Author Topic: Bad Tempura and Tucson's Day of Infamy  (Read 2957 times)

Offline Brian da Basher

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Bad Tempura and Tucson's Day of Infamy
« on: October 18, 2019, 06:24:16 AM »


The Curtiss P-36 Hawk was the U.S.A.A.C. front-line pursuit in the late 1930's and came in various sub-types. Fortunately, as 1940 dawned, some of these had been assigned to the Arizona Army National Guard for testing under extreme desert conditions.





These P-36s were up-gunned with four .50 caliber wing machine guns and given suped-up engines to compensate for the extra weight of the larger guns. These aircraft still kept the maneuverability and light touch the P-36 was known for. The timing of their deployment to Tucson would be a stroke of luck as this placed one of the most advanced American pursuits on what would briefly become the front line of U.S. defense in W.W. II.



On the night of January 31, 1940, southern Arizona ranchers reported hearing aircraft overhead. These reports were ignored and as the sun rose the next morning, the U.S. found itself drawn into the war by a sneak attack.



At first, the enemy couldn't even be identified due to the hit-and run nature of the attack which fortunately caused little damage and no casualties.



However, this determined enemy wasn't going to be content with just one cheap shot against an undefended target.



A few days later, Tucson was bombed again. This time P-36s of the Arizona Army National Guard were there to meet the enemy.





One of the attackng aircraft was brought down and then it became plain who the enemy was.



Apparently the Japanese had launched their sneak attack on Tucson from a long-range carrier strike force.



They employed Itchikawa Type 13XL "Dragonfly" bombers equipped with extra fuel tanks for the mission which was at the extreme edge of their combat radius.



Their bomb load was reduced by the necessity of carrying extra fuel which is why no one on the ground was hurt in the attack.



The pilot who claimed the victory was a rough-hewn sort known as Tucson Sam.





Sadly for Sam, post-war scholarship would invalidate his claim as it turned out the Itchikawa Dragonfly was brought down by engine trouble and not the guns of his P-36.



American intelligence was baffled by the Japanese attack. Why bomb Tucson? It contained no targets of great value, either civilian or military.



They knew the Itchikawa Dragonflys were un-remarkable aircraft, scheduled soon to be phased out.



The only thing in its favor was range which was obtained through lightweight construction and carrying extra fuel at the expense of the bomb load.



It wasn't until after the war that the mystery of why Tucson was attacked would be solved. It turns out the commander of the long-range carrier strike force had been the Naval Attache` at the Tucson consulate and ate an ill-fated meal at one of the city's few Japanese restaurants.



The eatery was known for its signature dish, 'Milk of Magnesia Tempura' and whether the Naval Attache's American hosts intended it as a bad practical joke will never be conclusively proven but what is beyond doubt is that the Naval Attache` never forgot that meal or its terrible aftermath and vowed revenge. Even as the U.S. entered the war, they could feel proud that Tucson wasn't left entirely defenseless in its Day of Infamy.



Brian da Basher
« Last Edit: October 18, 2019, 08:00:30 AM by Brian da Basher »

Offline Brian da Basher

  • He has an unnatural attraction to Spats...and a growing fascination with airships!
  • Holding Pattern
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  • Hulk smash, Brian bash
Re: Bad Tempura and Tucson's Day of Infamy
« Reply #1 on: October 18, 2019, 06:51:55 AM »
Well, what could be more appropriate for this GB than a Curtiss P-36 which was the U.S. front-line fighter in 1940? I grabbed one of my Monogram 1/72 P-36s from the pile and got to work. While some versions of the box art aren't very inspiring...



what's inside is absolutely state-of-the-art for this kit's late 1960's vintage.



With a little care, it builds up pretty nice.



This one was built totally OOB except for adding a whip antenna up top.



Natrual metal is one of the most challenging finishes, so I thought I'd try preserving as much of the kit's original silver plastic as possible. In the end, I had to re-paint the fin (hi Bill!) because a little bump needed sanded off to fit the decals. Speaking of which, that's the star of this P-36. The Arizona ANG markings are origninally from a Matchbox F-86 and were trimmed to fit. Except for the stencils up front, the rest of the decals came from the kit, the extra "stars-and-meatballs" robbed from another Monogram P-36.



The painted bits were done with acrylics. A custom mix was used on the control surfaces to mimic metallic dope of the era.



The Itchikawa Dragonfly was made from a classic 1/72 Heller FW-56 "Stosser" sent by a friend (thanks a million, hamsterman!).



While this one's been around for a while, it's still a neat kit and you can see a lot of thought went into it.



I turned it into a 2-seater by adding a canopy made from a drop-tank half. I also added a new tail wheel as well as a scratch-built hook and housing. The engine and cowling come from an LS Willow. The load-out was all spares.



The model was painted with acrylics, a custom mix on top and Model Masters Gray Primer below. The canopy was done with Poly Scale RAAF Sky which was given a gloss coat. Decals were all from spares.



I'd like to thank Bill for his kindness in sending me the FW-56 kit and Alex for inspiring the unusual marking scheme on the P-36. I'd also like to thank Acree for bravely moderating this GB and those of you playing along or just taking a look. I couldn't do it without you!



It only took me about a week to put these two models together and I had a blast the entire time! I hope you enjoyed the Arizona ANG P-36 and Itchikawa Dragonfly as well as reading more forgotten aircraft history even if the so-called "experts" find it all a little hard to stomach.



Brian da Basher
« Last Edit: October 18, 2019, 09:28:14 AM by Brian da Basher »

Offline elmayerle

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Re: Bad Tempura and Tucson's Day of Infamy
« Reply #2 on: October 18, 2019, 07:04:02 AM »
Beautiful models and excellent story!!  I quite enjoyed this bit of little known history.

Offline finsrin

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Re: Bad Tempura and Tucson's Day of Infamy
« Reply #3 on: October 18, 2019, 12:20:28 PM »
Top notch research (again) cuz I can't find either of those Tucson Times editions anywhere.  Feds covered that one up as if it was Roswell.
First Arizona ANG P-36 I seen.  Cool color scheme and you did bang up job showing it.  8)
Interesting how well FW 56 resembles Itchikawa Type 13XL after nose mods.

Offline Robomog

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Re: Bad Tempura and Tucson's Day of Infamy
« Reply #4 on: October 18, 2019, 04:57:09 PM »
Two excellent builds Brian, particularly like the Curtis.

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