History
The Attacker was derived from the
Supermarine Spiteful, an intended replacement for the Spitfire. It kept the
Spiteful's wing (and four 20 mm cannon) but had a new tail and fuselage which
housed a jet engine. The first navalised prototype flew on 17th June 1947. The
first production aircraft (an F1) flew in April 1950 and became the first jet
aircraft to enter FAA front line service in August 1951. Bomb facilities
were added to the F1 design to make the FB1 which was followed by the FB2
which replaced the FB1s Mk 101 Nene turbojet with a Mk 102. The Pakistan
Air Force ordered 36 Attackers, de-navalized and able to carry two 1,000-lb
bombs and 8 rocket projectiles. The arrival of the Attacker in June 1951,
ushered Pakistan Air Force into the jet age. The Attacker served with the
No.11 'Arrows' squadron, which in turn had the
honour of being the first jet
fighter squadron in Pakistan. The Attacker went on to form the first jet
aerobatic team called "The Paybills". With Pakistan taking
sides with America in the spread against communism, the influx of American
military aid in the form of the F-86 Sabre spelt the end for the Attacker in
the Pakistan Air Force. The No.11s were re-equipped with Sabres on 18th
January 1956.
The Royal Navy Attacker was soon
out of date and was replaced with the Sea Hawk in front line service as soon
as it became available in 1954. It continued to serve in the RNVR until
1956. While the Attacker did introduce the Fleet Air Arm to jet aircraft
operation aboard ship, it had never been brought up to a satisfactory
standard. It's altitude performance was poor, it lacked maneuverability,
and it was too unstable to be an effective gun platform. As famed British
test pilot Eric Brown said of it, "the Attacker marked the beginning of
the end of the charisma surrounding the Supermarine name."
A total of 43 F1, 16 FB1 and 84
FB2 were built for the Royal Navy (including 36 for the Pakistan
Air Force).
Building
I made use two kits in the
construction of the Attacker, the fuselage was from the Eastern Express kit
and I merged it with the wings and landing gears from the Novo kit. I found
the Wings from the Novo kit to be of a better fit and quality, although both
kits were pretty bad overall (raised lines, minimal detailing, no gear
wells and no cockpit) . The decals were of the Pakistan Air
Force which were provided with the Eastern Express kit. I gave it an aluminium
finish (as that was the case with the PAF Attackers), did some weathering
using "Brunt Iron" and some touch up using aqeuous paints. All the
paints used were from Gunze.
Special thanks to Mr Nakamoto and Adam at the Achtung Japan Hobby Club.
Haroon
Click on
images below to see larger images
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