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{"cz":"Info EDUARD"}
{"cz":"Měsíčník o historii a plastikovém modelářství.","en":"Monthly magazine about history and scale plastic modeling."}
01/2023
Dear Friends and Fellow Modellers, Welcome to the first newsletter of 2023. The January issue traditionally introduces our planned projects for the year. This year will be no different, so we’ll waste no time and get right down to the nitty gritty. We’ll start off with January, new releases for which are already available from our e-shop and have been since last week.
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INFO Eduard# 155e-magazine FREE Vol 22 January 2023Page 2
INFO Eduard# 155e-magazine FREE Vol 22 January 2023© Eduard - Model Accessories, 2023FREE FOR DOWNLOAD, FREE FOR DISTRIBUTION!This material may only be used for personal use. No part of the textor graphic presentations can be used in another publication in any other mediaform or otherwise distributed without the prior writtenpermission of Eduard - Model Accessories and authors involved.Editorial and Graphics - Marketing department, Eduard - Model Accessories, Ltd.Page 3
eduardeduardJANUARY 2023CONTENTSEDITORIALKITSBRASSINPHOTO-ETCHED SETSBIG EDBUILTON APPROACH–February 2023TAIL END CHARLIEHISTORYBOXART STORYB-25J Mitchell STRAFER ProfiPACK 1/72Spitfire Mk.Vb mid Weekend edition 1/48Sopwith F.1 Camel (Clerget) Weekend edition 1/48Bf 110E ProfiPACK 1/72P-400 ProfiPACK 1/48A6M2 Zero Type 21 ProfiPACK 1/48F4F-3 Wildcat 1/48Spitfire Mk.Vb late 1/48F-4B Phantom II 1/48P-38J 1/48Beaufort Mk.I 1/48P-51D-10+ wheel bay PRINT 1/48MidwayThe air war over Ukraine - Bogged in the mudFast and lowThe black day of the Jagdgeschwader “Udet”High sky collisionIn the clouds over the ChannelHeadhunters over BunaBailing out over the jungle41024305272788498115Published by Eduard-Model Accessories, spol. s.r.o.Mírová 170, Obrnice 435 21support@eduard.com www.eduard.comPage 4
Dear Friends and Fellow Modellers,Welcome to the first newsletter of 2023.The January issue traditionally introdu-ces our planned projects for the year. Thisyear will be no different, so we’ll waste notime and get right down to the nitty gritty.We’ll start off with January, new releasesfor which are already available from oure-shop and have been since last week.New Kits for JanuaryFor the second time in a row, a newrelease within the ProfiPACK line untradi-tionally draws on plastic from an externalsource. Such sources are generally usedby us in releasing kits in our Limited Editi-on line, but there have been some excepti-ons in the past. In December, we releaseda 1:72nd scale Bf 109E-3 with the plasticcoming from Special Hobby, and last yearin February, the ProfiPACK line saw a Hu-rricane Mk.I that hailed from the Polishfirm Arma Hobby. This time around, againin 1:72nd, we have a B-25J based aroundthe Hasegawa molds, along the samelines as September’s Limited Edition ‘Gun-n’s Bunny’. I expect this ProfiPACK B-25JStraffer, a B-25J with the metal platedgunned nose, will be just as popular asGunn’s Bunny, not just because of an at-tractive assortment of accessory items,but also because the marking optionsinclude items that simply could not beincluded in Gunn’s Bunny due to space limi-tations. That felt like a crime. But the deve-lopment of this item was not to just createthe opportunity to rectify said crime. Itwas more of a response to the slowing ofthe market brought on by Russia’s invasi-on of Ukraine. The market slowing was areaction to this idiotic war. Between Apriland September of last year, it dropped oursales by some twenty percent, and we re-acted by reducing the number of editionsof some of our kits, notably in the Limi-ted Edition line. That gave us a surplus ofB-25J plastic, that was then diverted tothis January release.Coincidentally, we have another 72nd sca-le twin coming out this month, the Bf 110E.It is a repop of the original ProfiPACK, andsignals a continuation of the return of theBf 110 family to our catalog. January hasa total of three such re-editions, and be-sides the aforementioned Bf 110E, we haveour tried and tested P-400 Airacobra in1:48th, and the recently sold out A6M2 ZeroModel 21.Besides the four ProfiPACKS, we havea couple of new Weekend kits, the So-pwith Camel with a Clerget engine and theSpitfire Mk.Vb. The Mk.Vb is an extremelycomplicated type, featuring a host of con-secutive manufacturing modifications. Thesubtype being released this month can beconsidered, albeit as a bit of an oversim-plification, a mid production version, cha-racterized by an armored windscreen anda newer wing with asymmetrical kidneyshaped cannon fairings under the wings.New Kits for FebruaryComing in February is the 48th scale Li-mited Edition kit of the Hind-E. The kit willfeature Zvezda’s plastic and eight markingoptions. Besides masks and coloured pho-toetched, accessories will include Brassinwheels, chaff/flare dispensers and GPSantennae. The theme of the markings isgeared towards service with the air forcesof Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic.As with our other 72nd and 48th scale Hindkits previous, this edition will include a pu-blication from noted Czech military pilotJaroslav Spacek.The Hind E is historically a striking subjectmatter for a kit, and one that we will re-turn to one more time in 2023 with a spe-cific item. No less striking, however, is theProfiPACK Fokker D.VII (AOW), signalinga return to World War One subjects. This kitwas originally envisioned as a re-editionof the most successful of the Fokker D.VIIkits, the ProfiPACK Fokker D.VII (OAW) withthe catalog number 8131. But because thiswas repeatedly reissued several times inthe past, we decided to create a new itemthis time around. The boxart shows whatis quite possibly the most depicted aircraftof the First World War, Lo!, flown by Lt.Ernst Udet, during combat in the cockpit ofa very elegant Fokker D.VII which this po-pular aviation personality flew during thattime. The aircraft carried the somewhatenigmatic inscription ‘Du Doch Nicht!!’ onthe elevators and was shot down by defen-sive fire from the Breguet being attacked.EDITORIALINFO Eduard4January 2023Page 5
The marking options are a collection ofsix choices used in previous issues of theFokker D.VII OAW kit. All in all, the optionsoffer an attractive set of both striking andhistorically significant aircraft that inclu-des among others the red and white air-craft flown by Lt. Kurt Monington of Jasta18 with a raven and skull on the fuselageand another famed Fokker with artworkinspired by a fable of the Seven Swabians(the Brothers Grimm) from Jasta 65.The February ProfiPACK line picks up withthe Zero line, and will come in the form ofan A6M3 Model 22/22a. It contains decalsfor five aircraft that served with groundbased units of the Japanese Navy in theSouth Pacific and Japan. And be aware,the A6M3 Model 22 is not identical to theModel 32!Carrying on with the Pacific theme, wehave another kit, the Spitfire Mk.VIII in1:48th, which is being released as a Wee-kend kit. The kit is based around the pro-ven Spitfire Mk.IX/VIII/16 molds, and sameas other February new kit releases, it isa component of our range renewal efforts.The decal options will allow building oneof four aircraft that served with the RAAFin Australia and Indonesia, and within theRAF in Italy and Burma.Another item for February’s Weekend lineand based on older but proven molds isour popular Fw 190A-8/R2 ‘Sturmbock’in 1:72nd scale. These armored machineswere developed for combat with Americanfour engined bombers and their kits aretraditionally among our best selling items.One interesting fact related to this is thatthe subtypes Fw 190A-8 and Fw 190A-8/R2account for half of all Fw 190 kit sales,which is furthermore the most populartype of aircraft we have kitted in terms ofsales. This kit includes four marking opti-ons from JG 3, JG 4 and JG 300. The boxartdepicts some of the most dramatic aerialcombat to take place during the SecondWorld War over Austria.A significant force behind the momentumof our aforementioned range revival comesin the form of the only February re-edition.This is the ProfiPACK Bf 110E in 1:48th. Thisis the first Bf 110 release in 1:48th sinceour fire, the second anniversary of whichcame just before Christmas on December19th. The re-emergence of these kits hadto wait that long due to production capaci-ty limits. In the coming months, Bf 110 kitsin both 48th and 72nd scales will be ex-panding into the ProfiPACK and Weekendlines, and both kits will come back in theLimited Edition family as well, under thename Adlertag. At approximately the mid-way point of the year, the much reques-ted Bf 110G-4, catalog Number 8208, willbe making a comeback.New Kits for MarchFor March, we are prepping for the con-tinuation of the Wildcat series with a Li-mited Edition kit dubbed ‘Guadalcanal’.This will be dedicated to the F4F-4 Wildcatearly and late versions. It will be anotherof the Dual Combo kits, with two comple-te kits in the package. In this case, it willbe one set for the early version F4F-4,the other will be geared towards the latervariant. These differ in the fuselage. Thedecal options will cover not only Guadal-canal operations conducted by the CactusAir Force, but also aircraft operating off ofaircraft carriers in various regions of thePTO during the same timeframe.In March, the ProfiPACK line will seeanother 48th scale Spitfire, this time theMk.Vc Trop and a 72nd scale Bf 109E-4. TheWeekend line will grow by a 72nd scale Bf110G-2, while the re-edition concept will beapplied to the MiG-21bis and Avia B.534 ofthe fourth production series. Both of thesewill be in 1:48th. Actually, I can’t rule outthat the MiG might be a new item with newmarkings. We have what we need to godown that road.Kits for the Second QuarterTruth be told, every year I have a greaterproblem with the structuring of informa-tion regarding planned kits for the upco-ming twelve months. It’s mostly the resultof the sheer number of new releases thatcome out each year. Despite the fact thatmany modellers on internet forums com-plain that we release too few kits and thewait times are long, we do put out someseventy new items per year. That sort ofa schedule makes it very difficult to put to-gether a summary of all planned releases.There is also the perception held by manymodellers that only the initial release ofa given kit can and should be considereda true new release. Anything else is of-ten considered a repop and is overlookedby both the buying public and reviewers.I have a problem with this, because at leastin our case, the re-editions are carefullyplanned items and not straight repops. It’snot like we put the exact same items intotwenty different boxes. Each of our pro-jects includes as much as a dozen sprues.Typically, we try to group into main spruesall of the fine details that will be commonfor a specific type, and complement thesewith version specific sprues that hold fu-selages and wings that are the items thatnormally will bear the brunt of the diffe-rences. The kit then contains the relevantcombination of sprues. As a goal, we avoidrequiring the end user to apply any sur-gery to these types of things, which wouldallow a certain level of modularization.This would be a comparatively comfortable‘out’ and would be pretty cheap to boot, butthe same cannot be said for the modeller.So, we reject that route and keep the enduser at a higher level of priority, which ex-plains why we include version specific fu-selages and wings of a given type.It will be during the second quarter whenthis philosophy will show itself in all itsglory. That is when we will be unveilingour Rufe. Formally, it is a version of theINFO Eduard5January 2023Page 6
Zero. However, our version will not havevery much in common with our Zero Model21, from which the float equipped A6M2-Nwas derived. The new kit begs for four newsprues for its proper evolution. I have tosay that I am very much looking forward tothis kit. Initially, we thought that we wouldsuspend the tradition of releasing newkits as Limited Edition items, but after adetailed historical analysis of the type, wethought that it would be a shame to do so.So, in April, we will start off with the now--traditional Limited Edition kit. The Profi-PACK version will follow in July.For May, we have another Limited Editi-on kit coming. This will be the F-104C in1:48th, another in the line of Starfighters,of which we have released a few to date.In this case, however, we have changedthe supplier of the plastic and this VietnamWar version will hail from Kinetic.June will see a significant premiere. TheLimited Edition Wunderschone Neue Ma-schinen Pt.1 will introduce the Bf 109F-2and F-4, the first of our Bf 109F, G and Kkits in 1:72nd scale, which will be with usfor a good number of years. The 1:72ndscale Bf 109F, G and K are a very complexundertaking, and up to now, we have ne-ver committed to such an expansive typeunder one project umbrella. This is one ofthe reasons why it has taken as long as ithas. Another major reason that the road tofruition was as long as it was even for us isthat the basis for the project was data de-veloped for our 1:48th Bf 109F/G/K, and wechanged and corrected it to a large extent.These were on a technological as well asa conceptual level. Since those first 48thscale kits were released, our technologi-cal abilities have evolved, and with them,our view as to how a model kit should lookand go together. Those of you familiar withlast year’s released S-199 and CS-199 willnow have insight into how these Bf 109swill look, because the S-199s are part ofthe overall same project and share a lot incommon with the Bf 109F/G/K.The release schedule of the Bf 109F, Gand K will be the same as the 1:48th scaleSpitfire Mk.I-V. the Zeros, the Wildcats andTrener kits. Taking it in order, in the comingmonths we’ll see Wunderschone Neue Ma-schinen Pt.2 with the Bf 109G-2 and G-4.This will be followed by ‘Gustav’, with theBf 109G-6, and next year, we’ll pick up withthe G-14. This will be followed by the G-6/ASand G-14/AS. This year will also see therelease of the first ProfiPACK Bf-109F-2and F-4. New kits of specific Bf 109F, G andK variants will be spread out over seve-ral years and will total somewhere in theneighborhood of dozens. The entire projectincludes fourteen sprues (not counting themolds for the S-199 and CS-199), and mostof these deal with differences in the fuse-lages and wings. We are also, of course,covering detail changes as well, includingsuch things as the sizes and types of tiresand wheel hubs, tailwheels and rudders.As with the Rufe model, this approach willraise your comfort level in the build wit-hout the need of any major surgery. Forthose of you that really want to take yourwork to the next level, we are also pre-paring a slew of accessory items, such asphotoetched, and 3D printed parts, startingwith simple wheels to more complex itemslike engines and cockpits.We’ve got one more special edition co-ming in the second quarter. We decreasedthe number of kits produced for the HindE, and diverted the resulting balance toa truly unique release. Unlike the Hind Ekit, this one will not include the publicati-on and will feature just one decal option.This will be for Mi-35 coded 3366, a Hindwho’s paint scheme was inspired by theINFO Eduard6January 2023Page 7
Alien franchise. The decals are the center-piece of this project. From a graphic deve-lopment standpoint, this is a very complexitem, and its development was accompa-nied by constant doubt within our designteam. But, after successfully completingthe rivet sets for the Mi-24 and Mi-35, itwas concluded that the completion of thisdecal set was well within our capabilitiesas well. In the past, we have designed andproduced many large decal sheets, but inthe case of Alien, it’s a collection of decalsthat end up covering the entire model. Theproject is unique, and a first. It will be pro-duced in very limited quantities, no morethan 1,000 units, and will also likely be-come a real collector’s item.We don’t live off of unique items alone, andso there are ProfiPACK and Weekend kitsplanned for the second quarter, as wellas for the following ones. Amongst 1:48thscale ProfiPACK kits, this will include theinitial release of the naval Camel 2F.1, theZ-326 Trener Master, and there will be ano-ther Wildcat. It may be a late F4F-4, or wemay opt for the FM-2. This year, we’ll putout both, but the order of their release hasnot yet been set. Putting out a Dual ComboFM-2 boxing as a Limited Edition release isalso on the table. The second quarter willalso see a Bf 109E-1. Re-edition efforts willcentre around a quarter scale Bf 109G-6,MiG-21PFM, another Bf 110, and in 1:72nd,an Fw 190F-8, MiG-21MF (Fighter Bomber),and a MiG-15UTI. For the Weekend line, weare planning a Tempest Mk.II and a Series2 Tempest Mk.V, an Fw 190A-4 and A6M2Zero Model 21. Not long ago, someonewrote in a modelling forum that after therelease of Academy’s Model 21 Zero, thiswill be the final option for a release of thistype from Eduard. Rest assured that this isdefinitely not the case. As always, we willgive you plenty of reasons to consider theEduard kit as your FIRST choice!Third QuarterHere, we begin to skate on some thin ice.Not that there are no plans, but as a rule,that has so far not been broken, planstend to be subject to some dynamic chan-ges after the second quarter. In any case,the main project for the third quarter isthe 1:48th scale Bf 109K-4, which we woulddearly like to release in time for the IPMSNationals in San Marcos. This model isin a similar boat as the 72nd scale Bf 109line – this kit also comes out of the earlierBf 109F and G releases that came before it,but the design of the Bf 109K-4 introducedsome technological and conceptual chan-ges and innovations. The same can be saidfor the S-199 and CS-199, being preparedfor the end of the year. In both cases, wehave achieved technological and concep-tual maturity, and I dare say we’ve fine tu-ned these things just right. When we get tothe realization of the Kurfurst Limited Edi-tion kit, we’ll do the same for the markingoptions. Of course, we’ll complement it allwith accessory items, down to 3D prints,so you have something to really look for-ward to!The third quarter also sees plans fora Limited Edition Z-526 Trener, the finalsub variant of the line. There will also beWilde Sau Episode Three, the Final Coun-tdown, dedicated to Wilde Sau units equi-pped with various versions of the Fw 190A.In the ProfiPACK line, we should see the48th scale Rufe, another Wildcat, anotherCamel, and the aforementioned Bf 109F-2.The Weekend line will expand by the addi-tion of the A6M3 Zero Model 32, anotherquarter scale Bf 110, Spitfire Mk.16 and anI-16 Type 10.Fourth QuarterEconomists would call this venturing intospeculation. At this point in the New Year,the fourth quarter is still very far off andplans change. At the moment, what Li-mited Edition kits based around outsidesourced plastic will be developed is up inthe air. Whatever it will be, this item is nor-mally the hit of E-day in the fall. Finalizingagreements for the supply of the outsour-ced plastic won’t occur until next month atNuremburg, and there are currently seve-ral items in the running. Where this will gois uncertain also because the NuremburgToy Fair, at least as far as our industry isconcerned, will not be exactly a beehiveof activity due to kit producer attendance.And really, the same can be said of retai-ler attendance, so this will be the mostunusual Toy Fair over the past fifty years.I do hold out some hope that it won’t be sobad, and that it might end up like this pastE-day, or the soccer World Cup in Qatar.These were also events that had a lot ofnegative predictions associated with them,but came through surpassing all expecta-tions. Regardless of this year’s outcome,I believe that the Toy Fair will rebound overthe coming years, recovering from the co-vid restrictions, and return to its formerprosperity. How the fair goes, I will reporton in the March newsletter.Be that as it may, the main focus for the fallwill be the 1:48th scale Avia S-199. It willhave its premiere at E-day, and same asthe Bf 109K-4, it will come from a comple-tely new set of molds. We are also planninga Limited Edition kit for the end of the year,‘Malta’, featuring the Spitfire Mk. V, and theaforementioned 1:72nd scale Gustav, theBf 109G-6, which will apparently alsoinclude a Bf 109G-5.We also have another new release plannedfor the very end of the year, and on thetable are several possibilities. Whetherit will be the MiG-21F-13, the P-51B Mus-tang, the A6M5 Model 52 Zero or some-thing in 1:72nd will be finalized in the co-ming months. Take it as an early Christmassurprise, to be revealed at E-day, becausewithin our system of releasing informati-on, it just has to be that way.Accessory Items for 2023Out of the planned accessory items, I willpoint out those that jump out at me fromthe long list of things to come. The first ofthese would be the Brassin wingfold setfor the F4F-4 Wildcat . I consider this a truemasterpiece, able to turn a normal modelinto the pearl of a collection and able toattract the eye of any onlooker like a poledancer. This printed set contains a set ofplastic wings, because its integration na-turally requires the cutting up of theseitems, which is much easier to do with twosets of wings rather than with just the oneset from the kit. The Brassin line will alsoinclude 3D printed parts for the Fw 190A-8in 1:48th scale. The first of these will bethe cockpit, replacing the older cast resinitem, and among other things, illustratesINFO Eduard7January 2023Page 8
the advances made in this technology. Ourplan is to replace the cast cockpits with3D printed ones over time. We are alsogoing to produce 3D prints for armor in1:35th and ships in 1:350th. Also of note areeleven new Space sets, complemented bya set for the raised rivets on the 1:48thscale Su-25 using the same technology.Among new mask and photoetched sets,I would point out items for the Tornado IDSin 1:32nd from Italeri and the first sets forthe 48th scale Airfix Anson.ShowsIt looks like the revival of the show seasonis unstoppable. That would mean that afterNuremburg, we will attend all significantshows through the spring, including Pro-sek and Moson, and even Lingen betweenthem. We will also attend some smaller lo-cal shows, although these will be more forexposure of our new items than as ven-dors. In the summer, we will be in Texasat the IPMS Nationals, the fall will have usat E-day, in which we want to draw on thesuccess of the last show, and take it a stepfurther. Unfortunately, Telford will is not inour plans.Excellent news has come out of Slovakia,which will see the return of Bratislava’sPlastic Winter. It will be the return of a le-gend in a big way. It will have a new ve-nue and you have no idea how much I amlooking forward to this show! So much sothat the final big premiere of our makingthat I mentioned in the last paragraph willtake place in Bratislava on November 11th,2023!ArticlesThere are two, in this issue, both from MiraBaric. There is the tenth edition of his re-port on the air war over Ukraine and thesecond part of Midway, about the searchfor sunken ships with Paul Allen. As is nowour custom, we have five Boxart Stories.This newsletter is published in the clas-sic PDF format and can be downloaded asyou have in the past. At the same time, itis available through the Triobo publishingvehicle. You had an opportunity to test thisnew system out back in December, and thefeedback has been overwhelmingly posi-tive. There are some negative points thatwere raised, but among modellers, howcan it be any other way? It does appearas though there are no fatal flaws in thesystem. If you should run into an issue,though, you can bring it to our attention,and we can discuss the principles of itsfunctionality. Starting with February, ournewsletter will be published using Trioboexclusively.2022The space allocated for my introduction tothe newsletter has been pretty much usedup, but I would at least like to summarizesome stats for 2022. The year has been aninteresting one and somewhat surprising,because over a six month period of themarket cooling, and the associated drop insales, it ended with a recovery that brou-ght us in line with our best year ever, 2020.This is because of excellent performanceover the first and fourth quarters last year,brought on by your support for us and ourproducts. Our main markets, traditionallythe Czech Republic, the EU, the United Sta-tes and Japan, even saw relatively signi-ficant growth. This amounted to 7% in theCzech Republic, 9% in Japan, and as highas 14% in the US. There were some ma-jor jumps in the year in smaller markets,such as China by 58% and Australia by 71%,but the champion amongst the developedworld is Canada, with a jump of 84%.With the EU, it is a bit more complicated,because we trade with individual nations.The results vary, and while we recordedan increase in sales of 11% in France andeven 26% in Poland, in Germany we regis-tered a decrease of 11%. There were down-turns elsewhere as well. Predictably, Ru-ssia fell by 47% and this year the bottomwill fall out if the war doesn’t end soon.We’ll see no sales in the Russian mar-ket immediately at the start of this year.Less understandable is the drop in salesto Great Britain, where they amounted to25%. In a market that has seen long termgrowth, this is rather shocking. It can’t beblamed on Brexit, and in Britain we sawa drop in the year before last of 5%, in linewith the global figure compared to 2020. Inshort, everything appeared pretty normaland back then, there was a drop of abouta percentage across the board. Last year’s25% drop in sales is more dramatic, andI would venture a guess that it points toa worsening condition for mutual tradebetween Great Britain and the EU. Fur-thermore, even we are seeing worseningconditions with respect to imports fromBritain, almost to the level seen back inthe days of communism. We have even re-fused delivery of some items, because theadditional duties and import taxes werehigher than the cost of the actual goods.Add to that the cost of postage, which hasrisen, and continues to rise enormously,and you can see why there is fear for thefuture of international trade. I would liketo extend my sincere thanks and gratitudeto all those who, despite these conditions,still purchased items off our e-shop. Yourhelp in maintaining this avenue of sales isnot taken for granted.That was the good news. Here’s the badnews. The other side of the coin when itcomes to sales are expenses. These, un-fortunately, rose exponentially. At the endof the summer, it even appeared as thoughthese would not see any limits. There werealso the effects of supply issues from ear-lier in the year. Luckily, our industry wasnot as hard hit as, say, the automobile se-ctor. We never had to stop, or even limit,production. Nevertheless, inflation raisedour expenses significantly, bit into ourprofits and put the brakes on development.The fall brought some relief on all fronts,including on the threat of further increasesin energy costs, even though if these costsreach the government mandated ceiling,we’ve got something to look forward to….we’ll still end up paying three times asmuch as last year. The rising cost of pro-duction is the main, and really, the only, re-ason for price increases which we neededto implement with the New Year. We triedto minimize these as best we could, andbecause this was our responsibility alone,I put a lot of careful thought into this step.Despite all this, I firmly believe that we stillprovide the best value for the money com-pared to other firms. I believe that this willbe noticed by you, and that we can count onyour continued support for 2023!And, I wish all the best for the New Year,much success and good health!Happy ModellingVladimir SulcINFO Eduard8January 2023Page 9
www.eduard.com/bfcBUNNY BUNNY FIGHTERFIGHTERCLUBEduard's special membership club for all modeling enthusiasts!15% Permanent Club discount at Eduard Store – you will receive permanent 15% discount on all Eduardproducts and also discount on various other non-Eduard products. Fixed, permanent, forever!Unique valuable Club kits and accessories – you will gain access to unique and nowhere else to be soldproducts, specially made for BFC members.Even better prices at Eduard events stand – do you know that Eduard usually has huge discounts ontheir products at fairs and events all over the world? BFC members will have even higher discount atthese events.Club T-shirt – you will receive fancy BFC T-shirt with unique design and special barcode(used for event discounts). This exclusive T-shirt will be only availableto the members of BFC.Free entry fee on E-day – you will not have to pay a penny to visit Eduard's E-day.That means lot of fun at E-day for two days and entry kit, absolutely free!* E-day - INTERNATIONAL SCALE KIT EXHIBITION - IPMS Czech Republic ChampionshipBOX CONTENT:Plastic parts, Marking options 6, Decal Set, PE parts, Maska, Brassinparts (two different types of wheels, landing flaps, dust filter witheyelid, intake ring and RP-3 60lb rockets), 3D decals for main and si-dewalk instrument and control panels with photo-etched details andseat belts.BOX CONTENT:Plastic parts, Marking options 4, Decal Set, PE parts, Maska, Brassinparts (undercarriage wheels, cockpit, exhaust nozzle, FOD).How to become a member of BFC?How to become a member of BFC?Simply by purchasing the Activation product. You will be given 15% discount on (almost) every Eduardproduct in your shopping cart. To apply this discount, the Activation product has to be in your shoppingcart. Activation product is excluded from this calculation.Activation products:Activation products:Tempest Mk. V + T-shirt 1/48MiG-21MF + T-shirt 1/72Page 10
HISTORYSEARCHING FOR THE LOST SHIPSWITH PAUL ALLENMIDWAYBattle of the Corral Sea, described in theprevious part of this series, marked thevery first aircraft carriers encounter in thehistory. It was a Japanese tactical victorysince they lost only one small aircraft ca-rrier, Shōhō and one destroyer while theysank a large American aircraft carrier Le-xington, a tanker and a destroyer. Strate-gically the battle meant an Allied successsince they prevented the Japanese landingat Port Moresby.In comparison Midway represented thevery first American victory which not onlyhampered the Japanese offensive plansbut also struck a devastative blow again-st their Navy from which they have neverfully recovered. The ground for this waslaid exactly by the Battle of the Corral SeaTo describe the Battle of Midway would be beating of the deadhorse. The details about the air combat can be found in TomCleaver’s article in the Info No. 152 (issue 10/2022). Therefore, inthe following text we will focus on some key moments and alsolook into the search for the ships sunken during this battle.Source: Naval History and Heritage CommandMidway became the target of the first attack as earlyas December 7, 1941. Pictured here is the wreck ofPBY-3 Catalina (BuNo 0824), destroyed in a nightbombardment by the destroyers Ushio and Sazanami.Aerial shot of Midway on November 24, 1941, shortly before the start of the war with Japan.Text: Miro BaričSource: US NavyPage 11
HISTORYduring which the aircraft carrier Shōkakuwas severely damaged by three bombsand required the dry dock repairs. The se-cond aircraft carrier, Zuikaku avoided thedamage however lost a half of her aircraftcrews and waited for the replacements.Therefore, both ships were missing at theattack on Midway.On the other side the American aircraftcarrier USS Yorktown, seriously damagedin the Corral Sea, was repaired with theenormous effort and barely withing amonth could join another battle. It was anunpleasant surprise for Japanese.Ace in the sleeveThe greatest American advantage thoughwas the intelligence acquired by decodingthe Japanese messages. It helped to un-cover the Japanese plan to land at PortMoresby – and thanks to it the Commaderof the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester Nimitzstarted to trust the judgment of the HYPOstation on Hawaiian Islands much morewhile evaluating the intercepted Japanesemessages. And precisely their informationplayed the critical role in the case of theBattle of Midway. It is the proof that eventhe nerds can help win the wars!HYPO station was one of two main crypto-graphic intelligence unit of the USN in thePacific. The other one was in Melbourne.The third station in Philippines had to beevacuated before the Japanese onslau-ght and the personnel was incorporatedinto the Australian unit. HYPO station wascommanded by Cpt. Joseph Roschefort, avery colorful individual in the otherwisedull uniformed world. Rochefort was bornin 1900 in Dayton, Ohio. In 1917 he enlisted inthe US Navy. During the enlistment proce-ss he lied he had been born in 1898 and thisage difference accompanied him throu-ghout his whole career which started bygraduating from the Navy Mechanic Schooland starting the service on the tanker USSCuyama. There, another officer noticed hispassion in solving the rebus and crosswords and recommended him for the Navycrypto-analytical studies. During 1929-1932the Navy ensured he could master the Ja-panese language (including the studies inTokyo) a when he was in the beginning of1941 commissioned to lead HYPO station,he had already had nine years of servicein the intelligence units under his belt. Hewas allowed to personally choose the ma-jority of his team members, so he moldedhis team according to his needs. Their maintask was to break the Japanese Navy codecalled JN-25 by the Americans.In cooperation with British, Australian andDutch colleagues the American analyticsgradually achieved the capability to read10 to 15% of each Japanese message. Toestimate the rest of the contents was aproblem. That the large-scale Japaneseoffensive was being prepared was cleareven before the first shot were fired in theCorral Sea. Those in Washington thoughsupposed that the attack will be directedto the south, then towards Johnston Island.And finally estimated the date of the attackno sooner than middle of June 1942. Onthe contrary Rochefort was convinced thatthe Japanese operation is headed towardsthe central Pacific and its target is Midwayand it will commence in the beginning ofJune. And that he was right in all aspectsmade him a lot of enemies in Washington.Luckily, Admiral Nimitz fully agreed withhis conclusions and made the correspon-ding arrangements. Had he relied on theinstructions from Washington he wouldhave reached Midway after its capture bythe Japanese. Instead, he could wait forJapanese and set the trap for them whilethey had no idea about the main Americanforces movement.Trick on Japanese and their owncommandIn order to confirm its judgement HYPOstation came up with the deceit AdmiralNimitz also agreed with. One interceptedmessage contained the words “koryakubutai” which had been confirmed as “in-vasion fleet” combined with the designa-tion AF. As a target of the attack AF wasmentioned in further Japanese messages.Rochefort was convinced that AF is Mid-way. But people in Washington believedit to be Johnston Island. Then one of Ro-chefort’s team members, Wilfred “Jasper”Holmes proposed that Midway faked thewater supply problems. Nimitz gave theplan green light and the instructions weresent to Midway by underwater cable. Con-USS Yorktown in dock at Pearl Harbor on May 29, 1942. Damage from the Battle of the Coral Sea was repairedin record time.Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi at sea in the summerof 1941. Three A6M Zero fighters are parked forward.Joseph RochefortSource: US NavySource: Naval History and Heritage CommandINFO Eduard11January 2023Page 12
