Curtiss-Wright CW-21A by Dora Wings

1/48 scale
Kit No. 48049
Retail: $42.00
Decals: Four versions – First prototype; first production aircraft; Chinese Nationalist version; AVG/Flying Tigers version
Comments: Detailed cockpit, engraved panel lines, photo etch details, complete Wright-Cyclone engine

History

The CW-21 Demon was a lightweight interceptor developed on the basis of the multi-purpose single-seat, single-engine CW-19R. Designed and built in 1938 by engineer Willis Wells, the fully metal, low-wing interceptor flew for the first time on October 11, 1938. Designated CW-21A, it was equipped with an air-cooled 9-cylinder radial engine of 1,000 hp. Like the Curtiss P-40, it had a conventional landing gear that retracted into tubular fairings by pivoting the wheel towards the trailing edge of the wing. Its armament consisted of two synchronized .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns in the nose. The CW-21, although it lacked armor protection for the pilot and fuel tanks, it had satisfactory performance and combat qualities. Nonetheless, since it did not match the performance of the best American fighter of the late 1930’s, the P-40 Tomahawk, it went into production only as an export product.

The CW-21 was technically superior to the main fighter then in use by the Japanese Army Air Force, the Nakajima Ki-27 Nate, but in the hands of inexperienced pilots, it was an easy target for the Japanese opposition, especially when confronted by the advanced Mitsubishi A6M Zero in large numbers.

Twenty-four CW-21’s were sent to the Netherlands for the Dutch East Indies (DEI), where they entered service in March 1940. The German attack in Europe triggering the collapse of the Dutch government, and the Japanese advance in Asia led the DEI government in Batavia to urgently propose the shipping of its new fighters to the American Volunteer Group (AVG, nicknamed “Flying Tigers”) in China, led by General Claire L. Chennault. China was in desperate need of fighter aircraft, having been at war with Japan since the latter’s invasion of 1937, in the wake of which private interests, semi-official “commercial” transactions, and back-channel discussions converged to influence U.S. military aid to China.

The CW-21 appeared made to order for the Chinese, as it was a fast interceptor with a high rate of climb and excellent maneuverability. Once a CW-21 prototype was shipped to China for evaluation, it was purchased by the Chinese government and a contract placed for three production aircraft, plus 27 more for assembly by CAMCO (Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company) at its Chinese manufacturing facility.

During this period, high-level officials in the Roosevelt Administration quietly explored ways to support Chinese forces without openly breaking U.S. neutrality laws. One method was to arrange to transfer badly needed fighters to China via CAMCO. Even as the United States remained technically neutral, many American officials, businessmen, and military figures recognized China’s strategic importance. By early 1940, informal networks were laying plans to supply aircraft, training, and technical support to China — an effort that would result in the formation of the American Volunteer Group, better known as The Flying Tigers.

CW-21 in Action

The first CW-21 to reach China was the prototype. It flew in mock combats against the French Dewoitine 510 and Russian I-15 and I-16 fighters, before Chennault and Chinese goverment officials in March 1939. In its final official demonstration the CW-21 engaged in a dogfight with an I-15 and was able to get on the tail of the maneuverable Russian fighter repeatedly by a steep climb followed by a wing-over. Curtiss pilot Robert Fausel wrote to the company stating, “the demonstration was very definite proof of the superiority of the [CW-21] Interceptor for dog fighting over any other airplane in the world. It impressed everyone, including myself.”

After the demonstrations both Fausel with the CW-21 and pilot Arch McEwen with a Curtiss Hawk 75 (known in U.S. service as the P-36) stood alert at Chungking with their aircraft fueled and armed. Fausel flew an uneventful patrol with I-15s on March 29th. Four days later, Chungking was bombed by the Japanese and Fausel took off to the sound of exploding bombs. Racing to 10,000 feet in two minutes he encountered a large formation of Japanese Fiat BR.20 bombers 75 miles east of Chungking. Fausel attacked and on his third burst his guns ran away exhausting his ammunition but not before he damaged a BR.20 that was later reported to have belly-landed and its crew captured in Chinese territory.

There is a gap as to what happened with the CW-21’s ordered by the Chinese in 1939, and the appearance of what were apparently the first of this batch of aircraft to arrive in Asia in 1941. Part of the delay may have been due to a lack of a steady funding source, and the fact that until the passage by Congress of the Lend-Lease Act in March 1941, it was primarily private funds that aided China.

Flown by the Flying Tigers

In the autumn of 1941, Lend-Lease funds were made available to pay for the three unassembled CW-21’s sitting at Rangoon. These aircraft were assembled and made available to Chennault’s AVG. High-flying Japanese reconnaissance planes had been snooping over the A.V.G. training base at Kyedaw, Burma, and the A.V.G.’s heavy and slow climbing P-40s could not catch them. The CW-21 was rated at 310 mph, and the lighter, faster-climbing interceptor, it was hoped, could successfully intercept Japanese bombers and reconnaissance planes.

