I just got finished looking at your whole thread and you have some tremendous work here, I particularly like all the Skemcis variations.
Thanks - I'm glad you've enjoyed them. I've had fun so far coming up with and making all of them, but the Skemcis has been a proper blast! :)
So here's some more!
The Skemcis Post-War, Part 2: Other Wartime OperatorsDuring the war, various Skemcis variants were operated by BC, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK in large numbers. Of these, the UK and the US declared all their Skemcis as surplus, and they were sold off either for scrap or to private customers; some US P-65B (Skemcis F Mk. XI) are still around, heavily modified as air racers. BC has already been covered, and of the other wartime operators, Canada, Australia and New Zealand continued operating the Skemcis well beyond the end of the war...
AustraliaSkemcis production was set up in Australia during the war, to equip RAAF, RAN and RNZAF squadrons with various marks of the Skemcis. The last of these was, of course, the Skemcis F Mk. XII B. The plans for the HLV-12A-5-4 Heron engine were sent to Australia as well, and production facilities were converted to manufacture the
Skemcis F Mk. XII C for the
Royal Australian Air Force, but at war's end only two had been completed. The RAAF decided that the new variant would be a suitable type for operation post-war, as it was arguably the most advanced type in the inventory at the time, and not only that, but the factories were already ready to build it in number. Therefore, the RAAF brass decided to standardise on the F Mk. XII C as one of the primary post-war aircraft types. Around 100 were built, remaining in use with regular force units until 1951, and further remained operated by reserve squadrons until 1962.
After the RAAF decided to go with the Skemcis F Mk. XII C as a post-war fighter, the
Royal Australian Navy opted for the
Sea Skemcis F Mk. VI C to form the fighter element of its carrier air wings. CAC received a licence to produce the type, and the first of the new aircraft rolled off the production line in late 1946. They remained in front-line service with the RAN until 1956, and saw action flying off
HMAS Sydney during the Korean War, and during the Malayan Emergency.
CanadaSome units of the
Royal Canadian Air Force had converted to the Skemcis F Mk. XII B by war's end, and these remained flying until 1947-48. By 1948, the first jet fighters had arrived to Canada in the form of DH Vampires, but a fighter to equip Air Reserve squadrons was desired, and finally the RCAF decided to retain the F Mk. XII B and to buy a batch of new-build
Skemcis F Mk. XII C. These entered service with the air reserve units by 1948, and remained in use until 1959.
The
Royal Canadian Navy wasn't an operator of the Sea Skemcis during the war, but did inspect the RBCN
Sea Skemcis F Mk. VI C near the end of the war. Needing a modern type to equip
HMCS Warrior, the RCN opted for the Mk. VI C. These were delivered in 1947-48, but by the time squadrons could convert completely to it,
Warrior had been replaced by
HMCS Magnificent. The Sea Skemcis operated from
Maggie until replacement by McDonnell Banshees in 1955.
New ZealandDuring the war, the last Skemcis variant to be received by the
Royal New Zealand Air Force was the Australian-built Skemcis F Mk. X. They were slated to receive CAC-built
Skemcis F Mk. XII C, but the war's end interrupted that plan. However, after the CAC lines were restarted, the RNZAF decided to opt for the latest variant of a type with which they were well familiar, and so renewed the order that had been placed during the war. The F Mk. XII C remained operational in New Zealand until 1953 in a front-line role, and until 1956 in secondary and reserve roles.