Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA1203 Avenger A.S. Mk. IV “Beryl the Peril” XB374, Royal Navy FAA HMS Bulwark, Suez, 1957

THESE ARE PRE-PRODUCTION PICTURES NOT THE RETAIL VERSION

HA1203 Avenger AS Mk. IV HMS Bulwark In 1953 the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm lacked a suitable anti-submarine aircraft so it acquired 100 Grumman Avenger AS Mk.IV. Throughout the 1956 - 1957 Suez Crisis these aircraft with AN/APS-4 radar were used as submarine hunter-killers. They were equipped with a wide variety of weapons from rockets to torpedoes and bombs. Yellow and black stripes were applied as a means of recognition and this aircraft was named “Beryl the Peril”. Beryl was a 1953 comic strip version of a female “Dennis the Menace”.

HMS Bulwark was the 6th vessel to bare this name and was affectionately nicknamed ‘The Rusty B’, that was a word play from her motto ‘Under Thy Wings I Will (T)rust’. She was also known as ‘The Painted Lady’, referring to her numerous coats of paint!

The Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm used the Grumman Avenger AS-4 as a stopgap measure while another more modern aircraft was being developed for anti-submarine warfare. One hundred aircraft were acquired and converted to meet British specifications and came equipped with an AN/APS-4 radar pod fitted to the underside of the starboard wing. Some were assigned to HMS Bulwark with Carrier Codes B or O applied in black or white on the fin until in 1955 Fairey Gannets replaced them. The last Avenger was retired from British service in 1962.

This model comes with: Newly improved display stand. Die-cast metal. Superb detailing in 1/72 scale. Pre-painted with pad applied markings. Fully assembled. Rockets, torpedoes and bombs that are not permanently attached. Option to display model with wheels up or down. Very collectable.

Specifications Grumman Avenger AS Mk.IV / TBM-3S (post war designation)

Wingspan: 52 ft. 2 in. Length: 40 ft. Height: 16 ft. 5 in. Empty Weight: 10,843 lbs. Maximum Weight: 18,250 lbs. Power-plant: one Wright R-2600-20 rated at 1,900 hp Armament: two forward firing .50 caliber machine guns, one mounted in each wing One .50 caliber machine gun in a Grumman 150SE power turret 8 x 5 inch HVAR (High Velocity Aerial Rockets) 4 x 500 lb. bombs or 1 x torpedo Performance: 267 mph @ 16,000 ft. Service Ceiling: 23,400 ft. Crew: three