Mal wieder was aus der Hexenküche/Transplantations-Chirurgie - das Ergebnis diverser Anregungen aus einer kürzlichen Diskussion zu "Boulton Paul Deiant Ideas" (
http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,40183.0.html) auf whatifmodelers.com zum Erscheinen des respektiven Airfix-Bausatzes - und da ich schon lange eine Pavla-Defiant ohne Turm auf Halde hatte, habe ich die Säge angesetzt und die 'Reliant' enstand:
Some background:The Boulton Paul Reliant was a single-engine light bomber, built as an alternative to the Fairey Battle in the late 1930s for the Royal Air Force - even though it should eventually only be sold to foreign air forces.
The Reliant was more or less based on specification P.23/35 that had actually been written for the Fairey Battle I production order in 1935, and relied heavily on the same airframe that had been designed for the Boulton Paul Defiant turret fighter (F.9/35). All these aircraft were powered by the same Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine that gave contemporary British fighters high performance; however, the Battle was weighed down with a three-man crew and a bomb load, the Defiant had to haul a heavy and draggy gun turret on its back, and the Reliant was no small and light aircraft either.
Despite being a great improvement on the aircraft that preceded it (primarily biplanes like the Hawker Hart), by the time it saw action the Reliant and its kin was slow, limited in rangeand payload and highly vulnerable to both anti-aircraft fire and fighters- The concept of the single engine light bomber proved to be a dead end, but this became only obvious as these aircraft were thrown into operation.
The Reliant (internal code P.81) was an all-metal low-wing design of conventional layout with a retractable main landing gear (and a fixed tail wheel). The crew of two sat back-to-back under a common glasshouse canopy, the radio operator/bomb aimer/navigator also had to cover the rear defence thorugh a manual 0.303" Vickers K machine gun that fired between the twin fins.
Four more fixed Browning machine guns in the outer wings completed the gun armament. In an internal bomb bay and on hardpoints under the wings the Reliant was able to carry a total bomb load of 1.000 lb (460kg) of bombs. While this load was less than what the Fairey Battle could carry, the Reliant was a more compact aircraft and achieved an overall higher performance. And it was more rigid so that it could carry out dive bombing attacks.
Even though the Reliant was offered to both the RAF and the RN, it was rejected in favor of the Battle. But this was not the end of this light bomber design and it was offered for export from 1937 on. And the Reliant found takers in Europe: Belgium ordered 30, the Netherlands 18, Turkey ordered 12 (together with some Hawker Hurricanes) and Poland received a single test aircraft, while Latvia and Greece considered the type.
The Netherlands were to become the only active operator of the Reliant, though. After the end of World War I the Dutch government cut the defence budget and the Army Aviation Group was almost dissolved. With political tensions in Europe increased during the late 1930s, the government tried to rebuild the armed forces again in 1938. But there were many problems, not least the shortage of pilot instructors, navigators and pilots to fly the new multiple engine aircraft. Lack of standardisation and resulting maintenance issues added to the complexity of the rebuilding task.
Reliant deliveries started in early 1938. The Netherlands' Koninklijke Luchtmacht was the first air arm to receive the Reliant, which differed from the standard version through a 20mm Hispano cannon on a hydraulic mount in the rear gunner's position - a unique arrangement at that time.
As war loomed, in July 1939 the Army Aviation Group was renamed the Army Aviation Brigade (Luchtvaartbrigade). In August 1939, the Netherlands government mobilised its armed forces, but due to limited budgets the Army Aviation Brigade operated only 194 combat aircraft of the following types:
• 16 Fokker T.V type bombers
• 36 Fokker D.XXI single-engine fighters
• 35 Fokker G.I twin-engine fighters
• 7 Fokker D.XVII single engine fighters
• 17 Douglas DB-8A-3N light bombers
• 18 Boulton Paul Reliant light bombers
• 20 Fokker C.X light bombers
• 33 Fokker C.V reconnaissance aircraft
• 20 Koolhoven FK-51 artillery observer aircraft
In May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. Within five days the Dutch Army Air Corps was taken out by the German Luftwaffe. All of the Brigade's bombers, along with 30 D.XXI and 17 G.I fighters, were shot down; two D.XXI, eight G.I and most of the Reliants were destroyed on the ground. The Douglas bombers as well as the remaining Reliants were used as fighters because no suitable bombs were available; these aircraft were poorly suited for this role and eight were shot down and three more destroyed on the ground in the first hours of the conflict.
