A local Stirling

[Ratch]

Having bought the book it's time for the model. This kit was a gift from a guy on the ATF in 2013. He had started the kit and I do not know whether it is complete, but the build process will reveal all. I intend to build this, wheels up, in flight, without crew, as it was shortly before 0415 on July 15, 1941.

The first missing parts are the seats for the pilot and c-pilot. I remembered having spare seats from a previous B-17 build. They would do as replacements. I had a rummage through my spares and found other parts that came from the Stirling. I don’t know whether I’ll need them, but they can go into the build box for the time being.

[Ratch]

If one walks up Gold Street in Northampton towards All Saints' Church, it appears like any other main street around the town centre. There is nothing to make you suddenly stop and ask yourself "What is that and how did it happen?". If you look up at the window sills and the brickwork of the Grand Hotel, you may notice slight damage and chipping. It was caused by a Short Stirling Mk 1 bomber aircraft of the Royal Air Force.

July 14th / 15th, 1941. No. 7 Squadron at R.A.F. Oakington, Cambs. Six crews were briefed to bomb Hannover. Their bomb load was to be 30 x 1,000 lb and 33 x 500 lb H.E. and 42 x 250 lb incendiaries. After take-off they were to rendezvous with the main force of 67 Wellingtons of No.3 Group plus 33 Hampdens and 30 Halifaxes of No.4 Group. Of the six Stirlings only one was able to make it back to Oakington. Hannover was heavily defended, and several aircraft were damaged by flak. Their return journey became a nightmare, storms and strong headwinds causing the aircraft to use more fuel than they had anticipated. The Stirlings could not climb above the weather. An Air Ministry ruling that the Stirling's wing span must not exceed 100 ft (so that they could fit into existing hangars) resulted in the aircraft struggling to exceed 16,000 ft. Stirling N6022 MG-D flown by F/O D.T. Witt DFM had two engines shot out, with the third engine misfiring, was planning to ditch in the sea but managed to make the coast just SSE of Norwich. F/O Witt gave the order to bale out. The aircraft crashed at 0340 hrs. at Shotesham Park, Newton Flotman, south east of Norwich. The flight engineer Sgt. J.T. Prentice broke his back but made a good recovery and was later commissioned, rising to the rank of Wing Commander. P/O Keith Deyell DFM broke his ankle but recovered and completed a tour of ops. with No. 38 Squadron. F/Lt. D.A.J. Sanders in N6036, short of fuel, landed at Bircham Newton but overshot and ran through the hedge, fortunately without injury and too much damage. Sqn/Ldr. Speare, also low on fuel, landed safely at Waterbeach. F/O K.O. Blunden landed at Honington although the tailwheel doors were ripped off. Meanwhile, F/Sgt. B.K. Madgwick was coaxing Stirling Mk 1 N6033 MG-Z along with flak damage, navigation instruments u/s, wireless u/s and the aircraft icing up. Looking for Oakington seemed impossible but, in fact, they had actually flown right over the airfield and were now heading towards Northampton. With the wireless u/s, Oakington were unable to contact them and with fuel gauges reading zero, things were looking serious. The flight engineer, Sgt W.H. Robinson had been juggling the balance cocks trying to make use of the small amounts of fuel that remained in the tanks. The pilot, F/Sgt. Madgwick had trimmed the aircraft to fly "hands off", the early autopilots being unreliable. When the fuel pressure lights started to glow red, he checked as well as he could that they were clear of any towns and gave the order to bale out. Unknown to them they were approximately east of Northampton somewhere near Billing and Moulton. Tragically, when Madgwick baled out, he somehow slipped out of his harness. He may have loosened the straps to become more comfortable when sitting at the controls and omitted to readjust them prior to jumping. He fell to his death, coming down in Kingsthorpe recreation ground. His parachute was found one and a half miles away. While descending, Robinson saw the aircraft bank to the left then straighten up but getting lower all the time. He finally lost sight of it as it merged with the dark background, then a few seconds later came a flash as the aircraft crashed and to his horror, he saw it had come down in the town. Robinson may have recognised Northampton as he did come from the area.

