History Brief

Allied code-named “Kate,” the B5N2 was a highly maneuverable aircraft for its type, powered by one Nakajima Sakae 21, a twin-row 14-cylinder 1000 hp radial engine. With a top speed of 235 mph, it had a operational range of 610 miles. A three-man crew was standard. Its armament featured one 7.7mm machine gun for rearward defense and payload capacities of either one 800kg bomb, two 250kg bombs, six 60kg bombs, six 30kg bombs, or one 800kg torpedo. Officially adopted in December 1939 as a follow-up of the B5N1, the B5N2 Type 97 proved to be an accurate bombing and torpedo platform and easily found its way to all six IJN carriers in the Nagumo task force that attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet in the Pearl Harbor raid. The type 97 became the Navy’s mainstay in the early stages of the war wherever it saw extensive action, including combat campaigns in the Solomons, Southwest Pacific, and Indian Ocean.

History

Shortly after the beginning of World War II, it became apparent to US Army planners that there was a dire need for an armored, self-propelled artillery vehicle to support the troops involved in armored operations. Until something more viable could be developed, the army used the M3 half-track with an M2 105mm howitzer mounted in the crew compartment. This vehicle was designated as the T-19. However, this quickly proved inadequate and needed to be replaced, preferably by a fully tracked, armored vehicle able to offer better crew protection. Using the chassis from an M3 medium tank, two pilot models designated T32 were built and tested. Upon successful completion of the tests, the T32 was accepted for service in February 1942 as the M7 HMC (Howitzer Motor Carriage) with production starting in April 1942. The main armament was the M2 105mm howitzer, along with the M2 .50 cal. machine gun for AA and personal defense.

Once in a while, I like to build one of the older kits from the stash, adding additional details and such to bring it “up to modern standards”. One of these sitting in the to-do pile is the old AMT/ERTL F7F-3N Tigercat. This kit was recently re-boxed from Italeri, and is the only 1:48 plastic kit of this aircraft anywhere. Quickboost again provides a timely release with these replacement landing gear bay doors.

In the Box

The hanging bag with paper instruction insert comes with five resin parts on three casting blocks. All the bay doors are replaced with items in this set, including both pairs of main landing gear doors and the nose gear door. Casting is flawless in the familiar dark grey resin, and the attachments to the casting block is minimal.