Airacobra I AH574
And with apologies to Wikipedia for borrowing this:
AH574 was initially ordered in 1940 for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as part of the Airacobra I serial number block AH570-AH739 (No. 601 Squadron RAF). When the Airacobra type was rejected by the RAF, AH574 was transferred to the Royal Navy for test work.
On 4 April 1945, AH574 became part of aviation history when test pilot Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown landed it on the flight deck of HMS Pretoria Castle - the first carrier landing made by an aircraft with retractable tricycle gear - due to a declared emergency during initial trials for landings on rubber decks planned for future carriers.
In his autobiography, Captain Brown described the circumstances thus:
I had already collected a few 'firsts' in aviation, and I rather wanted to be the first pilot to put a tricycle aircraft down on a flight deck. The Airacobra was not officially cleared for such a landing, but the boffins had told me privately that it would probably take the strain.
This was not on the official programme at all, but I hoped that I could persuade Captain Caspar John of the Pretoria Castle to turn a blind eye to what I had in mind. I wrote to him beforehand and asked him if he would be prepared to take me aboard in the event of sudden engine trouble. He at once saw what I was after, of course, and was good sport enough to go along with it. He suggested that it might be a good idea if my engine trouble occurred on my last approach.
Strangly enough it did. I began my approach, then, just for the record, called up the ship and complained that my engine was running rough. Would they accept me? Back came Captain John's instant 'affirmative'. I put the hook down, and caught the wire with no trouble at all.
The trouble started when the time came to take off, as the Airacobra had a long take-off run - which was one of the reasons behind the type's rejection by the RAF - and 'Winkle' only managed to get airborne because Pretoria Castle was steaming full speed ahead at the time.
OK, so how can any red-blooded modeler resist ? Anyway, I did find a decal sheet from Fantasy Printshop with AH574 but I'm not going to look for it -- I can do everything but the datum reference marks from my decal stash. This aircraft has also been built by forum member 'diamant' and his father http://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=379&start=192.
Here, compliments of a thread on Britmodeller, is a photo/diagram of how the hook was installed and dropped down.
And, oh yes, the "star" of the show, the Airfix kit itself ...