It is possible that the port outer engine cut because of fuel starvation. That would cause the port wing to drop slightly causing a yaw to the left and if the starboard engine cut out seconds later that would straighten it up but on only two engines would be losing height rapidly. The Stirling came in over St. James' End, in line with Gold Street, losing height until it hit Burtons tailors and the Grand Hotel on the opposite side of the road. The port wing demolished some buildings in College Street, behind Burtons, which now houses a fish and chip shop. The rest of the aircraft, or what was left of it, finally came to rest alongside All Saints' Church in Mercer's Row. Amongst the wreckage lay two unexploded 500 lb. bombs These may not have dropped for two reasons, either a mechanical fault in the bomb release gear or, the release gear was iced up. The two bombs were removed by an R.A.F. bomb disposal team. A photo of this appears on page 95 of "Aviation in Northamptonshire" by Michael L. Gibson.

Sgt. W.H. Robinson came down in Abington Park and was picked up by a police car, they wanted to take him to hospital, but Robinson assured them that he was O.K. and requested the police take him to the crash site. He was very worried about the damage they might have caused. Upon arriving at the crash scene, he was shocked to see bodies strewn around Gold Street but, thankfully, they turned out to be tailors' dummies from Burtons. In fact, apart from the pilot there was only one person injured. Ernest Gross was a master carpenter and a volunteer fire watcher had been on duty that night fire watching from the roof of Cleaver's building in Wood St (now demolished as part of Grosvenor Centre site). He was cycling home along George Row when he saw the Stirling coming towards him up Gold Street. He tried to get to Bridge Street but was hit before he could get there. He suffered a broken leg and fractured skull and was off work for 6 months.

It was fortunate that the crash happened at 0415 when there was hardly anyone about. It is recorded in No.7 Squadron O.R.B. (Operational Record Book) that the Chief Constable of Northampton, John Williamson, phoned Oakington saying "I can't have this!"

[Ratch]

I started painting the cockpit and assembling the turrets. The crew form an integral part of the machine gun mechanisms, which meant I had to scratch the mountings from plastic card.

[Ratch]

The canopy and turret frames were put down freehand with my ruling pen. I put down the interior colour then laid down the exterior colour over that. 

I noticed that both wings have sink marks. 

These would normally require filling, but I can use them for flak damage. 

I don’t know precisely how much flak damage N6033 suffered, but we know that Hannover was heavily defended, and several aircraft were damaged by flak. We also know that Flight Sergeant Madgwick was coaxing N6033 back with flak damage, unserviceable navigation instruments and wireless. With this in mind I opened up holes in the fuselage sides where this equipment was located, making the holes untidy and rough, as though caused by flak. 

They may not be noticeable when the model is completed, but I’ll know it’s there. Before inserting the windows, I brushed black around the apertures so that I didn’t have to be too precise with my masking when it came to spray time. I secured the windows, except for the triple glazing, part #19, which was missing. I put PVA over the openings. This should dry clear (or near enough). I found some resin bits among my spares and decided to decorate up the interior a bit. They may not be accurate, but will be passable to my eye, under the greenhouse canopy. 

The window nearest the flak damage has failed. Not a big problem though.

[Ratch]

The access door on the port fuselage opens inwards, hinged to the rear edge of the opening. 

I fixed the door open. Maybe some of the crew made their exit by this door when they abandoned the aircraft. 

I completed painting the interior, inserted the turrets and joined the fuselage. 

I had lost another window and decided to repair with PVA. The fin and rudder assembly were fixed to the fuselage.

I moved on to the four Bristol Hercules VI engines. One was already assembled in the cowling with the propeller fitted. One propeller had a blade broken off this was cemented back on. The three assembled Hercules Standardised Power Plants were painted along with the interiors of the cowlings. 

Sixteen bombs are included, two were fully assembled and fourteen await their tail to be attached. One tail cone is missing, so I have fifteen to fit on the bomb trailers. These measure approximately 20mm long and I think this makes them 500lb-ers.

