Short Sunderland Mk. V by Special Hobby

1/72 scale
Kit No. 72162
Retail: Varies ($55.00 – 75.00)
Decals: Four versions – Three Royal Air Force, one French Aeronavale
Comment: Engraved panel lines, detailed cockpit, cabin, bomb bay, radial engines and machine gun turrets

History

The Short Sunderland first flew in 1937. The popular legend about this aircraft is that it was developed from the Short Empire flying boat, but that is not accurate. The Sunderland was developed at the same time as the Empire flying boat, but arose out of similar but more exacting military specifications drafted by Britain’s Royal Air Force than those for the Empire series, whose specifications were issued by Imperial Airways. The Sunderland entered service with the RAF in 1938 as a reconnaissance aircraft with Coastal Command. It would not be retired from this role until 1958, making it one of the longest serving aircraft with the British air arm.

Specification R.2/33 called for a long range, general purpose flying boat similar to its predecessor, the six-engined Short Sarafand, but with four engines. The design of the Sunderland, called the S.25, differed from the Empire flying boats in that the RAF wanted a more rugged, sophisticated aircraft. The Sunderland had an improved shape to its planing bottom with the rear step tapered to a vertical knife edge to reduce hydrodynamic drag.

Upon evaluation by the RAF and the Air Ministry, the S.25 emerged with only one serious change: the Vickers 37mm gun which had been requested for the nose turret was exchanged for a single Lewis or Vickers K gun, and the single Lewis gun originally specified for the tail turret was deleted in favor of an new F.N. 13 four-gun turret. The result was a significant rearward shift of the center of gravity. To compensate for this, the leading edge of the wings was swept back 4.5 degrees, giving the Sunderland its characteristic outward thrusting engines.

The first prototype, K4774, was completed by October 1937 and officially named Sunderland. The first flight was on October 16th, lasting 45 minutes with John Lankester Parker at the controls and Harold Piper as co-pilot. Four flights were completed within a week for a total flying time of 3 hours, 45 minutes. By May 1938 the Sunderland was cleared for tropical service and on May 28, Flight Lieutenant Hughes and a crew from No. 210 Squadron took off for Singapore. They flew in record time via Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria, Bahrain, Karachi, Calcutta and Rangoon to arrive at Seletar, on the northern edge of Singapore.

Upon entering service, the Sunderland Mk. I, an all-metal monoplane with an all-up weight of 44, 600 lbs., was powered by four Bristol Pegasus XXII radial engines of 1,010 hp each driving Hamilton three-bladed two-pitch airscrews. Top speed was 210 mph at 6,500 ft. with a cruising speed of 178 mph at 5,750 ft. Wingspan was 112 ft. 8 in., length was 85 ft. 8 in. and the hull depth was 17 ft. 9 in. In addition to the aforementioned machine gun armament, there were two mid-ship cut-out stations with hand-held Vicker K-guns in the upper sides of the fuselage. Four 500 lb. bombs or eight 250 lb. bombs could be carried.

The flight deck accommodated two pilots in side-by-side positions, and engineer and a navigator/radio operator. The pilots had bomber wheel type control columns with the top section hinged so that it could be lowered to improve the view of the instrument panel. A double deck layout was employed in the forward fuselage with the entrance door and wardroom situated below the flight deck.

The mooring compartment was located forward of the wardroom on a raised deck, containing the anchor, a winch, and a dinghy. The galley, which was on the lower deck just aft of the wardroom carried drogue stowage compartments and the trailing aerial in addition to culinary equipment. Crew quarters were at the aft end of the lower deck next to the galley and contained two bunks and a table in a forward compartment, and two more bunks in the rear.

