-
{"cz":"Info EDUARD"}
{"cz":"Měsíčník o historii a plastikovém modelářství.","en":"Monthly magazine about history and scale plastic modeling."}
06/2024
INFO Eduard is a monthly scale model-historical magazine published in Czech and English by Eduard Model Accessories since 2010. The magazine is available for free on the Triobo platform and can be downloaded in PDF format. Eduard is a manufacturer of plastic models and accessories with over 30 years of tradition. Throughout its history in the plastic modeling industry, Eduard has become one of the world's leaders. Further details about the company and its product range can be found at www.eduard.com. You can subscribe to the INFO magazine and receive product information for free at: https://www.eduard.com/cs/info-eduard/
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e-magazine FREE Vol 23 June 2024INFO Eduard# 172Page 2
INFO Eduard# 172e-magazine FREE Vol 23 June 2024© Eduard - Model Accessories, 2024FREE 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
eduardeduardJUNE 2024CONTENTSPublished by Eduard-Model Accessories, spol. s.r.o.Mírová 170, Obrnice 435 21support@eduard.com www.eduard.comEDITORIALKITSBRASSINPHOTO-ETCHED SETSSPACEBUILTON APPROACH–July 2024TAIL END CHARLIEARTICLESBOXART STORYMARAUDER Limited 1/72Spitfire Mk.Vb OVERLORD Weekend 1/48Bf 109G-6 ProfiPACK 1/72Fw 190A-2 ProfiPACK 1/48 Re-releaseL-29 Delfín ProfiPACK 1/72 Re-releaseP-51B 1/48M3A1 Half Track 1/72F6F-3 1/72Bf 109F-4 1/72MUSTANGS IN THE BATTLE OF NORMANDYThe Defense of IsraelAir War in Ukraine-Help is Finally on the WayUse of ultrasonic knife in plastic modellingPretty huntingFrom warship to SpitfireThe “Mayfly” GeschwaderRicketts and Lukhmanoff4143036587290102108122Page 4
Good day, Ladies and Gentlemen!Sometimes I get lucky and write theseeditorials in an interesting place, and thisis one of those times. I am writing the Junenewsletter editorial during the first weekendof June at Bublava in the Ore Mountains, ata police recreation center where this year's IronBunny competition is taking place. This time, thecompetition teams are building our 48th scaleP-51B Mustang. In addition to the kit, they alsohave a number of accessories available to them,including the engine, and the usual 24 hourallowance of hard work to present their efforts.Those of you who watched this year's Iron Bunnyon the live stream from Bublava know thewinner, something I personally won’t find outtil Monday, when this newsletter comes out, butat the moment, I am in the dark regarding thewinner. It’s been raining heavily here steadilyand the meteorologists' warnings of heavydownpours and possible flooding are comingtrue. This year, Iron Bunny is an even biggeradventure than usual!When I left for Bublava on Friday, we weretesting what should be the next-to-last moldfor the 1:72nd scale P-51D Mustang, the moldwith the fuselage and wings. On the first try, wereceived a complete set of plastic, to the generaljoy of the upper floors of the company, wherethe designers who needed to verify the accuracyof photoetched and decal designs were waitingfor these pressings. While the decal for thefirst edition 1:72 P-51D, Royal Class kit is basedon the 1:48th scale Royal Class release, andthe 72nd scale kit design is based on the 1:48kit design, that still doesn't mean we can justscale the 1/48th scale item down and run withit like a banshee. With the moldings in hand, wecan be sure of the accuracy of the design, andthe decals, photoetched and masks can go intoproduction this week. At the same time, we sentthe moldings to Omask so that they could verifythe design of the plugs used for masking off thewheel wells for painting. These will be a partof the Royal Class package. The final mold willbe going on the press this week, with the smallparts, and if all goes well, we will be packing theRoyal Class kits next week and starting to shipthem to customers in the second half of June.The logistics surrounding the realization ofa new kit is complex, the processes follow eachother very precisely and we are pleased to haveit tuned in such a way that it usually worksprecisely and reliably for us. Of course, it is notwithout cost and the whole process carries withit a lot of stress and tension. Major screwupsand delays are rare, but they do happen.We just got over one of those little gems. Moldingsfor June’s release of the B-26F/G Marauder in1:72nd scale left the Shimitz port near Shizuokaat the end of February. It normally takes sixweeks for cargo ships to sail from Japan toEurope, this time our ship sailed twice as longthanks to the attacks by the Yemeni Houthis oncargo ships at the entrance to the Red Sea. A lotof maritime traffic is diverted along a route thatcircumnavigates Africa, making it longer andmore expensive. Our Marauders have enduredexactly that fate. To make matters worse,after the truck's arrival in the Czech Republic,the shipment was stopped by Czech customsofficials, who inspected it and thus delayedthe delivery of the pressings for another week.As a result, boxes with ready-made componentswere waiting for the plastic until May 27th, andseveral dozen incomplete shipments were alsowaiting for dealers from all over the world. Theresult of the whole sh*tshow was that we did notstart sending shipments until May 28th, insteadof May 15th, which would’ve been our standard-procedure date to send out new releases forJune. It sounds like a fun story, but in our setup,where we pack and ship an average of eightynew items a month, a delay of even a singleitem means a stop sign for all shipments. We doprepare them as far as we can, but most orderswait to ship til they are complete. Of course, itdepends on the type of item being held. If it'sa mask or a small piece of PE, for example, somepeople opt to have it sent to them a month later.On the other hand, you probably understand thatthe production of masks or small PE items don’tgenerally suffer delays at our end. However, anitem like the Marauder, which has the highestsales numbers of any June release by a widemargin, has significantly higher destructivepotential if any of its many components fail toshow at the right place at the right time. Andman, was that ever the case with the Marauder!Almost 100% of orders were waiting for theMarauder and our business completely froze fortwo weeks. So if they don't have Marauders inyour store yet, please be patient and hold out fora few days. They are definitely on their way andthey will definitely arrive. The Houthis should nolonger play any role in their delivery.Coincidentally, on the same day as the spruesfor the Marauders, the plastic for the 72nd scaleDelfin arrived. They flew in by plane and therewere no tricks associated with their arrival.This makes the Delfin another of the kits thathave returned to the range after our fire in 2020.Another item is making a comeback today, theAdlerangriff 1/32, a Limited Edition kit dedicatedto the Bf 109 E during the Battle of Britain. Sometime ago, we mistakenly advertised its returnto our range on Facebook, but unfortunatelywe did not have all the components ready atthat time. On top of that, we needed to abandonthe injection molding queue due to the highdemands imposed by the new P-51B. We'vechurned out 16,000 sets for the Royal Class andthe Limited Edition ‘The D-Day Mustangs’ kit, butwe're scraping the bottom of the barrel againand need to produce more for the August P-51BProfipack release. We made modifications to themold to prevent that mysterious bending of thecenter strut above the wheel well. I hope thissolves that tricky anomoly.Among June new releases there are, as usual,interesting pieces, whether it is the 72nd Bf 109G-6 in the Profipack line, the 48th Spitfire Mk.Vbin a special sub-edition of the Weekend seriesdedicated to the 80th anniversary of OperationOverlord, or the reissue of the 48th ProfipackFw 190 A-2. Among the new Brassin products,you will find a collection of kits for the P-51BEDITORIALINFO Eduard4Červenec 2024Page 5
in 1:48, the cockpit for the F-35B in 1:48th fromTamiya, the engines for the Beaufort from ICMand the brake chute for the F-4E from Meng.Although the break chute is specifically notedas being designed for the Meng kit, it can alsobe used on other Phantom IIs. We took this chuteto almost every exhibition we attended last year,and at many of them it was able to garner atleast as much interest among modelers asthe most attractive kits. Also lovely are the1:350 scale Japanese naval anti-aircraft guns.In photoetched and masks, a collection of setsfor the 48th scale B-26 Marauder from ICM andB-24 from Hobby Boss, and for the A-20 in 1:32scale from HKM are on offer, and sets for theS-79 Sparviero from Italeri should also prove tobe interesting.However, that is not all that awaits us inJune. On Thursday, June 6th, we will startaccepting pre-orders for the Limited Edition kit,‘The Bloody Hundredth 1943’, B-17F 1:48.You already know what this project is about.We have been reporting on it for several monthsnow, and in the last few days the informationabout it on social networks has been verydetailed, and so is the information in today'snewsletter. I'd like to add a few details to all ofthis that haven't been covered yet. The BloodyHundredth 1943 is our biggest, most challengingand also most expensive project to date, to berealized using the plastic from another company,that we have ever prepared. We have beenworking on it since last fall in cooperation withthe 100th Bomb Group Foundation and with HKM.HKM not only supplied the plastic of their B-17Fin 1:48th for us, but also produced, based on ourdesign, a mold for conversion parts, allowing theconstruction of other versions from our modifiedkit, which differ from the original kit with latervariations on the nose. But, it is also importantwhat we did not go into within the scope of thisproject. That includes any modifications of realor perceived shape issues. We never do thatwith repackaged kits. The reason is quite simple.Such adjustments are not as simple as modelersimagine. We can replace some parts, makemore accurate wheels, propellers or seats, butwe cannot interfere with the shapes of the kit.Such partial adjustments always lead to someunsatisfactory compromise, where correctingone error can accentuate another. If there isa slightly thicker fuselage, a bad fuselageor wing profile, or a badly positioned enginenacelle, as in the case of HKM's B-17F, the onlypossible solution to such a problem is to makea new fuselage or a new wing, or both. However,the parts of the internal structure will no longerfit into it, because in the design of each kit,everything is intricately interconnected. In theend, we may as well just design and producea whole new kit. I'm writing this because afterthe announcement of the project, the usualrecommendations about everything that needsto be fixed began to come out. But that's notour goal, don't expect that from us. We willnot carry out any comprehensive redesign ofthe HKM kit. In addition, we believe that HKM'sB-17F kit is actually of very high quality and itspossible inaccuracies are not out of the realmof errors found in other leading manufacturers'kits. So we start from the HKM kit and mustrespect its attributes, with all possible errors.It is the principle that allows us to work withmoldings of other manufacturers and build ourprojects based on them, which, despite certainshortcomings, are very successful commerciallyand interesting for modelers. I believe that mostmodelers understand this principle and that ournew project will make them happy despite its, inmy opinion, small shortcomings.It's the same with the selection of markings.We have selected seven of the many interesting100th BG machines, or eleven included asa subscription bonus. Modelers are proposingother options, but it is already too late for them,or they have been dropped from the selection forsome, usually technical, reason. But in general,it's like an election; there are many candidates,but few openings. I already explained that theselection of options for the color schemes ofindividual kits is not the result of an ad hoclottery. Each kit has a paint selection committeeof usually four, but sometimes five or six,who carefully consider each inclusion in themarking options guide. The selection is a three-round process, in the last round the balanceof the composition of the selected aircraft isevaluated in terms of the variability of markingsand camouflage schemes, the service of theaircraft in different theatres of operations orwith different units. With Bloody Hundredth, thechoice was specific, because the kit is dedicatedto only one unit and thus only shows a certainslice of the wider history, but that does notmean that the choice was easy. On the contrary,a similar type of building block usually demandsa lot of work.Modelers and especially reviewers usuallydownplay the marking options in our kits, sortof taking it for granted and don't deal with ittoo much in their evaluations. They usuallyjust spout off the inclusions of these optionsand that’s it. Once upon a time it was different,there was a time when reviewers had a lot ofcomments about our color schemes. Ever sincewe changed our style and put more care intocreating color guides, I feel like reviewers areignoring them. As if the choice and quantity ofcolor schemes had no bearing on the quality ofthe kit, as if the range of this offering and thesize of the decal sheet had no value. I'm sorry,because I think that the options offered are quiteimportant for the quality of the kit. Honestly, whotoday will offer you eleven marking options ina kit, several of them in two variants, in additionto a beautifully rendered historical backgrounddescribing the machine and its crew? I dare sayno one. And I'm not talking about the size andscope of the decal sheet. There are three decalsheets in the Bloody Hundredth, all large format.If you are hesitating, you have a few weeksto think about it. The sale will run in severalrounds. The first round is a pre-order on oure-shop, which will start on June 6th and end onJune 20th. Some merchants have also launchedtheir own pre-orders. After the end of the pre-orders, the sale will continue from the secondhalf of July in the standard way, where we willdeliver the kit to our merchants and distributorsand it will be available to them as an Augustnew release. We will be selling them at the IPMSUSA Nats in Madison between July 17th and20th. The remaining kits will also be availablefrom our e-shop. So if any kits remain at all byAugust, it looks like the entire shipment will besold within a few weeks.You will find only basic information about TheBloody Hundredth 1943 project in today's issue.More information about the kit and the 100thBG will be made available as smaller, detailedhistorical notebooks about the aircraft and theunit at the end of next week.ArticlesThe main historical article this month is TomCleaver's Mustangs in the Battle of Normandyon the P-51B's role during and after the invasion.There is also another continuation of the AirBattle over Ukraine by Mira Barič, and an articleon the Iranian attack on Israel. The issue alsocontains a technical article on the use of anultrasonic knife in model making by LadislavJareš and a report from the competition inČáslav. Of course, there are the now traditionalBoxart Stories, today dedicated to the coverimages of the June kit releases – the Marauder,Spitfire Mk.Vb, Bf 109 G-6 and the Fw 190 A-2.The Iron Bunny slugfest is in the books, andthe judges are scoring six beautifully builtMustangs, all with unbuttoned engines. Whilethe Mustang as the competition model didnot surprise them and they kind of expectedit, the engine did raise some eyebrows. Theengine is not slated for release til August, sothe competition teams received pre-productionpieces. So, these were a sort of test, and I gotplenty of advice on how to improve it!Happy Modelling!Vladimir SulcEDITORIALINFO Eduard5Červenec 2024The Bloody Hundredth
Information about Pre-orders B-17F 1/48 kit.
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Piccadilly Lily, an aircraft primarily flown bythe crew of Captain Thomas E. Murphy of the351st Bomb Squadron, is probably the most fa-mous B-17F of the 100th Bomb Group. Her storyhas been featured in two film projects: the 1949movie “Twelve O’clock High” and, more recently,the “Masters of the Air” series. The popularity ofthe first movie was due to screenwriter BeirneLay, who, on August 17, 1943, with the rank ofLt. Col. and sitting in the co-pilot’s seat of Pic-cadilly Lily, flew a mission to Regensburg. Thiswas the famous “Double Strike Mission,” afterwhich the 100th Bomb Group landed in North Af-rica. Above all, however, it marked the first of theunit’s black days, as they lost 9 of the 21 aircraftinvolved in the mission. It also earned the unit itsfirst “Distinguished Unit Citation.”The B-17F Piccadilly Lily and Murphy’screw had been flying it combat since thefirst missions of the 100th BG in the sec-ond half of June 1943. During her service,the nature of the insignia changed twice- first the round insignia was replaced bya variant with stripes and red trim, thenagain when the red trim was obscured bya richer blue. Lily was lost on 8 October1943 in the raid on Bremen. From the crewof Cpt. Murphy’s crew, six men perished.With them, the squadron operations offi-cer, Capt. Alvin L. Barker, who joined thecrew at the last minute before taxying fortake off.Variant 1 - Capt. Thomas E. Murphy crew, Lt. Col. Beirne Lay. Jr., 351st Bomb Squadron,100th Bomb Group, Regensburg mission, 17 August 1943, Telergma, AlgeriaVariant 2 - Capt. Thomas E. Murphy crew351st Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb,Thorpe Abbotts, Great Britain, 21 September 1943Variant 1Variant 2Variant 2INFO Eduard7Červenec 2024Page 8
The B-17F “Alice from Dallas” was one of theoriginal aircraft that moved with the unit toEngland after completing stateside training.She was the ship of the crew led by Lt. WilliamD. DeSanders of Dallas, Texas, who named thisplane after his wife. DeSanders’ crew flew withAlice from the beginning of the unit’s combatoperations in late June 1943 until the missionto Trondheim, Norway, on July 24, 1943, afterwhich the pilot was hospitalized with a type of flu.The rest of the crew flew the very next day ona mission in another B-17F with a replacementpilot and never returned. After heavy flak hits,the aircraft crashed into the North Sea. For theraid on Regensburg on August 17, 1943, whenLt. DeSanders was still hospitalized, Alice wasassigned to Lt. Roy F. Claytor. Subsequently, shewas one of the victims of the first attack by Ger-man fighters before arriving at the target. Of thesix ships composing the lower squadron, led byMaj. Gale “Bucky” Cleven, only two remained.In all, the 100th Bomb Group lost nine B-17s thatday. Without his original crew, William DeSanderscontinued his operational tour, which he com-pleted on February 14, 1944, in the B-17G “Alicefrom Dallas II.” Sitting in the other seat in thecockpit with him was commanding pilot John H.“Lucky” Luckadoo. After returning to the U.S., BillDeSanders lived in Dallas with his wife Alice untilhis death in 1983.The B-17F 42-5867 was built in the 30th pro-duction block of the F series at the Vega plantin Burbank. In addition to other specifics typicalof this production, such as larger national insig-nia on the fuselage and a low camouflage paintborder, it also had one of the evolutionary formsof the cheek gun window installed on the leftside. Inscriptions of the aircraft name on bothsides were accompanied by a small drawing ofa gremlin releasing bombs from a potty. It wasa simplified figure from the 350th Bomb Squad-ron emblem.Lt. William D. Desanders crew, 350th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group,Thorpe Abbotts, Great Britain, August 1943INFO Eduard8Červenec 2024Page 9
The B-17F “Alice from Dallas” was one of theoriginal aircraft that moved with the unit toEngland after completing stateside training.She was the ship of the crew led by Lt. WilliamD. DeSanders of Dallas, Texas, who named thisplane after his wife. DeSanders’ crew flew withAlice from the beginning of the unit’s combatoperations in late June 1943 until the missionto Trondheim, Norway, on July 24, 1943, afterwhich the pilot was hospitalized with a type of flu.The rest of the crew flew the very next day ona mission in another B-17F with a replacementpilot and never returned. After heavy flak hits,the aircraft crashed into the North Sea. For theraid on Regensburg on August 17, 1943, whenLt. DeSanders was still hospitalized, Alice wasassigned to Lt. Roy F. Claytor. Subsequently, shewas one of the victims of the first attack by Ger-man fighters before arriving at the target. Of thesix ships composing the lower squadron, led byMaj. Gale “Bucky” Cleven, only two remained.In all, the 100th Bomb Group lost nine B-17s thatday. Without his original crew, William DeSanderscontinued his operational tour, which he com-pleted on February 14, 1944, in the B-17G “Alicefrom Dallas II.” Sitting in the other seat in thecockpit with him was commanding pilot John H.“Lucky” Luckadoo. After returning to the U.S., BillDeSanders lived in Dallas with his wife Alice untilhis death in 1983.The B-17F 42-5867 was built in the 30th pro-duction block of the F series at the Vega plantin Burbank. In addition to other specifics typicalof this production, such as larger national insig-nia on the fuselage and a low camouflage paintborder, it also had one of the evolutionary formsof the cheek gun window installed on the leftside. Inscriptions of the aircraft name on bothsides were accompanied by a small drawing ofa gremlin releasing bombs from a potty. It wasa simplified figure from the 350th Bomb Squad-ron emblem.Lt. William D. Desanders crew, 350th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group,Thorpe Abbotts, Great Britain, August 1943The crew of Lt. Glenn W. Dye, one of the origi-nal 100th Bomb Group crews that moved to En-gland together after stateside training, was thefirst crew of this unit to complete a tour of 25operational missions. Their aircraft was des-ignated EP-J and named Sunny, but they lost iton September 3, 1943, when another crew wasshot down with her. They named their new B-17,designated EP-K, Sunny II, and finished the tourwith her on September 16, 1943. The tour at thattime was not completed by the co-pilot, Lt. JohnH. Luckadoo, who, because of Lt. Dye’s team pro-motion to lead crew, was 4 missions short.Sunny II was later used by other crews who flewmost of her 14 missions, during which she sus-tained extensive battle damage and not only oncereturned with wounded aboard. The aircraft’sfatal mission was Ludwigshafen on December30, 1943, when flak over the target knocked outtwo of her engines. The lone return ended forthe crew of Lt. George W. Brannan with anemergency landing on a field near ThorpeAbbotts. Sunny II was destroyed but wasable to bring her crew home once again.The original co-pilot of Sunny II, Lt. JohnH. “Lucky” Luckadoo, became the opera-tions officer and commanding pilot of the351st and later the 350th Bomb Squadronafter his crew mates finished. He complet-ed his operational tour in February 1944.Today, at the age of 102, Lucky is one of thelast living veterans of the 100th BG and isvery active in passing on the legacy of hisstory, the story of his comrades, and theentire 100th BG to younger generations.Variant 1 - EP-K, Capt. Glenn W. Dye crew, 351st Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group,Thorpe Abbotts, Great Britain, September 1943Variant 2 - EP-J, Lt. George W. Brannan crew, 351st Bomb Squadron,100th Bomb Group, Thorpe Abbotts, Great Britain, 30 December 1943Variant 1Variant 2Variant 2INFO Eduard9Červenec 2024Page 10
