Arsenal VG-33/39 by Azur
1/48 scale
Kit No. 018
Cost: $35.00
Decals: Three versions, by Propagteam — two VG 33 aircraft, one in French, one in German markings; one VG39 aircraft in French markings, based in Toulouse, July 1940
Comments: Engraved panel lines, raised rivet detail; resin cockpit, radiator screen and engine exhaust manifold; resin plugs for main landing gear wells; individually mounted propeller blades on 3-bladed airscrew; two vacuform canopies; choice of spinners; extra parts for nose conversion to VG 39
History
The Arsenal de l’Aeronautique VG-33 and VG-39, along with the Dewoitine D. 520 and MB.155 C1, represented the zenith of French military aircraft design in the period immediately preceding World War II — and on par with the impressive Messerschmitt Bf 109. Arsenal’s creations were part of a series of fast French light fighter aircraft under development at the start of World War II, that unfortunately came on the scene too late to see extensive service in the Armee de l’Air during the Battle of France. These aircraft had design characteristics in common with the superb Italian Macchi C.202, and even the North American P-51 Mustang, although they could not match the latter’s high-altitude performance. For its time, the VG-39 in particular had exceptional speed.
Development
The original specification that led to the VG series was issued in 1936 (the same year that Arsenal de l’Aeronautique was formed) to quickly increase the number of modern combat aircraft in French service, by supplying a “light fighter” of wooden construction that could be built rapidly in large numbers. The contract resulted in three designs, the VG-30, the Caudron C.714 and the Bloch MB-700. Prototypes of all three were ordered.
Named for engineer Michel Vernisse (V) and designer Jean Galtier (G), the VG-30 was of all wood construction, using plywood over stringers in a semi-monocoque construction. The layout was conventional, a low-wing monoplane that bore a striking resemblance to the later Italian Macchi C.202. Armament consisted of a 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon firing through the propeller hub, and four 7.5 mm MAC 1934 M39 drum-fed machine guns, two in each wing. The design was supposed to be powered by the Potez 12Dc flat-12 cylinder air-cooled in-line engine, but this ran into development problems. The prototype was then fitted with a Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs instead, and flew in this form in October 1938.
In order to find a solution to the engine problem, the VG-31 was to use the 632 kW (860 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31, and the VG-32 the Allison V-1710C-15. The VG-31 flew in 1939 and proved to have excellent performance. The prototype VG-32 was completed in 1940 and awaiting its test flight when it was captured by the advancing German forces at Villacoublay.
The VG-33
The VG-33 was a modified version of the VG-31 using the same Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 engine, and first flew on April 25, 1939. It had a surprisingly good performance of 560 km/h (348mph), and was ordered into production with a contract for 220 aircraft in September 1939, later raised to 1,000. Production did not take long to start, but most of the airframes never received engines and sat at the factory until it fell to the Germans in the Spring of 1940. As often happened with new designs, the VG-33 was ready for mass production before its powerplant was.
Further developments continued while the VG-33 production started. The VG-34 mounted the newer 688 kW (935 hp) 12Y-45, the VG-36 used the 735 kW (1,000 hp) 12Y-51 originally intended for the VG-35, and introduced a new streamlined radiator bath that looked similar to the one on the P-51 Mustang. Single prototypes of all three were built and flown in early 1940. The VG-37 was an extended-range version of the -36, while the VG-38 was to have used the 12Y-77, but neither was built.
The VG 39
The final development in the VG 30 series of fighters to be flown, the VG 39 never got past the prototype stage, commencing its flight test programme on May 3, 1940, just one week before the German invasion of France and the Low Countries. The prototype differed from the VG 33 primarily in having a 1200hp Hispano-Suiza 12Y-89 12-cylinder liquid-cooled engine with an elongated propeller shaft, a revised wing structure which retained the profile and contours of the earlier wing, and wing-mounted armament of six 7.5mm MAC 1934 M39 machine guns. During flight testing the prototype VG 39 attained a maximum speed of 625km/h (388 mph) at an altitude of 5750m (18,864 feet), even when loaded down with two additional machine guns.
