modelling world: 10/01/2013 - 11/01/2013

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Jets 06/2012

In an awesome show of strength, the Seymour Johnson AFB's 4th Fighter Wing launched 70 F-I5E Strike Eagles on April 16. The aircraft took part in a training mission to destroy more than 1,000 targets on bombing ranges across North Carolina. The exercise marked the 67th anniversary of the unit's predecessor gaining the milestone of a thousand 'kills' during World War Two. "This F-I5E Strike package honoured the excellence and sacrifices of our Wing's past while 'flexing' 4th FW airpower today," said Col Patrick Doherty, 4th FW commander. "In 1945 the greatest challenge in Europe was destroying a Luftwaffe that refused to take to the air. One of the 4th FG's most notorious missions was also its last. The group's Airmen were tasked to take out the Luftwaffe and in two airfield attacks on April 15, 1945, the group's aviators destroyed 105 enemy aircraft. The same day other 8th Air Force fighter groups attacked Luftwaffe airfields all over Germany, claiming a total of 752 aircraft destroyed. The Luftwaffe never recovered from this terrible and devastating blow."

Jets 07/2012

In a blog on the Soviet Air Force 'Russian Knights' website, team members have announced that it is to take part in this years Farnborough International Airshow on July 9-15. Although not yet confirmed by the show this appearance, if reports prove to be correct, will be by a pair of the team's Sukhoi Su-27 Flankers; not the entire team. It is believed that one aircraft could fly at the show with another remaining on static display. Confirmed attendees for the show include a Boeing F/AI8 Super Hornet, US Marine Corps V-22 Osprey, Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon, Saab Gripen and a debut appearance by the Yak 130. During the weekend, classic aircraft such as the Avro Vulcan XH558 will also be flying. Display teams include the Breitling Jet Team, The Blades, RedHawks, Breitling Wingwalkers and of course the RAF Red Arrows. The solo displays will also be enhanced by the first appearance of the South Korean Air Force T-50 jet trainer in the colours of the Black Eagles display team.

Model Airplane News 01/2014

When Model Airplane News was first published in 1929, it was the Golden Age of aviation, with record-setting flights and breakthroughs in aircraft design. Our magazine cost 15 cents back then, but the inspiration it provided to generations of modelers is priceless. Issues from those early days are filled with free-flight airplanes built from pieces of balsa and tissue paper and, when radio control arrived in 1938, we were the first to tell builders how to equip their aircraft with the new technology. Fast forward to today, and we regularly cover radio-controlled turbine-powered jets, multi-rotor machines, and sport aircraft that are ready to fly out of the box. Like the model aircraft hobby, our magazine has evolved and, after 85 years of continuous publication, we continue to thrive. We've expanded into multimedia with a website, videos, e-mail newsletters, social media, and a paid Premium Site, along with a library full of books and DVDs. We are proud of our iconic place in U.S. journalism history, and we will continue to build on that legacy to inspire and educate aircraft modelers as they reach for the skies. On this historic anniversary, we salute you, our readers, and thank you for your loyalty and enthusiastic support.

Aeroplane Monthly Winter/2013

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was the fastest manned service aircraft in history. Its role was strategic reconnaissance (hence the "SR" designation). Technically, it was a conventional aircraft, taking off and landing and having air-breathing engines with conventional controls. There are machines faster than the Blackbird (a nickname also used as the callsign), but they were either "dash" types like the mid-air launched X-15, or spacecraft like the Space Shuttle Orbiter (see Aircrew May and September 2013). The SR-71 was able not only to travel faster than a speeding bullet, as the cliché has it, but was able to fly at Mach 3+ for significant times, transiting huge swathes of the Earth's surface, either to get to a photographic target or to pass over a large target and (not least) to egress from danger zones, usually simply outrunning any missile attacks. The official top speed was Mach 3.2, but Blackbirds could be flown to Mach 3.3 as long as the engine compressor inlet temperature did not exceed 801°F (427°C). SR-71s hold the world record for the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft, a record previously held by the YF-12, the type's predecessor.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Gun World - Handgun Buyer's Guide 2013

I stopped testing when I discovered the first bulged case out of the M22.1 got mad when I noticed that all of the cases were bulged. Then I got in touch with an engineer at ISSC's headquarters in Austria, who explained that the bulged cases are completely normal for the M22. Bulged cases are not normal in general, I told him. Yes, he said, but in this case, they are within safe parameters and are a harmless result of thefeedramp's design...and no one reloads .22 LR brass anyway, so there's really nothing to worry about. I had my doubts, so I put on the thickest leather gloves I have, hauled out the hottest .22 LR ammunition we had, and went back to the range with trepidation...and determination. The M22 ate (and bulged) more than 200 rounds of CCI Mini Mag, 100 rounds of CCI Stinger, 100 rounds of Velocitor, and we have no idea how many hundreds of Remington Golden Bullet, Federal Champion, Winchester Super-X, and other high-velocity ammunition......without a single case failure. No bulges ever burst. No cases ever split. The M22 kept going, just like the engineer said it would, and I eventually took off the gloves and went back to having a fun time shooting.

Jets 08/2012

Looking at pictures of the various aircraft labelled 'fifth generation stealth fighters' from Russia, China and the United States, one might conclude that their respective design teams have been comparing notes: the shapes and sizes of the aircraft are remarkably similar. Perhaps that should not come as a surprise. In the past the West has had the advantage of super-computers to model the aerodynamics of the designs in great detail. As that technology has spread, so Russia and China and eventually other countries will come to develop similar designs. After all, aerodynamics is the same the world over. The progress that Iran, for example, is making in its indigenous aircraft programme is testament to the speed of this growing trend. As knowledge becomes democratised - as academics term its spread across the Internet, it is axiomatic that stealth designs for aircraft will proliferate. Anyone with a reasonably sized computer and more than a casual understanding of the laws of physics and aerodynamics can design a fighter with a low radar-cross section. Where things get interesting and more difficult to assess is the operation of the sensor equipment carried within the aircraft and how advanced the stealth coatings are on the surface. These are areas where one side can gain a brief advantage over another.