Starting their missions during the most chal-lenging period in the life of the 100th Bomb Groupin early October 1943 was not an ideal begin-ning for young combat crews. However, whensuch conditions meet strong character, charis-ma, and personal determination, a legend canemerge. One of the 100th BG’s greatest legendswas Robert “Rosie” Rosenthal. They began theiroperational tour with three combat missionsin three days. On the first of these, on October8, 1943, they took off in their brand new B-17Fnamed Rosie’s Riveters for a raid on Bremen.The mission from which 7 aircraft from their unitdid not return was a horror for the rookies. Theythemselves returned with a badly damaged Ros-ie’s Riveters, which, like Rosie’s crew, was havinga baptism of fire. The next day, characterized bya much quieter mission, they flew a borrowedB-17F “Royal Flush”. Another day later, on Octo-ber 10, 1943, Rosenthal’s crew took off in the RoyalFlush for Munster. On that day, 12 aircraft fromthe Bloody Hundredth formation did not return.12 out of 13! The Royal Flush, with “Rosie” Rosen-thal and “Pappy” Lewis at the controls, after anincredible dogfight with German fighters andan endless crawl home, with only two workingengines, finally landed on the runway at ThorpeAbbotts to be the only ones to bear witness to thehorror over Munster.That’s when the young lawyer from Brooklynwho volunteered for the Army Air Force beganto become a legend. As the crew finished theiroperational tour in early March 1944, RobertRosenthal volunteered for the second… and lat-er for the third. He later became commander ofthe 350th BS and then the 418th BS. Rosie wasan exceptional pilot and an inspirational leader tomany of his men. He flew as a command pilot forthe 100th BG and the entire 13th CW. His combatduty ended on 3 February 1945 when he was shotdown in a mission to Berlin. With the damagedB-17, he continued eastward in an attempt to getbehind the battle lines. After all surviving crewmembers parachuted out, he abandoned the air-craft as well. Rosie parachuted behind the frontlines and, with the help of the Red Army, madehis way to the American Embassy in Moscow andthen back to England.After the war, Robert Rosenthal was one of theUS investigators at the Nuremberg war crime tri-als. From the late 1960s until his death in 2007,he was one of the leaders of the Association,later Foundation of the 100th Bomb Group.In early 1944, after receiving a new B-17G asa lead crew, Rosenthal’s team handed over hisB-17F Rosie’s Riveters to her new users, the crewof Lt. Ross E. McPhee. They renamed it SatchaLass and were shot down with her on 4 February1944 during a mission to Frankfurt.Lt. Robert ”Rosie“ Rosenthal crew, 418th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, Bremen mission, 8 October 1943INFO Eduard10Červenec 2024Page 11
Starting their missions during the most chal-lenging period in the life of the 100th Bomb Groupin early October 1943 was not an ideal begin-ning for young combat crews. However, whensuch conditions meet strong character, charis-ma, and personal determination, a legend canemerge. One of the 100th BG’s greatest legendswas Robert “Rosie” Rosenthal. They began theiroperational tour with three combat missionsin three days. On the first of these, on October8, 1943, they took off in their brand new B-17Fnamed Rosie’s Riveters for a raid on Bremen.The mission from which 7 aircraft from their unitdid not return was a horror for the rookies. Theythemselves returned with a badly damaged Ros-ie’s Riveters, which, like Rosie’s crew, was havinga baptism of fire. The next day, characterized bya much quieter mission, they flew a borrowedB-17F “Royal Flush”. Another day later, on Octo-ber 10, 1943, Rosenthal’s crew took off in the RoyalFlush for Munster. On that day, 12 aircraft fromthe Bloody Hundredth formation did not return.12 out of 13! The Royal Flush, with “Rosie” Rosen-thal and “Pappy” Lewis at the controls, after anincredible dogfight with German fighters andan endless crawl home, with only two workingengines, finally landed on the runway at ThorpeAbbotts to be the only ones to bear witness to thehorror over Munster.That’s when the young lawyer from Brooklynwho volunteered for the Army Air Force beganto become a legend. As the crew finished theiroperational tour in early March 1944, RobertRosenthal volunteered for the second… and lat-er for the third. He later became commander ofthe 350th BS and then the 418th BS. Rosie wasan exceptional pilot and an inspirational leader tomany of his men. He flew as a command pilot forthe 100th BG and the entire 13th CW. His combatduty ended on 3 February 1945 when he was shotdown in a mission to Berlin. With the damagedB-17, he continued eastward in an attempt to getbehind the battle lines. After all surviving crewmembers parachuted out, he abandoned the air-craft as well. Rosie parachuted behind the frontlines and, with the help of the Red Army, madehis way to the American Embassy in Moscow andthen back to England.After the war, Robert Rosenthal was one of theUS investigators at the Nuremberg war crime tri-als. From the late 1960s until his death in 2007,he was one of the leaders of the Association,later Foundation of the 100th Bomb Group.In early 1944, after receiving a new B-17G asa lead crew, Rosenthal’s team handed over hisB-17F Rosie’s Riveters to her new users, the crewof Lt. Ross E. McPhee. They renamed it SatchaLass and were shot down with her on 4 February1944 during a mission to Frankfurt.Lt. Robert ”Rosie“ Rosenthal crew, 418th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, Bremen mission, 8 October 1943B-17F 42-3307, later named Skipper, was notamong the aircraft the unit moved to Thorpe Ab-botts, although it arrived there before the Hun-dredth began combat flying. Skipper was ableto take part in the unit’s second combat missionon June 26, 1943. It was chosen as his person-al aircraft by the 351st Squadron commander,Maj. Ollen O. Turner. The new B-17 was namedafter Turner’s nickname for his wife, althoughthe nickname soon carried over to Maj. Turner aswell.During August and September, Skipper flewseveral combat missions under the care of itscrew chief, Dewey R. Christopher, and his team.On October 10, 1943, it was assigned to the com-bat formation for the raid on Munster. Yes, themission from which Robert Rosenthal returnedin the B-17F Royal Flush as the only one of thewhole unit. Skipper was saved from certain de-struction by a malfunctioning No. 2 engine, whichcaused its crew to abort and return early.On January 24, 1944, the 100th BombardmentGroup headed for Frankfurt. Skipper took itsplace in the formation, with the crew of Lt. Ar-chie J. Drummond aboard. Shortly after take-off, at an altitude of 700 feet, they were blindedby the sharp landing lights of a B-24 taking offfrom another nearby base. Since the B-24 pilotsapparently did not see the B-17 in front of them,Lt. Drummond pushed the heavy, bomb-ladenaircraft to the ground in an attempt to avoida collision. Skipper thus avoided the Liberator inVariant 1 - Maj. Ollen O. Turner. CO of 351st BS,Lt. Jack R. Swartout crew, 351st Bomb Squad-ron, 100th Bomb Group, Thorpe Abbotts, July1943Variant 2 - Lt. Archie J. “Four Mile” Drummondcrew, 351st Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group,Thorpe Abbotts, 24 January 1944a right descending turn, but at the same timecame dangerously close to the ground. As heleveled off, he caught his left wing on the roofof a farm building about 15 miles from the base.The gasoline from the punctured tanks turnedthe aircraft into a flaming torch. The machineflew through a small forest and landed ina field beyond. The impact with the ground threwthe bombardier, Lt. Maurice G. Zetlen, throughthe Perspex nose. He succumbed to his injuriesat the scene. Miraculously, the rest of the crewmanaged to crawl out themselves from the burn-ing aircraft. The Skipper, however, was destroyedwhere it landed.Variant 1Variant 2Variant 2INFO Eduard11Červenec 2024Page 12
The fate of the B-17F 42-5957, nicknamed HornyII, and its crews was very turbulent. It returnedfrom its first mission on September 6, 1943, witha dead co-pilot on board and a seriously wound-ed pilot, bombardier, and navigator. On a missionto Stuttgart that day, this B-17 was flown by thecrew of Lt. Sumner H. Reeder. Despite the badlydamaged aircraft, he managed to return to En-gland. For this feat, he was awarded the DSC.The aircraft was repaired and assigned to thecrew of Lt. Henry M. Henington. Their very firstmission with this ship was a raid on Bremenon October 8, 1943, one of the worst days forthe Bloody Hundredth. Horny II again returnedfrom the mission with only two working engines.Henington’s crew completed its operational tourof 25 missions in late 1943, flying a large portionof them in this aircraft. The last mission of Hen-ington’s team took place on December 31, 1943.The target was Paris, and Horny II returned againwith only two working engines and with flat land-ing gear tires.By early May 1944, Horny II was close to be-coming the first B-17 from the 8th Air Force to fly50 missions. This impending record was ruinedby an electrical discharge that caused the gas-oline cleaning the aircraft on the hardstand toburst into flames. All that remained of Horny IIwas charred wreckage. However, in its 49 mis-sions, it was a reliable airplane for its crews,always managing to bring them home despiteconsiderable damage.crews of Lt. Sumner H. Reeder,Lt. Henry M. Henington, 349th BombSquadron, 100th Bomb Group,Thorpe Abbotts, early 1944INFO Eduard12Červenec 2024Page 13
The fate of the B-17F 42-5957, nicknamed HornyII, and its crews was very turbulent. It returnedfrom its first mission on September 6, 1943, witha dead co-pilot on board and a seriously wound-ed pilot, bombardier, and navigator. On a missionto Stuttgart that day, this B-17 was flown by thecrew of Lt. Sumner H. Reeder. Despite the badlydamaged aircraft, he managed to return to En-gland. For this feat, he was awarded the DSC.The aircraft was repaired and assigned to thecrew of Lt. Henry M. Henington. Their very firstmission with this ship was a raid on Bremenon October 8, 1943, one of the worst days forthe Bloody Hundredth. Horny II again returnedfrom the mission with only two working engines.Henington’s crew completed its operational tourof 25 missions in late 1943, flying a large portionof them in this aircraft. The last mission of Hen-ington’s team took place on December 31, 1943.The target was Paris, and Horny II returned againwith only two working engines and with flat land-ing gear tires.By early May 1944, Horny II was close to be-coming the first B-17 from the 8th Air Force to fly50 missions. This impending record was ruinedby an electrical discharge that caused the gas-oline cleaning the aircraft on the hardstand toburst into flames. All that remained of Horny IIwas charred wreckage. However, in its 49 mis-sions, it was a reliable airplane for its crews,always managing to bring them home despiteconsiderable damage.crews of Lt. Sumner H. Reeder,Lt. Henry M. Henington, 349th BombSquadron, 100th Bomb Group,Thorpe Abbotts, early 1944Perhaps no other B-17F in the 100th BG waswrapped in as many legends as this aircraft.It was surrounded by the recurring number 13.Some of these legends were real, some fictional,but Hard Luck’s status as an exceptional aircraftis indisputable. The aircraft had the last two dig-its of its s/n “13” and arrived in England on August19, 1943. Legend says it was a Friday 13th, andwas flown to England by Lt. Don Mitchell’s crew,No. 13. This is no longer considered true. Anyway,Mitchell’s crew did fly with Hard Luck on theirfirst combat mission and several more thereaf-ter. The Hard Luck’s hard stand was to be the onewith the number 13, and the 100th BombardmentGroup was part of the 13th Combat Wing. Othermen that flew this aircraft included Lt. Loren C.Van Steenis’ crew, which is primarily associatedwith this aircraft. They flew 17 missions with HardLuck.One cannot write about Hard Luck withoutmentioning her ground crew chief, the distinctiveM/Sgt. Glenn M. “Zip” Myers, to whom (amongothers) the aircraft owed its long combat career.Toward the end of 1943 and into the winter of 1944,other crews flew this aircraft, including those ofRandall T. Chadwick, John M. Shelly, and espe-cially John S. Giles, who flew 8 missions withher. After the mission on May 8, 1944, the aircrafthad a long “wellness” break. Hard Luck receiveda new glass nose, waist windows closures, anda new type of top turret from a cannibalized B-17G.All four engines were overhauled. In fact, thisaircraft became the 8th Air Force’s record holderafter flying 50 combat missions with the originalengines and turbochargers with which she wasflown across the ocean in the summer of 1943.After repairs, she returned to combat duty onJuly 8, 1944, with the crew of Lt. Albert E. Trom-mer, which was on their third combat missionand became Hard Luck’s primary user for theremainder of her existence. In addition to train-ing flights, they flew 8 combat missions togetherduring July 1944. On August 14, 1944, Hard Luckflew her 62nd mission, this time with the crewof Lt. Donald E. Cielewich. The target was Lud-wigshafen. There, the aircraft was fatally hit byflak. The crew dropped the bombs, and the air-craft headed for the ground in a wide turn. Beforethis B-17 impacted the ground, she allowed allthe men aboard to leave the aircraft with para-chutes. Hard Luck was thus the last B-17F to flycombat with the 100th BG.Variant 1 - crews of Lt. Loren C. Van Steenis and Lt. John S. Giles, Jr, 350th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group,Thorpe Abbotts, April 1944Variant 2 - Lt. Albert E. Trommer crew, 350th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, Thorpe Abbotts, July 1944Variant 1Variant 2Variant 2INFO Eduard13Červenec 2024MUSTANGS IN THE BATTLE OF NORMANDY
Once SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) assumed operational control of all air forces in England at the beginning of April 1944, Air Chief Marshal Tedder, second in command of the invasion force to General Eisenhower, placed himself in overall command of air operations. He directed Eighth Air Force to concentrate its missions against the rail transportation system in Germany, Holland, Belgium and France in the weeks leading up to D-Day.
Adapted from “Clean Sweep: VIII Fighter Adapted from “Clean Sweep: VIII FighterCommand Against the Luftwaffe - 1942-45"Command Against the Luftwaffe - 1942-45"Thomas McKelvey CleaverP-51Bs and P-51Ds of the 361st Fighter Group readyfor takeoff on D-Day, June 6, 1944. (USAF Official)MUSTANGSIN THE BATTLEOF NORMANDYOnce SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) assumedoperational control of all air forces in England at the beginning of April 1944,Air Chief Marshal Tedder, second in command of the invasion force to GeneralEisenhower, placed himself in overall command of air operations. He directedEighth Air Force to concentrate its missions against the rail transportation systemin Germany, Holland, Belgium and France in the weeks leading up to D-Day.April also saw Eighth Air Force commanderGeneral Doolittle's decision to standardize VIIIFighter Command on the Mustang, re-equippingthe groups equipped with P-47s and P-38s asP-51s were delivered and became available.Priority was given to re-equipping the Lightninggroups, due to the airplane’s poor record in thecommand.On April 8, when the Fourth Fighter Group’sscore was 296, Don Blakeslee set a goal of 500destroyed by May 1, a good indication of howfast the air war was now moving, since theFourth only had a score of 100 over 18 months ofcombat at the end of January. The Eagles outdidtheir leader’s challenge, with credits for 207destroyed in the air and on the ground by April 30,for a total score of 503, passing their long-timerivals the Wolfpack to become to top-scoringfighter group in the Eighth Air Force.Following an epic party on the base the nightof April 30, the Fourth was still able to provideescort on May 1 to Saarbrucken. John Godfrey,now promoted to flight leader in his own rightand no longer in Gentile’s shadow, led his flightafter a gaggle of 12 Bf 109s he spotted below.He chased one to low altitude where he hit theengine solidly and the pilot bailed out to give himhis 14th aerial victory. Ralph Hofer scored histenth victory when his enemy pilot bailed out soclose ahead of him that“I could see his uniformand his black boots in the sun.”Two other pilotsalso scored off this group of enemy fighters.The Fourth didn’t score again for a week.HISTORYINFO Eduard14Červenec 2024Page 15
On May 8, the bombers went to both Berlin andBrunswick. The mission saw the 352nd FighterGroup fly their first all-Mustang escort missionand the “Blue Nosers” finally appeared overBerlin. The Jadgdwaffe responded with over 200fighters. The group’s patrol area was soon thescene of dogfights from 30,000 feet to street-level with the action hot and heavy for nearly anhour.Over Brunswick, the 487th squadron’s 2ndLieutenant Carl Luksic gained the distinctionof being the VIII Fighter Command first “ace ina day.” His encounter report provides an accuratedescription of the action:“While Lieutenant Bob O’Nan was chasingthis Bf 109 I saw on my left five or six FW 190swhich I immediately turned into. I put down tendegrees of flaps and started queuing up on oneof the ’190s. I fired very short bursts from about300 yards, 15 degrees deflection and observedmany strikes on the canopy and fuselage.He immediately pulled up and rolled over andthe pilot bailed out, his airplane going straightin from fifteen hundred feet. At this time in thisvicinity there were three ’chutes – one from theenemy aircraft that I had shot down and one fromthe enemy aircraft that Lieutenant O’Nan hadshot down, but I do not know where the third onecame from.I then broke away from one shooting at me andgot onto another ’190’s tail and fired short bursts,but did not see any hits. However, the pilotevidently spun out as he went straight into theground from eight hundred feet or so and blewup. I was then joined by two P-47s but lost them,and finally joined up with two from our own group,Captain Cutler [from the 486th squadron] and hiswingman. He started down over Brunswick tostrafe a ‘drome, but observing so much groundfire and flak I pulled up and away and lost them.I then saw another airplane which I thought tobe a P-51. I closed on it to about thirty yards andidentified it as a ’109. I gave a short burst, butdon’t know if there were any strikes, and I foundmyself riding his wing as I was at full throttle.He was about two hundred feet off the deck, andwhen he looked at me he pulled up, jettisonedhis canopy and bailed out. I went down and tooka picture of the airplane, which had crashed intoa small wood, and right onto a small fire.I started to climb back up when I was rejoinedby my wingman, Lieutenant O’Nan, and RedLeader, Captain Davis. We started back towardsthe bombers when off to our left at nine o’clock“I then broke awayfrom one shootingat me and got ontoanother ’190’s tail…A P-51D of the 4th Fighter Group’s 334th Fighter Squadron with D-Day identification markings. (USAF Official)P-51s prepare for takeoff from the Fourth Fighter Group’s base at Debden. (USAF Official)P-51Ds of the 20th Fighter Group’s 77th Fighter Squadron. The 20th exchanged their P-38s for P-51s in July 1944.(USAF Official)HISTORYINFO Eduard15Červenec 2024Page 16
low we observed about twenty-plus in closeformation going down through the clouds.The three of us immediately turned into the attackand came down on them through the clouds.I found myself directly astern of a ’190, witha ’109 flying his wing in close formation. I wasevidently unseen as I got in a very successfulburst at the ’109 and observed numerous hitson his wings, fuselage and tail. He was at abouteight hundred feet, and after catching fire hewent straight down into the ground.I immediately kicked a little right rudder andgot in another successful burst at the ’190 andobserved numerous hits on its left wing, engineand canopy. The ’190 went into a tight spiral andcrashed into the deck from a thousand feet.At this point there were about fifteen or moreenemy aircraft in the vicinity and they startedaggressive tactics, and since I was alone, andthey were making head-on passes at me, I hadto take violent evasive action. I evaded into theclouds.”Following close behind Luksic were 487thsquadron commander Lt. Colonel John C. Meyerand Lieutenants John Thornell and Clayton Davis,who claimed three each. The group returned toBodney with total claims of 27 destroyed, theirbest day ever. The day’s action earned theBodney Blue Nosers their first Distinguished UnitCitation, while Luksic, Meyer, Thornell and Daviswere awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.While the Blue Nosers scored over Berlin,VIII Fighter Command Mustangs were rangingfarther and farther afield. That same day,the Fourth escorted bombers to Brüx (Most),Czechoslovakia, nearly 800 miles from Debden.JG 27's Bf 109s provided opposition, but theMustangs came out on top with five pilotssubmitting claims for five destroyed. The nextday, the group flew east of Berlin to pick upbombers returning from a strike on Poznan,Poland over the Oder river.While the Eagles flew to Poland, the 352ndwent to Berlin again on May 13, the Blue Nosersgot involved in a massive battle with interceptingenemy fighters. Nearing Tribsees-Demmin, hugeformations of Bf 109s and Fw 190s were spottedforming up to attack the bombers. First bloodwas drawn by the 328th squadron’s Captain JohnColeman and his element leader 1st LieutenantFrancis Horne, who each scored two. Groupcommander Colonel Joe Mason led the 486thsquadron into a force estimated as “100-plus.”The squadron broke into individual flights, withthe Mustangs attempting to break up the enemyformation.Mason, leading White Flight swept throughenemy fighters that turned away, and he laterreported:“I saw strikes on the wing of one Me 109. Uponcoming out on the far side, I lost the rest of myflight. As I pulled up in a climbing turn and lookeddown at the large formation of bandits, I saw twoMe 109s spinning down, one with about two-thirds of its wing gone. This collision was forcedby my flight flying through the large formation ofbandits at about a ninety-degree angle. I am notcertain as to whether the ’109 I damaged was oneof the two I later saw going down.My wingman broke away and down when westarted through, and my second element pulledup and came in on the rear of the bandits. Theydid not see the collision. I then rolled back anddown, chasing twenty FW 190s and Me 109s whichhad split off from the bunch and were divingfor the clouds. I closed on an FW 190 and aftera few short bursts, set him on fire. The first burstknocked his left flap off. He was taking evasiveaction in the clouds, and just before entering one,smoke, flame and debris came back over my shipand we both went into the cloud. I then pulled upto keep from running into him in the cloud, andcame out on top. My ship was covered with oilfrom the ’190.”P-51D-10 “Straw Boss” of the 352nd Fighter Group, the “Blue-Nosed Bastards of Bodney.” (USAF Official)“The rst burstknocked his left apoff…”HISTORYINFO Eduard16Červenec 2024Page 17
