07/2022

• Page 1

  INFO Eduard

  # 149

  e-magazine FREE Vol 21 July 2022

• Page 2

  INFO Eduard

  # 149

  e-magazine FREE Vol 21 July 2022

  © Eduard - Model Accessories, 2022

  FREE FOR DOWNLOAD, FREE FOR DISTRIBUTION!

  This material may only be used for personal use. No part of the text

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  Editorial and Graphics - Marketing department, Eduard - Model Accessories, Ltd.

• Page 3

  eduardeduard

  JULY 2022

  CONTENTS

  EDITORIAL

  KITS

  BRASSIN

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED SETS

  BIG ED

  BUILT

  ON APROACH

  –

  August 2022

  TAIL END CHARLIE

  HISTORY

  BOXART STORY

  Avia S-199 ProfiPACK 1/72

  A6M2 Zero Type 11 ProfiPACK 1/48

  RED TAILS and Co. Limited 1/48

  Fw 190A-8 standard wings Weekend edition 1/72

  Z-526AFS Akrobat Weekend edition 1/48

  Albatros D.V ProfiPACK 1/48

  Bf 109G-10 Erla ProfiPACK 1/48

  Avia CS-199 1/72

  Fw 190F-8 1/48

  Avia S-99/C-10 1/48

  AH-1G 1/48

  RED TAILS & Co.

  The air war over Ukraine 4th month

  Back Into the Fire

  Air combat

  The air battle over Pi-shan

  Catcher 1

  The South Bohemian Dandy

  The Albatros with stars

  The last kill of Ugo Drago

  4

  6

  32

  38

  66

  84

  94

  100

  108

  129

  Published by Eduard-Model Accessories, spol. s.r.o.

  Mírová 170, Obrnice 435 21

  support@eduard.com www.eduard.com

• Page 4

  I am not entirely sure whether or not there’s

  any sense in describing July’s releases today,

  when they were made available on June 18.

  This occurred because we wanted them avai

  -

  lable at Prosek and the Panthers Cup show,

  as well as the subsequent Afterparty internet

  event. After that, of course, we weren’t going

  to pull them off the store. In any case, the in

  -

  formation regarding these has been available

  for your viewing pleasure, so these have been

  described already and time has been allowed

  to formulate opinions and impressions. So

  -

  metimes, these can be quite surprising. There

  was a commentary made regarding the title of

  the Limited Edition kit “Red Tails & Co.”, which

  described it as disgraceful with respect to the

  other Fighter Groups that the kit deals with.

  I wouldn’t come up with that in my wildest

  dreams. For me, this item is an extrapolation

  of the Spitfire Limited Edition “Eagle’s Call”,

  which also honors several Fighter Groups

  and the name of the release specifies but one

  of them. In Red Tails, we include four Fighter

  Groups of the 15th Air Force USAAF in Italy fly

  -

  ing the P-51D Mustang. These were the 31st,

  52nd, 325th and 332nd Fighter Groups, while

  the 31st and 52nd were also covered in the su

  -

  ccessful Eagle’s Call release. We did it in this

  way because we were repeatedly requested to

  release a kit named Red Tails, focused on the

  history of the 332nd Fighter Group. Although

  we get that this is a theme dealing with Af

  -

  rican-American personnel, we weren’t certain

  whether or not the single theme was too li

  -

  mited in scope for a larger release like this.

  Actually, this would have been an exception to

  our current rules, because the rule is to avoid

  too specific a theme in our releases. When the

  themes, regardless of what they are, become

  too narrow, they increase in the sense of a

  monotony. This is contrary to our concept of

  what these releases need to look like. Our aim

  is to inform and discuss, through the medium

  of our kits, a wider theme from history. This

  concept would not be fulfilled by focusing on

  one Fighter Group, but, would be satisfied if

  we focus on all Groups operating in one ope

  -

  rational sector at one point in history on one

  specific type of aircraft. Then, it begins to

  make more sense. That this history also inclu

  -

  des the history of our own nation is a bonus,

  naturally. All of the units that are covered by

  the kit Red Tails operated over both pre and

  postwar Czechoslovakia from the fall of 1944,

  often over our area of Most, which is very clo

  -

  se to a refinery (still in operation today) that

  produced synthetic fuels during the Second

  World War and became the most targeted lo

  -

  cation in the country. It is also noteworthy how

  often memoirs of people here included the

  belief that most, if not all the American pilots

  of Mustangs were African-American. We know

  now how it was, but some people kept refusing

  that simple explanation the pilot in full gear

  with the gas mask and glasses looks from di

  -

  stance dark, so it might be confused with dar-

  ker appearance of the African-Americans just

  due to that.

  The kit includes three marking options from

  each of the Fighter Groups mentioned. The

  original intent was that all fighter squadrons

  would be represented from these Fighter

  Groups, but this didn’t quite work out, because,

  for one thing, the options include aircraft flown

  by commanders of three of the four FG, and

  also because the 332nd FG had, as opposed

  to other units, four squadrons instead of the

  standard three. But then again, it comes down

  to what was actually the standard. With the

  15th AF, this was more or less three FS in each

  FG, while in the 8th AF, that standard was four

  FS in each Group. Either way, this would throw

  a monkey wrench into our original concept of

  4 x 3 marking options for a total of twelve in

  the kit. And this brings us onto some thin ice,

  doesn’t it? One Group would be represented by

  four aircraft while the others by three. Would

  it be discriminatory against three Groups in

  one’s favor? Or does it become discrimination

  against the 332nd FG by way of taking away its

  fourth option? I would say we should be pretty

  pleased with the way this all worked out and

  I wouldn’t stir the pot anymore. Our ultimate

  goal is to introduce the modeler to another

  piece of history and to show some respect to

  all that had a part in said history and fulfilled

  the task at hand with honor. I hope that with

  that, we have found success in your eyes.

  MORE KITS

  In the ProfiPACK line, we have the A6M2 Mo

  -

  del 11 out, the first version of this legend to

  see combat. The Zero Model 11 flew operati

  -

  onally through 1940-1941 in China. This was

  intended to be land based aircraft and lacked

  the folding wingtips and arrestor hear. This is

  a somewhat neglected member of the fami

  -

  ly, but nevertheless has interesting stories to

  tell, and of its pilots. Noteworthy, and probably

  nowhere else documented on another aircraft,

  are the two shades of grey on the wings and

  fuselage, which apparently were the result of

  differing saturation of the paint coat applied

  combined with the effects of the sun beating

  down on it. In short, this is a peripheral versi

  -

  on of the Zeke, and we think that most of you

  will find this an interesting version to build

  because the Zero is a line of aircraft that de

  -

  serves to be built in all its variants. We want

  to make that a possibility. I hope I won’t get

  busted upside the head and get told off that

  models aren’t to be sold like this, when I co

  -

  mmented last time that the Camel Comic is a

  peripheral type and not all that interesting for

  most. It may be so, but I have been selling mo

  -

  dels for thirty years and I fear that I am set in

  my ways. Modelers wouldn’t believe me any

  -

  way, if I were to tell them that the Camel Co-

  mic and Zero Model 11 are must haves.

  In 1:72 scale ProfiPACK editions, we are conti

  -

  nuing on with the Avia S-199, and in this case

  the later version with the sliding hood. This is

  the Mule of all Mules and is close to the he

  -

  arts of us Czech modelers for one reason or

  another. Probably the main of these reasons

  is that it represents our modeling youth – our

  modeling introductions. From today’s per

  -

  spective, it was far from the perfect kit, but we

  were far from perfect modelers, so we were a

  match made in heaven. It went together quick

  -

  ly. I had one built, painted and decaled in an af-

  ternoon. Our new kit could theoretically be put

  together in an afternoon, I guess, but no one

  works like that today. Still, the feeling and joy

  of a completed kit is unsurpassed. Today, we

  are a different standard of modeler, working

  with kits that are built to a much higher level,

  those quick-builds are a memory to be shared

  with friends suffering from similar nostalgia

  over a beer. But the memories are nice. I must

  confess that the boxart is rendered in a way as

  to evoke some of those old emotions for those

  of us that have the experience with that old kit.

  Enough nostalgia already… There are two new

  Weekend Edition kits out. In 1:72 scale, we have

  our tested and true Fw 190A-8 and a Z-526AFS

  in 1:48. Both kits share the characteristic of

  containing striking marking options. It is also

  interesting to note that the Z-526AFS often

  played the role of German fighters in old Cze

  -

  choslovak and Soviet films. Or at least, mostly

  German. At least once, they appeared on ca

  -

  mera in British markings, but whether they

  were Spits or Mustangs, God only knows, to

  say nothing of the film’s director. Of note was

  the crazy Czech film “Halt, or I’ll Miss!” where

  a Z-526AFS played, believe it or not, a 52nd

  FG P-51 flown by a black pilot. No word of a

  lie, when we were prepping July’s new items,

  we were completely oblivious to this fact. The

  markings used in the film were on a 4th Fi

  -

  ghter Squadron, 52nd FG yellow tail and had

  partial codes on the fuselage, if I am reading

  somewhat blurry photographs from the film

  correctly. The pilot, as we know, corresponds

  to the 332nd FG and the white nose is more

  akin to the 8th AF. What’s up with the white

  wingtips I am not sure, but it’s pretty cool to

  see these period interpretations of American

  aircraft like this. I am almost thinking that

  a boxing of Trenér Movie Stars might not be

  such a bad idea.

  EDITORIAL

  INFO Eduard4

  July 2022

• Page 5

  BRASSIN

  The majority of Brassins are by now 3D prin

  -

  ted and advantages are easy to spot. The main

  such item for July is the engine for our A6M2

  Model 21 in 1:48. As you will recall, we have

  already released one printed engine for the

  Zero (648694). This is a simplified rendering of

  the engine, intended to be installed inside the

  buttoned up cowl. The idea of this release is

  that the 3D printed engine is a drop fit repla

  -

  cement for the kit engine. The difference is

  that the 3D printed part is not limited by in

  -

  jection molding, so is better detailed. The 3D

  printed item has all the pistons and the block

  printed as one compact piece. And is an easier

  assembly than the kit engine. This concept is

  also fueled by the market demand that acce

  -

  ssory items should be simple and easy to as-

  semble and install. This is an idea, however,

  not entirely supported by sales figures. The

  theory sounds logical and often on various

  internet forums is portrayed as a given, as

  something that works without question. But

  in reality, it doesn’t quite work like that. One

  of the results yielded by this premise is the

  photoetched line Zoom, which has never been

  able to match the popularity of its larger, clas

  -

  sic photoetched sets. The big sets still sell

  better than the simplified and cheaper Zoom

  sets. Another example would be the small,

  single aircraft decal sheets that Aeromaster

  put out back in the good ol’ days. It didn’t work

  out so well, and the firm itself followed suit. I

  am curious to see how these two Engine sets

  for the Zero will compare in terms of sales at

  the end of the year. This new set, carrying the

  catalog number 648749, is a complete engine

  with all of its attached accessories at its back

  end and separate cowl sections are included

  as well. The name of the set says it all: A6M2

  Engine Complete. It’s basically its own kit of

  an engine out of the aircraft. It, naturally, is

  composed of more parts than its simplified

  cousin (648694), but thanks to the precision

  afforded by 3D printing, it goes together well,

  and quickly. With the end result looking like

  it does, I dare say that I suspect that the sa

  -

  les race will be won by this over its simplified

  version.

  Seat for the Zvezda 1:48 scale Su-25 ground

  attack aircraft is also 3D printed, the same

  pays to seat and drop tanks for the F4F Wild

  -

  cat (1/72 Arma Hobby) and the very fine rudder

  pedals for Luftwaffe aircraft in 1:72. Someone

  recently went on a rant on Facebook about

  how useless these latter items are. If they

  are, in fact, useless, they are still gorgeous!

  It’s up to all of you, if they will catch on, or

  be relegated to forgotten projects. Among the

  new items for July is also a 1:32 scale JP233

  Runway Denial Bomb, and is well suited to,

  among others, the Revell Tornado GR.1. It’s

  relatively large and so it’s a little pricier, but

  it looks awesome on the Tornado. It’s one of

  those things that, from time to time, we do by

  request for modelers. We hope that all that put

  in their request for this item will be pleased

  with the outcome. Actually, I expect you all to

  be very impressed!

  3D printed are also two sets for the ship mo

  -

  delers among you. These are of Carley Floats

  (life rafts) in 1:350. In each set, there are twen

  -

  ty rafts. There are some cast resin wheel sets,

  too, for which 3D printing hasn’t yet offered

  any real advantage over. I remind everyone

  that our 3D printed sets carry the word PRINT

  on the label and in the pricelists.

  EDDIE THE RIVETER

  In May, we introduced a new line of decals in

  the new Eddie the Riveter line, offering rea

  -

  listic raised riveting and other details on the

  surface of models. The first set was designed

  for the Mi-24V from Zvezda (1:48), and for July,

  we are offering a set for the Mi-24D. This set is

  aimed at modelers who have our Limited Edi

  -

  tion kit of this version that includes the Zvezda

  plastic, or want to build this version with our

  conversion set. I hope we can go forward with

  this set without the complaints of the price we

  saw earlier. As I have pointed out previously,

  the Eddie the Riveter sets are not cheap sets.

  The price point is arrived at by rational means.

  As always, they are tied to the production cost.

  These are 3D decals produced in the same

  way as our Space sets, a quasi-3D system on

  a color printer that utilizes polymer printing

  paints. The prints themselves are not cheap,

  and the most expensive component of produc

  -

  tion is time. One set takes around forty minu-

  tes to print. Of course, the size of the sheet

  also plays a big role, combined with extremely

  labor intensive preparatory work. When it all

  gets added up, I confess that the final price

  took my breath away, too. And the initial de

  -

  velopment version was much more difficult to

  produce than the production items. In order to

  get down to at least what the cost is now, we

  needed to do a lot of fine tuning and tweaking.

  We have done what we could, and now, once

  again, it will be up to the modeler to decide

  whether or not this is a keeper or not. Of cour

  -

  se, we know that not every modeler will be in

  the market for this line. Among other things,

  this is not an accessory item for the squea

  -

  mish. It’s designed more for people who know

  what they are doing in modeling. Then, there is

  one other factor that needs to be considered

  and may help future products of this line. The

  Mi-24 is rather large. There’s a lot of surface

  area. It’s got a lot of riveting across its sur

  -

  face. When we switch our attention to smaller

  items, physically, then the price will come

  down. It may still be up there when compared

  to other accessory lines, but it will be better.

  LööK and Space

  In July, the Space line offers some things up

  to ship people. We are offering lifebuoys in

  not only 1:350, but now in 1:700 as well. ICM

  released a 1:48 scale kit of the Gotha Go 242

  glider, which, given the current situation with

  Russia, is excellent news. We not only have

  Space set for it, but also a photoetched set,

  too. Space sets are also being released for the

  older A-1H/J and Beaufighter from Tamiya in

  1:48. These complement other sets being re

  -

  leased for these kits. As always, Space sets

  include photoetching where photoetching is

  the best option.

  In the LooK line, where the name of the game

  is to replace original kit parts with simple, re

  -

  alistic ones, we have sets for the above noted

  A-1H/J and Beaufighter, and also for Zvezda’s

  Su-25, also in 1:48. The LookPlus line grows

  with the addition of a set for the Hawk 81-A2

  (P-40B) in 1:32 from GWH, and sets for the F

  -

  -104A and C from Kinetic in 1:48.

  PHOTOETCHED

  The new Tempest Mk.V in 1:72 from Airfix is a kit

  that is showing good market potential despite

  taking a bit of a kicking from reviewers. We

  are releasing a photoetched set for it with a

  certain amount of pleasure, because we feel

  a certain sense of solidarity with every manu

  -

  facturer that has wound up in the crosshairs

  of unreasonably critical reviewers and forum

  visitors. We find some solace in the fact that

  we are not alone. And even here, I would point

  out that our goal is to add to the beauty of a

  model, and not correct any mistakes, percei

  -

  ved, relevant or otherwise. In the same scale,

  we are also releasing sets for the Revell F-15E

  and Arma Hobby’s Ki-84. We will continue to

  focus on the latter as well, with at least a set

  of wheels and landing flaps. In 48th, we have a

  set for the Minibase Su-27K. Perhaps, you will

  recall that we have already released a set for

  their Su-33. And if you don’t remember, I won’t

  be too upset with you. For me, these Russian

  Sukhois are all Greek to me.

  Turning our attention to AFVs, I would like to

  point out sets of PE for two kits, the rereleased

  M109 Aladin in 1:35 from Italeri and for the Sd.

  Kfz.247 Ausf B in the same scale, put out by

  Revell as their release of the ICM kit. The co

  -

  lor set for this kit will include, among other

  items, radio equipment and dashboard. In the

  ship scale of 1:350, we are releasing another

  two sets for the USS Constellation CV-64 from

  Trumpeter. This will be followed by another set

  for this kit in August.

