America's First WW2 Ace

Spitfire IIa, P7308/XR-D, 71 "Eagle" Squadron, 27 August 1941

There were a lot of firsts with this kit.  It was my first Airfix new tooling Spitfire Mk I, my first attempt at Spitfire IFF aerials and my first 3D-Kits upgrade.  Well, I guess all that is not really very special, but I approached this build with all this specifically in mind.

Plus, I wanted to make it for the 70th anniversary of Bill Dunn's achieving a first, as the first American Ace of World War Two.  Granted, he achieved this as a member of the Eagle Squadron flying for the RAF in late August 1941.

I built this model in the Summer of 2011, completing it mid-August.

The Subject

Pilot Officer Bill Dunn joined the RAF in late 1940, after just over a year with the Canadian Army.  After completing training in April 1941, he joined 71 "Eagle" Squadron, made up of mainly American expats prior to the entry of the US in the war.  Between May and August 1941 Bill Dunn shot down 5 German aircraft to become the first American ace.  

On 27 August, while flying P7308/XR-D, Bill Dunn returned to North Weald at the end of a mission and crash landed.  His injuries were severe and after 3 months hospitalization and 3 months leave he served as an instructor pilot in Canada and then transferred to the USAAF in June 1943.  While with the 53rd Fighter Group he flew P-47's.

Ultimately Bill Dunn completed the war with 6 official kills, served with the USAAF and USAF until 1973 when he retired.  He had some very interesting assignments post-war, including flying and fighting with the Nationalist Chinese in 1947-1949.

P7308 is a Spitfire F Mk IIa, the notable difference to the Mk I is the addition of the Coffman starter, which resulted in a visible bulge on the lower right of the engine cowling.

P7308 was delivered in the Temperate Land Scheme, Dark Green/Dark Earth over Sky undersides.  It sported the standard markings of the time, Sky fuselage band and Sky spinner with Medium Sea Grey codes.  In early August 1941 it received a repaint in the new Day Fighter Scheme of Dark Green/Ocean Grey over Medium Sea Grey undersides.  The Sky band and spinner were retained and the codes are Sky.  Of note, the timing of this subject is before the yellow identification bands on the leading edge of the wings and before the National Markings were altered.

The Model

As mentioned above, this is the new Airfix tooling of the Mk Ia from 2009.  It was initially difficult to obtain here in the US and in late 2010 I finally got my first copy.  In the meantime 3D-Kits had released a Mk I/IIa update with an improved seat, stick, Rotol propellor/spinner and bulge for the IIa as well as appropriate decals.

I built the kit per the 3D-Kit modifications and decided to plan appropriately for installing the IFF aerials.  That is the only really unique aspect of this build.  I measured the distance back from the panel line representing the station aft of the radio access hatch and drilled two small holes opposite each other on the fuselage sides.  

I built the model to include paint and decals, and planned to put the canopy on very last.  For the aerials I first superglued one end in a deepened groove that is the gap between the horn balance and horizontal stabilizer.  After that had set I then threaded the wires (actually just invisible thread) through the fuselage and fished them with tweezers out through the cockpit.  After pulling them tight I applied a small drop of superglue and set it.  After fully cured I snipped the excess and then glued the canopy on.

For painting I used Humbrol enamels: The Sky (90) band on the tail went first, was masked with tape, then Ocean Grey (106) went on.  I masked using Miskit liquid frisket and then painted on the Dark Green (116).  After removing the masks to confirm no bleed-through, I remasked and sprayed the underside Medium Sea Grey (165).  I prefer Humbrol's Ocean Grey as it has that blue tinge to it, but is not an overpowering blue-gray like Tamiya XF-82 or Model Master RAF Ocean Grey.  Both of those latter colors really seem more like grayish blues, not a gray with a blue tinge.

Weather was attempted and this is yet another failure at it.  I shall persist and someday get it right.

The 3d-Kits decals went on perfectly using Micro-Sol and Set.

Thanks for reading...