Mason claimed two Bf 109s and one Fw 190destroyed and one Bf 109 damaged.George Preddy, leading the 487th squadron,joined the fight shortly after Mason scored hisvictories. Spotting 30 Bf 109s below, Preddy ledthe squadron’s bounce on them and personallydowned two, with these he became an ace witha tally of 5.333 aerial victories. While Preddyscored, Lieutenant Nutter closed in when theremaining Bf 109s tried to flee and sent anotherdown on fire. “Ace in a day” Carl Luksic andhis wingman Glennon Moran spotted a Ju 88attacking a B-17. Both attacked and the Junkerscrash-landed in a ploughed field. When it didn’tcatch fire, Luksic strafed it and set it afire.The 352nd’s score of 16 destroyed made themthe top-scoring VIII Fighter Command group forthe day. Colonel Joe Mason was awarded a DSC.The Jagdwaffe reported 58 losses, three lessthan the day before.The result of the success the fighter groupshad achieved in April and early May saw moralein the bomber groups begin to recover as thecrews realized they were flying missions withfewer casualties, due to the offensive fighterescort tactics. Losses would get progressivelylower for the rest of the war, but May 1944was when those who climbed into the bombersbegan to believe they had a chance to make ithome, even when Doolittle increased the tour to35 missions that summer.Range for P-51s would increase as theMustang-equipped groups saw their aircraftmodified to allow them to carry two 108-gallonpaper tanks, rather than the metal 75-gallontanks they had been using. The modification tookseveral days for each group and was carriedout a group at a time over mid-May, the Fourthwas the first to do this between May 14-18. Nowable to take their Mustangs to places where noAmerican fighter had been seen before, or to staylonger for the fight over targets like Berlin, theFourth continued amassing victories.On May 21, as part of the TransportationProgram SHAEF planners had developed todisrupt German rail transportation, VIII FighterCommand and IX Tactical Air Command flewwhat was called “Chattanooga Day” (named forthe popular song, “Chattanooga Choo-Choo”),with 552 Mustangs, Lightnings and Thunderboltsturned loose over central and western Germany,and northern France and Belgium, to attackrailroads. The groups came back with claims for225 locomotives attacked, with 91 considereddestroyed. Strafing ground targets had not beenlimited to railroads, since the pilots also claimed102 aircraft destroyed on airfields, with a further76 damaged. The 361st Fighter Group, led byPhilippines and Guadalcanal veteran ColonelThomas J.J. Christian, the great grandsonof Confederate general Stonewall Jackson,made their first appearance flying P-51s aftertransferring from P-47s and submitted claims forwrecking 23 locomotives. Chattanooga Day wasthe pre-invasion high point of railroad attacksthat had begun back in February and saw over900 locomotives destroyed over four months.Berlin was attacked again on May 24. JimGoodson led the Fourth and spotted 40-plusnear Hamburg gathering for an attack on thebomber stream. When the Mustangs hit theformation, they soon came across several othergaggles nearby. Ralph Hofer later reportedseeing “several gaggles of Fw 190s.” When theyreturned to Debden, the pilots claimed anothereight destroyed.The next day, Goodson again led the group,this time an escort to bomb the railyards inChaumont-Sarreguemines in northern France. Helater reported,"We saw fighters and immediatelywent to investigate.”The opponents were from JG26, with 20 Fw 190s from II Gruppe, covered byThe 352nd’s Captain Bill Whisner flew P-51B “Princess Elizabeth” - so named to commemorate a visit to Bodneyin June 1944 by the future queen - throughout the summer of 1944. (photo represents currently flying warbirdP-51C-10NT now operated in USA under registration N487FS; photo: American Air Museum in Britain)P-51D-5 “Short Fuse” was flown by Captain Richard E. Turner of the 354th Fighter Group’s 356th FighterSquadron. (USAF Official)The Resuméof the huntingChattanooga DayReturn to BerlinHISTORYINFO Eduard17Červenec 2024Page 18
30 Bf 109s from III Gruppe.“We split them up,but due to the fact that we were outnumberedfifty to eight, we were not able to destroy any.My wingman and I ended up alone on the deck.As he climbed to rejoin the group, Goodsonspotted 24 Bf 109s and Fw 190s flying in closeformation of six “vics” of four each, in line astern.I told my wingman we would try to sneak upbehind and knock off the last section and thenrun away in the haze. As we were closing on thelast section, all the Huns broke, and a lengthydogfight ensued, with the Fw 190s showingamazing fighting ability and aggressiveness.It was only after the most violent maneuveringand excessive use of throttle and flaps that I wasable to get good strikes on the most persistent’190. He pulled up and bailed out.”Goodson’sfourteenth aerial victory turned out to be his last.With the fighters of IX Tactical Air Commandstriking every target they could find in NorthernFrance and Belgium, and fighter groups fromVIII Fighter Command strafing targets duringtheir returns from every escort mission,while A-20 Havocs and B-26 Marauders of theIX Air Force and the Eighth’s B-17s and B-24shit every rail target in the region, the GermanArmy in northwestern France was soon cut offfrom its supply bases. The strikes on airfieldsforced the defending fighters to pull back deeperinto France and Germany. The week before theinvasion, the commander of the German SeventhArmy, tasked with defending Normandy, calledthe roads in the army’s area of operations “JaboRennstrecke” (fighter-bomber racecourses).The Luftwaffe had fewer aircraft availableon the Channel coast at the end of May thanhad been available at the time of the DieppeRaid. JG 2, which had been assigned to theCherbourg Peninsula since 1941, was closestto the Normandy beaches. I./JG 2 had onlyrecently returned from the fighting at Anzio.The Bf 109-equipped II./JG 2 was at Creil outsideParis, while III./JG 2's Fw 190s were in theprocess of transferring to Fontenay-le-Comtenorth of La Rochelle.With a forecast for stormy weather duringthe first week in June that seemed to precludeany likelihood of invasion, JG 26 KommodoreOberst Josef “Pips” Priller felt safe givingsome pilots time off. II Gruppe left for Mont deMarsan near Biarritz for a week’s leave on June 1.The other two gruppen were ordered to moveinland on June 5, with I Gruppe moving to Reims andIII Gruppe to Nancy.Their ground echelons were still on the roadwhen dawn came on June 6.The Fourth’s Bob Wehrman remembered“June6, 1944, really was the longest day. We hadDouble-Daylight Savings Time in England, whichmeant dawn came around 0300 hours. None ofus had slept much that night. The sky was filledfor hours with the drone of aircraft. I spottedbombers heading toward invasion targets andC-47s carrying what I later learned were theBritish and American paratroops.”“Pips” Priller learned the invasion was onwhen he was awakened by the phone in his Lillecommand post. It was from 5th Jagddivision,Eighth Fighter Command recommended groups apply camouflage to aluminum-finish P-51s in May 1944 before the invasion, in the expectation the fightergroups might deploy to mainland Europe following the invasion. The 357th Fighter Group was the only group in Eighth fighter command to completely painttheir Mustangs, using RAF Dark Green on upper surfaces and RAF Sea Grey Medium on lower surfaces. (USAF Official)This photograph of a mixed formation of P-51B and P-51D Mustangs of the 361st Figher Group was taken in lateJuly-early August 1944, and became one of the iconoic photos of the Second World War. (USAF Official)The Longest DayHISTORYINFO Eduard18Červenec 2024Page 19
ordering him to move his headquartersimmediately to Poix-de-Picardie, closer to theanticipated invasion site on the Pas de Calais.The dawn skies were a leaden grey at 0800 hoursas Priller and his longtime wingman, UnteroffizierHeinz Wodarczyk, mounted their Fw 190A-8sand prepared to take off for a reconnaissanceof the invasion beaches. With Wodarczyksticking close, Priller headed southwest atan altitude of 100 meters. East of Abbeville,he looked up and saw several large formationsof Spitfires flying through the broken cloudbase. Near Le Havre, he climbed into the cloudbank hanging at 200 meters and turned west.Moments later, the two fighters broke out ofthe clouds, just south the British invasion beachcode-named Sword. Priller only had a moment tostare out to sea at the largest naval force everassembled in history. He could see wakes of theinbound invasion barges as they approachedthe beaches for as far as he could see in thehazy weather. With a shouted “Good luck!” toWodarczyk, Priller winged over into a dive ashis airspeed indicator climbed above 400 m.p.h.Dropping to an altitude of 50 feet, the two roaredtoward Sword Beach, where British troops dovefor cover while ships offshore opened up witha barrage of anti-aircraft fire so loud thoseon the ground had trouble hearing Priller andWodarczyk open fire as they flashed overhead,unscathed by the fleet’s fire.In a moment, the only appearance by theLuftwaffe over the Normandy beaches on D-Daywas over. Priller and Wodarczyk zoomed backinto the cloud bank and disappeared, havingjust flown the best-known mission in the entirehistory of JG 26, due to its later inclusion inCornelius Ryan’s book “The Longest Day” and themovie made from it.JG 26's I and III Gruppen flew the majorityof the 172 Luftwaffe sorties in the invasionsector on June 6. It was a drop in the bucketcompared to the 14,000 sorties flown that dayby the Allied air forces. By the end of the day,II Gruppe arrived after flying across France intime to fly a mission over Normandy in the lastlight of day, during which they caught the Fourth’sMustangs strafing enemy positions and shotdown four P-51Bs in the first pass for no losses.For most of the next eight weeks, I. Gruppe andIII./JG 54 operated from Cormeilles and Boissy leBois, while II. Gruppe was based at Guyancourtoutside Paris, and III. Gruppe from VillacoublayNord and Sud, also in the Paris region.By the evening of June 7, there were only sixJagdgeschwadern left in Germany, while 17 hadflown into northwestern France to oppose theinvasion. Had these units been at full strength,this would have been over 1,000 fighters,a force that might have had an impact on thebattle. Unfortunately, with the losses sufferedover Germany in the preceding months andthe disorganization of the move from Germanyto France, only 289 fighters were listed asoperational at sundown of the second day ofthe invasion. On their arrival in France, theJagdflieger discovered that nearly all theLuftwaffe’s airfields in France had been toobadly damaged by American bombing duringthe previous three months to sustain operations.They would be forced to fly and fight fromimprovised airfields that were so far from thebattlefield they would only have less than30 minutes combat time over Normandy. Dueto the inability of 5th Jagddivision to exercisecontrol of the newly-arrived units in the formof planning and direction of operations, mostfighter missions flown during the Normandybattle were “freie jagd” uncontrolledindependent fighter sweeps, an ineffective useof the limited resources. Over the course of thenext two months, what was left of the flowerof the Jagdwaffe would die in the Norman sky,outnumbered by odds of 100:1 and outflown bybetter-trained and more experienced Alliedpilots. Even with the fighter force growing to1,000 by the end of June, it was a case of “toolittle, too late.”The day’s action saw Priller score his 97th and98th victories, a P-47 and P-51 respectively. Thehard-pressed pilots of I and II Gruppen scoredeight for two losses. The next day, Priller led11 Fw 190s of I Gruppe on a strafing missionagainst the invasion beaches, their “score” wasthe “destruction” of 15 crashed gliders.Operation Pointblank had succeeded. TheAllied air forces now had air superiority overwestern Europe. The five month campaign hadcost the Eighth Air Force 2,600 bombers and 980fighters lost, with 18,400 casualties including10,000 dead.The weather cleared on June 10, a day that sawthe Blue Nosers’ 328th squadron, led by Captain“Ferocious Frankie,” a well-known P-51D-5 of the 361st Fighter Group. (USAF Official)Ralph Hofer was one of the real “characters” of the Fourth Fighter Group. On June 10, 1944, he became the firstAllied fighter pilot to make an emergency landing on an Advanced Landing Ground in Normandy after sufferingdamage to his oil cooler in a dogfight. (USAF Official)“Too little, too late”HISTORYINFO Eduard19Červenec 2024Page 20
John Thornell, spot 40 bomb-carrying Bf 109sflying low toward the beachhead at 300 feet.When the German pilots spotted the Mustangsas they turned in to attack, they salvoed theirbombs and split up, but not before Thornell gottwo of them for his 17th and 18th victories.The day ended with Fourth’s Ralph Hofermaking history as the first Allied fighter toland at the advanced strip near Grandcamp inNormandy after his oil system was damagedby small-arms fire during a strafing pass nearVire. When he returned to Debden the next day,he brought a German helmet and canteen anda German-language version of “Mein Kampf,”that he had bartered from the GIs near the front,which only added to his “screwball” reputation.Throughout the battles over Normandy, thecloudy skies and rain would give cover to fightersof both sides, with units chancing on each otherbecoming involved in sharp, vicious fights.American pilots also received a piece ofpersonal gear that gave them a real advantageover their opponents - the “G” suit, which fitaround the waist and thighs. The suit was pluggedinto the vacuum system, and under increasedG-loads during air combat the suit tightenedaround the thigh and waist, preventing blood frompooling in the lower extremities and preventingthe pilot blacking out while maneuvering. NinthAir Force had been aggressive in obtaining theG-suits and all the P-47 groups in IX Tacticalair Command were using it by D-Day. VIII fightercommand first began getting the equipmentshortly after D-Day and all groups had the gearby mid-summer. Bob Wehrman recalled,“We hadjust gotten the K-14 ‘no missum’ gyro gunsightin July, and then we got the new G-suit. Betweenthe two pieces of gear and the new P-51Ds, wecould outfly the enemy under just about allconditions. In April, the Fourth had tried usingthe British G-suit, which used water, but ithad been discarded for being uncomfortable.As Wehrman described it, You didn’t even noticeyou had the new suit till it started squeezing yourlegs and you didn’t black out as before.”On June 16, the 357th’s Lt. Colonel Tom Hayesused an old trick he had learned while flyingP-39s in New Guinea to attack a rail yard. Thegroup only had 108-gallon paper tanks available,which provided far more fuel than they wouldneed for the mission to the St. Pierre marshallingyard outside Paris. He instructed the pilots todrop their tanks, which were about three-fourthsfull, on the railyard in their first pass. Then theyreturned and set the tanks ablaze with gunfire.There were four large explosions and the targetwas on fire when the Mustangs departed. Wordgot around among the groups about the 357th’ssuccess with using drop tanks as “incendiaries”for strafing.At the end of June, the Jagdwaffe had lost 230pilots killed and 88 wounded, with 551 aircraftA P-51D of the 361st Fighter Group’s 375th Fighter Squadron banks away from camera. Note that the D-Day ID stripes on the fuselage do not carry around the bottomof the radiator. This was frequently done with these stripes, due to the P-51 being so low to the ground. (USAF Official)Luftwaffe heavylossesHISTORYINFO Eduard20Červenec 2024Page 21
shot down in combat over France and a further65 destroyed on the ground. For this cost, theyclaimed 526 Allied aircraft shot down including203 P-47 fighter-bombers.n July 1, Captain Wally Starck led 352nd group’s328th squadron on a mission to strafe suspectedV-1 launch sites, but the squadron becameinvolved in a battle between the 78th group and20 Bf 109s and Fw 190s over St. Quentin. The 78thgroup's mission had been dogged by bad luckfrom the beginning, when two P-47s had collidedduring a mass takeoff on Duxford’s wide grassrunway and exploded. The P-47s were 12,000feet over St. Quentin when Lieutenant JamesStallings spotted five Bf 109s diving on theThunderbolts, bombs tumbled from their wingsat his warning. Stallings managed to avoid theattackers by throwing his P-47 into a violent spin,when he recovered at 3,000 feet, he found he hadno elevator trim.“I’d taken two twenty millimetercannon shells in my tail surface and was darnlucky my controls weren’t completely gone. I hadto keep a lot of forward pressure on the stick tofly straight and level.”Starck led the Mustangs into the fight andimmediately became involved in a turning fightwith a pair of Bf 109s that dived for the deckwhen they couldn’t turn inside him. He followed,opening fire on the wingman at a distance of 100yards. The fighter burst into flames and the pilotbailed out, narrowly missing Starck’s wingman,Lieutenant Sheldon Heyer’s P-51. Starck closedon the leader and succeeded in damaging theMesserschmitt before losing it in the clouds. Twoother Bf 109s were also damaged by LieutenantsCyrus Greer of the 487th and the 328th’s “Punchy”Powell. This was the last fight the “Bluenosers”would engage in, despite flying eight moremissions between July 4-12.The Battle of Normandy was over by earlySeptember, following the liberation of Paris onAugust 25. Steve Pisanos, who had remained withthe Resistance since crashing in France back onMarch 5, remembered the liberation:“Over thetwo weeks before the Germans were chased out,my friends in the resistance had been terrifiedthey would put up a fight for the city and leave itlike Stalingrad. In fact, there was some attemptby the Germans to destroy things. They set outto rig the Seine bridges with explosives, but theresistance went out every night and removed theexplosives. They would leave all the wires andthe boxes the explosives were in, so the Germanswouldn’t realize what had been done. With thecity restored, Pisanos was able to turn himselfin to the American army and returned to Debden.I got back to Debden and three days later I was onmy way back to America. I got there just in time tobe best man for Don Gentile’s wedding.”The Luftwaffe had been reduced to impotenceduring the battle for Normandy. I and IIgruppen of JG 1, and all three gruppen of JG 11,which were dedicated anti-bomber units, hadbeen transferred to France, where they losta combined 100 pilots killed and 200 Fw 190sdestroyed in the air and on the ground over thethree months of combat. In comparison, III./JG 1,which had been transferred to the Eastern Frontand fought there over the summer, suffered theloss of one pilot killed.Two P-51Bs of the 361st Fighter Group’s 376th FighterSquadron prepare for takeoff at Bottisham. (USAF Official)HISTORYINFO Eduard21Červenec 2024The Defense of Israel
During the pre-dawn hours of April 13, Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel. The attack was in response to a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian consular building in Syria two weeks prior which killed two Iranian generals and five other officers. For those following current events, it is of little surprise that regional tensions between Israel and Iran reached a boiling point this spring in the aftermath of the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
Steve BakerTheDefenseof IsraelBoiling pointDuring the pre-dawn hours of April 13, Iranlaunched its first-ever direct attack on Israel.The attack was in response to a suspectedIsraeli strike on an Iranian consular building inSyria two weeks prior which killed two Iraniangenerals and five other officers. For thosefollowing current events, it is of little surprisethat regional tensions between Israel andIran reached a boiling point this spring in theaftermath of the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attackon Israel.The Iranian regime undoubtedly felt significantinternal and external political pressures torespond to the Israeli attack on the consulate.However, the Iranians had to walk the linebetween triggering a full-scale regional warwith the need to show strength. In the two weeksbetween the consulate attack and the Iranianresponse, Iran communicated its intentions viathe Turkish embassy and diplomatic dialoguewas channeled thru Ankara back to Tehran.U.S. Officials warned Iran that any responseneeded to be “within certain limits” to avoidfurther escalation. Using this back-channelinformation, the United States quickly scrambledto coordinate a defensive response with Israeland regional allies to thwart the imminentIranian aerial assault. Israeli air defenses werebolstered with the additional deployment of U.SPatriot SAM systems and U.S. Navy Destroyers inthe eastern Mediterranean Sea. The destroyersUSS Carney (DDG-64) and the USS ArleighBurke (DDG-51) were on station and are AEGIS-equipped vessels, which are highly capable ofshooting down ballistic missiles.The Iranians AttackThe Iranians launched Operation “True Promise”with a massive barrage of approximately 120Emad intermediate-range ballistic missiles(IRBMs), 30 Paveh-type cruise missiles and170 Shahed drones fired at Israel. As U.S. earlydetection capabilities picked up the launches,International civil aviation quickly ceased in theGulf region as the airspace between Iran andIsrael closed. GPS signals were subsequentlyjammed and degraded by western forces in aneffort to minimize the navigational accuracyof the drones. The drones and missiles werelaunched to saturate Israeli defenses by havingall of the weapons arrive within close timeproximity. Iranian IRBMs take approximately20 minutes to reach Israeli territory whilecruise missiles and drones take 2 hour and upto 9 hours respectively. Targets in Israel wereprimarily located in the northern (Golan Heights)and southern (Negev Desert) ends of the countryand away from the more densely populatedareas of the country, undoubtedly a calculatedmove by Tehran.Fighter DefenseThe initial barrage got off to a rather dubiousstart. “U.S. intelligence estimates that half of thePhoto above posted by the IDF on Facebook on April 12th, the day before the attack.“Hellcat” 494th FS F-15E Tail Number AF96-201 returns to RAF Lakenheath with 9 red missiles markingssymbolizing drone killsINFO Eduard22Červenec 2024Page 23