  ARTICLES

  In today’s Newsletter, there is an article on

  the history of the S-199 by Michal Ovcacik. We

  Czechs think we know everything there is to

  know about this airplane, but everyone will

  find out something new in this article. Miro

  Baric is here with the fourth installment of his

  articles on the war in the Ukraine. The history

  of the Fighter Groups of the 15th AF USAAF I

  took the liberty of summarizing myself, and in

  this English version of the Newsletter you’ll

  find an article on Korea by Richard Plos. This

  is an article dealing with the F-51D flown by

  American and South Korean pilots in the Ko

  -

  rean War.

  Besides the usual longer articles, we are

  initiating a new format of articles for this

  month. These are called “BOXART STORY”. As

  the name implies, the goal of these shorter,

  typically single-page articles will be to shed

  light on a historical reality and to describe the

  event in question as depicted on our boxarts.

  We believe, and hope, that you will find these

  to be a point of interest and a source of inspi

  -

  ration.

  I wish a pleasant read with our newsletter in

  these complex times. I would say that the wor

  -

  sening economic situation is beginning to be

  felt in our industry. Sales are not as good as

  they were at the beginning of the year, and the

  shows are not quite as lively. We will continue

  to garner you attention in the coming months

  with our new products. We are looking for

  -

  ward to the IPMS Nationals in Omaha, where

  we will have our brand spanking new Wildcat.

  You probably already know that it will be the

  F4F-3 version. In Omaha, we will also introdu

  -

  ce our first block of accessories for this new

  kit, including a printed cockpit. Those of you

  not able to go to Omaha, don’t fret. You will

  have access to August’s new releases as soon

  as American modelers, because our internet

  Afterparty starts on the same day as the Nats

  begin – July 20.

  Happy Modelling!

  Vladimir Sulc

  INFO Eduard

  5

  July 2022

• Page 6

  The group photograph of the

  Mustangs from all four 15th AF

  fighter groups captured in May

  1945 over Dolomites. P-51D, ´00´,

  pilot Lt. Col. Ernest Beverly,

  CO of 325th FG; P-51D, ´7´, pilot

  Col. Benjamin Davis, CO of 332nd

  FG; P-51D-5, ´WD

  -

  Q´, Queen Mar-

  jorie, pilot Col. Marion Malcolm,

  CO of 52nd FG; P-51D-5, ´HL

  -

  A´,

  pilot Col. William A. Daniel,

  CO of 31st FG.

  RED TAILS & Co.

  The 15th Air Force was formed at the

  end of 1943 in Tunisia as the main part

  of the USAAF strategic component in

  the Mediterranean (MTO

  -

  Mediterra-

  nean Theater of Operations). The first

  15th Air Force commander was Major

  General James Doolittle who until

  then commanded the 12th Air Force.

  The 15th Air Force resulted from the large reor-

  ganization of the Allied Air Forces part of which

  was the establishment of the Mediterranean Allied

  Air Force (MAAF) on December 10, 1942, led by Air

  Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder. In the middle of

  February 1944 Lieutenant General Ira Eaker was

  named commander of MAAF because ACM Tedder

  was commissioned to command the Allied Air For-

  ce earmarked for Operation Overlord. Three main

  15

  TH

  AIR FORCE

  photo: Fold3

  HISTORY

  photo: Fold3

  Text: Vladimír Šulc

  INFO Eduard6

  July 2022

• Page 7

  air components were put under MAAF command:

  MASAF (Mediterranean Allied Strategic Air Force)

  led by Major General Nathan Twining, MACAF (Me-

  diterranean Alliea Coastal Air Force) led by Air

  Vice Marshal Hugh Lloyd and MATAF (Mediterrane-

  an Allied Tactical Air Force) led by Major General

  John K. Cannon. At the same time MASAF was the

  southern component of the U.S. Strategic Air Force,

  Europe (USSTAF). As of January 4, 1944, the 15th Air

  Force was fully transferred under MAAF and MA-

  SAF command.

  The 15th Air Force was formed from the heavy

  bombing groups equipped with four-engined B-24

  Liberator and B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers

  transferred from 12th and 9th Air Forces. During

  the first weeks of its existence however the 15th AF

  inventory comprised also several bombing groups

  equipped with the B-25 Mitchell and B-26 Marau-

  der medium bombers which later returned under

  the 12th AF command. At the time when the com-

  bat activities commenced in November 1943, there

  were six bombing groups under 15th AF command.

  The fighter cover was provided by four fighter

  groups: 1st FG, 14th FG and 82nd FG equipped with

  the twin-engined P-38 Lightning fighters and 325th

  FG equipped with P-47 Thunderbolt. As of Decem-

  ber 1, 1943, the 15th AF Headquarters was located in

  Bari, southern Italy.

  The main goal of putting the 15th and 8th AF under

  USSTAF command was the coordination of the bom-

  bing operations over Germany. The 8th AF operati-

  ons, conducted from the west out of Great Britain

  bases were to be coordinated with the 15th AF ope-

  rations led from the south, out of the Italian bases.

  The daylight missions of both American Air Forces

  were supplemented by the RAF Bomber Command

  night operations.

  15

  TH

  AIR FORCE IN COMBAT

  The first 15th AF mission was the raid of 28 B-25s

  from 321st BG on the railway station in Rimini on

  November 1, 1943. The first continuous bombing

  campaign the 15th AF took part in was the supp-

  ort of the Anzio landing (Operation Shingle) which

  commenced on January 22, 1944. The first series

  of such coordinated raids, the operation Argument,

  was code-named “Big Week”. It was executed du-

  ring the week of April 20-25, 1944, and its goal was

  to cripple the German aviation industry and hamper

  the new aircraft supplies to the Luftwaffe. Within

  the operation Argument the 15th AF flew its first

  raid on Germany when 183 bombers attacked the

  Messerschmitt factories in Oberstraubing near

  Regensburg. 14 bombers were lost during this mi-

  ssion. The following day the 15th AF dispatched 102

  bombers to attack the ball bearing factory in Steyr,

  Austria. On February 24, 180 Liberators attacked

  the factory in Gotha manufacturing Messerschmitt

  Bf 110s and lost 28 airplanes. On February 25, 114

  B-17 and B-24 were sent again to Steyr and lost 17

  bombers in the action.

  On April 5, the “Fifteen” joined the Allied bom-

  bing offensive against the German fuel industry

  dispatching 235 bombers on the targets around

  Ploesti in Romania. In the opening stage of the

  offensive the 15th AF attacked the oil refineries in

  south-eastern Europe, primarily Romania but also

  in Austria, Bavaria, Hungary, northern Italy and the

  Yugoslav territory. From the end of October 1944,

  it joined the intense bombing of the synthetic fuel

  factories in Saxony, Czechoslovakia and Silesia.

  During this time the 15th AF took over from 8th AF

  the task of bombing the synthetic fuel factories

  in Saxony and Czechoslovakia including the STW

  factory in Most (Brux) which became the most fre-

  quently bombed target in the Czechoslovak territo-

  ry – 16 heavy American raids and two British night

  attacks. The 15th AF continued with these raids

  practically until the end of war.

  In June 1944 the 15th AF bombed the railway infra-

  structure throughout the south-eastern Europe in

  support of the Soviet summer offensive in Romania.

  In the summer of 1944, the Austrian aviation facto-

  ries in Wiener Neustadt were bombed. On June 2 the

  “Fifteen” flew its first “shuttle” mission when 130

  B-17s escorted by P-51D landed on the Soviet-con-

  trolled territory having bombed the Hungarian tar-

  gets. After refueling and rearming they returned

  to their home base in Italy. Altogether the 15th AF

  completed three of these shuttle missions. Star-

  ting in the summer of 1944 it also joined the supp-

  ort of the Yugoslav partisans and in August it fo-

  cused its efforts on supporting the Allied landings

  in southern France (Operation Dragoon). The 15th

  AF bombers attacked Marseille, Lyon, Grenoble and

  Toulon. In the fall the 15th AF resumed the raids on

  the fuel and military facilities and the transporta-

  tion infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe.

  On March 24, 1945, the “Fifteen” flew its only raid

  on Berlin when its 666 bombers attacked the Third

  Reich’s capital as well as Munich and other targets

  in Germany and Czechoslovakia. At the end of the

  war, in April 1945, the attacks concentrated on the

  railway infrastructure were conducted not only by

  bombers but fighters as well. Actually, those flew

  these missions even earlier on a regular basis.

  On April 25, the last large operation took place

  when 467 bombers hit the railway targets in Aus-

  tria and interrupted the communications to Cze-

  choslovakia. On May 1, the 15th AF flew its very

  last bombing mission when 27 B-17s escorted by 51

  P-38s from 14th FG attacked the railway targets in

  the vicinity of Salzburg.

  After the German surrender in Italy the 15th AF air-

  craft started to drop the supplies over Yugoslavia

  and repatriate the Allied POWs and its last missi-

  P-51D-5 formation from 308th FS,

  31st FG, photographed in June 1944.

  photo: Fold3

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard

  7

  July 2022

• Page 8

  on took place on May 16, 1945. Altogether the 15th

  AF lost during its operations around 2110 bombers

  from its 15 B-24 and six B-17 groups while its seven

  fighter groups claimed a total of 1836 enemy air-

  craft destroyed. On September 15, 1945, the 15th AF

  was disbanded in Italy.

  FIGHTER UNITS OF THE 15TH AIR FORCE

  Having reached its full inventory of the bomber and

  fighter groups in the beginning of 1944, the 15th AF

  included seven fighter groups. Three of them, 1st,

  14th and 82nd Fighter Group flew P-38 Lightning till

  the end of war. Two of them, 325th and 332nd FG

  originally flew P-47D Thunderbolt however during

  1944 they traded them for new P-51B/C and later D

  version. Another two units, 31st and 52nd FG flew

  P-51B/C from the beginning of their operations wi-

  thin the 15th AF. Later they were re-equipped with

  the D version. This model kit is dedicated to the fi-

  ghter units flying P-51D Mustang within the 15th AF

  therefore the further text focuses on the relevant

  four fighter groups.

  31ST FIGHTER GROUP

  The unit was formed from the pre-war 31st Pursuit

  Group USAAC. In January 1942 it was re-equipped

  with P-39 Airacobra in New Orleans and in June the

  unit was transferred by sea to Great Britain whe-

  re it was equipped with the British Spitfire Mk.Vb

  fighters. On August 16, under the RAF operational

  command, these units flew their first sortie, Circus

  204 over Lille and on August 19 another one in the

  operation Jubilee, landing at Dieppe.

  On September 14, the 31st was ordered under the

  authority of the XII Fighter Command USAAF, trans-

  ferred to Gibraltar and attached to the invasion

  forces ready for Operation Torch, landing in North

  Africa, in which it took part from the first day, No-

  vember 8, 1942. In North Africa the unit flew fighter

  escorts and the air cover for the ground units un-

  til the surrender of the Italian and German troops

  in Africa in May 1943. Afterwards, in June, the unit

  took part in the Sicily landing (Operation Husky)

  and in September the Operation Avalanche, landing

  at Salerno. Then it transferred to the airport in Ita-

  ly, continued flying combat missions within the 12th

  AF and in January 1944 provided the air cover for

  the units which landed at Anzio in the unsuccessful

  operation Shingle.

  In the middle of March, at the Castel Volturno base,

  the unit commenced its conversion to P-51B/C Mus-

  tang and as of April 1 it was transferred under the

  15th AF command and flew the new Mustangs over

  to San Severo airbase on the Italian eastern coast

  from where it continued flying escorts of the 15th

  AF strategic bomber missions to Europe. During the

  month of April, it sortied twice to Ploesti in Roma-

  nia, Sofia in Bulgaria, Wiener Neustadt in Austria,

  Piombino, Milan and Monfalcone in Italy and also

  Toulon in France. During these missions the unit

  shot down 51 enemy aircraft. During the month

  of May, the unit started its conversion to P-51D

  which the 31st FG flew until the end of hostilities.

  31st FG was composed of three fighter squadrons:

  307th FS (code letters MX), 308th FS (code letters

  HL) and 309th FS (code letters WZ). The unit mar-

  kings were the red oblique stripes on the tail sur-

  faces, red and yellow stripes on the wingtips and

  red nose and propeller spinner.

  52ND FIGHTER GROUP

  This unit went through a similar process, formed

  on January 15, 1941, as 52nd Pursuit Group based on

  1st and 31st PG personnel. After the Pearl Harbor

  The group picture of the Mus-

  tangs from 52nd FG: P-51D-5,

  s/n 44-13287, WD

  -

  M Miss Ruth/

  Pendaja, pilot Lt. William Parent;

  P-51D-5, s/n 44-13289, WD

  -

  X;

  P-51D-5, s/n 44-13263, WD

  -

  D

  Jo-Baby, pilot Lt. Robert McCam-

  pbell; P-51D-5, s/n 44-13485,

  WD

  -

  H Miss Rogers, pilot 1/Lt.

  James Daniel Callahan.

  photo: Fold3

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard8

  July 2022

• Page 9

  attack it was re-equipped with P-39 Airacobra with

  which, starting on January 1, 1942, it participated in

  the War Games. In May, now 52nd FG was ordered

  to deploy to Great Britain and therefore on May 11

  it transferred to the North-East and started the

  preparations for the cross-Atlantic flight. However,

  the same as the 31st FG, it ultimately sailed to Gre-

  at Britain. In June, at the RAF base in Eglington in

  Northern Ireland, the unit received Spitfires Mk.Vb

  and started with training.

  In September the 52nd FG was transferred under

  XII FC and on November 1 its flying personnel sailed

  to Gibraltar to accept the new tropicalized Spitfires

  Mk.Vb and participate in the Operation Torch and

  further combat in North Africa. After the fighting

  in North Africa ceased the 52nd FG was transferred

  under the Mediterranean Allied Coastal Air Force,

  MACAF. The mission of this Allied command was

  convoy protection in the Mediterranean Sea, anti-

  -submarine patrols, port patrols and attacks on

  the enemy shipping in the Mediterranean. Perfor-

  ming these duties, the 52nd FG squadrons moved

  among the airport in the Mediterranean. On July 23,

  the group was relocated to Sicily, Bocca di Falco

  airport new Palermo where it flew night-fighting

  missions.

  In November 1943 the unit transferred to Corsica

  where the 2nd and 5th FS flew out of Borgo air-

  port and the 4th FS out of Calvi airport. Durting

  this period the unit, among other duties, conduc-

  ted the dive bombing attacks on ships and ports.

  In the beginning of April 1944, the conversion to P-

  -51B/C Mustang started and on May 1 the 52nd FG

  was attached to the 15th AF formation. On May 10

  it flew its first mission escorting B-17 on their raid

  to Nice in France. The 52nd FG comprised the 2nd

  FS (code letters QP), 4th FS (code letters WD) and

  5th FS (code letters VF). The unit markings were

  the yellow, black outlined band in front of the tail

  surfaces or tail surfaces painted entirely yellow,

  black outlined wingtips and red nose and propeller

  spinner.

  325TH FIGHTER GROUP,

  “CHECKERTAIL CLAN”

  The 325th FG was formed on June 24, 1942,

  and activated on August 3, 1942. It was equipped

  with P-40s. During January and February 1942,

  it was transferred to North Africa and ordered under

  the 12th AF command. On April 17, 1943, it flew its

  first combat mission. In September 1943 the 325th

  FG converted to P-47D Thunderbolt and in Decem-

  ber it relocated to Italy where it became the part

  of the newly-formed 15th AF. In May 1944 the unit

  was re-equipped with the P-51B/C Mustang which

  it flew until the second half of 1944 when it gra-

  dually converted to the new P-51D Mustang which

  it flew until the end of war. 325th FG comprised

  the 317th FS (tactical markings by black numerals

  from 10 to 30), 318th FS (tactical markings by black

  numerals from 40 to 69) and 319th FS (tactical

  markings by black, yellow outlined numerals from

  70 to 99). The tactical numbers from 1 to 9 were

  used by the staff flight. The unit markings were

  yellow-black checkered tail surfaces or the whole

  aircraft tail and red nose and red propeller spinner.

  The 319th FS had the red nose outlined with yellow

  stripes. 325th FS commanders’ aircraft carried the

  numeral 100 on the fuselage.

  332ND FIGHTER GROUP, “RED TAILS”

  The African Americans who joined the air forces

  are nowadays known as the Tuskegee Airmen. The

  law which allowed them to undergo the military pi-

  lot training was passed in 1939, after twenty years’

  effort of the human rights activists. Their path to

  the cockpits of the military airplanes was long and

  difficult. During WWII the racial segregation rules

  were still in place in the USA and because of that

  the Tuskegee airmen were discriminated both while

  on duty and in private. Altogether 922 African Ame-

  rican aviators went through the training at Griel

  Field, Kennedy Field, Moton Field, Shorter Field and

  Tuskegee. There was a total of 355 aviators from

  Tuskegee deployed in Africa and later in Europe

  within the 12th and 15th AF USAAF, 68 of them were

  killed in action.

