The Little World

The Martlet is done and I am very pleased with it. The folding wing feature is perfect for my Air World museum theme and this time the paint job looks good. And I am expecting a world of weird questions when people see the insignia on the plane.

The official story is this: The invasion of French North Africa – Operation Torch in 1942 – saw participation by British and American aircraft carriers as well as other ships. The British flew Martlet IV’s off HMS FORMIDABLE and other carriers in the FAA colours of two dark greys and a sky underside. The Americans used their own F4F WIldcat fighters from their carriers in the USN Atlantic colour scheme of the time.

The substitution of the US star on blue circle on FAA aircraft is said to have been to prevent ” inexperienced ” US naval gunners from shooting at Allied aircraft. I have a suspicion that’s a crock of shit.

The belittling of the US by the British and their sycophants has been a constant ever since the 1770’s – indeed it seems to have been the fashionable attitude in London even before this. The loss of America and the subsequent years of success and expansion by the USA further embittered the British – and it became, and is, even more fashionable to decry them. The politicians belittled the US government – the military belittled the forces. All the while taking as much lend-lease-charity-business as could be cozened out of Washington.

Think of the painting of the stars in this light; for the cost of a coat of paint they got to sneer at the people who provided the aircraft, petrol, and quite possibly the paint. And then they could wash it off later and march down the street to ” Heart of Oak “. ( Or, if they were the British General Staff, ” Head Of Oak “…).

Or there is an alternative explanation…

The painting of the stars – and note also the painting of ” U.S. Navy ” aft of the insignia and ship ID code – was an attempt to prevent the US gunners from firing at the Martlets, all right – but it was not to prevent inadvertent shooting. It was to fool the AA crews into not deliberately shooting at them. The U.S. sailors had contact with the British before and would be naturally cautious about letting them fly near US ships while armed. It would only take one little Sub Lieutenant with a grudge about the battle of Yorktown to start another naval sneak attack. After all, the last time the Royal Navy was in those North African waters it decided to fire on the French Navy anchored at Oran…

Or perhaps the British may have been afraid that there would be representatives from the Grumman Corporation there with a bailiff to seize the Martlets for unpaid debt and they decided to disguise them.

In the event, the landings went off alright, the Vichy French airforce was driven from the skies, and they could wash the stars off the FAA planes eventually. And then take their little caps in hand and go ask for Hellcats, Avengers, and Corsairs.  ” Please, Sir, we want more… “.

PS: I will build another one – an F4F next time in Yellow Wing pre-‘ 41 colours.