sequently, the island reported in the plainlanguage that the sea water processingequipment suffered from the explosion andthe drinking water supplies will last for twoweeks only. The message was interceptedby the Japanese station on Kwajalein andsent it to the higher command. A coupleof hours later commander of the air groupscheduled to occupy AF sent the request tothe headquarters for the emergency watersupplies. This confirmed the identity of thetarget.All these analytical successes were not forfree. During the month of May 1942, whenany piece of informational was invaluable,for days Rochefort did not leave his bunkerand worked for more than 12 hous a day. Hedid not follow the military rules and regu-lations but applied his own methods whichwere successful. While at work he worethe bathing robe and flippers. One can ea-sily picture the image of Captain Benjamin“Hawkeye” Pierce from MASH series playedby Alan Alda. Rochefort was lucky as well.In the very end of May 1942, the Japaneseceased to use JN-25 code and replaced itwith another. That would have been bro-ken from the scratch – however all thatwas important for the battle of Midway theAmerican cryptanalytics had already foundout. Nimitz wanted to reward Rochefort’sefforts and proposed his decoration withNavy Distinguished Service Medal. Nimitz’ssuperior, Admiral Ernest King refused it.He considered Rochefort the officer withthe least military look he has ever met. Af-ter some other officers from Washingtoncomplained about him, he was transferredto San Francisco and put in charge of a drydock and was no longer involved in cryp-to analytics until the end of war. DespiteKing’s objections he was awarded Legionof Merit at the end of war. He passed awayin 1976 and received a real award for hiswork only after his death. In 1985 he wasawarded long denied Navy DistinguishedService Medal and in 1986 Presidential Me-dal of Freedom.Disastrous lossesThe result of the Battle of Midway is wellknown. Japan deployed four large aircraftcarriers (Akagi, Kaga, Hiryū and Soryū) andlost all four of them. In addition, Japan losta heavy cruiser. US Navy sent three aircraftcarriers to a battle (Enterprise, Hornet,Yorktown) and lost one of them includinga destroyer. What contributed to the cata-strophic Japanese defeat was the fact thatthe Americans knew their plan and that thisplan was extremely complicated. Japanesefleet was divided into several independentgroups with different tasks and moving farJapanese aircraft carrier Kaga after modernization in the mid-1930s.The stern of the Kaga circa 1941.Japanese aircraft carrier Soryu during training cruises in January 1938.Source: Naval History and Heritage CommandSource: Naval History and Heritage CommandSource: Naval History and Heritage CommandHISTORYINFO Eduard12January 2023Page 13
from each other. Therefore, in case it wasnecessary, they could not help each otherand their coordination was very deman-ding. The battle started on June 3, 1942, bythe unsuccessful B-17 attack against thetransportation ships from the invasion fle-et. At night the PBY Catalina flying boat’storpedo hit and damaged the tanker Ake-bono Maru. It was the only American su-ccessful torpedo attack during the wholebattle. In the morning of June 4 AdmiralChūichi Nagumo dispatched the Japanesecarrier-borne aircraft to attack Midway Is-land. They were opposed by 26 F2A Buffaloand F4F Wildcat fighters of the US Marinesled by Major Floyd Parks. Fifteen of themwere shot down and most of the returningaircraft were seriously damaged. Amongthem a Wildcat flown by Marion Carl forwho this mission was a baptism of fire.Several months later he became famousduring the battles of Guadalcanal where hewas credited with the majority of his 18.5victories.In the meantime, bombers from the islandwere sent on the counterattack again-st the Japanese aircraft carriers. Withoutthe fighter escort however, they did notscore any hits and suffered heavy losses.Five out of six Avengers were shot down,out of fours B-26 Marauders two did notreturn, out of eleven SB2U Vindicator twowere lost and out of 16 SBD Dauntless ei-ght were destroyed. Their pilots had notbeen trained sufficiently yet and attackedfrom gliding flight instead of diving. Theircommander, Major Lofton Henderson waskilled and in August 1942 an airport at Gua-dalcanal was named after him. Only 15 B-17bombers attacking from the high altitudereturned without a loss. It was clear toNagumo that the aircraft arrived from Mid-way where Japanese failed to catch themon the ground. The first attacking wavealso reported that they did not manage todestroy all installations and suggested tolaunch another wave. Therefore, its aircraftwere being prepared in hangars to attackthe ground targets. Nagumo however hadno idea that at that time the aircraft fromthe American carriers were already air-borne. One of the ships was discovered bya Japanese reconnaissance aircraft andNagumo ordered to stop the aircraft re-ar-ming and armed them with torpedoes andarmor piercing bombs.And then all hell broke loose for the Ja-panese Admiral. Arming the aircraft anddispatch of the second attack wave from thecarriers ideally took Japanese 45 minutesbut experiencing the complications it couldhave easily been an hour and even more.He did not have that time. The first wavefrom the attack on Midway was returningand if he did not want to lose them ditchingin the ocean having exhausted all theirfuel, he had to receive those first. At thesame time first aircraft from the Americancarriers showed up. They however did notwait to form a large group but dispatchedtheir units individually. Consequently, TBDDevastator torpedo bombers reached theJapanese formation first. Attacking oneafter another it was first 15 aircraft fromHornet’s VT-8, then 14 from VT-6 from En-terprise and 12 from Yorktown’s VT-3. All15 Devastators from the first group wereshot down and 29 out of 30 aviators werekilled including the commander, John Wal-dron. The commander of the second group,Eugene Lindsay was also killed. VT-6 lostnine aircraft and only two Devastatorsfrom the last group survived.Therefore 34 out of 41 deployed torpedobombers were lost without achieving aA Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat (BuNo 5244) takes off from Yorktown on the morning of June 4, 1942. This is aircraftNo. 13 of the VF-3 unit flown by Lt. (JG) William Leonard.Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū dodges bombs from American B-17s on the morning of June 4, 1942.Source: Naval History and Heritage Command Source: US NavyHISTORYINFO Eduard13January 2023Page 14
single successful hit. It was the Devasta-tor’s very last combat mission. Their sa-crifice though was not futile. They causedanother delay in re-arming of the Japane-se aircraft. And above all they lured A6Mfighters protecting the formation down tolow altitudes at the time when the SBDDauntless dive bombers from VB-6, VS-6and VB-3 were approaching at the highaltitude. Then they could choose the tar-gets at will and undisturbed. Kaga receivedfive direct hits, Akagi only one but anothernear miss disabled the steering and Soryuwas hit directly at least three times. Underthe normal circumstances the bomb hitswould not have been fatal. On all threeships however, the explosions occurred inthe hangars among the aircraft full of fuel.They were surrounded by bombs and tor-pedoes which the servicemen did not havetime to store in the protected ammunitionstorages. All of it caught fire and started toexplode. Within couple of minutes the Ja-panese ships were in flames from the bowto the stern.Hiryū versus YorktownThe only undamaged Japanese aircraft ca-rrier Hiryū wasted no time and launched 18D3A Val dive bombers escorted by six figh-ters which followed the returning Ameri-can aircraft and attacked the first ship theydiscovered. It was USS Yorktown whichsustained three bomb hits. Those tore ahuge hole in the deck and disabled most ofher boilers. Within an hour the ship’s crewmanaged to temporarily cover the deckand restore the propulsion. When anotherwave from Hiryū arrived in the form of tenB5N Kate torpedo bombers escorted by sixfighters the ship appeared to them unda-maged, and they concluded it was anothership. This time they hit Yorktown with twotorpedoes. The vessel without the powerstarted to list to the port side. The Japa-nese were convinced that they sank twoAmerican carriers and balanced the po-wers. They were preparing to strike theremaining enemy ships when 24 Americandive bombers arrived and hit Hiryū withfour to five bombs. The morning scenariorepeated itself with large scale fires andthe ammunition explosions which sealedthe ship’s fate. While Soryu and Kaga sankon June 4 evening, Akagi followed thenonly next day early morning and Hiryū sanklast on June 5 at 9 am.The main forces consequently avoidedthe further confrontation, and the Japa-nese withdrew. The cruisers Mogami andMikuma however were left behind due totheir earlier collision and damage. In thefollowing two days they were the target theair raids which ultimately sank Mikuma onJune 6.Mogami escaped heavily damaged. On theAmerican side the efforts to save York-town continued ultimately marred by I-168submarine. On June 6 she hit the carrierwith two torpedoes, third one struck de-stroyer Hamman which sank with the lossof 80 crew members. On the following day,June 7 in the morning, she was followedby Yorktown to the ocean bottom. The Ba-ttle of Midway final act was capturing ofseveral Japanese sailors. First USS Troutsubmarine picked up two survivors fromMikuma on June 9. Then, on June 14 a Ca-talina crew spotted a small boat hundredsof miles off Midway.Five days later, on June 19, it was found byUSS Ballard which picked up 35 Japane-se sailors from it. There were mechanicsleft behind on the sinking Hiryū. They madetheir way up from bellow the deck, found aboat, launched it on the water just minutesbefore Hiryū disappeared under the sur-face. They tried to reach their own territory.Originally there were 39 of them but five ofthem did not survive the two weeks on theocean. The rest became POWs and weretransferred to Pearl Harbor. Three Ameri-can aviators were also captured but theirfare was much worse. Pilot Fran O’Flaher-ty and his gunner Bruno Peter Gaid fromEnterprise were interrogated and the mu-rdered by throwing them overboard withthe weight attached. Japanese tried to killWesley Osmus from Yorktown in the sameway but he resisted so they killed him witha hatchet and threw his dead body over-board.Kaga and Akagi foundMidway was a turning point in the Pacificwar and ships sunken in this battle wouldhave been valued exhibits in Paul Alle-n’s collection. He was heavily involved insearching for the shipwrecks however onOctober 15, 2018 he passed away after sud-den illness. The company he had foundedcontinued in his efforts for some time af-terwards. Precisely a year after Allen’s de-ath his ship RV Petrel sailed on expeditionDouglas SBD-3 Dauntless No. 17 of unit VS-5 prepares to board Yorktown on the morning of June 4, 1942. Seated in the cockpit is Ens. Leif Larsen.Source: Naval History and Heritage CommandHISTORYINFO Eduard14January 2023Page 15
This F4F-3 Wildcat from VMF-221 was flown by Capt. John Carey on June 4, 1942. He was wounded in combatand made an emergency landing. His partially disassembled BuNo 4006 is photographed in late June 1942.This SBD-3 Dauntless (BuNo 4542) belonged to VB-6 of the USS Enterprise. However, its crew, pilotGeorge Goldsmith and radio operator James Patterson, landed aboard Yorktown due to damage andlack of fuel. The aircraft was later lost with that ship.The burning USS Yorktown during the Japanese attackson June 4, 1942.Attacking torpedo bomber B5N Kate (top right) seen fromthe deck of Yorktown.One of a pair of SBD-3 Dauntlesses from VB-3 that were unableto land aboard Yorktown due to damage and thus ended up in thewater alongside the cruiser USS Astoria.Source: Naval History and Heritage CommandSource: Naval History and Heritage CommandSource: Naval History and Heritage CommandSource Naval History and Heritage CommandSource: Naval History and Heritage CommandHISTORYINFO Eduard15January 2023Page 16
to Midway. First, on October 18, 2019, theyfound Kaga’s wreck. Her parts had beendiscovered by the US Navy in 1999 duringthe exercise involving mapping the oceanbottom. The had discovered 15 meters longbulkhead, two 25 mm caliber cannons po-sts and landing lights in 5200 meters dep-th. RV Petrel discovered the whole wreckin 5400 meters depth. The wreck is uprightbut significantly covered with sedimentsand most of her deck and superstructureis missing. She is surrounded by a lot ofdebris. Two days later, on October 20, 2019,RV Petrel crew discovered Akagi’s wreckas well with the help of high frequency so-nar in the depth of 5490 meters. The shipis upright but as opposed to Kaga is fair-ly undamaged. The photographs could notbe made since the underwater robot wasdamaged while researching Kaga two daysago.Sources:Hrbek, I., Hrbek, J. - Krvavé oceány, Naše vojsko, 2002Hubáček, M. - Pacifik v plamenech, Mladá Fronta, 2001Layton, E., Pineau, R., Costello, J. - And I Was There:Pearl Harbor and Midway – Breaking the Secrets, Willi-am Morrow & Co, 1985Lundstrom, J. - The First Team, Naval Institute Press,1990www.history.navy.mil/warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/battle-of-midway--ijn-aircraft-carriers-kaga-and-akagi-discovered.htmlThe burning aircraft carrier Hiryū on the morning of June 5, 1942, shortly before sinking.The destroyer USS Hammann sinks after being hit by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine. The image wastaken from the deck of the Yorktown, which was also hit. At the top right is the 127 mm caliber gun platform.The aircraft carrier Yorktown tilted after being abandoned by her crew. On board are two Wildcat fighters.Source: US NavySource: US NavySource: Naval History and Heritage CommandSource: Naval History and Heritage CommandSource: Naval History and Heritage CommandHISTORYDauntlessy z VS-8 z Hornetu útočia na japonskýkrížnik Mikuma 6. 6. 1942.Japonský ťažký krížnik Mikuma 6. 6. 1942 krátkopred potopením.INFO Eduard16January 2023Page 17
Source: Naval History and Heritage CommandSource: Naval History and Heritage CommandSource: PaulAllen.comHISTORYPlatform for one of the Kaga's anti-aircraft guns.The platform of the 127 mm gun.The odo on the side of the Kaga wreck below the platform for one of the 127 mm guns.One of the 203 mm guns on the port side of the Kaga.Kaga wreckAfter the battle. In the cockpit of an F4F-4 with seven downed symbols sitsLt. (JG) Elbert McCuskey. At left is Ensign George Gay, the only member of VT-8'sHornet squadron to survive her Devastators' attack on the Japanese ships.Japanese sailors from Hiryū who were captured by the USS Ballardon June 19, 1942.INFO Eduard17January 2023Page 18
Photo: ZSUPhoto: National Library of ScotlandKherson was captured by Russian rightat the beginning of the invasion. BesidesDonbas it was the only regional center andlarge city the Russians managed to captu-re. It is located on the Dnieper right bankand its importance was as a launching po-int for the further advance on Mykolaiv andOdessa. Since the further advance wasstopped and due to the Ukrainian counte-rattack in the end of August, Kherson be-came a logistics nightmare.With the unstoppable regularity, the Ukrai-nians shelled and destroyed the bridgesacross the river Dnieper, weapons dumpsand command centers. Simultaneouslythey exercise the permanent pressure onthe Russian front lines. And despite theRussian occupation administration organi-zed the mock referendum after which theKherson area, together with other threeones, was “forever” annexed to the Ru-ssian Federation, it was clear to the Armycommand that holding the positions on theDnieper right bank will only lead to furtherlosses. So, on November 11, an anniversaryof the armistice that ended WWI, they ret-reated from Kherson to the left bank anddestroyed all the bridges behind them.The legendary Chornobayivka was libera-ted on the way to Kherson. The Ukrainianshad launched the large number of therocket and artillery attacks on its airbasedestroying a large quantity of the Russianhelicopters and ground equipment. Gradu-ally the airport was turned to a one hugegraveyard. The Ukrainians recaptured twoof their own helicopters (Mi-8 and Mi-24P)which had been captured by Russians atthe beginning of the invasion in non-air-worthy condition and painted their Z mar-kings on them. Now the aircraft returnedto the hands of their original owners.Much like during WWIIn November the larger operations at dif-ferent front sections were limited by rainyweather and mud. The worst conditionswere around Bachmut in Donetsk areawhere the Russians have been pushingfor several months. The images from the-re started to resemble the battle of Ypres(Passchendaele) during WWI-trenchesfilled with water, shot up trees and ever--present mud. While the activity at thefront (except Kherson) practically stoppedit continued to be “hot” in the air. The Ru-ssians continued with their attacks againstthe Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Theyused rockets, cruise missile launched fromthe ships and airplanes as well as the ka-mikaze drones. For example, on November23 ten strategic bombers tu-95 took partin the attack and from the safety of the Ru-ssian airspace far from the front launchedmore than 70 cruise missiles. More than50 were shot down by the Ukrainian AAdefense. Those who penetrated howevercaused a massive damage. In the course ofOctober and November the Russians havelaunched altogether seven attack wavesand hit around 40% of the Ukrainian energyinfrastructure. After each of these attackwave millions of people remained withoutelectricity, heating and running water.During the last three November weeks,no Iranian unmanned vehicle Shahed-136appeared which prompted great specula-tions about these kamikaze drones. In theend it turned out that the Russians hadonly exhausted the first batch and awaitedfurther delivery. For more than two mon-ths Iran vehemently denied any dronesdeliveries to Russia. It was an obvious liethough. Ultimately on Saturday Novem-HISTORYText: Miro BaričThe air war over UkraineBogged in the mudThe Ukrainian soldiers in trenches near Bachmut, 2022. The British soldiers in the battle of Passchendaele, 1917.During the period of November 1 through December 1 the most im-portant event was finding out how long the eternity takes. It is 42days. This was exactly the time which elapsed since the Russianpresident Putin proclaimed that Kherson will be Russian foreveruntil the moment the city was liberated by the Ukrainian troops.Otherwise, there were no ground movements in Ukraine due to thepoor weather. The massive shelling of the cities by the Russianmissiles continues as well as strengthening of the Ukrainian airdefenses.INFO Eduard18January 2023Page 19
Photo: ZSUPhoto: Australian War Memorial collectionPhoto: ZSUPhoto: ZSUHISTORYber 11 Iranian Secretary of State admittedthe drones deliveries with the caveat theyhad been done a longer time before theoutbreak of the war and the quantity wassmall. According to the Ukrainians it isanother lie since the large-scale deploy-ment of the Iranian drones in Ukraine wasconfirmed by many photographs, wrecksof the shot down aircraft even captured,almost intact crashed UALs.Blood-stained selfieSince we mentioned the Iranian droneslet’s recall an incident briefly mentionedin the previous part. Details about thecase which occurred on Saturday Octo-ber 12 near the city of Vinnytsya when theUkrainian AF lost a Mig-29 surfaced onlyrecently. The fighter was hit by a debrisfrom Shahed-136 drone just shot downand the pilot had to eject. A month laterthe photograph of the pilot with blood onhis face was published and a little later hiswhole story. At that time there was ano-ther wave of the Russian rockets and dro-nes headed towards the Ukrainian cities.The defenders dispatched Mig-29 fightersagainst them. One of them was flown byMajor Vadym Vorochylov from 204th Bri-gade of the Tactical Aviation. His call signwas Karaya. Those of you who are familiarwith the name Erich Hartmann do not needfurther explanation on the call sign. Voro-shylov had chosen it in 2014. The Ukrainiancitizens however gave him the nicknameGhost of Vinnytsya. Contrary to Ghost ofKiev this is a real person.He treated his airplane as a living thing.Talked to it and touched it so as it workedas best as possible. His favorite was theaircraft with bort number 10 which he flewon about 20 combat missions and alwayscould rely on it. On that fateful day Voro-shylov woke up at 4 am due to the air sc-ramble. The pilot from his unit destroyedtwo Shahed in the south of Ukraine of thefirst mission. Voroshylov flew the next mi-ssion. He shot down three Iranian dronesand returned to the base without any pro-blems.At dusk however another wave of raidscame in. Major Voroshylov took off fromthe frontline airfield in the south of Ukraineand headed towards Vinnytsya area. Hestarted to scan for targets and first he de-stroyed a drone. Then he launched a missi-le against another one. The drones gene-rate rather weak thermal trace thereforethey had been attacked at relatively shortdistance. So, when Voroshylov hit his fifthdrone on that day its debris hit his Mig-29fighter as well. “It broke my windshieldand destroyed the aircraft nose” said thepilot later. “I was not seriously woun-ded but the blood from my facial cuts gotinto my eyes and impaired my situationalawareness. My first though was that I didnot want to eject. I saw the lights of someShot up trees near Bachmut, 2022.This pilot shot down 5 drones in a day. He shouldalso be credited with two cruise missiles.The Australian soldiers in shop up forest near Passchendaele, 1917.Vadym Voroshylov in the Mig-29 cockpit.INFO Eduard19January 2023Page 20
Photo: ZSUPhoto: ZSUPhoto: ZSUvillage in front of me. I checked my cont-rols, and the rudder did not work. I couldonly control the pitch. Making turns wasvery limited. I turned left and saw a darkspot. I said to myself that it was probablya field and there is nothing on it. At thatmoment the flames erupted on the ri-ght side of the cockpit and when the firereached me I promptly ejected, exactlyaccording to the manual”, as the pilot re-called the dramatic moments. While hewas still on the parachute, he pulled out amobile phone to check his wounds. Thus,the selfie with his blood-stained face wastaken. At the same time, he wanted to letthe ground control know that he was okay.It took him approximately two minutes toland. For his conduct president VolodymyrZelenskyi awarded him with the highestaward, Hero of Ukraine.Blue-yellow markingsAlso, the fighter flown by Voroshylow hadthe long history. It had been manufacturedin the summer of 1990 and delivered to the161st Fighter Squadron of the Soviet AF atLimanske airbase near Odessa. The air-craft sported the standard camouflage oflight gray and green-gray colors and ca-rried the bort number “blue 31”. After thebreakup of the Soviet Union it remained inUkraine and sometime in 2001-2002 it wasassigned to the 204th Brigade of the Tacti-cal Aviation in Belbek, Crimea. The bortnumber was changed to “blue 10”. During2007-2008 this Mig-29 was grounded sin-ce his airframe has reached the prescri-bed maximum flight hours. In 2014, afterthe Crimea was occupied by the Russianstogether with the other non-airworthy air-craft it was dismantled and transportedby trucks to a new airbase of the 204thBrigade of the Tactical Aviation at Kulba-kine near Mykolayiv. During 2015-2017 itflew again but when its unit was trans-ferred to Luck airbase “blue 10” ended upin the group of other grounded airplanesat Ivano-Frankivsk airbase. This group ofthe non-airworthy airplanes became thetarget of the rocket attack in the very be-ginning of the Russian aggression launch-ed on February 24. “Blue 10” was parkeda little further and escaped without da-mage. The plane remained there until Aprilat least and then, with the help of the allieswho supplied the spare parts, was re-paired and in June returned to service. Atthat time it was painted in the blue-yellowlivery reminding of the former Ukrainianaerobatic group Falcons. It was returnedto its original unit where it flew sportingthis new marking until its last flight.Posilňovanie PVOThe continued attacks against Ukrainecarried another side effect-they sped upthe supplies of the Western AA systemsto Ukraine. In October Germany delive-Major Vadym Voroshylov took selfie of his bloodied face while he was still on the parachute.Wreck of the Voroshylov’s Mig-29 fighter carrying blue 10 bort number.Mig-29 in blue-yellow livery was returned to service in June 2022.HISTORYINFO Eduard20January 2023Page 21
Photo: Twitter / mil¬_in_ua – W M BloodPhoto: Twitter / mil¬_in_ua – W M Blood Photo: Twitter / mil¬_in_ua – W M BloodPhoto: Twitter / mil¬_in_ua – W M BloodPhoto: ZSUPhoto: ZSUred the first of four promised IRIS-T sys-tems which was immediately deployedin the defense of the Ukrainian cities. InNovember the batch of various AA sys-tems arrived from several countries. USAfor example delivered the first two out ofeight promised NASAMS batteries. In theend of 1990s this system was developedby the Norwegian company Kongsberg inthe cooperation with the American com-pany Raytheon. AIM-129 AMRAAM missileis used in this system. Initially it was air--air rocket, and it is its first application inNASAMS system as ground-air missile. Itsrange is 50 kilometers. NASAMS can alsouse AIM-9X sidewinder or IRIS-T rockets.In that case the range is 25 kilometers.According to the reports from the Ukrai-nian battlefield the weapon is very effici-ent. During the one of the Russian attacksin the middle of November NASAMS fired10 rockets and destroyed 10 targets. Bri-tain and Netherlands promised to supp-ly additional AMRAAM missiles for thesesystems. Britain promised in total 1000 AArockets of various types.On November 7 the Ukrainian Secretaryof Defense, Oleksyi Reznikov, announcedalso acceptance of the Aspide systemalongside the first NASAMS battery. Theseare originally Italian rockets developed in1970s. Their range is 25 kilometers. In factthey were supplied by Spain who also, inthe middle of October, finished the trai-ning of the Ukrainian soldiers to operatethese rockets. Crotale is another older butstill efficient system. It was developed inFrance in the 1960s but was continuous-ly modernized. Its latest version is datedPolish system Neva SC mounted on the WZT-1 tank chassisThis Mi-8 originally belonged to 11th Brigade of the Army AF and in February, duringthe retreat, it was abandonded at Cornobayivka airport. In November the Ukrainiansrecovered it. Initially it should have been “red 89” in the command version.This Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopted was captured by Russians in Chornobayivka as wellin non-airworthy condition and now it was returned back to its original owners.20 mm caliber cannon Zastava of Yugoslav origin which the Ukrainians upgradedby night vision gunsight.HISTORYINFO Eduard21January 2023Page 22
Photo: ZSUPhoto: ZSUPhoto: ZSUPhoto: Twitterin 2008. It is the short-range system – 16km range and 9 km altitude. It is capable ofhitting the UALs, cruise missiles and cer-tain types of rockets. In November Francedelivered two Crotale batteries.In November the picture was publishedconfirming the delivery of the Polish sys-tems Neva SC. Two Ukrainian soldierswere photographed in front of one of them.The Polish modernized the originally So-viet rockets S-125 Neva (SA-3 Goa NATOcode name). Many analog componentswere replaced by digital ones resulting inthe rockets‘ higher accuracy and reliabili-ty. The mobility was increased by mountingthem on the WZT-1 tank chassis, a T-55towing version. The picture was apparentlytaken in the summer and the details aboutNeva SC supplies remain unknown. In thepast the Ukrainians retired their S-125Neva rockets but then they modernizedthem to S-125-2D Pechora standard featu-ring 40 kilomenters range and in 2020 theyre-introduced them to the service.More was awaitedIn December the delivery of anotherolder western system was anticipated.MIM-23 Hawk battery was supposed toarrive from Spain. These rockets were in-troduced to the service in the USA in 1960showever they were gradually modernized.Spain delivered Phase III version whichappeared in 1980s and 1990s. Around 20countries still use these rockets includingGreece, Romania, Egypt, Israel and Japan.In the USA this system was retired in 2002but Americans will send additional rocketsto Ukraine to arm six launchers deliveredby Spain.In December additional four AN/TWQ-1Avenger systems were supposed to arrivefrom the USA developed on the chassisof the widely used Humvee utility vehiclecarrying eight launching devices for Stin-ger rockets. Their range is 5 kilometersand ceiling 3.8 kilometers. The are prima-rily designated for defense against cruisemissiles, drones, helicopters and low al-titude flying aircraft. These four systemsallocated to Ukraine will serve againstIranian drones and cruise missiles.Not only rocket systems but also artille-ry ones proved efficient against the dro-nes. The German AA tanks take advantageof their highly accurate, radar controlled35 mm cannons. A video was publishedshowing a Gepard destroying a cruisemissile with a short burst of fire. Besi-des already delivered 30 tanks Germa-ny committed to supply another seven.Britain committed to deliver 125 AA ca-nnons. Originally from Yugoslavia the 20mm caliber M55 Zastava cannons showedup in Ukraine. The Ukrainians upgradedthem by installing the night vision devi-ces. The origin of these weapons is unk-nown, they could have been delivered fromCroatia, Slovenia or Northern Macedonia.Brimstone 2in ground-to-ground versionUkraine not only received weapons forthe AA defense. In the end of November,the Great Britain supplied the improvedBrimstone 2 rockets. These were initiallydeveloped for the air-to-ground role to belaunched from Tornadoes and Eurofigh-ter Typhoon. Its first version has been inthe production since 1999. After it is firedby the aircraft Brimstone 1 range is morethan 20 kilometers. Brimstone 2 versionwas introduced into service in 2015. Itsrange is more than 60 kilometers and fea-tures the larger 6.2 kilos warhead efficientagainst the modern tanks. The missile fliesto the target area on an autopilot and oncethere it chooses its target by its own ra-dar and laser guided system and attacks. Itcan destroy the moving targets as well. InApril Ukraine received Brimstone 1 rocketswhich however are not fired from the air-craft. Simple launching device was modi-fied and mounted on the trucks or pickups.On May 17, first two Russian tanks werereported destroyed by these rockets. Theground launching device however meansthe shorter range due to the lack of the ini-tial altitude and speed which it would havehad when fired from the aircraft. Accor-ding to the published video the Brimstone2 missiles were transported by a C-17 from99th Transport Squadron RAF from BrizeMi-17 helicopter originally procured by theUSA for Afghanistan. Now it is located in thesnow-covered Ukraine sporting the desertcamouflage.This Mi-17 was donated to Ukraineby Slovakia in June. Its first image appearedonly now.The Ukrainians use simple ground launchers for their Brimstone rockets.The photograph was probably taken during the trainingUkrainian Su-24 with a distinct blue-yellow markings on the fuselage bottom including the drop tanks.HISTORYINFO Eduard22January 2023Page 23
Photo: TwitterPhoto: ZSUNorton airbase. They were offloaded ata non-specified location and a C-17 re-turned immediately. The Ukrainian willlaunch Brimstome 2 rockets from theground as well i.e., sacrificing the rangewith higher accuracy though in comparis-on to the earlier version.Ukrainian Sea KingsOn November 23 the British Secretary ofDefense Ben Wallace announced that hewas sending three Sea King helicoptersto the Ukraine. At the time of the announ-cement the first one already reached itsdestination. From the beginning the Britishinformed that these aircraft are in SARversion (Search and Rescue). It did notstop various speculations about possibleanti-submarine or early warning versi-ons. Even though it is a non-combat, ol-der version the impact is large. Sea King isthe very first western-made type Ukraineaquired since the beginning of the Ru-ssian invasion on February 24, 2022. Themost important information is that alreadysix weeks before the announcement tenUkrainian crews and ground personnelhad been undergoing the training on thistype in Britain. It shows that the westerncountries keep the information secret untilthe deal is completed. If the West decidesto donate to Ukraine other (for examplecombat ready) helicopter or airplanes, orthe modern aviation ammunition we willlearn about it only after the Ukrainian avi-ators training will be finished and the air-craft deployed at the frontline.Czech drones from LuxembourgOur Czech readers will be interested tolearn about the Luxembourg military aidto Ukraine. This tiny country (populationof 650,000) donated 28 Humvee utility ve-hicles, 20 12.7 mm caliber machine guns,50 satellite communication terminals and470 night vision goggles. Luxembourgalso acquired for Ukraine 400 122 mm ca-liber rockets for the Grad launchers. Themost important delivery however was sixPrimoco One 150 reconnaissance dro-nes manufactured by a Czech company.These aircraft are 3.65 m long, have 4.85m wingspan, their range is 200 km andendurance up to 15 hours. Their airspeedis 150 kph, maximum weight 150 kilos andtheir standard equipment is the movablecamera but according to the customer’sspecifications they can be equipped withother sensors.Small lossesDespite several reports by both sidesabout the shot down aircraft during thisreporting period only one loss of a pilo-ted vehicle was confirmed. It could be alsorelated to the combat operations sloweddown by muddy terrain. That confirmedloss was an Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopterfrom 456th Transportation Brigade whichwas on November 11 hit by a portable mi-ssile during its mission in Donetsk area.The entire crew, Col. Serhyi Khomik, Maj.Viktor Penkovyi and MSgt. Vitalyi Golda.He acted as a hero when he retrieved Col.Khomik from the burning wreck. Sadly hecould not be helped and Golda suffered theinjuries to which is succumbed on Novem-ber 16. In addition to this confirmed lossduring November 1 through December 1,another wrecks of two Ukrainian helico-pters were found (Mi-24P and Mi-8MTS)which had crashed during the earlier,non-specified period. On the Russian sidea Ka-52 wreck, until now not registered asdestroyed, was found near Kherson. Su-34“red 22” registered as RF-95005 was foundnear Kupyansk. Most likely it is an aircraftshot down in this area on September 24.Tragedy in PolandOn Tuesday November 15 in the afternoona tragic event took place. A rocket landedon the Polish territory and killed two pe-ople in Przewodow, Lublin County, barely10 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.The rocket explosion created a large cra-ter and knocked over a tractor with trai-ler. The investigation confirmed it wasa rocket from the S-300 system belon-ging to the UkrainianAA defense. It hadbeen launched du-ring a Russian attackagainst the missi-le headed towardsthe Ukrainian powerstation. The rockethowever missed thetarget and the self--destructing systemfor such situationfailed as well. It onlyexploded after hittingthe ground and twoPolish civilians losttheir lives.Wreck of the Su-34 marked “red 22” and carrying theregistration RF-095005 found near Kupyansk.The tragic results of theUkrainian S-300 missileimpact in Polish Przewo-dow. Two people lost theirlives.HISTORYINFO Eduard23January 2023Page 24