  The first combat fighter unit with African American

  personnel was 99th Fighter Squadron flying P-40F

  in the Mediterranean from April 1944. Later it was

  attached to the 332nd Fighter Group which origina-

  lly comprised the 100th, 301st and 302nd Fighter

  Squadrons and from the beginning of 1944 had its

  base in Italy. The 322nd FG therefore operated the

  non-standard four squadron formation. The 322nd

  FG equipped with P-47D Thunderbolt was assigned

  the escort missions already in June 1944. In July

  Airport Pyriatyn, Ukraine, June

  1, 1944. Lt. Col. Chester L. Slutter

  (first on right) chatting with the

  soviet air force officers after

  landing at the Pyriatyn airport in

  Ukraine having completed the first

  “shuttle” mission. Pyriatyn is loca-

  ted approximately 140 km east of

  Kiev. On this mission 42 members

  of ground personnel flew on board

  of the B-17s while one of the 325th

  FG mechanics replaced one B-17

  crew member. One of the bombers

  was shot down over the target,

  marshalling yards in Debrecen,

  Hungary. 325th FG member, Sgt.

  Austin J. Cronin was on board.

  The 317th FG P-51B can be seen in

  the background.

  photo: Fold3

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard

  9

  July 2022

• Page 10

  it was converted to P-51B/C Mustang. The other

  15th AF units were ahead with their air victories

  and combat experience therefore the 332nd FG

  scored less kills in comparison to the remaining

  15th AF fighter groups flying Mustangs. From June

  1944 till the end of war the 332nd FG scored 94

  kills. In comparison the 31st, 52nd and 325th FG

  each scored over 200 enemy aircraft shot down.

  This difference was also caused by the way the in-

  dividual Fighter Groups were deployed. “Red Tails”

  usually flew close bomber escorts whose mission

  was to intercept and strike back at the enemy figh-

  ter who had broken through the outer circle of the

  fighter defense. The mission of this defense was

  to clear the bomber formation’s operational space

  of the enemy fighters before they reach their sho-

  oting range. The unit markings were tail surfaces,

  wingtips and propeller spinners painted in red. 99th

  FS featured blue painted noses, 100th FS red with

  the triangle pointing back, 301st red noses and

  302nd FS light blue noses. The 100th, 301st and

  302nd FS used numerals for their fuselage codes,

  the same as 325th FS. 99th FS used the combinati-

  on of the letter A and numerals.

  15TH AIR FORCE IN EDUARD MODEL KITS

  Besides this boxing there are markings of the four

  15th AF fighter groups flying P-51D Mustang inclu-

  ded in other Eduard kits. In addition to several

  boxings dedicated to various P-51D Mustang versi-

  ons the Limited Eagle’s Call issue for example co-

  vers the history of the 31st and 52nd FG. The boxart

  of the 1/72 Profipack Fw 190A-8/R2 issue depicts

  the attack of the Focke-Wulf heavy fighters from

  Luftwaffe’s IV.(Sturm)/JG 3 on the formation of the

  B-17Gs from 463rd BG bombing Memmingen on July

  18, 1944.

  A line of 310st FS, 332nd FG

  Mustangs, Ramitelli airbase, Italy,

  March 1945. The P-51D sporting

  the tactical number 42 was flown

  by Lt. Charles White who in April

  1945 shot down two enemy aircraft.

  photo: Library of Congress

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard10

  July 2022

• Page 11

• Page 12

  On Monday May 16 the defenders of Azovstal

  steelworks in Mariupol received the order

  to cease the armed resistance. Till May 20

  gradually all of them surrendered. It meant

  that Tu-22M3 strategic bombers, which for

  a month were carpeting the steelworks with

  the heavy bombs, were released for other

  missions – to launch the old (and vastly

  inaccurate) Kh-22 rockets on the Ukrainian

  cities. During these missions the bombers

  enjoyed the safety of their own airspace.

  Other aircraft did not cross the frontlines

  neither – on both sides. In the second part

  of this series, we mentioned the video cap-

  turing Mi-28 and Ka-52 helicopters opera-

  ting as the airborne rocket launchers for the

  carpet bombing by the unguided missiles.

  Both Russian and Ukrainian Su-25s operate

  in the same manner. The employment of the

  fighter-bombers by both sides was captured

  in videos. Su-25s are equipped either with

  four B-8M1 rocket launchers for S-8 80 mm

  caliber rocket or two B-13L rocket launch-

  ers for S-13 122 mm caliber rockets. With

  this ordnance load out they arrived at the

  maximum airspeed close to the ground then

  they start climbing and during this maneuver

  they launch salvos of the unguided missiles

  towards the enemy’s positions on a ballistic

  curve to maximize their range. At the same

  time, they released chaff flares and right af-

  ter launching the rockets they turned around

  to fly back home. S-8 rockets deployed

  in this manner can reach as far as 5 km.

  Tom Cooper, author of many publications

  on the modern

  air warfare,

  used the name

  “spray and pay”

  for this tactic.

  The pilots spray

  a target area

  and pray that

  they hit some-

  thing. The sli-

  ghtest deviation

  in the course

  and the climbing

  angle and the

  rockets miss

  the intended target. On Thursday June 2 this

  was clearly demonstrated by a formation of

  the Russian Su-25s which launched their

  S-8 unguided missiles during the fighting

  for the village of Komyshuvakha near the

  city of Popasna. They hit their own infantry

  column resulting in 50 dead and wounded

  Russian soldiers. Now let’s make a little de-

  tour from the air war to the fighting on the

  ground. Ukraine obviously possesses more

  ammunition than aircraft which can use it.

  The videos appeared that feature B-8M1 roc-

  ket launchers mounted on pickups or SUVs

  at an approximately 45 degrees angle. In this

  manner the Ukrainians use them as the or-

  dinary ground rocket launchers.

  Peace has not arrived in Ukraine yet between May 16 and June

  16. The ground operations were conducted in Donbas in the east

  and in Kherson in the south. The air operations on both sides

  corresponded to these activities.

  Text: Miro Barič

  A Ukrainian Mi-8NSB

  -

  V named Orc Hunter.

  The B-8M1 air-launched rocket launcher in the role of an 80 mm caliber afterburner.

  The Ukrainian inscription on the side of the trailer stands for bees.

  The air war

  over Ukraine

  4th month

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard12

  July 2022

• Page 13

  Losses are mounting

  Despite the efforts to minimize the risk of

  being shot down the losses keep increasing.

  They however are well below the numbers

  that both sides officially claim. For example,

  on June 13 the Russians claimed to have de

  -

  stroyed 201 Ukrainian airplanes, 130 helico-

  pters and 1196 drone since the conflict started.

  Needless to say, Ukraine has never posse

  -

  ssed such an inventory!

  And even though Russia since the beginning

  of war claimed several times that the Ukrai

  -

  nian air force was completely destroyed yet

  they continued to announce more and more

  claims. During the last month only four Ukrai

  -

  nian airplanes and several drones can be con-

  firmed destroyed. This includes a Ukrainian

  Su-24 from 7th Tactical Air Brigade shot down

  on May 19 near the village of Lypove in Done

  -

  tsk area. This village is located almost mid-

  way of Bakhmut and Severodonetsk where

  the intense fighting took place during the past

  month. The crew of Lt. Col. Igor Khamar and

  Maj. Ilya Negar was killed. Before their demise

  they had flown 14 missions mostly against the

  columns of the Russian vehicles. The Ukraini

  -

  an Su-24s were claimed to have been destro-

  yed long time ago. It does not seem to be true.

  On June 5, in Zaporozhe area the Ukrainian

  Su-27 “blue 38” was shot down. It is possible

  that this time it was a case of a friendly fire.

  On June 16 a unique situation occurred when

  the Russian rockets hit the Ukrainian aircraft

  on the ground. Two Mig-29 fighters were

  destroyed at the Voznesenski air base near

  Mykolaiv.

  During the period we write here about the

  Russians lost at least four helicopters and

  several Su-25 fighter bombers. Further two

  Ka-52 helicopters were destroyed (May 19 and

  June 4) which brings the total number of this

  type of helicopter destroyed to 16. A Mi-28 was

  shot down as well (on June 12, the crew was

  killed) and a Mi-35M. In this case, on June 16,

  these two helicopters came within the range

  of the portable rockets belonging to the 231st

  Dnipropetrovsk Battalion of the Territorial

  Defense. With the help of chaff flares the heli-

  copters managed to evade the first rocket ho-

  wever the second rocket hit a helicopter flying

  close to the ground and it exploded after the

  crash.

  One Ka-52 was damaged in a peculiar way. In

  the first half of June, it flew a mission launch

  -

  ing unguided missiles in a “spray and pray”

  style. The pilot may have misidentified the safe

  zone. The Ukrainians shot a portable missile

  on it. The Russian pilot launched chaff flares

  and started to perform the evasive maneuvers

  at the low altitude while he flew the cluster

  of trees. It was documented by the video shot

  from the cockpit as well as the photographs

  taken upon its landing at the base showing the

  damaged fuselage with pieces of wood.

  Russians take a damaged Ka-52 helicopter in for repairs.

  This Ka-52 ran into the tops of trees while escaping a Ukrainian missile.

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard

  13

  July 2022

• Page 14

  Mercenaries in Su-25 cockpit

  The losses of Russian Su-25 are high as

  well and reached the number 14. Two of

  them were “only” damaged by the rocket

  hitting the engine and the aircraft managed

  to return and land but the repair may not

  be cost effective. One of these cases occu-

  rred during this reporting period, on June

  10. During the last month at least two Su-25

  were shot down and curiously belonged to

  the Wagner Group i.e., the private mercenary

  army which Russian hires to do a dirty work.

  This explains why some Su-25s seen in the

  Ukrainian skies did not carry any national

  markings, just large letters Z painted in va-

  rious positions.

  One of the Su-25 confirmed as belonging

  to Wagner’s Group was flown by a retired

  Major General of the Russian AF. Kanamat

  Botashev commander a squadron but during

  the unauthorized aerobatic flight in Su-27 he

  lost control and crashed. In 2013 he was dis-

  missed from the AF because of this incident.

  He found a new career in the mercenary

  group. On May 22 new the city of Popas he

  conducted an attack with unguided rockets

  followed by another raid with bombs. While

  recovering from the attack his aircraft was

  hit by a Stinger and Botashev was killed. He

  was 62 years old.

  Belorussian media confirmed the loss of

  another Wagner’s pilot. Nikolay Markov was

  66 years old and was a former Soviet, later

  Belorussian AF pilot. He served in Kazakh-

  stan, East Germany and finally Belorussia.

  After his retirement he worked as a pilot in

  Africa and ultimately became a mercenary.

  He was also shot down near Popasna and

  was buried in Lido near Grodno, Belorussia

  on May 17. According to the same media

  another Belorussian pilot in Wagner’s servi-

  ce perished in Ukraine however the details

  are unknown.

  Besides, during this reporting period several

  wrecks of the aircraft destroyed in previ-

  ous months were found. On June 5, in Kiev

  area the Russian Su-27 “red 12” marked RF-

  93027 was found. It was probably destroyed

  sometime in February or March. On June 2,

  in Kherson area the wreck of the Ukrainian

  Su-25 “blue 45” was found which according

  to some sources had been lost already in

  the end of February. On May 23 the Roma-

  nian Navy fished out from the Black Sea the

  wreck of Bayraktar TB2 drone. It carried the

  tail number “75” and belonged to the Ukrai-

  nian Navy. Most probably it was shot down

  during the attack on the Snake Island some-

  time in the first half of May.

  Russian Su-25s usually carry two auxiliary tanks and two B-13L rocket launchers, each with five 122 mm caliber

  missiles. Ukrainian Su-25s usually carry four B-13L rocket launchers in addition to the tanks.

  A Russian Su-25SM with the designation “Red 03” and the matriculation RF-91917 from the 18th Guards Battalion was damaged on June 10.

  A Ukrainian Su-27 “blue 38” was destroyed on 5 June.

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard14

  July 2022

• Page 15

  Risky evacuation missions

  Among the older losses, about which we

  learn details only now, belong the Ukraini-

  an helicopters destroyed during the supply

  flight into Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.

  Previously the Ukrainians obviously tried to

  keep them secret as much as possible but

  after Azovstal’s surrender the reason va-

  nished. From April to mid-May there were in

  total seven such missions flown by 16 Mi-8

  and Mi-17 helicopters.

  The plan was a brainchild of Major General

  Budanov, chief of the Defense Intelligence.

  Helicopter pilots were to fly 100 km over the

  enemy held territory at night and 5 meters

  above ground to deliver the medicine and

  ammunition to Mariupol defenders and eva-

  cuate those seriously wounded. Several pi-

  lots refused to fly the mission but then the

  first volunteer showed up. He had a perso-

  nal reason – his wife

  was a nurse tending to

  the wounded in the ste-

  elworks underground,

  so she was to be eva-

  cuated together with

  them.

  The first flight was po-

  stponed several times

  from the fear of being

  discovered by the ene-

  my. Finally, two heli-

  copters delivered to

  the defenders the AA

  Stingers and anti-tank

  NLAW as well as the

  satellite system Star-

  link enabling the internet connection.

  The majority of these seven missions were

  flown by a pair of helicopters. Only one mi-

  ssion was flown by four Mi-8 together even

  accompanied by a Mi-24 in the case they ne-

  eded the fire support. On this mission they

  evacuated around 40 wounded defenders.

  The flights took place mostly at night with

  the help of night vision instruments. On the

  way to the destination, right before crossing

  the frontline the helicopters landed to refuel.

  At steelworks they always picked the lan-

  ding spot with the least debris. They stayed

  15-20 min on the ground with engines and

  rotors ready for an immediate take off. They

  did not deliver only food supplies, medicine

  and ammunition to Azovstal but also several

  tens of soldiers who volunteered as a rein-

  forcement.

  Each flight took a different route in order to

  avoid detection. Some missions were flown

  partially over the sea. On the fifth mission

  the Russians will have already learned the

  situation and shot down one helicopter. On

  the last, seventh mission one helicopter

  crashed. It was decided to send a SAR he-

  licopter, but the Russians were expecting it

  with the portable missiles and shot it down.

  It crashed right next to the helicopter wreck

  it had tried to help.

  Supplies from Allies

  Ukraine manages to replenish the airplane

  losses, at least partially, with the help of the

  Allies. In the beginning of war Kiev reques-

  ted the aircraft supplies from the West. The

  transfer of Mig-29 fighters from Poland, Bul-

  garia and Slovakia was considered but Wa-

  shington was afraid of the conflict escalation

  and these initiatives faded away. Ultimately

  the aircraft supplies were gradually started

  including Mig-29s, even though in a different

  form. Approximately twenty of them rea-

  ched Ukraine but not airworthy, they will be a

  source of spare parts to repair the Ukrainian

  AF fighters. Thanks to it Ukraine could inc-

  rease the number or their combat aircraft.

  The supplied aircraft originate in Moldavia

  where in 1997 the USA bought 21 Mig-29s.

  There were single seaters of the Izdeliye

  9-13 version and two-seaters of the Izdeliye

  9-51 version. The reason for this purchase

  was to prevent the sales to unwanted custo-

  mers. For example, Iran or North Korea are

  very interested to obtain the spare parts for

  their aircraft. After these ex-Moldavian Migs

  were transferred to the USA couple of them

  were restored to the airworthy condition and

  served as the adversary during the military

  exercises.

  Also, 14 dismantled Su-25 fighter-bombers

  reached Ukraine. They may have been deli-

  vered in April, but the information was made

  public only in the end of May. The country of

  origin was not officially published but Bulga-

  ria, who had exactly 14 Su-25s, was mentio-

  ned. Due to the political reasons, they were

  not delivered directly but via USA. Once put

  Russian OFAB-250 bomb with a cynical message about help for Mariupol.

  A Ukrainian Mi-8MSB shot down during an evacuation flight from

  the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.

  The Romanian Navy has recovered the wreckage of the Bayraktar drone number 75 from the sea.

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard

  15

  July 2022

• Page 16

  together again the Ukrainian AF could deploy

  them just in time when they were needed the

  most, in Donbas and Kherson fighting.

  Besides the fighters the numerous helico-

  pter deliveries are headed for Ukraine. Star-

  ting in April in total 20 Mi-17V5 helicopters

  were delivered from the USA. The Ukrai-

  nians deploy them together with their Mi-8s.

  In case of the “American” helicopters these

  were the airplanes originally destined for

  Afghanistan.

