SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1/GR.3 by Kittyhawk

1/48 scale
Kit No. Kh80106
Cost: $39.99
Decals: Three versions – Jaguar GR. 1 of 54 Squadron, RAF Coltishall, 1979; Jaguar GR.3 of 54 Squadron; Jaguar GR.1 Gulf War combatant, 1991
Comments: Engraved panel lines, recessed rivet detail, ample ordnance, photo-etch detail parts

History

The SEPECAT Jaguar resulted from a 1960’s joint venture by Breguet Aviation of France and the British Aerospace Corporation of Great Britain, for a training aircraft that could double as a light attack platform over European battlefields, able to deliver both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons if necessary.  Destined for service in both the RAF and the Armee de l’Air, it was one of the first major joint-Anglo-French military aircraft programs, and may well have been an outgrowth of their collaboration on the Concorde, the world’s first supersonic airliner.  To the extent that it would also serve in the reconnaissance role, the Jaguar would fulfill specifications laid for BAC’s TSR.2 of a decade earlier.

Taking flight for the first time on September 8, 1968, the Jaguar entered service with the French Air Force first, in May 1972 when examples of the Jaguar E (for Ecole, French for school) trainer appeared in the inventory of the Centre d’Experiences Aeriennes Militaires at Mont de Marsan. The RAF would receive its first aircraft in 1973, and the single-seat attack version would remain on strength until 2007, seeing its final action during the Gulf War. By the time the Jaguar entered production, Breguet had merged with Dassault to form Avions Marcel Dassault-Breguet Aviation (1971).

The Jaguar met a common requirement for the French and British air arms dating to 1965 and calling for an aircraft to serve as both a single-seat light attack platform, and a dual-control advanced trainer capable of supersonic speed. SEPECAT produced a jet that was more capable than anticipated, to the point that the dual-control trainer versions were nearly as combat ready as their single-seat counterparts, lacking only the full spectrum of avionics and weapons.

French aircraft, particularly the E and A (Attack) versions, had a pointed nose without sensors, and a simple navigation/attack system based on Doppler radar navigation equipment. In RAF service, the Jaguar took on a distinctive feature, the “chisel” nose with wedge-type glazing which housed a Ferranti telemetry laser unit, an elaborate sensor that acted as a rangefinder. Main armament for all versions consisted of two DEFA 30mm cannon housed within the outboard edge of the fuselage below the cockpit and jet intakes.

The Jaguar features an all-digital cockpit enclosed within a glass canopy. The cockpit is equipped with head up display, multifunctional display, night vision and GPS. Other features include a helmet mounted display, radar altimeters, inertial navigation system, automatic direction finder, information friend or foe, weapon aiming computer and digital data bus.

The powerplant was two Rolls Royce/Turbomeca Adour afterburning turbofans of 7,305 lbs. thrust (Mk. 102 version) or 8,600 llbs. thrust (later M. 104 version), and were integrated into the airframe by occupying titanium bays in the lower rear of the fuselage in an arrangement similar to that the of McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, side-by side and below the tail assembly which was also largely constructed of heat-resistant titanium.

The high, shoulder-mounted wing provided ample space for large drop tanks and under wing stores. The wing was fitted with leading-edge slats, full-span double-slotted flaps and power-assisted spoilers for increased roll control. Twin-wheel main landing gear retracted forward into the fuselage just ahead of the perforated air brakes.

The RAF version was more sophisticated, for in addition to inertial navigation/attack systems, Head Up and projected map displays, the Ferranti laser ranger (in the chiseled nose), it has a more comprehensive electronic countermeasures (ECM) system, the ARI.18223 radar warning receiver housed near the top of the tail fin. RAF aircraft in this configuration were designated Jaguar GR. Mk. 1, and 165 were delivered by 1978. The Jaguar S were the ground attack version.

Armament consisted of BL-755 cluster bombs, the AS.37 Martel radar-guided anti-radiation missile, Durandal runway-piercing missile (for attacking Eastern European airfields), SNEB rocket packs, “Snake-eye” type retarded bombs, ECM payloads, the AN-52 tactical nuclear bomb, and Matra Magic air-to-air missiles. In 1978, the Martin Marietta/Thompson -CSF TV target acquisition and laser designation pod was added.

While the Jaguar was capable of carrying a single AN-52 nuclear bomb, the French government did not assign any Jaguars for use in the Force de Dissuasion, France’s strategic nuclear deterrent; this task was carried out by the Dassault Mirage IV, and the later Mirage 2000 N. Nuclear armed Jaguars were instead assigned the “Pre-Strategic” role, to clear a path for the Strategic strike force.