The sea surface runs just a few feet be-low the bomb bay of the Mitchell, whosenose's eight half-inch guns shake the en-tire aircraft in a long burst that nails thefreighter's personnel to the deck. The le-ad-spewing Mitchell approaches the shipat over 250 mph, the bomb bay opens, thepilot lowers the altitude even more andjudges the moment. The bomb must bedropped from such a height and at such aspeed that when it hits the water surface itbounces in a skipping manner towards theship. Now! The bomb is released, hits thesurface and after the first bounce it fliesjust above the sea to the target. A secondbounce follows, and then the bomb hits thehull. The explosion engulfs the middle ofthe ship in fire and smoke as a thunderousshadow sweep over it, making a sharp turntowards the shore. Another round of ma-chine gun fire showers the damaged ship,and just seconds later another bomb, sentby the second Mitchell of the attacking pair,hits the hull. The ship's fate is sealed, andthe sailors seek salvation in lifeboats. Thecargo destined for the Japanese troopssinks inevitably to the bottom of the sea,and the other ships of the supply convoy,which are attacked by other Mitchells,"fare similarly". This scene was recreatedby Adam Tooby on a boxart for the B-25JSTRAFER kit. His dramatic painting faith-fully depicts a situation typical of Mitchells'attacks on supply convoys. Destroyingships by bombing proved to be a difficulttask during the war. Conventional bom-bing encountered several problems, fromheavy anti-aircraft fire to the difficulty ofhitting slender maneuvering targets. Tor-pedo or dive bombers did not have suffi-cient range to operate from land bases insuch a large operational areas, and therewere not enough aircraft carriers to guardall the sea lanes through which suppliesflowed to Japanese forces. So as early as1942, 5th Air Force units under the com-mand of General George C. Kenney beganexperimenting with what was called "SkipBombing", i.e., bombing from very low al-titudes using the bomb's bouncing off thewater's surface. However, the standardB-25D had to be modified for this task.First, the aircraft needed to be equippedwith as powerful forward-firing armamentas possible to silence the anti-aircraft fireof the vessels. Since no bombardier wasneeded for this type of bombing, his entire“office” in the nose was used to install ma-chine guns. The main work in this regardwas done by Paul Irvin "Pappy" Gunn, a le-gendary figure whose life story we descri-bed in a three-part article in issues 9, 10and 11/2022. A mechanic, designer and pilotin one, he created an improvised designwith four machine guns in the bombardier'scompartment, the other four machine gunsbeing placed in housings on the lower partof the fuselage sides. With the Mitchellsthus modified, often equipped with internalauxiliary tank as well to increase operati-onal range, the pilots then set out for theirtargets. After the introduction of the B-25Jversion, a factory modification of the ma-chine gun version was then created, whichhad up to 14 forward-firing machine guns.Among the most prominent bomber groupsthat switched to this type of attacks, wasthe 345th Bombardment Group called "AirApaches". The 499th BS, which adopted thenickname "Bats Outa Hell", was part of itslineup. During the 26 months that the 345thBG fought in the Pacific, its crews made10,609 attacks and flew 58,562 combathours. In all, they dropped 58,000 bombsweighing a total of 6,340 tons and expen-ded over twelve and a half million rounds.All this resulted in the sinking of 260 enemyvessels, with 275 more damaged. In additi-on, the “Apaches” destroyed 260 Japaneseaircraft on the ground and shot down ano-ther 107 in aerial combat. A Mitchell namedBetty's Dream was assigned to this unitin June 1945 and completed 22 missions,during which she claimed two sunken ve-ssels. On August 21, 1945, she then escor-ted a pair of white Japanese Betty bom-bers aboard which Japanese peace envoyswere traveling to le Shima after the previ-ous surrender in Manila. This aircraft wasassignated to pilot 1/Lt Charles "Pop" Rice,Jr., the co-pilot was 2/Lt. Victor Tatelman.Today, the restored 45-8835 Mitchell fliesin the "Betty's Dream" livery at the TexasFlying Legends Museum.BOXART STORY #7012Text: Richard PlosIllustration: Adam ToobyFast and lowINFO Eduard24January 2023Page 25
#84186BOXART STORYAmong the German fighter units that movedfrom the Eastern Front to Western Europe atthe end of summer 1943 was II./JG 3 “Udet”under the command of Maj. Kurt Brändle.From the eastern battlefield, its Stab andthree Staffeln returned with more than 2,100kills to their credit. It suffered its heaviestlosses during the Battle of Kursk and in thefollowing weeks of July, losing 24 Messer-schmitts Bf 109 in combat and 14 pilots killed,wounded or missing.After moving west in late August 1943, JG 3was supplemented with a large group of no-vices, but its core was still a strong groupof experienced veterans. The transition tocombat with American bombers and theirfighter escorts was no easy task. Brändle’sunit scored more than thirty kills duringSeptember and October, but lost 22 pilotswith 17 Bf 109s shot down, while another 20were written off due to crashes. However,the worst was yet to come.On November 3, 1943, American heavy bom-bers made a raid on Wilhelmshafen, accom-panied by one Fighter Group with P-38s andseven others armed with P-47s. Germanswere only able to send 139 fighters due tobad weather. Brändle’s II./JG 3 took off fromSchiphol and in a 30-minute battle with P-47sof 4th Fighter Group under the command ofLt. Col. Blakeslee claimed four victories. TwoP-47s were lost and Brändle scored his 171stand 172nd victories in the process.However, the situation was reversed inthe afternoon when Schiphol airfield wasattacked by 64 B-26 Marauders. The firstbox of Marauders flew under the protectionof Coltishall Wing and the second box wasprotected by Spitfires of the Canadian DigbyWing, commanded by W/Cdr Lloyd W. Chad-burn. Brändle’s unit was ordered to make anemergency take-off at 15.40, but alarm camelate as bombs began to fall on the airfield asthe last of the 109s were taking-off. Brändledidn’t have time to organize his unit againstthe attacking formation. The fighter escortfaced about fifteen 109s, which were scatte-red in flights of two to four fighters. Spitfiresattacked them immediately.The first kill was recorded by F/O A. Brad-shaw of No. 129 Sq at 15:56 over Zandvoort,on the coast. Canadian No. 416 Sqn. foughtthe 109s in a wild dogfight at 1,000 feet overthe same town. At 16.00 one fighter was shotdown by F/Lt D. E. Noonan over the town´scentre. His victim was apparently Fw. Wal-ter Stienhans of 6./JG 3, whose machinecrashed into the town and the pilot waskilled.On the outskirts of Zandvoort one Bf 109 eachwere claimed by F/Lt R. D. Booth, F/O W. H.Jacobs and F/Lt A. H. Sager. Noonan andSager together shot down one more. Therewas probably some overclaiming, becauseonly Gefr. Hans Hahn, also of 6./JG 3, crashedon the outskirts of the town and perished.A member of this Staffel, Fw. Walter Stien-hans, shot down Jacobs, who was last seenwith black smoke coming from his Spitfi-re and did not survive. Over Schiphol oneBf 109 was shot down by S/Ldr M.G.L.MDonnet of No. 64 Sq. This may have beenthe machine that crashed at Hoofdorp andits pilot escaped unhurt. Two other Messer-schmitts made emergency landings at Schi-phol, one with combat damage, the other dueto pilot error.Over the sea off Ijmuiden, W/C Chadburn hitanother Bf 109, whose pilot bailed out.F/Lt John D. Mitchner of No. 402 Sq RCAFfirst pursued one fighter whose pilot bailedout before the Canadian could open fire. Hethen sent down another machine, burning,whose pilot also bailed out. This moment iscaptured by Piotr Forkasiewicz in the pain-ting of this boxart story.Chadburn claimed another Bf 109, whosepilot also bailed out from burning machine.The final success was achieved by S/LdrG. W. Northcott of No. 402 Sq RCAF, who hita Bf 109 which caught fire and disintegrated.Northcott mistakenly thought his wingman'smachine was on fire. However, his wingmanflew unhurt through the explosion and lostcontact with his leader. This situation wasrecreated by Piotr Forkasiewicz on the bo-xart of the previously released 1/48 sca-le kit Spitfire Mk. Vb late. The five victorieslisted above correspond to the three lossesthat occurred over the sea. Major Brändle,Lt. Horst Brock of 6./JG 3 and Uffz. Hor-st Kirschner of 4./JG 3 did not survive. Thecrushing defeat of II./JG 3 became one of themost successful actions in the history of theRoyal Canadian Air Force.Text: Jan BobekIllustration: Piotr ForkasiewiczThe black day of the Jagdgeschwader “Udet”INFO Eduard25January 2023Page 26
Canadian William Melville “Mel” Alexanderwas one of the most famous aces in theRoyal Naval Air Service and the RAF. Of his22 victories (23 are also given) he achieveda total of 10 during 1917 in the Sopwith Tri-plane N5487 “Black Prince” as a member ofthe Black Flight of No. 10 Naval Squadron. Healso took part in the air battle of July 6, 1917,in which the commander of Jasta 11, Man-fred Freiherr von Richthofen, was severelywounded.When Alexander went on leave in mid-Oc-tober, he had 12 victories to his credit, twoof them already on Camels. On his return inlate December, his unit was fully rearmedwith Camels.Later Alexander would remember this typeas an excellent aircraft, but tricky one. Any-way, if a pilot passed the first 10 to 15 flyinghours unscathed, he usually had the planefirmly in his hands.It was in Camel B6289 that Alexander achie-ved his first victory after returning fromleave. It was marked with a white letter A,which placed it in the unit’s A Flight, and anindividual color motif was painted on thewheel discs. The aircraft itself already hadtwo victories to its credit, achieved in 1917by Flt. Sub-Lieut. H. L. Nelson. It was laterturned over to No. 9 Naval Squadron andcrashed in June 1918.When Alexander took off with B6289 fromTeteghem, near Dunkirk, on January 23,1918, at 14.05 he was part of the High Offen-sive Patrol of ten machines of No. 10 Na-val Squadron. The formation headed overthe front at 7,000 feet. Five minutes aheadof them, a formation of Camels from No. 3Naval Squadron had taken off as well. Overthe Houthulst forest, they came into com-bat with four DFWs escorted by three figh-ters of a new type. They managed to shootdown one of the two-seaters, but after thefight the English Flt. Sub-Lieut. Herbert S. J.E. Youens was missing. The German planeswere apparently Pfalz scouts from Jasta 7,and Youens, who was captured, was then aguest at that unit's airfield at Aertryke. Thecommander of Jasta 7, who was Lt. d. R. CarlDegelow, claimed in his memoirs, after thewar, that he had shot down Youens, but wasnot credited with the victory. However, this isprobably a fabrication.Victory over Youens was awarded to Lt. d. R.Gustav Wandelt from Jasta 36, at 15.45 nearStaden. Then just five minutes later, alsonear Staden, Jasta 36 clashed with the Ca-mels of Naval 10. The Naval pilots with theirbiplanes were just in the clouds chasingthree two-seaters escorted by one fighter.These were soon joined by five Albatrossfrom Jasta 36. Flt. Lieut. W. A. Curtis first hita green-painted two-seater which broke upin mid-air, and then dove to pursue anothertwo-seater with silver paint. Flt. Sub-Lie-ut. Nelson fired a burst at two Albatross insuccession during the chase in the clouds,but to no avail. “Mel” Alexander chased oneAlbatros above the cloud layer and managedto hit it from below in the fuselage duringa turn, the German went into a spin. Ale-xander followed his adversary through theclouds and lost contact when he had to focuson another enemy machine. He was creditedwith an “out of control” victory.A painting by Adam Tooby shows just themoment in the opening stages of the battle,with Alexander flying close to an Albatroswith blue paint on the nose, the identifyingfeature of the Jasta 36 machines.This German fighter unit recorded in itsdiary that it was attacked by six Sopwiths.Wandelt was pursuing one Camel whensuddenly his machine was hit in the engineand collided with another Camel. He did notsurvive the crash. The unfortunate pilot whocollided with Wandelt’s Albatros was Cana-dian Flt. Sub-Lieut. Ross A. Blyth, who wasalso killed. Blyth’s colleagues did not see thecollision, but both Alexander and Flt. Sub--Lieut. Manuel saw falling planes. The latterstated in his report that the machines fell to-gether in a spin then hit the ground together.On the German side, both Wandelt’s victoriesand the circumstances of his death werewitnessed by Lt. d. R. Heinrich Bongartz andMax Naujock. The wreckage of Blyth’s Ca-mel was photographed by the Germans witha large group of soldiers, a common customat the time. The picture is characteristic inthat none of the onlookers look triumphantor cheerful. The 25-year-old Canadian avi-ator is buried today in Perth cemetery, nearLeper (Ypres), Belgium. Wandelt’s final res-ting place is unknown.BOXART STORYText: Jan BobekIllustration: Adam ToobyHigh sky collision#8486INFO Eduard26January 2023Page 27
BOXART STORYThe German Navy found itself in a very di-sadvantageous situation in the second halfof the 1941. The battleships Scharnhost andGneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugenwere anchored in Brest thus becoming thetarget of repeated RAF raids. The Germansdid not want to risk the ships sailing aroundthe west coast of Great Britain and Ireland onway to their home ports in Northern Europe,because there they could not provide air co-ver. There was the option of sailing throughthe Channel, but to some of the German Navyleadership such an idea seemed too risky.The last time a group of large warships hadoperated so close to British shores was in1588, it was the Spanish Armada.The Channel option prevailed under codename Cerberus. The action was to be carriedout in poor weather to make it more difficultfor the British to threaten the ships. The Ger-mans began to clear mines in the route andstarted jamming of radio communication andradars.The British knew of the impending evacuati-on thanks to the ULTRA intercepts. They alsohad information about the mine clearance. Inearly February 1942, they expected Germanships to sail north any day. And so, they triedto place new naval mines along the anticipa-ted route.On the Luftwaffe side, the then General derJagdlflieger, the legendary Oberst AdolfGalland, was given the task to organize aircover for the ships. He was also the authorof its cover name for this air operation – Do-nnerkeil (Thunderbolt). He had 252 fighteraircraft at his disposal. The bulk of thesewere Bf 109s and Fw 190s from JG 1, JG 2 andJG 26. He was also given the operational partof the training unit Jagdfliegerschule 5 aswell as Bf 110 night fighters from NJG 1 andNJG 3. Bombers from KG 2 also took part.The commanders of these units learned ofthe plan the day before, on 11 February 1942.In the evening, Brest was bombed by RAFplanes and the task force did not set sail un-til 22:45. Coincidentally, neither British sub-marines nor patrolling radar aircraft pickedit up. Scharnhost, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugenset off accompanied by six destroyers, whichwere joined by other vessels, mostly torpedoboats, during the following day.Galland led fighter operations from theheadquarters of his former unit JG 26 inAudembert. Directly on board Scharnhor-st was fighter pilot Oberst Max Ibel, formerKommodore of JG 27. He commanded fighterunits within Luftflotte 3 (Jafü 3). But withinthis operation he served as Jafü Schiff andwas tasked with coordinating with the fighterunits. He took direct command at the end ofthe air battle.During the night of 11-12 February, night fi-ghter aircraft carried out routine activitieswhich were not intended to draw attention tothe ships. The first fighter escorts appearedover the task force at 08:50 (German time)near Cherbourg. Coincidentally, these wereBf 110 night fighters. They were involvedmainly because of their experience of flyingin poor weather conditions. Formations of fi-ghters, numbering between ten and sixteenmachines, were gradually launched over thetask force during the day. Worse weather pre-vailed on the British side of the Channel, butsome German fighters took off with visibilityof 100 meters.The British became suspicious at 11:00 (Ger-man time), and on radar they spotted a groupof circling aircraft moving at about 20 to 25knots. Two pairs of Spitfires independentlydetected the ships around 11:30. One of thembroke radio silence and reported the vessels,which at the same time prepared the Ger-mans for an air attack.At a 13:15, the Germans came under inaccura-te fire from the Dover batteries, which werefiring in bad weather according to informationfrom radar operators. Fifteen minutes later,six valiant Swordfish crews tried to releasetorpedoes, but all were shot down. The Britishlost a total of 42 aircraft out of 450 deployed inthe afternoon attacks, and one destroyer andseveral escort vessels were also damaged.By nightfall the Germans had made 396 figh-ter sorties and 50 bomber sorties. They lost22 machines. The only damage suffered bythe escorted vessels was to Scharnhorst andGneisenau, which ran into mines. On the RAFside, there were a number of shortcomingsin communications and armament. The Ger-mans managed to achieve a tactical victory,but it was de facto a strategic retreat in theBattle of the Atlantic.Text: Jan BobekIllustration: Petr Štěpánek st.#7083In the clouds over the ChannelINFO Eduard27January 2023Page 28
The air war over New Guinea in 1942 is oneof the best-known episodes of the Paci-fic War thanks to the memoirs of SaburōSakai, who served with Tainan Kōkūtai un-til he was wounded on August 7, 1942, nearGuadalcanal. Japanese naval aviators onNew Guinea first used the Lae and Sala-maua airfields. Buna was captured in July.After a few weeks, Type 32 Zeroes from the2nd Kōkūtai and Tainan Kōkūtai began ope-rating from there.The Japanese were trying to fight their wayto Port Moresby in southern New Guinea, toestablish a base for an attack on Australia.In the air, the experienced invaders wereinitially faced by Australian pilots of Kitty-hawks. These were gradually supplemen-ted and replaced by American fighters withAiracobras, who quickly learned how to fightthe Zeros. The forces thus began to balanceout until finally the Japanese could not besure of their superiority. Michael J. Claring-bould describes the fights in this area in hiswell-researched publications.One of the fresh American units to arrive onthe battlefield was the 80th Fighter Squad-ron “Headhunters”, which was part of the8th Fighter Group. From mid-May 1942 ithad been preparing to fight near Brisbane,Australia. Unit moved to Port Moresby on 20July under the command of 1/Lt Phil H. Gre-asley. Their frequent duties included escor-ting twin-engine bombers and attackingcargo vessels, mostly in the vicinity of Buna.Greasley flew to Buna at the head of eightAiracobras on August 26, 1942. However, hesoon had to return with another pilot dueto technical difficulties. He handed over thelead to Bill Brown, who mistakenly headedeast to Milne Bay. His wingman, Danny Ro-berts, eventually broke radio silence andalerted him to the error. Brown quicklycorrected the course and the Americansarrived at Buna from an unexpected direc-tion.Two trios of Zeros were just taking off fromthe airfield. The first was led by WarrantOfficer Kazu-o Tsunoda (9 victories) of the2nd Kōkūtai and the second by Lt.(jg) JōjiYamashita of Tainan Kōkūtai. They did notexpect an American attack at all. Brown andRoberts hit the first trio. They killed PO1c Ki--ichi Iwase and PO3c Daizō Ihara. Tsunoda'smachine “Q-102” received ten hits, he wasable to open fire on the attackers, but afterlanding his aircraft was no longer repairableand was later captured by the Australians.The second trio came under fire from Lieu-tenants Helveston and Roberts, they killedPO3c Kyoshi Nakano. His fellow PO2c Ichi-rōbei Yamazaki (14 victories) was woundedbut helped Yamashita to score victory overone of the Airacobras. It may have been2/Lt Rogers, who, thinking he was hit byflak, ditched off the coast with his damagedmachine and was rescued by natives. TheAmericans claimed a total of seven victo-ries, which, although inflated, did not detractfrom their clear victory over the seasonedIJN veterans.Tainan Kōkūtai, with its main base in Rabaul,was fighting on two fronts at the time. Theother one, more important, was on Gua-dalcanal. During that same 26 August, thewell-known Lt.(jg) Jun-ichi Sasai (27 victo-ries) led eight Zeroes on escort mission tothe fateful island. However, along with twoother pilots, he was killed in a dogfight withMarine Wildcats. His victor was probablythe legendary Marion Carl .But the bad news wasn't over yet. The verynext day, August 27, an aviator from TainanKōkūtai was killed by an Airacobra pilot. Onanother mission from Buna, eight fightersfrom Tainan Kōkūtai took off under Yama-shita's command to escort eight Val bom-bers from the 2nd Kōkūtai to Rabi airfield.The bombers dropped their loads and sincethere were no enemy fighters in sight, Ya-mashita unexpectedly authorized an attackon ground targets, including the temptingfour-engine B-24. But two fliers, includingYamashita, were shot down by ground fire.One of them ditched near shore, and two ofhis colleagues were shot down as they tri-ed to destroy his Zero to keep it from fallinginto enemy hands. They were surprised byAustralian Kittyhawks from No. 75 SquadronRAAF, led by the famous Les Jackson. TwoVals fell victim to them too. Tainan Kōkūtaithus lost nine Zeros and ten pilots, includingtwo Buntaichō officers, in two days. Thiselite unit had to be withdrawn from the ba-ttlefield after another two months of fiercefighting.BOXART STORYText: Jan BobekIllustration: Adam ToobyHeadhuntersover Buna#8092INFO Eduard28January 2023Page 29
BOXART STORYThe duel between Japanese naval fighterSaburō Sakai and Wildcat pilot “Pug” Sou-therland, which took place on August 7,1942, over Guadalcanal, is one of the mostfamous stories from the Pacific battles.Thanks to the books published about Sakai,as well as the interviews he gave after thewar, his experiences during this encounterare fairly well known. For a depiction of thisbattle and his dramatic return to Rabaul inthe Zero's cockpit, see the article on SaburōSakai in the 06/2022 issue of INFO Eduardmagazine.James Julian “Pug” Southerland was bornin 1911 in Norberth, Pennsylvania. He joinedthe Navy in 1930 and graduated from the Na-val Academy six years later. He first servedon the battleships Texas and New York butbegan flight training in 1939. He becamea naval aviator in February 1940 and wasassigned to VF-5. Two years later he waspromoted to the rank of Lieutenant.On this fateful 7 August, he took off from thedeck of the USS Saratoga a total of three ti-mes. During the last sortie, he led a formati-on of four Wildcats that were part of the de-fence against a Japanese raid by G4M Bettybombers from the 4th Kōkūtai escorted byZeros from Tainan Kōkūtai. The Japanesewanted to attack the transport vessels thatwere supporting the Guadalcanal landings.Southerland was the first to spot the bom-bers over their target in the intense cloudcover. He claimed to have shot down twoBettys, but all three of his wingmen wereattacked by Zeros led by Shirō Kawai. Twowere shot down and the third returned tothe carrier with a badly damaged machine.Southerland used up all of his ammuniti-on in the attack on the Bettys, and his ma-chine was slightly damaged by the Betty´sgunners. This made things very difficult forhim when he was attacked by Zeros pilo-ted by PO3c Ichirōbei Yamazaki, who brokeaway from Kawai's formation, and two ofSakai's wingmen, PO2c Enji Kakimoto andPO3c Kazushi “Popo” Utō.Against the enemy's superior numbers,Southerland calmly fought a manoeuvrebattle, getting into firing position severaltimes, but unfortunately he was out of am-munition. He was quite protected from theeffects of the Zeros' fire by the Wildcat's ar-mor and sturdy construction. After Yamaza-ki broke away from the fruitless power play,Saburō Sakai flew in to help his wingmen,and the ensuing development is well known.Piotr Forkasiewicz captured the final se-conds of the Wildcat's flight in his painting.Southerland bailed out of the machine ata very low altitude and the machine explo-ded just before hitting the ground. The Ame-rican pilot managed to open his parachuteand landed on the ground. He was in shock,exhausted and had eleven wounds.At dawn on 8 August, Southerland headedeast towards Lunga Point, cautiouslypassing through several deserted villages.He then attempted to use a canoe, but it lea-ked so he continued on foot along the coast.At one of the next villages he met two na-tive boys, one of whom was in contact withan Allied coastal watcher. Southerland wasled to the village of Mamara and he couldregain his strength there until dawn on 10August. The locals were all very friendly, butthey were understandably concerned aboutthe fighting they had seen or heard in thepast few days. Only the oldest man in thevillage was unfriendly and expressed him-self in terms that he used to eat white men,but those days were gone.On the morning of 10 August, three boys lo-aded Southerland into a canoe, managed tobypass the Japanese camp at the mouth ofthe Mantanikau River, and turned the Wild-cat pilot over to a unit of U.S. Marines. On theway back, the canoe came under fire fromthe Japanese, sank, and the young nativesfell into captivity. Fortunately, they managedto escape after a short time. Southerlanddeparted Guadalcanal on 12 August aboarda Catalina, the first machine to land atLunga airfield.In April 1944, he was appointed commanderof VF-83 on USS Essex and later servedwith VF-23 on USS Langley, becoming co-mmander of CAG-23. With both units heflew Hellcats in 1945 and achieved threemore victories. On October 12, 1949, whi-le serving with VF-43, he was killed ina F4U-4 accident during takeoff from USSFranklin D. Roosevelt. The wreckage of hisWildcat was first examined by aviation re-searchers in the 1990s.Text: Jan BobekIllustration: Piotr ForkasiewiczBailing out over the jungle#82212INFO Eduard29January 2023Page 30
#7012B-25J Mitchell STRAFER1/72ProfiPACK edition kit of US WWII medium bomber B-25J Mitchellwith solid nose in 1/72 scale. The kit is focused on planes usedin attack on ground targets from low level sky on the battlefieldsof the Pacific and Southeast Asia.plastic parts: Hasegawamarking options: 5decals: EduardPE parts: yes, pre-paintedpainting mask: yesresin parts: noProduct pageKITS 01/2023INFO Eduard30January 2023Page 31
B-25J-30, 44-30934, 1/Lt Charles E. Rice, Jr., 449th BS, 345th BG, 5th AF, Kadena, Okinawa, July 1945B-25J-10, 43-28145, 71st BS, 38th BG, 5th AF, Lingayen, Philippines, 1945B-25J-20, 44-29147, Lt. William J. Faucher, 396th BS, 41st BG, 7th AF, Kadena, Okinawa, July 1945The most significant mission of the Mitchell named Betty-’s Dream was escort of two white Betty bombers aboardwhich Japanese peace envoys traveled to le Shima onAugust 21, 1945, after the previous surrender in Mani-la. The aircraft was assigned to 1/Lt Charles “Pop” Rice,Jr. who later became the unit’s operations officer. TheBetty’s Dream ship was only briefly with the 449th BS,having been assigned to the unit in June 1945. Due to that,it showed just a little sign of war wear and tear. The ty-pical drawing of a bat on the nose referred to the unit’sname, Bats Outa’Hell. The famous Indian head was paintedin its later form, which was the artwork of Cpl. CharlesO. Metzel and was applied on the aircraft of the “Air Apa-ches” from March 1945.The “Sunsetters”, as was the 38th Bombardment Groupknown, consisted of four squadrons, of which the 71st BSwas nicknamed “Wolf Pack”. Tis aircraft is known in twomarking states, as it originally sported smaller wolf headpainted on the nose and no bombing mission marks underthe cockpit. Later the wolf head was changed for biggerone and marks indicating 106 missions were added. Origi-nally, the side gun packs were fitted, known photos of thelater state of marking show they had been removed. Thedecals of this marking option refer to the early version.Unfortunately, not too much is known about this aircraft.There was nothing found about it in the squadron’s offi-cial records, as many mission reports do not specify theaircraft participating. There is also uncertainty about thecolor of the Estrallita inscription as well as of the wolf’shead, as it was usually painted either brown or dark gray.We tend to believe it was brown in this case. Regardingthe Estrallita sign we offer green and red option to choosefrom…The 41st Bombardment Group moved from Hawai to Oki-nawa for the final part of the war in June 1945 and theywere the first unit to use the Mitchells to attack the Japa-nese home soil since the famous Doolitle Raid in 1942. Themission No. 1-45 was flown by 15 aircraft which attackedthe Chiran airfield on Kyushu Island. The 44-29147 did notparticipate but was flown on other occasions. The air-craft was assigned to Lt. “Bill” Faucher, who was usuallyin crew with Lt. F. E. Brown as co-pilot. The aircraft wasone of those left in natural metal finish and sported thegirl wearing blue bikini swimsuit on the port side of thenose. The painting was probably one of many within USAAFinspired by famous Alberto Vargas’ paintings.KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard31January 2023Page 32
B-25J-20, 44-29657, 1/Lt Thomas Cockrell, 100th BS, 42nd BG, 13th AF, Puerto Princesa,Palawan, Philippines, 1945B-25J-30, 44-31063, 498th BS, 345th BG, 5th AF, le Shima, Okinawa, Japan, July 1945Activated on January 15, 1940, 42nd BG patrolled the westcoast during 1942 and moved to the Pacific theater inMarch and April 1943. The Group named “Crusaders” wasassigned to 13th AF and entered combat in June 1943, ope-rating from bases in the Solomon Islands. In March 1945the group moved to the Philippines and attacked shippingalong the China coast, targets in French Indochina andbombed airfields and installations in the Philippines. Theyalso supported ground operations on Mindanao and supp-orted Australian forces on Borneo during May and June1945. Early in 1945 fifth unit, 100th BS, previously knownas 106th Reconnaisance Squadron, was incorporated intothe Crusaders. This Mitchell was assigned to Lt. ThomasCockrell, whose son Gordon later followed father’s foot-steps as he served with US Army as a helicopter pilot. Thecolors of the noseart are not known, we tend to believethe blue colors of Crusaders’ shield and of the insigniawere used. Red central circle is also possible, but the redcircles were something unwanted on the aircraft fightingagainst Japanese…One of the most famous and colorful units in the Pacific,the “Air Apaches”, was constituted on September 3, 1942,as 345th Bombing Group (medium) and after activationthey trained immediately with B-25s. Originally, they wereto be deployed in UK, but Major General George C. Kenneyhad successfully pledged for more B-25 units to be as-signed to his 5th Air Force. Thus, in April 1943, the Groupmoved to the Pacific Theatre and after arrival to Austra-lia, their B-25Ds were field-modified to Strafer versionaccording to the instructions set-up by famous “Pappy”Gunn, at the time already the Technical Officer of the 5thAir Force. The “Air Apaches” participated with these andlater with B-25Js in no less than nine major campaigns.All four squadrons they consisted of had their distinctivemarkings and names, the 498th BS being known as “Fal-cons” with the stylized falcon head adorning the nose ofeach aircraft of the unit. The state of Darlin’ Donna por-trayed here matches the appearance of the aircraft whenit arrived at le Shima at the end of July 1945. It was notsporting the famous Indian head nor the white wingtips,applied at the time already. The leading edges of the tailsurfaces and wing had irregular strikes of the green colordarker than the original and worn Olive Drab.KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard32January 2023Page 33
Cat. No. 672275Cat. No. 672206Cat. No. 672038Cat. No. 672244Recommended:for B-25J Mitchell STRAFER 1/7272425 B-25J bomb bay (PE-Set)672038 US 250lb bombs (Brassin)672039 US 500lb bombs (Brassin)672206 B-25 wheels (Brassin)672244 US 1000lb bombs (Brassin)672275 B-25J engines (Brassin)KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard33January 2023Page 34
Spitfire Mk.Vb midWeekend edition kit of British WWII fighter plane Spitfire Mk.Vb in 1/48 scale. The kit is focusedon Spitfires in the so-called medium series with pre-set armoured glass on the windshield anda bulge covering the cannon cartridges on the lower surface of the wing in the shape of a kidney.plastic parts: Eduardmarking options: 4decals: EduardPE parts: nopainting mask: noresin parts: noProduct page#841861/48KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard34January 2023Page 35
