Help needed: Has anyone the artists imprssion of the Tiger helo conversion?

[uk 75]

I cannot find my copy of the Janes or Hippo book with the 1962 artists impression of the Tiger class helicopter
conversion. It looks very different from the version that actually appeared. It should be out of
copyright by now so if anyone could scan a copy and post here, I would be very grateful. It would give
more of an idea of what a Swiftsure/Belfast conversion might have looked like.

 

[Pirate Pete]

Is this what you are after? - Along with the description on the rear of the illustration:
It's dated 1964, but appears to be the 'Official' impression.

 

[JFC Fuller]

That painting is not exactly detailed but it appears to show the aft/beam 3" turrets in place. In reality they were replaced with with Seacat, from the attached image at least one reason for that is fairly obvious- the hangar dramatically reduced their field of fire. The Seacat launchers were placed closer to the MRS-3 directors giving them a wider field of fire.

 

[Pirate Pete]

I'll have to try and locate the item, but I read somewhere that another reason for the removal of the twin 3-inch mounts and their substitution with the Seacat mounts was because the hangars needed to be larger than originally thought, and as the flight-deck area was restricted anyway, the only space that could be made available was by extending the hangar structure forward which required the removal of the two 3-inch mountings.

 

[uk 75]

Pf and JFC

Thank you. I had not seen this artwork. I think there is an even earlier cruder one in Janes and the Hippo book, but it may simply be
a smaller version of this one.

It is interesting to compare with the built version. Shame no drawings exist of the various proposals for the Swiftsure.

 

[uk 75]

PF

The hangars were definitely enlarged to fit Seakings rather than Wessex.

When the Belfast Swiftsure were considered for Commando, they were still looking at Whirlwinds!

 

[Hood]

I recall reading the same thing too, probably was Friedman.

 

[Pirate Pete]

It is indeed Friedman - Pages 319-320.
It was in 1964 that the use of Sea King helicopters in place of Wessex helicopters was seriously proposed.
To have extended the hangar aft would have resulted in only sufficient flight deck area for one helicopter, by extending forwards, and thereby replacing the two waist 3-inch mounts, retained sufficient flight deck area for the new larger Sea Kings.

 

[uk 75]

The 1965 Weyers Flottwntaschnbuch has this ga drawing