  In the end of May Czech Republic confirmed

  delivery of 12 Mi-24 combat helicopters to

  Ukraine. The media informed about Mi-24D

  version, but such a thing is not possible, be-

  cause Mi-24D helicopters were scrapped

  several years ago in the Czech Republic and

  they can be found there only as museum

  exhibits. The information about what was in

  fact delivered is classified of course, but it

  is not difficult to guess that, given the num-

  ber, these were some Mi-24V or even Mi-35s

  that were probably intended for sale prior to

  the delivery of the H-1 helicopters, which the

  Czech Republic ordered as a replacement for

  the Hinds in the number of 12 units. Accor-

  ding to some reports, these Hinds have also

  undergone a partial modernization and may-

  be an overhaul, but official sources are silent

  on the subject... Thirdly, Slovakia announced

  delivery of their helicopters. On Wednesday

  June 15, Slovak Minister of Defense Jaroslav

  Naď made an announcement also saying

  that the helicopters already safely arrived in

  Ukraine. There were four Mi-17 and one Mi-2

  supplied. Slovakia stuck these of charge af-

  ter receiving UH-60M Black Hawks.

  Drones from auctions and fund raising

  Ukrajinské ozbrojené sily získali netradičThe

  Ukrainian armed forces obtained several

  drones in rather unorthodox way. For exam-

  ple, the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra,

  who on May 14 won the Eurovision compe-

  tition with the song Stefania, contributed to

  their purchase. On the following day the pho-

  tographs appeared on the social networks

  showing the messages ridiculing the group

  which Russians inscribed on the bombs

  consequently dropped on the Ukrainian ci-

  ties. Kalush Orchestra reacted in a way that

  ultimately will freeze the smile on the Ru-

  ssian soldiers‘ faces. As a winning price the

  group received a crystal microphone which

  they in the end of May listed on the internet

  auction. The trophy was sold for 900,000

  USD. The pink hat, worn by the singer Oleh

  Psiuk during the Eurovision performance,

  was sold in auction for another 370,000 USD.

  Altogether the band raised 1.27 million USD.

  These money will be used to purchase the

  Ukraine-made PD-2 drones. The Ukrainian

  army uses them for reconnaissance, locali-

  zing the targets and artillery fire guidance.

  In the end of May a fund raising took place in

  Lithuania to purchase TB2 Bayraktar drone.

  In couple of day almost 6 million EUR was

  raised. Shortly after the rumors from Russia

  spread stating that this particular drone was

  shot down 3.5 minutes after its take off. The

  Lithuanians calmly reacted that this drone

  was still being manufactured and delivery

  would take another three weeks at least.

  Turkish manufacturer Baykar however re-

  fused to accept the fund-raising money from

  the Lithuanian representatives and offered

  the drone free of charge.

  “Turkey was highly impressed by the deter-

  mination of the Lithuanian citizens to help

  Ukraine and that the funds were raised so

  quickly, and the name Bayraktar was spo-

  ken around the world”, said the fund-raising

  organizer Andrius Tapinas. Due to that, 1.5

  million EUR raised was transferred to the

  Lithuanian Ministry of Defense who use

  these money to purchase the ammunition

  for Bayraktar. The remaining 4.4 million EUR,

  This MiG-29, which was originally used by the Ukrainian aerobatic

  group Falcons, has been put back into service thanks to the

  delivery of spare parts.

  From the Davis-Monthan base in Tucson, a US C-17 transported

  a Mi-8MTV V5 helicopter that was originally destined for

  Afghanistan but has now been donated to Ukraine.

  Lithuanians raised almost 6 million euros to purchase Bayraktar for Ukraine.

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard16

  July 2022

• Page 17

  as per Turkey’s wish, will be used for the humanitarian help and re-

  construction of the Ukraine.

  Ukraine continues deploying the Bayraktar drones successfully

  even though the Russians claim they keep destroying one after ano-

  ther. The latest example is the successful attack on the Russian tug

  Vassily Bekh which, during the night of June 16-17, was delivering the

  supplies and reinforcements to the Snake Island. On her voyage she

  was hit by two Harpoon anti-shipping missiles. It was the very first

  successful deployment of this rocket by Ukrainians. What was the

  Bayraktar role during this mission? It recorded the whole action and

  explosions of both rockets. It is of interest that it was able to shoot

  the videos uninterrupted even though the tug carried the AA Tor on

  board. Vassily Bekh was commissioned in January 2017. The tug was

  57 meters long with the full displacement of 1670 tons. 26 sailors

  formed its crew, and it could carry another 36 persons. The crew fate

  is currently unknown.

  Most recently the Ukrainian attacks by long-range artillery were on

  the way to the ammunition depots and railway marshalling stations

  in Donetsk used by Russians to supply the front units. Destroying

  several of these large ammunition depots had a potential to signi-

  ficantly weaken the Russian supremacy in the artillery and curtail

  the Donbas offensive. The Ukrainian AF took part in at least one of

  these attacks successfully. The depot in the city of Khrustalnyi (Kras-

  nyi Luch in Russian) in Luhansk area is located too far, around 80

  km from the frontlines. Despite this fact on Thursday June 16, it was

  destroyed.

  For this mission the Ukrainians employed the Tochka-U ballistic roc-

  ket and at the same time launched a pair of Su-25 which flying close

  to the ground evaded the Russian AA defense. It’s the proof how much

  importance Ukrainians attributed to this target. They made sure to

  have the backup if the first attack failed for some reason. In the end

  the ammunition depot was hit by both the rocket and fighter-bomber

  aircraft. It resulted in an enormous explosion followed by number of

  secondary explosions of the artillery grenades which destroyed tens

  of houses and cars in the vicinity of the depot. The similar situation

  occurred after the ammunition depots were hit in Donetsk. The sepa-

  ratists claim that the Ukrainian shelling killed civilians but the most

  damage comes from the secondary explosions of the depots located

  in the stadiums or city industrial halls.

  The Russian tugboat Vasily Bech was sunk by two Harpoon missiles while attempting to deliver supplies to Snake Island.

  A Serna-class landing craft recovered after sinking off the Snake Island.

  The Bayraktar drone left quite a hole in it.

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard

  17

  July 2022

• Page 18

  HISTORY

  photo: Author’s Collection

  on the Republic of Korea (RoK). Until recently,

  the country that had just thrown off the shac

  -

  kles of a vicious 35-year Japanese occupation

  fell into a third bloody conflict that, according

  to the North’s leader, Kim, was to have reunified

  the country and placed firmly into the grip of the

  Soviet Block. Calculations based on American

  lethargy, almost ignorance, turned out to be fla

  -

  wed, and they had pulled their forces out of the

  area a year earlier. The eight-month old United

  Nations organization reacted, and thanks in part

  to a boycott by the Soviets of discussions. Twen

  -

  ty-one nations to varying degrees ensured that

  at least areas south of the 38th Parallel on the

  Korean Peninsula would remain a part of the free

  world. This would be the basis of the first major

  armed conflict since the end of the Second World

  War.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  text: Richard Plos

  Back Into the Fire

  The Mustangs in Korea

  INFO Eduard18

  July 2022

• Page 19

  photo: U.S. Air Force

  HISTORY

  Colonel´s Parallell

  The allied victory over Japan bestows the lion’s

  share of credit to the United States. But also to be

  pointed out is that the Soviet Union, who acqui-

  red a free hand after the German capitulation in

  Europe, declared war on virtually beaten Japan

  on August 8, 1945, and the 1st Far East Front, in

  co-operation with the Baikal assets supported

  by Mongolian and Chinese communist Liberation

  Armies quickly moved through Manchuria. What

  emerged was a threat that the communists,

  under the leadership of Marshal A. M. Vasilev-

  skiy, would gain control of the entire Korean pe-

  ninsula with minimal effort. For the Americans,

  it was a longer walk to Korea, and they could

  only hope that the Soviet Union would accept

  a proposal put forth by Colonels Dean Rusk

  (1

  and

  Charles H. Bonesteel III

  (2

  to create two admi-

  nistering parts divided by the 38th Parallel. The

  hopes were justified. Practically no sooner had

  the Koreans rid themselves of Japanese tyran-

  ny, the country was torn in two. The Soviet Union

  wasted no time in exporting communist ideology

  through its protégé and former Red Army Major

  Kim Sung-Ghua, better known as Kim ir-sen. The

  demarcation line, intended originally only as an

  administrative separation of zones under Soviet

  and American control following the Japanese

  capitulation, and to administer items such as

  the movement of material and prisoners, soon

  became a regular border. As the situation de-

  teriorated between the former allies, so did the

  situation on the peninsula.

  The two Koreas also found themselves in a dete-

  riorating relationship. As a result, on November

  14, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly

  adopted Resolution 112/II establishing the UN

  Commission on Korea (UNTCK). This was to pro-

  vide for free elections, but ultimately, only South

  Korea set the conditions for these to take place.

  From the May elections that followed, under the

  supervision of the UN Commission, a parliament

  emerged, which then elected a president on July

  20, 1948. His name was I Sung-man (generally

  referred to as Syngman Rhee in English lan-

  guage transcripts). He was forced to flee Korea

  in 1912 in the face of Japanese aggression, and

  after moving to the United States, he studied at

  Harvard and Princeton Universities. After his

  appointment, he declared the Republic of Korea,

  and made no secrets about his desire for reu-

  nification. In the North, of course, there arose

  “Peoples’ Committees” to purge North Korea of

  all “reactionaries” and “enemies of the state and

  people”. Under these conditions, local electi-

  ons were held on August 25. However, in kee-

  ping with communist ideals of democracy, the-

  re was only one candidate, namely Kim Ir-sen.

  He immediately proclaimed the Democratic Pe-

  oples’ Republic of Korea, finalizing the division

  of the Korean peninsula. While the Soviet Union

  fully armed and, through advisors, trained the

  North Korean army, the United States generally

  regarded South Korea as outside of its realm of

  interest in the geographical area. As expressed

  on January 12, 1950, US Secretary of State Dean

  Acheson, the United States was willing to extend

  protection only to Japan, Okinawa and the Phili-

  ppines. The same sentiment was echoed earlier

  by General Douglas MacArthur, the top allied

  military official in postwar Japan. This all led to

  North Korean officials to the interpretation that

  the door to occupying the southern part of the

  peninsula was wide open, and that the United

  States wouldn’t lift a finger to stop them.

  The South Korean army was an essentially li-

  ghtly armed force, ill-equipped to resist the for-

  ce of ten divisions, two mechanized regiments

  and an independent tank brigade with 258

  T-34/85s and Su-76 self propelled howitzers.

  The air force, under the leadership of Major Ge-

  neral Wang Yon, had 239 aircraft, out of which

  at least 122 were combat. These assets were

  spread out over a fighter, ground attack and

  training regiment. The inventory sported the

  Yak-9P and Il-10, with the older Yak-7s and La-7s

  having been retired by the time the attack took

  place. In some Il-10s on captured airfields, flight

  manuals were found which had notes written

  in them in Russian right up to June 27, and so

  were delivered before the invasion. In all, some

  190,000 men at arms were massed, along with

  a huge number of Chinese ‘Peoples’ volunteers’

  that were ready to deploy in aid of their ideolo-

  gically sympathetic neighbor.

  The Attack

  North Korea took its southern neighbor comple-

  tely by surprise. Not so much by the attack it-

  self, because many experts and observers were

  more or less expecting it, but by the overall sco-

  pe of the entire operation. Very early morning on

  Sunday, June 25, 1950, virtually the entire North

  Korean army went into swift action, supported

  by artillery and eventually, the air force as well.

  The lightly armed South Koreans could do little

  in the face of such a force, lacking a tank force,

  artillery and air assets. It was nothing short of

  a miracle that what South Korea could muster

  in defense bravely held a line for three days that

  prevented the taking of Seoul. However, North

  

  

  

  

  

  

  INFO Eduard

  19

  July 2022

• Page 20

  Korean forces quickly advanced south down the

  left flank. Which begs the question, why were

  the South Koreans so weak compared to the

  North?

  The last American units left the Republic of

  Korea on June 29, 1949, and only 482 military

  advisors remained under the command of Ge-

  neral W. L. Roberts. Contrary to the massive ar-

  ming of North Korea by the Soviets, the United

  States was significantly stingier towards the

  South. The American view stipulated that the

  South Korean army should only be as large as

  necessary to maintain order in country, and not

  so large as to put stress on a devastated econo-

  my or present a perceived threat to its northern

  neighbor. It was decided that the South Korean

  army would have 65,000 men to maintain order

  and patrol the border, 4,000 patrolling the coast,

  and 35,000 policemen would be providing inter-

  nal support.

  After their departure, the Americans left behind

  military supplies that were to last the South Ko-

  rean army a minimum of six months, and further

  supplies of equipment and light weapons were

  promised. The request by South Korea’s Minister

  of Defense, Sin Sung-Mo, in 1949 for the supp-

  ly of 188 M-26 Pershing tanks was denied, and

  repeated requests by the county’s president

  I Sung-Man for the F-51 Mustang were as well.

  The heaviest weapon that the United States was

  willing to supply the South Korean Army with

  was the 81mm M1 Mortar.

  Although the South Korean Air Force came into

  existence on October 10, 1949, in April 1950,

  it only had 1,859 personnel, and at least so-

  mewhat qualified pilots numbered just 39.

  All they had at their disposal were light courier

  and training aircraft. Specifically, there were

  eight L-4 Grasshoppers, five Stinson L-5 Senti-

  nels and three T-6 Texans. These were based at

  Kimpo (K-14) and at Seoul’s airport (K-16). Other

  bases used included Suwon (K-13), Taegu (K-2),

  Kwangju (K-7), Kunsan (K-8) and Chej-do (K-39).

  Pilots of these light aircraft bravely went into

  combat after the attack began. In all, after the

  first three days, they flew 123 combat sorties,

  during which they dropped some 500 hand gre-

  nades on the enemy, along with 274 15kg bombs

  of Korean manufacture, either dropped by hand

  or from improvised bomb racks. Besides that,

  165 reconnaissance and liaison flights were

  made. By July 27, 1953, when the armistice was

  signed, the ROKAF had 118 aircraft including 78

  F-51D Mustangs and 11,500 personnel. Some 39

  South Korean pilots had over one hundred mi-

  ssions flown each, while seventeen would be

  killed in action.

  Retired Major General Claire L. Chennault, le-

  gendary commander of the Flying Tigers and

  a big supporter of anything opposing the expan-

  sion of communism in Asia, recommended de-

  livering 25 Mustangs to the ROKAF before the

  war, but General MacArthur , Supreme Allied

  Commander in the Far East dismissed the idea

  on the basis that such equipment would not be

  required for maintaining domestic peace and

  would only serve to promote a war between

  North and South Korea…

  The only thing that the South Korean presi-

  dent was able to secure was a promise to train

  a number of selected pilots on the F-51D. These

  arrived in Japan in early 1950 and fell under the

  tutelage of Captain James P. Becket, member of

  the 36th FBS from Itazuke Air Base. For this pur-

  pose, ten Mustangs retired from USAF service

  were gifted to the ROKAF. It was necessary to

  basically start from square one, because it had

  been a long time since the South Korean pilots

  had flown combat aircraft, not even taking into

  account the differences in flight characteristics

  from lighter Japanese equipment. The training

  of these pilots was far from complete at the time

  of the attack…

  Immediately following the North Korean attack

  on South Korea, the United States requested

  a United Nations Security Council meeting. This

  led to a proclamation that labeled the attack

  HISTORY

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  photo: Author’s Collection

  photo: U.S. Air Force

  INFO Eduard20

  July 2022

• Page 21

  as illegal according to Resolution S/1501 and

  called for an immediate ceasefire. Neverthele-

  ss, North Korean forces advanced quickly, re-

  sulting in the UN’s declaration of North Korea as

  the aggressor state and subsequently issuing

  Resolution No.83, calling on member states to

  offer military aid to the nation attacked. Direct

  military support was offered by sixteen nations,

  and four air forces. Three of these committed

  Mustangs to the fight – the United States, Aus-

  tralia and South Africa.

  The FEAF: Too far away

  The Far East segment of the USAF was labeled

  as the FEAF (Far East Air Force) and its nearest

  assets suitable for the war in Korea were lo-

  cated in Japan and on Okinawa. The term

  “nearest”, though, needs some qualification.

  For example, the base at Itazuke, which housed

  the 8th FBG, was some 700 km (almost 450 mi-

  les), giving a round trip of 1,400 km (900 miles).

  For American Shooting Stars, this was not just

  around the corner. This distance was achieva-

  ble, but would only allow an average of some

  four minutes over the target.

  FEAF Commander, Lt. General George E. Stra-

  temeyer was on vacation in Nagoya with his

  family at the time of the attack. His deputy,

  Major General Earle E. Partridge (CO of the

  5th AF and at the time holding the temporary

  rank of Lieutenant General) on learning of the

  attack, immediately called for the initiation of

  Preparatory Operational Plan No. 4, calling

  for the evacuation of American citizens from

  Korea. The first aircraft that would see servi-

  ce directly associated with the war were C-54

  Skymasters and C-47 Skytrains of the 374th

  TCW (Troop Carrier Wing) out of Itazuke. In the

  afternoon hours of June 25, 8th FBW CO Col.