Operational Service

At the beginning of World War II, there were three operational Sunderland squadrons, all based in home waters, Nos. 204, 210 and 228 Squadrons. The first Sunderland operation began at 5 a.m. on September 3, 1939, the first day of the war. Flight Lieutenant Ainslie and his crew of No. 210 Squadron took off in L21654 from Pembroke Dock to patrol the shipping routes to Milford Haven — an uneventful, cold and dull flight. The next day Flight Lieutenant R.P.A. Harrison had a bit more excitement flying L5579, when it was fired upon by British anti-aircraft gunners while returning from a patrol. Luckily their shooting was no better than their aircraft recognition.

No. 210 Squadron made the first aerial attack against a U-boat on September 8, 1939 when Flight Lieutenant Hyde and his crew sited a U-boat periscope southwest of Lizard Head. They attacked this submarine but their bombs had no dramatic effects. Sunderlands of No. 228 made the first publicized rescue when the squadron received an SOS call from the tramp steamer Kensington Court which had been torpedoed.

Flight Lieutenant Thurstan Smith was first on the scene and found the steamer sinking by the bow with her crew of 34 clinging to a single life raft. Landing nearby, he began picking up some of the men. Another Sunderland flown by Flight Lieutenant John Barrett arrived and after a brief radio conversation, Barrett began patrolling the surrounding area for more U-boats while Smith and his crew ferried as many sailors as they could aboard their plane using two dinghies. With 21 men aboard and the Sunderland dangerously overloaded, Smith signalled to Barrett that he was taking off. Barrett then landed to pick up the remaining survivors. Both aircraft returned to their base at RAF Mountbatten safely.

During the first few months of the war, attacks on U-boats by Sunderlands yielded disappointing results. Their 250- and 500-lb. bombs were far from perfect anti-submarine weapons, and effective depth charges were not yet widely available. Nevertheless results were eventually achieved. On January 31, 1940 Sunderland “Y” of No. 228 Squadron bombed U-55 which had already been damaged by naval depth charges. Rather than risk further damage the Captain scuttled the U-boat. The first straightforward U-boat kill went to a Sunderland of No. 10 Squadron (RAAF) on July 17, 1940.

Sunderlands also tangled with enemy aircraft and gave a surprisingly good account of themselves. While a flying boat might seem easy pickings for enemy fighters, well-trained and disciplined gunners proved on more than one occasion that the Sunderland was quite capable of defending itself when operating without fighter escort of its own, which was nearly always the case.

On April 3, 1940 a Sunderland piloted by Flight Lieutenant Frank Phillips was attacked by six Junkers Ju 88’s while patrolling over a convoy in the North Sea. The Ju 88’s moved to attack the Sunderland before taking on the convoy at their leisure. As the Sunderland was vulnerable to enemy fire on its underside, Phillips immediately dove to sea level to protect his belly as the Ju 88’s split up and began beam and tail attacks. The range of their guns was superior to the Sunderland’s machine gun armament, so her gunners were obliged to hold their fire until the Germans got within 500 yards or less.

Corporal Lillie, the rear gunner, held off until a Ju 88 got within 100 yards, and the first burst from his four-gun turret made the enemy plane erupt into flames. It immediately crashed into the sea. Lillie and the beam gunners concentrated on a second Ju 88 which dove away streaming black smoke. Their ferocious defense discouraged the remaining Ju 88’s, which then veered off.

The Mark V

The subject of this kit, the Sunderland Mk. V, was the final variant of the series. Its improvements were designed to address the deficiencies of the Mk. III, namely the fact that its Pegasus engines were run almost continuously at full combat power, with a resulting accelerated deterioration in their service life. The Australians of No. 10 (RAAF) Squadron suggested that the 1,200 hp Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp engine used on Hudsons and Catalinas would give the Sunderland an effective reserve of power.

Short Brothers investigated this, and began fitting the Double Wasp to Sunderlands early in 1944. For the first time it was discovered that a Sunderland could fly fully loaded on just two engines, on the same side, with both engines on the opposite wing feathered. Sunderland Mk. V’s entered service in February 1945, and production was ended after VJ Day. The RAF has 28 Sunderland squadrons by the end of the war, and these were soon reduced to just five.