Jets 09-10/2012

By the early 1940s the course for British flying boat development had become a complex quandary and for some, a doubtful path to take much further. Of Britain's principal flying boat manufacturers, even before World War Two, Blackburn, Saunders-Roe (Saro) and Supermarine had left the commercial market - Short Brothers met the required demand.
Later, the Government's wartime Brabazon Reports recommended various aircraft types for post-war commercial service, but no new flying boat. On the military side, the form of a flying boat to replace the Shorts' Sunderland was debated back and forth throughout the war, while all the time the doughty aeroplane successfully continued in service. But attempting to reflect ever-changing thoughts on possible new Service flying boats, the suppliers continued drafting paper projects. At Cowes on the Isle of Wight, Saro's thoughts embraced military studies but also, as the war turned in the Allies' favour, commercial types. During September 1943 Arthur (later Sir Arthur) Gouge, formerly Shorts' General Manager and Sunderland architect, joined Saro as Vice-Chairman. An ardent flying boat supporter, Gouge teamed up with greatly experienced flying boat designer Henry Knowler, establishing a unique centre of expertise.

Scale Military Modeller International

When Zvezda launched their incredible Soviet T-90, it exploded like a bomb into the modelling community and soon appeared in many forums as modellers eagerly got to grips with the kit. For me the T-90 is a charismatic vehicle, and with its crowded turret, reactive armour and purposeful lines, it resembles a T-72 on Steroids! The Zvezda offering consists of over 451 parts and has some amazing details, and comes in at a very competitive price, making this one of those 'must-have' modern armour kits. As the plastic parts are so delicately moulded, additional detail sets are, in my opinion, unnecessary, however some etch smoke launchers do add to the overall look. The tracks are also nicely detailed, and pretty accurate. The kit has clear parts and also includes two types of 'net' for engine grilles, and a length of twine for the tow cables, however, this is not too accurate, so I replaced it with a suitable piece of wire from my 'spares-box'. 'Modular' is the key word when building the kit, as first you make up a number of smaller sub-assembles and then add these to the main parts. The barrel is OK in plastic, but I chose to replace it with a turned metal one from RB Models. Building the tracks and the road wheels has its own sequence, as first you have to assemble the tracks, and then fix the inner wheels to the chassis, and then add the outer wheels and finally the tracks and side skirts. So had to paint and weather the tracks and road wheels before assembling them, as once you have 'fixed' the side armour, this structure is effectively 'sealed-in'.

Gun World 11/2013

Although military use of the shotgun goes back centuries, it has not always been thought of specifically as a combat weapon. The reason is simple. Many early North American settlers had only one weapon—a smoothbore musket or fowling piece—that could fire multiple projectiles, and they used it both for hunting and self-defense. Some early smoothbores, such as the blunderbuss, were intended specifically for use against an enemy. Designed to be loaded quickly via its bell mouth with an array of metallic projectiles including old nails or scrap iron, the blunderbuss was a fearful weapon for the coach guard or the ship's captain facing possible mutiny. George Washington understood the devastating effect multiple projectiles could have on an enemy and ordered the muskets of American troops loaded with "buck and ball," a combination of a musket ball and buckshot. Cavalrymen in the U.S. Civil War also used buck and ball loads. Once the double-barreled shotgun was developed, some users shortened the barrels (to make them handier in dose quarters) and loaded both barrels with buckshot. Originally, these double-barreled shotguns were percussion, but once the self-contained shotgun shell was developed, break open shotguns were quickly adapted for combat. In the American West, short-barreled shotguns—or sometimes longer barreled ones—were equalizers on both sides of the law. During the Indian Wars, some U.S. cavalrymen carried the double-barreled shotgun for close-range fighting, though they most likely retained their carbines for longer-range engagement.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Jets 11-12/2013

A year ago the fighting in Libya that was to see the downfall of the Gadhafi regime in Tripoli was moving to its conclusion in Libya. In October 201I, the final remnants of the Gadhafi supporters were hanging on by a thread in a small number of locations in southern and central Libya, emboldened by their tribal connections to a regime whose hold on power was becoming increasingly tenuous. Then, with the full military might of the NATO alliance and its coalition allies, it was only a question of time before the insurrection would see a new government formed in Tripoli. The images of Libyan tanks and armoured personnel carriers being systematically targeted and destroyed by a United Nations authorised campaign proved just how far the application of air power had moved since World War Two. Air power had shown the versatility to be applied both in its hard and soft forms. In a 21st century where media images of dead women and children can cause public support for military interventions to evaporate in an instant, this was important.

Jets 01-02/2013

After a busy few months travelling and moving house, I've enjoyed a fairly relaxing time over the last few weeks, settling into my new office/study and getting acquainted with the village. We are now situated under the flightpath for East Midlands and during the evenings all manner of transport aircraft ply their trade in and out of Castle Donington. The droning turboprops and rumbling jets make a pleasant (to me, at least!) comparison to the whisper-quiet airliners that frequent the airport during the daytime hours. Their dwindling numbers has prompted me to get out and about to try and see as many of these types before they disappear from our skies completely. They may be noisy and inefficient, but they still hold a sense of historical importance and I feel it important to capture them on film before it's too late. I guess this sense of nostalgia has also been triggered by researching the article on the Jet Preservation Pioneers (page 18) and trawling through my photograph collection to help illustrate it. Although I am too young to remember Ormond Haydon Baillee (OHB) and Spencer Flack's Hunter (although I did see him race his Beech Baron to dramatic effect), I distinctly remember being invited to Cranfield as a 13-year-old to enjoy a day with Sandy Topen s Vintage Aircraft Team. I got to crawl all over the Vampires and Venoms and while the photographs are too poor to illustrate this magazine, they brought back many happy memories.

Scale Aviation Modeller International 11/2013

This is a very welcome re-release of Revell's Voodoo, previously issued with USAF or Canadian options. This version features two Air National Guard aircraft. The kit comes in an end-opening box containing three large light grey sprues, one transparent sprue, a packed, colourful decal sheet and a six-page instruction booklet. All the mouldings look crisp and well detailed, with fine recessed panel lines. The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was originally designed by as a long-range bomber escort SAC, but was instead developed as a nuclear-armed fighter-bomber for the Tactical Air Command and as a photo-reconnaissance aircraft based on the same airframe. Extensively modified versions were produced as an all-weather interceptor aircraft, serving with the Air Defense Command, the Air National Guard, and the Royal Canadian Air Force. The RF-101 reconnaissance variant was instrumental during the Cuban Missile Crisis and saw extensive service during the Vietnam War. Interceptor versions served with the Air National Guard until 1982, and in Canadian service they were a front line part of NORAD until their replacement with the CF-18 Hornet in the 1980s.