  John M. Price, under whose jurisdiction the

  374th TCW fell, proclaimed that his units were

  ready and able to fulfill all tasks assigned to it

  as of the following morning. But the following

  morning held out hope that the South Koreans

  might be able to stall the North Korean advan-

  ce. As a result, the plan for a rapid evacuation

  by air from Seoul was replaced by one trans-

  porting the evacuees to leave on a Norwegian

  merchant ship. Strictly in the name of caution,

  68th and 399th F(AW)S (all-weather squad-

  HISTORY

  

  5th AIR FORCE

  Itazuke, Kyushu

  8th Fighter-Bomber Wing

  8th Fighter-Bomber Group (F-80)

  35th Fighter-Bomber Squadron

  36th Fighter-Bomber Squadron

  80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron

  Johnson AB, Honshu

  3rd Bombardment Wing (L)

  3rd Bombardment Group (B-26)

  8th Bombardment Squadron

  13th Bombardment Squadron

  Nagoya AB, Honshu

  347th Fighter AW Wing

  347th Fighter AW Group

  Tachikawa AB, Honshu

  347th Troop Carrier Wing

  347th Troop Carrier Group (C-54)

  6th Troop Carrier Squadron

  22nd Troop Carrier Squadron

  Yokota AB, Honshu

  35th Fighter-Interceptor Wing

  35th Fighter-Interceptor Group (F-80)

  39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

  40th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

  41st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

  339 Fighter AW Squadron (F-82)

  8th Tactical Reconnaisance Squadron, photo (RF-80)

  Misawa AB, Honshu

  49th Fighter-Bomber Wing

  49th Fighter-Bomber Group (F-80)

  7th Fighter-Bomber Squadron

  8th Fighter-Bomber Squadron

  9th Fighter-Bomber Squadron

  12th AIR FORCE

  Naha AB, Okinawa

  51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing

  51st Fighter-Interceptor Group (F-80)

  16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

  25th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

  26th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

  4th Fighter AW Squadron (F-82)

  Kadena AB, Okinawa

  31st Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, VLR (RB-29)

  Anderson AFB, Guam

  19th Bombardment Wing (M)

  19th Bombardment Group (B-29)

  28th Bombardment Squadron

  30th Bombardment Squadron

  93rd Bombardment Squadron

  13th AIR FORCE

  Clark AFB, Luzon

  18th Fighter-Bomber Wing

  18th Fighter-Bomber Group (F-80)

  12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron

  44th Fighter-Bomber Squadron

  67th Fighter-Bomber Squadron

  21st Troop Carrier Squadron (C-54)

  6204th Photo Mapping Flight (RB-17)

  Note: As of May 31, 1950, FEAF possessed 1,172 aircraft, as follows:

  73 B-26

  27 B-29

  47 F-51

  504 F-80 (of which 423 were F-80C)

  42 F-82

  179 Transport Aircraft

  48 Reconnaissance Aircraft

  252 Others

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  photo: U.S. Air Force

  INFO Eduard

  21

  July 2022

• Page 22

  rons) F-82 Twin Mustangs were dispatched for

  patrol flights over Seoul and Inchon. They were

  attacked by pairs of North Korean fighters (ei-

  ther La-7s or Jak-9Us), but not authorized to

  fire, they were able to take advantage of their

  performance to refuse the combat.

  Eleven C-47s and two C-54s were able to take-

  -off in the face of a worsening situation from

  Itazuke on the morning of June 27. Their pro-

  tection was the job of Twin Mustangs, while

  top cover was also provided by F-80 Shooting

  Stars. The air evacuation was carried out from

  the bases at Kimpo and Suwon, and by the time

  the sun came down, 851 personnel had been

  evacuated.

  Seoul became a point of North Korean attenti-

  on on June 28, and at that point, so far hesitant

  American president Harry S. Truman ordered

  the 5th AF to gain air superiority and to provide

  direct air support to ground forces. With that,

  he opened the door to the use of American air

  power in the Korean War. The same day, Gene-

  ral Partridge and his deputy Edward J. Timber-

  lake came to the conclusion that further ope-

  rations would require aircraft with long range

  abilities capable of taking off from unprepa-

  red airfields in Korea and would be capable

  of conducting attacks against ground targets

  with high levels of precision and effectiveness.

  This led to the first instance of suggesting the

  deployment of Mustangs and all units in the

  5th AF were that same day asked to secure

  volunteers to finish training of the Korean pi-

  lots and ultimately train more ROKAF pilots in

  country. At the same time, they were to provide

  some limited air support to UN ground forces.

  The request for these pilots came to Col. Virgil

  L. Zoller, Commanding Officer of the 35th FIW.

  The FEAF specified that they were looking for

  ten qualified Mustang pilots, four security offi-

  cers and a hundred groundcrew to begin the

  project named Bout one, which fell to the com-

  mand of major Dean Hess.

  (3

  Urgent: looking for Mustangs!

  With the exception of Twin Mustang all weather

  units, all combat units at the time of the invasi-

  on were stationed in Japan and were already

  equipped with jets. Some Mustangs in Japan

  still could be found, but they were gradually be-

  ing scrapped or sent back to the United States.

  About thirty examples were at the Tachikawa

  AB, while others were found at Johnson AB (to-

  day Iruma), and some units used them as target

  tugs or for pilots to maintain a level of profici-

  ency, who did not want to part with the aircraft

  despite flaying jets already.

  (4

  These aircraft were hurriedly prepared for

  their final service call due to the given circu-

  mstances. In some cases, they needed to go

  through a major overhaul with their engines

  and airframes “nulled” (receiving new log-

  books that included zero flight hours logged),

  because in many cases, there were no longer

  available any records of individual aircraft.

  Many of the aircraft lack parts of their radio

  equipment, and other items. There were cases

  HISTORY

  

  

  

  

  

  North Korean Air Assets at the

  Beginning of the War:

  Yonpo (K-27)

   

   

   

   

  Sinmak (K-20)

   

   

   

  Pyongyang (K-23)

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Note: these figures were supplied by a North Korean

  pilot who defected just prior to the war.

  photo: U.S. Air Force

  INFO Eduard22

  July 2022

• Page 23

  HISTORY

  

  

  

  

  

  

  where in a formation of two flying aircraft, one

  had radio equipment but lacked a compass,

  while the other was in the exact opposite situa-

  tion. To top it off, there were not nearly enough

  required Mustangs in Japan, so FEAF requested

  the transfer of more aircraft from the United

  States.

  Although Mustangs had been withdrawn from

  use within USAF units, they did form the bulk of

  equipment with the National Guard units, which

  made it one of two main sources of Mustangs

  for the war in Korea. The other source was the

  storage facility at McClelland AB. Selected

  units of the National Guard were immediately

  ordered to transfer 79 F-51Ds to the naval yard

  at NAS Alameda and storage facilities “turned

  up” another 66 pieces. All 145 Mustangs were

  crated in protective black “cocoons”, and pla-

  ced on board the Essex Class carrier USS Boxer

  (CV-21). The Boxer had returned to San Diego

  after its third postwar cruise in the Pacific on

  the same day that war erupted in Korea, June

  25, 1950. Instead of planned maintenance and

  needed repairs, she left immediately after be-

  ing loaded up on July 14. The cruise was atta-

  ched to the previous operation, Task 500717. The

  ship’s commander was Capt. John B. Moss, who

  was supposed to hand the reigns of the Boxer

  over to his successor, Cameron Briggs, but was

  required to extend his service for the duration

  of this transport mission. The 9,000km (5,600

  mile) journey was made in record time, lasting

  some eight days and seven hours. Besides the

  Mustangs, she also carried seventy National

  Guard pilots, five L-5 observation planes and 19

  US Navy aircraft.

  First Blood

  The first Mustangs left Japan for Korea on the

  afternoon of June 29. These fell under Bout One

  and were ones from these donated to the RO-

  KAF. General MacArthur the same day set out

  for Suwon (Base K-13) in his personal C-54

  Bataan, in order to familiarize himself with the

  tactical situation at an operational briefing.

  High cover for his flight was provided by F-80s

  from the 8th FBW while F-82s stuck close to his

  plane. American pilots in four F-51Ds bearing

  Korean markings followed independently, but

  only with a small time offset.

  Immediately after landing, MacArthur met with

  American Ambassador John Mucci and Presi-

  dent I Sung-man. During the meeting, the base

  was attacked by North Korean Il-10s. Their ti-

  ming coincided with the arrival of the four afo-

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  photo: U.S. Air Force

  photo: U.S. Air Force

  INFO Eduard

  23

  July 2022

• Page 24

  HISTORY

  rementioned F-51s, and two of the Il-10s went

  down in short order, courtesy of 2nd Lt. Orrin E.

  Fox while 1st Lt. Harry T. Sandlin shot down one.

  Both of these pilots hailed from the 80th FBS, and

  a fourth Il-10 was downed by 1st Lt. Richard Burns

  of the 35th FBS. Some sources identify Fox’s and

  Sandlin’s victims as either Jak-9s or La-7s in-

  stead of Il-10s. One probable kill was attributed to

  1st lt. Eugene R. Hanson (36th FBS), and this was

  likely a Yak-9. Sadly, three of these volunteers

  didn’t live to see the end of 1950. Burns, Sand-

  lin and Hanson all were killed after returning to

  their units and to flying the F-80s. In fact, during

  the first year of the war, seven of the original ten

  American Bout One pilots perished…

  The Korean Peninsula was under the control of the Japanese as of 1905, something supp-

  orted by an agreement with Great Britain whereby Britain agreed to recognize Japanese

  interests in the area in exchange for Japanese recognition of British interests in China.

  Under this umbrella of agreements reminiscent in some ways of other shameful British

  acts of diplomacy (such as the Munich Agreement that betrayed Czechoslovakia in 1938),

  was followed by the Treaty of Portsmouth which secured similar such recognition from

  the Russian Empire, and the Taft-Kacur Memorandum that ensured more or less the

  same from the Americans. This developed into there being nothing stopping the Japane-

  se from establishing a protectorate over Korea in 1910, who’s first Japanese Governor-

  -General was Terauchi Masatake. The Japanese removed Korean Emperor Sunjong and

  gradually took over all the major posts in the country. Japanese rule brought with it hun-

  ger, torture and slavery. Korean Christians were crucified and burned. Peaceful protests

  for freedom in 1919 were brutally put down and around 550 people were murdered. The

  Japanese did what they could to basically eradicate the Korean identity. Schools were

  taught exclusively in Japanese, publishing in Korean was outlawed, it was forbidden to

  study Korean history and there were Korean book burnings. Hundreds of thousands of

  Koreans were sent to Japan or her occupied territories for forced labor and many Ko-

  rean women were forced into sexual slavery for the benefit Japanese soldiers. Korean

  men were forced to fight in the ranks of the Japanese, and at times, the Chinese, army.

  The end of the Second World War signaled the end of thirty-five years of the tyranny.

  Already in November, 1943, the Cairo Conference declared the independence of Korea as

  one of its objectives in the war against Japan, and Koreans could thus hope for peace and

  prosperity immediately after the end of hostilities. However, the situation would travel

  down a different road…

  

  photo: US Defense Imagery

  photo: U.S. Air Force

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  INFO Eduard24

  July 2022

• Page 25

  POSTAVENOHISTORY

  

  

  

  

  

  

  The F-51D became the only single engine piston powered

  fighter bomber used by the USAF in the Korean War and

  fulfilled similar missions to that of the Navy or Mari-

  nes Corsairs (in the F4U-4, F4U-4B, F4U-5N, F4U-5NL,

  F4U-5P and AU-1 versions). Also, among the initial su-

  ggestions was the use of the F-47 Thunderbolt, but that

  was never realized. There were several reasons for this,

  despite the robust and high-performing “Jug” seeming

  like the perfect candidate for such an operations in Ko-

  rea. One reason was that throughout the entire Air Force,

  there was only a single training unit still flying this type,

  and there was uncertainty surrounding the ability to put

  together enough aircraft for the required service. To top

  it off, there were no sources of spare parts for the Thun-

  derbolts in Japan, contrary to the situation surrounding

  the Mustang. FEAF commander General Stratemeyer

  pushed stubbornly and persistently for the F-47. USAF

  Chief of Staff General Hoyt Vandenberg didn’t definitely

  turn down the requests until May 4, 1951, almost a year

  later! The reasons that Stratemeyer so yearned for the

  F-47 stems from the fact that, as was confirmed, the

  Mustang was first a fighter. That was its role in the Se-

  cond World War. Mustangs certainly played the part of

  a strafing machine without question, but they were not

  the ideal weapon for that role. The cooling system and the

  length of its coolant system piping meant that the Mus-

  tang was more vulnerable to small arms ground fire. The

  Thunderbolt, with its air-cooled radial, would be more

  suited to the types of conditions that low level ops gene-

  rated, even with its complex turbocharger. Stratemeyer’s

  opinion was certainly not a case of mere theorizing. The

  vulnerability of the Mustang did extract a heavy toll on

  its numbers. Some monthly losses of F-51Ds amounted

  to over a half of aircraft lost. As an example, April, 1951,

  anti-aircraft batteries brought down thirteen F-80s, two

  Thunderjets and 25 Mustangs…

  

  After his return to Japan, MacArthur learned

  that Australian Prime Minister Robert G. Men-

  zies offered the services of No. 77 Squadron,

  which fell under FEAF. This was good news, be-

  cause it meant another thirty Mustangs ready

  for action and transfer to the area within a few

  short days.

  Bout One: First Out of the Pan

  and Into the Fire

  The remaining six Mustangs from the training

  program of South Korean pilots with freshly

  applied ROKAF markings left for Korea on July

  2. In their cockpits this time were six Korean

  pilots. As the originally trained Korean pilots

  were not ready for combat, the most experi-

  enced ones arrived from Korea and hurriedly

  made themselves familiarized with Mustang

  within just a couple of days. It was far from ide-

  al, as they flew just one or two training flights

  with the aircraft they have never flown before.

  The ability of these pilots to reach their desti-

  nation safely raised some concerns. Also their

  aircraft were not in the best shape as they were

  serving as a tugs for the tow targets, which

  was hard duty and also their maintenance was

  somehow compromised… Anyway, the things

  went well and all the Mustangs ladned safely at

  Taegu, completing the Bout One gathering of ten

  Mustangs. Ten American pilots of the unit were

  ready to fly them in combat, while sixt Korean

  pilots were to be gradually trained with some

  ready to get into action immediately. (5

  Combat missions were initiated next day alrea-

  dy, where first and foremost, the unit CO, Major

  Hess, excelled. He tirelessly flew several mi-

  ssions per day. Despite having combat experi-

  ence gained in the Second World War, the six

  Koreans didn’t possess full control of the reig-

  ns over their Mustangs. The biggest issues for

  them were caused by the aircraft’s high wing

  load, which tended to extract a certain tax from

  its pilots. Colonel Lee Gun Suk, experienced

  wartime pilot, who is even credited with up to

  23 kills in some Korean sources (although this

  is unlikely), couldn’t pull out of his dive after

  attacking a North Korean tank. He crashed and

  was killed…

  The lack of proper training of the Korean pilots

  also somewhat complicated their operations.

  Taegu was crowded with transport aircraft,

  and the Koreans usually flew out of Chinhae

  

  

  

  

  photo: U.S. Air Force

  INFO Eduard

  25

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• Page 26

  HISTORY

  (K-10) and landed at Pusan-West (K-1). From

  there, they would be flown back by transport

  and Americans flew the Mustangs back to K-10.

  There were concerns that the South Koreans

  would have some difficulty utilizing the short

  runway at K-10.

  Probably, the most well known event to come

  out of Bout One occurred on July 11, 1950, when

  a pair of aircraft led by CO Dean Hess (the other

  pilot being Lt. Timberlake) took off under rainy

  conditions fully armed and loaded with rockets

  and bombs to attack a North Korean armored

  column on a narrow mountain road that, in

  turn, had its sights set on the American 25th

  Infantry Division. Hess ordered Timberlake to

  attack the rear of the convoy while Hess fo-

  cused on its front. “We plugged up both of the

  ends of the convoy with bomb craters and truck

  wrecks so that they couldn’t move”, remarked

  Hess later. They then circled above the convoy

  until more Mustangs from Taegu and F-80s and

  B-26s from Japan arrived. The pair then headed

  back to Taegu, was refueled and rearmed, and

  conducted another attack. And then once more

  after that. When Hess turned for home that last

  time, they left the wrecks of 117 trucks, 38 tanks

  and a high number of dead North Korean troops

  behind. General Partridge proclaimed this to be

  a key point in the war a day later.

