Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard

My Falklands War scale modelling project , which, be warned, is likely to last as long as the 1982 campaign itself, now focuses on the military inventory of the Argentines. 

This week’s build, is of the aircraft which carried the infamous anti-ship Exocet missile, the Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard.

In 1979, the Argentine Navy placed an order to buy fourteen of France's new carrier-borne strike fighter aircraft, the Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard (French for battle flag). Between August and November 1981, Argentina took delivery of the first five aircraft, each supplied with a single anti-ship sea-skimming Exocet missile. 

In December, General Leopoldo Galtieri, with the support of Admiral Jorge Anaya, head of the Argentine Navy, seized the Presidency of Argentina. Just four months later, on 2 April, the now President Galtieri ordered the invasion the Falkland Islands. Galtieri's seemingly hasty action was driven, both by an urgent need to improve his downward spiralling popularity at home and in 'payment' to Admiral Anaya, for his earlier support in his presidential coup; the invasion proposal being one put forward by Anaya. Galtieri's expectation was that the anti colonial opinion of the international community would be behind him, and as an ally in their El Salvador operations, the United States would be firmly on his side. He also believed that the British would be powerless to intervene particularly in the face of the upcoming winter. On 5 April, however, the British government dispatched its largest naval task force since the Second World War with the order to retake the islands.

The Falklands had only three airfields. The longest and only paved runway was at the capital, Stanley, and even that was too short to support fast jets (although an arrestor gear was fitted in April to support Skyhawks). The Argentines had no option therefore, but to launch their Super Étendard from the mainland, severely hampering their efforts at forward staging, combat air patrols, and close air support over the islands.

Lt Mayora and Cpt Bedacarratz exchange notes after sinking HMS Sheffield

Four Super Étendards of the Second naval fighters strike squadron (2da Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Caza y Ataque EA32), armed with their Exocet anti-ship missiles, were stationed at the Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego naval air base. The threat posed to the British Task Force as it lay off the shores of The Falkland Islands led to the planning of the Mikado and Black Buck Operations. Operation Mikado was the proposed covert mission, led by a Sea King helicopter carrying SAS troops, to destroy the Super Étendards, and Operation Black Buck, was the long range Vulcan bombing mission against Port Stanley's paved runway; the objective being to make it unsafe, even if extended, for fast jets to land there.

Badge of the Second naval fighters strike squadron, 
nicknamed La Lora (female parrot)

The Super Étendards' first attempt to attack the British Task Force with was made on 2 May 1982, but this had to be abandoned due to in-flight-refuelling problems. A couple of day's later, on 4th May, the second attempt resulted in two Super Étendards, flown by Lt Mayora in 3-A-203 and Cpt Bedacarratz in 3-A-202. Mayora and Bedacarratz both released their missiles from about 12 miles out, then banked sharply for home. One missile fell harmlessly into the sea but the other hit the British destroyer, HMS Sheffield, amidships. Although the warhead failed to explode, the impact and resulting fire inflicted mortal damage on the ship and twenty of her crew. 

The infamous anti-ship sea-skimming Exocet missile 

On 25 May, the Argentines launched another attack. 3-A-203 was again one of the aircraft, this time flown by Cpt Curilovic, and Lt Barraza was flying 3-A-204. The primary targets for this mission were the two British aircraft carriers, HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible. Forty miles northwest of the lead carrier, HMS Hermes, the Super Étendards popped up and swept the ships with their radar. Picking the first target they saw, 20 miles from the ships, Curilovic and Barraza launched their missiles, then veered away, outrunning the Sea Harrier which was providing combat air patrol (CAP). The ships launched chaff and turned to bring their anti missile weaponry to bear on the Exocets. One of the missiles fell into the sea, the chaff having confused its targeting systems. The other flew past the carriers until its small internal radar found the Atlantic Conveyor. The missile drove well into its hull before exploding, igniting tons of fuel. Abandoned and left to burn, the transport ship sank several days later, taking with her the helicopters and other supplies that had been intended for the ground war just beginning.

Cpt Curilovic and Lt Barraza prepare for their mission against the British aircraft carriers

On May 30, two Super Étendards, flown by Cpt Francisco and Lt Collavino (3-A-202 & 3-A-205), Collavino carrying Argentina's last remaining Exocet, were joined by four Air Force A-4C Skyhawks of Grupo IV for an attack on carrier HMS Invincible. Two of the Skyhawks were shot down by Sea Dart missiles from HMS Exeter during their final approach, and while they were following the wake of the Exocet missile. 

With the European Economic Community, and thus France, having placed an embargo on fulfilling the Argentine order for their remaining nine Exocet missiles, Argentina looked to other markets to acquire the weapon, but it was fortunate for the British, that their search was in vein and the Super Étendards were to take no further part in the war, fortunate for the British, that only five AM.39 Excites had been delivered to Argentina.