Model Aircraft 11/2013

From 1945 until September 1949 the postwar Royal Hellenic Air Force was engaged in a bloody conflict that erupted between Greek communists and the Hellenic Armed Forces after the German retreat from Greece. During this period the Spitfires and their pilots battled on constantly... While World War II was about to end in most parts of Europe, bringing peace and prosperity, this was not the case with Greece, which was about to enter a new phase of fraternal bloodshed. Since October 1944 the German occupation forces had been retreating from western Greece to act as reinforcements against the Allied invasions in Normandy and Italy. After the last German soldier left from Athens, fleeing northbound, during November 1944 a political vacuum opened up. The Greek government in exile and the Royal family, that were supposed to take charge of Greece, were undermined by the Greek pro-communist guerrilla groups. These had grown strong in the rugged mountainous terrain of mainland Greece, harassing the Wehrmacht units based there under the German occupation. During WWII British Commando forces helped these groups with ammunition, weapons and support to continue a campaign of sabotage against the German infrastructure. Following the liberation, as the Wehrmacht was commencing its slow retreat, these groups demanded a more liberal government, with themselves in charge, instead of the Government in exile. After a clash with Greek security forces in Athens in December 1944, the communist groups literally conquered Athens and brought chaos to the civilian population. The British Forces (Ark Force) under the orders of General Scoby and Wing Commander Geofrey W.Tuttle (AOC RAF) took the matter in hand.

Gun World 10/2013

The term "assault rifle" is derived from the German word "Sturmgewehr," which translates literally as "storm rifle," but which idiomatically refers to an assault or attack. Quite fittingly, most arms historians trace the development of today's assault rifles to the German Sturmgewehr 44, a design produced in substantial numbers late in World War II. Among the features of the Stg 44 that have been incorporated into its successors are 1) the ability to fire full or semi-auto, 2) an intermediate power cartridge between those used in SMGs or those used in infantry rifles of the time, and 3) a detachable box magazine. Assault rifles tend to be more compact than traditional rifles, and this allows them to be used more effectively in mobile warfare. The post-war transfer of German engineers to Spain influenced the development of another assault rifle that employed the Stg 44's roller locking system—the CETME—that in German service would become the G3. Strictly speaking, the G3 might be termed a "battle rifle" as it fired the full-power 7.62x51 mm NATO round. Today, the term "assault rifle" usually incorporates battle rifles.

Britain At War 11/2013

THE OCTOBER issue of Britain at War Magazine featured the Tip and Run raids endured by Britain's coastal towns and villages. This special section prompted a surprising amount of feedback from readers, a small part of which is reproduced in this month's Field Post. Such a response made me realise, or more accurately, reminded me, that during the Second World War everyone was in the front line, wherever they lived or wherever they fought. There is no doubt that for some the war was the most exciting time of their lives. Young men travelling to exotic locations at the government's expense, coupled with the camaraderie and the sense of purpose that warfare generates, may have made for a heady mixture. Similarly, some at home made a great deal of money out of the conflict. Always, though, there was danger, wherever a person might be. Nothing exemplifies this more than one of the articles in this issue about the saving of Norwich Cathedral in 1942 - see page 106. Everyday life in this lovely old building must have seemed as far away from the war as it was possible to be in Britain at that time. Yet one night in June 1942 the Luftwaffe came calling. With somewhere in the region of 15 to 20,000 incendiaries being dropped on the city in the space of just thirty-five minutes, fires spread everywhere.

Pacific Wings 10/2013

Boeing delivered the 223rd and last U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III airlifter today, fulfilling the production contract more than 20 years after the first delivery. The aircraft left Boeing's Long Beach facility to fly to its assignment at Joint Base Charleston, S.C., where a ceremony will mark its arrival. The Air Force was the C-17's launch customer. Since the aircraft's first flight Sept. 15, 1991, it has been the world's only strategic airlifter with tactical capabilities that allow it to fly between continents, land on short, austere runways, and airdrop supplies precisely where they are needed. Boeing continues to produce C-17s for other customers around the world, and maintain and sustain the aircraft through the C-17 Globemaster Integrated Sustainmcnt Program. C-17s have been involved in contingency operations of all types, including flying troops and equipment to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and to Operation Iraqi Freedom. The airlifter also has been used in humanitarian missions around the world, including the Japanese and Indian Ocean tsunamis of 2011 and 2004, respectively; Hurricane Katrina in 2005; and the Haitian earthquake of 2010.

Model Airplane International 11/2013

Airfix have opted to release the Mk I first and the box contains two sprues of about 70 parts and one clear sprue with another five parts, whilst the decal sheet is made by Cartograph and the instructions are in Airfix's current format. One aspect of these new Airfix kits that is often the cause of much debate is the varying quality and finesse of the surface detail, however in this kit I was more than satisfied because the panel lines and the fabric rendition are fine and restrained. The engraved lines are maybe just a little bit too deep but this does not matter once they are under a coat of primer and paint; but most importantly they are complete and consistent on all parts. The finely raised ribs and longerons make the fabric covered areas realistic plus there are various panels including the wing gun access panels that slightly protrude from the surface, although I think the rims on the fuselage sides are perhaps a little on the heavy side. It's my opinion, however, that Airfix didn't get right the look of the metal panel fasteners, doing them as rather heavy rivets with semi-round heads, which you are better sanding off.

Air International 11/2013

Eurofighters Typhoon is probably best known for its high-performance flight display routines seen by millions of people around world. The aircraft has been in service for over ten years and has participated in many of the world's most demanding training events: Red Flag in the United States, Anatolian Eagle in Turkey, the Tactical Leadership Programme at Albacete in Spain and its equivalent staged by the United Arab Emirates Air Force at AI Dhafra. The training undertaken in those events tends to focus on the air-to-air role and less on air-to-surface missions. Then, in the spring of 2011, RAF Typhoons were deployed to Gioia del Colle AB in southern Italy to enforce a UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya to support NATO's Operation Unified Protector. Part of the way in to the air campaign, RAF pilots employed the jet in an operational air-to-surface role for the first time. It was a good demonstration of Typhoon's ability to conduct bombing missions in combat. The weapon employed throughout the campaign was the 1,0001b (454kg) Enhanced Paveway II laser-guided bomb, stablemate of the 1,000lb unguided bomb - the only two air-to-surface munitions currently in the RAF's multi-role Typhoon arsenal. After ten years of service and an even greater length of time in development, Typhoon seems somewhat under equipped for 'blowing stuff up', but not for much longer. When the Phase 1 Enhancement (P1E) package is released to service next year RAF Typhoon FGR4s will gain a very smart weapon: the 500lb (227kg) Paveway IV dual-mode, precision-guided bomb.

Monday, October 21, 2013

AFV Modeller Issue 73

It seems like most modellers building German WWII armor prefer the more powerful Tigers or the Panther over the more common Panzer IV, but I was very pleased when Dragon announced they were to release kits of all the Panzer IV variants. I prefer the versions with the longer guns and my interest with the 1943 Kharkov battles made the Ausf. G an obvious choice for me when it was released a couple of years ago. I had long considered the idea of a model of a white-washed Panzer Grey vehicle fighting in and around the city of Kharkov and furthermore it would offer me a chance to try the hairspray method. When plan a new project I search for unique details which would make the model stand out and this approach also opens possibilities for a personal touch to the completed model. The inspiration for me to start this project was a collection of images of a Panzer IV I found on the web site Missing Links, showing a Das Reich Division vehicle from Kharkov. The most prominent feature on this tank was the mounting of extended Winterketten tracks on the left side, with ordinary tracks on the right. There are other details on this vehicle not seen elsewhere, and the fact that Echelon had released decals for this particular vehicle endorsed my choice of subject.

World of Firepower Winter 2012

An hour and a half before, we'd boarded our two MH-60 Black Hawks and lifted off into a moonless night. It was only a short flight from our base in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, to the border with Pakistan, and from there another hour to the target we had been studying on satellite images for weeks. The cabin was pitch-black except for the lights from the cockpit. I had been wedged against the left door with no room to stretch out. We'd stripped the helicopter of its seats to save on weight, so we either sat on the floor or on small camp chairs purchased at a local sporting goods store before we left. Now perched on the edge of the cabin, I stretched my legs out the door trying to get the blood flowing. My legs were numb and cramped. Crowded into the cabin around me and in the second helicopter were 23 of my teammates from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or DEVGRU. I had operated with these men dozens of times before. Some I had known 10 years or more. I trusted each one completely. five minutes ago, the whole cabin had come alive. We pulled on our helmets and checked our radios and then made one final check of our weapons.

World of Firepower 01/2013

At Daniel Defense, they often say it is proud to manufacture the finest cold hammer-forged barrels on the planet. Not only do they hammer forge the rifling of the barrel, but they also hammer forges the chambers. By manufacturing barrels in this fashion, they completely eliminate any tooling marks, burrs or imperfections that can otherwise be present in a barrel manufactured by other means. In turn, this virtually eliminates the necessity for barrel break-in. Out of the box, they recommend that you fieldstrip the platform. Once broken down, clean the bore and chamber with a proper chamber and bore brush to break up any carbon and copper that might be left over from factory function testing. Next, apply some bore cleaner to a cleaning patch and run it through the bore starting from the chamber end. Follow the wet patch with a dry patch and repeat this process until the patches come out clean. Using a quality gun lubricant, apply a thin coat to the inside of your upper receiver, bolt carrier, bolt and charging handle. Once this is done, reassemble and head to the range! Keep these components well lubricated for the first couple hundred rounds. This will help condition the moving parts and make the action smoother.

Jets 05-06/2013

The year was 1973 and the scene was the 21 st EAA convention at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Among the hordes of modern light aircraft on show, one design really stood out: the remarkable Bede BD-5J. Alongside its piston-powered BD-5A stablemate, this extraordinary newcomer was the talk of the event, a profile only further raised by the sensational, rocketing demonstrations it gave. Equally impressive as those performances was the fact that - piloted by Bede Aircraft's ChiefTest Pilot, Lester Berven - the BD-5J had only just made its first flight, on July 20, 1973. To the homebuilders present, Berven's sensational displays surely pointed to an exciting future of wallet-friendly, high-performance jet ownership and operation. In reality, the BD-5Js planned development was hampered by several factors and, subsequently, only a very limited number were ever built. Even so, the BD-5J remains an iconic jet and one given extensive exposure well outside the aviation sphere. Awarded a long-term Guinness Book of Records listing as the Smallest Jet Aircraft, it shot to fame in 1983 when used as Roger Moore's sprightly getaway platform in the James Bond film Octopussy. A worthy tribute to the BD-5J's enduring nature is that, more than four decades post-conception, the aircraft is getting a new lease of life, albeit without its original designer's direct input.

Jets 03-04/2013

Snakes are often stereotyped for their deadly bite and the family of particularly venomous snakes called the Viper (Viperidea) are known for their ability to either kill or immobilise their prey. They can also attack without injecting any poison and can live for up to 30 years. Given this image it is not surprising that it also lends its name to one of the world's most popular contemporary fighter jets; the Lockheed Martin F-16. Whilst it is formally known as the Fighting Falcon many pilots and ground crew nickname it the Viper The name is well deserved; head on it does look like a snake, and it certainly packs a powerful 'bite'. Almost forty years after the F-16 took to the skies the modern-day variants of the Fighting Falcon were used by the Israeli Defence Force over the Gaza Strip in November 2012 as they attacked rockets that were being fired into Israel. In the latter part of 2012 Turkish Air Force F-16's were also in action over Northern Iraq attacking Kurdish separatist elements using the area as a sanctuary to attack across the border into Turkey Greek F-l 6s also routinely engage in virtual dogfights with Turkish F-16s over the Aegean Sea, sometimes with dramatic consequences.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

World of Firepower 04-05/2013

STANDARDIZING FIREARMS ACROSS A LAW ENFORCEMENT TEAM MIGHT SEEM LIKE A SIMPLISTIC EXERCISE. But as the Fayetteville, North Carolina, Police Department discovered, the positive effects can be far reaching. About two years ago, the Fayetteville Emergency Response Team (SWAT) acted on an initiative to standardize ammunition and weapons department-wide. At the time, the Emergency Response Team carried Glock 21s, with .45-caliber Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) ammunition. The majority of the Fayetteville Police Department was carrying Glock 22s, with a few Glock 23s and 27s depending on assignment, each of which used .40-caliber Smith & Wesson ammunition. "Our main goal was to select a firearm that used .40 caliber S&W ammunition, which matched the rest of the Police Department," says Sgt. W. A. Holland, Training Sergeant with the Emergency Response Team.

