1/72 scale air dropped anti-shipping torpedoes?

Mar 03, 2010 5 Replies
H

Hey all!



Living here in the RoK and getting into a lot of the history of the 1950-53 war. Red the book "Crimson Tide" about the air war in Korea. One of the stories related by the Navy was the last recorded US air dropped use of anti-shipping torpedoes. Apparent- ly there was a dam that needed taken out and a flight of Skyraiders launched from a carrier with a load of WW II leftover torpedoes and took it out.



I'm thinking it would be really cool to have a Gloss Blue Skyraider with a torpedo and white letter mark- ings sitting on the window sill behind my desk in the classroom.



Having said that... Where can I find a torpedo? I don't build WW II a/c in 1/72 often and don't remem- ber seeing any with torpedoes while in the hobby shops. Do you guys know of anything I could pick up easily with said unit?



Thanks in advance!


-andyh


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W

I only build 1/48 - but a quick peak at Google reveals White Ensign sells a pair of resin & PE Mk 14s torpedos for around $11 bucks and change. Here's two online dealers from the top of the Google que:

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Personally, I'd have to take a whack at scratch building the torpedo. It is after all essentially just a cylinder rounded on one end and tapered on the other. This is a nice super large pic of the Mk14 giving the basic outline and details

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In 1/72nd, a 1/4" dia plastic or wood dowel cut down to a little under 3

1/2" in length is about right for the Mk 14. A little quality time with a belt or disc sander should produce good results for the main body of the torp. Even rubbing the dowel against a flat sheet of sandpaper should produce quick results. The fins and props are a little more involved, but can be cut and shaped from brass flat stock - which appears to be precisely what you get in the WE kit.

Happy hunting.

WmB

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M

Actually, the torpedo in question is the Mark 13. It was shorter than the -14 or its surface version, the Mark-15, and was actually 22" instead of 21".

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A

The unit in question was "Carlson's Raiders" or VA-195. You can come up with a reasonable approximation with a 1/48 Skyraider (either Monogram or Tamiya, but both need some work to turn them back into AD-4s and not the AD-6/7/A-1H that comes in the kit) and Accurate Miniatures which makes a Mk 13 torpedo.

The photos of the "Carlson's Raiders" aircraft on that raid show them with two small napalm tanks on the wing pylons and one Mk 13 on the center one, with a plywood ring around the warhead as an air brake.

Cookie Sewell

PS Yeah, I want to build one too!

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H

Glancing around Ebay for a while, it appears that the old Airfix Devastator kit in 1/72 has an air dropped anti-shipping torp. Anyone know if this would be what I'm looking for?

Thanks in advance!

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M

The Devastators used the Mark-13, as did the TBF/M and the Skyraider. So yes, it would be what you need. Keep in mind that you'd probably need a ring tail assembly aft of the tailfins, as the Mark-13s began using those in Summer-Fall 1944, initially in VT-13, but it was later used Fleet-wide. I'd bet the torpedoes VA-195 dropped were the ring-tailed version.

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