Once the conflict was over, the rest of the Super Étendards shipment was delivered, however, Super Etendard 3-A-203 was lost in a fatal crash on 29 May 1996 while attempting to land on Punta Indio airstrip, in Northern Argentina.

This model of the Super Étendards is the 1984 Heller kit reboxed and distributed by Airfix in 1990. Now being a somewhat rare kit to acquire, I ironically purchased it second hand in September 2021 from Oxfam's online store for £20.00! Hannants after market Argentinian decals were then used to complete the build as aircraft 0753 which in March 1982 was with 2 Escadrille as '3-A-203'. Deployed to Rio Grande from Espora between 19-20 April 1982, it was used on the missions of 4 May and 25 May 1982 and subsequently marked with silhouettes to show the losses of HMS Sheffield and Atlantic Conveyor.

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The model

Brand: Airfix

Title: Super Etendard
Number: 03060
Scale: 1:72
Released: 1990 | Rebox (Changed box only)

Westland Wessex HU.5 & HAS.3 - Operation Paraquet

I'm ending my current helicopter builds with a flurry of Westland Wessex Junglie and Pinger whirly birds. Last month, I posted how the rarity of the Wessex, in scale modelling form, had resulted in a very unsatisfactory build. Then, just a few weeks later, like busses, two turn up together in exactly the configuration I was originally looking for; such better quality ones too! My approach to constructing this pair was exactly the same as with my earlier Junglie and Pinger Sea King duo, but with so many lessons learned from that experience, I think enjoyed these more and must say that the Pledge Floor Gloss worked so much better than Vallejo's gloss varnish!

As it's been a good few weeks since my first Wessex build, here's a reminder of the helicopter's pedigree. It was the Westland Wessex that replaced the Westland Whirlwind, first being used by the Royal Navy, in the form of the anti-submarine Wessex HAS.1, in 1961. The HAS.3 was brought onto service in 1961, with improved avionics and radar equipment; the sound of which gave the anti-submarine force the nickname of Pingers. 

1964, saw the Wessex HAS.1, operating from bases in Sarawak and Sabah, assisting Army and Marine detachments fighting guerrilla forces in Malaysia. Having removed much of the anti-submarine equipment to lighten the aircraft, during the subsequent campaign in Borneo, the Wessex was typically operated as a transport helicopter, capable of ferrying up to 16 troops or a 4,000-pound payload of supplies directly to the front lines. It is from these operations the Commando Helicopter Force gets its nickname of the Junglies and the commando assault variant, the Wessex HU5, was developed.

Italeri, Wessex HAS.3, as Humphrey

Matchbox, Wessex HU.5, as Yankee Alpha

In 1982, around 55 Westland Wessex HU.5 and 2 HAS.3 participated in the Falklands War, and it is 3 Wessex helicopters from this conflict that my scale models have been based on. 

The models and their intended Falklands War identities are:

• Ark Models' Wessex HAS.1 as the HU.5 Yankee Foxtrot flown by Lt Mike Tidd
• Matchbox's Wessex HU.5, as Yankee Alpha flown by Lt Ian Georgeson
• Italeri's Wessex HAS.3, as Humphrey flown by Lt Cdr Ian Stanley

These 3 helicopters were key players in the opening days of Operation Paraquet, the code name for the attempt to recover South Georgia from Argentine military control using SAS elite troops, one of the first British acts of the War.

I recount below, much of their story discovered in the pages of Harry Benson's excellent book Scram! This is thrilling first-hand account of what it was like to be a helicopter pilot during Falklands War; from dodging Pucara attack aircraft, to landing special forces behind enemy lines, as told from the seat of his Westland Wessex. 

Operation Paraquet was an SAS planned mission to take control of South Georgia by the most unlikely and unexpected route. Inserted by two Royal Navy commando Wessex helicopters, of 845 Squadron, onto the Fortuna Glacier, the largest tidewater glacier on South Georgia, the plan was for these troops to march across the mountains and take the unknown Argentine force at the Leith whaling station by surprise.

Against the strong advice of a scientist, from the British Antarctic Survey team, who had only recently been extracted from the island himself, 22 mountain troops of D Squadron SAS were landed on the glacier. Overnight, on 21/22 April 1982, and as the Antarctic expert warned, the weather was to "defy human reason". A violent storm, the wind gusting to 100 knots and producing squalls of driving snow, stopped the SAS in their tracks. With frostbite and exposure a real concern, the SAS troop commander, Captain John Hamilton, radioed for the helicopters to return and rescue them.

