SERVICE HISTORY OF
TuAF MOSQUITOS
QUANTITY: -
F.B.MK.VI =132 , T.Mk.III =10 - SERVICE
PERIOD: 1947 - 1953
For its three bomber
regiments, the TUAF selected the D.H.Mosquito bomber as equipment and Fairey
Aviation in England delivered 132 F.B.Mk.VIs (6651-6779) and ten T.Mk.IIIs
(6601-6610) between January 1947 and April 1948. Three aircraft wore civil
registrations in the photo-survey role. The 3rd Bomber Regiment at Gaziemir was
the first unit to receive the new aircraft in January 1947 and they were here
used in the anti-shipping role. In July the 1st Bomber Regiment at Eskiehir
reequipped its four companies with the type and in December the IInd Battalion
of the 2nd Bomber Regiment at Diyarbakir flew its aircraft to that base after
having trained at Gaziemir (the whole formation almost lost their way, due to
bad weather, during the transfer). The other Battalion at Diyarbakir replaced
its Baltimores with the B-26.
Unfortunately the Mosquito's
wooden construction did not keep well in the Turkish climate and
many accidents occurred. The 3rd Regiment was disbanded on February 15, 1950
whereas the 1st Regiment was renamed the 1st Air Base in 1951 and its Mosquitoes
reformed into the 111. and 112. Filo (squadron). At that time there were so few
aircraft left serviceable that the standard complement of 25 aircraft for each
squadron was not available. At Diyarbakir the Mosquitoes were concentrated into
one unit, the 122.Filo, but the aircraft were retired or flown to Eskiehir
soon after. The Turkish Mosquito service career ended in January 1953, when the
1st Air Base converted to the F-84G Thunderjet.
Members of IHMPMUK
(Istanbul Havacilik Muzesi Plastik Model Uçak Klübü) will be
available to find detailed information and full color profiles about
Mosquito in TuAF service at next issue of club newsletter
"Bülten". |
Click on
image below to see larger image
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Two aircraft crashed
during delivery, but were replaced. TUAF archives shows less than 132 were
delivered, but it could be that the official list is not complete. Ten
refurbished Mosquito T.IIIs were delivered in early March 1947. Most served with
3.Alay in the training role.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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The Kit:
There i s no need to
say much about the Tamiya kit, you can find many reviews about it around the
Internet. Basically, there is no fit problems, no sink marks or flash anywhere on the kit. I
filled gun ports and vents with Tamiya putty and sanded to shape and also cut
the flaps
and elevators. The only aftermarket item I used is resin elevators
(many
thanks Kursad ) , all other changes including new four bladed
propellers and spinners are hand made.
I painted the model
with "British trainer yellow", an exact match is Humbrol 24, I
applied the first layer of paint with yellow tinted with a little white.
Then I post-shaded some panels with regular yellow. I weathered the model
with oil paints. After everything had dried overnight, I gently sanded the surface
with 2000 grid wet sandpaper to highlight raised details. There were no stains
around the exhaust areas on the photos of actual aircraft, so I decided not to
apply them. Everything was sealed with Duplicolor spray matt varnish.
References:
-
Turkish Military Aircraft
1912-2000 - Ole Nikolajsen
-
Imperial War Museum Photo Archive
A.Cagri
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