weapons fired by Iran failed upon launch or inflight due to technical issues,” a U.S. Air Forcesenior officer stated. This still left approximately160 weapons in flight towards Israel. Nearly allof the slower, and more vulnerable, Shaheeddrones were systematically intercepted anddestroyed by American, Israeli, British, Frenchand Jordanian fighter aircraft. The U.S. Air Forcehad two F-15E squadrons in theater as well asan F-16 unit. According to U.S. Officials, theydestroyed more than 80 Iranian drones andcruise missiles over Syria, long before theyreached Israeli territory. U.S. President JoeBiden called the commanders of the two F-15Eunits, the 335th Fighter Squadron (Chiefs) and494th Fighter Squadron (Panthers) to commendthem for a job well done. 494th FS aircraftreturning to RAF Lakenheath during the middleof May sported multiple missile markingsalongside other nose art.In addition to the U.S. Air Force, the Royal AirForce also scrambled four Typhoon FGR.4 aircraftfrom RAF Akrotiri in Cypress. The Typhoonsdeployed over the Iraq-Syria border and shotdown between 10 and 20 Shaheed drones. Likethe F-15E, each Typhoon can carry a maximumload of 8 air-to-air missiles. French andJordanian fighter aircraft launched from Jordanto intercept drones and cruise missiles flyingthru northern and central Jordanian airspace.According to French President Emmanuel Macron,the French launched their Rafale fightersstationed at the H5 airbase “at Jordan’s request”.Reports suggest the combined effort in Jordandowned several dozen more drones. Althoughthere were initial rumors that Princess Salma ofJordan may have participated in the intercepts,that rumor has been debunked. Finally, IsraeliF-15 and F-35 aircraft also intercepted Iranianweapons, with IDF spokesperson Adm. DanielHagari stating approximately 25 cruise missiles“were intercepted by IAF fighter jets outside thecountry’s borders”. Most likely, these interceptstook place over Jordanian territory.Missile DefenseThe IRBMs launched from Iran wereintercepted by a variety of systems. A U.S. ArmyPatriot Missile battery in Erbil, Iraq shot down atleast one missile. The previously mentioned U.S.Navy AEGIS destroyers accounted for at leastfour and possibly six more ballistic missiles.Of note, it is likely the destroyers employedthe advanced SM-3 interceptor missile incombat for the first time. However, most of theballistic missile intercepts were reportedlycarried out by Israel. Israel employs the locallydeveloped Arrow Weapon System which is theworld’s first standalone anti-tactical ballisticmissile battery. The Arrow is the outermostshield of Israel’s missile defense. It shoots theArrow 3 missile , which is a hypersonic anti-ballistic missile that intercepts outside theatmosphere and can maneuver in space. Videofootage captured a series of exo-atmosphericdetonations suggesting the Arrow 3 was widelyemployed. The Arrow 3 had “proved itselfagainst a significant number of ballistic missiles”according to IDF spokesman Rear Adm. DanielHagari. Despite this impressive effort, the IDFreported 5 Iranian ballistic missiles impactedNevatim Airbase in the Negev Desert and4 missiles hit another unnamed base. Althoughno lives were lost and damage was reported asminimal, a young Israeli girl was injured fromfalling ballistic missile debris.Iran’s proxy groups in the region, namelyHezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebelsin Yemen, added their own volley of rocketsand drones to the attack. These attacks werelargely thwarted by Israel’s David Sling andIron Dome systems. David’s Sling is the mediumlayer in the defensive missile shield. It uses theStunner and SkyCepter kinetic hit-to-kill missilewhich is effective against short range ballisticmissiles such as those fired from Yemen. TheIron Dome system is designed for shorter rangethreats. Israel has 10 Iron Dome point defensebatteries to provide protection from rocketattacks. Each battery can defend 60 squaremiles. The system predicts if an inbound rocket494th FS F-15E Tail Number AF01-2002 refuelsrom a KC-135. The jet is configured with 6x AIM-120and 2x AIM-9X missiles for the Defensive CounterAir mission.An eco-atmospheric explosion after the successfulinterception of an Iranian IRBM by the Israeli Arrow 3missile.Targeting pod imagery from an Israeli Air Force jettracking an Iranian cruise missileThe terminal phase of a successful Iranian IRBM strikeon a target in the Negev desertTargeting pod imagery from an Israeli Air Force jettracking an Iranian Shahed 136 droneOfficial Photos published by the Israeli Air Forceshowing IDF aircraft and Iron Dome in action duringthe attack.INFO Eduard23Červenec 2024Page 24
is a threat to populated areas or if it will landin an unpopulated area and makes a launchdetermination based on the projected trajectory.Iron Dome utilizes a smaller maneuverableinterceptor missile called the Tamir. It is just6 inches wide and 10 feet long with a proximityfused warhead.A Stunning SuccessAfter the last missiles impacted, Iran wasquick to signal the operation concluded and theywarned against any further retaliation. 99% ofthe projectiles were successfully interceptedby Israel and her allies, a stunning achievementand testament to their preparedness, technology,and training. There has never been a coordinatedaerial and missile defense like it in the historyof warfare. “It’s a win for the concept ofintegrated air and missile defense across thetheater,” retired Marine Corps Gen. KennethF. McKenzie, the CENTCOM commander from2019-2022, told Air & Space Forces Magazine.“People should draw strong conclusions fromwhat just happened about the efficacy of thatapproach”.INFO Eduard24Červenec 2024Page 25
INFO Eduard25Červenec 2024World Class PublishingGuideline Aviation BooksColour Conundrum No ‘s 1, 2 & 3 all £23.00Dambusters and the Lancaster £20.00Fall of Iron £18.00Atlantic Resolve £15.00Aircraft in Prole - British Classics £11.99Aircraft in prole - US Navy and Air Forces £11.99Sepcat Jajuar £20.00Camouage & MarkingsNo. 1 RAF Fighters 1945 - 1950 UK Based £25.00No. 2 The Battle of Britain RAF May - Dec 1940 £25.00No. 3 The Israeli Air Force Part one 1948-67 £25.00No. 4 The Israeli Air Force Part two 1967 - 2001 £25.00No.5 RAF Fighters 1945 - 1950 Overseas bases £25.00No. 6 The air campaign for the freedom of Libya Feb - Oct 2011 £25.00No. 7 The Israeli Air force Part 3 2002 - 2012 £25.00Combat ColoursCombat Colours No. 1 The Messerschmitt Bf109 £15.00Combat Colours No. 2 The Hawker Hurricane 1939 to 1945 in RAF £15.00Combat Colours No. 3 The Curtis P-36 and P-40 £15.00Combat Colours No. 4 Pearl Harbor and beyond £15.00Combat Colours No. 5 The de Havilland Mosquito £15.00Combat Colours No. 6 de Havilland Mosquito Day and Night Fighters £15.00Combat Colours No. 7 Focke Wulf Fw190 £20.00Combat Colours No. 8 Supermarine Spitre in WWII £20.00Combat Colours No. 9 Mitsubishi Zero £15.00Airwar in Ukraine - Help is Finally on the Way
The most significant news of the observed period (from April 1 to April 30) was the approval of a large package of American military aid for Ukraine. The Republican Party had been blocking it in the US Congress for domestic political reasons since the fall. This delay put the Ukrainian armed forces into a difficult situation, unnecessarily losing territory and soldiers. Civilian suffering due to Russian air raids on Ukrainian cities was also unnecessary.
Miro BaričHelp is Finally on the WayThe military aid was first approved by theHouse of Representatives, then by the Senate,and a few days later, on Wednesday, April24, it was signed by US President Joe Biden.The US military had already indicated thatit was ready to provide the most essentialaid almost immediately. It began flowing intoUkraine through Poland right after the signing.The package includes $61 billion for Ukraineand $26.4 billion for Israel. This sum includes$9.1 billion in humanitarian aid for the GazaStrip. An additional $8.1 billion will go to aidUS allies in Asia, particularly Taiwan. Most ofthis aid will not be received by Ukraine directlyin the form of funds but will be invested inAmerican businesses. The Pentagon willpurchase weapons from American companiesfor Ukraine for $14 billion. For another $23billion, the US military will replenish its ownstockpiles of weapons and ammunition, whichcan be later transferred to Ukraine as needed.Help from Slovakia TooAmid the billions from the USA, the millionsfrom Slovakia might seem insignificant.However, it's important that they were raisedby the citizens. The new Slovak governmentrefused to join the Czech government’s initiativeto purchase critically needed ammunition forUkraine. The Czech government is seekingartillery shells that can be immediatelybought in various countries, especially outsidethe EU. More than 20 states have joined theCzech government, providing the necessaryfunds for ammunition procurement. However,the Slovak government publicly declined toparticipate. Instead, civil activists and non-governmental organizations took action.They launched a fundraiser under the slogan“If not the government, we send.”Several notable figures supported thecollection, including former partisan and SNPparticipant Otto Šimko, who celebrates hishundredth birthday on June 1. Drawing fromhis World War II experience, he explains whyhe decided to contribute: “It was not possibleto negotiate with aggressors; they had to bedefeated.” The Slovak fundraiser “Ammunitionfor Ukraine” collected 4 million euros in thefirst three weeks, contributed by 65,000donors. With this money, they purchased 2,692artillery shells of 122 mm caliber, alreadymanufactured by the Czech company STVGroup. The ammunition was thus able to besent to Ukraine immediately after payment.The collection continues.However, until the help from the USA andthe Czech initiative reaches the front, theUkrainian armed forces had to endure anothertough month. Russia tried to take advantage ofthe time before the western aid materializedand attacked with full force on all fronts.At the end of April, the Russians exploiteda poor rotation of Ukrainian units andThe most significant newsof the observed period (fromApril 1 to April 30) was the approvalof a large package of American militaryaid for Ukraine. The Republican Party had beenblocking it in the US Congress for domestic politicalreasons since the fall. This delay put the Ukrainianarmed forces into a difficult situation, unnecessarilylosing territory and soldiers. Civilian suffering dueto Russian air raids on Ukrainian cities was alsounnecessary.ARTICLESA damaged component of the Patriot system, which had to be transported from Ukraine to the USA for repairs.A former Slovak MiG-29UBS number1303 now in Ukrainian Air Force service.Air War in UkraineINFO Eduard26Červenec 2024Page 27
A video footage capturing the impact of a sport aircraft convertedinto a drone, hitting a target in Tatarstan.A refinery fire in Tatarstan. A hit on the refinery in the city of Oriol.captured the village of Ocheretyne nearAvdiivka. It seemed they had driven a wedgeinto the Ukrainian defense and could createa breakthrough. However, the Ukrainiandefense stopped them, and they did notadvance further west from Ocheretyne overthe next month. The occupiers also repeatedlyannounced the capture of the village ofRobotyne in the southern Zaporizhzhia regionand the settlement of Krynky on the left bankof the Dnipro in the Kherson region. Neitherannouncement was true.Civilians SufferThe lack of air defense systems and missilesfor them caused frontline defenders to facemassive air raids throughout the observedperiod. Russian aviation did not only use glidebombs launched far from the front. Aircraftproviding close air support, such as theSu-25, were moving directly over the combatarea, likely for the first time since spring 2022.The Ukrainian interior also faced strong airattacks. Practically every night, the Russianssent small groups of drones to Ukrainian cities,which burdened the Ukrainian air defense.Occasionally, they launched larger attackswith missiles and cruise missiles. For example,on Thursday, April 11, the Russians launcheda total of 82 projectiles—40 drones, sixKinzhals, 12 S-300 missiles, 20 Kh-101/555missiles, and other rockets. The Ukrainiandefense destroyed 57 of them, but they lackedthe ammunition to intercept more. Due to theshortage of anti-aircraft missiles, even theKyiv region was no longer as well protected asbefore.In this attack, the Trypilska thermal powerplant, which supplied 50% of the electricityfor the Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Zhytomyr regions,was completely destroyed. It was targetedby eleven missiles. The Ukrainian defensedestroyed seven of them, but the remainingfour scored the direct hits.On the night of April 24-25, Russian missilesseverely damaged four more power plants.Since the beginning of the war, the Russianshave hit Ukrainian power plants 180 times. Forexample, the private company DTEK has lost80% of its thermal plant capacities. It will takeyears to repairs some of the power plants.Other civilian targets were also hit,unfortunately with tragic consequences. In themorning of Wednesday, April 17, a missile struckan eight-story apartment building in Chernihiv.Four other apartment buildings, a hospital,and a school were damaged. Eighteen peopledied, and 78 were injured. At the end of April,a psychiatric hospital and a TV transmitterwere hit in Kharkiv. The transmitter broke inhalf and collapsed. In Odesa, 22 residentialbuildings were hit during an air raid. Earlier,on Saturday, April 20, the port and an exportterminal belonging to a Singaporean companywere hit.Russia increasingly uses so-called doublestrikes, sending a second missile to the sameplace after a delay to kill rescuers clearingthe aftermath of the first attack. This tacticwas employed in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia atthe beginning of the observed period. Russiandouble strikes have killed 91 rescuers andinjured 348 others by April this year. Kharkivwas subjected to heavy shelling throughoutthe observed period. This was preparation fora ground attack, which will be discussed inthe next part of this series, the end of which isunfortunately not in sight.Russian Airports Under FireThe Ukrainian side also attacked Russiantargets throughout the observed period. Thereis a stark contrast in target selection. Unlikethe Russian targets, they did not primarilyinclude hospitals or residential buildings.On the night of April 4-5, the Ukrainianarmed forces, along with the SBU, launcheda massive attack on Russian airfields.The bases attacked included Morozovsk,which houses Su-34 aircraft, Yeysk airporton the Russian coast of the Sea of Azov, hometo Su-34 and Su-25 aircraft, the strategicbomber base Engels, and Kursk airport.The attack was extensive, with around50 explosions reported at Morozovsk alone.The Ukrainian side estimated the destruction ofseveral aircraft, but this was not immediatelyconfirmed. Satellite images suggested that thedrones landed far from the parked aircraft.This highlights the disadvantage of drones, asthey cannot be controlled over long distancesto select targets based on importance. They hitpre-programmed coordinates. A few days later,it was revealed that at least one aircraft atYeysk airport, an amphibious jet Beriev Be-200,was seriously damaged. Part of its left wingwas broken off, and a large puddle of leakedfluids, presumably fuel, was under the aircraft.At the beginning of the observed period,Ukrainian drones also repeatedly attackedRussian Tatarstan. This is significant fortwo reasons. Tatarstan is 1,300 km fromthe Ukrainian border, making it the farthesttarget the Ukrainians have hit. Video from theattack showed they used light sports aircraftmodified into unmanned aerial vehicles.In this case, they served as kamikaze drones,but with a bomb mounted under the fuselage,they can be reused. In Tatarstan, a refinery,a drone assembly plant, and a factoryproducing Tu-22M and Tu-160M bombers werehit. The production hangar in the latter wasreportedly hit, but the extent of the damage isunclear.During the observed period, Ukrainiansalso hit several refineries, fuel depots, andARTICLESINFO Eduard27Červenec 2024Page 28
industrial facilities. They also used missilesto attack Russian command posts in occupiedterritories. Perhaps the largest attack waslaunched on Wednesday, April 17, in Crimea.The target was the Dzhankoy airbase onwhich the Ukrainians launched ATACMS longrange missiles. Once the information puzzlewas clarified, the destruction of an S-400air defense system battery and presumablya missile storage site was confirmed. Thedestruction of aircraft and helicopters in thisattack was not confirmed.The elimination of the S-400 battery atDzhankoy airport allowed Ukrainians toconduct further attacks on Crimea. On Sunday,April 21, Neptune missiles targeted the port ofSevastopol, damaging the submarine supportvessel Kommuna. This is the oldest active shipin the Russian fleet, commissioned during theTsarist era in 1915. Despite its age, it is veryimportant to the Russians. They have no similarvessel in the Black Sea. It is a catamaran withtwo hulls connected by a structure with cranesfor lifting objects from the seabed. It can alsolaunch its own deep-sea submersibles, whichcan be used to rescue sailors from trappedsubmarines. After the sinking of the cruiserMoskva in 2022, Kommuna retrieved variousitems from the wreck at a depth of 50 meters—weapons, secret documents, and presumablythe bodies of crew members.Downed BomberDuring the observed period, Russia losttwo aircraft in the air. On Wednesday, April 10,a Mi-24 helicopter crashed into the Black Sea offthe western coast of Crimea, likely shot downby friendly fire. All four aviators onboard—IvanStepin, Aziz Shayakhmetov, Nikita Tokarchukfrom the 396th Mixed Aviation Regiment, andAlexander Solovey from the 318th IndependentMixed Aviation Regiment—did not survive.A significant event was the downing ofa strategic bomber, the Tu-22M3, on Friday,April 19. The aircraft crashed near Bogomolova inthe Russian Stavropol region. The Russian sideclaimed it was due to a technical malfunction,but there were reports of friendly fire.The Ukrainian side asserted that the bomberwas hit and damaged by a modernized S-200missile with a range of 350 km. After beingdamaged, the Tu-22M3 attempted to returnto base but crashed later. Ukrainians alsoreported that another bomber turned backwithout releasing its deadly payload after thefirst aircraft was hit. Video evidence shows theburning bomber spiraling to the ground. All fourcrew members ejected, but two did not survive:Captain Andrey Kononov and Lieutenant AndreyGrushanin, both from the 52nd Heavy BomberRegiment.ARTICLESThe crash of a Russian Tu-22M3 bomberon April 19 in the Stavropol region.Two crew members died in the Tu-22M3 crash,one of them was Captain Andrey Kononov.The dismantled wreck of a Russian Mi-8MTPR-1 helicopter with tail number "Yellow 81".Three MiG-29s and four Yak-40s were damaged on April18 during an Iskander missile attack on Dnipro Airport.However, the Yak-40s had been parked there since 2010,and at least one MiG had also been immobile for severalmonths, likely a non-operational aircraft.Another attack on Dnipro Airporton April 20 destroyed one MiG-29Another casualty of the Tu-22M3 crashwas Lieutenant Andrey Grushanin.Debris of a Tu-22M3.INFO Eduard28Červenec 2024Page 29
Destroyed on the GroundAt the end of the observed period, photosof the dismantled wreck of a RussianMi-8MTPR-1 helicopter were published.It is likely the same aircraft with tail number"Yellow 81," which was lightly damaged inMarch 2023 after hitting power lines. The exactcause of its recent, much more severe damageis unknown.Russia also lost two more helicopters tosabotage on its territory. On Wednesday, April17, a Mi-8 helicopter burned at Kryazh Airportin Samara, and on Friday, April 26, a civilianfirefighting helicopter Kamov Ka-32 wasdamaged by fire at Ostafyevo Airport in theMoscow region.On the Ukrainian side, unlike the previousmonth, no aircraft or helicopters were shotdown. However, planes at Dnipro Airport werehit by Russian Iskander missiles with clustermunitions on Thursday, April 18. According toavailable information, three MiG-29 fightersand four civilian Yak-40 transport aircraftwere damaged. It is unclear if the fighterswere operational or just derelict. The Yak-40s were definitely long-retired and had beenparked there since 2010. A few days later, onSaturday, April 20, Dnipro Airport was targetedagain, and this time an operational MiG-29was confirmed destroyed. The jet caught fire,indicating it was fueled.Dogfights Reminiscent of World War IRussian reconnaissance drones enableattacks on Ukrainian airfields and othertargets. Ukraine is combating these droneswith all possible means. Besides ground-basedanti-aircraft systems, such as mobile machineguns, they have deployed modified trainingaircraft. This has led to air battles over Ukrainereminiscent of World War I dogfights. The use ofpropeller-driven Yak-52 aircraft is improvisedbut far more suitable than jet fighters, whichare too fast compared to slow drones. The Yak2has a maximum speed of 285 km/h, making itbetter suited to match the speed of drones,such as the Orlan-10 (maximum 150 km/h) andthe Shahed-136 kamikaze drone (185 km/h).In its original training version, the Yak-52 has noarmament. It appears the Ukrainians modifiedit so that the second crew member operatesa movable machine gun from the rear cockpit.During the observed period, a video surfacedshowing a training Yak-52 shooting downa Russian reconnaissance drone.ARTICLESUkrainian Su-25 in a low level flight.Launchers for American and Soviet unguidedrockets side by side under the wingof a Ukrainian Su-25.A Mi-24 helicopter maintenance.A Yak-52 training aircraft used by Ukrainians againstRussian drones. The side of the fuselage has a checke-red area likely indicating a machine gun operated by thesecond crew member from the rear cockpit.Defense against Shahed drones, which attack almost every night.Ukrainian Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters.INFO Eduard29Červenec 2024Use of ultrasonic knife in plastic modelling
The Japanese company Echo Tech started supplying ultrasonic cutter ZO series to the hobby market in 2001. In another 5 years, its second generation came, and then the third in 2012. However, they were still products intended for the Japanese market. It was only in 2016 that the production of the current ZO-91 model, which is sold worldwide, began. As a next step, the new ZO-95 model was put on sale in 2020.