Lieutenant Commander Ian Stanley in Humphrey, the single engined Wessex 3, but the only Wessex equipped with radar, acted as pathfinder for the 2, radar-less twin-engine, troop-carrying, Wessex 5s. Stanley guided Lieutenant Mike Tidd in Yankee Foxtrot and Lieutenant Ian Georgeson, flying the second Wessex 5, Yankee Alpha, in a close formation up to the top of the glacier.

Although dressed in white Arctic clothing, after exposure to a night of sub-zero temperatures, gale force winds and driving snow, the SAS troops were already in varying stages of hypothermia. Yankee Foxtrot, with Tidd at the controls and with half the frozen soldiers safely loaded, was the first to pull up into the icy but clear sky, when, without warning, it was enveloped in a tidal wave of a snow shower. In an attempt to return to the landing zone, the tail and left wheel of the Wessex hit the snow at about thirty knots, bringing the aircraft crashing down on its left side and sliding it onwards for fifty yards. The left side of the cockpit filled up with debris and snow as the windows imploded. Tidd slid open the cockpit window and clambered up onto the side of the aircraft to help open the rear cabin door.

Tidd slid open the flimsy cockpit window and clambered up onto the side of the aircraft

The snow shower passed as suddenly as it had appeared and visibility improved once more. Out on the snow, the soldiers were divided between the two remaining helicopters. With ten people now crammed into the Wessex 3 and fourteen in the Wessex 5, the depleted formation rose to the hover once again. As Stanley navigated over the ridge of the glacier with the use of Humphrey's Wessex 3 radar, Georgeson in Yankee Alpha followed a few rotor lengths behind. Then, another ferocious snowstorm hit the formation just at the wrong moment, barely ten seconds after launch. As Humphrey dropped down over the ridge-line of the steeply descending glacier, Georgeson lost sight of it in the now near blizzard conditions. Yankee Alpha's starboard wheel caught in a hidden and small ice crevasse and the aircraft toppled over onto its side. While it was amazing that no one was severely injured, Yankee Alpha was not so lucky, the second and last troop carrying Wessex was out of action.

Out on the snow, the soldiers were divided between the two remaining helicopters

With no radio contact, an overloaded helicopter and appalling weather conditions, there was nothing Stanley could do but to return to HMS Antrim, the County-class destroyer from which they had launched two hours earlier. After Humphrey received a thorough safety check by the engineers, Stanley decided to have another go at rescuing the survivors. As if taking to the air in arctic conditions which would ground any peace time flight, with only one engine to support them, was not bad enough, Stanley also had the added problem of how to fit fourteen large passengers into Humphrey's tiny cabin, already full of radar equipment! During the earlier rescue flight, Humphrey's rear cabin had been cramped with just two crew and six passengers and would now have to find room for an additional eight! Even if they could somehow cram everyone in, the Wessex would be dangerously overloaded way beyond the design limits of the rotor gearbox and the capacity of the single engine. 

Stanley and Humphrey have another go at rescuing the survivors

Stanley radioed ahead for the ship to get onto a heading that gave maximum wind, and thus maximum lift, over the deck. His final approach was judged to perfection. The helicopter descended straight towards the deck unable to maintain the usual careful hover due to its excessive weight. The air speed indicator showed around sixty knots at the moment they touched down. A controlled crash would have been good enough. Instead it was as close to as smooth a landing as you could get! Against the odds, Humphrey had brought all helicopter crews and SAS troops safely home.

Ending the day with one failed mission by the SAS and two crashed helicopters, this near disaster on Fortuna Glacier was a worrying start to Britain’s campaign to reclaim South Georgia and the Falkland Islands. But for the astonishing skill of Lt Cdr Ian Stanley and his Wessex 3 crew, it could have been so much worse. 

Julian Thompson, Commander 3rd Commando Brigade in 1982, has an insightful and somewhat amusing thought in his forward to Scram! ... What the SAS thought they were doing up there is another matter, and my opinions on the matter are best left unsaid! 

Imperial War Museum’s copy of an original photo taken from Humphrey

On 25th April, with a sense of reality restored, a more traditional helicopter assault by Special Forces and Royal Marines, with two Royal Navy vessels (Antrim and Plymouth) conducting a naval bombardment, brought a successful conclusion to Operation Paraquet with the surrender of the island's two Argentine garrisons. And this was just the start .... !