During 1948, UK-based Sunderlands helped thwart the Russian blockade of Berlin by flying a shuttle service carrying food supplies to Lake Havel in the British sector of the city. Sunderlands also too part in the campaign against revolutionaries during the Malayan Uprising, making multiple sorties dropping up to 200 anti-personnel bombs on target in the Malaysian jungle. In 1949, three squadrons, Nos. 88, 205 and 209 Squadrons were sent to Korea, carrying out patrols over the Yellow Sea from Iwakuni, Japan. The Sunderland was the only aircraft flying in RAF colors during the Korean War.

The Kit

Special Hobby’s Short Sunderland Mk. V in injection molded in grey plastic and includes a whopping 450 parts on 12 sprues (449 plastic parts, including 62 clear parts, and one resin part for a tear drop antenna, plus eight photo etch parts for aileron actuators). The cockpit, lower deck cabins and bomb bay, which include eight 500 lb. bombs, are all richly detailed. The cockpit includes raised detail on the main instrument panel and center console, detailed four-part seats, and two-part bomber wheel-style control columns. Radio equipment and a navigator’s table are also provided.

The lower deck included detailed bulkheads and crew bunks, and the bomb bay is a detailed affair with individual racks for each of the eight bombs. The internal surface of the fuselage bears raised ribbed detail, and there is a separately mounted door for the lower deck to access the lower cabin interior. An anchor and winch are provided in the mooring compartment, which otherwise features painstaking internal details.

Detailed radial engines and gun turret assemblies help round out the kit’s breathtaking detail. Options such as a mooring lamp mast, which was removed before flight, are also provided, along with wheeled undercarriage and a dolly for the rear lower fuselage, should modelers decide to depict the Sunderland temporarily beached. Finally, there are a multitude of clear parts for the portal windows throughout the fuselage, which is replete with engraved panel lines.

Markings

The kit decals are manufactured by Cartograf, and the sheet provides markings for any one of four Mk. V Sunderlands, including some stencil details. They are of extremely high quality, with rich, vibrant colors that are perfectly in register. The first is for Sunderland SZ566/Z of RAF No. 209 Squadron, bearing a paint scheme of Sea Grey upper surfaces with Flat White fuselage sides and under surfaces, with a Dull Silver keel. It was based at Selatar, Singapore from 1951-1953. This aircraft took part in anti-submarine patrols off the Korean shore, and bombed communist insurgents in Malaya.

The second version is for a Sunderland of the French Aeronavale with Escadrille S.50.4 operating from the naval base at Lanveoc-Poulmic, circa 1951. It has a paint scheme of overall Flat White with a Dull Silver keel, and bears appropriate Aeronavale markings for the period.

The third version is for Sunderland NJ177/V, nicknamed Sula Sea, also of RAF No. 209 Squadron, based at Selatar, Singapore in 1953. It also bears a paint scheme of Sea Grey upper surfaces with Flat White fuselage sides and under surfaces, with a Dull Silver keel. This seaplane was flown by the crew of Captain Richard Lockyer, whose Wireless Operator/Gunner, Sgt. Brian Matthews, took a series of stunning photographs that Special Hobby used in creating this kit.

The fourth version is for Sunderland PP117/4X-W of RAF No. 230 Squadron, temporarily detached to Finkenwerde base, Hamburg, the British zone of Germany, from July to December of 1948. PP117 along with other Sunderlands of
No. 230 Squadron, took part in the Berlin Airlift, ferrying supplies of food, coal, and salt during the communist blockade of the German capital.

Conclusion

This is a large and richly detailed kit of the final version of perhaps the most famous British military seaplane. Highly recommended.

Reference

The Short Sunderland; Profile Publications Number 189; Copyright 1967 Profile Publications Ltd., Leatherhead, Surrey, England.