BM211, F/Lt John D. Mitchner, No. 402 Squadron RCAF, RAF Merston, United Kingdom, September–November 1943BL594, W/Cdr Alexandr Gabszewicz, No. 2 Polish Wing, RAF Northolt, United Kingdom, February–May 1943BL384, F/Lt John A. A. Gibson, No. 457 Squadron RAAF, RAF Andreas, United Kingdom, December 1941John Mitchener was born in Saskatoon, Canada in 1914and before he joined RCAF in October 1940 he had workedfor three years as a bookseller. In June 1941 he finishedhis basic pilot training and after that, in the middle ofAugust, he was transferred to Britain. In the beginningof September, he was assigned to No. 263 Squadron equi-pped with Whirlwinds where he flew until June 1942. Afterhis brief instructor’s stunt at No. 55 OTU in July he wasassigned to No. 247 Squadron and next month to No. 116Squadron. In November he was transferred to No. 402Squadron where, in the beginning of 1943, he scored hisfirst victory. In October he was decorated with DFC andin February 1944 he completed his tour of duty. After hisreturn to Canada, he served at Tealing and in August 1944returned to Europe where he was attached to No. 421Squadron as a flight leader. In the end of September, hewas transferred to No. 416 Squadron and in November heassumed command of the whole unit. In 1946 he returnedto Canada and continued his service with RCAF. In 1953he became commander of Sylvestre and Lac St. Debis airbases and in 1960 he retired due to the health issues. Hepassed away on December 8, 1964. During his wartime ca-reer John Davidson Mitchner scored 11 confirmed kills andthree probables. He also damaged three enemy aircraft.At No. 402 Squadron John Mitchner regularly flew SpitfireLF Mk. Vb BM211 coded AE-J in the fall of 1943. On the fu-selage starboard side, the aircraft carried his personalnose art of sunbathing Miss Jane, a character from theDaily Mirror magazine. This Spitfire featured the newerexhausts introduced as the standard with Mk.IX version.Majority of the No. 402 Squadron Spitfires Mk.Vb wereequipped with these exhausts since they helped improvethe aircraft performance.BL594 was delivered to No. 242 Squadron in April 1942 but inMay it was damaged in an accident, consequently repaired,and delivered to No. 303 (Polish) Squadron, at that time ope-rating out of the Kirton-in-Lindsey airfield.It was coded RF-G and assigned to F/O Horbaczewski as hispersonal mount. In the beginning of February 1943 No. 303Squadron was transferred to Heston but BL594 was left atKirton-in-Lindsey airfield assigned to No. 2 Polish Wing com-mander Alexandr Gabszewicz as his personal mount. His newSpitfire was re-painted to No. 302 (Polish) Squadron stan-dards including the unit insignia. Gabszewicz had his personalscore, seven and half black crosses, painted on the drop tankport side including the name “Smarkata” (which refers to thevery young age of his fiancée, Elizabeth Helen Bullimore). Inthe beginning of June, No. 302 (Polish) Squadron was trans-ferred to No. 1 Polish Wing in Heston and BL594 was left withNo. 308 (Polish) Squadron. It was rebuilt to LF Mk.Vb standardand in January 1944 assigned to No. 234 Squadron. On May9, 1944, BL594 was shot down by flak near Berck-sur-Mer.Its pilot, F/O D. N. Greenhalghem, bailed out however did notsurvive.On December 11, 1941, Spitfire BL351 was assigned to theAustralian No. 457 Squadron. Initially P/O Ken James wasfrequently at its controls. Later this pilot was creditedwith 2.5 kills. In February 1942, BL351 was assigned toF/Lt John Gibson, a New Zealander who in 1940 claimed11.5 kills while flying Hurricanes with No. 501 Squadron.Gibson had his personal marking, Donald Duck, painted onhis new Spitfire, including all his confirmed aerial victo-ries, 13.5 of them at that time. In March 1942, BL351 wastransferred to No. 452 Squadron and ultimately destroyedin a ground collision on May 8 of the same year.KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard35January 2023Page 36
BM309, 2/Lt Robert A. Boock, 335th FS, 4th FG, Debden, United Kingdom, February 1943During WWII the 4th Fighter Group was a component of the8th USAAF. The group operated out of Debden airbase whichgave it a nickname Debden Eagles. Between September1940 and July 1941 three Eagle Squadrons were formed outof the American volunteer pilots before the United Statesentered WWII in December 1941. These units operated underthe RAF command until September 29, 1942, when they for-med the 4th FG of the 8th USAAF. The No. 71, No. 121 and No.133 Squadron RAF became 334th, 335th and 336th FG of theUSAAF. During the last large scale engagement of the 4th FGon January 22, 1943 2/Lt. Robert A. Boock from 335th FS fly-ing Spitfire Mk.Vb BM309 shot down a Fw 190 North-West ofDunkerque. His Spitfire carried an unofficial 4th FG insigniaon the starboard side of the engine cowling.Recommended:for Spitfire Mk.Vb mid 1/48481065 Spitfire Mk.V landing flaps (PE-Set)FE1207 Spitfire Mk.V seatbelts STEEL (PE-Set)FE1322 Spitfire Mk.Vb weekend (PE-Set)644113 Spitfire Mk.V LööK (Brassin)648098 Spitfire wheels - 5 spoke (Brassin)648119 Spitfire wheels - 5 spoke, smooth tire (Brassin)648640 Spitfire Mk.V engine (Brassin)648663 Spitfire Mk.V cockpit (Brassin)648664 Spitfire Mk.V wheels (Brassin)648667 Spitfire Mk.V three-stacks exhausts rounded (Brassin)648668 Spitfire Mk.V three-stacks exhausts fishtail (Brassin)648669 Spitfire Mk.V six-stacks exhausts fishtail (Brassin)648738 Spitfire Mk.V landing flaps PRINT (Brassin)D48088 Spitfire Mk.V stencils (Decal Set)Cat. No. 648738Kat. č. 648664Cat. No. 648663Cat. No. 648640KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard36January 2023Page 37
Sopwith F.1 Camel (Clerget) 1/48Weekend edition kit of British WWI fighter aircraft Sopwith F.1Camel with Clerget rotary engine in 1/48 scale. The kit offersCamels served in RAF in Army, Navy and training units.plastic parts: Eduardmarking options: 4decals: EduardPE parts: nopainting mask: noresin parts: no#8486Product pageKITS 01/2023INFO Eduard37January 2023Page 38
B6289, W. M. Alexander, No. 10(N) Squadron RNAS, Téteghem, France, January 1918E7232, No. 4 Flying School, Freiston, United Kingdom, 1918D6402, Henry W. Woollett, No. 43 Sqn, Avesnes-le-Comte, France, April 1918Canadian William Melville Alexander was native fromToronto, and he was keen to learn to fly as soon as heturned out 18. As the Curtiss and Wright Brothers fly-ing schools were at full capacity, he took a journey toStinson school in San Antonio, Texas. There he got just3,5 hours of training prior to his flying test. He succe-eded and received Aero Club of America CertificateNo. 447. In 1916, back in Canada, he was appointeda flight sub-lieutenant in the RNAS and after future trai-ning he was sent overseas to become member of No. 3(Naval) Wing in France. There he was flying Sopwith 1½Strutters. Four months later, his unit was disbanded, andAlexander was posted to the new No. 10 (N) Squadron tofly Sopwith Triplanes as a part of Raymond Collishaw’s“Black Flight”. He achieved his first victory on June 2,1917, (shared) and he added seven more by the end ofJuly. After the unit started to receive new Camels, Ale-xander achieved his first victory on this type on August16. He was also still using Triplane for some time along-side Camel. On August 27 he was appointed an actingFlight Commander. Altogether he achieved 23 victories,most of them classified as Out of Control (OOC) whichwas also the case of the only victory achieved with Ca-mel B6289. He did not continue military service after thewar and died on October 4, 1988, in Canada.This Camel was manufactured by Ruston Proctor & Co Ltd.In September 1918 and was posted to No. 4 Flying Schoolin Freiston, where it got colorful painting of white and redcolors. The upper side of the top wing obtained the motifof the rays of rising sun, while upper side of bottom winggot simple stripes of white and red color. The name Dimpswas painted on the left side only probably. The site of theRNAS Freiston Shores was established in 1917 and servedas a satellite base for air-weapon training for near-by RNAS Cranwell. Originally it was nothing more thana field on area of about 80 acres and was originally usedfor final two weeks of training of officers on the advancedflying course at RNAS Cranwell. However, its role was soonextended, and the airfield was expanded and hangars,accommodation blocks and a control tower were built. Theairfield was originally known as the RNAS Gunnery Schoolor Armament Training School and then became the Schoolof Aerial Fighting and Bomb Dropping when the RNAS be-came amalgamated into the newly formed RAF in 1918. Thename of the school than changed again to the No. 4 Schoolof Aerial Fighting and Gunnery and was redesignatedagain as No. 4 Fighting School. The base was disbandedin March 1920.Henry Winslow Woollett was set to follow in the footstepsof his father, who was a doctor. Henry, medical student atthe outbreak of WWI, was commissioned in the LinconshireRegiment in August 1914 and took part in the Suvla Baylandings in the Dardanelles. He was transferred to the RFCin 1916 and after training he joined No. 24 Squadron RFC inNovember. They were flying DH-2s in France, which weregetting obsolete at the time. Woollett managed to shootdown one enemy flying this “bunch of wires”. After con-verting to DH-5s, he added for more. In August 1917 Woo-llett returned to England, became Flight Commander. Backto France in March 1918, he joined No. 43 Squadron withCamels. As a leader of the C Flight, he brought his score to35 by early August. Of these victims 11 were balloons. Hisspecialty in fighting these heavily defended targets, wasthe reason behind the adoption of irregular fields of verylight color over the upper wing and rudder. This was tomimic the appearance of more colorful German aircraft.This additional camouflage lasted only for a couple ofdays before being ordered to be painted out. Some sourcesstate white color of these fields, but on the existing photothey look somewhat darker and might be of very light blueas well. This is up to every modeler to choose.KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard38January 2023Page 39
FE1215 Sopwith Camel seatbelts STEEL (PE-Set)FE1323 Sopwith Camel F.1 Camel (Clerget) Weekend (PE-Set)644116 Sopwith Camel LööK (Brassin)648657 Sopwith Camel wheels type 1 (Brassin)648658 Sopwith Camel wheels type 2 (Brassin)648659 Sopwith Camel seat (Brassin)648660 Sopwith Camel Vickers Mk.I gun (Brassin)648661 Sopwith Camel US Colt Vickers gun (Brassin)648662 Sopwith Camel 20lb bomb carrier (Brassin)648674 Sopwith Camel Rotherham air pumps (Brassin)648676 Sopwith Camel Clerget engine PRINT (Brassin)3DL48038 Sopwith Camel SPACE (3D Decal Set)EX879 Sopwith Camel (Mask)B5406, Lt. Sadhar H. Malik, No. 28 Squadron RFC, Droglant, France, October 1917Sadhar Hardit Malik became the first Indian to fly asa pilot with the RFC in the WWI. He travelled to Englandfrom Punjab at the age of 14 to attend preparation schooland college studies at Balliol College. After his gradua-tion in 1915 he applied to join the RFC but was denied.He then served with the French Red Cross in 1916 as anambulance driver and still determined to fly he appliedto join the Aéronautique Militaire in 1916. When his Oxfor-td tutor Francis Urquhart learned about it, he consideredit scandalous and wrote to head of the RFC General Hen-derson. The intercession paid off and Malik was acceptedas an air cadet. On April 6, 1917, he received a temporarycommission as a second Lieutenant in the RFC and wastrained as a pilot. His first assignment was with No. 26 Sqnfrom July 13, 1917. As an observant Sikh, he wore a turbaninstead of a helmet, later covered by specially designedflying helmet. Malik was transferred to No. 28 Sqn in 1917and managed to score his first victory on October 18. Justeight days later he scored another kill but was woundedin his right leg. He was set to get back to the action afterconvalescence, but he was diagnosed as having an allergyto the Sopwith Camel’s castor oil lubricant. Due to thathe spent rest of the war flying Bristol F.2b Fighters andreturned to India after the end of the hostilities to serve inthe Indian Civil Service. He was very successful and heldseveral trade and diplomatic posts, namely as Indian Am-bassador to France. He died on October 31, 1985.Recommended:for Sopwith F.1 Camel (Clerget) 1/48Cat. No. 648676Cat. No. 648661Cat. No. 648659Cat. No. 644416KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard39January 2023Page 40
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4./NJG 1, St. Trond, Belgium, February 1942Lt. Herbert Kutscha, 5./ZG 1, Soviet Union, 1942Lt. Felix-Maria Brandis, 1.(Z)/JG 77, Malmi, Finland, 1942NJG 1 was the oldest night fighter Luftwaffe unit and wasfounded by the legendary Oberst Wolfgang Falck. At the be-ginning of 1942, the unit’s II. Gruppe was led by Major WalterEhle, who kept the commanding position for over next threeyears. In 1942, the well-known night fighter Wilhelm Her-get, for example, also served within the ranks of 4. StaffelII./NJG 1. This “G9+JM” is interesting not only for the sharkmouth marking, but also for the temporary applicationof a “naval” RLM 72 green on the upper surfaces, as thisplane took part in patrol flights for Operation Donnerkeil.A quick identification mark came in the form of a yellowfuselage band. During the operation, the Germans managedto navigate the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau aswell as the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen through the EnglishChannel from Brest (Bretagne, France) to northern Germany.The Luftwaffe, between February 11 and 13, 1942, ensureduninterrupted patrols over the formation. II./NJG 1 and II./NJG3 were tasked with cover duty during twilight and overnighthours. On the second day of operations, elements of both ni-ght fighter units relocated to Lister airbase in Norway, fromwhich the last segment of the fleet’s cruise was covered.The unit’s detachment stayed in Norway through to the endof February. All air to air victories during Operation Donner-keil were achieved by day fighters of the Luftwaffe.Herbert Kutscha ((*1917 †2003) served with II./JG 77 at thebeginning of the war, but he was soon transferred to 5./ZG1 equipped with Messerschmitts Bf 110. During the Battle ofFrance, he shot down a number of aircraft, including a Bf109 of the air force of neutral Switzerland. Later, he alsogained much success on the Eastern Front as a groundattack pilot, partially due to II./ZG 1 transformation intoII./SKG 210. Kutscha’s II.Gruppe, under the command ofHptm. Rolf Kaldrack, was specialized in ground attackoperations, especially in low level bombing. The Bf 110was able to move faster over the enemy territory thanother bombers. Here is where the term “fast bombard-ment wing” (SKG; Schnellkampfgeschwader) was coined.Kutscha was awarded the Knight’s Cross after his 22ndvictory. At that time there were 41 aircraft destroyed onthe ground, 41 tanks, 15 locomotives, 11 anti-aircraft gunsand 157 transport vehicles added to his tally. In June 1943he took command of 15. Staffel JG 3 “Udet”, utilizing singleengine fighters. In the summer of 1944, he took control ofII./JG 3 in Normandy and by the end of the year he changedthe unit to lead II./JG 27. From February 1945 he comman-ded III./JG 1 on the Eastern Front. All in all, he flew over 900sorties and achieved 47 kills, six of which were four engi-ne heavy bombers and 22 of his kills he achieved behindcontrols of Bf 110. German Geschwader was much biggerunit than RAF or USAAF Squadron. In fact, it was corre-sponding to USAAF Wing, while Gruppe was equal to USAAFGroup and Staffel was similar unit as the USAAF squadron.One of the aircraft of 1.(Z)/JG 77 commander Lt. Felix-Ma-ria Brandis while stationed on the Eastern Front. His creditcount tallied 14 victories of which five victims were Bri-tish (including a pair of Fairey Albacores) and nine Sovietaircraft. Lt. Brandis died on February 2, 1942, when flyingBf 110E-2 (WNr. 2546) LN+AR at Olang. He crashed on thereturn leg of a combat sortie in bad weather conditions.By that time, his unit had been re-designated 6.(Z)/JG 5(January 25, 1942). The designation of the unit progressi-vely changed from 1.(Z)/JG 77 to 6.(Z)/JG 5, 10.(Z)/JG 5 and13.(Z)/JG 5. On the nose of the aircraft, there was the em-blem of a dachshund with a Rata (Polikarpov I-16) in itsmouth. It was a typical marking of this unit, as a number ofthese dogs were mascots of the “Dackelstaffel” through itsexistence, irrespective of the unit designation carried at anyparticular time. Some sources even say each crew had theirown dog. The wiener dogs even occasionally flew on combatmissions with the crew. The unit opposed British aircraft aswell as Soviet ones in northern Europe. This aircraft, flownby Lt. Harry Kripphal, fell a victim of anti-aircraft fire 30 kmwest of Murmansk on June 18, 1942.KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard41January 2023Page 42
WNr. 4035, Sonderkommando Junck, Mosul Air Base, Iraq, May 19416./ZG 1, Russia, Summer 1942After the outbreak of the Anglo-Iraqi War, whichlasted from April 18 to May 30, 1941, the Italians andGermans gave their military support to the Iraqis.The Luftwaffe opposed the RAF with the unit namedSonderkommando Junck, which had MesserschmittBf 110 fighters, Heinkel He 111 bombers, and JunkersJu 52 transport planes in its inventory. The unit wascommanded by Oberst Werner Junck, who, during thecourse of the First World War with Jasta 8, gainedfive aerial victories. Between the wars, he was awell-known sport pilot. The Messerschmitts Bf 110carried Iraqi national insignia but were manned byGerman crews. In fact, the aircraft in question camefrom ZG 76 and ZG 26. The only unit’s victory duringthis episode was achieved on May 20, 1941 by Lt. Mar-tin Drewes (a future night fighter ace) of II./ZG 76,when he shot down a Gloster Gladiator flown by Sgt.Smith of A Squadron of Habbaniya Strike Force overFallujah. Messerschmitt Bf 110E WNr. 4035 was foundby the British after a forced landing. It was repairedin September 1941 and christened “Belle of Berlin”.Later it was flown to Egypt to No. 267 Squadron. Theaircraft was written off after a forced landing enrou-te to South Africa.The wasp emblem (Wespe) was designed in the au-tumn of 1939 by Lt. Richard Malchfelder, a technicalofficer of one of the Zerstörergruppe (II./ZG 1). It wasoriginally composed of three small wasps, and wasutilized by the same Gruppe of heavy fighters thatwent through several designation changes (includingII./SKG 210) and, finally, in early 1942, ended up asII./ZG 1. Soon, other Gruppe of Zerstörergeschwader1 came to use the wasp emblem and their Geschwa-der carried the operational name of “Wespen”. Thisaircraft sported the RLM 74/75/76 camouflagepattern.KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard42January 2023Page 43
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#8092P-4001/48ProfiPACK edition kit of US WWII fighter plane P-400 in 1/48 scale. This version of fighterP-39 Airacobra was ordered by British Purchase Commission in Bell Company, after Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor and entry USA into the War were 200 examples taken up by USAAF,designes as P-400 and were sent to the 5th AF for the service in the South West Pacific.plastic parts: Eduardmarking options: 5decals: EduardPE parts: yes, pre-paintedpainting mask: yesresin parts: noProduct pageRe-releaseKITS 01/2023INFO Eduard44January 2023Page 45
80th FS, 8th FG, Port Moresby, New Guinea, Autumn 1942AP356, Lt. Edward J. Kurt, 35th FS, 8th FG, Milne Bay, New Guinea, 1942–194367th FS, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, November 1942On August 26, 1942, the formation of Airacobras of 80thFS managed to ambush Japanese Zeros taking off fromthe Buna airbase and shoot down six of them during twoattacks with two more claimed as damaged. The interes-ting fact is, that it all happened due to the “lucky” naviga-tional error. Owing to the minimal activity of the Japaneseair forces over New Guinea during the second half of 1942,these were the only kills credited to 80th FS in the courseof 1942. George T. Helveston and Gerald T. Rogers claimedone Zero each, so it is therefore highly probable that Aira-cobra carrying Y letter code and kill marking belonged toone of these airmen. Black painted propeller spinner andvertical tail surface are very unusual and not documentedon any other Airacobra operating over New Guinea. Theaircraft also featured replacement rudder.Airacobra named “Earthquake McGoon” was personal air-craft of Lt. Edward J. Kurt and flew with 35th FS from GurneyField built on the Eastern peninsula of New Guinea islandduring 1942/43. Lt. Kurt joined the squadron in August 1942after he received his transfer orders at 15th FG based onHawaiian Islands. His Airacobra sports the standard Britishcamouflage scheme, however with many repair patches onthe surface. There is a color touch up with darker grey painton the aircraft nose lower part and patches in distinctlydarker green color are visible on the fuselage. Anothercuriosity is the cockpit door salvaged from the Airacobrabelonging to the sister 36th FS commander, Maj. McNay, wholeft the position in October 1942. The artwork adorning theleft door was painted over during the aircraft service lifeand in the pictures taken on Gurney Field it only the whitecircle is apparent. Blue painted propeller spinner and top ofthe vertical tail surface indicate that this Airacobra origi-nated from 39th FS inventory. A single bomber kill markingon the starboard side of the fuselage was probably achievedby another pilot of the same unit since Lt. Kurt did not claimany victory while serving with 35th FS.P-400 listed in the squadron records as “Old 13” wasone of few original Airacobras delivered to 67th FS inthe spring of 1942 and still serving on Guadalcanal inthe beginning of 1943. Rudimentary conditions of theremote Pacific airbases and lack of the spare partsforced the ground personnel into many improvisa-tions. Textbook example is the story of the “Old 13”Airacobra which already crash-landed during herservice on New Caledonia and her wreck was canni-balized for the spare parts. 67th FS heavy losses af-ter its transfer to Guadalcanal and the critical lackof the aircraft on the island caused the abandonedAiracobra wreck to be restored to the airworthy con-dition after a complex repair. The aircraft receiveda new wing and also a number of many fuselage pa-nels and hatches had to be replaced. According tothe surviving repair record the replacement partswere painted in Olive Drab/Neutral Grey colors andtherefore the Airacobra sported the unique displayof the British and American camouflage shades. Fur-thermore, the more powerful engine was installed,and the damaged propeller blade was replaced byanother one balanced by pouring the melted plumbinto its tip. The instrument panel was furnishedwith the essential gauges only, there were only ho-les after the rest of the instruments. This repairedAiracobra was christened “The Resurrection” andthis inscription was painted on both sides of thefuselage. Unfortunately, no photographic eviden-ce exists so the inscription appearance is basedon another 67th FS airplane.KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard45January 2023Page 46
BX163, 80th FS, 8th FG, Port Moresby, New Guinea, December 1942Lt. Eugene A. Wahl, 39th FS, 35th FG, Port Moresby New Guinea, Summer 1942Airacobra BX163 served originally with 39th FS whereshe received the marking in the form of the numeral18 and blue painted propeller spinner as well as thetop of the vertical tail surface. The inscription “Helen”painted on the port side of the aircraft nose origina-ted from the service with 39th FS as well. At 80thFS the typical shark mouth and yellow letter V wereadded. The camouflage in Olive Drab and NeutralGray colors was applied before the plane’s dispatchto the combat unit, same as with many other P-400sdelivered to the Southwest Pacific area in the springof 1942. On December 24, 1942, the Airacobra BX163was damaged during the emergency landing at KilaDrome, one of many aerodromes built in the vicinityof Port Moresby for its protection.One of the best known Airacobras was named “Wahl’sEye/Pat” and participated in the fiercest air combatsduring the defense of Port Moresby. Its teethed mouthreminded more of the jaws of the deep-sea living fishthan usual shark mouth. The blue propeller spinnerand top of the vertical tail surface as well as thewhite number on it were a standard 39th FS marking.The airplane was flown by Lt. Eugene Wahl who was,together with several other 35th FG pilots, assignedfor traineeship with 8th FG on New Guinea during themiddle of May. On May 26 he claimed a victory overa Zero. Luck did not abandon him on June 9 when,after combat with Zeros from the famous TainanKōkūtai, he had to perform the emergency landing.However, after several days of hiking through thejungle he was able to rejoin his unit. Here he flewsorties until the end of June when the 39th FS waswithdrawn to Australia to reorganize and re-equipwith the more powerful P-38 Lightning fighters.KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard46January 2023Page 47
OVERTREESOVERLEPT#8067XP-391/48#8092-LEPTP-4001/48Product pageProduct pageRecommended:for P-400 1/4848872 P-39/400 landing flaps (PE-Set)FE919 P-39 seatbelts STEEL (PE-Set)644025 P-400 LööK (Brassin)648202 P-39 wheels early (Brassin)648203 P-39 wheels late (Brassin)Cat. No. 644025Cat. No. 648202Cat. No. 648203KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard47January 2023Page 48
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c/n 5379, PO1c Tsuguo Matsuyama, Hiryū Fighter Squadron, aircraft carrier Hiryū,December 7, 1941PO1c Saburō Sakai, Tainan Kōkūtai, Lakunai airfield, Rabaul,New Britain island, August 1942PO2c Kōtarō Koyae, Zuihō Fighter Squadron, Rabaul,New Britain island, April 1943During second attack against Hawaii the Hiryū aircraft ca-rrier sent nine Zeros under the command of Lt. Sumio Nōno.His pilots attacked Kaneohe and Bellows bases, claimingtwo destroyed aircraft and one car. Third Shōtai was led byPO1c Matsuyama, who shot down in coopeartion with hiswingman P-40s piloted by 2nd Lieutenants George Whitemanand Samuel Bishop of the 44th Pursuit Squadron. Matsuyamahad combat missions with the 13th Kōkūtai in China on hisaccount already. On February 25, 1938, as wingman of thelegendary Sadaaki Akamatsu, he participated in shootingdown four aircraft. During the raids on Ceylon on April 9, 1942,Matsuyama's shōtai shot down a Blenheim Mk.IV, probably ofS/Ldr Kenneth Ault´s crew, who was leading formation of No.11 Squadron RAF in an attack on Japanese ships. Matsuyamalater served on the aircraft carrier Hiyō and was killed onApril 7, 1943 in combat with the Wildcats off Guadalcanal. Theairplane BII-124 was shot down on February 19, 1942 duringthe raid on Darwin. After being hit by anti-aircraft fire, Se-aman 1st class Hajime Toyoshima landed on Melville Islandand was captured by Aboriginal Matthias Ulungura. Toyoshi-ma was the first captured Zero pilot and used alias "TadaoMinami". He became one of the organizers of the largest pri-soner escape in World War II. On August 5, 1944 at Cowra POWCamp he gave signal to escape. Total of 1,104 POWs attemptedto espace, 231 were killed and four Australians lost their li-ves as well. Toyoshima was mortally wounded, so he lighteda cigarette and committed suicide.Saburō Sakai is best known Japanese fighter pilot, thanks tohis memoirs and meetings with Allied airmen after World WarII. He was born in 1916 and served from September 1938 withthe 12th Kōkūtai in China. In October 1941, he was assigned tothe newly organized Tainan Kōkūtai in Taiwan and took partin campaign heading South until he was wounded on August7, 1942 off Guadalcanal. After recovering, he served as an in-structor with Ōmura Kōkūtai, and later, despite bad eyesight,was combat deployed with Yokosuka Kōkūtai on Iwo Jima. Atthe end of war he served with Kōkūtai 343 (II) and YokosukaKōkūtai. He is listed as an ace with 64 victories, but Sakaihimself claimed the number of his victories was lower. Withthe first two units he actually achieved 12 individual victories,8 shared and 4 probables. The V-128 was also flown by PO2cArita and PO1c Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, who is credited with 87victories. The color of the stripes is chosen from Sakai's reco-llection, but there are other interpretations, such as a blackor yellow stripe on the fuselage. During a fighter escort toGuadalcanal on August 7, Sakai shot down Wildcat “F12” fromVF-5 piloted by "Pug" Southerland in an epic dogfight. Sakaiwas later severely wounded in the face by fire from VB-6Dauntless near Tulagi Island. After nearly five hours and morethan 1,000 km, he managed to land back at Rabaul. Sakai diedin 2000 after formal dinner with members of the US Navy.Petty Officer 2nd Class Koyae was born in 1923 in Miy-azaki Prefecture and completed his flight training inNovember 1942. He was than assigned to the fighterunit of the aircraft carrier Zuihō in March 1943. In April,the unit moved to Rabaul and Koyae flew the aircraftduring Operation I-gō. In this period, green paint wasapplied to Zeros in field conditions. It was usuallypainted by hand, the edges of the green fields beingsoftened with thinner sometimes. However, accordingto the unit log, Koyae did not fly combat sorties in Ap-ril 1943. In fact he did not encounter the enemy untilNovember 1943 over Rabaul. During the same monthhe was transferred to Kōkūtai 253 at Rabaul and byearly 1944 he was undergoing intense fighting. Uponhis return to Japan, he was assigned to the ŌmuraKōkūtai. While on leave, on February 17, 1944, he spo-tted a Japanese bomber circling in the rain at nightover the village of Goda, Miyazaki Prefecture. Koyae,with the help of the villagers, established a navigationsignal and after some time he managed to guide thecrew to right heading. For this achievment he receiveda written commendation from commander of ŌmuraKōkūtai. In July 1944, Koyae was assigned to Hikōtai701 and fought in the defense of the Philippines. Afterreturning to Japan, he was assigned to Hikōtai 701 (II)and served with Ōmura Kōkūtai at the end of the war.After the war he worked as a fireman and publishedhis memories. According to the local press, he achie-ved 20 victories, but these may be victories achievedby fighter formations in which he took partKITS 01/2023INFO Eduard49January 2023Page 50
Lt. Kunio Kanzaki, CO of Hikōtai 311 of Kōkūtai 381, Kendari airfield, Celebes island, May 1944Lt. Nobuo Miyatake, Kamikaze Tokubetsu Kōgekitai, 1. Shichisei-tai, Kanoya airbase, Japan, April 1944Kōkūtai 381 was established in October 1943 at Ken-dari Base on the island of Celebes. It was a mixedKōkūtai with 48 fighter-bombers (Hikōtai 602), 24night fighters (Hikōtai 902) and 48 fighter aircraftin Hikōtai 311, the latter commanded by Lt. Kanzaki.During the 1944 he operated from bases on islandsin Indonesia and the Philippines. Their most fre-quent opponents were U.S. Army aircraft. Kanzaki'sunit used special phosphorus anti-aircraft bombsto attack enemy bombers. Kanzaki's aircraft, manu-factured by the Nakajima company, has been recon-structed in the past with various color markings. It isassumed that the vertical tail surfaces and part ofthe upper wing surfaces were painted the same colorlike lower surfaces. The front part of the engine mayalso have been painted grey or yellow. It is not entire-ly clear from the photograph of the aircraft whetherthe white stripes on the lower fuselage are joined. Itmay have been designed to improve the mutual iden-tification of Army and Navy aircraft when fightingAllied fighters. Another reason for this camouflagemay have been for easier identification during nightfighter flights. For example, Lt. Kanzaki and his wing-man shot down a B-24 of the 380th BG over Balikpa-pan on the night of January 12-13, 1944. Some aircraftof Kōkūtai 331 were also painted in the same upperand tailplane camouflage. Both units operated in onetactical group during part of 1944.From the April 3, 1945 a total of eight special attackunits with the battle name “Shichisei” were organi-zed from the airmen serving in Genzan Kōkūtai (II)and Hikōtai 306 (part of Kōkūtai 721). Lt. Miyatake,who was 24 years old at the time, led the 1st Shi-chisei-tai in an attack on a convoy off Okinawa onApril 6, 1945. During that day, eleven other airmenfrom Genzan Kōkūtai (II) sacrificed their lives alongwith him. They took off successively in four forma-tions. Their formation was part of the 524 aircraft ofspecial attack units and escort fighters from IJN andIJA sent against Allied vessels off Okinawa as part ofOperation Kikusui I. The U.S. Navy lost destroyers USSBush and Colhoun and other ships were severely da-maged. “Shichisei” units were sent against ships offOkinawa, Yoronjima, Kikai, and Tanegashima islandsin several missions till May 14. Only one of them re-turned to base due to bad weather. Lt. Miyatake wasborn in Kagawa Prefecture and graduated from theEtajima Naval Academy in 1942. Before the mission,he wrote farewell letters to his mother and three si-sters. His father was interned in Siberia at the time.Nobuo Miyatake was posthumously promoted to therank of Commander. His aircraft from Nakajima pro-duction is designated “Ke-113”.KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard50January 2023Page 51
OVERTREESOVERLEPT#82111XA6M21/48#82212-LEPTA6M2 Zero Type 211/48Product pageProduct pageRecommended:for A6M2 Zero Type 21 1/48481076 A6M2 landing flaps (PE-Set)481077 A6M2 Zero (PE-Set)FE1238 A6M2 seatbelts STEEL (PE-Set)644128 A6M2 LööK (Brassin)644134 A6M2 LööKplus (Brassin)648693 A6M2 wheels (Brassin)648694 A6M2 engine PRINT (Brassin)648695 A6M undercarriage legs BRONZE (Brassin)648698 A6M2 seat PRINT (Brassin)648723 A6M2 cannon barrels & cockpit guns PRINT (Brassin)648724 A6M2 landing flaps PRINT (Brassin)3DL48050 A6M2 SPACE (3D Decal Set)D48098 A6M2 stencils (Decal Set)D48100 A6M2 national insignia (Decal Set)EX821 A6M2 TFace (Mask)Cat. No. 648694Cat. No. 648724Cat. No. 644128KITS 01/2023INFO Eduard51January 2023Page 52
BRASSINLööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboardand STEEL seatbelts for Bf 109G-2 in 1/32 scale.Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: RevellSet contains:- resin: 1 part- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noBrassin set - hammer for German WWII AFV in 1/35 scale.The set consists of 4 hammers. Made by direct 3D printing.Set contains:- 3D print: 4 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: no634029Bf 109G-2 LööK1/32 Revell635018WWII German hammer PRINT1/35Product pageProduct pageINFO Eduard52January 2023Page 53
BRASSIN 02/2022BRASSINBrassin set - axe for GermanWWII AFV in 1/35 scale. The setconsists of 4 axes. Made bydirect 3D printing.Set contains:- 3D print: 4 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: noBrassin set - clamps for German WWII AFVin 1/35 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.Set contains:- 3D print: 50 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: no635019WWII German axe PRINT1/35635021WWII German clamps Type 2 PRINT1/35Product pageProduct pageINFO Eduard53January 2023Page 54