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The Models

 Brand:      Italeri

 Title:        Wessex HAS.3
 Number:  1258
 Scale:       1:72
 Released: 2007 | Rebox (Updated/New parts)

 Brand:      Matchbox

 Title:        Westland Wessex HU.5/HAS.31
 Number:   PK-133
 Scale:       1:72
 Released: 1987 | Initial release - new tool

  Brand: Ark Models

 Title: Westland Wessex HAS Mk.1/31 Anti-submarine helicopter

 Number: 72032
 Scale:      1:72
 Released:2009 (Originally 1963 Frog)

Westland Sea King HC.4

When the Westland Sea King entered service with the Royal Navy in 1969, it was probably never envisaged they would be needing the HC.4, more commonly known as the Commando. Ten years later, following a request from the Egyptian Air Force for a Sea King without its amphibious configuration, there being little need of this in the desert, Westland came up with the Sea King Commando. In fulfilling the Egyptian Air Force's requirement, the Sea King’s side floats were removed and replaced with stub sponsons to carry the main undercarriage. With an operational range of up to 600 nautical miles, without refuelling, and seating for up to 28 fully equipped troops, the Commando was soon to be adopted by Royal Navy, in particular, by the Naval Air Squadrons (NAS) for troop transport and commando assault operations. The Royal Navy designated the Commando the HC.4 and used it in all major operations around the world; the Falklands, the Balkans, both Gulf Wars, Sierra Leone, Lebanon and Afghanistan. 

ZA314 / WT Giving a lift to some troops; note Paras not Marines in this instance 

I was inspired to build this HC.4, and the earlier HAS.2, to recognise the role they both played in Falklands War, and yet, when it came to adding the final decals, I followed the Airfix plans to the letter, depicting it as helicopter ZA314 / WT from 848 (Training) NAS, based at Yeovilton, Somerset in 2011. I've visited the Fleet Air Arm Museum on the Yeovilton base many times, and may even have been buzzed by ZA314 as I've walked the East Devon coast, where their helicopters are frequently seen and heard on their training flights. 

ZA314 was assigned to 848 (Training) NAS in 2007, from 845 squadron, having themselves received it from 846 NAS in 2000. ZA314 came into service in September 1982, and while too late to be used in the Falklands War, a number of personnel from 848 (Training) NAS, did get to serve in the Falklands; not, however, with the Sea King HC.4, but the Wessex HAS.3, and not with 848 NAS but with 847 NAS! 847 NAS was one of the squadrons urgently reformed to provide the additional anti-submarine capability required to protect the Taskforce from Argentine submarines. Coincidentally, I have a scale model of the Wessex HAS.3, all lined up for one of my next builds. 

Junglie door gunner in training

Factoid: since their operations in Borneo during the 1960s, the Commando Helicopter Force are affectionately known as the Junglies, while their siblings in the Anti-submarine Force, are known as the Pingers, this being the sound made by their submarine searching sonar

A must read book from the view of Junglie

During my research into the Falklands back story of Westland Commando, and before I went with the Airfix 2011 scheme for my HC.4 build, I came across a fascinating book, Special Forces Pilot: A Flying Memoir of the Falkland War by Richard Hutchings, published in 2009. 

Richard (Dick) Hutchings was a Commando helicopter pilot, awarded the DSC with 846 NAS during the Falklands War. In a very story telling style, he pulls back the covers on some very covert missions. These include the raid on Pebble Island, to destroy Pucara aircraft - the nemesis of the helicopter force - a mission which resinates with the iconic Special Air Service (SAS) desert raids on Axis bases during the Second World War, some 40 years earlier. He also describes the role the Junglies played in pioneering night flying, when a small number of the Commando pilots took delivery of the first ever night vision goggles, only released from development for Special Forces to use in covert operations against the Argentines. 

A few key Falklands War locations and dates

The most enlightening and final story of the book, was the reveal of hitherto undisclosed material relating to Operation Mikado. This was the ill-fated, Special Forces mission to destroy the Exocet carrying Super Étendard aircraft and their supply of missiles at Rio Grande airbase in Argentina. Dick shares his first hand experience of this incredulous and audacious mission, which, had it been successful, would have saved the British ships and crew of both HMS Sheffield and the Atlantic Conveyor from the devastating effects of this weapon. As it was, the story remained a secret for many years after the War. Indeed, it does not even get a mention in my usual goto Falklands War tome, Max Hasting's Battle for the Falklands. I assume, even though Max was an embedded reporter within the Taskforce, by publishing in his book in 1983, it was far too soon after the War for such secrets to be released. 

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The model:

Brand:       Airfix
Title:         Westland Sea King HC.4
Number:    A04056
Scale:        1:72
Type:         Full kit
Released:  2015 | Initial release - new tool

Westland Sea King HAS.2

The Westland Sea King entered service with the Royal Navy in 1969 to replace the Westland Wessex anti-submarine (HAS) helicopter. Over the past 40 years, the Sea King has operated in all the major military conflicts including: the Falklands War, the Gulf War, the Balkans conflict, the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War. 