„Cuts plastic like butter“INFO Eduard30Červenec 2024Page 31
INFO Eduard31Červenec 2024Page 32
Widow maker. This unflattering nickname wasearned by the Martin B-26 Marauder mediumbomber shortly after its introduction to the USArmy Air Force. Pilots, by then accustomed toeasy-to-handle and slow to clunky aircraft such asthe B-18 Bolo, had great difficulty coping with thesignificantly higher takeoff and landing speeds, aswell as the need to maintain sufficient airspeedat all times, including situations where one of theengines blew out. And because the Pratt & WhitneyR2800 engines were by no means trouble-free,tragedies were no exceptions during pilot training.In reality, however, the B-26 Marauder wasa very advanced aircraft for its time, and itsqualities eventually became fully apparent. Of allthe American aircraft, it achieved the lowest ratioof losses to combat operations. Compared to theB-25, it was faster, which was the initial intention,and could carry a larger bomb load. However, whilethe Mitchell’s handling was virtually foolproof, theMarauder required much more attention from thepilots and a stricter adherence to the airspeedsgiven in the manual. This was primarily due to thehigher wing area load, which was neverthelessreduced in the following versions, making the lastMarauders easier to fly. In total, Marauder crewsflew more than 100,000 missions and droppedover 150,000 tons of bombs on enemy targets. Anddespite the unflattering nickname, Marauder losseswere the lowest of any type of bomber used by theUSAAF, at just under half a percent.From the history of one bomb groupOne of the bombing groups that was armed withMarauders from the beginning was the 394th BombGroup (Mid). It was activated on March 5, 1943, andduring February and March 1944 its members andequipment moved to England at Boreham Base.As part of the 9th Air Force, the group attackedtargets in France, often V-1 sites. Other commontargets were marshalling yards or roads, especiallybridges.During the D-day landings, crews of the 394thBG bombed German positions at Cherbourg, hittingseveral important communications, fuel depots,and German positions. Then, during the fightingin the St Lo area on July 25, their bombardmentof German positions helped make an importantbreakthrough. The group received the DistinguishedUnit Cross for operations from August 7 to 9. Duringthis three-day period, they carried out a series offive raids on heavily fortified and defended targets,destroying an ammunition depot and four importantrailway bridges.By the end of August 1944, the move to theContinent had taken place and the 394th BGMarauders were appearing over Germany withincreasing frequency. During December 1944 toJanuary 1945, they also made their mark in thefighting during the Battle of Bulge. Bombing theroads, they made it difficult for the Germans to getsupplies and hit several ammunition depots. Lesstraditional missions also included leaflet drops overenemy territory towards the end of the war.After the German surrender, the 394th BGremained in Europe as part of the occupationforces. In September 1945 it began training on theA-26 Invader and in December was redesignatedthe 394th Bomb Group (Light). Upon return to the US,the group was inactivated on 31 March 1946.A pro with a brushLike every bombardment group, the 394th BGalso had someone in its ranks who could portrayvarious nosearts according to the wishes of thecrews. In this case, however, it was a true artist,S/Sgt. Frank M. Spangler, Jr. The member ofthe 585th Bomb Squadron was a professionalcartoonist, and so it was not surprising that therewas considerable interest in his services. Amonghis works were paintings of Round Too (43-34571),Sure Go For No Dough (43-34200), and also MissManookie (42-96255) aircraft.The choice of aircraft name and artwork was theprivilege of the main pilot to whom the aircraft wasassigned. While this did not mean that others couldnot fly it, the main pilot used the aircraft most often.In the case of Miss Manookie, this was Lt. ThomasCraddock Howard, the co-pilot was David HolliceHughes and the theme was an “American Indian”woman hunting with bow.In mid-August 1945, Spangler began pilot trainingon the L-4 Cub as part of a program conducted atVenlo Holland Base. The program was designed toprepare selected members of the U.S. Air Force whowere not pilots to obtain a civilian pilot’s license.However, Frank Spangler did not follow the civilianpilot route after the war, instead he returned to artand become a respected cartoonist. Together withhis father, also a cartoonist and caricaturist, theyfocused mainly on social and political issues.Of his wartime creations rendered on themetal surface of Marauders, Miss Manookie wasprobably the most colorful. The aircraft survived its60 combat missions. Adam Tooby’s boxart shows iton one of these missions late in the war somewhereover Germany ...Illustration: Adam ToobyPretty huntingText: Richard PlosBOXART STORY #2146INFO Eduard32Červenec 2024Page 33
Among the unusual units that took part inthe Normandy landings were the squadrons ofNo. 34 Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. Prior toD-Day, ten squadrons - five from the RAF, fourfrom the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA), andone from the American VCS-7 - were assembledat the Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Lee-on-Solent to provide aerial observation for thenaval bombardment in the Utah and Omahabeach sectors, and later in the Cherbourgarea. Two RAF squadrons (Nos. 26 and 63) wereequipped with Spitfires, while the other three(Nos. 2, 268, and 414) flew Mustangs. The FAAsquadrons (Nos. 808, 897, 885, and 886) usedNaval Seafire IIIs. This group of units, includingVCS-7, was also known as the The Air SpottingPool.VCS-7 was formed in February 1944.It consisted of 17 pilots from the cruisersUSS Quincy (CA-39), USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37),USS Augusta (CA-31), and the battleships USSNevada (BB-36), USS Arkansas (BB-33), and USSTexas (BB-35). After unpleasant experienceswith German fighters during the Sicily landingsin the summer of 1943, they traded theirSeagulls and Kingfishers for Spitfires Mk.V.They were retrained by the USAAF's 67th TRGphoto reconnaissance unit at Middle Wallop,Hampshire.The unit was initially commanded by Lt.Robert W. Calland (USS Nevada) and, from May28, 1944, by Lt. Cdr. William Denton Jr. (USSQuincy). Observation missions were alwaysflown by a pair of aircraft: the lead pilot actedas the observer, while the other provided escortand protected the leader from enemy attacks.The standard altitude for these missions was1,800 meters, but bad weather often forcedpilots to operate between 450 and 600 meters.Occasionally, missions were flown at evenlower altitudes.From 6 June to 26 June, VCS-7 conducteda total of 209 sorties over Normandy, mainlyas part of the Western Naval Task Force, whichwas under the control of the U.S. Navy. VCS-7lost nine Spitfires to various causes, with flakbeing the greatest danger. The squadron´splanes were attacked by Luftwaffe aircraft justfour times. A member of this unit, Ens. RobertJ. Adams, became the first American aviator toland in liberated French territory, albeit due todamage to his aircraft.The unit's only casualty was Lt. RichardM. Barclay of the cruiser USS Tuscaloosa.On D-Day, the cruiser’s mission was to supportthe invasion force on Utah Beach. Barclaywent into action in place of his subordinate,with Lt. (jg) Charles S. Zinn, also from the USSTuscaloosa, as his wingman. Unfortunately, theywere hit by flak during the flight. Barclay waskilled, but Zinn managed to return to base witha damaged right wing and a damaged aileron.VCS-7's last combat mission took placeon 25 June in the Cherbourg area, and theunit was disbanded the following day. Duringthe twenty days of combat deployment, itsmembers received nine DFCs, six Air Medalsand five Gold Stars. Ten members of the unitparticipated in the August 1944 landingsin southern France, and three took partin the landings on Iwo Jima and Okinawa.However, the only aerial victory with a VCS-7Spitfire was not achieved by an American pilot,but by a British member of No. 897 SquadronFAA, Slt. D. W. Barraclough, who shot downa Messerschmitt Bf 109 on June 7th. Thisdogfight is captured by Piotr Forkasiewicz onthe box art. Another Bf 109 was credited toLt. R. M. Crosley in a Seafire III from No. 886Squadron FAA. However, five other SeafireIIIs from the The Air Spotting Pool were shotdown or damaged by German and Allied flak orGerman fighters during the day, with one pilotfalling into captivity. To make it short, flyingartillery spotting missions over Normandy wasa very risky task.Text: Jan Bobek a Michal KrechowskiIllustration: Piotr ForkasiewiczFrom warship to Spitfire#84200BOXART STORYINFO Eduard33Červenec 2024Page 34
The name of the German fighter ace HermannGraf is mentioned in several Eduard kits, andan article in INFO magazine 01/2024 coversa part of his career that was closely linked toGerman football. After his successful servicewith JG 52 on the Eastern Front, then thelead of operational training unit Erg. Gr. Ost inFrance, Graf received a new assignment in thesummer of 1943. He was tasked with organizinga unit dedicated to intercepting BritishMosquito aircraft. Hermann Göring himselfwas interested in this mission, as he wanted toprevent the raids these hard-to-catch aircraftwere launching on German cities. For moredetails, you can read the articleTo this end, two new fighter units wereestablished in June 1943. Jagdgeschwader Nord(later renamed JG 25) was set up at Berlin-Staaken airfield, with Obstlt. Herbert Ihlefeldtaking command in July. Under Graf's command,Jagdgeschwader Süd was established atWiesbaden-Erbenheim airfield (not to beconfused with the operational training unitJagdgruppe Süd). Each unit consisted onlyof a Geschwaderstab and three Staffel inI. Gruppe, with no additional components. Theirarmament included Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-5and G-6s, and the command intended to equiptheaircraft with the GM-1 system for high-altitude interception.According to some sources, Graf managedto shoot down one Mosquito in June, but thisis uncertain. By the autumn of 1943, Graf's unithad achieved at least 26 victories, all of whichwere B-17 Flying Fortress bombers.JG Süd's first four victories occurred onAugust 12 during an American raid on targetsin the Ruhr. Graf's pilots shot down three B-17sand destroyed a damaged bomber. One Germanairman was wounded and made an emergencylanding at the home base.JG Süd had its stellar moment on August17, 1943. While engaging the bomber streamheading for Regensburg, its pilots managed toshoot down five B-17s without any losses. Theyalso forced one B-17 to leave the formation(counted as a victory) and destroyed anotherdamaged Flying Fortress (though this did notcount as a victory, it was recorded as a point inthe award system).During the afternoon action against thestream heading for Schweinfurt, Graf's unit shotdown four B-17s but lost two pilots. August 17 isone of several possible days on which HermannGraf achieved his next victory, though someactions from July are also under consideration.In mid-August, Graf's unit was renamedJagdgeschwader 50 (not Jagdgruppe 50, as issometimes erroneously stated). By the end ofthe month, it had twelve G-5 and thirteen G-6s,most equipped with 20mm guns mounted inunderwing gondolas, as the command requiredGraf’s unit to participate in heavy bomberinterceptions. However, as of August 23, 1943,only two Bf 109s in this unit were equippedwith the GM-1 system because ten others had itdismantled. When the Bf 109 G was loaded withtwo underwing guns, the GM-1 system was tooheavy to be installed as well. Graf's mechanicsattempted to increase the aircraft's speed bypolishing the wing surfaces, but this did notresult in a significant speed increase. Grafeven used an aircraft with landing gear coverssimilar to those later used on the Bf 109 K-4.Graf achieved two victories with this unit onSeptember 6, 1943, during the raid on Stuttgart.One B-17 bomber was destroyed by his wingman,and another was credited to the commander ofthe 1st Staffel, Oblt. Alfred Grislawski. However,two Bf 109s were shot down, another wasdamaged during landing, and one NCO waskilled at the home base due to engine failure.During the second raid on Schweinfurt onOctober 14, 1943, Graf's JG 50 claimed at leastfour downed B-17s and destroyed two othersthat were already badly damaged, though onemore kill was not credited. In the process, theunit lost three Bf 109s, with one pilot killed, andanother aircraft was damaged in an emergencylanding due to fuel exhaustion.In October 1943, the “mayfly“ life of this unitcame to an end. It was unable to fulfil its maintask, the pursuit of Mosquito aircraft, becauseits technical equipment was focused on fightingbombers. The anticipated rearmament to theMesserschmitt Me 163 did not occur due totechnical problems with this revolutionaryaircraft. Additionally, JG 50 shared its aircraftwith one of the Wilde Sau units, III./JG 301.At the end of October, JG 50 handed over itsequipment to the newly formed I./JG 301, andmost of its airmen, including Hermann Graf,transferred to the day fighter units of JG 1 andJG 11.Illustration: Marek RyśThe “Mayfly” GeschwaderText: Jan BobekBOXART STORY #70159INFO Eduard34Červenec 2024Page 35
A four-year-old French boy was sittingthree meters above the ground on the terraceof a former pigeon loft near Calais. It wasthe summer of 1942, and the boy watched inamazement as aerial battles unfolded in thesky. Suddenly, not far from where he was sitting,a twin-engined British aircraft flew low overthe ground. The right engine was running at fullpower, while the left engine was on fire, andmuch of the tail surface was missing. The crewwas attempting an emergency landing, and theboy had the impression that the pilot waved athim. However, upon contact with the ground, theaircraft exploded.The boy, named Michel Ringot, grew up to bethe head of flight operations at one of the FrenchAir Force bases. This memory of the war nevererased from his mind. In 2020, with the help ofhis family and others, he learned who were thepilots whose crash he had witnessed.It was July 12, 1942, and the aircraft belongedto No. 1 PRU RAF. It was Mosquito PR Mk.IIW4089, piloted by 29 year-old F/Lt V. A. Ricketts,DFC, with 24 year-old navigator P/O G. B.Lukhmanoff, DFM. By the time they flew theirfirst reconnaissance mission together, Rickettshad already conducted such missions alongthe French-Spanish border while piloting theMosquito. Meanwhile, Lukhmanoff, as navigator,had flown several missions over Norway andVichy North Africa.Victor Anthony Ricketts was born in January1913 in Penzance, Cornwall. Interested in flyingfrom a young age, he became an aviationcorrespondent for the London Daily Expressand earned his pilot's license in February1936. In February 1938, together with NewZealander Arthur E. Clouston, he attempteda record-breaking flight to Australia, but it wasunsuccessful. A second attempt was scheduledfor March 15, 1938, with the DH88 Comet (G-ACSS)“The Burberry.” This time, they returned to the UKafter covering a route of 26,450 miles in ten days,twenty-one hours, and twenty-two minutes,achieving a total of eleven records.After the war, Clouston wrote a book, TheDangerous Skies, in which he confessed thatin 1938 he was part of a private initiative to killAdolf Hitler. His mission was to use a modifiedDH88 Comet (G-ACSS) to bomb Hitler duringa parade in Berlin on Unter den Linden. Cloustonultimately refused to carry out this action.The aircraft is currently part of The ShuttleworthCollection.Ricketts became a member of the RAFVR inMarch 1939, achieved officer rank in February1940, was assigned to No. 248 Sqn RAF that samemonth, and transferred to No. 1 PRU in early 1942.He received a DFC for a photographic missionhe completed on March 4, 1942, in extremelydifficult weather conditions at low altitude. Hisnavigator Lukhmanoff received a DFM for thismission. Their target was the Renault factoryat Boulogne-Billancourt, which had been hit byRAF bombers the previous night. Together, theyflew over Augsburg, Pilsen and Marseille, amongother missions.George Boris Lukhmanoff was born in March1918 in Harbin, China, to Russian parents as BorisDimitry (Dmitrievich) Lukhmanov. His father,Boris, was a representative of the auxiliarynaval organization Dobrovolnyi Flot in Shanghaiand later became Harbour Master of the Portof Woosung. However, the Soviet governmentstripped them of citizenship, prompting them toemigrate to the US. Boris later returned to China,where he was tortured to death by the Japanesein 1943 because his son was a member of theRAF. Interestingly, Boris's father was likely thelegendary Russian and Soviet captain DmitryAfanasyevich Lukhmanov (1867-1946), whowas married three times and authored manypublications on naval issues.Dmitry's grandson, Boris Dimitry, becamea naturalised British citizen as George BorisLukhmanoff, first studying at Margate Collegein Kent and then gaining a degree in mechanicaland electrical engineering from GlasgowTechnical College in June 1939. In April 1940 hejoined the RAF and his first combat unit was No.206 Sq. RAF in Gibraltar. Further details of thecrew can be found at The Battle of Britain LondonMonument.The promising careers of both airmen wasended on July 12, 1942, by Obfw. Erwin Leibold ofStab I./JG 26. At the time we were preparing thebox art for this kit, Mr. Ringot's testimony wasnot yet available. As we already know, the Britishcrew almost succeeded in making an emergencylanding. Erwin Leibold survived his victims byonly two weeks. After being hit by an Americanor Canadian Spitfire, his Focke-Wulf exploded.Although Leibold miraculously survived and hisparachute opened, he drowned after landingin the sea.Text: Jan BobekIllustration: Adam ToobyRicketts and Lukhmanoff#82146BOXART STORYINFO Eduard35Červenec 2024Page 36
#2146MARAUDER1/72Limited edition kit of WWII US medium bomberaircraft B-26F/G in 1/72 scale. In the box aremachines from the MTO, ETO and PTO.plastic parts: Hasegawamarking options: 8decals: EduardPE parts: yes, pre-paintedpainting mask: yesresin parts: yes, wheelsProduct pageKITS 06/2024INFO Eduard36Červenec 2024Page 37
42-96255, B-26F-1, 586th BS/394th BG, Thomas C. Howard,Holmsley South, Great Britain, August 194443-34150, B-26G-1, 2/Lt. Eulan W. Covey, 494th BS/344th BG,Cormeilles-en-Vexin, France, late 1944The 394th Bomb Group was formed on February 15,1943 and activated on March 5. From the beginning,its crews trained for combat deployments inEurope with Marauders. In February and March1944, the group moved to England to Boreham Baseand was assigned to the 9th Air Force. By March,its Marauders were flying attacks on groundtargets in France, with frequent targets being V-1missile bases, marshalling yards, and bridges.When D-Day came, the 394th BG bombed Germanpositions at Cherbourg and other targets. Aftermoving to the Continent in late August 1944, thegroup began operating against targets in Germanyand participated in the Battle of the Bulge. Afterthe surrender of Germany, it remained in Europeas part of the Occupation Forces. In September itbegan training with the A-26s and in December1945 was redesignated the 394th Bomb Group(Light). Upon return to the United States, the groupwas inactivated on March 31, 1946. The pilot of theaircraft with the drawing of an Indian fox and thename Miss Manookie was Lt. Thomas CraddockHoward, co-pilot David Hollice Hughes. The artistof the painting on the nose was S/Sgt. FrankM. Spangler Jr. a professional cartoonist in civilianlife, who decorated a number of other aircraft ofthe group with his hilarious paintings and madea living as an artist after the war. Miss Manookieflew a total of 60 combat missions during the war.After the 344th Bomb Group was established onAugust 31, 1942, it was activated on September 8,1942. From the beginning, it flew B-26s and servedas a Replacement Training Unit. It then moved toEngland during January and February 1944 andbegan operations as part of the 9th Air Forcein March. During the landings, it supported theoperation that led to the capture of the CotentinPeninsula and subsequent Allied operationsin the Caen area. It then participated in theBattle of Bulge and continued to operate untilApril 1945. In September of that year, it movedto Germany as part of the occupation forcesand began rearmament to A-26. In December itwas redesignated the 344th Bomb Group (Light)and was inactivated on February 15, 1946, aftermoving to the United States. The aircraft, namedGravel Gerty, sported the inscription ConcreteMixer on the left engine cowling, which related tothe name of the aircraft. We don't know if it waspainted also on the right engine, but the decal isincluded in the sheet for that position as well.KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard37Červenec 2024Page 38
