1/48 Special Hobby Grumman AF-2S Guardian
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 9:34 pm
Hello Folks
This my entry to the Navy SIG. My entry will be the new tool AF-2S Guardian from Special Hobby. I just bought this kit in my local hobby shop.
This is limited run kit, so I think it will be challenging build. It comes with PE parts and resin engine.
This is the kit:
Some information about the aircraft.
The Grumman AF Guardian was the first purpose-built anti-submarine warfare (ASW) carrier-based aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. It consisted of two airframes, one for detection gear, the other for weapons. The Guardian remained in service until August 1955, when it was replaced by the twin-engined Grumman S-2 Tracker. The Guardian was the largest single-engined piston-powered carrier aircraft ever to see service.
A AF-2W from VS-37 in flight circa July 1957
The original design concept for the aircraft that would become the Guardian, the XTB2F of 1944, was to be a twin-engined aircraft with a 3,600 lb (1,633 kg) warload and a range of 3,700 mi (5,950 km). This was considered to be too large for practical use from an Essex class aircraft carrier, and was cancelled in 1945, replaced by a modified Grumman F7F Tigercat, the XTSF-1.
However, this too was considered impractical, and another alternative, the internally developed Grumman Model G-70, was selected instead, being given the Navy designation XTB3F. This was designed as mixed-power aircraft, with a Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp radial engine in the nose and a Westinghouse 19XB turbojet in the tail. This was found to be unsuitable, and the jet engine was removed without ever having been used in flight.
The XTB3F-1S carried a crew of two seated side-by-side and an armament of two 20 mm cannon and 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) of bombs, torpedoes and/or rockets, and made its first flight on 19 December 1945.
On 24 December 1945, the Navy changed the role of the aircraft from torpedo-bomber to anti-submarine warfare. All the required equipment could not be fitted into a single aircraft, consequently two variants would be produced, one as a "guppy" (hunter) and another as a "scrapper" (killer). The hunter aircraft would not carry any armament, but instead two additional crew members and a ventral radome for APS-20 search "eyes" (radar) and Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) "ears", consisting of an APR-98 Countermeasures Receiver and AP-70 Bearing Indicator. This aircraft, the XTB3F-1S, first flew in November 1948. The "killer" deleted the cannon of the torpedo bomber, but retained the bomb bay, added a third crew member, a searchlight, and short-range radar, and (as the XTB3F-2S) first flew in January 1949.
Operational history
An AF-2S in the colors of VS-25 pictured while owned by Aero Union Corporation, circa 1978/79.
Redesignated as AF-2W (TB3F-1S) and AF-2S (TB3F-2S), the Guardian entered fleet service on 27 September 1950 with three aircraft delivered to VS-24,with full service introduction shortly after[9] with VS-25.[10] A total of 193 AF-2S Guardians were built.[9] In 1952, the AF-3S (hunter) was introduced, fitting a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) for the detection of submerged submarines; 40 of this variant were built.[9] The last Guardian was delivered to the Navy in March 1953, with a total of 389 built.
The Guardian saw service in the maritime patrol role during the Korean War, however it proved unpopular with pilots, being underpowered and heavy on the controls; the aircraft suffered from a severely high accident rate.[4] Shortly after the end of the war, it began to be replaced by the Grumman S2F Tracker, the U.S. Navy first purpose-built ASW airplane to combine the hunter and killer roles in a single airframe. The last AF retired from active service on 31 August 1955, but it remained in service with the US Naval Air Reserve until 1957.
Variants
The underside of an AF-2S showing its opened weapons bay
XTB3F-1
Prototypes of two-seat torpedo bomber powered by one 2,300 hp R-2800-46 engine and a Westinghouse turbojet; three built.
XTB3F-1S
Two modified XTB3F-1 prototypes with turbojet removed and ventral radome, later redesignated as XAF-1.
AF-2S
Production variant with 2,400 hp R-2800-48 engine, 193 built.
AF-2W
Hunter variant with search radar in a ventral radome, 153 built.
AF-3S
Hunter/Killer variant similar to AF-2S with retractable MAD boom, 40 built.
Grumman Model G-90
Proposed combined AF-2S/-2W version, cancelled.
Specifications (AF-2S Guardian)[edit]
AF-2S BuAer 3 side view.jpg
Data from United States Navy Aircraft since 1911.
General characteristics
Crew: three (four in AF-2W variant)
Length: 43 ft 4 in (13.21 m)
Wingspan: 60 ft 8 in (18.49 m)
Height: 16 ft 2 in (5.08 m)
Wing area: 560 ft² (52.03 m²)
Empty weight: 14,580 lb (6,613 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 22,640 lb (10,270 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-48W "Double Wasp" radial engine, 2,400 hp (1,790 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 253 mph at full throttle not to exceed 30 minutes at 15,000 ft, gross weight 21,000 pounds (276 kn, 510 km/h)
Range: 1,500 mi (1,304 nmi, 2,415 km)
Service ceiling: 15,000 ft (4600 m)
Rate of climb: 1,850 ft/min (9.4 m/s)
Armament
Rockets: 16× 5 in (127 mm) unguided High velocity aircraft rocket (HVAR) rockets
Bombs: 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) of bombs, torpedoes, and depth charges
Cheers
This my entry to the Navy SIG. My entry will be the new tool AF-2S Guardian from Special Hobby. I just bought this kit in my local hobby shop.