My interest in building a scale model of the HAS.2 Sea King was inspired by a very good friend of mine, Mark, who was a technician with 824 NAS, working to keep the 2 helicopters of 'A' Flight in the air during the 1982 Falklands War. These helicopters were '50' (XV660) and '55' (XV649) and it is '55' that I selected for my build. I just hope I have done it justice.

Formed in April 1933, 824 squadron received their first helicopters in 1958 in the form of the Westland Whirlwind. In February 1970, 824 squadron became the first operational Sea King unit at Culdrose and in April 1982 they were called on to participate in Operation Corporate, the code name given to the British operations to retake the Falkland Islands and its territories, following the invasion by Argentine military forces. 

Sea King 55 HAS.2 XV649 of 'A' Flight 824 Squadron RNAS - "Where's Mark?!"

It was on 5 April 1982, that Mark, with fellow maintainers, aircrew, support personnel and the two Sea Kings of 'A' Flight, '50' & '55', sailed from Devonport to join up with the the Carrier Battle Group en route to Ascension Island, aboard RFA Olmeda, an Ol-class fast fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Three further Sea Kings accompanied 'C' Flight on RFA Fort Grange just over a month later. In all, around 35 HAS Sea Kings from 4 NAS Squadrons (820, 824, 825 and 826) served during the Falklands War. While some performed their intended role on anti-submarine patrols, others were stripped of their anti-submarine equipment and fitted with seats for the moving of troops and supplies between ships and out to the Islands. This latter role became even more critical to the success of the campaign after the loss of the MS Atlantic Conveyor, together with three of the four Chinooks it was carrying, rendered British forces with only one serviceable heavy lift helicopter.

In its anti-submarine role, 'A' Flight's Sea Kings were armed with torpedos, depth charges and machine guns. Once, like so many others, it was stripped of all non essential anti-submarine fixtures and fittings, it moved into load lifting, troop carrying and a multitude of other missions. During the landing of British Troops on East Falkland, the two helicopters, aircrew and maintainers were detached to San Carlos in support of ground operations. Following the surrender of all Argentine forces on the 15th June 1982, RFA Olmeda and 'A' Flight sailed to South Georgia with one helicopter '55', to embark 'M' Company of 42 Commando Royal Marines for transit to Thule Island, which was still under Argentine occupation. Operation Keyhole consisted of a small task group of RFA Olmeda, 824 'A' Flight', HMS Yarmouth, HMS Endurance, and MS Salvageman. After arriving off the shore of Thule Island on Sunday 20th June, Sea King '55' landed the Commandos and returned to RFA Olmeda with Argentine prisoners following their surrender without a shot being fired.

Squadron artwork hidden on the reverse of the crew's open door - "Where's Mark?!"

As for the scale model, in Part 1 of my Sea King story, you'll have learned that I selected the Airfix 1:72 scale Westland Sea King HAR.3 kit. I had read somewhere that a couple of Air Sea Rescue (HAR) helicopters had been converted to the Anti Submarine version at the time of the Falklands and so felt they would be a close enough match. They certainly had the wheel floats/sponsons and radar dome, but I had missed the erroneous inclusion of rear observation windows which, had I realised earlier, I'd have blanked out. Having decided to leave them in place, then required me to dip into my extensive spare decals collection to make up a smaller set of numbers for the '55', which would fit between the observation windows and the door! On a more positive note, and talking decals, I was very pleased to lay my hands on a very rare set of Modeldecal's 1979 produced 824 Squadron emblems. These were key for the build as they were the ones applied to the helicopter's nose during Operation Corporate. Ironically, I then went and hid the decals on the port side behind the crew's open door, but trust me, they are there!

Tail and main rotor blades folded back. Headphone cable makes for a good rope!

All the helicopters I've built so far have been completed in the 'ready for flight' mode, wheel down and rotor blades extended. So when I saw that this kit allowed me to build the Sea King in the 'ready for maintenance' or similar state, I don't know the official term, I just had to give it a go. This was of particular interest to me as I had it in mind to present the finished model in the same state that Mark may have seen when he worked on it, i.e.with tail and main rotor blades folded back. In photos, I've seen the rotor blades secured individually with cables to the body. On this occasion, I just had a go at securing the outside blades, with the others yet to be secured. I may return to these later.

Another use for iPhone headphones

Other modifications I made were to add a hand rail to the steps using wire from those ties you find supplied with plastic freezer bags, and, for the yellow exhaust covers, I cut up an old set of iPhone headphones. I found that a section from below the earbuds fitted the exhaust openings perfectly and the cable made for a good length of rope to secure the rotor blades! I also needed to change the box dust filter which came with the kit with the cover you see sitting above the cockpit, in front of the engines. Having no squadron transfers for this, I painted this on freehand, with the 'A' Flight letter added from my spare decals box.

A few modifications include: hand rail, rotor blade ties, plus exhaust and engine covers.

The figures added to the model were mostly taken from Italeri's NATO Pilots & Ground-crew and PJ Production's Air Sea Rescue sets. There is a pilot sitting in the right hand seat, and behind the left rear window there's a crew member sitting at a desk; although the effort in preparing and fixing them here now seems to have been somewhat wasted, as they are hardly visible. Some I had to alter slightly to fit the scenes, e.g. the pilot on the steps was originally resting his foot on a box and the shirtless figure, modelled on Mark, had his wrench swapped for an instrument panel. This panel was a not insignificant piece of the model's interior which I should have fixed to the cockpit ceiling, but only came across it, still sitting on my desk, after I had glued everything else together! I suppose, however, it makes for an amusing final photo caption!

"Ah! Mark ... I think you'll find that instrument panel is still needed!"

Images of the real Sea Kings

To assist me in my build, Mark shared some great photos of 'A' Flight's helicopters, which I have tried here to recreate. I hope you at least see some likeness. 

824 Squadron

RGA Olmeda onboard which 'A' Flight's Sea Kings sailed

Sea Kings '50' & '55' en route to the Falklands, notice the squadron emblems

'55's' sister Sea King, '50' coming into land, notice the emblem on the engine cover

Another of Sea King '50' .. I didn't realise I did not have a good shot of '55'

'A' Flight in action

'A' Flight detached to San Carlos in support of ground operations

Interesting observation in this last picture, is that for action on the Islands, the Sea Kings have changed the colour of their numbers from white to black and the squadron markings have also been painted out ... I feel the need for another build!  

A brief history of the real Sea King XV649

Sea King XV649, which I have attempted to recreate here as Sea King '55' 824 Squadron, was built in 1969 as an HAS.1 and was upgraded to an HAS.2 in 1978. This added a 6th rear rotor blade, a more powerful engine and improved navigation and communications equipment. It was in this configuration that it embarked on Operation Corporate. 

On its return from the Falkland Islands it underwent a further conversion to an Airborne Early Warning helicopter, the AEW.2A. A painful lesson learned during the conflict was Britain's lack of Airborne Early Warning aircraft and the Sea King took on the challenge to fill that gap. 

Finally, in 2002 XV649 underwent its final upgraded to an Airborne Surveillance and Control ASaC7 helicopter. In this new role of interception/attack control in the detection of low-flying attack aircraft, it went on to complete its military service in Afghanistan. Today, it has reportedly been demobbed and is stored at RNAS Gosport, Hampshire.

Westland Sea King HC.4 & HAS.2 (HAR.3)

This week’s scale model is a little different … 4 weeks ago I set out to build two Falklands War Sea King helicopters, the HC.4 Commando and the HAS.2 Anti-submarine variants. It has been the most absorbing build of my lockdown modelling projects to date. Working on them side by side has both been a real challenge and a journey of discovery. My reason for choosing two, was to build the two distinct Royal Navy Sea King variants which were uniquely used together during the Falklands War. These were the HC.4 Commando and the HAS.2 Anti-submarine.

Both of the base models I used were from Airfix's current range, a rarity in itself as I've more recently had to delve into their discontinued range. Airfix's Westland Sea King HC.4 was a perfect match for the Commando, while their Westland Sea King HAR.3 Starter Set was the closest I could find to the HAS.2 Anti-submarine. While the HAR.3 was actually the RAF's Air Sea Rescue helicopter of the day, the most important feature of this version which I needed for my Anti-submarine helicopter, was its radar dome, however,  I later noticed it also had rear observation windows which were not installed on the Anti-submarine!  Frustratingly, considering all the other research undertaken, I realised this far too late in the build to to make any adjustments, so I ask you to just ignore them, albeit I find this hard to do myself, as they did cause some further issues which I'll explain later.

As this was such an epic build and I have so much to comment on I'm going to share the story of these helicopters in three instalments. In this post, I'll bring you some of the key features of the early stages in which I was constructing the two models side by side, and then, just as I've done in my previous posts, I'll deep dive into the helicopters' backstories and the more unique parts of each build.

For consistency, I will now reference the HC.4 as just the Commando and the HAS.2 as the Anti-submarine. Hopefully using these names will, at least, be less confusing than their type numbers.  