Collection of 4 sets for F4F-3 in 1/48 scale.Recommended kit: Eduard- LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboards & Steelbelts)- TFace painting mask- seat- undercarriage wheelsLööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard and STEELseatbelts for SE.5a in 1/48 scale. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: no644191F4F-3 early LööKplus1/48 Eduard644192SE.5a LööK1/48 EduardBRASSINProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard54January 2023Page 55
LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboardand STEEL seatbelts for Mosquito FB Mk.IIin 1/48 scale. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: TamiyaSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noLööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboardand STEEL seatbelts for Beaufort Mk.I in 1/48 scale.Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: ICMSet contains:- resin: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: no644193Mosquito FB Mk.II LööK1/48 Tamiya644194Beaufort Mk.I LööK1/48 ICMBRASSIN 02/2022BRASSINProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard55January 2023Page 56
BRASSINBrassin set - the cockpit for Fw 190A-8 in 1/48 scale.Made by direct 3D printing. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 19 parts- decals: yes- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noBrassin set - oxygen tanks for US WII aicraft in 1/48 scale.The set consists of 6 tanks. Made by direct 3D printing.Set contains:- 3D print: 6 parts- decals: yes- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: no648785Fw 190A-8 cockpit PRINT1/48 Eduard648809WWII USAAF oxygen cylinder A-6 PRINT1/48Product pageProduct pageINFO Eduard56January 2023Page 57
BRASSIN 02/2022BRASSINBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for F4F-4in 1/48 scale. The set consists of the main wheelsand a tailwheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 5 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yes648810WWII USAAF oxygen tank G-1 PRINT1/48648815F4F-4 wheels early1/48 EduardProduct pageProduct pageBrassin set - oxygen tanks for US WII aicraftin 1/48 scale. The set consists of 6 tanks.Made by direct 3D printing.Set contains:- 3D print: 6 parts- decals: yes- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noINFO Eduard57January 2023Page 58
BRASSINBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for F4F-4in 1/48 scale. The set consists of the main wheels anda tailwheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 6 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: yesBrassin set - landing flaps for F4F-4 in 1/48 scale.The set consists of the deployed flaps for both wings.Made by direct 3D printing. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 8 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: no648816F4F-4 wheels late1/48 Eduard648817F4F-4 landing flaps PRINT1/48 EduardProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard58January 2023Page 59
BRASSIN 02/2022BRASSINBrassin set - folding wings for F4F-4 in 1/48 scale.The set consists of parts for both wings.Made by direct 3D printing. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 10 parts- plastic: 4 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: noBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for F-35Bin 1/48 scale. The set consists of the main wheels anda nose wheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: ItaleriSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yes648818F4F-4 folding wings PRINT1/48 Eduard648819F-35B wheels1/48 ItaleriProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard59January 2023Page 60
Fw 190A8/R21/48 EduardBRASSINBrassin set - the exhausts for F4F-4 in 1/48 scale.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: no648820F4F-4 exhausts PRINT1/48 EduardBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for Yak-9Din 1/48 scale. The set consists of the main wheels anda tailwheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: ZvezdaSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yes648821Yak-9D wheels1/48 ZvezdaProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard60January 2023Page 61
Brassin set - Carley type lifeboats for 60 peoplein 1/350 scale. The set consists of 10 floats.Made by direct 3D printing.Set contains:- 3D print: 10 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: no653015Carley float for 60 people – Type 1 PRINTType 1 PRINT1/350BRASSIN 02/2022BRASSINBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for F-16A MLUin 1/48 scale. The set consists of the main wheels anda nose wheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: KineticSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yes648822F-16A MLU wheels1/48 KineticProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard61January 2023Page 62
BRASSINBrassin set - Carley type lifeboats for 60 peoplein 1/350 scale. The set consists of 10 floats.Made by direct 3D printing.Set contains:- 3D print: 10 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: no653016Carley float for 60 people – Type 2 PRINT1/350Product pageE-BUNNY SQUATINFO Eduard62January 2023Page 63
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BRASSINSIN64897A6M3 Zero ESSENTIAL1/48 EduardProduct pageCollection of 4 sets for A6M3 Zero in 1/48 scale.Recommended kit: Eduard- cockpit PRINT- wheels- exhausts PRINT- undercarriage legs BRONZEAll sets included in this BIG SIN are available separately,but with every BIG SIN set you save up to 30 %.cockpit PRINTA6M undercarriage legs BRONZEA6M3 exhausts PRINTwheelsINFO Eduard64January 2023Page 65
BRASSINCollection of 3 sets for P-38J in 1/48 scale.Recommended kit: Tamiya- nose guns PRINT- superchargers PRINT- landing flaps PRINTAll sets included in this BIG SIN are available separately,but with every BIG SIN set you save up to 30 %.SIN64898P-38J ADVANCED1/48 TamiyaProduct pagenose gun bay PRINTlanding flaps PRINTsuperchargersPRINTINFO Eduard65January 2023Page 66
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BIG EDAll sets included in this BIG ED are available separately,but with every BIG ED set you save up to 30%.BIG33146 Ju 87G-1/2 1/35 Border ModelBIG49352F3F-2 1/48 AcademyBIG49353Spitfire Mk.XII 1/48 Airfix321000 Ju 87G-1/2 1/3533334 Ju 87G-1/2 seatbelts STEEL 1/35JX295 Ju 87G-1/2 1/35491304 F3F-2 1/48FE1305 F3F-2 seatbelts STEEL 1/48EX891 F3F-2 1/48481090 Spitfire Mk.XII landing flaps 1/48491302 Spitfire Mk.XII 1/48FE1303 Spitfire Mk.XII seatbelts STEEL 1/48EX897 Spitfire Mk.XII 1/48Product pageProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard78January 2023Page 79
BIG49355 Mi-35M 1/48 Zvezda481088 Mi-35M exterior 1/48481089 Mi-35M cargo interior 1/48491308 Mi-35M interior 1/48FE1309 Mi-35M seatbelts STEEL 1/48EX895 Mi-35M 1/48Product pageAll sets included in this BIG ED are available separately,but with every BIG ED set you save up to 30%.BIG EDBIG49354 P-47N 1/48 Academy491306 P-47N 1/48FE1307 P-47N seatbelts STEEL 1/48EX893 P-47N 1/48Product pageINFO Eduard79January 2023Page 80
MASKSIT FITS!JX303 Tornado IDS1/32 ItaleriJX304 Tornado IDS TFace1/32 ItaleriEX912 Z-326 TFace1/48 EduardEX913 Mosquito B Mk.IV TFace1/48 TamiyaEX914 Spitfire Mk.V TFace1/48 EduardEX915 A-10C1/48 Hobby BossEX916 A-10C TFace1/48 Hobby BossEX917 Anson Mk.I1/48 AirfixEX918 Anson Mk.I TFace1/48 AirfixCX637 AJ-11/72 RodenCX638 Ki-21-Ib1/72 ICMCX639 Ki-46-III Interceptor1/72 HasegawaCX640 Do 335A1/72 Hobby 2000/RodenCX641 Meteor F.81/72 AirfixEX917 Anson Mk.IEX915 A-10CEX918 Anson Mk.I TFaceEX918 Anson Mk.I TFaceEX916 A-10C TFace EX916 A-10C TFaceEX912 Z-326 TFaceEX913 Mosquito B Mk.IV TFace EX913 Mosquito B Mk.IV TFaceEX912 Z-326 TFaceINFO Eduard80January 2023Page 81
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RELEASESJANUARY 2023KITSPE-SETSZOOMSMASKS7012 B-25J Mitchell STRAFER 1/72 ProfiPACK84186 Spitfire Mk.Vb mid 1/48 Weekend edition8486 Sopwith F.1 Camel 1/48 Weekend edition7083 Bf 110E Re-release 1/72 ProfiPACK8092 P-400 Re-release 1/48 ProfiPACK82212 A6M2 Zero Type 21 Re-release 1/48 ProfiPACK53289 USS Alaska CB-1 part 1 1/350 Hobby Boss32480 Tornado IDS exterior 1/32 Italeri321004 Tornado IDS interior 1/32 Italeri321005 Tornado IDS undercarriage 1/32 Italeri36493 Austin K2/Y ambulance 1/35 Airfix36494 Jagdpanzer IV 1/35 Border Model481096 Beaufort Mk.I undercarriage 1/48 ICM481097 A-10C exterior 1/48 Hobby Boss481098 A-10C armament 1/48 Hobby Boss491324 A-10C 1/48 Hobby Boss73788 AJ-1 1/72 Roden73789 Ki-21-Ib 1/72 ICM73790 Do 335A 1/72 Hobby 2000/Dragon33341 Tornado IDS 1/32 Italeri33342 Tornado IDS seatbelts STEEL 1/32 ItaleriFE1322 Spitfire Mk.Vb Weekend 1/48 EduardFE1323 Sopwith F.1 Camel (Clerget) Weekend 1/48 EduardFE1324 A-10C 1/48 Hobby BossFE1325 A-10C seatbelts STEEL 1/48 Hobby BossSS788 AJ-1 1/72 RodenSS789 Ki-21-Ib 1/72 ICMSS790 Do 335A 1/72 Hobby 2000/DragonJX303 Tornado IDS 1/32 ItaleriJX304 Tornado IDS TFace 1/32 ItaleriEX912 Z-326 TFace 1/48 EduardEX913 Mosquito B Mk.IV TFace 1/48 TamiyaEX914 Spitfire Mk.V TFace 1/48 EduardEX915 A-10C 1/48 Hobby BossEX916 A-10C TFace 1/48 Hobby BossEX917 Anson Mk.I 1/48 AirfixEX918 Anson Mk.I TFace 1/48 AirfixCX637 AJ-1 1/72 RodenCX638 Ki-21-Ib 1/72 ICMCX639 Ki-46-III Interceptor 1/72 HasegawaCX640 Do 335A 1/72 Hobby 2000/DragonCX641 Meteor F.8 1/72 AirfixEDDIE THE RIVETERER48005 Su-25 raised rivets & surface details 1/48 ZvezdaINFO Eduard82January 2023Page 83
RELEASESBIG-EDBIG-EDBIG EDBRASSINLöökPLUSBIG SINSPACEDECAL SETBIG33146 Ju 87G-1/2 1/35 Border ModelBIG49352 F3F-2 1/48 AcademyBIG49353 Spitfire Mk.XII 1/48 AirfixBIG49354 P-47N 1/48 AcademyBIG49355 Mi-35M 1/48 Zvezda634029 Bf 109G-2 LööK 1/32 Revell644192 SE.5a LööK 1/48 Eduard644193 Mosquito FB Mk.II LööK 1/48 Tamiya644194 Beaufort Mk.I LööK 1/48 ICM635018 WWII German hammer PRINT 1/35635019 WWII German axe PRINT 1/35635021 WWII German clamps Type 2 PRINT 1/35648785 Fw 190A-8 cockpit PRINT 1/48 Eduard648809 WWII USAAF oxygen cylinder A-6 PRINT 1/48648810 WWII USAAF oxygen tank G-1 PRINT 1/48648815 F4F-4 wheels early 1/48 Eduard648816 F4F-4 wheels late 1/48 Eduard648817 F4F-4 landing flaps PRINT 1/48 Eduard648818 F4F-4 folding wings PRINT 1/48 Eduard648819 F-35B wheels 1/48 Italeri648820 F4F-4 exhausts PRINT 1/48 Eduard648821 Yak-9D wheels 1/48 Zvezda648822 F-16A MLU wheels 1/48 Kinetic653015 Carley float for 60 people –Type 1 PRINT 1/350653016 Carley float for 60 people –Type 2 PRINT 1/350644191 F4F-3 early LööKplus 1/48 EduardSIN64897 A6M3 Zero ESSENTIAL 1/48 EduardSIN64898 P-38J ADVANCED 1/48 Tamiya3DL32010 Bf 109G-2/4 SPACE 1/32 Revell3DL48097 Mosquito B Mk.IV SPACE 1/48 Tamiya3DL48098 A-10C SPACE 1/48 Hobby Boss3DL48099 Spitfire Mk.V SPACE 1/48 Airfix3DL48100 Bf 109G-6 SPACE 1/48 Tamiya3DL48101 P-51D-5 SPACE 1/48 Airfix3DL48102 Spitfire Mk.I SPACE 1/48 Tamiya3DL72007 P-51C SPACE 1/72 Arma Hobby3DL72008 S-199 SPACE 1/72 Eduard3DL72009 CS-199 SPACE 1/72 Eduard3DL72010 Ki-21-Ib SPACE 1/72 ICMD48108 Mosquito B Mk.IV stencils 1/48 Revell/TamiyaJANUARY 2023INFO Eduard83January 2023Page 84
BUILTCat. No. 82201marking Ebuilt by Josef BlažekProduct page1/48F4F-3 WildcatKat. č. 648769F4F gun barrels PRINT1/48 (Brassin)Kat. č. 648767F4F-3 wheels early1/48 (Brassin)Kat. č. 648777F4F-3 cockpit w/ reflector gun sight PRINT1/48 (Brassin)Kat. č. 644171F4F-3 early LööK1/48 (Brassin)INFO Eduard84January 2023Page 85
BUILTBuNo. 2531, Lt. Elbert S. McCuskey, VF-42, USS Yorktown (CV-5), May 1942Elbert Scott McCuskey was born February 8, 1915in Little Rock, Arkansas, and after attending uni-versities in Alabama and Arkansas, he signed upfor naval aviation training on May 28, 1938. Aftersuccessfully undergoing pilot training, he was as-signed to VS-41 on the USS Ranger as an Ensignin October 1939. In July 1941, he was reassigned toVF-42 on the USS Yorktown, on which he wouldserve until July 1942. Then, until June 1943, hetrained young Naval Aviators in the art of flying,floowing this up with a return to operational flyingas a unit commander, first with VF-6, and then,from March 1944, with VF-8. Both of these unitswere flying the Hellcat by then. During his com-bat career in the Second World War, he gained13.5 kills. He remained loyal to the Navy after thewar, not retiring until July 1965. He died of a he-art attack on June 15, 1997. With this Wildcat, heshot down a Zero in the Battle of the Coral Sea.The aircraft was camouflaged in the same way asthe Wildcat flown by Lt. Edward O’Hare, and eventhe markings were similar, with one differencebeing the application of large American markingson the fuselage and wings. An interesting facetto this aircraft was the original markings on thewings being visible under the new ones.Accessories used:644171 F4F-3 early LööK (Brassin)648766 F4F-3 exhausts PRINT (Brassin)648767 F4F-3 wheels early (Brassin)648769 F4F gun barrels PRINT (Brassin)648777 F4F-3 cockpit w/ reflectorgun sight PRINT (Brassin)Kat. č. 648766F4F-3 exhausts PRINT1/48 (Brassin)INFO Eduard85January 2023Page 86
1/48Spitfire Mk.Vb lateBUILTCat. No. 82156marking Bbuilt by Jan BaranecProduct pageKat. č. 644113Spitfire Mk. V LööK1/48 (Brassin)Kat. č. 648663Spitfire Mk.V cockpit1/48 (Brassin)Kat. č. 648668Spitfire Mk.V three-stacks exhausts fishtail1/48 (Brassin)Kat. č. 648664Spitfire Mk.V wheels1/48 (Brassin)INFO Eduard86January 2023Page 87
BUILTSpitfire Mk.Vb, AB276, F/Lt Václav Hájek, No. 313 (Czechoslovak) Squadron, RAF Hornchurch,Great Britain, January–June, 1942Spitfire Mk.Vb AB276 served operationally withNo.313 (Czechoslovak) Squadron from January13, 1942 to June 8 of the same year. It was mostoften flown by F/Lt Václav Hájek, who on April10, 1942 likely shot down a I./JG 26 Fw 190 southof Gravelines. Other pilots who flew missions inAB276 were Sgt. K. Pavlík, Sgt. F. Bönisch and P/OV. Michálek. No. 313 (Czechoslovak) SquadronSpitfires are known for their carrying Walt Disneycharacters through the first half of 1942, when theunit was a component of Hornchurch Wing. Theauthor of the artwork was Sgt. Karel Pavlík, whoput his talents as a graphic artist to good use andapplied the characters below the windscreen ofindividual aircraft according to the wishes of thepilots. The rendering of the kitten “Figaro” with theinscription “Mnoho Štěstí” (Best of Luck) is pro-bably the most recognized because of a photo-graph of it, in which Sgt. Pavlík is shown duringits creation. Its likeness also appears on a granitemonument near to where Sgt. Pavlík crashed, notfar from the town of Dranouter, Belgium.Accessories used:644113 Spitfire Mk. V LööK (Brassin)648663 Spitfire Mk.V cockpit (Brassin)648664 Spitfire Mk.V wheels (Brassin)648668 Spitfire Mk.V three-stacks exhausts fishtail (Brassin)INFO Eduard87January 2023Page 88
F-4B Phantom II1/48 Tamiyabuilt by Shane DoakAccessories used:EX803 F-4B TFace (mask)648682 F-4B wheels (Brassin)D48094 F-4B stencils (decal)648690 F-4B exhaust nozzles PRINTSIN64877 F-4B Air to Ground weapons648700 F-4B undercarriage legs BRONZE648709 F-4B ejection seat early PRINT648716 F-4B refueling probe PRINT648728 F-4B airbrakes PRINT648732 F-4B tail hook PRINT3DL48040 F-4B SPACED48093 F-4B NAVY (decal)648128 Mk.82 bombs w/ airbrake early (Brassin)648227 MER (Brassin)648232 TER (Brassin)BUILTINFO Eduard88January 2023Page 89
BUILTINFO Eduard89January 2023Page 90
BUILTINFO Eduard90January 2023Page 91
BUILTINFO Eduard91January 2023Page 92
built by Josef ChoreňPP--38J38JPP--38J38JAccessories used:648782 P-38J wheels (Brassin)648783 P-38J landing flaps PRINT (Brassin)648784 P-38J undercarriage legs BRONZE (Brassin)648790 P-38J nose gun bay PRINT (Brassin)648791 P-38J superchargers PRINT (Brassin)648812 P-38J cockpit PRINT (Brassin)ER48003 P-38J raised rivets and surface details (Eddie the Riveter)D48107 P-38J over Europe (Decal Set)EX884 P-38J TFace (Mask)Kat. č. D48107P-38J over Europe1/48 (Decal Set)Kat. č. 648790P-38J nose gun bay PRINT1/48 (Brassin)Kat. č. 648784P-38J undercarriage legs BRONZE1/48 (Brassin)Kat. č. 648782P-38J wheels1/48 (Brassin)Kat. č. 648791P-38J superchargers PRINT1/48 (Brassin)Kat. č. EX884P-38J TFace1/48 (Mask)BUILTINFO Eduard92January 2023Page 93
Kat. č. 648783P-38J landing flaps PRINT1/48 (Brassin)Kat. č. ER48003P-38J raised rivetsand surface details1/48 (Eddie the Riveter)Kat. č. 648784P-38J undercarriage legs BRONZE1/48 (Brassin)Kat. č. ER48003P-38J raised rivetsand surface details1/48 (Eddie the Riveter)Kat. č. D48107P-38J over Europe1/48 (Decal Set)Kat. č. 648812P-38J cockpit PRINT1/48 (Brassin)BUILTINFO Eduard93January 2023Page 94
Beaufort Mk.IICM kit 1/48built by Matthias BeckerAccessories used:481094 Beaufort Mk.I bomb bay (PE-Set)491318 Beaufort Mk.I (PE-Set)FE1319 Beaufort Mk.I seatbelts STEEL (PE-Set)3DL48094 Beaufort Mk.I SPACE (3D Decal Set)EX909 Beaufort Mk.I TFace (Mask)Kat. č. 481094Beaufort Mk.I bomb bay1/48 (PE-Set)Kat. č. 491318Beaufort Mk.I seatbelts STEEL1/48 (PE-Set)Kat. č. 3DL48094Beaufort Mk.I SPACE1/48 (3D Decal Set)BUILTINFO Eduard94January 2023Page 95
Kat. č. 491318Beaufort Mk.I1/48 (PE-Set)Kat. č. EX909Beaufort Mk.I TFace1/48 (Mask)BUILTINFO Eduard95January 2023Page 96
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HOuse of Phantoms DecalsOur new line of decals for Phantomiacs!Each decal contains a plethora of different markingoptions and stencils for two aircraft!Wetterkreuz 13, 91058 Erlangen, GermanyPhone: +49-9131-52828 / Office Hours: Tue + Thu 09:00 to 16:30 Hrswww.houseofphantoms.com / www.shopofphantoms.comcontact@shopofphantoms.comHo use of P hantoms, W etterkre uz 13, 9 105 8 Erlang enGe rmany – www.houseo fphantom s.comPrin ted i n It aly b yAll right s re serve d!© 20 22 Ho use of Ph antom sOve r 15 d iffe ren t m ark ing op tions,wi th stenci ls f or two ai rcraft !Ho PD 480031/48ScaleUSAFE phantoms PART 1Ramstein based F-4E of the 86thTFW and 26thTRWDes ign ed for Zou kei -Mu ra kits !DANGERARRESTING HOOKPrice: Euro 25,17*HoPD 48003USAFE Phantoms Part 1:Ramstein based F-4Es of the 26thTRW and 86thTFW.Over 15 different marking options,three of which are early hardwing” F-4Es with short gunmuzzle. Aircraft with standardSEA, SEA-wraparound and Euro 1camouflages included.Decal designed for the Zoukei-Murarange of F-4 kits, but can be usedon any other 1/48 scale F-4E modelkit with a bit of tweaking.Ho use of P hantoms, W etterkre uz 13, 9 105 8 Erlang enGe rmany – www.houseo fphantom s.comPrin ted i n It aly b yAll right s re serve d!© 20 22 Ho use of Ph antom sOve r 30 d iffe ren t m ark ing op tions,wi th stenci ls f or two ai rcraft !Ove r 30 d iffe ren t m ark ing op tions,wi th stenci ls f or two ai rcraft !Ho PD 480021/48ScaleLuftwaffe phantomsF-4F in Norm 81A /1B CamouflageDes ign ed for Zou kei -Mu ra kits !HoPD 48002Luftwaffe Phantoms:F-4F in Norm 81A/B Camouflages.This sheet features over 30marking options, including “sharkmouth” aircraft, “TAM” exercisemarkings, fancy colourful tails aswell as special nose art. All wingsincluded. Features stencils for twoPhantoms.Decal designed for the Zoukei-Murarange of F-4 kits, but can be usedon any other 1/48 scale F-4E/Fmodel kit with a bit of tweaking.Price: Euro 25,17** All prices excluding VAT andshipping costs, which will be addedduring checkout!Ho use of P hantoms, W etterkre uz 13, 9 105 8 Erlang enGe rmany – www.houseo fphantom s.comPrin ted i n It aly b yAll right s re serve d!© 20 19 Ho use of Ph antom s18 diffe ren t mark ing optio ns,wi th ste nci ls for tw o airc raf t!Ho PD 480011/48ScaleUSAF phantomsF-4Csand Candy Canes of the 58thTFTW at Luke AFBPrice: Euro 21,01*HoPD 48001USAF Phantoms:F-4C Candy Canes of the 58thTFTW at Luke AFB.Over 15 different marking options,including all of the striped ‘CandyCane’ high-viz aircraft, the 1976Bi-centennial aircraft as well asF-4C MiG-killers. Stencils for twoaircraft are provided.Decal designed for the Zoukei-Murarange of F-4 kits, but can be usedon any other 1/48 scale F-4C modelkit with a bit of tweaking.Page 98
ON APPROACHFEBRUARY 2023634030Bf 109G-4 LööK1/32 Revell644198Buccaneer S.2C/D LööK1/48 Airfix674002P-39Q LööK1/72 Arma Hobby632186Bf 109G-2 wheels1/32 RevellIG33147 F-35C 1/32 TrumpeterBIG49356 F4U-1A 1/48 Hobby BossBIG49357 F-35B 1/48 ItaleriBIG49358 Buccaneer S.2C/D 1/48 Airfix634030 Bf 109G-4 LööK 1/32 Revell644198 Buccaneer S.2C/D LööK 1/48 Airfix674002 P-39Q LööK 1/72 Arma Hobby632186 Bf 109G-2 wheels 1/32 Revell632187 Sopwith Camel seat PRINT 1/32 WNW/Academy635022 WWII German NOTEK rear lights PRINT 1/35648792 F4F-3 engine early PRINT 1/48 Eduard648823 Buccaneer S.2C/D ejection seats PRINT 1/48 Airfix648830 Beaufort Mk.I wheels 1/48 ICM648831 F-16 airbrakes PRINT 1/48 Kinetic648832 F-16C wheels early 1/48 Kinetic648833 F-16C wheels late 1/48 Kinetic648834 MB Mk.6 ejection seat upper handles PRINT 1/48653017 Balsa life raft PRINT 1/350672303 P-39Q wheels PRINT 1/72 Arma Hobby672304 P-39Q wheels w/rims PRINT 1/72 Arma Hobby672305 P-39Q exhaust stacks PRINT 1/72 Arma Hobby672306 P-39Q seat PRINT 1/72 Arma Hobby672307 P-39Q gun barrels PRINT 1/72 Arma Hobby644195 F-35B LööKplus 1/48 Italeri644196 Yak-9D LööKplus 1/48 ZvezdaSIN64899 P-38J ESSENTIAL 1/48 TamiyaBIG ED (February)BRASSIN (February)LöökPlus (February)BIGSIN (February)LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard and STEELseatbelts for Bf 109G-4 in 1/32 scale. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: RevellSet contains:- resin: 1 part- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noLööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboardand STEEL seatbelts for Buccaneer S.2C/D in 1/48scale. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: AirfixSet contains:- resin: 5 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noLööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard and STEELseatbelts for P-39Q in 1/72 scale. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: Arma HobbySet contains:- resin: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for Bf 109G-2in 1/32 scale. The set consists of the main wheels anda tailwheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: RevellSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yesINFO Eduard98January 2023Page 99
632187Sopwith Camel seat PRINT1/32 WNW/AcademyON APPROACHBrassin set - seat for Sopwith Camel in 1/32 scale.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: Wingnut Wings / AcademySet contains:- 3D print: 1 part- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes, pre-peinted- painting mask: no635022WWII German NOTEK rear lights PRINT1/35648792F4F-3 engine early PRINT1/48 EduardBrassin set - NOTEK rear lights for German WWII AFV in 1/35scale. The set consists of 3 types of NOTEK (6 pcs of each).Made by direct 3D printing.Set contains:- 3D print: 18 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noBrassin set - the engine for F4F-3 in 1/48 scale.The cowling are included. Made by direct 3Dprinting. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 29 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: noINFO Eduard99January 2023Page 100
ON APPROACHFEBRUARY 2023648823Buccaneer S.2C/D ejection seats PRINT1/48 Airfix648830Beaufort Mk.I wheels1/48 ICM648831F-16 airbrakes PRINT1/48 KineticBrassin set - the ejection seats for Buccaneer S.2C/Din 1/48 scale. The set consists of 2 seats. Made by direct3D printing. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: AirfixSet contains:- 3D print: 10 parts- decals: yes- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for Beaufort Mk.Iin 1/48 scale. The set consists of the main wheels anda tailwheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: ICMSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yesBrassin set - the airbrakes for F-16in 1/48 scale. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: KineticSet contains:- resin: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noINFO Eduard100January 2023Page 101
ON APPROACHFEBRUARY 2023648832F-16C wheels early1/48 Kinetic648833F-16C wheels late1/48 Kinetic648834MB Mk.6 ejection seat upper handles PRINT1/48Brassin set - the undercarriage wheelsfor F-16C in 1/48 scale. The set consistsof the main wheels and a nosewheel.Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: KineticSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yesBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for F-16Cin 1/48 scale. The set consists of the main wheelsand a nosewheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: KineticSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yesBrassin set - pre-painted upper handlesfor Martin Baker ejection seats in 1/48 scale.The set consists of the 5 handles.Made by direct 3D printing.Set contains:- 3D print: 5 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noINFO Eduard101January 2023Page 102
ON APPROACH653017Balsa life raft PRINT1/350672303P-39Q wheels PRINT1/72 Arma Hobby672304P-39Q wheels w/rims PRINT1/72 Arma HobbyBrassin set - balsa lifeboats in 1/350 scale.The set consists of 20 rafts. Made by direct 3D printing.Set contains:- 3D print: 20 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: noBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for P-39Q in1/72 scale. The set consists of the main wheels anda nose wheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plasticparts. Recommended kit: Arma HobbySet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yesBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for P-39Qin 1/72 scale. The set consists of the main wheelsand a nose wheel. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: Arma HobbySet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yesFEBRUARY 2023INFO Eduard102January 2023Page 103
ON APPROACH672305P-39Q exhaust stacks PRINT1/72 Arma Hobby672306P-39Q seat PRINT1/72 Arma Hobby672307P-39Q gun barrels PRINT1/72 Arma HobbyBrassin set - the exhaust stacks for P-39Qin 1/72 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: Arma HobbySet contains:- 3D print: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noBrassin set - seat for P-39Q in 1/72 scale. Made by direct3D printing. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: Arma HobbySet contains:- 3D print: 1 part- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noBrassin set - gun barrels for P-39Q in 1/72 scale.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: Arma HobbySet contains:- 3D print: 4 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noFEBRUARY 2023INFO Eduard103January 2023Page 104
ON APPROACH644195F-35B LööKplus1/48 ItaleriCollection of 3 sets for F-35B in 1/48 scale.Recommended kit: Italeri- LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboards & Steelbelts)- TFace painting mask- undercarriage wheels644196Yak-9D LööKplus1/48 ZvezdaCollection of 4 sets for Yak-9D in 1/48 scale.Recommended kit: Zvezda- LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboards & Steelbelts)- TFace painting mask- exhaust stacks- undercarriage wheelsFEBRUARY 2023INFO Eduard104January 2023Page 105
SIN64899P-38J ESSENTIAL1/48 TamiyaCollection of 3 sets for P-38J in 1/48 scale.Recommended kit: Tamiya- cockpit PRINT- wheels- undercarriage legs BRONZEAll sets included in this BIG SIN are available separately,but with every BIG SIN set you save up to 30 %.BRASSIN 02/2022BRASSIN 02/2022ON APPROACHFEBRUARY 2023INFO Eduard105January 2023Page 106
PE-SETS53290 USS Alaska CB-1 part 2 1/350 Hobby Boss36495 A34 Comet 1/35 Tamiya36496 Jagdpanther Ausf. G1 1/35 Academy36497 Jagdpanther Ausf. G1 schurzen 1/35 Academy481099 Anson Mk.I landing flaps 1/48 Airfix481100 Anson Mk.I bomb bays 1/48 Airfix491326 Anson Mk.I 1/48 Airfix491328 F-16C Block 25 1/48 Kinetic491329 F-16C Block 42 till 2005 1/48 Kinetic491330 F-16C Block 42 from 2006 1/48 Kinetic72727 Bf 110E 1/72 Eduard73791 Meteor F.8 1/72 Airfix73792 F6F-3 1/72 Eduard73793 F6F-5 1/72 EduardZOOMSFE1326 Anson Mk.I 1/48 AirfixFE1327 Anson Mk.I seatbelts STEEL 1/48 AirfixFE1328 F-16C Block 25 1/48 KineticFE1329 F-16C Block 42 till 2005 1/48 KineticFE1330 F-16C Block 42 from 2006 1/48 KineticFE1331 F-16C Block 25/42 seatbelts STEEL 1/48 KineticFE1332 F-35A 1/48 TamiyaFE1333 F-35A seatbelts STEEL 1/48 TamiyaSS791 Meteor F.8 1/72 AirfixMASKSEX919 F-16C Block 25/42 1/48 KineticEX920 F-16C Block 25/42 TFace 1/48 KineticEX921 F-35A 1/48 TamiyaEX922 F-35A TFace 1/48 TamiyaEX923 Spitfire Mk.VIII TFace 1/48 EduardEX924 F-35A RAM coating late 1/48 TamiyaCX642 Fw 190A-8/R2 1/72 EduardSPACE3DL32011 Tornado IDS SPACE 1/32 Italeri3DL48103 Anson Mk.I SPACE 1/48 Airfix3DL48104 F-16C Block 25 SPACE 1/48 Kinetic3DL48105 F-16C Block 42 till 2005 SPACE 1/48 Kinetic3DL48106 F-16C Block 42 from 2006 SPACE 1/48 Kinetic3DL72011 Meteor F.8 SPACE 1/72 Airfix3DL72012 P-39Q SPACE 1/72 Arma HobbyDECAL SETSD32020 Mosquito FB Mk.II stencils 1/32 TamiyaD32021 Mosquito B Mk.IV stencils 1/32 HKMD48109 Mosquito FB Mk.II stencils 1/48 TamiyaON APPROACHFEBRUARY 2023INFO Eduard106January 2023Page 107
ON APPROACHA6M3 Zero Type 22 #82214 1/48Lt. Cdr. Shirō Kawai, Kōkūtai 201,Rabaul air base, New Britain, September 1943Lt. Usaburō Suzuki, Kōkūtai 582,Buin airfield, Ballale Island, April 1943c/n 3257, Kōkūtai 252, Wake Island,November 1943Iwakuni Kōkūtai, Iwakuni airbase,Japan, 1944Kōkūtai 261 (Tora), Kagoshima airbase, Japan, 1944FEBRUARY 2023INFO Eduard107January 2023Page 108
ON APPROACHHIND E 1/48#11163Mi-24V, 7353, kpt. Tomáš Brom, npor. Hynčica, prap. Tisoň,221 Squadron, 22 Helicopter Base, Náměšť nad Oslavou,The Last Flight of the „Night Tiger“, May 27, 2015FEBRUARY 2023INFO Eduard108January 2023Page 109
ON APPROACHMi-24V, 0834, mjr. Bohuslav Dvořák, kpt. Jan Jiřík,pprap. Viliam Švacho, 2 Squadron, 11 Helicopter Regiment,Líně airfield, CIAF Hradec Králové, July 17, 1993Mi-24V, 0815, kpt. Rudolf Straka, npor. Martin Vaniš,kpt. Ondřej Pospíšil, 331 Attack Helicopter Squadron,33 Helicopter Base, Přerov, NATO Tiger Meet, Beja,Portugal, Jun 28 – July 9, 2002Mi-35, 3370, 221 Helicopter Squadron, 22 Helicopter Base,Náměšť nad Oslavou, RIAT Fairford, United Kingdom,July 14–16, 2015FEBRUARY 2023INFO Eduard109January 2023Page 110
ON APPROACHMi-24V 0786, mjr. Bohuslav Dvořák, kpt. Richard Plos,nrtm. Petr Vavrík, 2 Squadron, 11 Helicopter Regiment,Plzeň-Bory airfield, CSIAF Bratislava, Slovakia,September 5, 1992Mi-24V, 0837, pplk. Jaroslav Špaček, npor. Pavel Heřman,kpt. Radek Spáčil, 231 Attack Helicopter Squadron,23 Helicopter Base, Přerov, the last flight,route Přerov–Želátovice, December 12, 2005Mi-35, 3361, 221 Helicopter Squadron, 22 Helicopter Base,Náměšť nad Oslavou, NATO Tiger Meet, Cambrai-Épinoy,France, May 9–20, 2011Mi-24V, 0835, 331 Attack Helicopter Squadron,33 Helicopter Base, Přerov, March, 2002FEBRUARY 2023INFO Eduard110January 2023Page 111
MT775, S/Ldr Neville F. Duke,No. 145 Squadron, Loreto, Italy,July–September 19441Lt. Leland P. Molland, 308th FS,31st FG, Castel Volturno, Italy,December 1943–February 1944A58-602, W/Cdr Robert H. M. Gibbes,No. 80 Wing, Sattler airfield, Australia,December 1944–April 1945MT507, F/O Len A. Smith,No. 152 Squadron, Sinthe,Burma, March 1945Spitfire Mk.VIII #84154 1/48ON APPROACHFEBRUARY 2023INFO Eduard111January 2023Page 112
ON APPROACHFw 190A-8/R2 1/72#7467WNr. 681382, Hptm. Wilhelm Moritz,Stab IV./JG 3, Schongau, Germany,August 1944Hptm. Gerhard Schröder, CO of II.(Sturm)/JG 4,Welzow, Germany, September 1944WNr. 680747, Oblt. Hans Weik,CO of 10.(Sturm)/JG 3, Memmingen,Germany, June 1944Fw. Adalbert Koch, 6./JG 300, Löbnitz,Germany, fall 1944FEBRUARY 2023INFO Eduard112January 2023Page 113
ON APPROACHLt. Ernst Udet, Jasta 4,Beugneux-Cramoiselles Airfield,France, June 1918VzFlgMstr. Franz Mayer, MFJ III, Jabbeke,Belgium, September 1918Lt. Walter Blume, Jasta 9,Sissone, France, September 1918Lt. d. R. Kurt Monnington, Jasta 18,Montoy-Flanville, France, August 1918Uffz. Alfred Bäder, Jasta 65, Tichémont,France, November 1918Lt. d. R. Hans Besser, Jasta 12,Chéry-les-Pouilly, France, August 1918Fokker D.VII (OAW) #8136 1/48www.eduard.comD.VIIFFookkkkeerr DD..VVIIII ((OOAAWW))1/48Scale Plastic Model KitEduard - Model AccessoriesMírová 170435 21 ObrniceCzech Republic1/48PLASTIKOVÁ STAVEBNICEPRO POKROČILÉ MODELÁŘEplastové díly pro stavbu jednoho modeluobtisky pro 6 markingůfotoleptané díly a vyřezávané maskyVYROBENO V ČESKÉ REPUBLICESběratelská položka pro dospělé modelářeSCALE PLASTIC MODEL KITFOR ADVANCED MODELLERSplastic parts for one scale modeldecals for 6 marking optionsphoto etched parts & die cut masksMADE IN CZECH REPUBLICCollectible item for adult collectors only© Eduard-Model Accessories 202339,95Fokker D.VII Fokker D.VII (OAW)(OAW)8136itemScale Plastic Model Kitwww.eduard.com1/481/48scalescalescaleitem81368136item8136item1 48D.VII(OAW)FokkerD.VII(OAW)FokkerIII1?3242625362Fokker(OAW)Lt. Ernst Udet,Jasta 4,France,June 1918Lt. Walter Blume,Jasta 9,France,September 1918Uffz. Alfred Bäder,Jasta 65,France,November 1918VzFlgMstr.Franz Mayer,MFJ III, Belgium,September 1918Lt. d. R. KurtMonnington,Jasta 18,France,August 1918Lt. d. R. HansBesser,Jasta 12,France,August 1918FEBRUARY 2023INFO Eduard113January 2023Page 114
ON APPROACHBf 110ERe-release1/48 #82036./ZG 1, Russia, Summer 1942Lt. Felix-Maria Brandis, 1.(Z)/JG 77, Malmi, Finland, 1942Lt. Herbert Kutscha, 5./ZG 1, Soviet Union, 19424./NJG 1, St. Trond, France, February 19424./ZG 76, Sonderkommando Junck,Mosul Air Base, Iraq, May 1941FEBRUARY 2023INFO Eduard114January 2023Page 115
INSTEAD OF TEC, A FEW NOTESON TRIOBO.So here I am again. Not that I'm a gra-phomaniac, but we've had a colleague,Richard, fall ill, and it is his turn onthis month's Tail end Charlie. And sinceRichard is the person who pushed Triobofor the publication of the Info magazine,I'll add a few notes on this novelty at theend. The first is a reminder that today-'s issue will not be available in Triobountil Monday. The reason for this is thatthe current issue is still being publishedboth traditionally and in the new Trioboway, and there are a few adjustmentsto be made over the weekend to get itdone properly in the new system. Thanksagain to everyone for the commentssent in during the trial run in December.Based on them, we ended up makinga few minor tweaks that will hopefullybenefit the cause. One last note is thatall issues of the Info magazine up to June2010 are now available in Triobo as well.Unfortunately, the older ones cannot beflipped over there anymore.And that's really all for today. Once again,I wish you a prosperous new year. It pro-bably won't be that much better than thelast year, but it will bring changes. Forexample, here in the Czech Republic wewill certainly have a new president, andright now we still have a chance that hewill be more dignified and decent thanthe current one. Also, part of Eduard willmove to a new facility this year, and it isalready certain that it will have a moreefficient heating system than the currenthall. It sound promising, so the chancesof change for the better are clearly there.So I wish us all that we will have plenty ofreasons for good cheer this year!Vladimír ŠulcINFO Eduard115January 2023TECH
Instead of TEC, a few notes on Triobo.