43-34220, B-26G-5, Capt. Charles G. Fraser,587th BS/394th BG, Bricy, France, August 194443-34240, B-26G-5, Lt. Wilbert L Weir, 444th BS/320th BG,Decimomannu, Sardinia, August 1944The 394th Bomb Group was established onFebruary 15, 1943 and activated on March 5. Fromthe beginning, its crews flew B-26s with whichthey trained for combat deployments in Europe.In February and March 1944, the group moved toEngland to Boreham Base and was assigned tothe 9th Air Force. By March, its Marauders wereflying attacks in France, with frequent targetsbeing V-1 missile bases, marshalling yards andbridges. When the D-Day came, the 394th BGbombed German positions at Cherbourg and othertargets. After moving to the Continent in lateAugust 1944, the group began operating againsttargets in Germany and participated in the Battleof the Bulge. After the surrender of Germany,it stayed in Europe as part of the occupationforces. In September it began training on theA-26s and in December 1945 was redesignatedthe 394th Bomb Group (Light). Upon return tothe United States, the group was inactivated onMarch 31, 1946. The pilot of the aircraft namedI'll Get By, which was assigned to the unit onAugust 7, 1944, was Capt. Charles G. Fraser, co-pilot 2Lt Thomas Leask. The drawing of the girlunbuttoning her swimsuit top was based on anoriginal by Albert VargasThe activation of the 320th Bomb Group occurredon June 23, 1942, with most of the group movingthrough England to North Africa after trainingduring August–December 1942. As part of the 12thAir Force, the group began combat operationsfrom bases in Algeria, Tunisia, Sardinia, andCorsica. Gradually, crews attacked enemyvessels in the approaches to Tunisia, land targetsin Sardinia, and supported the invasion of Sicily.This was followed by raids on targets in Italyand, from June 1944, support for the invasion ofsouthern France. In June 1945 the group movedto Germany and returned to the United Statesduring November. It was inactivated as early asDecember 4 of that year. The aircraft, namedPancho and his Reever Rats, did not see the endof the war unfortunately. On August 23, 1944,it was hit by German anti-aircraft fire duringa raid near Covigliano and exploded in mid-air.According to some sources, the entire crew ofLt. Wilbert L. Weir was killed, others state thatthe rear gunner, S/Sgt. Albert A. Giuffre, wasrescued and even returned to duty.KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard38Červenec 2024Page 39
43-34462, B-26G-5, Lt. David A. Mickelson,444th BS/320th BG, France, 1944–4543-34213, B-26G-1, Capt. John C. Furnas of the 585th BS,394th BG, Venlo, The Netherlands, May 1945The 444th Bomb Squadron was formed in mid-1942 and armed with Marauders. It trainedfor combat as part of the 3rd Air Force inFlorida and was deployed to England as partof the 320th Bomb Group and 3rd Bomb Wing.After the commencement of Operation Torch,it participated on operations in North Africa aspart of the 12th Air Force, flying tactical bombingmissions against Axis forces there until May 1943.It then shifted its attention to targets in Sicily,Corsica, Sardinia, and Italy. It then supported theAllied advance into Germany and was inactivatedin December 1945. The aircraft shown here hadits fuselage guns removed and while the leftside of the nose bore a drawing of a girl and theinscription Margie, the right side sported thename Donna Deloris.The 585th Bomb Squadron was activated atMacDill Field, Florida, as one of four squadronsof the 394th Bomb Group. It moved to Englandin mid-February 1944, making its home baseat Boreham. Its pilots flew their first combatmission on March 23, 1943. They then attackedV-1 flying bomb launchers and V-2 rocket basesas part of Operation Crosbow. During D-Day,the 585th BS targeted enemy sites at Cherbourg,then attacked transport lines or fuel depots.By July 24, 1944, the unit was stationed atHolmsley South and by August it had moved toits first mainland base, Tour-en-Bessin, France.In addition to the classic missions towards theend of the war, the Marauders of the 585th BGdropped propaganda leaflets over the occupiedterritory on 16 missions. The aircraft of Capt.John C. Furnas was named The Old Goat, and thenose art corresponded to the name. It bore thesymbols of ninety combat missions under thecockpit towards the end of the war.KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard39Červenec 2024Page 40
43-34316, B-26G-5, 496th BS/344th BG,Cormeilles-en-Vexin, France, September 194444-68171, B-26G-25, GB 1/22 Maroc, Riedlingen,Germany, May 1945The 496th Bomb Squadron was activated in late1942 as a training unit of III Bomber Command.It was converted to operational status late inthe year and deployed to Europe as part of IXBomber Command in February 1944. After thewar it remained as part of the Occupation Forcesin Europe and was inactivated on February 15,1946. Named Cleveland Calliope II, the aircraftcarried “Broken Line” camouflage, consistingof Olive Drab paint on the upper surfaces andupper fuselage, the rest of the aircraft was left innatural metal finish.The Free French Air Force acquired its firstMarauders in late 1943 and eventually unitsGB I/11 Maroc, GB II/20 Bretagne, GB I/19 Gascogne,GB II/52 Franche-Comte, GB II/63 Senegal andBG I/32 Bourgogne acquired these aircraft.Initially, the French received the older, war-wearymachines for training purposes, after whichnewer ones were supplied. Initial operationsby French B-26s targeted enemy positions inItaly and southern France. They took part in theinvasion of France on August 15, 1944 and thengradually moved north with the advance of theAllies. They completed their last mission on April25, 1945 and were inactivated in June. The aircraftshown here completed 55 bombing missions,according to the symbols under the cockpit.KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard40Červenec 2024Page 41
Recommended: forMarauder B-26F/G 1/7272703 B-26 Marauder upgrade set (PE-Set)73007 Ammunition Belts US Cal.0.50 (PE-Set)672038 US 250lb bombs (Brassin)672039 US 500lb bombs (Brassin)672241 B-26 Marauder wheels (Brassin)672242 B-26 Marauder engines (Brassin)672244 US 1000lb bombs (Brassin)3DL72033 B-26 Marauder SPACE (3D Decal Set)OVERTREES#2146XB-26F/G Marauder1/72Product pageOVERLEPT#2146-LEPT1MARAUDER1/72Product page#672242#672244#672039KITS 06/2024#672241INFO Eduard41Červenec 2024Page 42
#84200Spitfire Mk.Vb OVERLORD1/48The Weekend edition kit of British fighter aircraft Spitfire Mk.Vb in 1/48 scale.The kit presents Spitfires used during operation Overlord.plastic parts: Eduardmarking options: 4decals: EduardPE parts: nopainting mask: noresin parts: noProduct pageKITS 06/2024INFO Eduard42Červenec 2024Page 43
Slt. D.W. Barraclough, VCS-7, RAF Lee-on-Solent,Hampshire, United Kingdom, June 1944BL547, F/O Rick R. Richards, No. 401 Squadron, RAF Horne,Surrey, United Kingdom, June 1944In February 1944, the VCS-7 Cruiser ScoutingSquadron was formed. It consisted of 17 pilotsfrom several ships, who exchanged their CurtissSeagulls and Vought Kingfishers for SpitfiresMk.V. The unit was first led by Lt. Robert W.Calland and from May 28, 1944, by Lt. Cdr WilliamDenton Jr. Prior to D-Day, ten squadrons, fiveRAF, four Royal Navy FAA (Fleet Air Arm) andVCS-7, were assembled at Leeon-Solent toprovide aerial observation for naval bombing inthe Utah and Omaha beach sectors and later inthe Cherbourg area. Observation missions werealways flown by a pair of aircraft. The lead oneacted as spotter, while the other provided escortand protected the leader from enemy attacks. Thestandard altitude for these missions was 6,000 ft,but bad weather often forced the pilots to operatebetween 1,500 and 2000 ft. Occasionally missionswere flown at even lower altitudes. From June 6to June 26, VCS-7 conducted 209 missions overNormandy, mainly as part of the Western NavalTask Force, which was under the control of theU. S. Navy. The VCS-7 lost nine Spitfires to variouscauses, the main threat being the ubiquitous Flak.The squadron rarely encountered Luftwaffeaircraft, yet on June 7, Slt. D. W. Barracloughtshot down a Bf 109G in aerial combat. VCS-7’s lastcombat mission was on June 25 in the Cherbourgarea, and the following day VCS-7 was disbanded.Its Spitfires bore the standard camouflage andmarkings of an RAF Day Fighter and invasionstripes for quick identification. They were alsomarked with the number 4 in front of the cockpitfollowed by the individual aircraft letter for thesquadron.On D-Day, No. 402 Squadron had a mixture ofolder Mk.Vb and Mk.Vc Spitfires in its armamentand was commanded by the famous aceS/Ldr G. W. Northcott. The squadron was part ofNo. 142 Wing, which under the command ofanother well-known Canadian ace, W/Cdr JohnMilne Checketts, operated as part of the airdefense of Great Britain, albeit under 2TAFoperational control in the role of fighter-bombers.No. 402 Squadron was re-equipped with SpitfiresMk.IX in July, but their time with the unit wasbrief. Early August 1944 saw a move to Hawkinge,where the Squadron was rearmed with thenew powerful Spitfires Mk. XIV with which theyimmediately engaged in combat against V-1 flyingbombs. In late September 1944 the squadron wastransferred to 2TAF in Belgium and joined No. 125Wing. In December it then joined No. 126 WingRCAF, where it flew alongside the Mk.IX Spitfires.The end of the war found the unit on German soilat Wunstorf with a total score of 49.5 enemy shotdown. One of the Spitfires Mk.Vb operating withNo. 402 Squadron during D-Day was the one withserial number BL547 which sported the fuselagecodes AE-R. It was most often flown by F/O RickRichards who had a drawing of “Black Rufe”,a character from the comic strip Li'l Abner,painted on the nose of his Spitfire. Under thecockpit, it bore the standard markings of mostNo. 402 Squadron Spitfires, a red Canadian leafin a white crest with the City of Winnipeg in whitelettering.KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard43Červenec 2024Page 44
481065 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)648640 Spitfire Mk.V engine (Brassin)648663 Spitfire Mk.V cockpit (Brassin)648664 Spitfire Mk.V wheels (Brassin)648665 Spitfire Mk.Vb gun bays (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)SIN64886 Spitfire Mk.Vb ADVANCED (Brassin)3DL48031 Spitfire Mk.V SPACE (3D Decal Set)D48088 Spitfire Mk.V stencils (Decal Set)D48101 Spitfire Mk.V national insignia (Decal Set)EX1009 Spitfire Mk.Vb early (Mask)Recommended: forSpitfire Mk.Vb 1/48BM366, Cdt. J. M. Accart, No. 345 Squadron,RAF Shoreham, United Kingdom, June 1944BM327, F/Lt Tony Cooper, No. 64 Squadron,RAF Friston, United Kingdom, June 1944No. 345 Squadron was established in January1944 and reached operational status on April28, 1944. Due to the date of the unit’s formation,it was not technically a “Free French” unit, itwas a disparate grouping of French pilots inthe RAF, some of whom were so-called “évadésd'Espagne”, i.e. Frenchmen who had fled Franceby crossing the Pyrenees to join de Gaulle’s FAFLand French pilots from North Africa. The unit wasarmed with older Mk.V Spitfires and flew patrolsover the Normandy beachhead as part of No. 141Wing (2TAF). In September 1944 it received Mk.IXSpitfires and was subsequently transferred toNo. 145 Wing, where it primarily flew groundattack and escort missions. During a year ofcombat, No. 345 Squadron flew more than 3,000combat sorties and destroyed 186 locomotivesand more than 200 enemy vehicles. The unit’sfirst commander was Cmdt. Jean-Marie Accart,who adopted the pseudonym “Bernard” in Britainto protect his family in France. Accart achieved12 victories, all in P-36 Hawk aircraft with theGC I/5 unit during the German invasion of Francein 1940.After completing his pilot training, Tony Cooperwas posted as an instructor after an aboveaverage rating, initially in England, and fromNovember 1940 to mid-1943 in Canada. In June1943 he succeeded, after string of requests sentto the authorities, in his application to return tocombat flying in the UK. He undertook a coursewith the Operational Training Unit at Rednalin Shropshire and was then posted to No. 64Squadron, which at that time was flying Mk.VbSpitfires. In the spring of 1944, he took part withthe unit in many ground attacks in preparationfor D-Day and on June 6, 1944, he made twocombat sorties, providing fighter cover over Utahand Omaha beaches. He continued operationalflying until November 1944. In total, Tony Cooperflew 3,200 hours and completed 160 operationalcombat sorties. He also survived five forcedlandings, two of them at night, two with burningaircraft and one as a result of enemy ground fire.After the war Tony returned to his home townof Lowestoft and became the fifth generation towork in the family wholesaler, WB Cooper Ltd. Helived a full life and remained active until his late90s. He passed away on January 26, 2017, at theage of 100 years. In Tony’s honor a Spitfire Mk. Vbserial number AB910 is flying with the Battle ofBritain Memorial Flight (BBMF) as Tony Cooperflew it with No. 64 Squadron on D-Day in June1944. His personal Spitfire was BM327, fuselagecode SH-F, which had “Peter John 1” inscriptionpainted under the front plate, which was thename of Tony’s newborn son.KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard44Červenec 2024Page 45
Bf 109G-6The ProfiPACK edition kit of the German fighter plane Bf 109G-6in 1/72 scale. From the kit it is possible to build Messerschmittswith standard canopy and standard rudder.plastic parts: Eduardmarking options: 6decals: EduardPE parts: yes, pre-paintedpainting mask: yesresin parts: no#701591/72Product pageKITS 06/2024INFO Eduard45Červenec 2024Page 46
Bf 109G-6, WNr. 15919, Maj. Hermann Graf, CO of JG 50,Wiesbaden-Erbenheim, Germany, September 1943Bf 109G-6, Oblt. Theodor Weissenberger, 6./JG 5, Idriza-Pleskau (Pskov),the Soviet Union, January 1944Hermann Graf scored a total of 212 kills, most ofthem (202) on the Eastern Front. On September16, 1942, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross withOak Leaf Cluster, Swords and Diamonds, thehighest German war decoration at the time, forachieving 172 victories. Graf flew this brightlycolored aircraft in the autumn of 1943 when hecommanded JG 50. In June 1943, Hermann Graffounded a unit to pursue Mosquito aircraft athigh altitude, named Jagdgeschwader Süd (notto be confused with Jagdgruppe Süd), which wasrenamed Jagdgeschwader 50 on September 1. Thefigure of the Roter Jäger (Red Hunter) symbolizedthe Luftwaffe football team, in which Graf playedalongside a number of the German national teammembers at the time, and which was known asthe Rote Jäger (Red Hunters). Within JG 50, onlythe squadron headquarters and I. Gruppe wereestablished, and the unit was incorporated intoI./JG 301 at the end of October 1943.Theodor Weissenberger was born on December 21,1914, in Mühlheim am Main. He joined the Luftwaffein October 1936. Initially he flew the Bf 110s with1.(Z)/JG 77, which was redesignated 10.(Z)/JG 5in April 1942. In September 1942 he becamea Bf 109 pilot with 6./JG 5. He was awarded theKnight’s Cross in November 1942 after achieving38 victories and destroying a number of groundtargets, including locomotives. In June 1943he was appointed commander of 7./JG 5 and inearly August, after achieving his 104th victory,he was awarded the Oak Leaf Cluster. At the endof September 1943 he took command of 6./JG 5and in April 1944 he was appointed commanderof the whole of II./JG 5. In early June 1944 he leftthe Eastern Front and became commander ofI./JG 5 in Normandy. In December 1944, he becamecommander of I./JG 7 with the Me 262 jets, andin mid-January 1945 was appointed Commodoreof JG 7. In total, he achieved 208 victories, eightof them flying a Me 262. He died on June 10, 1950,during an automobile race at the Nürburgring. HisBf 109G-6 Black 4 was in standard Mtt Regensburgcamouflage completed with white patches on theupper surfaces. This design was necessary forthe area and period of operation of 6./JG 5 in theclimatic conditions.KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard46Červenec 2024Page 47
Bf 109G-6/R6, Hptm. Anton Hackl, Stab III./JG 11,Oldenburg, Germany, January 1944Bf 109G-6/R6, Maj. Ludwig Franzisket, CO of I./JG 27,Fels am Wagram, Austria, January 1944After recovering from a severe wound sustained inAfrica on February 4, 1943, during a dogfight witha P-38 Lightning, Anton Hackl returned to combatactivity in September 1943. Hptm. Hackl, by thattime already an ace with 126 kills and a recipientof the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, wasreassigned to III./JG 11, incorporated into the ReichDefense system. The following month he tookcommand of the unit. During his time with JG 11,which ended with another wound on April 15, 1944,this time in combat with American P-47s, he hadalready scored 141 kills. During his subsequenttreatment he received the Knight’s Cross withthe Swords. After his recovery, he continued hisservice as commander of other Luftwaffe units.Anton Hackl is reported to have shot down a totalof 192 enemy aircraft (34 of which were four-engine bombers) during World War II, with another24 listed as unconfirmed kills. He died on July 9,1984, in his hometown of Reims. Anton Hackl’saircraft was sprayed with the standard Luftwaffecamouflage colors of the Messerschmitt factoryin Regensburg. The tail section of his aircraftwas painted white for quicker recognition ofthe formation leader during aerial combat.On the rear of the fuselage, there was sprayed thedesignation of the JG 11 aircraft – a yellow stripe,900 mm wide.Ludwig Franzisket began his combat careerwith 1. Staffel of JG 1 (later III./JG 27) and scoredhis first kills in May 1940 over the Netherlands.He later took part in the campaign in Franceand from September 1940 he served with StaffI./JG 27. Franzisket received the Knight’s Crossduring his service in Africa on July 23, 1941, afterhe had achieved 22 kills. In December that yearhe was appointed commander of I./JG 27 andin the summer of 1943 he took command of theentire I./JG 27. At the time the unit operated inthe skies over the Reich, where it faced Alliedair raids. Franzisket’s victories include twoB-17s shot down near Schweinfurt on October14, 1943. The total score eventually stood at 43victories, including four B-17s. The green stripearound the rear of the fuselage was used to markJG 27’s aircraft as part of the Reich’s air defenses.The JG 27 emblem was painted on the engine.The double black wedge on the fuselagesymbolized Franzisket’s command position.The white rudder marked the aircraft of the leaderof the formation.KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard47Červenec 2024Page 48
Bf 109G-6/R6, WNr. 440190, Lt. Alfred Hammer, CO of 6./JG 53,Vienna-Seyring, Austria, February 1944Bf 109G-6/R6, WNr. 26048, Oblt. Friedrich Brock, 8./JG 54, Ludwigslust,Germany, January 1944Alfred “Martello” Hammer achieved a total of26 victories during World War II. His first prey wasa Spitfire shot down over Malta on October 25,1942, the last one was Auster destroyed on April14, 1945. Hammer’s entire war service was withJG 53 “Pik As”. From November 1941 he underwentoperational training with Erg.Gr./JG 53 and inMarch 1942 was assigned to 4./JG 53. In February1943, he became adjutant of II./JG 53 and led6./JG 53 from July. In early 1945 he took commandof IV./JG 53 and remained in this post until theend of the war. He flew the Bf 109G-6 WNr. 440190during combat operations of JG 53 from the basein Vienna, where it moved after the retreat fromthe Mediterranean. He was probably flying thisaircraft, when he was wounded by defensivefire of B-17 over Linz on January 24, 1944. On thenose of Hammer’s Messerschmitt, there was theace of spades painted, which was the emblem ofJG 53. The red stripe around the rear of the fuselageidentified the aircraft used by JG 53 at that time.Friedrich Brock was born on May 6, 1916, inPerlach. In August 1939, he began his trainingat the Schule/Flieger-Ausbildungs-Regiment23 in Kaufbeuren. In November 1940 he transferredto Flugzeugführerschule A/B 63 in Marienbad.In March 1942 he joined Jagdfliegervorschule 3 inVienna-Schwechat. He completed his fighter pilottraining on November 12, 1942, with Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost in France. His first combat unitbecame 8./JG 54 at Siverskaya Air Base onNovember 13, 1942. In January 1943, III./JG 54was transferred to Oldenburg to defend northernGermany. There Brock achieved his first kill onJune 13, 1943. He was shot down several timesduring fightings with American B-17s but wasseriously wounded on April 8, 1944. His “Black 8”machine bore all the identifying features of theperiod, i.e., the 8./JG 54 emblem on the nose, theIII./JG 54 emblem under the cockpit, and a blueidentification stripe on the rear. Flying this aircraft,Uffz. Günther Sahl was shot down and killed onApril 9, 1944. After his recovery, Friedrich Brockbecame the operations officer of III./JG 54 (laterrenamed IV./JG 26) in October 1944 and did notintervene in combat anymore. In May 1945 he wascaptured and after his release in September 1945he devoted himself to his profession as a dentist.He died on May 3, 1994, in Berlin.KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard48Červenec 2024Page 49