Phase 1 - The Interior

Unwrapping both models and laying the contents out on the desk showed that most of the parts were the same. However, once I started the construction, the variety of parts used, and the number which were not required, was quite surprising. The Commando's interior was just two rows of seats, understandably when considering it was designed to carry up to 27 fully laden troops. Meanwhile, the Anti-submarine, in place of seats, had computer cabinets and a desk with a radar monitor, obviously required to track and sink submarines. An interesting factoid is that once the Argentine submarine threat was neutralised, all this technology was removed to make room for cargo, as the movement of supplies between ships and out to the Islands became an essential role for the helicopter fleet.

Interior views

It was also interesting to see how the two helicopters were fitted out in different coloured seats. I've not been able to find out why, but the Commando had French blue fabric for all but one seat at the rear which was orange! Meanwhile, the Anti-submarine's interior was wall to wall light grey. As I had no other plans to work from, I made a big leap of faith in that the Air Sea Rescue's interior designer was the same as on the Anti-submarine's and a bit of Googling did nothing dispel this!

Phase 2 - The Exterior

When it came to the exterior the differences were equally unique. The Commando has wheels attached to a simple small wing section, while the Anti-submarine has a set of floats attached to the wing into which the wheels retract during flight. Oh yes, and as I commented on earlier, the Anti-submarine also had that 'dromedary' hump on its back enclosing its radar. 

The differences between the two also extended to the exterior paintwork. The Commando, due to its land based role, has an allover matt green camouflage, where as the Anti-submarine has its external surface pained a gloss dark blue-grey; a better camouflage for life at sea. A very good friend, who served on the Sea Kings during the Falklands War, remembered that the paintwork could sometimes look almost black and so after the first coat of light grey, to identify areas requiring filling, I applied a coat of black primer to give the final blue-grey finish an even darker hew. The Commando likewise, received a coat of olive drab prior to adding the British camouflage green. I have recently found that using complementary coloured primers can provid for a richer depth of colour in the final finish. I'm learning every day.

Primer added to complement the final colours

Final colours added

Next up was the layer of varnish. I brush painted the matt varnish on the Commando, having previously found this to give a good and smooth enough covering. Applying a gloss coat is normally a different matter and after loading up the spray gun, the fun started! For the first time, Valejo's airbrush compatible paints failed me miserably. Their gloss varnish was too thick, clogging the brush and even when thinned sufficiently to produce a spray it left an orange peel effect on the surface! This is probably just user error but having never had any problems with Humbrol's simple spray cans, this was a real disappointment. Interestingly on the forums, I've read since, most recommend .. and wait for it .. Pledge Floor Gloss over Vallejo's gloss varnish. So, order placed!

Removing the masking from the glass

Once varnished, the masking on the glass could be removed, and there was a surprising amount of this! I started masking by cutting tape to fit, which is what I've seen most modellers use, but soon resorted to masking fluid, a new favourite of mine dating back to when I used to do a lot of water colour painting. The fluid can be painted on, so one has to have a steady hand which is not so important with tape, and then it peels off like an Ethan Hunt latex mask; very satisfying!

One thing you'll notice from the above picture is the green glass above the windscreen. This on the full sized helicopter is to protect the crew from the sun streaming in overhead, just like a car's sun visor. I applied this to the underside of the glass pieces using a recent discovery of a mix of Vallejo's clear green, blue and grey paint, mixed to a formula I devised for the Huey's.

Phase 3 - The Decals or Transfers

The Commando needed no additions or changes to those Airfix provided, as I decided early on that I'd go with whatever they had designated for the all over green camouflage version. I did have the option to apply an arctic 'green & white tiger' camouflage, but not being a scheme used in the Falklands War, the decision was easy, my Commando model would be Sea King ZA314 of 848 Naval Air Squadron (NAS).

Decals for the Anti-submarine model was a different matter. With the source Airfix kit being a RAF Air Sea Rescue helicopter, few of the decals could be reused. My aim here was to recreate, as close as possible, one of the Sea Kings my good friend worked on when serving with 824 Squadron. This resulted in me having to acquire 3 additional sets to compliment those generic decals supplied with the model. It's amazing what you can find in the after sales market to model a specific subject. I'll go into more detail on what these decals were when I cover the finishing of the Anti-submarine in one of the next 2 posts, though in the picture below you can get a taster for both with a few of their decals applied. 

First set of decals added

Phase 4 - The Crew & Figures

For some reason, Airfix seem to be following Italeri's lead these days in providing no figures for their models. Fortunately the Belgium scale model company, PJ Production, make an excellent range of resin figures and coincidentally, if you were paying attention at the start, the most suitable helicopter crew they make are badge air sea rescue! 

Bulk buy of resin helicopter crew 

Apart from the bright orange flying suits, which I did not copy, they were a perfect fit for both Sea Kings. While you'll see them in action in my next posts, I've included a preview shot below of the pilot and co pilot installed, prior to hiding them behind their canopy; always a sad time after all that painstaking detail has been applied!

