequently, a second aiming spike was added closer to the dome. It, however, made little difference as water washing over the dome made visibility extremely poor. A simple lever in the cockpit irreversibly started the torpedo and released it. Though not designed as a suicide weapon, the Neger would frequently become one when the torpedo started running but failed to release, and carried the craft and its pilot toward the target. About 200 vessels of this type were manufactured in 1944. The first Neger vessels entered service in March 1944. However, the Neger turned out to be very hazardous for its crew, and up to 80% of the crews were killed. In return one cruiser, one destroyer, and three Catherine Class BAMS minesweepers were sunk in 1944 with the weapon. The first Negers entered service on March 1944 and the first mission took place on the night of April 20 and 21 1944. Thirty Negers were launched against Allied ships berthed in Anzio. Only 17 of them managed to deploy, with the other 13 capsizing upon reaching the water. Three failed to return and up until then, the Allies had no knowledge of this new unusual weapon. None had made any successful attacks.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neger ) The Micro-mir kit is simple but well done. You got basically two torpedos, one will be the weapon and the other will be transformed on the craft by replacing the warhead with the cockpit. Fit is ok, with sone problems along the body of the torpedo/submarine, but nothing too hard to solve. A simple display stand is provided for the completed kit. Markings will allow you to build two different version of the craft.

I found a video on youtube of the Negger in test:

1) The sprues:

 2) Intsructions:

3) The kit: