Author Topic: Grumman G-36A, Aeronautique Militaire Belge 1941  (Read 1502 times)

Offline Spey Phantom

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Grumman G-36A, Aeronautique Militaire Belge 1941
« on: November 07, 2020, 08:38:26 PM »
Grumman G-36A, Aeronautique Militaire Belge.
1/I/2Ae, Schaffen Airfield, April 1941


this build is more a "could have been" then a What If, as Belgium did order 10 Wildcat/Martlets in 1939, but were never delivered and transfered to France and then the Royal Navy.

Back History:

Belgium ordered at least 10 Grumman G-36A fighters from the US in 1939. originally they were intended to replace the Fairey Fox VIIc's of 6/III/2Ae at Nivilles, they were transfered to 1/I/2Ae (1st Squadron, I Group, 2nd Regiment) at Schaffen upon delivery to replace the Gloster Gladiators that were mostly destroyed by German Bf109E's and proved to be no match for the Glosters. the first G-36A's were delivered to Belgium in June 1940, at the same time the French Aeronavale recieved theyre first G-36A's. they managed to book some successes and proved to be better then the Brewster Buffalo's that were also delivered to replace the Fairey Fox's of 1st Regiment.

a further 40 of the G-36B version were to be ordered, there were similar to the Royal Navy's Martlet Mk.II and were powered by the more powerfull Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S3C4-G radial engine, but after the fall of Belgium in May 1941, the aircraft order was diverted to the Royal Navy.

the Belgian G-36A's differed from the French and British (Martlet Mk.I) machines, as they did not have an arrestor hook or folding wings. the armour plating on the sides of the cockpit was replaced by plywood sheets to save weight. before the surrender, they managed to shoot down 26 enemy aircraft.

the Model:

the kit is a Revell 1/144 F4F wildcat, decals are from the sparesbox (unit markings and tail number), DIY (underwing serials) and 1/72 Fantasy Printshop Belgian Roundels (until 1940) sheet.







on the bench:
-various models

on the drawing board:
-various 1/72 TinTin aircraft
-1/72 Eurocopter Tiger (Belgian Army)
-various other 1/72 and 1/144 aircraft

Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: Grumman G-36A, Aeronautique Militaire Belge 1941
« Reply #1 on: November 08, 2020, 01:48:44 AM »
 :smiley:
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline Frank3k

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Re: Grumman G-36A, Aeronautique Militaire Belge 1941
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2020, 03:39:53 AM »
The Wildcat looks great in those colors and without the folding wings. Great backstory, too.