World of Firepower 06-07/2013

SNIPER AND SURVEILLANCE OPERATIONS PRESENT INHERENT DANGERS FOR THE MILITARY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT. In most cases, personnel are required to visually explore a location by sticking their heads up or by knocking conspicuous holes in walls, often in dangerous conditions such as hostile militarized zones. The practice potentially exposes team members to life-threatening enemy fire, as well as possibly discloses coalition force locations to the enemy. But that's no longer the case. Periscopes have long been used on submarines to enable observations above the ocean's surface. The simple mechanics behind periscopes are now being applied on land to help save the lives of numerous deployed soldiers and SWAT team members. Recognizing the need for a simple solution for SWAT teams, Tony Leonti developed the patented SWATSCOPE to help improve visual surveillance tactics. U.S. Army and Marine Corps members quickly adopted the device.

Flight International Oct 22, 2013

GE Aviation is to manufacture the engines for Bell Helicopter's V-280 Valor third-generation tiltrotor, the airframer has announced. Bell has not revealed which specific GE powerplant will be used with the V-280, but says that government funding from the US Army's future affordable turbine engine (FATE) programme will allow it to provide a "robust, durable engine". GE has previously said that technologies developed through FATE, such as advanced cooling systems, could be inserted directly into its GE38 engine, which will power Sikorsky's CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter, in development for the US Marine Corps. More than 3,100h of testing has been completed on the 7,500shp-class (5,520kW) GE38, with GE expecting to receive full military certification sometime next year. The CH-53K is due to be flown for the first time at the end of 2014. The GE38 is in the same thrust-range as Rolls-Royce's AE1107C Liberty engine, two of which power the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. Bell has additionally con-firmed that UK-based aerostructures specialist GKN is to design and manufacture the V-280's V-tail and "ruddervator" components. Bell's medium-lift V-280 Valor is seen as a potential replacement for the US Army's current Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters. The company says its design will be able to fly twice as fast at the in-service type, and have a deploy able range of 2,100nm (3,890km).

Model Laboratory No.3

The original idea was to do an armored vehicle with numerous impacts -historically documented in several episodes- where these "beasts" were reached by a fair amount of hits, but in spite of those it kept working. Several research pictures showing armored vehicles with different hits, pictures of the specific vehicle, of vehicles in the same unit, etc. were used for backup. Taken all research materials into account, we've gotten to this "313" belonging to the 505, as being a unit received on July the 8th 1943, with camouflage which was intended for the African scenario, where this vehicle never did actually set tracks upon. The fact that all the vehicles of this unit have the same camouflage pattern, allows us to infer that these were not repainted in a provisional fashion while fighting in the front. That is why we've portrayed this vehicle with the RAL 8020 "Braun" -base paint for the African scenario being the norm since March 1942- and RAL 8017 "Rotbraun" designated as a secondary color following the February 1943 norm. The Tamiya kit is an excellent and very true kit with a wonderful parts fit and a good mold. It has few mold ejector marks, and these are well placed. However the level of detailing has been surpassed by other brands and that is why we absolutely need a number of other products and accessories in order to make the finest kit possible.

Model Laboratory No.2

Considering the fact that 16000 units with tens of variants were built of this plane; its basic structure never suffered radical changes, which proves the overall quality of the original design. However, at first the number of different uses this plane was eventually put to was never a factor taken into consideration, because the German Air Ministry (RLM) was never too confident with the success of this project, and commanded instead a fast bombardier able to carry a war load of 1800kg and to be able to reach a speed of 500km/h... almost the same speed that the newly born Hawker
Hurricane plane made. Three projects were proposed: The Henschel Hs 127, the Messerschmitt Bf 162 and the Ju 88. The first two were rejected for a number of reasons, and the Junkers followed through. Its first prototype the Ju 88 VI, crashed when performing a high speed test, but nevertheless having proven its correct design. Later prototypes got motor adjustments, cabin, weapons, etc. until the right configuration was found. In 1939 the Ju 88 was finally revealed to the world, after having kept it a secret to the British Secret Services for three years. Ernst Zindel was the engineer who took all the credit for it, but two American engineers' expert in the field of paneling worked on the project as well.

Model Laboratory No.1

This Dragon kit has been chosen to reproduce a late Panther unit because of its overall quality and moderate price. The kit includes an adequate photo etched sheet that will help us even more when reproducing the finer details. The plastic pieces are assembled without problems or major issues, bearing always in mind those pieces that will eventually be substituted for other ones or refined in some way. I fixed the excessive symmetry of the armored vehicle by substituting one of the steel wheels for one of the old ones with the rubber band around it. This is basically it for this section, so I invite you to bear with me while you follow the assembly and painting stages that come next. We've chosen to decorate this late Panther unit using a rather curious light camouflage scheme. The camouflage spots are well defined and their edges are pretty well defined as well. This pattern creates in some areas some thin color threads of the original base color between the camouflage spots. In order to reproduce this we will have to prepare well our airbrush kit, cleansing it to perfection and doing some previous color tests on a piece of paper before touching the camouflaged surfaces of the kit. I don't want to give lengthy explanations here so I've chosen to show the process on the pictures and the captions underneath in the pages that follow.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Jets Magazine 07-08/2013

On a dismal May day, a group of retired fighter pilots and groundcrew from the legendary I I I Sqn gathered on the ramp at RAF Wattisham for the roll-out of back from the brink of the scrapyard' Hawker Hunter FGA.9 XG194. From its glory days as the lead aircraft: in the Black Arrows 22 aircraft loop, its chequered career had led it eventually to RAF North Luffenham where, 'modified' into a facsimile Soviet Sukhoi, it was used by the Army and RAF in training teams to make safe the aircraft of defecting Eastern Bloc pilots. Once its usefulness in this ro e had passed, it was virtually abandoned in the open and deteriorated rapidly both through the weather and the attentions of souvenir hunters. Luckily the aircraft was spotted by aircraft engineer David Burke who, realising the significance of this particular airframe, set about trying to find the aircraft a safe home. Eventually it was taken on by Maggie Aggiss and the team at the Wattisham museum and a three-and-a-half-year restoration project commenced.

