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Review by: Dave Coward
Background Information
The Royal Navy’s earlier Supermarine Spitfire had never been completely suitable for carrier use, having a poor view for landing and a narrow-track undercarraige that made landings and take-offs difficult. In order to resolve this problem, the Royal Navy issused a request for a carrier-based fighter in 1943.
In response to this request, Hawker proposed a `Navalised` version of its RAF Fury fighter which was duly accepted. The first Sea Fury prototype, SR661, flew on 21 February 1945 and the second prototype, which flew on 12 October 1945, was powered by a Centaurus XV turning a new, five-bladed Rotol propeller and was built with folding wings. Both prototypes were undergoing carrier landing trials when the Japanese surrendered in 1945, ending development of the land-based Fury; work on the navalized Sea Fury continued.The first production model, the Sea Fury F Mk X (Fighter, Mk 10), flew in September 1946.
The Sea Fury served throughout the Korean War as a ground-attack aircraft, flying from the Royal Navy light fleet carriers HMS Glory, HMS Ocean, HMS Theseus, and the Australian carrier HMAS Sydney. On 8 August 1952, FAA pilot Lieutenant Peter “Hoagy” Carmichael Royal Navy downed a MiG-15 jet fighter in air-to-air combat, making the Sea Fury one of the few prop-driven fighter aircraft to shoot down a jet-powered fighter.
The Sea Fury remained the Fleet Air Arm’s primary fighter-bomber until 1953, with the introduction of the Hawker Sea Hawk and Supermarine Attacker.
The Sea Fury F 50 export variant proved popular, being purchased by Australia, Germany,Iraq ,Egypt ,Burma ,Pakistan and Cuba. The Royal Netherlands Navy bought 24 aircraft and then acquired a licence for production of 24 more F 50s at Fokker Aircraft. Cuban Sea Furies saw action during the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
The final production figures for all marks reached around 860 aircraft.
The Fisher Kit
My initial thought when receiving the box was: `this is a bit heavy!’. This was due to the weight of the kit as upon opening it I was greeted by a large array of beautifully formed resin parts, a photo etched sheet, comprehensive instructions and a set of superb cartograf and ALPS decals.
The kit is produced by Paul Fisher, aided byRoy Sutherland, who made the masters for the cockpit, along with Jennings Heilig and Fred Yarema who were responsible for the decals and painting guide. With these credentials behind it, this kit was always likely to impress.
The first things you notice on looking in the box is the one-piece resin castings for the wings and fuselage. These alone are masterpieces in resin moulding due to the fact that such large parts have been formed with no warping or shrinkage during the cooling process. The panel lining is just deep enough without being overstated and the detail in such areas as the main wheel bays is as good as that from any of the main after-market resin manufacturers.
In order to build the Korean RN version I also purchased a separate set of diamond tred wheels and Fisher also produce a FAA pilot that just had to be bought to go with the Fury.
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