  Dallas Squadron

  While Mustangs were being gathered in the Uni-

  ted States in preparation for transport to Korea,

  it was also necessary to prepare pilots from

  units that had by now flown mainly jet powered

  aircraft. Although the USS Boxer had brought

  some seventy National Guard pilots for its trip

  to Japan, and many of these were experienced

  vets, the plan was to have three pilots for each

  aircraft to stay true to the adopted system and

  character of the entire operation. It was anti-

  cipated that each aircraft would fly several

  missions per day. Therefore, on July 3, General

  Stratemeyer ordered that the 13th AF, at Clark

  Field in the Philippines , choose 18th FBG pi-

  lots to commit that had until recently flown the

  F-51D. Out of this came a unit that was dubbed

  ‘Dallas Squadron’. The bulk of its personnel

  came from the 12th FBS, and all remaining ai-

  rworthy Mustangs in Japan were reserved for

  it, being readied for transfer to Korea at John-

  son Air Base. This unit was to absorb Bout One

  at Taegu and thus form the 51st FBS(P), a unit

  with ‘provisional’ status. Because the situation

  had brought about more airworthy Mustangs on

  the Japanese islands, conversions of pilots and

  personnel from the 40th FIS of the 35th FIG was

  also initiated. During this process, F-80 Shoo-

  ting Star flights continued over Korea, and were

  moved there without the interruption of action

  on July 14. They began to fly out of Pchohang

  (K-3) at the beginning of August. It didn’t take

  long for the Mustangs to get some respect. Ge-

  neral Timberlake, with significant acknowled-

  gement, proclaimed one Mustang flying out of

  Taegu was worth four F-80s out of Japan. The

  usefulness of the Mustang was echoed in a me-

  moir by Major Harry Moreland, CO of the 51st

  FS(P): “I was in a two-ship flight and we were

  going to run the road between Seoul and Taejon

  and hit anything we could find. Our first target

  was a couple of North Korean trucks that we

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  photo: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

  INFO Eduard26

  July 2022

• Page 27

  POSTAVENOHISTORY

  Dean Hess, at the time of the attack on Pearl

  Harbor, was a priest and preached to his parishi-

  oners in Cleveland. After the attack, he came to

  the realization that he couldn’t ask them to fight

  for their homeland without leading by example.

  Since he had been fascinated by aviation from

  an early age, he signed up for the Aviation Cadet

  program and became a pilot. In 1944, he was as-

  signed to go to France, where he flew 63 combat

  missions in a P-47D. After the war, Hess returned

  to the priesthood and also started his postgra-

  duate studies. In July, 1948, he was recalled for

  active duty and at the time of the North Korean

  attack on South Korea, he was serving in Japan.

  He voluntarily accepted the command function

  for Bout One, which became the first USAF air

  combat formation in Korea, at Taegu. By June,

  1951, it had flown 250 combat missions. During

  this period, they also launched an unofficial pro-

  gram to evacuate orphaned Korean children and

  escort them to safety ahead of advancing Chine-

  se troops. Among the reasons for this initiative

  was the unhappy event that occurred in Decem-

  ber, 1944 during a raid on Kaiserslautern, when

  he and Bill Myers attacked a railroad station with

  their P-47s. While dropping their two 1,000 pound

  bombs each, one of Hess’s failed to separate

  from the rack, and only did so a few moments

  later. Hess learned a day later that the bomb hit

  a nearby building that was an orphanage, and 37

  children were killed. His guilt then followed him

  for the rest of his life. His Thunderbolt carried the

  Latin inscription “Per Firem Volo” meaning “With

  Faith I Fly”, and in Korea, his Mustang carried the

  same slogan in Korean. From out of the number

  of his bold actions, we will mention a solo act

  he performed that rescued an eighteen-strong

  American patrol from a North Korean siege with

  some “extreme” close air support. He repeated-

  ly attacked in a manner that would open up an

  escape route to safety for the soldiers. For this

  action, he received the Silver Star. But perhaps

  an even bigger praise came from the communist

  radio propagandists called “Seoul City Sue”, who

  dubbed him the Barbarian from Chinhae (from

  the time when Bout One flew from this base).

  Dean Hess published his memoirs in 1957 under

  the title “Battle Hymn”, and on its basis, a film

  was shot with Rock Hudson in the starring role.

  The royalties from the book and the movie were

  used to build a new orphanage near Seoul in 1961.

  Hess ended his active service career in 1969 as

  a Colonel and passed away at the age of 97 on

  March 2, 2015, and two years later, the South

  Koreans built a monument to him on the island

  of Jeju, where the orphans had been evacuated

  to. Next to his name on the monument are the

  words:

  Hero of the Korean War

  Godfather of the R.O.K Air Force

  Father of War Orphans

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  photo: U.S. Air Force

  photo: U.S. Air Force

  INFO Eduard

  27

  July 2022

• Page 28

  HISTORY

  strafed and then hit with napalm. There was

  much activity on the roads, and right after we

  had headed back to the south I spotted a huge

  haystack in the middle of a field that had tread

  marks leading up to it. I made a low-level pass

  and could see that it was a tank that had been

  hastily covered with hay. Since we had used

  up our napalm, we decided to see what our

  0.50-cal machine guns could do to it. We could-

  n’t get through to the tank, but our rounds set

  the hay on fire. We made a few low passes right

  on top of the haystack in order to fan the flames

  with our prop wash. The flames literally cooked

  the tank as we circled and then there was

  a large explosion. We had destroyed the tank

  with our machine guns”.

  5)

  Tough Service

  The biggest burden to befall the Mustang pi-

  lots ended up being tactical air support at low

  altitude. Their weaponry, besides the machi-

  ne guns, included 2.5 and 5-inch rockets, 500

  pound incendiary or fragmentation bombs and

  napalm tanks. Targets were tanks, artillery po-

  sitions, troop concentrations, and storage faci-

  lities. Mustang pilots had to overcome several

  difficulties over the course of those first opera-

  tional days. They flew over unfamiliar territory,

  lacked proper navigation charts (although, as

  it turned out, more detailed army maps were

  well suited to the rough, local terrain) and most

  importantly, there was a lack of qualified TACP

  (Tactical Air Control Party) that would have

  aided greatly in vectoring to targets. Personnel

  selected for the task lacked experience and the

  knowledge needed about aerial tactics, resul-

  ting in their efforts usually causing confusi-

  on amongst the pilots. This brought about the

  formation of the 6147th TCS (Tactical Control

  Squadron), known as “the Mosquitoes” which

  flew out of Taegu in L-5, L-17 and T-6 aircraft

  to mark targets. Some pilots were attached to

  ground units at the same time to ensure grea-

  ter accuracy in guiding aircraft to their targets.

  For pilots, this was an unexpected rough bit of

  service…

  Many credit the Mustang for saving UN for-

  ces at the most critical time, when they were

  pushed into the Pusan pocket. They were able

  to effectively turn the tide against the North Ko-

  reans with especially their napalm tanks, often

  delivered with unnerving precision.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  photo: Imperial War Museum

  photo: U.S. Air Force

  INFO Eduard28

  July 2022

• Page 29

  A Fighter Once More

  Although the Mustang was used primarily as

  a mud mover, it could, of course, handle any

  piston engine aircraft that the enemy posse-

  ssed. For example, on August 3, 1950, two 67th

  FBS pilots shot down (one each) North Korean

  Yaks, and the unit got another a week later.

  On November 1, 1950 pilots from the 67th

  FBS/18th FBW two North Korean Yaks south of

  Sinuij. That day, though, something more signi-

  ficant transpired. A six ship formation of F-51s

  escorted Invaders attacking the airfield at Si-

  nuiju (K-30). They encountered six jet powered

  aircraft with swept wings. This gave the Mus-

  tang the honor of being the first to go into com-

  bat against the Soviet MiG-15, probably from

  the 28th GIAP/151st GIAD. The pilots flying the

  Mustangs managed to come through without

  a loss, but this was the day the allies lost com-

  plete air superiority over the Korean peninsula.

  The next such encounter occurred November 7,

  when a quartet of the 36th FBS was bounced by

  a like number of MiGs, whose pilots apparent-

  ly anticipated an easy time of it. However, the

  experienced F-51 pilots were able to maneuver

  the MiGs into a position where Captain Howard

  Tanner damaged one. Hits were administered to

  another pair of MiGs sporting Chinese markings

  and these chose to break off the engagement.

  In contrast, the Mustangs returned to base wi-

  thout a scratch! In a bit of an ironic twist, ele-

  ven 8th FBG Mustangs were damaged beyond

  repair as the result of a night raid on the base

  at Pchjongjang by Po-2 biplanes on the night of

  November 28.

  South African pilots of No. 112 Squadron also

  had “the pleasure” of encountering the MiG-15s.

  On July 8, 1951, the “Flying Cheetahs” were am-

  bushed by twenty Chinese aircraft. Thanks to

  some wild maneuvering at low level, they were

  able to hold on until the Sabre cavalry arrived

  to save the day. Among them was an aircraft pi-

  loted by Francis Gabreski, who on this occasion

  got his first kill of the Korean War and added

  to his 28 total tally from World War Two. When

  South African Mustangs tangled with MiG-15s

  on March 20, 1952, they failed to repeat their

  earlier no-loss result. During an attack on

  a rail line between Guangdong and Sunjong,

  they were attacked by six MiG-15s. Lt. Dave

  Taylor, flying an F-51, disengaged from the

  battle after being hit and was not seen again.

  Lt. Henslin, however, was credited with one MiG

  damaged. There were several similar engage-

  ments, of course, but there were no cases that

  an F-51 could be without a doubt credited with

  a MiG-15 kill.

  The fighting morale on the part of the Mustang

  pilots is evidenced in the death of 67th FBS Co-

  mmanding Officer Major Louis J. Sebille, who’s

  Mustang (44-74394) was hit several times in an

  attack on an artillery position on August 5, 1950.

  To top it off, one of his bombs failed to release.

  POSTAVENOHISTORY

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Major Louis Joseph “Lou” Sebille

  photo: U.S. Air Force

  photo: U.S. Air Force

  INFO Eduard

  29

  July 2022

• Page 30

  HISTORY

  Although another pilot, Captain Martin Johnson,

  warned him against another attack, Sebille pro-

  claimed: “I'll never be able to make it back. I'm

  going back to get that bastard.” He then really

  did return to the enemy concentration instead

  of returning to base and in a suicidal attack, and

  absorbing more hits in the process, he fired at

  the communist troops with his machine guns,

  ending the attack by impacting the artillery po-

  sition. For this act, he was the first American in

  Korea to be awarded the Congressional Medal of

  Honor, the highest of American medals.

  Similar acts of heroism by American Mustang

  pilots in Korea are many. Many of them didn’t

  take the loss of fighter status in comparison

  to modern jets, nor being relegated to ground

  attack duties in obsolete World War Two aircraft,

  very well. But their determination to fulfill the

  tasks asked of them was in no way degraded,

  nor did any technical issues with the equipment.

  One such problem was the lack of A-2 Ground

  Power Sources, essential for starting the engi-

  nes. There was also a shortage of A-13A oxygen

  systems, or P-1 helmets. Some pilots even flew

  with football helmets and headsets!

  Mustangs flew direct air support missions all

  the way to February, 1953, when the last unit

  finally converted onto the Sabre. This was the

  South African No. 2 Squadron, under the 18th

  FBS. Up to the end of hostilities, both the 10th

  Air Combat Squadron and the 1st Fighter Wing

  ROKAF flew them, and they were used for re-

  connaissance by the 45th TRS in the USAF.

  Notes:

  1) Dean Rusk became U.S. Secretary of State in the John

  F. Kennedy and subsequently Lyndon B. Johnson cabi-

  nets. He was instrumental in the diplomatic resolving of

  the Cuban Missile Crisis.

  2) After the end of hostilities, Charles H. Boneste-

  el III served as a Special Assistant to the Secretary

  of State. It was his idea to split Korea along the 38th

  Parallel. During the Korean War, he commanded Ame-

  rican Armed Forces in Korea and between 1966 and

  1969 he commanded the 8th Army stationed in Korea,

  a function he fulfilled during several smaller conflicts

  known as “the Second Korean War” that occurred in the

  demilitarized zone (Korean DMZ Conflict).

  3) Interest in the command over Bout One was shown

  by Major Charles Bowers and Major Dean Hess. The de-

  cision was finally made basically a coin toss, in Hess’s

  favor.

  4) Determining the exact number of available F-51D

  Mustangs in Japan at the beginning of the Korean War

  was difficult. Sources differ considerably. The official

  figure is placed at 47 and comes from official USAF do-

  cumentation.

  5) Several articles have claimed that the-

  re were ten Mustangs in Korea when the

  war began, there to train Korean pilots.

  In fact, on June 25, 1950, no Mustangs in Korea could

  be found.

  6) F-51 Mustang Units of the Korean War, Warren

  Thompson, Osprey Publishing, Bloomsbury Publishing

  Plc, 2015

  Bout One

  July 3 – 15, 1950

  Then to December 1, 1950

  Special Group operating with ROKAF markings, commanded by Major Hess. In connection with Project Dallas

  Squadron formed the 51st FBS(P). After being divided, the unit continued to serve as a ROKAF unit right up to the

  beginning of December, and after that, a portion of its personnel formed the combined Korean-American unit

  Baekgu (April 3 – May 31, 1951

  Dallas Squadron

  July 10-15, 1950

  The unit was formed using mostly pilots and personnel from the 12th FBS. After uniting with Bout One, they formed

  the 51st FBS(P). After the disbanding of Bout One, the unit returned to the 18th FBG as the 12th FBS.

  51st FBS(P)

  July 15 – August 5, 1950

  The merger of Bout One and the Dallas Project created the 51st FBS(P), a provisional unit, from which aircraft and

  a portion of the personnel of the original Bout One returned to service in the ROKAF. Subsequently, the entire unit

  was disbanded on August 5, and again became the 12th FBS, falling under the 18th FBG.

  8th FBG

  August – December, 1950

  All five units, the 35th FBS, 36th FBS and the 80th FBS, re-converted onto the F-51D and moved to Korea in Octo-

  ber. By December, they were returned to Japan where their pilots moved onto Shooting Stars.

  18th FBG

  August 1950 – January, 1953

  This unit held on to their Mustangs the longest in the USAF (with the exception of the reconnaissance unit 45th

  TRS). It was made up of the 12th FBS, 67th FBS, and No. 2 Squadron, SAAF, the latter being integrated into the unit

  on November 18, 1950. In February, 1953, it was the last 18th FBG unit to exchange its Mustangs for Sabres. As of

  May, 1951, the 39th FIS from the 35th FIG also operated under its jurisdiction.

  35th FIG

  July 27, 1950 – October 6, 1952

  This was the first unit to be moved to Korea to begin operations. The 39th FIS and the 40th FIS converted to the

  Mustang, while the 41st FIS remained in Japan with their F-80s, and their duties within the Group were handled by

  No. 77 Squadron, RAAF (remaining until July 30, 1951, when it rearmed with the Meteor and was integrated into the

  4th FIW). From May 7, 1951, the 39th FIS fell under the command of the 18th FBG. Remaining units of the 35th FIG

  were withdrawn to Japan on May 25, where these was a recycling of personnel and equipment and the F-51D only

  remained with the 40th FIS, serving as an Operational Training Unit (OTU).

  49th FBG

  July – September, 1950

  The Mustang saw only a short service career with this unit. Its component units were the 7th FBS, 8th FBS and 9th

  FBS. Although operations were initiated by July, by the end of September, their pilots were again flying F-80s.

  45th TRS/67th TRW

  3. 12. 1950 – 10. 1. 1953

  This reconnaissance unit, falling under the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, was activated as early as Sep-

  tember 3, but didn’t receive its Mustangs until December 3. It flew with standard F-51Ds, as well as the camera

  equipped RF-51D. On July 1, 1951, the 67th TRG lost its Commanding Officer in action, Karl F. Polifka, a renowned

  USAF expert on aerial reconnaissance.

  

  

  

  

  photo: Republic of Korea Armed Forces

  INFO Eduard30

  July 2022

• Page 31

  POSTAVENOHISTORY

  References

  Books

  DOWN IN THE WEEDS

  –

  CLOSE AIR SUPPORT IN KOREA,

  William Y´Blood, PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING, 2002

  F-51 MUSTANG UNITS OF THE KOREAN WAR, Warren

  Thompson, Osprey Publishing, Bloomsbury Publishing

  Plc, 2015

  MUSTANGS OVER KOREA, THE NORTH AMERICAN F-51

  AT WAR 1950-1953, David R. McLaren, Schiffer Military

  History, 1999

  KOREA

  –

  THE AIR WAR 1950-1953, Jack C. Nicholls

  & Warren Thompson, Osprey Publishing Ltd, 1991

  Publications, Articles and Documents:

  NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE –

  Korean War 1950–1953, Teacher Resource Guide

  The Korean War, National Archives and Records Admini-

  stration, Reference Information Paper No. 103, compiled

  by Rebecca L. Collier, 2003

  United States Air Force Operations in the Korean Con-

  flict (declassified), Department of the Air Force

  The Flying Parson by Don Bedwell

  internet

  www.nationalmuseum.af.mil

  www.historynet.com

  www.142wg.ang.af.mil

  www.usa.gov

  www.saairforce.co.za

  www.koreanwaronline.com

  www.7af.pacaf.af.mil

  Although No. 77 Squadron RAAF served within

  the FEAF, the unit did not fall directly under

  American command. The unit was based at Iwa-

  kumi and when the war began in Korea, the unit

  was winding down its tour of duty and preparing

  to head home. The situation was changed when

  the Australian government offered the unit’s

  services to the war effort on June 30, diverting

  Australian Mustangs to fight in Korea. Already on

  July 2 at 0500h, they took off for their first task,

  an escort mission for C-47s carrying wounded

  soldiers. This was followed a day later by a com-

  bat mission. During this mission, though, there

  came an unfortunate circumstance, whereby the

  Australians were vectored to a transport train

  carrying South Korean and American troops.