Operational Service

During the Gulf War, the French Jaguar force in Saudi Arabia reached a maximum of 28 aircraft, which carried out 615 combat sorties, with one Jaguar damaged by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile. Typical targets were Iraqi armoured units, Scud missile sites, and naval vessels.  On January 15, 1991, 12 French Jaguars bombed Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait; three were damaged in the attack but all returned to base. On January 26th, RAF Jaguars and Tornadoes raided several Silkworm missile batteries in Kuwait to encourage the perception of an imminent amphibious invasion to liberate the country. On the 30th, two RAF Jaguars destroyed a Polnochny-class landing ship with rockets and cannon.  Allied Jaguars also took part in continuous bombing of the Iraqi Republican Guard, dug in along the Kuwait-Saudi border, for some weeks prior to the start of the ground war. Jaguars also performed valuable reconnaissance of the combat area for Coalition forces. All Jaguars were withdrawn from the region in March 1991, at the end of Desert Storm.

Jaguars built for export included options such as more powerful engines, overwing hard points for AIM-9L, Matra Magic, or other dogfight missiles, Agave nose radar with a Ferranti 105S laser in a small fairing below the nose, and new weapons including Harpoon or Kormoran anti-ship missiles. A total of 543 Jaguars were built by the time production ended in 1981. Operators included France, Great Britain, Ecuador, India and Oman. The Armee de l’Air retired the Jaguar in 2005, the RAF in 2007. It was replaced in RAF service by the Panavia Tornado and the Eurofighter Typhoon, and in the French Air Force by the Dassault Rafale.

The Kit

Kittyhawk’s Jaguar GR.1/GR.3 is injection molded in grey plastic and includes 231 parts, plus 17 additional clear plastic parts for the canopy, gunsight and a number of small external lights. There is a photo-etch fret containing an additional 26 metal detail parts for the cockpit and engines. The nose assembly, separate from the rest of the fuselage, contains assemblies for both the cockpit and the nose wheel well, both of which are the most detailed of their type this modeler has ever seen.

In addition, the nose section includes an injection molded avionics bay, potentially visible due to the option for open nose panels, that rivals resin counterparts seen in other kits for at least the past 15 years. In the cockpit, photo-etch parts provide both seat straps and main as well as side instrument panel facing, nicely complementing the five-part Martin-Baker ejection seat. PE parts providing rear view mirrors in the cockpit, along with an option for an open canopy, underscore the detail here.

The landing gear are highly detailed, each consisting of multiple parts. Each Rolls Royce/Turbomeca engine consists of 7 detailed parts, including two photo-etch parts for “turkey-feather” metal vanes providing internal detail in each jet exhaust nozzle. These engines are so detailed, right down to painting instructions (the kit instructions call out Gunze Sangyo/Mr. Color only) that it will be a shame to conceal the bulk of each turbojet with the two large engine panels that are to be cemented over them.

The wing assemblies are quite detailed and include separate parts for the leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps. Each pylon provided is replete with engraved detail for the wide variety of external stores included with the kit: BGL 480 and BGL 1000 laser guided bombs, Matra 155 rocket pods, AIM-9M Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, a centerline fuel tank, Matra Magic 2 air-to-air missiles, and a PHIMAT chaff launcher pod. Finally a diagram is provided of a head-on view of the Jaguar with a corresponding chart to assist realistic placement of the weaponry.

 

Markings

Large fold-out color plates are provided as part of the instruction sheet, for all three versions for which there are kit decals. It is important to note that the colors are identified in the Mr. Color line only, the sole clue to this being the letter “C” which precedes the paint numbers. All kit decals are thin, perfectly register with a semi-gloss finish and excellent color, and include stencils in English and French.

The first version is for a Jaguar GR. Mk 1 deployed to the 1991 Gulf War, serial XZ364, in an overall paint scheme of a color best described as Pale Hemp (but is identified in the instructions as a blend of Mr. Color numbers 112 (Character Flesh, 85%) and 39 (Dark Yellow, 15%). No squadron is identified. This is the version depicted on the box art, and includes a decal of an image of a large (presumably British) boot kicking Saddam Hussein in the rear – a resurrection of the nose art of World War II.

The second version is for a Jaguar GR. Mk 1 of 54 Squadron based at Coltishall in the UK, serial XX732, circa 1979. It is depicted in an overall camouflage scheme of Medium Sea Grey and Dark Green (Mr. Color numbers 335 and 330, respectively), and sports a sharks teeth marking on the chiseled nose.

The third version is for a Jaguar GR. Mk 3 of 54 Squadron, serial XX725. It is depicted in an overall camouflage scheme of Medium Sea Grey and White (Mr. Color numbers 335 and 1, respectively).

All three aircraft have interior green wheel wells and for consistency are all carrying the same load of ordinance: two AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missles on rails atop their wings, along with two BGL 1000 laser guided bombs and Matra 155 rocket pods beneath their wings, rounded out by center line drop tanks.

Conclusion

This is a kit of outstanding detail. Highly recommended.

References

• The Encyclopedia of World Airpower, Edited by Bill Gunston; Copyright 1980, Crescent Books, New York.
• www.airforce-technology.com
• www.wikipedia.org
• military.wikia.com