So here I am again. Not that I'm a graphomaniac, but we've had a colleague, Richard, fall ill, and it is his turn on this month's Tail end Charlie. And since Richard is the person who pushed Triobo for the publication of the Info magazine, I'll add a few notes on this novelty at the end. The first is a reminder that today's issue will not be available in Triobo until Monday. The reason for this is that the current issue is still being published both traditionally and in the new Triobo way, and there are a few adjustments to be made over the weekend to get it done properly in the new system. Thanks again to everyone for the comments sent in during the trial run in December. Based on them, we ended up making a few minor tweaks that will hopefully benefit the cause. One last note is that all issues of the Info magazine up to June 2010 are now available in Triobo as well. Unfortunately, the older ones cannot be flipped over there anymore.
And that's really all for today. Once again, I wish you a prosperous new year. It probably won't be that much better than the last year, but it will bring changes. For example, here in the Czech Republic we will certainly have a new president, and right now we still have a chance that he will be more dignified and decent than the current one. Also, part of Eduard will move to a new facility this year, and it is already certain that it will have a more efficient heating system than the current hall. It sound promising, so the chances of change for the better are clearly there. So I wish us all that we will have plenty of reasons for good cheer this year!
Vladimír Šulc
Fast and low
Text: Richard Plos
Illustration: Adam Tooby
Cat. No. 7012
The sea surface runs just a few feet below the bomb bay of the Mitchell, whose nose's eight half-inch guns shake the entire aircraft in a long burst that nails the freighter's personnel to the deck. The lead-spewing Mitchell approaches the ship at over 250 mph, the bomb bay opens, the pilot lowers the altitude even more and judges the moment. The bomb must be dropped from such a height and at such a speed that when it hits the water surface it bounces in a skipping manner towards the ship. Now! The bomb is released, hits the surface and after the first bounce it flies just above the sea to the target. A second bounce follows, and then the bomb hits the hull. The explosion engulfs the middle of the ship in fire and smoke as a thunderous shadow sweep over it, making a sharp turn towards the shore. Another round of machine gun fire showers the damaged ship, and just seconds later another bomb, sent by the second Mitchell of the attacking pair, hits the hull. The ship's fate is sealed, and the sailors seek salvation in lifeboats. The cargo destined for the Japanese troops sinks inevitably to the bottom of the sea, and the other ships of the supply convoy, which are attacked by other Mitchells, "fare similarly". This scene was recreated by Adam Tooby on a boxart for the B-25J STRAFER kit. His dramatic painting faithfully depicts a situation typical of Mitchells' attacks on supply convoys.
Destroying ships by bombing proved to be a difficult task during the war. Conventional bombing encountered several problems, from heavy anti-aircraft fire to the difficulty of hitting slender maneuvering targets. Torpedo or dive bombers did not have sufficient range to operate from land bases in such a large operational areas, and there were not enough aircraft carriers to guard all the sea lanes through which supplies flowed to Japanese forces. So as early as 1942, 5th Air Force units under the command of General George C. Kenney began experimenting with what was called "Skip Bombing", i.e., bombing from very low altitudes using the bomb's bouncing off the water's surface. However, the standard B-25D had to be modified for this task. First, the aircraft needed to be equipped with as powerful forward-firing armament as possible to silence the anti-aircraft fire of the vessels. Since no bombardier was needed for this type of bombing, his entire “office” in the nose was used to install machine guns. The main work in this regard was done by Paul Irvin "Pappy" Gunn, a legendary figure whose life story we described in a three-part article in issues 10, 11 and 12/2022. A mechanic, designer and pilot in one, he created an improvised design with four machine guns in the bombardier's compartment, the other four machine guns being placed in housings on the lower part of the fuselage sides. With the Mitchells thus modified, often equipped with internal auxiliary tank as well to increase operational range, the pilots then set out for their targets. After the introduction of the B-25J version, a factory modification of the machine gun version was then created, which had up to 14 forward-firing machine guns.
Among the most prominent bomber groups that switched to this type of attacks, was the 345th Bombardment Group called "Air Apaches". The 499th BS, which adopted the nickname "Bats Outa Hell", was part of its lineup. During the 26 months that the 345th BG fought in the Pacific, its crews made 10,609 attacks and flew 58,562 combat hours. In all, they dropped 58,000 bombs weighing a total of 6,340 tons and expended over twelve and a half million rounds. All this resulted in the sinking of 260 enemy vessels, with 275 more damaged. In addition, the “Apaches” destroyed 260 Japanese aircraft on the ground and shot down another 107 in aerial combat. A Mitchell named Betty's Dream was assigned to this unit in June 1945 and completed 22 missions, during which she claimed two sunken vessels. On August 21, 1945, she then escorted a pair of white Japanese Betty bombers aboard which Japanese peace envoys were traveling to le Shima after the previous surrender in Manila. This aircraft was assignated to pilot 1/Lt Charles "Pop" Rice, Jr., the co-pilot was 2/Lt. Victor Tatelman. Today, the restored 45-8835 Mitchell flies in the "Betty's Dream" livery at the Texas Flying Legends Museum.
The black day of the Jagdgeschwader “Udet”
Text: Jan Bobek
Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz
Cat. No. 84186
Among the German fighter units that moved from the Eastern Front to Western Europe at the end of summer 1943 was II./JG 3 “Udet” under the command of Maj. Kurt Brändle. From the eastern battlefield, its Stab and three Staffeln returned with more than 2,100 kills to their credit. It suffered its heaviest losses during the Battle of Kursk and in the following weeks of July, losing 24 Messerschmitts Bf 109 in combat and 14 pilots killed, wounded or missing. After moving west in late August 1943, JG3 was supplemented with a large group of novices, but its core was still a strong group of experienced veterans. The transition to combat with American bombers and their fighter escorts was no easy task. Brändle’s unit scored more than thirty kills during September and October, but lost 22 pilots with 17 Bf 109s shot down, while another 20 were written off due to crashes. However, the worst was yet to come.On November 3, 1943, American heavy bombers made a raid on Wilhelmshafen, accompanied by one Fighter Group with P-38s and seven others armed with P-47s. Germans were only able to send 139 fighters due to bad weather. Brändle’s II./JG 3 took off from Schiphol and in a 30-minute battle with P-47s of 4th Fighter Group under the command of Lt. Col. Blakeslee claimed four victories. Two P-47s were lost and Brändle scored his 171st and 172nd victories in the process.However, the situation was reversed in the afternoon when Schiphol airfield was attacked by 64 B-26 Marauders. The first box of Marauders flew under the protection of Coltishall Wing and the second box was protected by Spitfires of the Canadian Digby Wing, commanded by W/Cdr Lloyd W. Chadburn. Brändle’s unit was ordered to make an emergency take-off at 15.40, but alarm came late as bombs began to fall on the airfield as the last of the 109s were taking-off. Brändle didn’t have time to organize his unit against the attacking formation. The fighter escort faced about fifteen 109s, which were scattered in flights of two to four fighters. Spitfires attacked them immediately.The first kill was recorded by F/O A. Bradshaw of No. 129 Sq at 15:56 over Zandvoort, on the coast. Canadian No. 416 Sqn. fought the 109s in a wild dogfight at 1,000 feet over the same town. At 16.00 one fighter was shot down by F/Lt D. E. Noonan over the town´s centre. His victim was apparently Fw. Walter Stienhans of 6./JG 3, whose machine crashed into the town and the pilot was killed. On the outskirts of Zandvoort one Bf 109 each were claimed by F/Lt R. D. Booth, F/O W. H. Jacobs and F/Lt A. H. Sager. Noonan and Sager together shot down one more. There was probably some overclaiming, because only Gefr. Hans Hahn, also of 6./JG 3, crashed on the outskirts of the town and perished. A member of this Staffel, Fw. Walter Stienhans, shot down Jacobs, who was last seen with black smoke coming from his Spitfire and did not survive. Over Schiphol one Bf 109 was shot down by S/Ldr M.G.L.M Donnet of No. 64 Sq. This may have been the machine that crashed at Hoofdorp and its pilot escaped unhurt. Two other Messerschmitts made emergency landings at Schiphol, one with combat damage, the other due to pilot error. Over the sea off Ijmuiden, W/C Chadburn hit another Bf 109, whose pilot bailed out. F/Lt John D. Mitchner of No. 402 Sq RCAF first pursued one fighter whose pilot bailed out before the Canadian could open fire. He then sent down another machine, burning, whose pilot also bailed out. This moment is captured by Piotr Forkasiewicz in the painting of this boxart story.Chadburn claimed another Bf 109, whose pilot also bailed out from burning machine. The final success was achieved by S/Ldr G. W. Northcott of No. 402 Sq RCAF, who hit a Bf 109 which caught fire and disintegrated. Northcott mistakenly thought his wingman's machine was on fire. However, his wingman flew unhurt through the explosion and lost contact with his leader. This situation was recreated by Piotr Forkasiewicz on the boxart of the previously released 1/48 scale kit Spitfire Mk. Vb late. The five victories listed above correspond to the three losses that occurred over the sea. Major Brändle, Lt. Horst Brock of 6./JG 3 and Uffz. Horst Kirschner of 4./JG 3 did not survive. The crushing defeat of II./JG 3 became one of the most successful actions in the history of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Among the German fighter units that moved from the Eastern Front to Western Europe at the end of summer 1943 was II./JG 3 “Udet” under the command of Maj. Kurt Brändle. From the eastern battlefield, its Stab and three Staffeln returned with more than 2,100 kills to their credit. It suffered its heaviest losses during the Battle of Kursk and in the following weeks of July, losing 24 Messerschmitts Bf 109 in combat and 14 pilots killed, wounded or missing.
After moving west in late August 1943, JG3 was supplemented with a large group of novices, but its core was still a strong group of experienced veterans. The transition to combat with American bombers and their fighter escorts was no easy task. Brändle’s unit scored more than thirty kills during September and October, but lost 22 pilots with 17 Bf 109s shot down, while another 20 were written off due to crashes. However, the worst was yet to come.
On November 3, 1943, American heavy bombers made a raid on Wilhelmshafen, accompanied by one Fighter Group with P-38s and seven others armed with P-47s. Germans were only able to send 139 fighters due to bad weather. Brändle’s II./JG 3 took off from Schiphol and in a 30-minute battle with P-47s of 4th Fighter Group under the command of Lt. Col. Blakeslee claimed four victories. Two P-47s were lost and Brändle scored his 171st and 172nd victories in the process.
However, the situation was reversed in the afternoon when Schiphol airfield was attacked by 64 B-26 Marauders. The first box of Marauders flew under the protection of Coltishall Wing and the second box was protected by Spitfires of the Canadian Digby Wing, commanded by W/Cdr Lloyd W. Chadburn. Brändle’s unit was ordered to make an emergency take-off at 15.40, but alarm came late as bombs began to fall on the airfield as the last of the 109s were taking-off. Brändle didn’t have time to organize his unit against the attacking formation. The fighter escort faced about fifteen 109s, which were scattered in flights of two to four fighters. Spitfires attacked them immediately.
The first kill was recorded by F/O A. Bradshaw of No. 129 Sq at 15:56 over Zandvoort, on the coast. Canadian No. 416 Sqn. fought the 109s in a wild dogfight at 1,000 feet over the same town. At 16.00 one fighter was shot down by F/Lt D. E. Noonan over the town´s centre. His victim was apparently Fw. Walter Stienhans of 6./JG 3, whose machine crashed into the town and the pilot was killed.
On the outskirts of Zandvoort one Bf 109 each were claimed by F/Lt R. D. Booth, F/O W. H. Jacobs and F/Lt A. H. Sager. Noonan and Sager together shot down one more. There was probably some overclaiming, because only Gefr. Hans Hahn, also of 6./JG 3, crashed on the outskirts of the town and perished. A member of this Staffel, Fw. Walter Stienhans, shot down Jacobs, who was last seen with black smoke coming from his Spitfire and did not survive.
Over Schiphol one Bf 109 was shot down by S/Ldr M.G.L.M Donnet of No. 64 Sq. This may have been the machine that crashed at Hoofdorp and its pilot escaped unhurt. Two other Messerschmitts made emergency landings at Schiphol, one with combat damage, the other due to pilot error.
Over the sea off Ijmuiden, W/C Chadburn hit another Bf 109, whose pilot bailed out. F/Lt John D. Mitchner of No. 402 Sq RCAF first pursued one fighter whose pilot bailed out before the Canadian could open fire. He then sent down another machine, burning, whose pilot also bailed out. This moment is captured by Piotr Forkasiewicz in the painting of this boxart story.
Chadburn claimed another Bf 109, whose pilot also bailed out from burning machine. The final success was achieved by S/Ldr G. W. Northcott of No. 402 Sq RCAF, who hit a Bf 109 which caught fire and disintegrated. Northcott mistakenly thought his wingman's machine was on fire. However, his wingman flew unhurt through the explosion and lost contact with his leader. This situation was recreated by Piotr Forkasiewicz on the boxart of the previously released 1/48 scale kit Spitfire Mk. Vb late. The five victories listed above correspond to the three losses that occurred over the sea. Major Brändle, Lt. Horst Brock of 6./JG 3 and Uffz. Horst Kirschner of 4./JG 3 did not survive. The crushing defeat of II./JG 3 became one of the most successful actions in the history of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
High sky collision
Text: Jan Bobek
Illustration: Adam Tooby
Cat. No. 8486
Canadian William Melville “Mel” Alexander was one of the most famous aces in the Royal Naval Air Service and the RAF. Of his 22 victories (23 are also given) he achieved a total of 10 during 1917 in the Sopwith Triplane N5487 “Black Prince” as a member of the Black Flight of No. 10 Naval Squadron. He also took part in the air battle of July 6, 1917, in which the commander of Jasta 11, Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen, was severely wounded.
When Alexander went on leave in mid-October, he had 12 victories to his credit, two of them already on Camels. On his return in late December, his unit was fully rearmed with Camels. Later Alexander would remember this type as an excellent aircraft, but tricky one. Anyway, if a pilot passed the first 10 to 15 flying hours unscathed, he usually had the plane firmly in his hands.
It was in Camel B6289 that Alexander achieved his first victory after returning from leave. It was marked with a white letter A, which placed it in the unit’s A Flight, and an individual color motif was painted on the wheel discs. The aircraft itself already had two victories to its credit, achieved in 1917 by Flt. Sub-Lieut. H. L. Nelson. It was later turned over to No. 9 Naval Squadron and crashed in June 1918.
When Alexander took off with B6289 from Teteghem, near Dunkirk, on January 23, 1918, at 14.05 he was part of the High Offensive Patrol of ten machines of No. 10 Naval Squadron. The formation headed over the front at 7,000 feet. Five minutes ahead of them, a formation of Camels from No. 3 Naval Squadron had taken off as well. Over the Houthulst forest, they came into combat with four DFWs escorted by three fighters of a new type. They managed to shoot down one of the two-seaters, but after the fight the English Flt. Sub-Lieut. Herbert S. J. E. Youens was missing. The German planes were apparently Pfalz scouts from Jasta 7, and Youens, who was captured, was then a guest at that unit's airfield at Aertryke. The commander of Jasta 7, who was Lt. d. R. Carl Degelow, claimed in his memoirs, after the war, that he had shot down Youens, but was not credited with the victory. However, this is probably a fabrication.
Victory over Youens was awarded to Lt. d. R. Gustav Wandelt from Jasta 36, at 15.45 near Staden. Then just five minutes later, also near Staden, Jasta 36 clashed with the Camels of Naval 10. The Naval pilots with their biplanes were just in the clouds chasing three two-seaters escorted by one fighter. These were soon joined by five Albatross from Jasta 36. Flt. Lieut. W. A. Curtis first hit a green-painted two-seater which broke up in mid-air, and then dove to pursue another two-seater with silver paint. Flt. Sub-Lieut. Nelson fired a burst at two Albatross in succession during the chase in the clouds, but to no avail. “Mel” Alexander chased one Albatros above the cloud layer and managed to hit it from below in the fuselage during a turn, the German went into a spin. Alexander followed his adversary through the clouds and lost contact when he had to focus on another enemy machine. He was credited with an “out of control” victory.
A painting by Adam Tooby shows just the moment in the opening stages of the battle, with Alexander flying close to an Albatros with blue paint on the nose, the identifying feature of the Jasta 36 machines.
This German fighter unit recorded in its diary that it was attacked by six Sopwiths. Wandelt was pursuing one Camel when suddenly his machine was hit in the engine and collided with another Camel. He did not survive the crash. The unfortunate pilot who collided with Wandelt’s Albatros was Canadian Flt. Sub-Lieut. Ross A. Blyth, who was also killed. Blyth’s colleagues did not see the collision, but both Alexander and Flt. Sub-Lieut. Manuel saw falling planes. The latter stated in his report that the machines fell together in a spin then hit the ground together. On the German side, both Wandelt’s victories and the circumstances of his death were witnessed by Lt. d. R. Heinrich Bongartz and Max Naujock. The wreckage of Blyth’s Camel was photographed by the Germans with a large group of soldiers, a common custom at the time. The picture is characteristic in that none of the onlookers look triumphant or cheerful. The 25-year-old Canadian aviator is buried today in Perth cemetery, near Leper (Ypres), Belgium. Wandelt’s final resting place is unknown.
In the clouds over the Channel
Text: Jan Bobek
Illustration by Petr Štěpánek
Cat. No. 7083
The German Navy found itself in a very disadvantageous situation in the second half of the 1941. The battleships Scharnhost and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen were anchored in Brest thus becoming the target of repeated RAF raids. The Germans did not want to risk the ships sailing around the west coast of Great Britain and Ireland on way to their home ports in Northern Europe, because there they could not provide air cover. There was the option of sailing through the Channel, but to some of the German Navy leadership such an idea seemed too risky. The last time a group of large warships had operated so close to British shores was in 1588, it was the Spanish Armada.
The Channel option prevailed under code name Cerberus. The action was to be carried out in poor weather to make it more difficult for the British to threaten the ships. The Germans began to clear mines in the route and started jamming of radio communication and radars.
The British knew of the impending evacuation thanks to the ULTRA intercepts. They also had information about the mine clearance. In early February 1942, they expected German ships to sail north any day. And so, they tried to place new naval mines along the anticipated route.
On the Luftwaffe side, the then General der Jagdlflieger, the legendary Oberst Adolf Galland, was given the task to organize air cover for the ships. He was also the author of its cover name for this air operation – Donnerkeil (Thunderbolt). He had 252 fighter aircraft at his disposal. The bulk of these were Bf 109s and Fw 190s from JG 1, JG 2 and JG 26. He was also given the operational part of the training unit Jagdfliegerschule 5 as well as Bf 110 night fighters from NJG 1 and NJG 3. Bombers from KG 2 also took part. The commanders of these units learned of the plan the day before, on 11 February 1942. In the evening, Brest was bombed by RAF planes and the task force did not set sail until 22:45. Coincidentally, neither British submarines nor patrolling radar aircraft picked it up. Scharnhost, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen set off accompanied by six destroyers, which were joined by other vessels, mostly torpedo boats, during the following day.
Galland led fighter operations from the headquarters of his former unit JG 26 in Audembert. Directly on board Scharnhorst was fighter pilot Oberst Max Ibel, former Kommodore of JG 27. He commanded fighter units within Luftflotte 3 (Jafü 3). But within this operation he served as Jafü Schiff and was tasked with coordinating with the fighter units. He took direct command at the end of the air battle.
During the night of 11-12 February, night fighter aircraft carried out routine activities which were not intended to draw attention to the ships. The first fighter escorts appeared over the task force at 08:50 (German time) near Cherbourg. Coincidentally, these were Bf 110 night fighters. They were involved mainly because of their experience of flying in poor weather conditions. Formations of fighters, numbering between ten and sixteen machines, were gradually launched over the task force during the day. Worse weather prevailed on the British side of the Channel, but some German fighters took off with visibility of 100 meters.
The British became suspicious at 11:00 (German time), and on radar they spotted a group of circling aircraft moving at about 20 to 25 knots. Two pairs of Spitfires independently detected the ships around 11:30. One of them broke radio silence and reported the vessels, which at the same time prepared the Germans for an air attack.
At a 13:15, the Germans came under inaccurate fire from the Dover batteries, which were firing in bad weather according to information from radar operators. Fifteen minutes later, six valiant Swordfish crews tried to release torpedoes, but all were shot down. The British lost a total of 42 aircraft out of 450 deployed in the afternoon attacks, and one destroyer and several escort vessels were also damaged. By nightfall the Germans had made 396 fighter sorties and 50 bomber sorties. They lost 22 machines. The only damage suffered by the escorted vessels was to Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, which ran into mines. On the RAF side, there were a number of shortcomings in communications and armament. The Germans managed to achieve a tactical victory, but it was de facto a strategic retreat in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Headhunters over Buna
Text: Jan Bobek
Illustration: Adam Tooby
Cat. No. 8092
The air war over New Guinea in 1942 is one of the best-known episodes of the Pacific War thanks to the memoirs of Saburō Sakai, who served with Tainan Kōkūtai until he was wounded on August 7, 1942, near Guadalcanal. Japanese naval aviators on New Guinea first used the Lae and Salamaua airfields. Buna was captured in July. After a few weeks, Type 32 Zeroes from the 2nd Kōkūtai and Tainan Kōkūtai began operating from there.
The Japanese were trying to fight their way to Port Moresby in southern New Guinea, to establish a base for an attack on Australia. In the air, the experienced invaders were initially faced by Australian pilots of Kittyhawks. These were gradually supplemented and replaced by American fighters with Airacobras, who quickly learned how to fight the Zeros. The forces thus began to balance out until finally the Japanese could not be sure of their superiority. Michael J. Claringbould describes the fights in this area in his well-researched publications.
One of the fresh American units to arrive on the battlefield was the 80th Fighter Squadron “Headhunters”, which was part of the 8th Fighter Group. From mid-May 1942 it had been preparing to fight near Brisbane, Australia. Unit moved to Port Moresby on 20 July under the command of 1/Lt Phil H. Greasley. Their frequent duties included escorting twin-engine bombers and attacking cargo vessels, mostly in the vicinity of Buna.
Greasley flew to Buna at the head of eight Airacobras on August 26, 1942. However, he soon had to return with another pilot due to technical difficulties. He handed over the lead to Bill Brown, who mistakenly headed east to Milne Bay. His wingman, Danny Roberts, eventually broke radio silence and alerted him to the error. Brown quickly corrected the course and the Americans arrived at Buna from an unexpected direction.
Two trios of Zeros were just taking off from the airfield. The first was led by Warrant Officer Kazu-o Tsunoda (9 victories) of the 2nd Kōkūtai and the second by Lt.(jg) Jōji Yamashita of Tainan Kōkūtai. They did not expect an American attack at all. Brown and Roberts hit the first trio. They killed PO1c Ki-ichi Iwase and PO3c Daizō Ihara. Tsunoda's machine “Q-102” received ten hits, he was able to open fire on the attackers, but after landing his aircraft was no longer repairable and was later captured by the Australians.
The second trio came under fire from Lieutenants Helveston and Roberts, they killed PO3c Kyoshi Nakano. His fellow PO2c Ichirōbei Yamazaki (14 victories) was wounded but helped Yamashita to score victory over one of the Airacobras. It may have been 2/Lt Rogers, who, thinking he was hit by flak, ditched off the coast with his damaged machine and was rescued by natives. The Americans claimed a total of seven victories, which, although inflated, did not detract from their clear victory over the seasoned IJN veterans.