  The subsequent attack killed 28 Koreans and an

  American, and many other soldiers were injured.

  The first combat loss suffered by the Australians

  came on July 7, which claimed the life of Squad-

  ron Leader Graham Strout. His Mustang took

  a direct hit during an attack on a railroad stati-

  on in Sanchok and exploded. Just two days later,

  No. 77 Squadron also lost its CO, W/Cdr. Louise

  T. Spence, in a napalm attack on Angang. He was

  unable to pull out of a dive and impacted in the

  centre of the town. The Australians moved onto

  Korean soil on October 12. Among their notable

  actions is an attack on the Chinese command

  centre in Pyongyang on January 19, 1951. The

  attack was carried out by two nine-ship forma-

  tions the first of which delivered a pair of 1,000

  pound bombs each and four HVAR rockets, and

  the second wave carried napalm tanks and the

  rockets. The multi-storey building was leveled,

  but the Australians lost one aircraft. Its pilot,

  Lt. Harvey, survived and was taken prisoner.

  The intensity of the fighting at the time can be

  summed up by the destruction of 1,282 enemy

  trucks that fell victim to Australian Mustangs

  just through January, 1951. On February 21, No.77

  Squadron received its first Meteor F.8s. Before

  the conversion to the jet was complete, the Aus-

  tralians flew 3,800 sorties with their Mustangs,

  with the loss of eight pilots and eighteen aircraft.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  photo: National War Museum

  INFO Eduard

  31

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• Page 32

  “Detector, three-two-eight, air zone three,

  requesting air combat training.”

  “three-two-eight, Detector, You are cleared!”

  “three-two-eight, roger and entering attack”

  I remember the callsign “Detector” from the

  time I was in the active duty as a pilot at the

  Pilsen-Bory airfield and the radio correspon-

  dence above is more less consistent with late

  1980s rules of then Czechoslovak Air Force.

  Whether it would also correspond to the rules

  at the time the 18 Fighter Air Regiment was loca-

  ted at the oldest Czechoslovakian airfield I don't

  know, but the radiocommunication phraseology

  don't change too much. Likewise, I don't know

  if the Bory airfield had the call sign ”Detector”

  in the early 1950s. However, such a correspon

  -

  dence must have preceded the start of an air

  combat training. The pursued pilot flew on a pre

  -

  determined trajectory, the pursuer performed

  a run on him and recorded everything on his gun

  camera. After the first phase they usually swit

  -

  ched roles, and at the end a standard dogfight

  might open between them. All this after proper

  pre-flight preparation, because there must be

  order in everything done in the air...

  From the very beginning, the Avia S-199 was

  considered just a transitional and stop-gap

  fighter aircraft. No one was going to pretend

  that this new type, the heir to Messerschmitt's

  in many ways ingenious design, was going to

  replace Spitfires or Lavochkins because it was

  better. It was neither faster, nor more reliable,

  nor more agile. Full aerobatics with the Mule,

  as it was called, was not for the faint hearted,

  some of the more demanding maneuvers, such

  as stall turn or a roll-on-top were dangerous

  with the S-199, according to the pilots' memo

  -

  ries, but the basic ones, such as the looping or

  the roll, were flown routinely and the pilots used

  them, of course, in practicing aerial combat. One

  such combat training is depicted on the boxart

  of the kit Cat. no. 70151. The aircraft with fuse

  -

  lage code EX-57 is quite well documented pho-

  tographically and an illustration of it can also be

  found on the pages of Letectví & Kosmonautika

  (Aeronautics & Cosmonautics) magazine in one

  of their older volumes. On this illustration the

  aircraft is portrayed wearing darker green color

  and white-edged insignia, while in our kit it is

  shown in a lighter shade and with blue-edged

  emblems. Who is wrong? Neither of us, both

  are correct! The aircraft crashed on landing on

  August 14, 1952, and was damaged. So, it was

  sent for repairs. The crash photo shows it in

  light green-gray livery with blue-edged insignia.

  Another later photo shows it already in dark

  livery on an apron next to other aircraft. The new

  coat was apparently given to it during repairs.

  This was not unusual, as many Mules underwent

  not only a change of color but also technical mo

  -

  difications during their service. These included

  the position of the main gear wheels, the repla

  -

  cement of the oil cooler with a heat exchanger

  or the change of the original Erla side-opening

  canopy for a sliding one. The new semi-bubble

  canopy improved the pilots' view and offered

  more space inside the cabin.

  Many modelers remember the boxart of the

  Avia S-199 kit of Kovozávody Prostějov company,

  showing the aerial duel of two Mules. This plas

  -

  tic model kit was released by the manufacturer

  from Prostějov town in 1977. It was their tenth

  release and the drawing by Jaroslav Velc conti

  -

  nued the level of art quality of his previous bo-

  xarts. All of them could boldly compete with the

  greatest masters in the field at that time. And

  so, when we were thinking about the concept of

  a boxart of our new Mule with a “bubble” cano

  -

  py, we decided to freely follow Mr. Velc's work.

  So, with our boxart, we are now looking at the

  original scene, but this time from the other side.

  However, to keep our own line as well, the air-

  craft in the picture are different. In the 1977 dra-

  wing, the one coded IF-01 is pursuing an aircraft

  coded IF-02, while in our case the pursuer is the

  EX-57 and the target is EX-58. What has been

  retained is the optically tilted horizon and the

  sharp maneuver of the escaping pursued air

  -

  craft. Both create the awesome dynamic scene

  that was already so pleasing with the original.

  So, it's very much our homage to the original

  illustration, as well as a demonstration of how

  we've developed in drawing technique over the

  years. Old-timers will forgive...

  “two-six-four, me three-two-eight, ending and

  returning to base.”

  “three-two-eight, two-six-four roger.”

  “Detector, three-two-eight, request formation

  return from air zone three.”

  “three-two-eight, Detector, cleared to formation

  return, base leg entry separately.”

  “three-two-eight, roger...”

  In 1953, aerobatics on the S-199 were banned

  and so the fighter training was severely re

  -

  stricted. Even so, pilots could at least continue

  to practice classic aerial attacks or live fire on

  a tow target. All this until much more advanced

  MiG-15s started to dominate the Czechoslovak

  skies. But many pilots, even when flying these

  jets, were still thinking well about these unrelia

  -

  ble and pigheaded Mules...

  BOXART STORY

  Text: Richard Plos

  Illustration: Adam Tooby

  Air combAt

  #70151

  INFO Eduard32

  July 2022

• Page 33

  BOXART STORY

  The first combat-deployed version of

  the legendary Zero was the A6M2 Type

  11. It was a fighter aircraft designed for

  ground-based operations. Therefore,

  it did not sport the folding wingtips, an

  arresting hook, nor was it equipped with

  a DF antenna and associated radio equi-

  pment. Mitsubishi produced a total of 65

  examples of these between December

  1939 and November 1940.

  The Zero Type 11 was successfully deplo-

  yed on the Chinese front beginning in

  the summer of 1940 as a part of the 12th

  Kōkūtai from airfields in China and from

  autumn 1940 with the 14th Kōkūtai from

  bases in French Indochina. By Septem-

  ber 1941, fighters from both units had shot

  down a total of 103 aircraft and destroyed

  another 163 on the ground. Three Zeros

  were lost in combat, but they were all shot

  down by anti-aircraft fire. The Zero funda-

  mentally changed the balance of power in

  the air war on the Chinese battlefield. But

  the Allies downplayed the news from Chi-

  na until December 7, 1941.

  The first Zeros of the 12th Kōkūtai arrived

  at Hankow Air Base in occupied China on

  July 21, 1940. Six aircraft under the com-

  mand of Lt. Tamotsu Yokoyama were soon

  followed by nine Zeros under Lt. Saburō

  Shindō. The airmen were busy with trai-

  ning and operational tests under field con-

  ditions. One of the main problems was to

  improve engine cooling.

  It seems that the Chinese had some infor-

  mation that the Japanese Navy engaged

  a new type of fighter. The Chinese had so

  far been effective in attacking Japanese

  bomber formations if they got out of range

  of escorting fighters. This problem was

  one of the reasons why the Japanese Navy

  rushed to introduce the Zero into service.

  On their first combat mission, on August

  19, 1940, the Zeros escorted a formation of

  54 G3M bombers to Chungking. The Chi-

  nese fighters avoided combat due to the

  ground observer warnings and subse-

  quent radio communications. During the

  next two escort flights, the Chinese adver-

  saries were equally cautious.

  For the fourth mission scheduled on Sep-

  tember 13, 1940, the Japanese decided to

  change tactics. The raid was again direc-

  ted at the Chungking area. The formation

  of 13 Zeros was led by Lt. Shindō, who was

  also leader of the 1st Chūtai. Lieutenant

  (jg) Aya-o Shirane was the leader of the

  2nd Chūtai. The Chinese sent 19 Polikarpov

  I-15s from the 4th Pursuit Group, six

  I-15bis from the 3rd PG, and nine I-16s from

  the 24th Pursuit Squadron.

  The Japanese bombers dropped their load

  without being attacked by enemy fighters,

  and the Zeros escorted them back to safe-

  ty. A reconnaissance plane reported that

  Chinese fighters were spotted between

  Pi-shan and Chungking. The Zero pilots

  had been waiting for this moment for se-

  veral weeks and immediately turned to

  meet the enemy. They made an attack from

  the sun, the first to be hit were the I-16s

  that provided top cover. The machine of

  their commander, Capt. Yang caught fire.

  The Zeros immediately attacked the bi-

  planes flying below and in the first run the

  commander of the entire Chinese fighter

  formation, Col. Cheng was wounded.

  The fight lasted 30 minutes and the Japa-

  nese claimed 27 victories. This was not far

  from the truth, as the Chinese lost 13 air-

  craft and 11 others returned with damage.

  Ten pilots were killed and eight suffered

  injuries. After this battle the Chinese co-

  mmand temporarily suspended combat

  operations of its fighter units.

  The Japanese recorded damage to only

  three Zeros. One of them was hit by Lie-

  utenant Kao, You-hsin of the 21st PS, as

  a Japanese pilot was about to open fire on

  another I-15bis. Kao later flew I-16, P-43,

  P-40 and P-51 fighters. He scored his

  eighth and final victory in May 1945.

  All the Japanese pilots who took part in

  this legendary battle scored at least one

  victory each. CPO Koshirō Yamashita de-

  stroyed five fighters and four were clai-

  med by PO2c Yoshio Ôki.

  The illustration by Piotr Forkasiewicz

  shows one of the moments of the air battle

  over Pi-shan. The Zero, designated 3-165,

  was Yamashita's personal machine, but on

  September 13, it was flown by his wingman,

  PO2c Toshiyuki Yoneda, who scored one

  victory in the battle. This airman, whose

  last name is also transliterated as Sueda,

  was a veteran of combat in China, where

  he flew A5M fighters. He earned a total of

  nine victories and was killed on October 6,

  1943, at Kōkūtai 252 while fighting US Navy

  aviators off Wake Atoll.

  Text: Jan BobekIllustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz

  The air battle over Pi-shan

  #82211

  INFO Eduard

  33

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• Page 34

  The aircraft of the fighter ace Hans Dorten-

  mann have already appeared in our kits se-

  veral times. The first one was the Fw 190 A-6

  “Black 7” of 2./JG 54. It was in this plane that

  in February 1944 he crossed path with the

  fighter ace Capt. I. M. Astakov of the 49th IAP.

  Later it was his famous Fw 190 D-9 “Black

  1” from IV./JG 26 (formerly III./JG 54) which

  was probably the longest serving Dora in the

  Jagdwaffe.

  Hans-Joachim Dortenmann was born on

  December 11, 1921, in Weingarten, Württem-

  berg. He joined the armed forces in Decem-

  ber 1939. In early 1940 he was assigned as

  a machine gunner to the 1st Kompanie, In-

  fanterie-Regiment 390. This regiment saw

  heavy fighting on the Maginot Line and Dor-

  tenmann's 1st Kompanie was the only part of

  it to complete the entire French campaign.

  At the beginning of June, he received the

  Iron Cross 2nd Class.

  In 1941 Dortenmann received pilot training

  from A/B Schule 2 and in 1942 from A/B

  Schule 116. The latter unit recommended his

  further specialization in single-engine or

  twin-engine fighters. He therefore under-

  went fighter training with JG 103 and finally

  was transferred to the operational training

  unit of EJGr. Ost, which specialized in Eas-

  tern Front battlefield.

  In mid-October 1943 he was finally as-

  signed to a combat unit. He reported to

  3./JG 54 “Grünherz”. In early December he

  was transferred to 2./JG 54 and on February

  6, 1944 he managed to achieve the first vic-

  tory mentioned in the introduction. By April

  1944 he had gained fourteen confirmed vic-

  tories.

  On June 5, 1944, his 2nd Staffel was assigned

  to III./JG 54, which fought in Western Euro-

  pe and fought in Normandy after the Allied

  landings. The move to the western battle-

  field from the Eastern Front took the lives

  of many German fighters before they could

  adapt to the different conditions and com-

  bat tactics. But Dortenmann succeeded, and

  when his Staffel commander fell, he him-

  self took over command on June 17. Under

  the cockpit of his Red 1 was the inscription

  Hascherl 1, which in Swabian dialect means

  “catcher”.

  He achieved his first success on the so-

  -called Invasion Front in the evening of June

  22, 1944, shooting down a P-47 near Rouen.

  Two days later, on June 24 in the morning,

  Dortenmann was in another battle near

  Évreux. Three squadrons of Mustangs III

  from the No. 122 Wing were flying at 2,000

  meters when a formation of Fw 190s from

  III/JG 54 and II./JG 26 plus Bf 109s from

  III/JG 26 attacked them from above. The RAF

  pilots claimed seven Fw 190s destroyed and

  one damaged plus one Bf 109 destroyed. One

  or possibly two Bf 109s were shot down in

  this fight and one bailed out pilot was shot

  at by a Mustang. Fw 190 pilots from II/JG 26

  reported three kills, but only two were con-

  firmed. Dortenmann's III./JG 54 reported six

  kills, of which Hptm. Emil Lang rather op-

  timistically claimed four, while at least two

  Fw 190s were shot down.

  In this battle Hans Dortenmann was the first

  airman to achieve a victory. He attacked

  a Mustang at an altitude of 1,800 meters.

  First he hit the enemy in a left turn from

  a distance of 80 meters and some bits of the

  British machine fell off. Then he attacked the

  same plane again, some 30 meters from the

  rear and below. As a result of his fire, large

  pieces fell off the lower fuselage. The Mus-

  tang crashed in a field at 7.15 and exploded.

  Dortenmann and Uffz. Schleef, who confir-

  med his victory, stated that the pilot stayed

  in the cockpit.

  No. 19, 65 and 122 Squadron RAF took part

  in the fight, but only No. 65 Sqn. suffered

  losses. Four Mustangs did not return from

  the fight. Three pilots managed to survive

  and make it to the unit, these were F/Lt B.

  W. Clapin, F/Sgt E. T. Williams and Sgt. D. C.

  Webb. Dortenmann's probable victim was

  twenty-three-year-old F/Sgt William Arthur

  Summer, who did not survive the fight.

  He is buried in the Dreux Communal Ceme-

  tery.

  Dortenmann was shot down two days later

  with his Red 1 in a dogfight near Paris but

  bailed out. At the end of December 1944 he

  became commander of III./JG 54 and on New

  Year's Day 1945 led it in Operation Bodenpla-

  tte. He achieved a total of 38 victories, com-

  pleted 150 combat sorties and was awarded

  the Knight's Cross in April 1945. With eigh-

  teen kills on the Fw 190 D-9, he was probably

  the most successful fighter pilot of this type.

  BOXART STORY

  Text: Jan Bobek

  Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz

  Catcher 1

  #7463

  INFO Eduard34

  July 2022

• Page 35

  BOXART STORY

  Aerobatics is an attractive discipline both

  for pilots and spectators, although not flown

  with full-blooded aerobatic special aircraft.

  Even a Z 126 Trenér can put on a very nice

  show. And when the Z 226, the first versi-

  on of the Trenér powered by a six-cylinder

  engine proved how good it is at aerobatics,

  a line of single-seater aerobatic specials

  was started alongside the two-seater versi-

  ons. The Z 226 A changes were minor com-

  pared to the two-seater , it had just front

  cockpit covered and new shortened canopy

  for rear one. Its successors, the Z 226 AS,

  Z 326 A or Z 526 A were also just slightly

  modified versions of their two-seater count-

  erparts. Then the Z 526 AS “Akrobat Special”

  brought in some more significant changes.