Jets Magazine 09-10/2013

In warfare, time is always a paramount consideration. The general rule appears to be if you can operate at tempos above that of your enemy, you gain and hold the initiative. In the Second World War time was critical as it gave the defenders the opportunity to climb to a suitable altitude from which to gain speed and engage the enemy. However; as jet fighters started to evolve, tactics became driven more by the closing speeds between an air defender and an incoming threat. If the enemy aircraft was thought to be carrying a nuclear warhead, it became even more important to get airborne and attack the enemy as far away as possible from home territory. During the Cold War this was not too difficult over the North Sea and the polar wilderness of the Arctic Sea; in Germany however the timings involved were very reminiscent of what happened in the Second World War: with Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) flights needing to be capable of responding at very short notice to threatened incursions by Warsaw Pact aircraft.

World of Firepower 08-09/2013

The marine corps creed has been heard many times, but it's never truer than when you're talking about a rifle you built yourself. thanks to the design of the ar platform, and companies such as del-ton, inc., building your own service rifle is now an easy afternoon activity. If you're wondering how to start this project, you can view the Del-Ton website. They currently offer nine different rifle kit configurations based on the AR platform. Each kit comes with a completed upper assembly and all of the parts needed to build a lower assembly. The only part missing is a stripped lower receiver. Why? The reasoning is that this receiver falls into the legal category of being considered a firearm. You must go through a licensed firearm dealer to obtain the lower receiver, whereas all other parts can be ordered directly from the factory. Del-Ton does sell the lower receivers, but these must be shipped to your local licensed firearm dealer. All Del-Ton upper assemblies are head-spaced and test fired for quality and safety. They use top quality, U.S.-made, mil-spec parts and once you put together the lower/stock assembly you will have a completed rifle worthy of your efforts. Why go to the trouble of building your own rifle? First, by providing the labor, you can order a rifle kit and lower receiver for much less than the going market price of a completed AR. Even more so, you will gain an understanding of the operation of your rifle that will render benefits for years to come.

World of Firepower 10-11/2013

America had just won a war against Spain, liberating both Cuba and the Philippines in the process, and found itself embroiled in a nasty guerilla war with the Moros, Muslim indigents who regarded those islands as their own and fiercely resisted all attempts for peaceful relations. The then-new U.S. service revolver, the Colt Officer's Model .38 Long Colt, had proved a dismal failure in stopping adrenaline-crazed Moros, who readily charged into the middle of groups of American troops, chopping up everyone within reach and then disappearing back into the jungle. In fact, things had gotten so bad that a near mutiny resulted. U.S. troopers had lost all faith in the .38 Long Colt's ability to perform its assigned mission—to keep attackers away—and in a desperate attempt to rectify the problem, the Army rushed quantities of old Colt Single Action Army
.45s to the Philippines and hurriedly issued them with recently mothballed black powder 250-grain, lead flat-point ammunition. As archaic as it sounds, the move solved the problem almost instantly. To the relief of American soldiers, the old six-guns stopped the attacking Moros in their tracks. The U.S. Army quickly retired the .38 Long Colt but was acutely aware that it couldn't continue to utilize an antique, single-action revolver for very long. Nearly every country in Europe was in the process of adopting some form of self-loading pistols, and it was clear that America needed to do it as well.

Classic Military Vehicle 11/2013

In 1931 the Soviet Army conducted trials with the imported British Vickers-Carden-Lloyd tankette. The outcome was very promising. In 1932 the Stalingradskiy Traktorniy Zavod (Stalingrad tractor plant or STZ) decided to base two new tractor designs on this vehicle with one intended for agricultural use and the other for the all-terrain transportation of supplies and towing of artillery pieces for the military. Both designs were influenced by the US International TA-40 crawler tractor. The military design received the designation STZ-NATI-2TB - later to become known as the STZ-5 2TB or STZ-5 for short - while the agricultural version was designated the STZ-NATI-1TA. In the end the agricultural variant would also be accepted for Army use and would then received a military designation, the short version of which was STZ-3, to differentiate it from the STZ-5. However, to complicate things a little more, the full designation was different depending upon where the tractor was built. Those manufactured at STZ where known as STZ-NATI-1TA, while those built at Kharkovskiy Traktroniy Zavod (Kharkov tractor plant or KhTZ) received the designation SKhTZ-NATMTA. The two types can only be differentiated externally by the manufacturer's logo on the upper part of the radiator.

Military Modelling Vol.43 No.11

Tamiya's 1:35 scale British Ambulance Rover 7 (item 35082) and its cousin the SAS Land-Rover Pink Panther (item 35076) were released in 1976. Now approaching 40-years of age the detail on these models is, on close observation, comparable to most high-end models released today. There is little in the way of seam lines, they are void of flash and feature only a few pin-marks. I have had the Ambulance model for years but never really took the time to study it. I did see the model built up once at a show and as I have never built any model subject that was post-WW2, I decided to give this model a try. The kit comes on three sprues moulded in a dark green plastic, a decal sheet, two figures and a clear sprue for the windows. There is very little detail on the interior of the driver's cab and the rear ambulance body is equally void of much detail. On checking for after-market products I found that the SAS Pink Panther variant does have an etched set by Eduard but I was unable to find anything for the Ambulance version. Although it does say on many websites that the Tamiya Rover Ambulance 7 is out of production, I did find many outlets that still carry the model - and for a very good price (all under £10). I measured out the model and it appears that the model is a relatively good representation scale-wise.