Assembly of the bomb train will ensue.

I cut the slot in the closed bomb-bay doors, checking that the large stand would fit in it, and then fixed this over the bomb bay. 

I also fitted the tail undercarriage doors and mail undercarriage doors having cemented the wheels in place, protruding through the cut-outs.

[Ratch]

Before the greenhouse goes on.

Bombs and trolleys made up, and the tractor almost built, received a quick spray.

[Ratch]

The propellers were painted black, as were the lower surfaces of the cowlings. I then assembled the cowlings, engines, and propellers. The cowlings were then cemented to the nacelles. I then added the carburettor air intakes. The dorsal radio aerial, D/F loop aerial fairing, and the aerial mast were all cemented too. 

I painted the tyres on the tractor and trolley wheels. Weathering powders were brushed onto the tractor before I fixed the wheels.

[Ratch]

I masked the apertures with sponge and the glazed windows with Tamiya tape before airbrushing. I sprayed three shades of brown for the dark earth upper surfaces. I masked the disruptive camouflage scheme making Blu-Tack sausages. 

These were filled in with frisk film. This is the first time I’ve used frisk film for this job, and it took a bit of experimentation. Ordinarily, (when I used this stuff at Art School) you could lay it on a drawing and cut out the shape required. Initially, I tried guessing the shapes, which was a bit hit and miss, as you might guess. I soon realised that laying the film on the sausages left a residue and I could use this as a guide. All this was being done with a nice, sharp scalpel. My next step was to cut the film as it sat on the Blu-Tack, and the masking was completed this way. 

I then airbrushed two shades of green. Then the moment of truth, had this worked? Aesthetically I prefer a soft edge to the disruptive camouflage, but I appreciate that in reality it had a hard edge. 

[SD45elect2000]

Thanks Ratch, I enjoyed the backstory. So far the model is looking good !

Randall

[Ratch]

Back from Scale Model World and a little touching up done on the camouflage.

[Ratch]

I masked and sprayed the under surfaces of the Stirling.

[Ratch]

A bit more on the Stirling. The fuselage joint between the cockpit and the nose turret required another smear of filler. I re-touched the disruptive camouflage where the black had bled under the masking. I painted the navigation light, formation light, and landing/taxying lamp reflectors in silver, and then the exhaust pipe collector ring, and flame suppressor exhaust pipes in gunmetal before fitting the exhaust pipes.

[paul71]

a nice interesting story ratch, build is looking good thank goodness for the box of spares

[Ratch]

Thanks Paul I have added exhaust stains by spraying Vallejo Model Air 71055 Black Grey and then a little 71057 Black.

[Ratch]

Where possible I used the Stirling kit decals, though I had to make up the serial N6033 from Ventura 8” serials. The aircraft letter Z was more difficult, as I didn’t have any the correct size or colour. I did have an Almarks set of Sky Type “S” with a plain page I used to cut strips to construct the letter. The markings on the tractor were leftovers from an Airfix R.A.F. Refuelling Set.

[Ratch]

Almost done with the Stirling. The airframe was sprayed with Klear. I masked up again, then sprayed the matt finish.

[Ratch]

I returned to step 12 to secure the canopy, bomb aimer’s window, and astrodome with GS-Hypo Cement. The propeller blade that was broken off before I started on this build was re-attached, and the landing/taxying lamp lens was cemented. To finish I added the aerial wire and painted the navigation lights.

[Ratch]

July 14th / 15th, 1941. No. 7 Squadron at R.A.F. Oakington, Cambridgeshire six crews were briefed to bomb Hannover. Their bomb load was to be 30 x 1,000 lb and 33 x 500 lb H.E. and 42 x 250 lb incendiaries. After take-off they were to rendezvous with the main force of 67 Wellingtons of No.3 Group plus 33 Hampdens and 30 Halifaxes of No.4 Group. Of the six Stirlings only one was able to make it back to Oakington. Hannover was heavily defended, and several aircraft were damaged by flak. Their return journey became a nightmare, storms and strong headwinds causing the aircraft to use more fuel than they had anticipated. The Stirlings could not climb above the weather. An Air Ministry ruling that the Stirling's wing span must not exceed 100 ft (so that they could fit into existing hangars) resulted in the aircraft struggling to exceed 16,000 ft. 

