I think I'm done with this one. The roundels are just a copy of the USN roundels I found on Wikipedia.
The kit torpedoes were far too long for a Mark 14, so I chopped 34mm from each (poorly) and glued the pieces back. If you squint, they look like a MK. 14, especially under a wing:
Here's a fuzzy front view. Both the pilot and torpedo man/bombardier have sights - but they're invisible in all the pictures:
You can almost see the pilot's sight (front seat). Also shown is the advanced horizon indicator. It would take an aircraft engineer to describe the technical workings of the apparatus, and I'm not one. I just printed the decals and put some clear glue behind the holes.
2510 is the year/month I finished the build and TB72 is Torpedo-Bomber 72, just to show some connection to the Caproni B.72 :
I'm not clear as to how the crew gets to their stations. I assume a ladder from the rear? I split the two long flaps at the rear into two, before I added the winglets.
The backstory is that the USN was looking for a fast alternative/adjunct to the new PT boats being produced. In operation, they would act as fast scouts, finding and attacking enemy vessels and indicating targets for the slower PT boats and destroyers. They could fly in ground effect mode, and could launch their two torpedoes either from the air (from less than 100 feet altitude) or from the surface.
Tests in the waters near the Channel Islands (off the coast of California) revealed problems with the Flying Fish concept. While on the surface, the prototype showed severe chine/hull slap at high speeds, even in relatively calm waters. This made it difficult to release the torpedoes accurately. Flying in ground effect, a few feet off the water resolved the problem, but flying greatly reduced the range of the craft. Combinations of surface and flying approaches to targets were tried, but none were satisfactory, especially compared to the PT boats which were slower but better armed and more maneuverable.
The handful of prototypes were used to patrol the entrance routes to the Panama Canal, both in the Pacific and Caribbean oceans and faded into obscurity after the war.
I like the colors - they remind me of some of the covers from the Sci Fi pulps of the era.
