[djjeffhall]

Hey there folks,
Okay, this is a call out to all you Lysander rivet counters out there. This is not a bash session, so put away the knifes and clubs.

I've purchased one of the new Corgi Lysanders and think the mould is wonderful. She is one of the birds I've got on desktop. I've got the camo European bird, not the Mediterranean one.

I don't know anything about Lysanders except that the British used them on interceptor missions, covery secret agent drops (No doubt, James Bond would look really cool riding one of these guys into Dr. No's evil head quarters!) and interdiction missions. Kinda the allied version of the HE-123, only without as sexy a repuation.

After admiring her I've noticed a few weird things that I cannot figure out My few basic questions are:

How did the pilot get in and out of the cockpit? Did the canopy slide back? Did it open to the side? Did he climb in through the bottom like a B-17?

What is the little winder near the tail all about? Could this bird actually carry someone in the fuselage? If so, how many people? How were they arranged? Yeah, the body of the bird is pretty thick but it still looks like it would be a tight fit.

How many bombs could this bird carry? Yeah, I could dig out the box but its already stored away in the garage and my organizational skills are sersiously lacking when it comes to storing my Corgi boxes. (Otherwise I would have seen my British B-25 sometime in the last two years. It's out there somewhere.......)

Running along the bottom right hand side of my bird is some sort of hook like arrangement. What was that for? Mail pick ups without landing? Zepplins docking? (Okay, that last one was a joke. )

Also, what is the hood ornament on the front of the cowling? Gun sight? Early Jaguar symbol? (Yeah, yeah, silly of my I know. Relax, I'm having fun alright! )

To sum it all up, I really the new addition to the fleet from Corgi. I could do a few google searches but its more fun to get all your folk feedback.

Also, are there any Lysnaders that you all know about that Corgi HAS TO make? I vaguely recall reading some story about a Lizzie (That is the correct nickname, right?) pilot who was on a late night sortie over France who got jumped by 9 BF-109s and managed to fight them off (Or dodge around them?) and finally make it home. If that is a true story, it sounds like a pilot whose bird I'd like to see. Anyone have more details or better recall?

Thanks ahead of time.

[TopHat]

Originally Posted by djjeffhall

What is the little winder near the tail all about? Could this bird actually carry someone in the fuselage? If so, how many people? How were they arranged? Yeah, the body of the bird is pretty thick but it still looks like it would be a tight fit.

How many bombs could this bird carry? Yeah, I could dig out the box but its already stored away in the garage and my organizational skills are sersiously lacking when it comes to storing my Corgi boxes. (Otherwise I would have seen my British B-25 sometime in the last two years. It's out there somewhere.......)

Running along the bottom right hand side of my bird is some sort of hook like arrangement. What was that for? Mail pick ups without landing? Zepplins docking? (Okay, that last one was a joke. ).

I found this little note in one of my Lysander reference books: In 1941 a notice hung in a Royal Observer Corps training center at Oxford, "There is a difference between a barrage balloon, an aeroplane and a Lysander; the aeroplane can't stand still in the air - which makes it difficult to identify". In modern terms, the Lysander today would be referred to as a STOL aircraft. The Lizzie, as it was known, was designed with the intention of army-cooperation, through observation and tactical reconnaissance. Its virtue was that it could make a very rapid decent and ascent in a relatively short space. This ability kept it in service, long after it was clearly obsolete, for the purpose of dropping off and recovering special agents from behind enemy lines. It also could pick up messages on the fly by means of a long deployable hook mounted on the underside of the fuselage (visualize a very long arrester hook on a SBD). During and after the Battle of Britain the Lizzie served in the air-sea rescue role by dropping dinghies to pilots forced to ditch in the water. The Finns also made use of the Lysander for reconnaissance work and to conduct nuisance bombings - not much damage done, but it kept the Soviet soldier from getting needed sleep.



Source: http://www.rollmodels.net/nreviews/a...zie/lizzie.php

[johnnyboy]

List of Westland Lysander operators

• Australia: Royal Australian Air Force
• Canada: Royal Canadian Air Force
• India: Royal Indian Air Force
• Egypt: Royal Egyptian Air Force
• Finland: Finnish Air Force
• France: Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres
• Ireland: Irish Air Corps
• Poland: Polskie Siły Powietrzne
• Portugal
• South Africa: South African Air Force
• Turkey
• United Kingdom: Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm
• United States: United States Army Air Force

Armament

• Two forward-firing .303 in (7.7-mm) Browning machine guns in wheel fairings
• Two .303 Lewis guns for the observer
• Four 20 lb (9 kg) bombs under rear fuselage.
• Stub wings, if fitted, can carry 500 lb (227 kg) of bombs.

[jim]

Also used as a target tug. It could carry 3 people at a pinch. 1650 approx were built, The Canadians built about 230. It could carry 6 small bombs on each wheel spat.
An aircraft of number 2 squadron shot down an Hs126. Also I believe the same Lizzie accounted for a JU87.
It is true that a Lizzie of Number 4 squadron shot down an Me110 after being bounced by 6 of them and indeed did make it back to base.

Nearly forgot , Westland converted one into a tandem wing set up with a turret. It was to be used as a strafer in case of invasion.

[DCRanger]

The "little winder" is for checking whether the ballast weights were in place or not. This was important when flying at low speeds. You might also have noticed that the whole of the tail planes swivel in the same fashion as modern jets. This was to improve it's low speed handling and STOL abilities.

[djjeffhall]

DCRanger,
Hey there.

Yeah, I've been having fun all day with the tail plane. My Lysander has been doing some serious flying around my desk today. The tail plane has gotten quite a workout.

[swoop]

The little hooks were called cloud catchers. Attaching to the upper reaches of a passing cloud. Therefore preserving fuel. If you believe that. You are just as daft as the author.

[Delta Zulu]

Source: Lysander Special by Bruce Robertson ISBN 0 7110 0764 0 Ian Allen 1977.
Canopy slid back, 'hood ornament' is gun sight. Top Hat covered the message pick-up hook.
DCRanger covered the windows so as to check on balance weights. Jim covered passengers(2) but
"three could be carried in a pinch and four in an emergency." I asked Corgi if the SD version(due in 4th
qtr.) would have ladder and long range tank. Answer was yes.

[jim]

Originally Posted by swoop

The little hooks were called cloud catchers. Attaching to the upper reaches of a passing cloud. Therefore preserving fuel. If you believe that. You are just as daft as the author.

Every aviator needs a pair of sky hooks just in case!

[djjeffhall]

Delta Zulu,
Hey there.

Is the antenna on my plane incorrect? It doesn't look like the canopy can slide back very far. Not that I care a whole lot as I'm not going to grumble over this bird, but inqurering minds NEED to know.