As the Second World War wound down, Jack Northrop realized he was not going to be one the key players in the crowded post-war aviation business in the US. So he cast his eyes to the east for ideas and to the far east for a market.
He got in touch with Colonel Harold E. Watson of
Operation LUSTY (LUftwaffe Secret TechnologY) fame and asked him if he could make a wish list, which German or Japanese aircraft (real or paper) would he build today.
He came up with this short list:
Arado AR. 555
Dornier Do 335
Gotha Go 229
Kyūshū J7W1 Shinden
Messerschmidt Me 262
Messerschmidt P 1099
Messerschmidt P 1101
(This list is no way represents what I have in my stash
)
Jack took this list, went to Washington and asked if he could negotiate for the rights to build these aircraft for off shore sales with the provision that some jobs will remain in the US, he would not compete with US firms and no US intellectual property would be used in the aircraft. Jack got his wish and so off he went to looking for a partner. Jack created a business spin-off called Northrup Aviation.
After a few months of presentations and false starts, Jack a came to terms with an unknown Korean firm called Samsung.
So both parties agreed to form Samsung Aircraft - Northrop Aviation or SANA. First it was suggested the the new company be called NASA but that sounded too wimpy and spacey.
So here we have the 3rd aircraft build by SANA, the F-55A Camaro. It is based on the Dornier Do335A-1 airframe. This aircraft flew with the 14th Fighter Squadron (Heavy) out of Suwon. This is the CO's aircraft hence the colour extra trim on the nose, fuselage and wing tips. It is armed with two 60 and eight 80 LB rockets.
For size comparison, my itty bitty Spitfire PR XXa.
Note the ex-RLM official tail stand support nut.
So you say to yourself: geez not another NMF aircraft Carl? Give it up, will ya buddy. There is more to modeling than NMF. Sorry, I just like NMF finishes. But I promise to use another colour in the future. Say Gloss Sea Blue with FAA markings.
Future SANA aircraft builds will include:
B-31A Vendetta
B-33A Viceroy
F-52A Skylark
F-53A Firebird
F-57A Impala
F-62A Polaris
RF-55B Camaro Type R
TF-55A Camaro Type T
T-25A Novice
No, I will not match up the builds with the “Watson” list. You will just have to wait and see what comes out.
Build Notes:
The Do335 was a real pain. The engines and landing gear are mega over-engineered. Good fit, almost no PSR required. Just a complex build.
What I used:
Dragon Do335A-1
Tamiya Spray Bombs - Gloss and flat aluminum/silver
Model Master Insignia Blue and OD
Decals are from the Academy ROKAF F-51D
60/80 LB rockets from the Academy Spitfire XIVe and the Academy F6F-3 Hellcat.