This is limited run kit, so I think it will be challenging build. It comes with PE parts and resin engine.
This is the kit:
Some information about the aircraft.
The Grumman AF Guardian was the first purpose-built anti-submarine warfare (ASW) carrier-based aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. It consisted of two airframes, one for detection gear, the other for weapons. The Guardian remained in service until August 1955, when it was replaced by the twin-engined Grumman S-2 Tracker. The Guardian was the largest single-engined piston-powered carrier aircraft ever to see service.
A AF-2W from VS-37 in flight circa July 1957
The original design concept for the aircraft that would become the Guardian, the XTB2F of 1944, was to be a twin-engined aircraft with a 3,600 lb (1,633 kg) warload and a range of 3,700 mi (5,950 km). This was considered to be too large for practical use from an Essex class aircraft carrier, and was cancelled in 1945, replaced by a modified Grumman F7F Tigercat, the XTSF-1.
However, this too was considered impractical, and another alternative, the internally developed Grumman Model G-70, was selected instead, being given the Navy designation XTB3F. This was designed as mixed-power aircraft, with a Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp radial engine in the nose and a Westinghouse 19XB turbojet in the tail. This was found to be unsuitable, and the jet engine was removed without ever having been used in flight.
The XTB3F-1S carried a crew of two seated side-by-side and an armament of two 20 mm cannon and 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) of bombs, torpedoes and/or rockets, and made its first flight on 19 December 1945.
On 24 December 1945, the Navy changed the role of the aircraft from torpedo-bomber to anti-submarine warfare. All the required equipment could not be fitted into a single aircraft, consequently two variants would be produced, one as a "guppy" (hunter) and another as a "scrapper" (killer). The hunter aircraft would not carry any armament, but instead two additional crew members and a ventral radome for APS-20 search "eyes" (radar) and Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) "ears", consisting of an APR-98 Countermeasures Receiver and AP-70 Bearing Indicator. This aircraft, the XTB3F-1S, first flew in November 1948. The "killer" deleted the cannon of the torpedo bomber, but retained the bomb bay, added a third crew member, a searchlight, and short-range radar, and (as the XTB3F-2S) first flew in January 1949.
Operational history
An AF-2S in the colors of VS-25 pictured while owned by Aero Union Corporation, circa 1978/79.
Redesignated as AF-2W (TB3F-1S) and AF-2S (TB3F-2S), the Guardian entered fleet service on 27 September 1950 with three aircraft delivered to VS-24,with full service introduction shortly after[9] with VS-25.[10] A total of 193 AF-2S Guardians were built.[9] In 1952, the AF-3S (hunter) was introduced, fitting a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) for the detection of submerged submarines; 40 of this variant were built.[9] The last Guardian was delivered to the Navy in March 1953, with a total of 389 built.
The Guardian saw service in the maritime patrol role during the Korean War, however it proved unpopular with pilots, being underpowered and heavy on the controls; the aircraft suffered from a severely high accident rate.[4] Shortly after the end of the war, it began to be replaced by the Grumman S2F Tracker, the U.S. Navy first purpose-built ASW airplane to combine the hunter and killer roles in a single airframe. The last AF retired from active service on 31 August 1955, but it remained in service with the US Naval Air Reserve until 1957.
Variants
The underside of an AF-2S showing its opened weapons bay
XTB3F-1
Prototypes of two-seat torpedo bomber powered by one 2,300 hp R-2800-46 engine and a Westinghouse turbojet; three built.
XTB3F-1S
Two modified XTB3F-1 prototypes with turbojet removed and ventral radome, later redesignated as XAF-1.
AF-2S
Production variant with 2,400 hp R-2800-48 engine, 193 built.
AF-2W
Hunter variant with search radar in a ventral radome, 153 built.
AF-3S
Hunter/Killer variant similar to AF-2S with retractable MAD boom, 40 built.
Grumman Model G-90
Proposed combined AF-2S/-2W version, cancelled.
Specifications (AF-2S Guardian)[edit]
AF-2S BuAer 3 side view.jpg
Data from United States Navy Aircraft since 1911.
General characteristics
Crew: three (four in AF-2W variant)
Length: 43 ft 4 in (13.21 m)
Wingspan: 60 ft 8 in (18.49 m)
Height: 16 ft 2 in (5.08 m)
Wing area: 560 ft² (52.03 m²)
Empty weight: 14,580 lb (6,613 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 22,640 lb (10,270 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-48W "Double Wasp" radial engine, 2,400 hp (1,790 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 253 mph at full throttle not to exceed 30 minutes at 15,000 ft, gross weight 21,000 pounds (276 kn, 510 km/h)
Range: 1,500 mi (1,304 nmi, 2,415 km)
Service ceiling: 15,000 ft (4600 m)
Rate of climb: 1,850 ft/min (9.4 m/s)
Armament
Rockets: 16× 5 in (127 mm) unguided High velocity aircraft rocket (HVAR) rockets
Bombs: 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) of bombs, torpedoes, and depth charges
Cheers