Military Illustrated Modeller 11/2013

The combat career of the F4U Corsair stretched longer than almost any other WWII fighter aircraft. The first of more than 12,000 Corsairs was produced in 1940, and the last of these bent wing birds were still doing battle above Central America nearly thirty years later. The Vought Aircraft company had a strong association with the US Navy during the inter war decades, but their focus in the 1930s was observation aircraft, trainers and seaplanes. In response to a US Navy specification issued in February 1938, Vought submitted two designs. With the second of these carrier-based fighter proposals, Vought adopted the simple strategy of building the smallest possible airframe around the most powerful available engine. At the same time, Pratt & Whitney was developing the supercharged R-2800 radial engine. Radial engines had recently lost favour to the sleeker inline configuration, but the US Navy preferred the ruggedness and simplicity of the radial arrangement. Vought therefore designed their new V-166B around the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 powerplant. The brute force of the R-2800 engine had to be absorbed by a correspondingly large propeller. With a diameter of 13' 4", the Hamilton Standard three-bladed propeller assembly was the largest fitted to a fighter aircraft to that date.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Legion Magazine 09-10/2013

On the afternoon of Aug. 18,1944, the 4th Canadian Armoured Division redeployed its forces in response to a directive from the corps commander to prevent the enemy from escaping the Falaise Pocket. The division was to establish blocking positions along the River Dives between the villages of Trun and Chambois. The Polish Armd. Div. was to secure Chambois, linking up with the American 90th Infantry Div. It is not clear why Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds thought that the 10th Canadian Inf. Brigade, less the Algonquin Regiment, was a sufficient force to accomplish this task, but as corps commander he was preoccupied with the next phase of operations: the pursuit to the River Seine. Simonds ordered Major-General George Kitching to deploy the 4th Armd. Bde., with three of the division's four armoured regiments and two infantry battalions, north of Trun, where they would begin the advance north. This decision forced Brigadier-General Jim Jefferson to try and close a six-kilometre gap with the tanks of the South Alberta Regiment (SAR) and the rifle companies of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, and the Lincoln and Weiland Regt. The Lines were committed to holding Trun and the nearby village of Magny, where a bridge crossed the River Dives. Jefferson ordered the SARs and Argylls to advance towards Chambois, gaining control of the village of St. Lambert-sur-Dives, where a second bridge was located.

Legion Magazine 07-08/2013

The Korean war broke out on June 25, 1950, when the Soviet-trained and equipped army of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) invaded the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in a blatant effort to unite the peninsula by force. The fighting ended with the signing of the Korea Armistice Agreement between the United Nations Command, the Republic of Korea, China and North Korea on July 27,1953. The war cost tens of thousands of lives of the soldiers who fought the war and many more lives of Korean civilians. In looking at the Canadian story on the 60th anniversary of the armistice, it is important to not overlook the fact that more Canadians were killed or wounded in the long stalemate that followed the on-again-off-again armistice talks of 1951 than in the nine months since Canadians soldiers first went into action in early 1951. This is because while talks dragged on, UN front-line commanders were not allowed to mount any major offensives. Their orders were to dig in and hold. While company-sized attacks were sometimes mounted to improve defences or keep the enemy off balance, the war— for the most part—was fought in no man's land with patrolling, night raids and artillery barrages.

Flypast Special - Wellington

The experience of the high-flying Mk.Vs was such that a major effort was centred on a Rolls-Royce Merlin 60-powered version. This had the ability to take a crew of five inside the pressure shell. Rated at l,280hp (954.8kW), the Merlin 60 had a two-speed, two-stage supercharger and intercooler. This was the Mk.VI and the prototype, W5795, appeared in 1942. Up to March 1943 a total of 64 had been completed. It was hoped to put the type into operational service but this never materialised and the majority were delivered straight into storage and eventual scrapping. Like the Mk.Vs, the Mk.VIs had a remotely controlled four-gun rear turret. While the high-flying Mk.Vs and Mk.VIs may seem to have achieved little in direct terms, they advanced the knowledge of pressure shells considerably, helping the entire UK aircraft industry. Vickers used its experience in the post-war Valiant V-bomber and the incredibly successful Viscount turboprop airliner.

Tamiya Model Magazine International Issue 217 11/2013

I'm sure we've all built a Messer Schmitt Bf 109 or two or maybe three in our day, so it will be interesting to see how this Eduard kit stacks up to the competition. The model comes nicely boxed with loads of extras. Two sheets of photo-etch metal, with one being pre-painted for seatbelts and instrument panel, a pre-cut self adhesive canopy mask set and a very nice decal sheet for five different aircraft. The sixteen-page instruction sheet is well done with clear assembly sequences,
good colour call outs and beautiful renderings for painting and decaling. Examining the kit contents reveals some fine surface detail. The engraved panel lines and rivet detail being very well done. No major flash or ejector pin marks to deal with, good job Eduard. The construction of the kit starts with the cockpit. The side wall detail is enhanced by some photo-etched pieces such as a trim wheel and fuse panel and the rudder pedals are photo-etched as well. The overall cockpit detail is excellent and when painted, given a colour-wash and drybrushed looks very convincing. The seat-belts are the coloured photo-etch and are quite nice. You get a choice of using the standard injection moulded plastic instrument panel or the pre-painted coloured photo-etch with the latter being the one I chose. Small photo-etch levers and switches on the panel are a bit of a challenge, so get your finest tweezers and magnifier, take your time, and you'll be rewarded with a great looking cockpit right out of the box.

Electric Flight 01/2014

Flyzone's micro airplanes are very well known for their stable, pilot-friendly flight performance and out-of-the-box great scale looks. I have flown and reviewed several of Flyzone's WW I micro biplanes and all have been excellent performers in the gymnasium and outside in calm conditions. There's virtually nothing to do except charge the battery (with the RTF versions) and link the plane to your transmitter (for transmitter-ready planes) to be flight-ready. Each comes in a nicely packaged box so they are safe and easy to store and transport. Whenever I attend a club indoor flight night, there's never a lack of club members asking to fly my Flyzone planes. The de Havilland DH-82 Tiger Moth is just the ticket for relaxing afternoon flights. It's ideal for committing micro aviation in a backyard, at a local park or indoors at any school gymnasium. Like other Flyzone planes, the Tiger Moth is available in two versions-a complete, all-in-one RTF package, and as a Transmitter-Ready (Tx-R) model that can be linked with any SLT transmitter, or a radio with an AnyLink module.

Aviation News 11/2013

The Dutch Government announced on September 17 that it will order 35 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning IIs. They are in addition to two F-35As acquired in 2009 and 2011 for test purposes. The total number is much lower than the original requirement for 85 cited in 2002 or the 56 suggested last year because the available budget has been strictly limited to the €4.5bn reserved for the project. The budget includes a reservation of 10% for unforeseen costs. Acquisition of a limited number of additional F-35s in the future has not been ruled out, as long as it fits within the available budget. The 37 F-35s will replace the current fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16AM/BM Fighting Falcons operated by the Koninklijke Luchtmacht (Royal Netherlands Air Force, RNLAF), starting in 2019. Initial operational capability (IOC) is expected in 2021. Deliveries should continue until 2023 and retirement of the final F-16s is scheduled for 2025. The final decision on the F-35 acquisition comes after more than a decade of political debate, despite the government's decision in June 2002 to participate in F-35 development as a 'level 2' partner, investing S800m in the F-35 System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase.