Tainan Kōkūtai, with its main base in Rabaul, was fighting on two fronts at the time. The other one, more important, was on Guadalcanal. During that same 26 August, the well-known Lt.(jg) Jun-ichi Sasai (27 victories) led eight Zeroes on escort mission to the fateful island. However, along with two other pilots, he was killed in a dogfight with Marine Wildcats. His victor was probably the legendary Marion Carl.
But the bad news wasn't over yet. The very next day, August 27, an aviator from Tainan Kōkūtai was killed by an Airacobra pilot. On another mission from Buna, eight fighters from Tainan Kōkūtai took off under Yamashita's command to escort eight Val bombers from the 2nd Kōkūtai to Rabi airfield. The bombers dropped their loads and since there were no enemy fighters in sight, Yamashita unexpectedly authorized an attack on ground targets, including the tempting four-engine B-24. But two fliers, including Yamashita, were shot down by ground fire. One of them ditched near shore, and two of his colleagues were shot down as they tried to destroy his Zero to keep it from falling into enemy hands. They were surprised by Australian Kittyhawks from No. 75 Squadron RAAF, led by the famous Les Jackson. Two Vals fell victim to them too. Tainan Kōkūtai thus lost nine Zeros and ten pilots, including two Buntaichō officers, in two days. This elite unit had to be withdrawn from the battlefield after another two months of fierce fighting.
Bailing out over the jungle
Text: Jan Bobek
Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz
Cat. No. 82212
The duel between Japanese naval fighter Saburō Sakai and Wildcat pilot “Pug” Southerland, which took place on August 7, 1942, over Guadalcanal, is one of the most famous stories from the Pacific battles. Thanks to the books published about Sakai, as well as the interviews he gave after the war, his experiences during this encounter are fairly well known. For a depiction of this battle and his dramatic return to Rabaul in the Zero's cockpit, see the article on Saburō Sakai in the 06/2022 issue of INFO Eduard magazine.
James Julian “Pug” Southerland was born in 1911 in Norberth, Pennsylvania. He joined the Navy in 1930 and graduated from the Naval Academy six years later. He first served on the battleships Texas and New York but began flight training in 1939. He became a naval aviator in February 1940 and was assigned to VF-5. Two years later he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.
On this fateful 7 August, he took off from the deck of the USS Saratoga a total of three times. During the last sortie, he led a formation of four Wildcats that were part of the defence against a Japanese raid by G4M Betty bombers from the 4th Kōkūtai escorted by Zeros from Tainan Kōkūtai. The Japanese wanted to attack the transport vessels that were supporting the Guadalcanal landings. Southerland was the first to spot the bombers over their target in the intense cloud cover. He claimed to have shot down two Bettys, but all three of his wingmen were attacked by Zeros led by Shirō Kawai. Two were shot down and the third returned to the carrier with a badly damaged machine.
Southerland used up all of his ammunition in the attack on the Bettys, and his machine was slightly damaged by the Betty´s gunners. This made things very difficult for him when he was attacked by Zeros piloted by PO3c Ichirōbei Yamazaki, who broke away from Kawai's formation, and two of Sakai's wingmen, PO2c Enji Kakimoto and PO3c Kazushi “Popo” Utō.
Against the enemy's superior numbers, Southerland calmly fought a manoeuvre battle, getting into firing position several times, but unfortunately he was out of ammunition. He was quite protected from the effects of the Zeros' fire by the Wildcat's armor and sturdy construction. After Yamazaki broke away from the fruitless power play, Saburō Sakai flew in to help his wingmen, and the ensuing development is well known.
Piotr Forkasiewicz captured the final seconds of the Wildcat's flight in his painting. Southerland bailed out of the machine at a very low altitude and the machine exploded just before hitting the ground. The American pilot managed to open his parachute and landed on the ground. He was in shock, exhausted and had eleven wounds.
At dawn on 8 August, Southerland headed east towards Lunga Point, cautiously passing through several deserted villages. He then attempted to use a canoe, but it leaked so he continued on foot along the coast. At one of the next villages he met two native boys, one of whom was in contact with an Allied coastal watcher. Southerland was led to the village of Mamara and he could regain his strength there until dawn on 10 August. The locals were all very friendly, but they were understandably concerned about the fighting they had seen or heard in the past few days. Only the oldest man in the village was unfriendly and expressed himself in terms that he used to eat white men, but those days were gone.
On the morning of 10 August, three boys loaded Southerland into a canoe, managed to bypass the Japanese camp at the mouth of the Mantanikau River, and turned the Wildcat pilot over to a unit of U.S. Marines. On the way back, the canoe came under fire from the Japanese, sank, and the young natives fell into captivity. Fortunately, they managed to escape after a short time. Southerland departed Guadalcanal on 12 August aboard a Catalina, the first machine to land at Lunga airfield.
In April 1944, he was appointed commander of VF-83 on USS Essex and later served with VF-23 on USS Langley, becoming commander of CAG-23. With both units he flew Hellcats in 1945 and achieved three more victories. On October 12, 1949, while serving with VF-43, he was killed in a F4U-4 accident during takeoff from USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. The wreckage of his Wildcat was first examined by aviation researchers in the 1990s.
Markings B-25J Mitchell STRAFER 1/72
B-25J-30, 44-30934, 1/Lt Charles E. Rice, Jr., 449th BS, 345th BG, 5th AF, Kadena, Okinawa, July 1945
The most significant mission of the Mitchell named Betty’s Dream was escort of two white Betty bombers aboard which Japanese peace envoys traveled to le Shima on August 21, 1945, after the previous surrender in Manila. The aircraft was assigned to 1/Lt Charles “Pop” Rice, Jr. who later became the unit’s operations officer. The Betty’s Dream ship was only briefly with the 449th BS, having been assigned to the unit in June 1945. Due to that, it showed just a little sign of war wear and tear. The typical drawing of a bat on the nose referred to the unit’s name, Bats Outa’Hell. The famous Indian head was painted in its later form, which was the artwork of Cpl. Charles O. Metzel and was applied on the aircraft of the “Air Apaches” from March 1945.
B-25J-10, 43-28145, 71st BS, 38th BG, 5th AF, Lingayen, Philippines, 1945
The “Sunsetters”, as was the 38th Bombardment Group known, consisted of four squadrons, of which the 71st BS was nicknamed “Wolf Pack”. Tis aircraft is known in two marking states, as it originally sported smaller wolf head painted on the nose and no bombing mission marks under the cockpit. Later the wolf head was changed for bigger one and marks indicating 106 missions were added. Originally, the side gun packs were fitted, known photos of the later state of marking show they had been removed. The decals of this marking option refer to the early version. Unfortunately, not too much is known about this aircraft. There was nothing found about it in the squadron’s official records, as many mission reports do not specify the aircraft participating. There is also uncertainty about the color of the Estrallita inscription as well as of the wolf’s head, as it was usually painted either brown or dark gray. We tend to believe it was brown in this case. Regarding the Estrallita sign we offer green and red option to choose from…
B-25J-20, 44-29147, Lt. William J. Faucher, 396th BS, 41st BG, 7th AF, Kadena, Okinawa, July 1945
The 41st Bombardment Group moved from Hawai to Okinawa for the final part of the war in June 1945 and they were the first unit to use the Mitchells to attack the Japanese home soil since the famous Doolitle Raid in 1942. The mission No. 1-45 was flown by 15 aircraft which attacked the Chiran airfield on Kyushu Island. The 44-29147 did not participate but was flown on other occasions. The aircraft was assigned to Lt. “Bill” Faucher, who was usually in crew with Lt. F. E. Brown as co-pilot. The aircraft was one of those left in natural metal finish and sported the girl wearing blue bikini swimsuit on the port side of the nose. The painting was probably one of many within USAAF inspired by famous Alberto Vargas’ paintings.
B-25J-20, 44-29657, 1/Lt Thomas Cockrell, 100th BS, 42nd BG, 13th AF, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines, 1945
Activated on January 15, 1940, 42nd BG patrolled the west coast during 1942 and moved to the Pacific theater in March and April 1943. The Group named “Crusaders” was assigned to 13th AF and entered combat in June 1943, operating from bases in the Solomon Islands. In March 1945 the group moved to the Philippines and attacked shipping along the China coast, targets in French Indochina and bombed airfields and installations in the Philippines. They also supported ground operations on Mindanao and supported Australian forces on Borneo during May and June 1945. Early in 1945 fifth unit, 100th BS, previously known as 106th Reconnaisance Squadron, was incorporated into the Crusaders. This Mitchell was assigned to Lt. Thomas Cockrell, whose son Gordon later followed father’s footsteps as he served with US Army as a helicopter pilot. The colors of the noseart are not known, we tend to believe the blue colors of Crusaders’ shield and of the insignia were used. Red central circle is also possible, but the red circles were something unwanted on the aircraft fighting against Japanese…
B-25J-30, 44-31063, 498th BS, 345th BG, 5th AF, le Shima, Okinawa, Japan, July 1945
One of the most famous and colorful units in the Pacific, the “Air Apaches”, was constituted on September 3, 1942, as 345th Bombing Group (medium) and after activation they trained immediately with B-25s. Originally, they were to be deployed in UK, but Major General George C. Kenney had successfully pledged for more B-25 units to be assigned to his 5th Air Force. Thus, in April 1943, the Group moved to the Pacific Theatre and after arrival to Australia, their B-25Ds were field-modified to Strafer version according to the instructions set-up by famous “Pappy” Gunn, at the time already the Technical Officer of the 5th Air Force. The “Air Apaches” participated with these and later with B-25Js in no less than nine major campaigns. All four squadrons they consisted of had their distinctive markings and names, the 498th BS being known as “Falcons” with the stylized falcon head adorning the nose of each aircraft of the unit. The state of Darlin’ Donna portrayed here matches the appearance of the aircraft when it arrived at le Shima at the end of July 1945. It was not sporting the famous Indian head nor the white wingtips, applied at the time already. The leading edges of the tail surfaces and wing had irregular strikes of the green color darker than the original and worn Olive Drab.
Markings Spitfire Mk.Vb mid 1/48
BM211, F/Lt John D. Mitchner, No. 402 Squadron RCAF, RAF Merston, United Kingdom, September–November 1943
John Mitchener was born in Saskatoon, Canada in 1914 and before he joined RCAF in October 1940 he had worked for three years as a bookseller. In June 1941 he finished his basic pilot training and after that, in the middle of August, he was transferred to Britain. In the beginning of September, he was assigned to No. 263 Squadron equipped with Whirlwinds where he flew until June 1942. After his brief instructor’s stunt at No. 55 OTU in July he was assigned to No. 247 Squadron and next month to No. 116 Squadron. In November he was transferred to No. 402 Squadron where, in the beginning of 1943, he scored his first victory. In October he was decorated with DFC and in February 1944 he completed his tour of duty. After his return to Canada, he served at Tealing and in August 1944 returned to Europe where he was attached to No. 421 Squadron as a flight leader. In the end of September, he was transferred to No. 416 Squadron and in November he assumed command of the whole unit. In 1946 he returned to Canada and continued his service with RCAF. In 1953 he became commander of Sylvestre and Lac St. Debis air bases and in 1960 he retired due to the health issues. He passed away on December 8, 1964. During his wartime career John Davidson Mitchner scored 11 confirmed kills and three probables. He also damaged three enemy aircraft. At No. 402 Squadron John Mitchner regularly flew Spitfire LF Mk. Vb BM211 coded AE-J in the fall of 1943. On the fuselage starboard side, the aircraft carried his personal nose art of sunbathing Miss Jane, a character from the Daily Mirror magazine. This Spitfire featured the newer exhausts introduced as the standard with Mk.IX version. Majority of the No. 402 Squadron Spitfires Mk.Vb were equipped with these exhausts since they helped improve the aircraft performance.
BL594, W/Cdr Alexandr Gabszewicz, No. 2 Polish Wing, RAF Northolt, United Kingdom, February–May 1943
BL594 was delivered to No. 242 Squadron in April 1942 but in May it was damaged in an accident, consequently repaired, and delivered to No. 303 (Polish) Squadron, at that time operating out of the Kirton-in-Lindsey airfield.
It was coded RF-G and assigned to F/O Horbaczewski as his personal mount. In the beginning of February 1943 No. 303 Squadron was transferred to Heston but BL594 was left at Kirton-in-Lindsey airfield assigned to No. 2 Polish Wing commander Alexandr Gabszewicz as his personal mount. His new Spitfire was re-painted to No. 302 (Polish) Squadron standards including the unit insignia. Gabszewicz had his personal score, seven and half black crosses, painted on the drop tank port side including the name “Smarkata” (which refers to the very young age of his fiancée, Elizabeth Helen Bullimore). In the beginning of June, No. 302 (Polish) Squadron was transferred to No. 1 Polish Wing in Heston and BL594 was left with No. 308 (Polish) Squadron. It was rebuilt to LF Mk.Vb standard and in January 1944 assigned to No. 234 Squadron. On May 9, 1944, BL594 was shot down by flak near Berck-sur-Mer. Its pilot, F/O D. N. Greenhalghem, bailed out however did not survive.
BL384, F/Lt John A. A. Gibson, No. 457 Squadron RAAF, RAF Andreas, United Kingdom, December 1941
On December 11, 1941, Sptfire BL351 was assigned to the Australian No. 457 Squadron. Initially P/O Ken James was frequently at its controls. Later this pilot was credited with 2.5 kills. In February 1942, BL351 was assigned to F/Lt John Gibson, a New Zealander who in 1940 claimed 11.5 kills while flying Hurricanes with No. 501 Squadron. Gibson had his personal marking, Donald Duck, painted on his new Spitfire, including all his confirmed aerial victories, 13.5 of them at that time. In March 1942, BL351 was transferred to No. 452 Squadron and ultimately destroyed in a ground collision on May 8 of the same year.
BM309, 2/Lt Robert A. Boock, 335th FS, 4th FG, Debden, United Kingdom, February 1943
During WWII the 4th Fighter Group was a component of the 8th USAAF. The group operated out of Debden airbase which gave it a nickname Debden Eagles. Between September 1940 and July 1941 three Eagle Squadrons were formed out of the American volunteer pilots before the United States entered WWII in December 1941. These units operated under the RAF command until September 29, 1942, when they formed the 4th FG of the 8th USAAF. The No. 71, No. 121 and No. 133 Squadron RAF became 334th, 335th and 336th FG of the USAAF. During the last large scale engagement of the 4th FG on January 22, 1943 2/Lt. Robert A. Boock from 335th FS flying Spitfire Mk.Vb BM309 shot down a Fw 190 North-West of Dunkerque. His Spitfire carried an unofficial 4th FG insignia on the starboard side of the engine cowling.
Markings Sopwith F.1 Camel (Clerget) 1/48
B6289, W. M. Alexander, No. 10(N) Squadron RNAS, Téteghem, France, January 1918
Canadian William Melville Alexander was native from Toronto, and he was keen to learn to fly as soon as he turned out 18. As the Curtiss and Wright Brothers flying schools were at full capacity, he took a journey to Stinson school in San Antonio, Texas. There he got just 3,5 hours of training prior to his flying test. He succeeded and received Aero Club of America Certificate No. 447. In 1916, back in Canada, he was appointed a flight sub-lieutenant in the RNAS and after future training he was sent overseas to become member of No. 3 (Naval) Wing in France. There he was flying Sopwith 1½ Strutters. Four months later, his unit was disbanded, and Alexander was posted to the new No. 10 (N) Squadron to fly Sopwith Triplanes as a part of Raymond Collishaw’s “Black Flight”. He achieved his first victory on June 2, 1917, (shared) and he added seven more by the end of July. After the unit started to receive new Camels, Alexander achieved his first victory on this type on August 16. He was also still using Triplane for some time alongside Camel. On August 27 he was appointed an acting Flight Commander. Altogether he achieved 23 victories, most of them classified as Out of Control (OOC) which was also the case of the only victory achieved with Camel B6289. He did not continue military service after the war and died on October 4, 1988, in Canada.
E7232, No. 4 Flying School, Freiston, United Kingdom, 1918
This Camel was manufactured by Ruston Proctor & Co Ltd. In September 1918 and was posted to No. 4 Flying School in Freiston, where it got colorful painting of white and red colors. The upper side of the top wing obtained the motif of the rays of rising sun, while upper side of bottom wing got simple stripes of white and red color. The name Dimps was painted on the left side only probably. The site of the RNAS Freiston Shores was established in 1917 and served as a satellite base for air-weapon training for nearby RNAS Cranwell. Originally it was nothing more than a field on area of about 80 acres and was originally used for final two weeks of training of officers on the advanced flying course at RNAS Cranwell. However, its role was soon extended, and the airfield was expanded and hangars, accommodation blocks and a control tower were built. The airfield was originally known as the RNAS Gunnery School or Armament Training School and then became the School of Aerial Fighting and Bomb Dropping when the RNAS became amalgamated into the newly formed RAF in 1918. The name of the school than changed again to the No. 4 School of Aerial Fighting and Gunnery and was redesignated again as No. 4 Fighting School. The base was disbanded in March 1920.
D6402, Henry W. Woollett, No. 43 Sqn, Avesnes-le-Comte, France, April 1918
Henry Winslow Woollett was set to follow in the footsteps of his father, who was a doctor. Henry, medical student at the outbreak of WWI, was commissioned in the Linconshire Regiment in August 1914 and took part in the Suvla Bay landings in the Dardanelles. He was transferred to the RFC in 1916 and after training he joined No. 24 Squadron RFC in November. They were flying DH-2s in France, which were getting obsolete at the time. Woollett managed to shoot down one enemy flying this “bunch of wires”. After converting to DH-5s, he added for more. In August 1917 Woollett returned to England, became Flight Commander. Back to France in March 1918, he joined No. 43 Squadron with Camels. As a leader of the C Flight, he brought his score to 35 by early August. Of these victims 11 were balloons. His specialty in fighting these heavily defended targets, was the reason behind the adoption of irregular fields of very light color over the upper wing and rudder. This was to mimic the appearance of more colorful German aircraft. This additional camouflage lasted only for a couple of days before being ordered to be painted out. Some sources state white color of these fields, but on the existing photo they look somewhat darker and might be of very light blue as well. This is up to every modeler to choose.
B5406, Lt. Sadhar H. Malik, No. 28 Squadron RFC, Droglant, France, October 1917
Sadhar Hardit Malik became the first Indian to fly as a pilot with the RFC in the WWI. He travelled to England from Punjab at the age of 14 to attend preparation school and college studies at Balliol College. After his graduation in 1915 he applied to join the RFC but was denied. He then served with the French Red Cross in 1916 as an ambulance driver and still determined to fly he applied to join the Aéronautique Militaire in 1916. When his Oxfortd tutor Francis Urquhart learned about it, he considered it scandalous and wrote to head of the RFC General Henderson. The intercession paid off and Malik was accepted as an air cadet. On April 6, 1917, he received a temporary commission as a second Lieutenant in the RFC and was trained as a pilot. His first assignment was with No. 26 Sqn from July 13, 1917. As an observant Sikh, he wore a turban instead of a helmet, later covered by specially designed flying helmet. Malik was transferred to No. 28 Sqn in 1917 and managed to score his first victory on October 18. Just eight days later he scored another kill but was wounded in his right leg. He was set to get back to the action after convalescence, but he was diagnosed as having an allergy to the Sopwith Camel’s castor oil lubricant. Due to that he spent rest of the war flying Bristol F.2b Fighters and returned to India after the end of the hostilities to serve in the Indian Civil Service. He was very successful and held several trade and diplomatic posts, namely as Indian Ambassador to France. He died on October 31, 1985.
Markings Bf 110E 1/72
4./NJG 1, St. Trond, Belgium, February 1942
NJG 1 was the oldest night fighter Luftwaffe unit and was founded by the legendary Oberst Wolfgang Falck. At the beginning of 1942, the unit’s II. Gruppe was led by Major Walter Ehle, who kept the commanding position for over next three years. In 1942, the well-known night fighter Wilhelm Herget, for example, also served within the ranks of 4. Staffel II./NJG 1. This “G9+JM” is interesting not only for the shark mouth marking, but also for the temporary application of a “naval” RLM 72 green on the upper surfaces, as this plane took part in patrol flights for Operation Donnerkeil. A quick identification mark came in the form of a yellow fuselage band. During the operation, the Germans managed to navigate the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau as well as the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen through the English Channel from Brest (Bretagne, France) to northern Germany. The Luftwaffe, between February 11 and 13, 1942, ensured uninterrupted patrols over the formation. II./NJG 1 and II./NJG 3 were tasked with cover duty during twilight and overnight hours. On the second day of operations, elements of both night fighter units relocated to Lister airbase in Norway, from which the last segment of the fleet’s cruise was covered. The unit’s detachment stayed in Norway through to the end of February. All air to air victories during Operation Donnerkeil were achieved by day fighters of the Luftwaffe.
Lt. Herbert Kutscha, 5./ZG 1, Soviet Union, 1942
Herbert Kutscha ((*1917 †2003) served with II./JG 77 at the beginning of the war, but he was soon transferred to 5./ZG 1 equipped with Messerschmitts Bf 110. During the Battle of France, he shot down a number of aircraft, including a Bf 109 of the air force of neutral Switzerland. Later, he also gained much success on the Eastern Front as a ground attack pilot, partially due to II./ZG 1 transformation into II./SKG 210. Kutscha’s II.Gruppe, under the command of Hptm. Rolf Kaldrack, was specialized in ground attack operations, especially in low level bombing. The Bf 110 was able to move faster over the enemy territory than other bombers. Here is where the term “fast bombardment wing” (SKG; Schnellkampfgeschwader) was coined. Kutscha was awarded the Knight’s Cross after his 22nd victory. At that time there were 41 aircraft destroyed on the ground, 41 tanks, 15 locomotives, 11 anti-aircraft guns and 157 transport vehicles added to his tally. In June 1943 he took command of 15. Staffel JG 3 “Udet”, utilizing single engine fighters. In the summer of 1944, he took control of II./JG 3 in Normandy and by the end of the year he changed the unit to lead II./JG 27. From February 1945 he commanded III./JG 1 on the Eastern Front. All in all, he flew over 900 sorties and achieved 47 kills, six of which were four engine heavy bombers and 22 of his kills he achieved behind controls of Bf 110. German Geschwader was much bigger unit than RAF or USAAF Squadron. In fact, it was corresponding to USAAF Wing, while Gruppe was equal to USAAF Group and Staffel was similar unit as the USAAF squadron.
Lt. Felix-Maria Brandis, 1.(Z)/JG 77, Malmi, Finland, 1942
One of the aircraft of 1.(Z)/JG 77 commander Lt. Felix-Maria Brandis while stationed on the Eastern Front. His credit count tallied 14 victories of which five victims were British (including a pair of Fairey Albacores) and nine Soviet aircraft. Lt. Brandis died on February 2, 1942, when flying Bf 110E-2 (WNr. 2546) LN+AR at Olang. He crashed on the return leg of a combat sortie in bad weather conditions. By that time, his unit had been re-designated 6.(Z)/JG 5 (January 25, 1942). The designation of the unit progressively changed from 1.(Z)/JG 77 to 6.(Z)/JG 5, 10.(Z)/JG 5 and 13.(Z)/JG 5. On the nose of the aircraft, there was the emblem of a dachshund with a Rata (Polikarpov I-16) in its mouth. It was a typical marking of this unit, as a number of these dogs were mascots of the “Dackelstaffel” through its existence, irrespective of the unit designation carried at any particular time. Some sources even say each crew had their own dog. The wiener dogs even occasionally flew on combat missions with the crew. The unit opposed British aircraft as well as Soviet ones in northern Europe. This aircraft, flown by Lt. Harry Kripphal, fell a victim of anti-aircraft fire 30 km west of Murmansk on June 18, 1942.
WNr. 4035, Sonderkommando Junck, Mosul Air Base, Iraq, May 1941
After the outbreak of the Anglo-Iraqi War, which lasted from April 18 to May 30, 1941, the Italians and Germans gave their military support to the Iraqis. The Luftwaffe opposed the RAF with the unit named Sonderkommando Junck, which had Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters, Heinkel He 111 bombers, and Junkers Ju 52 transport planes in its inventory. The unit was commanded by Oberst Werner Junck, who, during the course of the First World War with Jasta 8, gained five aerial victories. Between the wars, he was a well-known sport pilot. The Messerschmitts Bf 110 carried Iraqi national insignia but were manned by German crews. In fact, the aircraft in question came from ZG 76 and ZG 26. The only unit’s victory during this episode was achieved on May 20, 1941 by Lt. Martin Drewes (a future night fighter ace) of II./ZG 76, when he shot down a Gloster Gladiator flown by Sgt. Smith of A Squadron of Habbaniya Strike Force over Fallujah. Messerschmitt Bf 110E WNr. 4035 was found by the British after a forced landing. It was repaired in September 1941 and christened “Belle of Berlin”. Later it was flown to Egypt to No. 267 Squadron. The aircraft was written off after a forced landing enroute to South Africa.
6./ZG 1, Russia, Summer 1942
The wasp emblem (Wespe) was designed in the autumn of 1939 by Lt. Richard Malchfelder, a technical officer of one of the Zerstörergruppe (II./ZG 1). It was originally composed of three small wasps, and was utilized by the same Gruppe of heavy fighters that went through several designation changes (including II./SKG 210) and, finally, in early 1942, ended up as II./ZG 1. Soon, other Gruppe of Zerstörergeschwader 1 came to use the wasp emblem and their Geschwader carried the operational name of “Wespen”. This aircraft sported the RLM 74/75/76 camouflage pattern.
Markings P-400 1/48
80th FS, 8th FG, Port Moresby, New Guinea, Autumn 1942
On August 26, 1942, the formation of Airacobras of 80th FS managed to ambush Japanese Zeros taking off from the Buna airbase and shoot down six of them during two attacks with two more claimed as damaged. The interesting fact is, that it all happened due to the “lucky” navigational error. Owing to the minimal activity of the Japanese air forces over New Guinea during the second half of 1942, these were the only kills credited to 80th FS in the course of 1942. George T. Helveston and Gerald T. Rogers claimed one Zero each, so it is therefore highly probable that Airacobra carrying Y letter code and kill marking belonged to one of these airmen. Black painted propeller spinner and vertical tail surface are very unusual and not documented on any other Airacobra operating over New Guinea. The aircraft also featured replacement rudder.
AP356, Lt. Edward J. Kurt, 35th FS, 8th FG, Milne Bay, New Guinea, 1942–1943
Airacobra named “Earthquake McGoon” was personal aircraft of Lt. Edward J. Kurt and flew with 35th FS from Gurney Field built on the Eastern peninsula of New Guinea island during 1942/43.
Lt. Kurt joined the squadron in August 1942 after he received his transfer orders at 15th FG based on Hawaiian Islands. His Airacobra sports the standard British camouflage scheme, however with many repair patches on the surface. There is a color touch up with darker grey paint on the aircraft nose lower part and patches in distinctly darker green color are visible on the fuselage. Another curiosity is the cockpit door salvaged from the Airacobra belonging to the sister 36th FS commander, Maj. McNay, who left the position in October 1942. The artwork adorning the left door was painted over during the aircraft service life and in the pictures taken on Gurney Field it only the white circle is apparent. Blue painted propeller spinner and top of the vertical tail surface indicate that this Airacobra originated from 39th FS inventory. A single bomber kill marking on the starboard side of the fuselage was probably achieved by another pilot of the same unit since Lt. Kurt did not claim any victory while serving with 35th FS.
67th FS, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, November 1942
P-400 listed in the squadron records as “Old 13” was one of few original Airacobras delivered to 67th FS in the spring of 1942 and still serving on Guadalcanal in the beginning of 1943. Rudimentary conditions of the remote Pacific airbases and lack of the spare parts forced the ground personnel into many improvisations. Textbook example is the story of the “Old 13” Airacobra which already crash-landed during her service on New Caledonia and her wreck was cannibalized for the spare parts. 67th FS heavy losses after its transfer to Guadalcanal and the critical lack of the aircraft on the island caused the abandoned Airacobra wreck to be restored to the airworthy condition after a complex repair. The aircraft received a new wing and also a number of many fuselage panels and hatches had to be replaced. According to the surviving repair record the replacement parts were painted in Olive Drab/Neutral Grey colors and therefore the Airacobra sported the unique display of the British and American camouflage shades. Furthermore, the more powerful engine was installed, and the damaged propeller blade was replaced by another one balanced by pouring the melted plumb into its tip. The instrument panel was furnished with the essential gauges only, there were only holes after the rest of the instruments. This repaired Airacobra was christened “The Resurrection” and this inscription was painted on both sides of the fuselage. Unfortunately, no photographic evidence exists so the inscription appearance is based on another 67th FS airplane.
BX163, 80th FS, 8th FG, Port Moresby, New Guinea, December 1942
Airacobra BX163 served originally with 39th FS where she received the marking in the form of the numeral 18 and blue painted propeller spinner as well as the top of the vertical tail surface.
The inscription “Helen” painted on the port side of the aircraft nose originated from the service with 39th FS as well. At 80th FS the typical shark mouth and yellow letter V were added. The camouflage in Olive Drab and Neutral Gray colors was applied before the plane’s dispatch to the combat unit, same as with many other P-400s delivered to the Southwest Pacific area in the spring of 1942. On December 24, 1942, the Airacobra BX163 was damaged during the emergency landing at Kila Drome, one of many aerodromes built in the vicinity of Port Moresby for its protection.
Lt. Eugene A. Wahl, 39th FS, 35th FG, Port Moresby New Guinea, Summer 1942
One of the best known Airacobras was named “Wahl’s Eye/Pat” and participated in the fiercest air combats during the defense of Port Moresby. Its teethed mouth reminded more of the jaws of the deep-sea living fish than usual shark mouth. The blue propeller spinner and top of the vertical tail surface as well as the white number on it were a standard 39th FS marking. The airplane was flown by Lt. Eugene Wahl who was, together with several other 35th FG pilots, assigned for traineeship with 8th FG on New Guinea during the middle of May. On May 26 he claimed a victory over a Zero. Luck did not abandon him on June 9 when, after combat with Zeros from the famous Tainan Kōkūtai, he had to perform the emergency landing. However, after several days of hiking through the jungle he was able to rejoin his unit. Here he flew sorties until the end of June when the 39th FS was withdrawn to Australia to reorganize and re-equip with the more powerful P-38 Lightning fighters.
Markings A6M2 Zero Type 21 1/48
c/n 5379, PO1c Tsuguo Matsuyama, Hiryū Fighter Squadron, aircraft carrier Hiryū, December 7, 1941
During second attack against Hawaii the Hiryū aircraft carrier sent nine Zeros under the command of Lt. Sumio Nōno. His pilots attacked Kaneohe and Bellows bases, claiming two destroyed aircraft and one car. Third Shōtai was led by PO1c Matsuyama, who shot down in coopeartion with his wingman P-40s piloted by 2nd Lieutenants George Whiteman and Samuel Bishop of the 44th Pursuit Squadron. Matsuyama had combat missions with the 13th Kōkūtai in China on his account already. On February 25, 1938, as wingman of the legendary Sadaaki Akamatsu, he participated in shooting down four aircraft. During the raids on Ceylon on April 9, 1942, Matsuyama's shōtai shot down a Blenheim Mk.IV, probably of S/Ldr Kenneth Ault´s crew, who was leading formation of No. 11 Squadron RAF in an attack on Japanese ships. Matsuyama later served on the aircraft carrier Hiyō and was killed on April 7, 1943 in combat with the Wildcats off Guadalcanal. The airplane BII-124 was shot down on February 19, 1942 during the raid on Darwin. After being hit by anti-aircraft fire, Seaman 1st class Hajime Toyoshima landed on Melville Island and was captured by Aboriginal Matthias Ulungura. Toyoshima was the first captured Zero pilot and used alias "Tadao Minami". He became one of the organizers of the largest prisoner escape in World War II. On August 5, 1944 at Cowra POW Camp he gave signal to escape. Total of 1,104 POWs attempted to espace, 231 were killed and four Australians lost their lives as well. Toyoshima was mortally wounded, so he lighted a cigarette and committed suicide.
