1/48 Tamiya Mosquito T Mk.III

Turkish Air Force 

by A.Cagri Acikgoz

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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

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.

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The Kit: 

There is 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

Photos and text © by A.Cagri Acikgoz