Helicopter crew installed prior to hiding them behind the canopy

The final ancillary figures, important for that final diorama stage of the build, were sourced from Italeri's 1980s NATO Troops and NATO Pilots and Ground Crew sets. 

One of the ground crew modelled on my good friend and conker provided for size!

Some of Italeri's NATO Troops dressed up as 3 Para

So that's about it for now. I hope this has whet your appetite to see more. The Sea Kings are now built and ready for their grand unveiling. All I need to do now is add pictures and backstories to 'paper', which I'll share in my next 2 weekly instalments. 

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The models

Brand: Airfix

Title: Westland Sea King HC.4

Number: A04056

Scale: 1:72

Type: Full kit

Released: 2015 | Initial release - new tool

Brand: Airfix
Title: Westland Sea King HAR.3 Starter set
Number: A55307
Scale: 1:72
Released: 2016 | Rebox (Updated/New parts)

Brand: Italeri 
Title:  NATO Pilots and Ground Crews ex. ESCI
Number:  1246
Scale:  1:72
Released: 2004 | Rebox

Brand: Italeri

Title: 1980s NATO troops

Number: 6191

Scale: 1:72

Type: Figure

Released: 2019 | Rebox (Changed box only)

Avro Vulcan B.2

For this week's Falklands War themed model, I have built perhaps the largest 1/72 scale kit around, that being Avro Vulcan. This is, however, not technically a new build but one I built 10 years ago and which, over the last few weeks, I've sanded down, re-painted and applied new decals. Having been suspended above a 007 inspired Scalextric track, now repurposed for my diorama canvases, it had faded badly. Funny thing is that it could very well be returning to the loft rafters, albeit now hung above a Falklands War scene!

Before the makeover 

The Vulcan entered service with the RAF in 1954 to provide Britain's independent nuclear deterrent, a role it owned for the next 10 years. With the Polaris submarine fleet taking over the nuclear deterrent mission in 1969 and multi role aircraft, such as the Tornado, muscling in on the its strategic bombing role in 1979, it was no surprise that by the outbreak of the Falklands War in 1992, Vulcan crews were already being given new assignments and the 30 year old aircraft itself had started to be withdrawn from service. 

With delta wings and skin plating that would cover a football pitch, the Vulcan was as impressive an aircraft to the RAF as Concord was to the commercial flying world. Indeed they even shared the same engines. I loved seeing this aircraft fly and have fond memories of it being one of the highlights of any airshow. I even have a picture on my office wall of the last airworthy Vulcan, XH558, making its final flight over the Lake District in October 2015. 

My last Airshow sighting of the Vulcan at Yeovilton, Summer 2013

Before repainting my Vulcan, as has become the norm for all my lockdown scale modelling projects, I undertook quite a bit of additional research to ensure I correctly reflected its Falklands War colour scheme. Although I would have followed Airfix's original colour painting instructions to the letter, and with that original model also looking to portray the famous Operation Black Buck Vulcan XM607, it is surprising how different my makeover model looks. Oh, and I'm not going to go into detail of what XM607 got up to, I will only say that when I read Roland White's book, Vulcan 607, I was blown away and if you want to know more, I highly recommend you read it, you will not be disappointed!

The colour scheme I discovered that I had applied to my original Vulcan dates back to that the RAF were using in the late 1960s. It would appear that the RAF moved from this dark grey & green to a lighter grey camouflage in the 1970s and it would have been this that XM607 would have been wearing in 1982. One could write a whole book on camouflage and I dare say I may have to have a go one day, but it is now clear to me that Airfix were using a 1960s colour chart for this aircraft, which although incorrect for  Operation Black Buck, it was quite OK for XM607 when it entered service with the RAF on New Years Day 1964. XM607 was withdrawn on 17 December 1982 to became a static exhibit alongside the Waddington runway. I've been fortunate enough to visit 2 other Vulcans on static display. XL360 which flew to its retirement location at Coventry on 4th February1983 and XJ823 which was on standby for Operation Black Buck and flew into Carlisle on 24th January 1983 to join Solway Air Museum's collection; they are truly amazing and intimidating aircraft! 

After the makeover, with a Harrier alongside for scale.

The Vulcan is such a large model that there is no way my runway and hanger will ever be able to accommodate it. I am definitely going to have to return XM607 to the air! In the above picture, I have also added a Hawker Siddeley Harrier for size. This is a later Harrier than those used in the Falklands War but I'll share more of that later in this project. 

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The Model

Brand: Airfix

Title: Avro Vulcan B Mk2

Number: 09002

Scale: 1:72

Released: 1995 | Rebox (Changed box only)