F/Sgt. B.K. Madgwick was coaxing Stirling Mk 1 N6033 MG-Z along with flak damage, navigation instruments u/s, wireless u/s and the aircraft icing up. Looking for Oakington seemed impossible but, in fact, they had actually flown right over the airfield and were now heading towards Northampton. With the wireless u/s, Oakington were unable to contact them and with fuel gauges reading zero, things were looking serious. The flight engineer, Sgt W.H. Robinson had been juggling the balance cocks trying to make use of the small amounts of fuel that remained in the tanks. The pilot, F/Sgt. Madgwick had trimmed the aircraft to fly "hands off", the early autopilots being unreliable. When the fuel pressure lights started to glow red, he checked as well as he could that they were clear of any towns and gave the order to bale out. Unknown to them they were approximately east of Northampton somewhere near Billing and Moulton. Tragically, when Madgwick baled out, he somehow slipped out of his harness. He may have loosened the straps to become more comfortable when sitting at the controls and omitted to readjust them prior to jumping. He fell to his death, coming down in Kingsthorpe recreation ground. His parachute was found one and a half miles away. While descending, Robinson saw the aircraft bank to the left then straighten up but getting lower all the time. He finally lost sight of it as it merged with the dark background, then a few seconds later came a flash as the aircraft crashed and to his horror, he saw it had come down in the town. Robinson may have recognised Northampton as he did come from the area.

It is possible that the port outer engine cut because of fuel starvation. That would cause the port wing to drop slightly causing a yaw to the left and if the starboard engine cut out seconds later that would straighten it up but on only two engines would be losing height rapidly. The Stirling came in over St. James' End, in line with Gold Street, losing height until it hit Burtons tailors and the Grand Hotel on the opposite side of the road. The port wing demolished some buildings in College Street, behind Burtons, which now houses a fish and chip shop. The rest of the aircraft, or what was left of it, finally came to rest alongside All Saints' Church in Mercer's Row. Amongst the wreckage lay two unexploded 500 lb. bombs These may not have dropped for two reasons, either a mechanical fault in the bomb release gear or, the release gear was iced up. The two bombs were removed by an R.A.F. bomb disposal team. 

Sgt. W.H. Robinson came down in Abington Park and was picked up by a police car, they wanted to take him to hospital, but Robinson assured them that he was O.K. and requested the police take him to the crash site. He was very worried about the damage they might have caused. Upon arriving at the crash scene, he was shocked to see bodies strewn around Gold Street but, thankfully, they turned out to be tailors' dummies from Burtons. In fact, apart from the pilot there was only one person injured. Ernest Gross was a master carpenter and a volunteer fire watcher had been on duty that night fire watching from the roof of Cleaver's building in Wood St (now demolished as part of Grosvenor Centre site). He was cycling home along George Row when he saw the Stirling coming towards him up Gold Street. He tried to get to Bridge Street but was hit before he could get there. He suffered a broken leg and fractured skull and was off work for 6 months.

It was fortunate that the crash happened at 0415 when there was hardly anyone about. It is recorded in No.7 Squadron O.R.B. (Operational Record Book) that the Chief Constable of Northampton, John Williamson, phoned Oakington saying "I can't have this!"

[DoubleD]

Excellent job on an old kit - interesting back storythumbsup

[Dominic Thomas]

Looks good, well done. Don’t often see a Stirling on a stand!

[Mark-373679]

Excellent job on that kit, Im doing one from the 70,s just now but with wheels down. The story well a had to read it twice.

[Ratch]

Thanks gents, the old kit is a vintage classic sunglasses

[paul71]

its a good looking kit for its age, you done a great job building, i think it looks a lot better on the stand in flight.

[Ratch]

Thank you Paul, it's now hanging from the ceiling.