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A Dawn Like Thunder By Robert J. Mrazek
Great book review by Plane Dave
This is the author’s Website.
http://adawnlikethunder.net/book.html
About the men
http://adawnlikethunder.net/men.html
The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight
This is an excellent look at a pivotal period from an unusual perspective. I’ve read several unit histories. Often they are a bit dull, except presumably to those with a close connection to the unit. But this book really stands out for several reasons. First is just that the squadron’s period of activity is so key to the history of the Pacific War. Torpedo Eight was operational from late 1941 to late 1942, but more to the point the unit saw action at the Battle of Midway and in the Guadalcanal campaign.
The book further stands out for telling the story at a very human level while weaving anecdotes and reminiscences into the greater historic narrative. So we get a nice balance of exciting, tragic and funny combined with why these things mattered. It is an extremely effective way of writing such a…
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Ready for Battle?
Colorised photo courtesy Richard Molloy
A group of pilots of No 1 Squadron RCAF, gather round one of their Hawker Hurricane Mark Is at Prestwick, Scotland.
30 October 1940.
The Squadron Commanding Officer, Squadron Leader E A McNab, stands fifth from the right, wearing a forage cap.
Left to Right: Frank Hillock, Toronto ON; Frederick Watson, Winnipeg MB; Robert Norris, Saskatoon SK; Norman Richard Johnstone, Winnipeg MB; Joseph A. J. Chevrier, Saint-Lambert QC; John David Morrison, Regina SK; Sq/Ldr Ernest Archibald McNab, Rosthern, SK; Arthur Yuile, Montréal QC; Paul Pitcher, Montréal QC; William Sprenger, Montréal QC; and Dean Nesbitt, Montréal QC. It is interesting to note that all five men on the right are from Montréal.
No. 1 Squadron RCAF left for Great Britain in June of 1940, with the Battle well under way. After a short period of training in England, they became the only RCAF Squadron involved in the Battle of Britain, first engaging the enemy on 23 August 1940. The following year, No. 1 became 401 Squadron. 401 Squadron ended the war as the RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force’s highest scoring fighter squadron with 186.5 victories—29 of which were earned during the Battle of Britain.
(Photo source – © IWM CH 1733)
Royal Air Force official photographer
Devon S A (Mr)
(Colourised by Richard James Molloy from the UK)
www.facebook.com/colourbyRJM
Breaking News
It had to happen sooner of later.
No more space to add additional photos!
Is this the beginning of the end of My Forgotten Hobby?
Or is it the end of the beginning?
Stay tuned or click here!
Airfix Boulton Paul Defiant Mk I – First steps
Having a rainy day is a great incentive to start building what I bought seven months ago.
One thing Airfix did was to provide us with clear instructions.
Some cockpit parts are delicate, and I broke part C21 when I removed it from the sprue. Luckily it won’t show.
The rest of the assembly was easy except for installing part D28.
Installing parts D20 and D21 was a breeze.
Next time on My Forgotten Hobby, Step 12 which I already did taking advantage of a sleeping cat…
You have to start somewhere…
I know that the best way to start a build is to lay it all out on the table…
In my case it’s on the kitchen table.
Then I just have to wait for the dopamine to kick in… or a cat to drop by?
Where was I the last time when I finished my last build?
Where was I the last time when I finished my last build?
Building Monogram 1/48 scale SBD Dauntless.
Where was I the last time when I finished my last build? I had found all about Gérard Pelletier, a French-Canadian air gunner, who is missing since September 3rd, 1942.
Then I bought some model kits…
And created a blog about RAF 264 Squadron, and along the way finding a new addictive hobby…
Colorising photos!
Avro Anson
A mail carrier B-17 with the RCAF
Learning more about Buzz Beurling
More on these 425 Alouette Squadron airmen
About a postwar Mosquito in Canada
More 425 Alouette Squadron airmen
Ground crew posing with a RCAF 410 Squadron Defiant based at RAF Drem
A French-Canadian fighter pilot Joseph Desloges who took part in the Battle of Britain.
A modified painting of a BCATP Fairey Battle
Two well-known RAF 264 Squadron pilot and air gunner
Pilots with RCAF 416 Squadron
425 Alouette Squadron (September 1944)
Buzz Beurling’s friend
Gordon McKenzie Hill, a RCAF 416 Squadron pilot
A Fleet Finch stationed at No.4 EFTS Windsor Mills, Quebec
Fleet Finches stationed at No.4 EFTS Windsor Mills, Quebec (1940)
A Typhoon pilot
Gordon McKenzie Hill, a RCAF 416 Squadron pilot
425 Alouette Squadron Handley Page Halifax III
Laurent Lamontagne, a friend’s father
Jean-Paul Corbeil and Pierre Gauthier with 425 Alouette (May 1944)
“Tush” Laviolette (425 Squadron)
LAC Leslie Scott
P-40
Prang!
Sergeant Gérard Pelletier
Squadron Leader Chadburn (416 Squadron)
A Tiger Moth stationed at No.4 EFTS Windsor Mills, Quebec
Tiger Moths stationed at No.4 EFTS Windsor Mills, Quebec
Hawker Typhoon
Picture colorised for Clarence Simonsen to be used for an upcoming research.
Where was I the last time when I finished my last build?
I thought you would never ask!
Next time…
Curtiss P-40 Series I
More reading
Arguably the best-known fighter in the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) in the first year of direct American participation in the war was the Curtiss P-40. Designed by Donovan Reese Berlin, the prototype XP-40 was more evolutionary than revolutionary in conception, being nothing more than the tenth production airframe of Berlin’s P-36A Hawk fighter with an Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled inline engine substituted for the P-36’s 875-horsepower Wright GR-1820-G3 Cyclone air-cooled radial.
Donovan’s original monoplane design dated to 1934. He designated it the Curtiss Model 75, reflecting his obsession with that number, while the emotive nickname of “Hawk,” already famous from an earlier generation of Curtiss biplane fighters, was revived for the new-generation monoplane. Although the Hawk 75 first flew in 1935, engine problems delayed its development until July 7, 1937, when the Army Air Corps gave Curtiss the largest American peacetime production order up to that time—210 P-36s, as the…
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P-40 in Combat
Still more
“Scotty’s Last Combat” – Roy Grinnell-P-40 Warhawk Ace Robert L. Scott Art
The Curtiss P-40 achieved its greatest fame with the Flying Tigers, but it also proved itself in every theater of war. Rarely the fastest or most maneuverable aircraft in a combat, it was often the most rugged and served its nation well.
World War II U.S. fighter. The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, made famous by the legendary Flying Tigers, was one of America’s most important fighter aircraft of World War II. The P-40 originated in 1938 as the XP-40, a derivation of the mid- 1930s Curtiss radial-engine design, the P-36 Hawk. Unlike the Hawk, however, the P-40 was equipped with a liquid-cooled Allison V-1710-33 inline engine, which greatly reduced frontal area and increased performance.
Although the P-40 was sturdy, with good diving characteristics and an attractive, sleek-looking design, it exhibited only mediocre performance compared to most other fighters of…
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Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
More about the P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by the air forces of 28 nations, including those of most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in front line service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation’s main production facilities at Buffalo, New York.
Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps adopted for all models, making it the official name in the United States for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the…
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