Airforces Monthly 11/2013

ATHIRD attempt to secure offers to supply 60 new fighters for South Korea's FX-III requirement was abandoned in late September after the only remaining bid was rejected. Boeing's F-15SE Silent Eagle had been the sole remaining eligible candidate for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) requirement after the latest bids had been submitted on August 16. However, the Korean Defence Ministry announced on September 24 that, following a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA), which oversees the project, it had been decided to re-tender the contract for a fourth time. "DAPA's Executive Committee voted down the selection of the F-15SE after comprehensive, in-depth reviews of performances, costs and other elements of the aircraft, " DAPA spokesman Baek Yoon-hyung told reporters. "We'll reopen a bid as early as possible after reconsidering both operational and budget requirements." As both other contenders in the programme, the Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II, had come in over the strict 8.3 trillion won ($7.3 billion) ceiling set for the acquisition, it had been thought that the F-15SE would have been officially announced as the winner.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Jets November/December 2013

F inding your way to the Wings over the Rockies museum couldn't be easier... you just look for the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress in the middle of Denver! Seriously, the museum 'gate guard' is a tall-finned B-52B - parked outside the museum's hangar. "he museum site is actually on the former Lowry AFB with the aircraft situated within a 150,000sq ft hangar dating back to 1939. Although the runway closed in 1966, the airfield remained active as a training facility until 1994, when the Wings over the Rockies moved in to preserve the history of Lowry AFB's operations as well as its collections, archives, and research library. The light and airy hangar contains a wealth of aircraft - most with a link to Lowry AFB, Denver or the state of Colorado. The earliest machine on display is the Colorado Aviation Historical Society's Alexander Eaglerock biplane built in Englewood, Colorado in 1926, while other early aircraft include a 1938-vintage Douglas B-18 Bolo bomber More up to date aircraft with local links are a Learjet 24 and the prototype Adam M-309 Carbon Aero that was developed in Colorado.

Britain At War 08/2011

"Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them." These poignant words, spoken at war memorials in the United Kingdom and around the world on 11 November every year, exemplify how we commemorate those who gave their lives in the service of their countries. Indeed, during recent years the Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day ceremonies have been growing once more in significance as public events - a trend that is perhaps partly the result of more contemporary operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Remembrance, however, can take many forms. When artist Richard Walker set out to learn more about his great-uncle, who had been killed in the First World War, it marked the start of an investigation which led to a number of surprising revelations. It was also the start of a journey of discovery that resulted in the creation of a remarkable memorial - a large (3.19 metres tall) panel painting, comprised of thirty-five separate canvases brought together in five sections.

Britain At War 07/2011

"What did you do in the war?" must be one of the most used and abused phrases, but one that is now heard less often. Yet almost everyone in the United Kingdom and in the Commonwealth was touched by the great wars of the twentieth century and this inevitably included people who later became famous personalities. The politicians, film stars and sporting heroes of later years were the privates, sergeants and officers in the front line when their country was fighting for its survival. In this current era of reality shows where fame can come overnight and where some celebrities live in gilded isolation, it is sobering to consider that the personalities of earlier times landed in Normandy on D-Day, as Richard Todd of the Parachute Regiment did to capture Pegasus Bridge, or witnessed the shocking scenes relating to Belsen Concentration Camp as Dirk Bogarde did. Spike Milligan was a gunner; Enoch Powell became the youngest brigadier in the British Army and one of only a handful of men who rose from private to brigadier.

Britain At War 04/2011

The Victorian historian Sir Charles Oman once wrote that "war is indivisible". It is never possible in wartime to completely separate one set of events from another, they are all inextricably linked. This is made clear in the acquisition by Jersey's Channel Islands Military Museum of a "Death Card" of a German soldier who was killed in 1944. As we reveal on page 85, in investigating the background to this memorial card it transpires that he was a member of a gun battery7 on Jersey which engaged the Royal Navy's fleet destroyer ILMS Onslaught. This ship in turn had attacked a German convoy which had tried to slip across the sea from Guernsey - a small flotilla which was transporting, amongst the varied cargo and passengers, a group of personnel from the Organisation Todt, which drew much of its workforce from across German-occupied Europe as far as Russia. Just to add to the intertwining of events, five days earlier the German convoy had been attacked by ships of the United States Navy and the guns on Jersey had opened fire.

Britain At War 01/2011

It is a constant surprise to me how our understanding of the past often changes with time and nothing could exemplify this more starkly than the German occupation of the Channel Islands during the Second World War. With so many individuals from that difficult period in the Islands' history still alive and so much research having been undertaken we could he forgiven for believing that nothing new could be learnt. The so-called "Model Occupation" is gradually being seen in a far different light. As actor John Nettles makes clear in his interview with John Grehan (see page 16), the occupation was often one of fear and brutality. Indeed, this is one of the very reasons why John Nettles set out to produce his latest history of the occupation. That such an environment did exist is confirmed in the recently re-discovered papers of Frank Falla. This bundle of documents details some of the resistance efforts made by the people of Guernsey and how those caught acting against the Germans were treated - see the Briefing Room on page 6.

Britain At War 12/2010

IN a time of great uncertainty for the Royal Navy, its ships and personnel have recently conducted a variety of notable operations during a busy two-week period, writes Martin Mace. In two separate incidents, for example, H MS Montrose and RFA Fort Victoria successfully intercepted pirates in the Indian Ocean whilst deployed on Operation Ocean Shield. Beginning in December 2008, this is the name of NATO's counter-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa with naval patrols being centred on the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin. On Wednesday, 13 October 2010, the Plymouth-based Type 23 Frigate HMS Montrose was alerted to the presence of a pirate gang of ten men acting suspiciously in a small boat off the coast of Somalia. Believed to have originated from a known pirate camp, the gang's boat, loaded with ladders and fuel drums, was towing two other smaller vessels that have been traditionally used for pirate attacks against merchant ships and leisure craft.

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