A lone VG-33 on a muddy airfield, 1940.
The planned production model was to have been the VG-39bis, with a slightly longer, sleeker fuselage similar to the VG-36, and powered by the new 1177 kW (1,600 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12Z-17, using the VG-36’s streamlined radiator intake design. Its wing armament was to have been supplemented by a 20mm engine-mounted cannon, again firing through the propeller hub. It should be noted that had the French had sufficient time to get the VG 39 into production in appreciable numbers, its powerplant and performance represented such a quantum leap, unmatched by Allied or Axis combat aircraft until 1944, that this advanced French fighter may well have dominated the Luftwaffe. But the less than 20 VG-39’s reaching front-line service before the French surrender were too little, too late. Two more designs were projected, both based on the VG-39bis airframe. The VG-40 mounted the Rolls-Royce Merlin III and the VG-50 the newer Allison V-1710-39. Neither was ever built.
Operational History
The continual production problems that plagued the VG-33 meant that it never took part in combat. Only 19 aircraft, out of about 40 completed airframes, had been received by the Armée de l’Air by the time of Armistice. 160 more were close to completion. Only two machines ever flew in an active unit – GC 1/55 which commenced operations under chaotic conditions, four days before the capitulation. Although the VG-33 was lighter than the Dewoitine D.520 and used the same engine, it was not significantly faster than the D.520.
While it was under-armed in comparison to the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the VG-33 could have matched it in speed and maneuverability below 5,000 metres. As was also the case with the D.520, the limitations of the supercharger used meant that the VG-33 could not match the speed of the Bf 109 above 5,000 meters. German authorities confiscated 12 VG-33s, which may have been used by the Luftwaffe for training purposes (e.g. in a dissimilar/aggressor role).
The Kit
Azur’s Arsenal VG-33/39 is injection molded in grey and consists of 43 plastic parts, 31 resin parts, and two vacuform canopies. Two of the plastic parts are for the somewhat elongated VG-39 nose section, the use of which will require sawing off the nose section of what is a VG-33 fuselage. The resin parts are for the cockpit floor, sidewalls, pilot’s seat, instrument panel, control yoke, armor plate and rear bulkhead, wheel wells, engine exhausts, and wing-mounted machine gun barrels. The pilot’s seat is well detailed with molded on seat straps, and the parts for the various cockpit components are all crisp and well-detailed. Unfortuantely there are no resin wheels, for the kit wheels provided do not appear to be particularly detailed.
At Step 3 you must decide whether to build the VG-33 or the more high performance VG-39, for at this stage opting for the latter requires sawing off the VG-33’s nose, cementing on the VG-39 nose, and getting busy with the putty and sandpaper — seam hiding will definitely be a required skill to build the VG-39. The detailed resin plugs for the main landing gear wheel wells will have to be cemented into the wings prior to their assembly, as will the resin screen for the belly mounted radiator scoop. There are no obvious construction pitfalls in reviewing the instruction sheet, although care will have to be taken in aligning the resin machine gun barrels when cementing them to the wing, and in cementing the individually mounted propeller blades to the spinner. On that note, the VG-39 has a more pointed, aerodynamic spinner than the VG-33, consistent with the VG-39’s overall more streamlined appearance.
Diagrams are provided for the three versions for which Azur has markings, two Armee de l’Air machines and the third is clearly one that has been captured by the Germans. All sport a camouflage scheme of medium grey-blue, brown, and khaki over light grey-blue, and the colors are called out in their common names without affiliation with any paint manufacturer. The markings are by Propagteam and appear to be excellent, fully in register with realistic color and no color bleed.
Conclusion
This is a high quality, short-run kit of a lesser known but nonetheless impressive French fighter of World War II. Highly recommended.
One of the very few VG-39’s to reach front-line service before the French capitulation in June 1940.
References
- www.aviastar.org
- www.revolvy.com
- www.warthunder.com