Recommended: forBf 109G-6 1/72#672329674006 Bf 109G-6 LööK (Brassin)672292 Luftwaffe rudder pedals PRINT (Brassin)672324 Bf 109 SC250 bomb (Brassin)672329 Bf 109 balance weights PRINT (Brassin)672338 Bf 109G undercarriage legs BRONZE (Brassin)672344 Bf 109G radio compartment PRINT (Brassin)672346 Bf 109G propeller PRINT (Brassin)672347 Bf 109G-5/G-6 cockpit PRINT (Brassin)672348 Bf 109G-5/G-6 wheels PRINT (Brassin)672352 Bf 109G-6 engine PRINT (Brassin)672355 Bf 109G-5/G-6 gun barrels PRINT (Brassin)OVERTREES#70157XBf 109G-5/61/72Product pageOVERLEPT#70159-LEPT1Bf 109G-61/72Product page#672347#672352#672338#672344KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard49Červenec 2024Page 50
#82146Fw 190A-2ProfiPACK edition kit of German WWII fighter aircraft Fw 190A-2 in 1/48 scale.The kit offers the aircraft with two-cannon as well as four-cannon wings.plastic parts: Eduardmarking options: 5decals: EduardPE parts: yes, pre-paintedpainting mask: yesresin parts: yes, wheel bay doorsProduct pageRe-release1/48KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard50Červenec 2024Page 51
WNr. 0125228, Ofw. Erwin Leibold, Stab I./JG 26, St. Omer-Arques,France, July 1942WNr. 0125281, Oblt. Siegfried Schnell, CO of 9./JG 2,Théville, France, June 1942German Jagdgeschwader 26 ace Erwin Leiboldachieved his 11th and final kill in the afternoonof July 12, 1942, when he shot down a reconnai-ssance Mosquito PR Mk.II over Licques in France,which was on a mission to photograph Stras-bourg and Ingolstadt. Both British crewmen died.The fate of their conqueror was sealed only twoweeks later when Ofw. Leibold took part in I./JG26 attacks against the Biggin Hill Wing, operatingover France. The aircraft flown by Leibold, flyingas wingman of the Gruppe CO Hptm. Seifert, ex-ploded after being intercepted by a Spitfire. Thepilot was spotted on parachute, but a search forhim turned up nothing. The aircraft assigned toStaff I. Gruppe sported standard camouflage, butthey were marked in a non-standard way, withletters or initials of their pilots. The letter “L” (Le-ibold) was complemented with the designationof the aircraft within the Staffel in the form ofa chevron and carried eleven kill marks on theyellow rudder.Siegfried “Wumm” Schnell, a native of today’sPolish Sulecin (then Zeilenzig in Brandenburg)joined the ranks of the Luftwaffe in 1936 and atthe beginning of the Second World War he servedwith JG 2. He achieved his first kill over Franceon May 14, 1940, others followed over Britainand against English and American pilots overWestern Europe. After being assigned to JG 54,he first served with its III. Gruppe, before beingpromoted as CO of IV. Gruppe on February 1, 1944.While serving as Commanding Officer he was shotdown on February 25, 1944, over Narva by a Sovietfighter. This proved to be a fateful encounter forhim. For his combat results, he was awarded theKnight’s Cross with Oak Leaves on July 9, 1941.During Second World War he downed 93 enemyaircraft. The Fw 190A-2 flown by Oblt. Schnellcarried the standard camouflage scheme appliedto Luftwaffe fighters consisting of RLM 74/75/76.The yellow rudder carried 64 kill markings.The sides of the fuselage and engine cowl carriedthe so-called “Adlerflügel”.KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard51Červenec 2024Page 52
WNr. 0122125, Oblt. Max Buchholz, CO of 5./JG 1, Katwijk,the Netherlands, Summer 1942WNr. 0125310, Hptm. Josef Priller, CO of III./JG 26, Wevelghem,Belgium, June 1942Max Bucholz was born on November 3, 1912, inZerbst and at the beginning of the war he servedwith Jagdgeschwader 3. With this unit, he sawcombat over France and over Great Britain as wellas during Operation Barbarossa (the invasion ofthe Soviet Union). At the beginning of October 1941,I./JG 3 was sent for some R and R to Germany.After that, it was moved to the Netherlands andon January 6, 1942, the unit was redesignatedII./JG 1. Oblt. Bucholz was given command of its 6.Staffel. On February 12, 1942, he gained his 28thvictory in a mission to cover the battle cruisersScharnhorst and Gneisenau, which, togetherwith the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, sailed fromBrest to German harbors. From the middle of theyear up to the end of the war Bucholz served inadministrative duties. He died on July 19, 1996, inGermany. The tip of the red spinner of Bucholz’saircraft carried a thin white spiral and otherwisewas camouflaged in RLM 74/75/76. The markingof the Commander of the 5. Staffel in the formof a black numeral was supplemented by theII. Gruppe insignia (the horizontal bar in the Staffelcolor), and also by the personal marking of thegull in flight below the cockpit. The engine cowlbears the red “Tatzelwurm” – the 5./JG 1 badge.Josef “Pips” Priller was born on July 27, 1915, inIngolstadt, Bavaria. In 1935, he joined Wehrmachtand as soon as a year later, in October 1936,he started to attend the fighter pilot training.He achieved his first aerial victory asa commander of 6. Staffel JG 51 when he downeda Spitfire above Dunkerque on May 28, 1940.In November 1940, he was appointed a commanderof the 1./JG 26. On December 6, 1941, he becamecommander of III./JG 26 and from January 11, 1943,he lead the whole Jagdgeschwader 26. His numberof victories kept growing and on December 20,1941, his success was rewarded and Priller wasdecorated with Knights Cross of the Iron Crosswith Oak Leaves and Swords. On January 28, 1945,he was appointed Inspekteur der JagdfliegerOst, where he remained till the end of WWII.Priller’s total score was 101 victories over enemyaircraft. All of them were achieved in the WesternFront. After the War Priller married JohannaRiegele, the proprietor of a brewery and becamegeneral manager of Riegele brewery in Augsburg,Germany. He died of heart attack on May 20, 1961.This aircraft was flown by Josef Priller in June1942. It sported the standard camouflage schemefor Luftwaffe fighters and had yellow rudder andbottom part of the engine cowl. It also carriedthe marking for the CO of the III. Gruppe. The tailcarried 73 kill markings, Priller’s tally to June 1,1942.KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard52Červenec 2024Page 53
Oblt. Egon Mayer, CO of 7./JG 2, Théville, France, Summer 1942Egon Mayer was born on August 19, 1917, inKonstanz and he joined the Luftwaffe in1937. In December 1939, he was assigned toJagdgeschwader 2 after the training and servedwith this unit though the French campaignand into the Battle of Britain. From June 10,1941, he became CO of the 7. Staffel and the COof the entire III. Gruppe from November 1942.By that time, he had accumulated 52 victories.On November 23, he brought down his firstAmerican four-engine heavy bomber. Togetherwith George-Peter Eder, he was developingtactics of head on attacks against Americanbomber formations. On July 1, 1943, he was madeCommanding Officer of the entire JG 2. On March2, 1944, Mayer led a formation of JG 2 fighters inan intercept of American bombers over Montmédyand was shot down and killed by escorting P-47s.He was posthumously awarded the Sword tohis Knight’s Cross. The 7. Staffel JG 2 badgewas carried on the cowling of this standard-camouflaged Fw 190. The yellow rudder carried44 kill marks in the form of French and Britishroundels. The former markings of the aircraftwere sprayed over with RLM 74 Graugrün.Recommended: forFw 190A-2 1/48648356 Fw 190A wingroot gun bays (Brassin)648366 Fw 190A propeller (Brassin)648371 Fw 190A control surfaces early (Brassin)648381 Fw 190A exhaust stacks (Brassin)648736 Fw 190A landing flaps PRINT (Brassin)3DL48182 Fw 190A-2 SPACE (3D Decal Set)D48040 Fw 190A-2 national insignia (Decal Set)EX587 Fw 190A TFace (Mask)OVERTREES#8215XFw 190A-21/48Product pageOVERLEPT#82146-LEPT1Fw 190A-21/48Product page#648736#648356#648381KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard53Červenec 2024Page 54
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a/c No. 2853, 1 Squadron, 11 Fighter Regiment, Žatec, Czech Republic, 1993N179EP, Reno AFB, United States of America, 20093246, 3 Squadron, 1 Fighter Regiment, Planá Air Base, Czechoslovakia, 1969–1970This Delfin received its coloring at the beginningof June 1993. It was created by the ground crewunder the leadership of kpt. Ing. Karel Krejčíand it was introduced to the public on July 10of the same year at an airshow in Žatec. Afterthe disbandment of the 11 Fighter Regiment,the aircraft was transferred to the 1 TrainingRegiment at Přerov. The entire aircraft, includingthe drop tanks, was cleaned and degreased andthe national insignia and fuselage number werecovered by tape. After that, the aircraft waspainted yellow, followed by the black tiger stripes.The American company Tactical Air Servicesowns two L-29 Delfins and these are used totrain army and navy elements by simulatingincoming anti-shipping or air-to-surface rounds.During RIMPAC 2010 (Rim Of The Pacific – thelargest international naval exercise) they werephotographed on the deck of LHD-6 Bon HommeRichard. Aircraft N179EP is camouflaged similarlyto the aircraft operated by the Russian Air Force,including Russian stars on the wings and fin.While most L-29s served as trainers withtraining units, some aircraft were allocatedto combat units to help in maintaining pilot’sratings at a minimal expense. One such aircraftwas this L-29 coded 3246, which was assignedto 3 Squadron of the 1 Fighter Regiment based atČeské Budějovice. The aircraft served there rightfrom its acceptance in 1969 up to the mid-eighties.Later, it was transferred to a training regiment inKošice and stayed operational up to 2003. During1969–70, the Squadron emblem was painted onthe nose consisting of a devil on a dark bluebackground, the same as used on MiG-21PFMs ofthe unit. The red trim was part of the standardscheme in which the L-29s were delivered to themain client, the Soviet Union.KITS 06/2024INFO Eduard55Červenec 2024Page 56
FE999 L-29 Delfin seatbelts STEEL (fotolept)Recommended: forL-29 Delfín 1/723250, International Fighter Pilots Academy, Košice, Slovak Republic, 1993378, 101 Fighter Reconaissance Wing, Szolnok Air Base, Hungary, Summer 1978The International Fighter Pilot Academy wasformed at the beginning of 1993 at Košice asan official training unit allowing civil clients totake part in aerial exercises on military aircraft,including helicopters. One of the aircraft thatwere used in this role and were also funded for inthe budget of the Slovak Air Force, was this L-29.The fuselage of this Delfin was painted grey, whilethe wings received a striking scheme consistingof red, white and blue segments reminiscent ofpast aerobatic schemes. The IFPA badge wascarried under the windscreen on both sides ofthe aircraft.The L-29 factory number 591378 was built in1965 and delivered to Hungarian AF to serveat Szolnok Air Force Base with 101 FighterReconnaissance Wing. In the first part of itsactive life the aircraft flew in natural metalcolors with Red 378 board number. The aircraftreturned twice to Czechoslovakia for overhaulin the Trenčín factory, in 1971 and 1978. After thesecond overhaul it received a new camouflagescheme represented here. These are Czechcolors which were very different from HungarianAF official coloring. Later several new patches ofdark green were added by Hungarian techniciansas repairs. It is interesting that this aircraft is stillin service but this time in private hand in USA asN21KE. After withdrawal from Hungarian AF inMarch 1983 it was sold in summer of 1984 andhad a colorful after-life, flying in VVS colors as09 with red star. With breakup of the Soviet Union,it received YL-PAD registration to be shippedeventually to Scotland in mid 1990s and kept inopen storage for many years. It was sold againand shipped to the US, after refurbishment flewas Red 09 from Minnetonka.OVERTREES#7096XL-29 Delfín1/72Product pageOVERLEPT#7096-LEPT1L-29 Delfín1/72Product pageKITS 06/2024INFO Eduard56Červenec 2024Page 57
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 58
BRASSINLööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard and STEELseatbelts for F4U-1A in 1/48 scale. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: Magic factorySet contains:- resin: 1 part- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noLööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard and STEELseatbelts for P-47D-30 in 1/48 scale. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: MiniartSet contains:- resin: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: no644264F4U-1A LööK1/48 Magic Factory644269P-47D-30 LööK1/48 MINIARTProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard58Červenec 2024Page 59
644270I-16 Type 24 LööK1/48 EduardLööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboardand STEEL seatbelts for I-16 Type 24 in 1/48 scale.Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 1 part- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noBRASSINLööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard and STEELseatbelts for FM-1 in 1/48 scale. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: TamiyaSet contains:- resin: 1 part- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted- painting mask: no644271FM-1 LööK1/48 TamiyaProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard59Červenec 2024Page 60
BRASSINCollection of 3 sets for Gannet AS.1 or AS.4 in 1/48 scale.Recommended kit: Airfix- LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboard & Steelbelts)- TFace painting mask- undercarriage wheelsCollection of 3 sets for Bf 109G-2 in 1/72 scale.Recommended kit: Eduard- LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboard & Steelbelts)- gun barrels- propeller644272Gannet AS.1/AS.4 LööKplus1/48 Airfix674008Bf 109G-2 LööKplus1/72 EduardProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard60Červenec 2024Page 61
BRASSINBrassin set - a deployed parachute for F-4Ein 1/48 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.Recommended kit: MengSet contains:- 3D print: 4 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: noCollection of 3 sets for Bf 109G-4 in 1/72 scale.Recommended kit: Eduard- LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboard & Steelbelts)- gun barrels- propeller674009Bf 109G-4 LööKplus1/72 EduardProduct pageProduct page648910F-4E parachute PRINT1/48 MengINFO Eduard61Červenec 2024Page 62
648983Beaufort Mk.I engines PRINT1/48 ICM648989P-51B/C wheels block tread1/48 EduardBRASSINBrassin set - both enginest for Beaufort Mk.Iin 1/48 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.Recommended kit: ICMSet contains:- 3D print: 16 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for P-51Bor P-51C in 1/48 scale. The set consists of the mainwheels and a tail wheel. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- 3D print: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yesProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard62Červenec 2024Page 63
BRASSINBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for P-51Bor P-51C in 1/48 scale. The set consists of the mainwheels and a tail wheel. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- 3D print: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yes648991P-51B/C wheels block tread 21/48 EduardBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for P-51Bor P-51C in 1/48 scale. The set consists of the mainwheels and a tail wheel. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- 3D print: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yes648990P-51B/C wheels diamond tread 21/48 EduardProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard63Červenec 2024Page 64
BRASSINBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for Bf 108in 1/48 scale. The set consists of the main wheels anda tail wheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 5 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yesBrassin set - the undercarriage wheelsfor Bf 108 in 1/48 scale. The set consistsof the main wheels and a tail wheel.Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 5 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yes648999Bf 108 wheels1/48 Eduard648998Bf 108 wheels spoked1/48 EduardProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard64Červenec 2024Page 65
BRASSINBrassin set - cockpit for F-35B in 1/48 scale.Made by direct 3D printing.Recommended kit: TamiyaSet contains:- 3D print: 16 parts- decals: yes- photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted- painting mask: no6481000F-35B cockpit PRINT1/48 TamiyaProduct pageBrassin set - fuel drop tanks for P-51B or P-51Cin 1/48 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 6 parts- decals: yes- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: no6481001P-51B/C 108gal drop tanks PRINT1/48 EduardProduct pageINFO Eduard65Červenec 2024Page 66
BRASSINBrassin set - pilot seat for P-51B or P-51C in 1/48 scale.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 1 part- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noBrassin set - propeller for P-51B or P-51Cin 1/48 scale. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resi: 9 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: no6481006P-51B/C Hamilton Standard propeller1/48 Eduard6481003P-51B/C seat Type 2 PRINT1/48 EduardProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard66Červenec 2024Page 67
Brassin set - propeller for P-51Bor P-51C in 1/48 scale. Easy toassemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resi: 9 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: no6481007P-51B/C Hamilton Standard propeller uncuffed1/48 EduardProduct pageBrassin set - bazooka type rocket launchersfor P-51B or P-51C in 1/48 scale.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 8 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: no6481008P-51B/C bazooka rocket launcher1/48 EduardProduct pageBRASSININFO Eduard67Červenec 2024Page 68
BRASSINBrassin set - single monunted 25mm AA gun forIJN vessels in 1/350 scale. Set consists of 20 guns.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts.Set contains:- 3D print: 20 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: no653019IJN Type 96 25mm AA gun (single) PRINT1/350Product pageBrassin set - double monunted 25mm AA gun forIJN vessels in 1/350 scale. Set consists of 18 guns.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts.Set contains:- 3D print: 18 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: no653020IJN Type 96 25mm AA gun (double) PRINT1/350Product pageINFO Eduard68Červenec 2024Page 69
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BRASSINCollection of 5 sets for F-35A in 1/72 scale.Recommended kit: Tamiya- GBU-12- AIM-120C AMRAAM- AIM-9X- AIM-132 ASRAAM- GBU-31(V)3/B JDAMAll sets included in this BIG SIN are available separately, butwith every BIG SIN set you save up to 30 %.SIN67224F-35A armament1/72 TamiyaProduct pageINFO Eduard71Červenec 2024Page 72
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INFO Eduard84Březen 2024Page 85
B-17 ACCESSORIESINFO Eduard85Březen 2024Page 86
B-17 ACCESSORIESINFO Eduard86Březen 2024Page 87
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EDDIE THE RIVETERER32006Double radial rows1/32ER48011Double radial rows1/48This product is used to create raisedrivets on rounded surfaces. It can be usedfor example on propeller cones, enginecovers and engine radiators. How to workwith these products can be found inINFO 08/2023.Product pageProduct pageER72006Double radial rows1/72Product pageINFO Eduard95Červenec 2024Page 96
BIG EDAll sets included in this BIG ED are available separately,but with every BIG ED set you save up to 30 %.BIG49406 F-35B 1/48 TamiyaBIG49407Gannet AS.1 1/48 Airfix49103 Remove Before Flight STEEL491420 F-35B 1/48FE1421 F-35B seatbelts STEEL 1/48EX1011 F-35B 1/48491424 Gannet AS.1 1/48FE1426 Gannet AS.1/AS.4 seatbelts STEEL 1/48EX1016 Gannet AS.1/AS.4 1/48Product pageProduct pageINFO Eduard96Červenec 2024Page 97
All sets included in this BIG ED are available separately,but with every BIG ED set you save up to 30 %.BIG EDBIG49408 Gannet AS.4 1/48 AirfixBIG49409Hurricane Mk.IIb 1/48 Arma Hobby491425 Gannet AS.4 1/48FE1426 Gannet AS.1/AS.4 seatbelts STEEL 1/48EX1016 Gannet AS.1/AS.4 1/48491422 Hurricane Mk.IIb 1/48FE1423 Hurricane Mk.IIb seatbelts STEEL 1/48EX1014 Hurricane Mk.IIb 1/48Product pageProduct pageINFO Eduard97Červenec 2024Page 98