In spite of their numerical inferiority, the Dutch armed forces did enjoy success against the Luftwaffe, having 350 Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed, although many of these were lost to anti-aircraft fire and crashes at improvised landing fields in the Netherlands rather than due to action by Dutch fighters. The cost was high – almost 95% of the Dutch pilots were lost.
No Reliant in Dutch service survived the attack, and all other continental deliveries were cancelled due to the hostilities. The few aircraft that were ready for delivery were converted into liaison aircraft or target tugs, and used by the Royal Air Force until 1944.
General characteristics: Crew: two: pilot, gunner
Length: 35 ft 4 in (10.77 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 4 in (11.99 m)
Height: 11 ft 4 in (3.46 m)
Wing area: 250 ft² (23.2 m²)
Empty weight: 6,078 lb (2,763 kg)
Loaded weight: 8,318 lb (3,781 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 8,600 lb (3,909 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Merlin II liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,030 hp (775 kW) at 3.000 RPM,
driving a three-blade Rotol propeller
Performance: Maximum speed: 304 mph (264 knots, 489 km/h) at 17,000 ft (5,180 m)
Cruise speed: 175 mph (152 knots, 282 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,570 m)
Range: 1,000 mi (870 nmi, 1610 km)
Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
Wing loading: 33.27 lb/ft² (163.0 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.124 hp/lb (204 W/kg)
Climb to 5,000 ft (1,520 m): 4 min 6 sec
Armament: 4× 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in the outer wings
1× 0.787 in (20 mm) Hispano cannon in rear cabin
Up to 460kg (1.000lb) of bombs internally and externally
The kit and its assembly:Wie gesagt, das war mal eine Pavla-Defiant, ein typischer Short-Run-Bausatz. Am Anfang stand die Idee des leichten Bombers, und es sollte ein Doppelleitwerk für ein freies Schußfeld nach hinten her. Dieses stammt von einer Matchbox Bf 110. Nachdem Rumpf und Tragflächen fertig waren, schnitt ich in den Rumpf einen Bombenschacht, der mit dem Bugfahrwerksschacht einer F-4E elegant ausgekleidet wurde... Das Problem dadurch: wohin mit dem Kühler?
Zum Glück hatte ich ein paar Merlin-Triebwerke von einer Matchbox-Lancaster auf Halde, und der Pavla-Bausatz hat einen separaten Bug, so dass sich der neue Motor relativ einfach ansetzen ließ. Der Propeller wurde aus einem Me 410-Spinner und den Original-Blättern gescratcht. Natürlich ist auch das Cockpit mit dem Heckschützen anders - und eine neue Haube musste her. Hier half ein Vacu-Teil. Das Fahrwerk ist übernommen, aber leider sind die Abdeckungen recht klobig... na ja.
Der Anstrich und die Markierungen sind typisch holländisch, kurz vor dem deutschen Überfall - die Farbe sind allerding eigentümlich, und es fühlt sich
irgendwie verkehrt an, ein Fluigzeug von unten in Schokobraun anzupinseln... Dafür sieht es eigentümlich aus, und zumindest von oben scheint die Chose recht effektiv, wie die Flugbilder zeigen? Grundfarben sind Humbrol 168 (RAF Hanf, 172 (Locomotive Green) und ein 80:20 Mix aus 10 & 160 (Gloss Dark Brown and German WWII Red Brown). Cockpit und Bombenschacht sind RAF Interior Green (Humbrol 78), das Fahrwerk Aluminium (Humbrol 56).
Tja, eigentümlich, aber besser und plausibler geworden als gedacht!
Thema: What if? Boulton Paul P.81 'Reliant", Niederländische Luftwaffe, 1938 (Gelesen 3871 mal)