The CW-21 never got the chance. By the time the three new planes arrived at Kyedaw, the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor and the U.S. was formally at war. On or shortly after December 12th they were attached as a three-plane flight to the A.V.G.’s 3rd Squadron and based at Mingaladon Airfield north of Rangoon. These three aircraft would be sent to the main AVG base at Kunming, China later that month – with fatal consequences. These first three production CW-21’s, flown by Erik Shilling (flight leader), Lacy Mangleburg and his wingman departed from Rangoon, Burma to join the Flying Tigers in Kunming, China — a flight of some 1,500 miles over rugged, mountainous terrain. Unfortunately the lack of radios for these aircraft (which also plagued the AVG’s P-40’s), engine problems due to poor quality fuel, and very bad weather conditions led to the loss of all three aircraft and pilots, who crashed in the mountains to the northwest of Rangoon on December 23, 1941.

There do not appear to be any clear records as to what happened to most of the CW-21’s ordered by China. Apparently only a handful of them arrived, and there are no accounts of their performance in combat other than the exploits of the prototype. During late 1940, other CW-21s were transported by sea to various theatres of operations of the Pacific War (Burma, Assam, and Java). The CW-21’s key virtue was its remarkable maneuverability due to the lightness of the design. But its relatively weak armament, and more likely, the inexperience of Allied pilots when pitted against the Japanese at that point in the war, did not lead to many aerial victories.

While there is evidence that the AVG flew CW-21’s on patrol flights and at times scrambled them with other fighters to intercept Japanese bombers, there is no record of their performance in combat other than the singular incident of the 1939 downing of a Fiat BR.20 east of Chungking. The CW-21’s last recorded offensive mission was on March 5, 1942 and was not a success. It was subsequently relegated to utilitarian tasks far from the front. There were few of these aircraft to begin with and over time, wear and lack of spare parts led to their being written off. With the demise of this once promising fighter, the concept of the lightweight interceptor died…until being revived decades later in the form of the General Dynamics F-16.

 

The Kit

Dora Wings’ Curtiss-Wright CW-21A is injection molded in grey plastic and consists of 112 parts, including 3 clear plastic parts for the canopy and landing lights. The cockpit is highly detailed with a photo etch main instrument panel and seat straps, and separately mounted control yoke and rudder pedals, as well as PE parts for throttle levers. The fuselage halves also offer a modicum of ribbed interior detail for the cockpit. There is also a PE part for a gunsight which is to be cemented to the top of the canopy frame interior.

A key attraction of the kit is its separate nine-cylinder radial Wright Cyclone engine, one of the more powerful engines available in 1938, the year of the CW-21’s maiden flight. The engine assembly includes a ten-part exhaust manifold, a four-part exhaust ring, and a control rod assembly consisting of 11 parts. There is also a firewall and parts for an engine mount, making this one of the more detailed engine assemblies this modeler has ever seen on a 1/48 scale fighter.

The clear part for the canopy is large enough to include a small portion of the airframe around it, so once it is cemented to the fuselage, some seam-hiding will be necessary. The landing gear are well detailed with clamshell fairings. The tail section features a separately mounted rudder and elevators. And while the instructions do not acknowledge them, there is a choice of two different types of tires for the main landing gear, both with circumferential tread, but one of larger diameter than the other. The detailed instructions call out colors in the Mr. Hobby, Tamiya, Ammo MIG, Hataka and LifeColor paint lines.

Markings

The kit includes decals for four versions of the CW-21, the first two of which appear in an overall paint scheme of a color referred to in the instructions as Petroleum Blue. The first of these aircraft bears Chinese Nationalist markings (starred roundels on all wing surfaces and blue-and-white stripes on the rudder) and was based in Chungking, China in March 1939. The second version represents the first CW-21 prototype which took its maiden flight at St. Louis in September 1938. It bears a serial on the wings and rudder of NX19431, appearing in white.

A note about the unusual color Petroleum Blue: it is referred to as being equivalent to Tamiya XF-18 (Medium Blue) and Hataka HTK 207 (PRU Blue). Neither of these colors are similar to one another, and neither of them appears to approximate the unusual shade of blue to be seen on the kit’s box art. Tamiya’s XF-18 is Medium Blue, a hue that might be used on early WWII U.S. naval fighters, and Hataka’s 207 looks more like the British Extra Dark Sea Grey than it does PRU Blue. Modelers will have to decide for themselves what shade of blue to use if they opt for this paint scheme, and it may be worth mixing your own paint (as the instructions advise if you opt for Mr. Hobby paint). To my eye, the color closest to that seen on the box art and in the color illustration in the kit instructions is Humbrol’s Garter Blue (see the full build review of Amodel’s Piper Pa 47).

The third and fourth versions both appear in a scheme of overall natural metal with a Flat Black anti-glare panel extending from the top of the engine cowling to the area immediately forward of the windscreen. The third version appears in Chinese Nationalist markings and was an aircraft operated by the American Volunteer Group (the Flying Tigers) in the Spring of 1941 in Toungoo, China.

The fourth version bears the serial on the wings and rudder of NX19441 appearing in Black, and represents the first aircraft produced under contract for the Chinese government (contract number 21-2) circa March 1940 in St. Louis, Missouri. This aircraft may be the one CW-21A that was shipped to China and was later based at Toungoo with the original serial number removed.

Conclusion

This is a fascinating kit of a little known lightweight interceptor of World War II for which, unfortunately, we have scant records of its performance in combat. Highly recommended for its “What-if” factor.

References

• avionslegendaires.net
• avistar.org
• museumofprotest.org
• warbirdforum.com
• wikipedia.org