MASKSIT FITS!JX324 A-20J/K1/32 HKMJX325 A-20J/K TFace1/32 HKMJX326 B5N2 TFace1/32 Border ModelEX1041 B-24J1/48 Hobby BossEX1042 B-24J TFace1/48 Hobby BossEX1043 B-24J US national insignia1/48 Hobby BossEX1044 B-26B Marauder1/48 ICMEX1045 B-26B Marauder TFace1/48 ICMEX1046 B-26B Marauder nationalinsignia 1/48 ICMEX1047 TBD-1 TFace1/48 Hobby BossJX325 A-20J/K TFaceJX326 B5N2 TFace TFaceJX326 B5N2 TFace TFaceJX326 B5N2 TFace TFaceJX326 B5N2 TFace TFaceJX325 A-20J/K TFaceJX324 A-20J/KJX324 A-20J/KJX325 A-20J/K TFaceJX325 A-20J/K TFaceINFO Eduard98Červenec 2024Page 99
EX1042 B-24J TFaceEX1042 B-24J TFaceEX1041 B-24JEX1041 B-24JEX1042 B-24J TFaceEX1042 B-24J TFaceEX1045 B-26B Marauder TFaceEX1044 B-26B MarauderEX1044 B-26B MarauderEX1045 B-26B Marauder TFace EX1045 B-26B Marauder TFaceEX1045 B-26B Marauder TFaceEX1047 TBD-1 TFace EX1047 TBD-1 TFaceINFO Eduard99Červenec 2024MASKSPage 100
RELEASESJUNE 2024KITSPE-SETSZOOMSMASKS2146 MARAUDER 1/72 Limited84200 Spitfire Mk.Vb OVERLORD 1/48 Weekend70159 Bf 109G-6 1/72 ProfiPACK82146 Fw 190A-2 Re-release 1/48 ProfiPACK7096 L-29 Delfín Re-release 1/72 ProfiPACK53310 USS Sangamon CVE-26 island 1/350 Trumeter32490 A-20J/K / Boston Mk.IV bomb bay 1/32 HKM32491 A-20J/K / Boston Mk.IV main wheel well 1/32 HKM321017 B5N2 1/35 Border Model321018 A-20J/K 1/32 HKM321019 Boston Mk.IV 1/32 HKM481139 TBD-1 landing flaps 1/48 Hobby Boss491450 B-24J cockpit & engines 1/48 Hobby Boss491452 TBD-1 1/48 Hobby Boss491454 B-26B Marauder cockpit & nose interior 1/48 ICM72737 SM.79 exterior 1/72 Italeri73824 SM.79 interior 1/72 Italeri33365 B5N2 1/35 Border Model33366 B5N2 seatbelts STEEL 1/35 Border Model33367 A-20J/K 1/32 HKM33368 A-20J/K seatbelts STEEL 1/32 HKM33369 Boston Mk.IV 1/32 HKM33370 Boston Mk.IV seatbelts STEEL 1/32 HKMFE1450 B-24J 1/48 Hobby BossFE1451 B-24J seatbelts STEEL 1/48 Hobby BossFE1452 TBD-1 1/48 Hobby BossFE1453 TBD-1 seatbelts STEEL 1/48 Hobby BossFE1454 B-26B Marauder 1/48 ICMFE1455 B-26B Marauder seatbelts STEEL 1/48 ICMSS824 SM.79 1/72 ItaleriJX324 A-20J/K 1/32 HKMJX325 A-20J/K TFace 1/32 HKMJX326 B5N2 TFace 1/32 Border ModelEX1041 B-24J 1/48 Hobby BossEX1042 B-24J TFace 1/48 Hobby BossEX1043 B-24J US national insignia 1/48 Hobby BossEX1044 B-26B Marauder 1/48 ICMEX1045 B-26B Marauder TFace 1/48 ICMEX1046 B-26B Marauder national insignia 1/48 ICMEX1047 TBD-1 TFace 1/48 Hobby BossBIG-EDBIG-EDBIG EDBIG49406 F-35B 1/48 TamiyaBIG49407 Gannet AS.1 1/48 AirfixBIG49408 Gannet AS.4 1/48 AirfixBIG49409 Hurricane Mk.IIb 1/48 Arma HobbyINFO Eduard100Červenec 2024Page 101
RELEASESBRASSINLöökPLUSBIG SINSPACEEDDIE THE RIVETER644264 F4U-1A LööK 1/48 Magic Factory644269 P-47D-30 LööK 1/48 MINIART644270 I-16 Type 24 LööK 1/48 Eduard644271 FM-1 LööK 1/48 Tamiya648910 F-4E parachute PRINT 1/48 Meng648983 Beaufort Mk.I engines PRINT 1/48 ICM648989 P-51B/C wheels block tread 1/48 Eduard648990 P-51B/C wheels diamond tread 2 1/48 Eduard648991 P-51B/C wheels block tread 2 1/48 Eduard648998 Bf 108 wheels spoked 1/48 Eduard648999 Bf 108 wheels 1/48 Eduard6481000 F-35B cockpit PRINT 1/48 Tamiya6481001 P-51B/C 108gal drop tanks PRINT 1/48 Eduard6481003 P-51B/C seat Type 2 PRINT 1/48 Eduard6481006 P-51B/C Hamilton Standard propeller 1/48 Eduard6481007 P-51B/C Hamilton Standardpropeller uncuffed 1/48 Eduard6481008 P-51B/C bazooka rocket launcher 1/48 Eduard653019 IJN Type 96 25mm AA gun (single) PRINT 1/350653020 IJN Type 96 25mm AA gun (double) PRINT 1/350644272 Gannet AS.1/AS.4 LööKplus 1/48 Airfix674008 Bf 109G-2 LööKplus 1/72 Eduard674009 Bf 109G-4 LööKplus 1/72 EduardSIN648126 P-38J engines 1/48 TamiyaSIN67224 F-35A armament 1/72 Tamiya3DL32023 B5N2 SPACE 1/35 Border Model3DL32024 A-20J/K SPACE 1/32 HKM3DL32025 Boston Mk.IV SPACE 1/32 HKM3DL48180 B-24J SPACE 1/48 Hobby Boss3DL48181 TBD-1 SPACE 1/48 Hobby Boss3DL48182 Fw 190A-2 SPACE 1/48 Eduard3DL48183 B-26B Marauder SPACE 1/48 ICM3DL72032 SM.79 SPACE 1/72 Italeri3DL72033 B-26 Marauder SPACE 1/72 Eduard3DL53014 US Navy WW2 ensign flag forCVL, CVE, CL & DD SPACE 1/350ER32006 Double radial rows 1/32ER48011 Double radial rows 1/48ER72006 Double radial rows 1/72JUNE 2024INFO Eduard101Červenec 2024Page 102
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BUILTP-51B-10-NA, s/n 43-6934, Capt. Henry White, 328th FS, 352nd FG, 8th AF,Bodney, Great Britain, June 1944The 352nd Fighter Group was formed onSeptember 29, 1942 and activated three days lateron October 1. Its first commander was Lt. Col.Edwin M. Ramage. The 328th, 486th, and 487thFighter Squadrons, all initially flying P-47s beforerearming to P-51B, were part of the group. DuringJune and July, the group moved from the USA tothe UK. The first commander of the 328th FighterSquadron was Capt. J. H. Posten, the most famousof the commanders was Maj. G. E. Preddy, the mostsuccessful American P-51 fighter pilot with 26.83confirmed kills. Capt. Henry White flew a total of89 operational sorties with the unit, recordingtwo kills. He achieved the first on May 28, 1944,and the second on July 18. The entire squadronscored 143 kills, 14 were destroyed probably and35 damaged by its pilots on the ground during thewar. Captain White’s P-51B bore the distinctivelivery of “Blue-nosed Bastards of Bodney”, as the352nd FG was nicknamed after the blue noses ofits aircraft. On the left side forward of the cockpit,a painting of a girl in a red bikini and the name“Dallas Darling” adorned the nose. Full invasionstripes are portrayed here.INFO Eduard103Červenec 2024Page 104
BUILTbuilt by Tomáš PavlíkM3A1 HAlf TrAck1/72 AcademyAccessories used:22120 M-3 Half Track (PE-Set)INFO Eduard104Červenec 2024Page 105
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BUILT1/72F6F-3built by Steve Baker#7074MARKINGs D and EEns. Gordon ArthurStanley, VF-27,USS Princeton (CVL-23),October 1944OTU VF-2, NAS Melbourne,United States, October 1944Accessories used:672039 US 500lb bombs (Brassin)672203 F6F wheels (Brassin)INFO Eduard106Červenec 2024Page 107
1/72Bf 109F-4built by Steve Baker#70155MARKING BBUILTAccessories used:672314 Bf 109F propeller late PRINT (Brassin)672316 Bf 109F wheels PRINT (Brassin)672322 Bf 109F wheel bays rounded PRINT (Brassin)672325 Bf 109F/G exhaust stacks PRINT (Brassin)672329 Bf 109 balance weights PRINT (Brassin)Bf 109F-4, Maj. Hannes Trautloft,CO of JG 54, Relbitsy, the SovietUnion, March 1942Hannes Trautloft entered combat in the Spanish CivilWar. He flew the Bf 109 and participated in the development oftactics for this fighter aircraft. He fought in the Polish campaign as wellas in France and managed to achieve at least one victory in every campaign.On August 25, 1940, he assumed command of JG 54. He led this fighterunit through Operation Barbarossa, the attack on the Soviet Union, and insubsequent combat till July 5, 1943. Trautloft was credited with 58 victories andhe was awarded the Knight’s Cross on July 27, 1941. His personal aircraft worea non-standard camouflage scheme. It is not clear which colors were used byJG 54 during its deployment to the Soviet Union.Product pageINFO Eduard107Červenec 2024Page 108
ON APPROACHJULY 2024634046A-20J/K LööK1/32 HKM644265F4U-2 LööK1/48 Magic Factory644273B-26B Marauder LööK1/48 ICMBIG5372 HMS Ark Royal 1939 1/350 I LOVE KITBIG49410 P-47D-30 1/48 MINIARTBIG49411 U-2R 1/48 Hobby BossBIG49412 Lancaster B Mk.III Dambuster PART I 1/48 HKMBIG49413 Lancaster B Mk.III Dambuster PART II 1/48 HKMBIG72180 PBM-5A 1/72 Academy634046 A-20J/K LööK 1/32 HKM644265 F4U-2 LööK 1/48 Magic Factory644273 B-26B Marauder LööK 1/48 ICM6481004 P-51B/C engine 1/48 Eduard6481005 P-51B/C 75gal drop tank early PRINT 1/48 Eduard6481009 P-51B/C/D seat Type 3 PRINT 1/48 Eduard672358 P-51D exhaust stacks PRINT 1/72 Eduard672359 P-51D exhaust stacks w/ fairing PRINT 1/72 Eduard672361 P-51D Hamilton Standard propeller PRINT 1/72 Eduard672362 P-51D Hamilton Standard propeller uncuffed PRINT 1/72 Eduard672363 P-51D-5 cockpit PRINT 1/72 Eduard672366 P-51D wheels diamond tread 1/72 Eduard672367 P-51D wheels oval tread 1/72 Eduard672368 P-51D wheels cross tread 1/72 Eduard672372 P-51D seat PRINT 1/72 Eduard644274 P-47D-30 LööKpkus 1/48 MINIART674010 Bf 109G-6 LööKplus 1/72 Eduard674011 Bf 109F LööKplus 1/72 EduardSIN635001 WWII German tool set 1/35SIN648127 F-16C Block 42 till 2005 1/48 KineticBIG ED (July)BRASSIN (July)LöökPlus (July)BIGSIN (July)LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboardand STEEL seatbelts for A-20J/K in 1/32 scale.Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: HKMSet contains:- 3D print: 2 parts- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noLööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboardand STEEL seatbelts for F4U-2 in 1/48 scale.Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: Magic FactorySet contains:- resin: 1 part- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noLööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboardand STEEL seatbelts for B-26B Marauderin 1/48 scale. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: ICMSet contains:- 3D print: 2 parts- resin: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noPRELIMINARY IMAGESPRELIMINARY IMAGESPRELIMINARY IMAGESINFO Eduard108Červenec 2024Page 109
6481004P-51B/C engine1/48 EduardON APPROACHBrassin set - engine for P-51B or P-51Cin 1/48 scale. The cowlings are included.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 55 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: no6481005P-51B/C 75gal drop tank early PRINT1/48 Eduard6481009P-51B/C/D seat Type 3 PRINT1/48 EduardBrassin set - fuel drop tanks for P-51B or P-51Cin 1/48 scale. The set consists of 2 tanks. Made bydirect 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 6 parts- decals: yes- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noBrassin set - pilot seat for P-51B or P-51Cor P-51D in 1/48 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 1 part- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noINFO Eduard109Červenec 2024Page 110
ON APPROACHJULY 2024672358P-51D exhaust stacks PRINT1/72 Eduard672359P-51D exhaust stacks w/ fairing PRINT1/72 Eduard672361P-51D Hamilton Standard propeller PRINT1/72 EduardBrassin set - exhaust stacks for P-51D in 1/72 scale.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noBrassin set - exhaust stacks for P-51D in 1/72 scale.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noBrassin set - propeller for P-51D in 1/72 scale.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 3 parts- resin: 4 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noINFO Eduard110Červenec 2024Page 111
ON APPROACHJULY 2024672362P-51D Hamilton Standard propeller uncuffed PRINT1/72 Eduard672363P-51D-5 cockpit PRINT1/72 Eduard672366P-51D wheels diamond tread1/72 EduardBrassin set - propeller for P-51D in 1/72 scale.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 3 parts- resin: 4 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noBrassin set - cockpit for P-51D-5in 1/72 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 21 parts- decals: yes- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for P-51Din 1/72 scale. The set consists of the main wheelsand a tail wheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plasticparts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yesINFO Eduard111Červenec 2024Page 112
ON APPROACH672367P-51D wheels oval tread1/72 EduardBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for P-51Din 1/72 scale. The set consists of the main wheelsand a tail wheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plasticparts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yes672372P-51D seat PRINT1/72 EduardBrassin set - pilot seat for P-51D in 1/72 scale.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 1 part- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted- painting mask: no672368P-51D wheels cross tread1/72 EduardBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for P-51Din 1/72 scale. The set consists of the main wheelsand a tail wheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plasticparts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yesJULY 2024INFO Eduard112Červenec 2024Page 113
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Collection of 3 sets for P-47D-30 in 1/48 scale.Recommended kit: Miniart- LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboard & Steelbelts)- TFace painting mask- undercarriage wheels644274P-47D-30 LööKplus1/48 MINIARTON APPROACHJULY 2024INFO Eduard114Červenec 2024Page 115
ON APPROACHCollection of 4 sets for Bf 109G-6 in 1/72 scale.Recommended kit: Eduard- LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboard & Steelbelts)- gun barrels- exhaust stacks- undercarriage wheelsCollection of 4 sets for Bf 109F in 1/72 scale.Recommended kit: Eduard- LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboard & Steelbelts)- gun barrels- exhaust stacks- undercarriage wheels674010Bf 109G-6 LööKplus1/72 Eduard674011Bf 109F LööKplus1/72 EduardJULY 2024INFO Eduard115Červenec 2024Page 116
SIN635001WWII German tool set1/35Collection of 6 sets of tools for German WWII AFVin 1/35 scale.- pickaxes- crowbars- wire cutters- shovels- axe- hammerAll sets included in this BIG SIN are available separately,but with every BIG SIN set you save up to 30 %.ON APPROACHJULY 2024INFO Eduard116Červenec 2024Page 117
SIN648127F-16C Block 42 till 20051/48 KineticCollection of 4 sets for F-16C Block 42 in 1/48 scale.Recommended kit: Kinetic- cockpit- undercarriage bays- undercariage wheels- exhaust nozzleAll 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 APPROACHJULY 2024INFO Eduard117Červenec 2024Page 118
PE-SETS53311 USS Ranger CV-4 part 1 1/350 Trumpeter481140 B-24J undercarriage 1/48 Hobby Boss481141 B-24J bomb bay 1/48 Hobby Boss481142 B-24J bomb racks 1/48 Hobby Boss481143 SMB-2 Super Mystere landing flaps 1/48 Special Hobby481144 B-26B exterior 1/48 ICM481145 B-26B bomb bay 1/48 ICM491451 B-24J nose & radio compartment 1/48 Hobby Boss491455 B-26B rear interior 1/48 ICM491456 SMB-2 Super Mystere Israeli AF 1/48 Special Hobby72738 A-6E electronic equipment 1/72 Trumpeter73825 A-6E 1/72 Trumpeter73827 F-15J MSIP 1/72 Fine MoldsZOOMSFE1456 SMB-2 Super Mystere Israeli AF 1/48 Special HobbyFE1457 SMB-2 Super Mystere seatbelts Israeli AF STEEL 1/48 Special HobbySS825 A-6E 1/72 TrumpeterSS826 P-51D seatbelts STEEL 1/72 EduardSS827 F-15J MSIP 1/72 Fine MoldsMASKSEX1048 SMB-2 Super Mystere TFace 1/48 Special HobbyEX1049 A-10C 1/48 Great Wall HobbyEX1050 A-10C TFace 1/48 Great Wall HobbyCX663 A-6E 1/72 TrumpeterCX664 P-51D US national insignia 1/72 EduardCX665 P-51D surface panels 1/72 EduardCX666 F-15J MSIP 1/72 Fine MoldsCX667 B-24H 1/72 AirfixSPACE3DL48184 SMB-2 Super Mystere Israeli AF SPACE 1/48 Special Hobby3DL48185 Fw 190D-9 SPACE 1/48 Eduard3DL48186 A-10C SPACE 1/48 Great Wall Hobby3DL72034 A-6E SPACE 1/72 Trumpeter3DL72035 P-51D-5 SPACE 1/72 Eduard3DL72036 P-51D-10 SPACE 1/72 Eduard3DL72037 P-51D-15+ SPACE 1/72 Eduard3DL72038 F-15J MSIP SPACE 1/72 Fine Molds3DL72039 L-29 SPACE 1/72 AMK/EduardEDDIE THE RIVETERER32007 Triple radial rows 1/32ER48012 Triple radial rows 1/48ER72007 Triple radial rows 1/72ON APPROACHJULY 2024INFO Eduard118Červenec 2024Page 119
ON APPROACHSpitfire Mk.XVI High Back #8286 1/48JULY 2024TB752, S/Ldr Henry Zary, CO of No. 403 Squadron,B.114 Diepholz, Germany, April–May 1945SM403, F/O Gordon M. Hill,No. 416 Squadron, B.56 Evere,Belgium, December 1944RR227, S/Ldr Otto Smik,No. 127 Squadron,B.60 Grimbergen, Belgium,November 1944TB520, W/Cdr Donald G. Andrews, CO of ColtishallWing, RAF Matlaske, United Kingdom, March–May 1945TB349, F/Lt Malcom J. Gordon, No. 421 Squadron,B.90 Petit Brogel, Belgium, February–April 1945F/Lt Gordon M. Braidwood, No. 322 Squadron,B.106 Twente, Netherlands, April 1945INFO Eduard119Červenec 2024Page 120
Bf 109G-6 Erla1/48ON APPROACH#84201Bf 109G-6, Hptm. Heinrich Ehrler, CO of 6./JG 5,Alakurtti, Finland, July 1943Bf 109G-6, WNr. 15909, Hptm. Gerhard Barkhorn,CO of II./JG 52, Anapa, the Soviet Union,September 1943Bf 109G-6/R6, WNr. 15367, Oblt. Herwig Zuzic,CO of 8./JG 1, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands,July 1943Bf 109G-6/R6, WNr. 26048, Oblt. Friedrich Brock,8./JG 54, Ludwigslust, Germany, January 1944JULY 2024INFO Eduard120Červenec 2024Page 121
WNr. 600424, Lt. Heinz Sachsenberg,München-Riem, Germany, April-May 1945WNr. 210909, Maj. Gerhard Barkhorn,Stab JG 6, Welzow, Germany, February 1945WNr. 210194, Fw. Werner Hohenberg,Stab I./JG 2, Merzhausen, Germany,January 1, 1945WNr. 210003, Oblt. Hans Dortenmann,12./JG 26, Germany, 1945ON APPROACHRe-releaseFw 190D-9#841021/48JULY 2024INFO Eduard121Červenec 2024Swastikas and Red Stars
History is not an exact science, knowledge about things and events of the past is not only added to and refined, but its perception may change in relation to the evolution of society as a whole. The chroniclers of ancient times often wrote along the monarch desire, otherwise they risked their neck.
History is not an exact science, knowledgeabout things and events of the past is not onlyadded to and refined, but its perception maychange in relation to the evolution of society asa whole. The chroniclers of ancient times oftenwrote along the monarch desire, otherwise theyrisked their neck. Those who then set aboutwriting down about events that occurred duringthe reigns of monarchs who were already deadand therefore harmless, in turn often committederrors or fabrications for the simple reason thatthey had few sources or had favorites they did notwant to disgrace, and vice versa. First half of the16th Century Czech chronicler Wenceslaus Hájekfrom Libočany could tell a story about such anapproach... In his time, he too had limited sourcesof information and usually interpreted what littlehe found in his own way. He was not alone in this,and he was by no means the last. Like medievalor ancient rulers, modern despots like to alterhistory in their own way. Some time ago, on oneof the (a)social networks (primarily set up toincrease the reach of human narrowness andsmallness, I think), I noticed a reel by a lady ofabout 50 years of age who took umbrage at thefact that some historical events are now spokenand written about differently than she was taughtin school. She used the word “unbelievable”about twenty times, probably because of herweak vocabulary due to her poor education. Theperson in question obviously lives in the beliefthat history is an exact science, which is ofcourse nonsense. Unfortunately, in our countrystill dragging a lot from the communist era,the communist interpretation of history, which,well beyond the work of Wenceslaus Hájek ofLibočany, resembles the fairy-tale Chronicle ofthe so-called Dalimil (early 14th Century ), stillgreatly influences the worldview of not only theolder generation. Like a mental cancer, the liesthat were drilled into our heads by our teachersspread from our parents and grandparents tothe younger generation. If we add to this theweakness of contemporary education, then it isno wonder that we still have the heroic SovietUnion, which was insidiously attacked by theNazis and then saved the whole of Europe, andhence the world, from their tyranny. No, that isnot the case, dear children, the Soviet Union wasonly saving its own ass and extinguishing what ithad helped to set on fire with great initiative, inorder to then ruthlessly exploit it all in a race forthe World ruling. Under the sign of the red star,people have died quite needlessly both by thehand of their enemies as well as their own leaders’.As many as 17 million people were killed duringthe Russian civil war that followed the Bolsheviks’(i.e. Communist) seizure of power and nearly1.5 million people were killed during the “GreatPurge” by which the Communists settled theiraccounts and got rid of uncomfortable “elements”.All in all, some 12 million people were “terminated”during the Stalinist purges. Until the monstrouscommunist ideology was embraced by Mao Tse-Tung to dispose of an estimated seventy millionpeople in various ways, the Soviet Union wasthe leader of the “hit parade” of mass murderscrimes committed directly under the flag andstate symbols of the country. And in both cases,the red five-pointed star, which in terms ofsymbolism of atrocities is equaling the swastika,played a role. However, while the swastika lost,the red star won, at least in the eyes of thosewho adopt as their interpretation of history thelessons of the Communist Party’s point of view.And that is why today we have laws that seek toerase the swastika from history, while the redstar can continue to shine cheerfully, even asa symbol of the most heinous atrocities wheneverand wherever.