PO1c Saburō Sakai, Tainan Kōkūtai, Lakunai airfield, Rabaul, New Britain island, August 1942
Saburō Sakai is best known Japanese fighter pilot, thanks to his memoirs and meetings with Allied airmen after World War II. He was born in 1916 and served from September 1938 with the 12th Kōkūtai in China. In October 1941, he was assigned to the newly organized Tainan Kōkūtai in Taiwan and took part in campaign heading South until he was wounded on August 7, 1942 off Guadalcanal. After recovering, he served as an instructor with Ōmura Kōkūtai, and later, despite bad eyesight, was combat deployed with Yokosuka Kōkūtai on Iwo Jima. At the end of war he served with Kōkūtai 343 (II) and Yokosuka Kōkūtai. He is listed as an ace with 64 victories, but Sakai himself claimed the number of his victories was lower. With the first two units he actually achieved 12 individual victories, 8 shared and 4 probables. The V-128 was also flown by PO2c Arita and PO1c Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, who is credited with 87 victories. The color of the stripes is chosen from Sakai's recollection, but there are other interpretations, such as a black or yellow stripe on the fuselage. During a fighter escort to Guadalcanal on August 7, Sakai shot down Wildcat “F12” from VF-5 piloted by "Pug" Southerland in an epic dogfight. Sakai was later severely wounded in the face by fire from VB-6 Dauntless near Tulagi Island. After nearly five hours and more than 1,000 km, he managed to land back at Rabaul. Sakai died in 2000 after formal dinner with members of the US Navy.
PO2c Kōtarō Koyae, Zuihō Fighter Squadron, Rabaul, New Britain island, April 1943
Petty Officer 2nd Class Koyae was born in 1923 in Miyazaki Prefecture and completed his flight training in November 1942. He was than assigned to the fighter unit of the aircraft carrier Zuihō in March 1943. In April, the unit moved to Rabaul and Koyae flew the aircraft during Operation I-gō. In this period, green paint was applied to Zeros in field conditions. It was usually painted by hand, the edges of the green fields being softened with thinner sometimes. However, according to the unit log, Koyae did not fly combat sorties in April 1943. In fact he did not encounter the enemy until November 1943 over Rabaul. During the same month he was transferred to Kōkūtai 253 at Rabaul and by early 1944 he was undergoing intense fighting. Upon his return to Japan, he was assigned to the Ōmura Kōkūtai. While on leave, on February 17, 1944, he spotted a Japanese bomber circling in the rain at night over the village of Goda, Miyazaki Prefecture. Koyae, with the help of the villagers, established a navigation signal and after some time he managed to guide the crew to right heading. For this achievment he received a written commendation from commander of Ōmura Kōkūtai. In July 1944, Koyae was assigned to Hikōtai 701 and fought in the defense of the Philippines. After returning to Japan, he was assigned to Hikōtai 701 (II) and served with Ōmura Kōkūtai at the end of the war. After the war he worked as a fireman and published his memories. According to the local press, he achieved 20 victories, but these may be victories achieved by fighter formations in which he took part.
Lt. Kunio Kanzaki, CO of Hikōtai 311 of Kōkūtai 381, Kendari airfield, Celebes island, May 1944
Kōkūtai 381 was established in October 1943 at Kendari Base on the island of Celebes. It was a mixed Kōkūtai with 48 fighter-bombers (Hikōtai 602), 24 night fighters (Hikōtai 902) and 48 fighter aircraft in Hikōtai 311, the latter commanded by Lt. Kanzaki. During the 1944 he operated from bases on islands in Indonesia and the Philippines. Their most frequent opponents were U.S. Army aircraft. Kanzaki's unit used special phosphorus anti-aircraft bombs to attack enemy bombers. Kanzaki's aircraft, manufactured by the Nakajima company, has been reconstructed in the past with various color markings. It is assumed that the vertical tail surfaces and part of the upper wing surfaces were painted the same color like lower surfaces. The front part of the engine may also have been painted grey or yellow. It is not entirely clear from the photograph of the aircraft whether the white stripes on the lower fuselage are joined. It may have been designed to improve the mutual identification of Army and Navy aircraft when fighting Allied fighters. Another reason for this camouflage may have been for easier identification during night fighter flights. For example, Lt. Kanzaki and his wingman shot down a B-24 of the 380th BG over Balikpapan on the night of January 12-13, 1944. Some aircraft of Kōkūtai 331 were also painted in the same upper and tailplane camouflage. Both units operated in one tactical group during part of 1944.
Lt. Nobuo Miyatake, Kamikaze Tokubetsu Kōgekitai, 1. Shichisei-tai, Kanoya airbase, Japan, April 1944
From the April 3, 1945 a total of eight special attack units with the battle name “Shichisei” were organized from the airmen serving in Genzan Kōkūtai (II) and Hikōtai 306 (part of Kōkūtai 721). Lt. Miyatake, who was 24 years old at the time, led the 1st Shichisei-tai in an attack on a convoy off Okinawa on April 6, 1945. During that day, eleven other airmen from Genzan Kōkūtai (II) sacrificed their lives along with him. They took off successively in four formations. Their formation was part of the 524 aircraft of special attack units and escort fighters from IJN and IJA sent against Allied vessels off Okinawa as part of Operation Kikusui I. The U.S. Navy lost destroyers USS Bush and Colhoun and other ships were severely damaged. “Shichisei” units were sent against ships off Okinawa, Yoronjima, Kikai, and Tanegashima islands in several missions till May 14. Only one of them returned to base due to bad weather. Lt. Miyatake was born in Kagawa Prefecture and graduated from the Etajima Naval Academy in 1942. Before the mission, he wrote farewell letters to his mother and three sisters. His father was interned in Siberia at the time. Nobuo Miyatake was posthumously promoted to the rank of Commander. His aircraft from Nakajima production is designated “Ke-113”.
Editorial
Dear Friends and Fellow Modellers,
Welcome to the first newsletter of 2023. The January issue traditionally introduces our planned projects for the year. This year will be no different, so we’ll waste no time and get right down to the nitty gritty. We’ll start off with January, new releases for which are already available from our e-shop and have been since last week.
New Kits for January
For the second time in a row, a new release within the ProfiPACK line untraditionally draws on plastic from an external source. Such sources are generally used by us in releasing kits in our Limited Edition line, but there have been some exceptions in the past. In December, we released a 1:72nd scale Bf 109E-3 with the plastic coming from Special Hobby, and last year in February, the ProfiPACK line saw a Hurricane Mk.I that hailed from the Polish firm Arma Hobby. This time around, again in 1:72nd, we have a B-25J based around the Hasegawa molds, along the same lines as September’s Limited Edition ‘Gunn’s Bunny’. I expect this ProfiPACK B-25J Straffer, a B-25J with the metal plated gunned nose, will be just as popular as Gunn’s Bunny, not just because of an attractive assortment of accessory items, but also because the marking options include items that simply could not be included in Gunn’s Bunny due to space limitations. That felt like a crime. But the development of this item was not to just create the opportunity to rectify said crime. It was more of a response to the slowing of the market brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The market slowing was a reaction to this idiotic war. Between April and September of last year, it dropped our sales by some twenty percent, and we reacted by reducing the number of editions of some of our kits, notably in the Limited Edition line. That gave us a surplus of B-25J plastic, that was then diverted to this January release.
Coincidentally, we have another 72nd scale twin coming out this month, the Bf 110E. It is a repop of the original ProfiPACK, and signals a continuation of the return of the Bf 110 family to our catalog. January has a total of three such re-editions, and besides the aforementioned Bf 110E, we have our tried and tested P-400 Airacobra in 1:48th, and the recently sold out A6M2 Zero Model 21.
Besides the four ProfiPACKS, we have a couple of new Weekend kits, the Sopwith Camel with a Clerget engine and the Spitfire Mk.Vb. The Mk.Vb is an extremely complicated type, featuring a host of consecutive manufacturing modifications. The subtype being released this month can be considered, albeit as a bit of an oversimplification, a mid production version, characterized by an armored windscreen and a newer wing with asymmetrical kidney shaped cannon fairings under the wings.
New Kits for February
Coming in February is the 48th scale Limited Edition kit of the Hind-E. The kit will feature Zvezda’s plastic and eight marking options. Besides masks and coloured photoetched, accessories will include Brassin wheels, chaff/flare dispensers and GPS antennae. The theme of the markings is geared towards service with the air forces of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. As with our other 72nd and 48th scale Hind kits previous, this edition will include a publication from noted Czech military pilot Jaroslav Spacek.
The Hind E is historically a striking subject matter for a kit, and one that we will return to one more time in 2023 with a specific item. No less striking, however, is the ProfiPACK Fokker D.VII (AOW), signaling a return to World War One subjects. This kit was originally envisioned as a re-edition of the most successful of the Fokker D.VII kits, the ProfiPACK Fokker D.VII (OAW) with the catalog number 8131. But because this was repeatedly reissued several times in the past, we decided to create a new item this time around. The boxart shows what is quite possibly the most depicted aircraft of the First World War, Lo!, flown by Lt. Ernst Udet, during combat in the cockpit of a very elegant Fokker D.VII which this popular aviation personality flew during that time. The aircraft carried the somewhat enigmatic inscription ‘Du Doch Nicht!!’ on the elevators and was shot down by defensive fire from the Breguet being attacked. The marking options are a collection of six choices used in previous issues of the Fokker D.VII OAW kit. All in all, the options offer an attractive set of both striking and historically significant aircraft that includes among others the red and white aircraft flown by Lt. Kurt Monington of Jasta 18 with a raven and skull on the fuselage and another famed Fokker with artwork inspired by a fable of the Seven Swabians (the Brothers Grimm) from Jasta 65.
The February ProfiPACK line picks up with the Zero line, and will come in the form of an A6M3 Model 22/22a. It contains decals for five aircraft that served with ground based units of the Japanese Navy in the South Pacific and Japan. And be aware, the A6M3 Model 22 is not identical to the Model 32!
Carrying on with the Pacific theme, we have another kit, the Spitfire Mk.VIII in 1:48th, which is being released as a Weekend kit. The kit is based around the proven Spitfire Mk.IX/VIII/16 molds, and same as other February new kit releases, it is a component of our range renewal efforts. The decal options will allow building one of four aircraft that served with the RAAF in Australia and Indonesia, and within the RAF in Italy and Burma.
Another item for February’s Weekend line and based on older but proven molds is our popular Fw 190A-8/R2 ‘Sturmbock’ in 1:72nd scale. These armored machines were developed for combat with American four engined bombers and their kits are traditionally among our best selling items. One interesting fact related to this is that the subtypes Fw 190A-8 and Fw 190A-8/R2 account for half of all Fw 190 kit sales, which is furthermore the most popular type of aircraft we have kitted in terms of sales. This kit includes four marking options from JG 3, JG 4 and JG 300. The boxart depicts some of the most dramatic aerial combat to take place during the Second World War over Austria.
A significant force behind the momentum of our aforementioned range revival comes in the form of the only February re-edition. This is the ProfiPACK Bf 110E in 1:48th. This is the first Bf 110 release in 1:48th since our fire, the second anniversary of which came just before Christmas on December 19th. The re-emergence of these kits had to wait that long due to production capacity limits. In the coming months, Bf 110 kits in both 48th and 72nd scales will be expanding into the ProfiPACK and Weekend lines, and both kits will come back in the Limited Edition family as well, under the name Adlertag. At approximately the midway point of the year, the much requested Bf 110G-4, catalog Number 8208, will be making a comeback.
New Kits for March
For March, we are prepping for the continuation of the Wildcat series with a Limited Edition kit dubbed ‘Guadalcanal’. This will be dedicated to the F4F-4 Wildcat early and late versions. It will be another of the Dual Combo kits, with two complete kits in the package. In this case, it will be one set for the early version F4F-4, the other will be geared towards the later variant. These differ in the fuselage. The decal options will cover not only Guadalcanal operations conducted by the Cactus Air Force, but also aircraft operating off of aircraft carriers in various regions of the PTO during the same timeframe.
In March, the ProfiPACK line will see another 48th scale Spitfire, this time the Mk.Vc Trop and a 72nd scale Bf 109E-4. The Weekend line will grow by a 72nd scale Bf 110G-2, while the re-edition concept will be applied to the MiG-21bis and Avia B.534 of the fourth production series. Both of these will be in 1:48th. Actually, I can’t rule out that the MiG might be a new item with new markings. We have what we need to go down that road.
Kits for the Second Quarter
Truth be told, every year I have a greater problem with the structuring of information regarding planned kits for the upcoming twelve months. It’s mostly the result of the sheer number of new releases that come out each year. Despite the fact that many modellers on internet forums complain that we release too few kits and the wait times are long, we do put out some seventy new items per year. That sort of a schedule makes it very difficult to put together a summary of all planned releases. There is also the perception held by many modellers that only the initial release of a given kit can and should be considered a true new release. Anything else is often considered a repop and is overlooked by both the buying public and reviewers. I have a problem with this, because at least in our case, the re-editions are carefully planned items and not straight repops. It’s not like we put the exact same items into twenty different boxes. Each of our projects includes as much as a dozen sprues. Typically, we try to group into main sprues all of the fine details that will be common for a specific type, and complement these with version specific sprues that hold fuselages and wings that are the items that normally will bear the brunt of the differences. The kit then contains the relevant combination of sprues. As a goal, we avoid requiring the end user to apply any surgery to these types of things, which would allow a certain level of modularization. This would be a comparatively comfortable ‘out’ and would be pretty cheap to boot, but the same cannot be said for the modeller. So, we reject that route and keep the end user at a higher level of priority, which explains why we include version specific fuselages and wings of a given type.
It will be during the second quarter when this philosophy will show itself in all its glory. That is when we will be unveiling our Rufe. Formally, it is a version of the Zero. However, our version will not have very much in common with our Zero Model 21, from which the float equipped A6M2-N was derived. The new kit begs for four new sprues for its proper evolution. I have to say that I am very much looking forward to this kit. Initially, we thought that we would suspend the tradition of releasing new kits as Limited Edition items, but after a detailed historical analysis of the type, we thought that it would be a shame to do so. So, in April, we will start off with the now-traditional Limited Edition kit. The ProfiPACK version will follow in July.
For May, we have another Limited Edition kit coming. This will be the F-104C in 1:48th, another in the line of Starfighters, of which we have released a few to date. In this case, however, we have changed the supplier of the plastic and this Vietnam War version will hail from Kinetic.
June will see a significant premiere. The Limited Edition Wunderschone Neue Maschinen Pt.1 will introduce the Bf 109F-2 and F-4, the first of our Bf 109F, G and K kits in 1:72nd scale, which will be with us for a good number of years. The 1:72nd scale Bf 109F, G and K are a very complex undertaking, and up to now, we have never committed to such an expansive type under one project umbrella. This is one of the reasons why it has taken as long as it has. Another major reason that the road to fruition was as long as it was even for us is that the basis for the project was data developed for our 1:48th Bf 109F/G/K, and we changed and corrected it to a large extent. These were on a technological as well as a conceptual level. Since those first 48th scale kits were released, our technological abilities have evolved, and with them, our view as to how a model kit should look and go together. Those of you familiar with last year’s released S-199 and CS-199 will now have insight into how these Bf 109s will look, because the S-199s are part of the overall same project and share a lot in common with the Bf 109F/G/K.
The release schedule of the Bf 109F, G and K will be the same as the 1:48th scale Spitfire Mk.I-V. the Zeros, the Wildcats and Trener kits. Taking it in order, in the coming months we’ll see Wunderschone Neue Maschinen Pt.2 with the Bf 109G-2 and G-4. This will be followed by ‘Gustav’, with the Bf 109G-6, and next year, we’ll pick up with the G-14. This will be followed by the G-6/AS and G-14/AS. This year will also see the release of the first ProfiPACK Bf-109F-2 and F-4. New kits of specific Bf 109F, G and K variants will be spread out over several years and will total somewhere in the neighborhood of dozens. The entire project includes fourteen sprues (not counting the molds for the S-199 and CS-199), and most of these deal with differences in the fuselages and wings. We are also, of course, covering detail changes as well, including such things as the sizes and types of tires and wheel hubs, tailwheels and rudders. As with the Rufe model, this approach will raise your comfort level in the build without the need of any major surgery. For those of you that really want to take your work to the next level, we are also preparing a slew of accessory items, such as photoetched, and 3D printed parts, starting with simple wheels to more complex items like engines and cockpits.
We’ve got one more special edition coming in the second quarter. We decreased the number of kits produced for the Hind E, and diverted the resulting balance to a truly unique release. Unlike the Hind E kit, this one will not include the publication and will feature just one decal option. This will be for Mi-35 coded 3366, a Hind who’s paint scheme was inspired by the Alien franchise. The decals are the centerpiece of this project. From a graphic development standpoint, this is a very complex item, and its development was accompanied by constant doubt within our design team. But, after successfully completing the rivet sets for the Mi-24 and Mi-35, it was concluded that the completion of this decal set was well within our capabilities as well. In the past, we have designed and produced many large decal sheets, but in the case of Alien, it’s a collection of decals that end up covering the entire model. The project is unique, and a first. It will be produced in very limited quantities, no more than 1,000 units, and will also likely become a real collector’s item.
We don’t live off of unique items alone, and so there are ProfiPACK and Weekend kits planned for the second quarter, as well as for the following ones. Amongst 1:48th scale ProfiPACK kits, this will include the initial release of the naval Camel 2F.1, the Z-326 Trener Master, and there will be another Wildcat. It may be a late F4F-4, or we may opt for the FM-2. This year, we’ll put out both, but the order of their release has not yet been set. Putting out a Dual Combo FM-2 boxing as a Limited Edition release is also on the table. The second quarter will also see a Bf 109E-1. Re-edition efforts will centre around a quarter scale Bf 109G-6, MiG-21PFM, another Bf 110, and in 1:72nd, an Fw 190F-8, MiG-21MF (Fighter Bomber), and a MiG-15UTI. For the Weekend line, we are planning a Tempest Mk.II and a Series 2 Tempest Mk.V, an Fw 190A-4 and A6M2 Zero Model 21. Not long ago, someone wrote in a modelling forum that after the release of Academy’s Model 21 Zero, this will be the final option for a release of this type from Eduard. Rest assured that this is definitely not the case. As always, we will give you plenty of reasons to consider the Eduard kit as your FIRST choice!
Third Quarter
Here, we begin to skate on some thin ice. Not that there are no plans, but as a rule, that has so far not been broken, plans tend to be subject to some dynamic changes after the second quarter. In any case, the main project for the third quarter is the 1:48th scale Bf 109K-4, which we would dearly like to release in time for the IPMS Nationals in San Marcos. This model is in a similar boat as the 72nd scale Bf 109 line – this kit also comes out of the earlier Bf 109F and G releases that came before it, but the design of the Bf 109K-4 introduced some technological and conceptual changes and innovations. The same can be said for the S-199 and CS-199, being prepared for the end of the year. In both cases, we have achieved technological and conceptual maturity, and I dare say we’ve fine tuned these things just right. When we get to the realization of the Kurfurst Limited Edition kit, we’ll do the same for the marking options. Of course, we’ll complement it all with accessory items, down to 3D prints, so you have something to really look forward to!
The third quarter also sees plans for a Limited Edition Z-526 Trener, the final sub variant of the line. There will also be Wilde Sau Episode Three, the Final Countdown, dedicated to Wilde Sau units equipped with various versions of the Fw 190A. In the ProfiPACK line, we should see the 48th scale Rufe, another Wildcat, another Camel, and the aforementioned Bf 109F-2. The Weekend line will expand by the addition of the A6M3 Zero Model 32, another quarter scale Bf 110, Spitfire Mk.16 and an I-16 Type 10.
Fourth Quarter
Economists would call this venturing into speculation. At this point in the New Year, the fourth quarter is still very far off and plans change. At the moment, what Limited Edition kits based around outside sourced plastic will be developed is up in the air. Whatever it will be, this item is normally the hit of E-day in the fall. Finalizing agreements for the supply of the outsourced plastic won’t occur until next month at Nuremburg, and there are currently several items in the running. Where this will go is uncertain also because the Nuremburg Toy Fair, at least as far as our industry is concerned, will not be exactly a beehive of activity due to kit producer attendance. And really, the same can be said of retailer attendance, so this will be the most unusual Toy Fair over the past fifty years. I do hold out some hope that it won’t be so bad, and that it might end up like this past E-day, or the soccer World Cup in Qatar. These were also events that had a lot of negative predictions associated with them, but came through surpassing all expectations. Regardless of this year’s outcome, I believe that the Toy Fair will rebound over the coming years, recovering from the covid restrictions, and return to its former prosperity. How the fair goes, I will report on in the March newsletter.
Be that as it may, the main focus for the fall will be the 1:48th scale Avia S-199. It will have its premiere at E-day, and same as the Bf 109K-4, it will come from a completely new set of molds. We are also planning a Limited Edition kit for the end of the year, ‘Malta’, featuring the Spitfire Mk. V, and the aforementioned 1:72nd scale Gustav, the Bf 109G-6, which will apparently also include a Bf 109G-5.
We also have another new release planned for the very end of the year, and on the table are several possibilities. Whether it will be the MiG-21F-13, the P-51B Mustang, the A6M5 Model 52 Zero or something in 1:72nd will be finalized in the coming months. Take it as an early Christmas surprise, to be revealed at E-day, because within our system of releasing information, it just has to be that way.
Accessory Items for 2023
Out of the planned accessory items, I will point out those that jump out at me from the long list of things to come. The first of these would be the Brassin wingfold set for the F4F-4 Wildcat . I consider this a true masterpiece, able to turn a normal model into the pearl of a collection and able to attract the eye of any onlooker like a pole dancer. This printed set contains a set of plastic wings, because its integration naturally requires the cutting up of these items, which is much easier to do with two sets of wings rather than with just the one set from the kit. The Brassin line will also include 3D printed parts for the Fw 190A-8 in 1:48th scale. The first of these will be the cockpit, replacing the older cast resin item, and among other things, illustrates the advances made in this technology. Our plan is to replace the cast cockpits with 3D printed ones over time. We are also going to produce 3D prints for armor in 1:35th and ships in 1:350th. Also of note are eleven new Space sets, complemented by a set for the raised rivets on the 1:48th scale Su-25 using the same technology. Among new mask and photoetched sets, I would point out items for the Tornado IDS in 1:32nd from Italeri and the first sets for the 48th scale Airfix Anson.
Shows
It looks like the revival of the show season is unstoppable. That would mean that after Nuremburg, we will attend all significant shows through the spring, including Prosek and Moson, and even Lingen between them. We will also attend some smaller local shows, although these will be more for exposure of our new items than as vendors. In the summer, we will be in Texas at the IPMS Nationals, the fall will have us at E-day, in which we want to draw on the success of the last show, and take it a step further. Unfortunately, Telford will is not in our plans.
Excellent news has come out of Slovakia, which will see the return of Bratislava’s Plastic Winter. It will be the return of a legend in a big way. It will have a new venue and you have no idea how much I am looking forward to this show! So much so that the final big premiere of our making that I mentioned in the last paragraph will take place in Bratislava on November 11th, 2023!
Articles
There are two, in this issue, both from Mira Baric. There is the tenth edition of his report on the air war over Ukraine and the second part of Midway, about the search for sunken ships with Paul Allen. As is now our custom, we have five Boxart Stories. This newsletter is published in the classic PDF format and can be downloaded as you have in the past. At the same time, it is available through the Triobo publishing vehicle. You had an opportunity to test this new system out back in December, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. There are some negative points that were raised, but among modellers, how can it be any other way? It does appear as though there are no fatal flaws in the system. If you should run into an issue, though, you can bring it to our attention, and we can discuss the principles of its functionality. Starting with February, our newsletter will be published using Triobo exclusively.
2022
The space allocated for my introduction to the newsletter has been pretty much used up, but I would at least like to summarize some stats for 2022. The year has been an interesting one and somewhat surprising, because over a six month period of the market cooling, and the associated drop in sales, it ended with a recovery that brought us in line with our best year ever, 2020. This is because of excellent performance over the first and fourth quarters last year, brought on by your support for us and our products. Our main markets, traditionally the Czech Republic, the EU, the United States and Japan, even saw relatively significant growth. This amounted to 7% in the Czech Republic, 9% in Japan, and as high as 14% in the US. There were some major jumps in the year in smaller markets, such as China by 58% and Australia by 71%, but the champion amongst the developed world is Canada, with a jump of 84%.
With the EU, it is a bit more complicated, because we trade with individual nations. The results vary, and while we recorded an increase in sales of 11% in France and even 26% in Poland, in Germany we registered a decrease of 11%. There were downturns elsewhere as well. Predictably, Russia fell by 47% and this year the bottom will fall out if the war doesn’t end soon. We’ll see no sales in the Russian market immediately at the start of this year. Less understandable is the drop in sales to Great Britain, where they amounted to 25%. In a market that has seen long term growth, this is rather shocking. It can’t be blamed on Brexit, and in Britain we saw a drop in the year before last of 5%, in line with the global figure compared to 2020. In short, everything appeared pretty normal and back then, there was a drop of about a percentage across the board. Last year’s 25% drop in sales is more dramatic, and I would venture a guess that it points to a worsening condition for mutual trade between Great Britain and the EU. Furthermore, even we are seeing worsening conditions with respect to imports from Britain, almost to the level seen back in the days of communism. We have even refused delivery of some items, because the additional duties and import taxes were higher than the cost of the actual goods. Add to that the cost of postage, which has risen, and continues to rise enormously, and you can see why there is fear for the future of international trade. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to all those who, despite these conditions, still purchased items off our e-shop. Your help in maintaining this avenue of sales is not taken for granted.
That was the good news. Here’s the bad news. The other side of the coin when it comes to sales are expenses. These, unfortunately, rose exponentially. At the end of the summer, it even appeared as though these would not see any limits. There were also the effects of supply issues from earlier in the year. Luckily, our industry was not as hard hit as, say, the automobile sector. We never had to stop, or even limit, production. Nevertheless, inflation raised our expenses significantly, bit into our profits and put the brakes on development. The fall brought some relief on all fronts, including on the threat of further increases in energy costs, even though if these costs reach the government mandated ceiling, we’ve got something to look forward to….we’ll still end up paying three times as much as last year. The rising cost of production is the main, and really, the only, reason for price increases which we needed to implement with the New Year. We tried to minimize these as best we could, and because this was our responsibility alone, I put a lot of careful thought into this step. Despite all this, I firmly believe that we still provide the best value for the money compared to other firms. I believe that this will be noticed by you, and that we can count on your continued support for 2023!
And, I wish all the best for the New Year, much success and good health!
Happy Modelling
Vladimir Sulc
The air war over Ukraine
The Ukrainian soldiers in trenches near Bachmut, 2022. Source: ZSU
The British soldiers in the battle of Passchendaele, 1917. Source: National Library of Scotland
Bogged in the mud
Text: Miro Barič
During the period of November 1 through December 1 the most important event was finding out how long the eternity takes. It is 42 days. This was exactly the time which elapsed since the Russian president Putin proclaimed that Kherson will be Russian forever until the moment the city was liberated by the Ukrainian troops. Otherwise, there were no ground movements in Ukraine due to the poor weather. The massive shelling of the cities by the Russian missiles continues as well as strengthening of the Ukrainian air defenses.
Kherson was captured by Russian right at the beginning of the invasion. Besides Donbas it was the only regional center and large city the Russians managed to capture. It is located on the Dnieper right bank and its importance was as a launching point for the further advance on Mykolaiv and Odessa. Since the further advance was stopped and due to the Ukrainian counterattack in the end of August, Kherson became a logistics nightmare.
With the unstoppable regularity, the Ukrainians shelled and destroyed the bridges across the river Dnieper, weapons dumps and command centers. Simultaneously they exercise the permanent pressure on the Russian front lines. And despite the Russian occupation administration organized the mock referendum after which the Kherson area, together with other three ones, was “forever” annexed to the Russian Federation, it was clear to the Army command that holding the positions on the Dnieper right bank will only lead to further losses. So, on November 11, an anniversary of the armistice that ended WWI, they retreated from Kherson to the left bank and destroyed all the bridges behind them.
The legendary Chornobayivka was liberated on the way to Kherson. The Ukrainians had launched the large number of the rocket and artillery attacks on its airbase destroying a large quantity of the Russian helicopters and ground equipment. Gradually the airport was turned to a one huge graveyard. The Ukrainians recaptured two of their own helicopters (Mi-8 and Mi-24P) which had been captured by Russians at the beginning of the invasion in non-airworthy condition and painted their Z markings on them. Now the aircraft returned to the hands of their original owners.
Much like during WWI
In November the larger operations at different front sections were limited by rainy weather and mud. The worst conditions were around Bachmut in Donetsk area where the Russians have been pushing for several months. The images from there started to resemble the battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) during WWI-trenches filled with water, shot up trees and ever-present mud. While the activity at the front (except Kherson) practically stopped it continued to be “hot” in the air. The Russians continued with their attacks against the Ukrainian energy infrastructure. They used rockets, cruise missile launched from the ships and airplanes as well as the kamikaze drones. For example, on November 23 ten strategic bombers tu-95 took part in the attack and from the safety of the Russian airspace far from the front launched more than 70 cruise missiles. More than 50 were shot down by the Ukrainian AA defense. Those who penetrated however caused a massive damage. In the course of October and November the Russians have launched altogether seven attack waves and hit around 40% of the Ukrainian energy infrastructure. After each of these attack wave millions of people remained without electricity, heating and running water.
During the last three November weeks, no Iranian unmanned vehicle Shahed-136 appeared which prompted great speculations about these kamikaze drones. In the end it turned out that the Russians had only exhausted the first batch and awaited further delivery. For more than two months Iran vehemently denied any drones deliveries to Russia. It was an obvious lie though. Ultimately on Saturday November 11 Iranian Secretary of State admitted the drones deliveries with the caveat they had been done a longer time before the outbreak of the war and the quantity was small. According to the Ukrainians it is another lie since the large-scale deployment of the Iranian drones in Ukraine was confirmed by many photographs, wrecks of the shot down aircraft even captured, almost intact crashed UALs.
Shot up trees near Bachmut, 2022. Source: ZSU
The Australian soldiers in shop up forest near Passchendaele, 1917. Source: Australian War Memorial collection
Blood-stained selfieSince we mentioned the Iranian drones let’s recall an incident briefly mentioned in the previous part. Details about the case which occurred on Saturday October 12 near the city of Vinnytsya when the Ukrainian AF lost a Mig-29 surfaced only recently. The fighter was hit by a debris from Shahed-136 drone just shot down and the pilot had to eject. A month later the photograph of the pilot with blood on his face was published and a little later his whole story. At that time there was another wave of the Russian rockets and drones headed towards the Ukrainian cities. The defenders dispatched Mig-29 fighters against them. One of them was flown by Major Vadym Vorochylov from 204th Brigade of the Tactical Aviation. His call sign was Karaya. Those of you who are familiar with the name Erich Hartmann do not need further explanation on the call sign. Voroshylov had chosen it in 2014. The Ukrainian citizens however gave him the nickname Ghost of Vinnytsya. Contrary to Ghost of Kiev this is a real person.
He treated his airplane as a living thing. Talked to it and touched it so as it worked as best as possible. His favorite was the aircraft with bort number 10 which he flew on about 20 combat missions and always could rely on it. On that fateful day Voroshylov woke up at 4 am due to the air scramble. The pilot from his unit destroyed two Shahed in the south of Ukraine of the first mission. Voroshylov flew the next mission. He shot down three Iranian drones and returned to the base without any problems.
At dusk however another wave of raids came in. Major Voroshylov took off from the frontline airfield in the south of Ukraine and headed towards Vinnytsya area. He started to scan for targets and first he destroyed a drone. Then he launched a missile against another one. The drones generate rather weak thermal trace therefore they had been attacked at relatively short distance. So, when Voroshylov hit his fifth drone on that day its debris hit his Mig-29 fighter as well. “It broke my windshield and destroyed the aircraft nose” said the pilot later. “I was not seriously wounded but the blood from my facial cuts got into my eyes and impaired my situational awareness. My first though was that I did not want to eject. I saw the lights of some village in front of me. I checked my controls, and the rudder did not work. I could only control the pitch. Making turns was very limited. I turned left and saw a dark spot. I said to myself that it was probably a field and there is nothing on it. At that moment the flames erupted on the right side of the cockpit and when the fire reached me I promptly ejected, exactly according to the manual”, as the pilot recalled the dramatic moments. While he was still on the parachute, he pulled out a mobile phone to check his wounds. Thus, the selfie with his blood-stained face was taken. At the same time, he wanted to let the ground control know that he was okay. It took him approximately two minutes to land. For his conduct president Volodymyr Zelenskyi awarded him with the highest award, Hero of Ukraine.