Editorial
Good evening fellow modelers,
I have just returned from vacation and, as every month, my task is to introduce you to today's Info edition and provide you with information about our activities in the coming months. So I have a lot to do and will get straight to the point.
MiG-21bis Weapons Variants and Combinations - Part Two: Air-to-Ground Armament
In the first part of this article, published in our April newsletter, the focus was on air-to-air weaponry for the MiG-21bis. This variant of the fighter was multi-role, so the armament intended for use against ground targets can be analyzed in a similar way and is the main focus of this second part of the article.
Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa
The Ukrainian Navy is eagerly awaiting the delivery of a brand new vessel from Turkey. This is an Ada-class corvette, which was ordered by the client in 2020. The ship was named Hetman Ivan Mazepa after a Cossack leader who opposed the imperial Russia of Tsar Peter the Great at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Air War in Ukraine - Progress on the ground has slowed, civilian killings are escalating
During the monitored period from April 1 to April 30, several trends were confirmed. Ukraine accepted proposals for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire to start negotiations on a lasting peace, but Russia rejected it and kept setting various impossible conditions. Russian officials probably skipped school when the meaning of the word “unconditional” was taught… Moscow pretends it’s winning, but its actual progress on the ground is minimal. At the same time, attacks on Ukrainian civilians have intensified with unprecedentedly bloody results.
Bridge Over the Salween River
The Flying Tigers, officially known as the American Volunteer Group (AVG), need little introduction. Founded by retired U.S. Army officer Claire L. Chennault, who had been active in China since the late 1930s, the unit was composed of around one hundred volunteer pilots drawn from the Army Air Corps, Navy, and Marine Corps. In 1941, Chennault managed to secure Curtiss P-40B fighters for the unit, which had been established to support Chinese resistance against Japanese aggression.
Tail End Charlie
A few months ago, when I was planning my trip overseas, or more precisely back to the US after two years, I was full of doubts. Shortly before, there had been in the White House a still unbelievable rift between the two presidents of two sovereign countries; a certain eccentric businessman in a T-shirt with his son on his shoulders had "temporarily" settled into the Oval Office, and his young IT guys, fresh unplugged off their computers, had started deciding which state processes were important and which were not, and how many people and resources each state agency needed for its work. What remains incomprehensible to me, is that American veterans, who served the world order and democratic principles in various conflicts around the world - especially, for me, those of World War II - the “Greatest Generation,” - suddenly became something that can be mocked with impunity, ridiculed, trivialized, and their sacrifices downplayed. Evil suddenly seems not to be evil, and the devil is not called by his true name. It is as if business should be more important than truth and principles that have been fought for over centuries. This was, and still is, incomprehensible to me.