Sikorsky S-43 / JRS-1 by Sword

1/72 scale
Kit No. 72019
Price: $39.99
Decals: Two versions – Pre-war version for U.S. Marines; U.S. Navy WWII (NAS Ford Island, Spring 1942)
Comments: Engraved panel lines; detailed cockpit and passenger compartment; resin parts for radial engines, seating, engine exhausts

History

Prior to becoming a world-renowned helicopter manufacturer, Sikorsky delivered to the United States military and civilian markets many fixed-wing aircraft types. One product of the pre-World War II years was the S-43 flying boat which flew for the first time in 1935. A smaller version of Sikorsky’s S-42 flying boat, it was known as the “Baby Clipper.” Pan American Airways, which purchased 14 S-43’s, deployed them throughout it Caribbean and South American routes to supplement its S-42’s already in use in those regions beginning in 1936. The U.S. Navy purchased 17 aircraft, designating them JRS-1. Fifty-three examples were built in all. The S-43 was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-1690-52 series radial piston engines of 750 horsepower each. Maximum speed was 190 miles per hour with a range of 775 miles. Its normal service ceiling was 20,700 feet.

The aircraft, on the whole, relied on proven flying boat qualities such as a high-wing mainplane, a boat-like hull and a deep fuselage. The high-wing arrangement mounted twin air-cooled radial piston engines well above the waterline to protect them from the corrosive effects of salty sea spray. The boat-like hull was necessary for water landings and take-offs to which outboard pontoons ensured that the aircraft did not tip over in seas. The S-43 was also a true “amphibian,” being equipped with a wheeled, retractable undercarriage as part of its basic design, allowing for operations from traditional airstrips. Beyond its standard operating crew of two, the passenger cabin accommodated up to 25 in relative comfort. A conventional tail unit was featured showcasing a single vertical fin and low-set horizontal planes. However, the “S-43B” variant introduced a twin-fin design. On April 14, 1936, Sikorsky Chief Test Pilot Boris Servievsky piloted an S-43 to an altitude of 27,950 feet, setting a record for Class C3 amphibians.

Beyond their service in and around Latin America, S-43 aircraft were used as civilian island hoppers in Hawaii. Since it was also purchased by the Navy, it was among the aircraft damaged or destroyed on the ground during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. One of ten JRS-1’s which survived the attack was armed with bombs and depth charges under its wings, and sent out to hunt for the Japanese fleet. Four of these machines flew West African routes for the French airline Aeromartime, and a handful were operated by airlines in Russia, Norway, China and the Phillipines, as well as Alaska and parts of South America.

American aviation pioneer Howard Hughes, no stranger to Sikorsky aircraft as he was already a proud owner of an S-38, liked the S-43 so well that he bought one for his collection, which he later used to practice water landings and take-offs in preparation for his first and only flight of his famous Hercules transport (better known in later years as “the Spruce Goose”) in Long Beach Harbor in 1947. At least five examples of the S-43 were taken on by the U.S. Army in 1937 as the “OA-8” and the U.S. Navy operated seventeen of the type from 1937 onward (two of these aircraft were also in use by the USMC for a time). S-43s were in active use up until the late 1940’s, by which time most were given up for more economical alternatives or lost to accident and not reclaimed.

The Kit

Sword’s Sikorsky S-43 is injection molded in grey plastic and consists of 136 parts on five sprues, including 23 clear plastic parts for the windshield and cabin windows. In addition, there are an additional 26 resin parts in their own separate bag; these represent parts for the cockpit and passenger seats, radial engines, and a series of aileron actuators. The seats are crisply detailed and painting instructions for them are provided — the seats for the pilot and co-pilot are unusual in that they bear arm rests.

The cockpit features raised detail on the main instrument panel, separate parts for rudder pedals and dual two-part control yokes with bomber-style control wheels. The rear bulkhead features a doorway to the passenger cabin with a separate door, as well as parts for seating to be cemented to the builkhead’s opposite side for airline attendants. Behind the passenger cabin is a separate, smaller cabin for additional members of the aircrew. Its rear bulkhead also contains an open doorway, except its doorway leads to a stairwell and a large dorsal hatch at the rear of the fuselage through which passengers and crew gained entry — this hatch, with a slight modification of the part using a hobby knife, can be depicted open or closed. The main cabin provides seating for 11 passengers, and the resin seats must be cemented to the part for the cabin floor, on which their respective positions are inscribed.

There are multiple cabin windows so some skill will be required at masking using Maskol or some other product. Likewise the clear part for the windshield is also the forward section of the cockpit roof, so this too must be carefully masked. The tail assembly involves support struts and resin parts for the elevator actuators. The engine cowls come in two halves and will likely require seam-hiding before the resin engines are cemented into them, and the propellers offer a choice between conical spinners and standard airscrew caps. Of note at this stage are the resin parts for the engine exhausts.

Each wing assembly involves the cementing on of several aileron actuators, as well as the separate, rounded wingtips. For accuracy, support wires will be needed for each of the wing-mounted floats or pontoons, and schematics are provided to assist with their placement. The assemblies of the main landing gear are fairly detailed, each gear consisting of eight parts — and while the instructions could be clearer on this point, the gear can be depicted up or down.

Markings

Decals are provided for two versions, one a JRS-1 of the U.S. Marine Corps, circa 1938, depicted in a scheme of overall grey with a yellow wing, and the lower portion of the hull-like fuselage in black below the waterline. The second is an S-43 of the U.S. Navy based at Ford Island, Hawaii in the Spring of 1942. This version is painted a scheme of overall intermediate blue with a ight grey lower portion of the fuselage below the waterline.

Conclusion

This is an interesting, highly detailed kit of a civilian seaplane converted for military use during WWII. Highly recommended.

References

• www.militaryfactory.com
• Kit instructions
• Pima Air & Space Museum ~ pimaair.org
• wikipedia.org