Three Tuck Hurricanes

by David Turner

Hasegawa's 1/48 scale Hurricane I and Hurricane IIc are available online from  Squadron.com

Hasegawa 1/48 Hurricane Mk Is
and
Revell Hurricane Mk IIc

No 257 (Burma) Squadron

Motto: “Death Or Glory” 

During the height of the Battle of Britain on the 11^th of September, RST was posted to command No. 257 Squadron, which was based at Debden. Jeff Myers, the unit adjutant, summed-up his new leader; “he had a brilliant flying record – 14 kills (but probably 17 or 18 was nearer the truth) a series of fantastic escapes, his legend was growing.”  

On the 15^th of the month, in his first sortie leading the squadron, he shot down a Bf-110 and claimed a Bf-109 as a probable. During September and October, he continued to score freely as the Battle of Britain drew to a close. He was awarded a well-deserved bar to his DFC on the 25^th of October. More victories during December capped-off a successful year, with his personal tally standing at 18 confirmed. 

The new year of 1941 was celebrated in style, with the news that he had been awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his outstanding leadership and personal courage. Once again, His Majesty presented the coveted award, along with the previously gazetted bar to the DFC. By coincidence, exactly one year later at that very hour, he was shot down in France. 

Victories were gained by day and night, as the reputation of 257 Squadron, and its celebrated leader grew. A second bar was awarded to his DFC. Tuck becoming the second RAF officer to achieve this feat. During April, the squadron re-equipped with the cannon armed Mk IIc Hurricane. Tuck had always been a vocal critic of the Browning .303 machine gun and welcomed the chance to use four 20mm cannon against his foe. 

On June 21^st 1941, RST was flying Z3152 when he became involved in a pitched battle with Bf-109s. He managed to shoot down two of his attackers and damage another, before he himself was shot down into the English Channel. Following more than two hours adrift in his dinghy, he was picked up by a coal barge and returned to Gravesend, cold, wet and with 28 victories now to his credit.

The Models

Firstly, there is Hurricane Mk Ia, DT o A - V6555. This was the first Hurricane assigned to RST when he took command of 257 Squadron. It had a small caricature of Churchill on the port side below the cockpit and, was the first to display victory markings. 

The magnificent Hasegawa Mk I “Douglas Bader” edition Hurricane was the basis, with only a few minor modifications. It is painted with Gunze Sangyo Dark Earth and Dark Green in the “A” pattern, over Testors Acryl Sky 

• Ultracast supplied the seat and back armour (48019).

• The exhausts were replaced with items from Ultracast (48043)

• Decals came from the Aeromaster Battle of Britain Special Set and were sent to me by Scott Taylor of Canada.

• Master modeller Tom Cleaver supplied the early DeHavilland propeller and spinner.

 Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Secondly, there is RST’s most famous Hurricane Mk Ia, DT o A - V6864 (in which the photograph to the left is taken). Tuck flew this aircraft as his regular mount from December 1940 through to April 1941, following a sortie where V6555 suffered an extreme case of German-induced lead poisoning! 

Once again, Hasegawa supplied the basic kit. In this case, it was the Mk Ia “Squadron Leader” special, which came with markings for V6864. Gunze paints were sprayed in the “B” scheme on the upper surfaces. The repainting in Night of the underside of the port wing was reintroduced in late 1940 early ’41. The undersurfaces were painted with Tamiya Sky and the Night mixture. At this stage, it was also directed that a sky band be applied to the empennage. This was duly applied using Testors Sky to give the slight contrast that was apparent in photos of V6864. There is also much conjecture as to the colour of the Rotol spinner on this aircraft. After examining many photos, I decided to use white rather than sky, along with the red. 

This time, I decided to add a little more to the basic kit: 

• I used the Eduard PE Zoom set (FE108) for extra cockpit details…looking back, this was a waste of time as the Hasegawa base product is excellent.

• Ultracast again supplied the replacement exhausts.

• Ultracast Hurricane resin control surfaces (48042) were added to “animate” the airframe. I ensured that the control column was modified to display the correct control displacement.

• Resin wheels (48076) and wheel well insert (48079) were added from you know who. (I think that I’ve established a college fund for their children!)

• Decals came from the kit (that was easy, wasn’t it?)

 Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

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The final Hurricane is the Mk IIc, FM o A – Z3152. During 1941, 257SQN codes were changed from the well-known DT. It is thought that only one photo is available of this aircraft. Unfortunately, I did not receive permission to include it in this article. 

The Revell boxing of the Hasegawa Mk IIc was used.

• The armour plate and seat were replaced, as per V6555.

• Ultracast Mk II “fishtail” exhausts (48044) were used.

• Decals were a mix-n-match from various manufacturers and were donated by a number of very-kind readers of Hyperscale. In addition, I used codes and serials from the Tally Ho Decal sheets.

 Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Model and Text Copyright © 2003 by SQNLDR David Turner
Model Images Copyright © 2003 by Brett Green
Page Created 15 September, 2003
Last Updated 25 March, 2004

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