  For example, the deletion of the flaps. And

  when the M 137A aerobatic engine was de-

  veloped, the Z 526 AF version with a shor-

  tened fuselage was introduced, followed by

  the Z 526 AFS, which in addition received

  a shortened wingspan with twin differenti-

  ated ailerons. It was the last of a breed of the

  aerobatic specials based on the Z 26 series.

  The next step was the brand-new Z 50L.

  Among the 45 examples of Z 526 AFSs pro-

  duced, the aircraft with serial number 1219,

  was produced in 1972 and allocated for the

  needs of the aerobatic national team. It re-

  ceived the OK

  -

  CXB registration and was

  painted with a specific golden-brown shade,

  which was, to be honest, more brown than

  golden. That's why the aircraft came to be

  called the “Brownie”. In the late 1970s, the

  aircraft was stripped of this not-so-flatte-

  ring nickname thanks to the new livery it

  received during an overhaul. It then flew in

  the red and white livery typical of most Z 526

  AFS and continued to serve with the national

  team. In the second half of the 1980s, it ran

  off its aerobatic flight hours and, although

  these aircraft were later given extended

  aerobatic life, the new owner decided not to

  “torment” his aircraft and kept it registered

  as the Normal category aircraft, which me-

  ans no reversed flying or no turns exceeding

  bank of 60°. It's a bit like having a thorou-

  ghbred racehorse used to run the most de-

  manding steeplechases and just letting him

  to ramble around the meadow. But, in other

  hand, older thoroughbreds often need such

  a treatment… The aerobatic Z 526 AFS, ho-

  wever, has mostly met a different fate – be-

  ing harnessed “to the plough”, i.e., converted

  to the tow version Z-526AFS

  -

  V, which was

  also the case with OK

  -

  CXB.

  In 1993, this aircraft was assigned to the Ho-

  lešov Aero Club and 15 years later it under-

  went an overhaul, during which it received

  a completely new silver-red livery in which

  it still flies today. However, just a year later

  it was sold to a private owner and its new

  home became the airfield Frýdlant nad

  Ostravicí. The aircraft was then often used

  as a tug during sailplane races. Three years

  ago, the then owner decided to sell it off.

  At that time, Stanislav Jirmus and his son

  Tomáš Jirmus made an air trip from their

  home Tábor Aero Club, as they were invited

  to a barbecue party at another Aero Club.

  And there Stanislav Jirmus heard that there

  was a nice Akrobat for sale in Frýdlant for

  a decent price. That was on Saturday.

  On Sunday Tomáš was on the phone, on

  Monday he went to Frýdlant and on Thursday

  the plane was in Tábor. It was just love at

  first sight!

  The drawing by Antonis Karydis on the box

  of the kit Cat. No. 84185 shows OK

  -

  CXB so-

  mewhere over the South Bohemian land-

  scape. It shows it in the company of Blaník

  sailplane and with a tow rope attached, but

  it is true that Tomáš Jirmus rarely makes

  a tow with his “darling”. Rather, he enjoys

  flying it for pleasure. And something more

  about the owner of OK

  -

  CXB: Tomáš is the

  nephew of two-time world champion Petr

  Jirmus, he is a commercial airline pilot, and

  he is a senior instructor at AK Tábor. He is

  also called “Stanislavovich” in his circle of

  friends – after his father, also an active pilot,

  who is Deputy Head of Flight Operations at

  Tábor Aero Club. Tomáš Jirmus is also acti-

  vely involved in one very charitable activity,

  namely the organization of annual air me-

  etings called the Czechoslovak Aircraft Ga-

  thering. Here, within the organizational team

  led by Michal Masař, Tomáš carries on the

  duty of Flight Director. This year's event took

  place at the airport in Rakovník, next year it

  will be somewhere else. If you would like to

  come and see, for example, the largest civi-

  lian group flypast that can be seen in Czech

  Republic, keep an eye on their website www.

  scsl.cz. There you will find out about the date

  and place of the 2023 event at the earliest.

  And maybe you will see OK

  -

  CXB live there!

  Text: Richard Plos

  Illustration: Antonis Karydis

  The South The South

  Bohemian DandyBohemian Dandy

  #84185

  INFO Eduard

  35

  July 2022

• Page 36

  The artwork featuring the duel between the

  black and white striped German aircraft

  and the French Spad appeared on the co-

  ver of the Albatros D.V kit in the ProfiPACK

  edition in 2002 and became one of the most

  iconic illustrations in Eduard's history.

  It was created by our friend Martin Novotný,

  who tragically died on June 12, 2009. Martin

  created a series of beautiful illustrations

  for Eduard, characterized by his distinctive

  style and flair for history and aviation de-

  sign.

  When the kit was first released, the black

  and white striped machine was attributed

  to Oblt. Bruno Loerzer, commander of Jas-

  ta 26. This pilot achieved 44 victories during

  World War I and became commander of Ja-

  gdgeschwader III and holder of the presti-

  gious Pour le Mérite order. Before World

  War II he was Kommodore of JG 53, shortly

  after the outbreak of the war he became

  commander of the II. Fliegerkorps and

  in 1940 was awarded the Knight's Cross.

  In recent years, the interpretation of the

  pattern of this Albatros has shifted. It is

  highly probable that its pilot was not Loer-

  zer, but the Bavarian officer Lt. Dannhuber.

  He is sometimes listed as Xavier Dann-

  huber, but in contemporary documents

  his real name is recorded as Franz Xa-

  ver Dannhuber. Sometimes his first name

  is even written in the archaic form Haver

  instead of Xaver. When he died in Hamburg

  in 1960, his name was listed on the funeral

  notice as Franz Danhuber. The family did

  not forget to mention that he was a Knight

  of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern

  with Crown and Swords.

  Dannhuber was born on January 27, 1891,

  in Gars am Inn, Bavaria. Before WW I he

  served in the Königlich Bayerisches 1.

  Infanterie-Regiment “König” and Kgl. Bay-

  er. 3. IR “Prinz Karl von Bayern”. After the

  start of the fighting, he was assigned with

  the rank of Unteroffizier to the newly esta-

  blished Ersatz-Bataillon in Munich within

  the Kgl. Bayer. 1. Reserve IR. He went to the

  front with this unit as soon as August 1914,

  but soon fell ill and did not get to the front

  again until September of the following year.

  In July 1916 he began his flying training

  and at the end of October he was as-

  signed to Kampfstaffel 35b within Kagohl 6.

  In February 1917 he was promoted to the

  rank of Leutnant and began fighter training

  on 8th May. After its completion on 25th

  May he was assigned to Jasta 26, whose

  commander at the time was Oblt. Bruno

  Loerzer.

  Since June, Jasta 26 fought in Belgium

  mainly against British and Belgian air-

  men. But there were also clashes with the

  French. An example of this was Loerzer's

  successful engagement on August 16, 1917,

  near Langemarck, when he managed to

  shoot down a Spad from Escadrille SPA

  3 “Cigognes”. Just a few days earlier, on

  August 12, 1917, Dannhuber had scored his

  first kill, claiming the destruction of a Bri-

  tish balloon at Vlamertinghe. On the mor-

  ning of August 17, he than achieved his first

  aerial victory over enemy airplane as he

  managed to shoot down an FE.2d of No. 20

  Sqn. RFC near St. Julien. The Canadian pi-

  lot Lt. W. H. Joslyn and his Scottish gunner

  were killed. Joslyn had seven victories

  to his credit, including the five-victory ace

  Lt. Alfred Ulmer of Jasta 8.

  A second enemy ace fell victim to Dannhu-

  ber on October 1, 1917. South African Lt. Ro-

  bert Hugh Sloley of No. 56. Sqn. RFC fell in

  a dogfight between twenty German fighters

  and a group of SE.5 and Bristol Fighters.

  The legendary James McCudden watched

  Sloley's SE.5 circling amidst four Albatros

  scouts with the black and white markings

  of Jasta 26. One of them was Dannhuber,

  who got 25 yards behind the British machi-

  ne and shot off its tail surfaces. The hel-

  pless Sloley spinned to the ground near

  Westroosebeke, Belgium.

  A week later, on October 9, Dannhuber

  managed to shoot down yet another ace.

  In an afternoon engagement at Zonnebeke,

  he claimed a Spad, in fact a Nieuport XXVII

  of No. 1 Sqn RFC piloted by Capt. W. T. V. Ro-

  oper, who had eight victories to his credit.

  Dannhuber brought his tally up to ten kills

  in October 1917 but had to be hospitalized

  at the end of the month and was assigned

  to Jasta 76b in mid-November. In mid-Ja-

  nuary 1918 he took command of Jasta 79b,

  but a month later he was injured in a crash

  and did not enter combat with this unit un-

  til early October 1918, when he achieved his

  eleventh and last victory.

  BOXART STORY

  Text: Jan Bobek

  Illustration: Martin Novotný

  The The

  Albatros Albatros

  with starswith stars

  #8113

  INFO Eduard36

  July 2022

• Page 37

  BOXART STORY

  One of the most successful Italian figh-

  ter pilots of World War II, Ugo Drago, was

  born on March 3, 1915, in Arborio in Vercelli

  province. He studied physics and obtained

  his civilian pilot's license in the summer of

  1938. In the autumn he joined the air force,

  became a military pilot in March 1939. Two

  months later he joined 363

  a

  Squadriglia,

  150

  o

  Gruppo C.T.

  He took part in the attack against France in

  the spring of 1940 and during the autumn

  was involved in the fighting against the Gre-

  ek airmen. He entered the war in the cockpit

  of a Fiat CR.42, but in the spring of 1941 be-

  gan flying a Macchi C.200. By the end of the

  year, he had four victories and 150 combat

  sorties.

  At the end of 1941 he began flying in North

  Africa and in June 1942 he would be appo-

  inted commander of 363

  a

  Squadriglia and

  held this post until the summer of 1943, du-

  ring the defense of Sicily and Pantelleria.

  At that time 363

  a

  Squadriglia re-equipped

  with Bf 109 G fighters and Drago shot down

  two American Spitfires.

  After the Armistice, Drago refused to join

  the Luftwaffe, was captured, imprisoned

  and headed in a transport to a German pri-

  son camp. However, he managed to escape

  and went into hiding for a period of time.

  After the formation of the Aeronautica Nazi-

  onale Repubblicana, Drago volunteered for

  service and was appointed commander of 1

  a

  Squadriglia in the newly formed IIo Gruppo

  Caccia. The unit was initially armed with Fiat

  G.55s, but later re-equipped with Bf 109 Gs

  and was redesignated as 4

  a

  Squadriglia “Gigi

  Tre Osei”. Drago scored additional 11 victo-

  ries including two four-engined bombers.

  He achieved his last victory on March 23,

  1945, while covering the take-off of the Ara-

  do Ar 234 from Kommando Sommer. Seven

  Bf 109s from 4

  a

  Sq. took off from Aviano base

  at 8.50. The formation split into a trio and a

  foursome. The top cover of the three Bf 109s

  was led by s. ten. Felice Squassoni, but he

  soon had to return due to technical pro-

  blems and his role was taken over by ten.

  Amedeo Fagiano. The lower flying foursome

  was led by Drago and one of his wingmen

  was serg. m. Loris Baldi. Over Campoforido

  at 9.25, Fagiano spotted a large formation of

  Thunderbolts with bombs from the 85th FS,

  79th FG, he alerted the commander, began

  to gain altitude and got into a brief fight with

  two Americans.

  Meanwhile, Drago hit P-47D-28 s/n

  42-29310; its pilot bailed out near Tarcen-

  to. Local farmers hid him from the German

  patrol and later secured medical treatment.

  A doctor removed shrapnel from his thigh,

  leg and arm. According to Italian sources,

  he evaded capture, but American sources

  suggest he ended up in a prison camp in

  Germany.

  The Americans were caught by surprise by

  the attack of the six Bf 109s. They saw their

  colleague try to escape by split S. There

  was white smoke coming from his machi-

  ne. When he leveled off, he dropped bombs,

  rolled the machine onto its back and bailed

  out.

  The American pilot was 2.Lt. Jack Faires and

  he was born on February 19, 1922, in Fort

  Morgan, Morgan County, Colorado. After

  completing three years of high school, he

  joined the Air Force in March 1943. He flew

  a total of 26 combat sorties and received the

  Air Medal and Purple Heart for his actions

  and combat injuries. He was released from

  captivity in the summer of 1945 and returned

  to the United States the following year.

  He and his wife Esther, whom he married

  in 1944, brought five children into the world.

  Jack Faires died on March 12, 2011, six years

  after the death of his wife. He is buried

  in Westminster, Adams County, Colorado.

  However, the shooting down of his Thun-

  derbolt resulted in a dispute at the “Gigi

  Tre Osei” unit. Baldi was convinced that he

  had shot down the American and refused

  to sign a witness report to his comman-

  der. The Thunderbolt was initially listed as

  a probable kill, but after a few days its status

  was changed to two certain kills. Baldi thus

  scored his fifth victory and Drago scored

  his last, seventeenth. Ugo Drago flew a total

  of 385 combat sorties during World War II

  and received the Medaglia d'argento four

  times.

  When his unit laid down arms on April 26,

  Drago agreed to work with local partisans

  to keep the area safe for the local populati-

  on. After the war he went to Argentina whe-

  re he worked as an instructor on Fiat G.55

  and G.59 aircraft and from 1953 he flew for

  Alitalia. He died in Rome on 22 April 2007.

  Text: Jan Bobek

  Illustration: Adam Tooby

  The last kill of Ugo Drago The last kill of Ugo Drago

  #82164

  INFO Eduard

  37

  July 2022

• Page 38

  #70151

  Avia S-199 bubble canopy

  1/72

  ProfiPACK edition kit of Czechoslovak single engine fighter

  Avia S-199 with bubble canopy in 1/72 scale.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  marking options: 6

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: yes, pre-painted

  painting mask: yes

  resin parts: no

  Product page

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard38

  July 2022

• Page 39

  S-199.389, por. Jaroslav Plecitý, 3rd Squadron, 18 Fighter Air Regiment,

  Pilsen-Bory, August 1952

  S-199.253, rtn. Jiljí Horák, Air Regiment No. 5, Plzeň-Bory, February 1950

  S-199.182, Police Air Patrol, vrch. stržm. Josef Sobota,

  Praha-Ruzyně, December 1949

  The aircraft was assigned to the Air Regiment

  No. 8 located in Brno on March 28, 1949. There, rtn.

  (sergeant) František Bauer collided with another air

  -

  craft (S-199.97) during taxiing, but the aircraft suffe-

  red no damage. But the aircraft did not avoid damage

  finally, as it was crashed on September 15, 1949, by

  rtn. Josef Jiroušek. The causation of the crash re

  -

  mains unclear. The airframe was repaired, and the

  engine overhauled. After that, the aircraft was as

  -

  signed to the 18 Fighter Air Regiment, where it was

  assigned to the 3rd Squadron and received the fuse

  -

  lage code EX-57. On August 14, 1952, it was damaged

  on landing. After the crash, it was painted a darker

  green color as part of the repairs, but the fuselage

  code remained the same.

  This aircraft was flown by rtn. (sergeant) Jiljí Horák

  when it was forced to an emergency landing near

  Červený Hrádek town on February 25, 1950. At the

  time of the incident, the aircraft bore numerous sig

  -

  ns of wear and tear and repairs, the most visible of

  which were the replacements of some metal parts

  of the fuselage left in bare-metal. There were also

  several areas of peeling paint on the aircraft. After

  the emergency landing, the airframe went in for re

  -

  pairs and the engine for inspection. However, in Ku-

  novice factory, where the repair was carried out, the

  aircraft suffered another unspecified crash and had

  to be repaired again. It was then handed over to the

  next user, the 4 Air Training Regiment.

  The Police Air Patrol unit operated this aircraft at

  Praha-Ruzyně airport, where it was damaged during

  taxiing on December 6, 1949. The pilot, vrch. Stržm.

  (Chief Constable) Josef Sobota, collided with a fuel

  truck during taxiing. After December 23, 1950, pro

  -

  bably in March 1951, the aircraft was handed over to

  the Air Force. By the time it had just 78 flight hours

  recorded during service with the Police Air Patrol.

  It was marked in typical coloring of this aviation

  component of Czechoslovak Police, i.e., two-tone

  grey paint scheme, complemented by a scarlet nose,

  wing leading edge and with scarlet horizontal tail

  surfaces.

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard

  39

  July 2022

• Page 40

  S-199.183, 1 Air Training Regiment, Olomouc, 1953

  S-199.334, ak. Milan Pohlodek, Air Military Academy, Hradec Králové, March 1950

  S-199.235, por. Jan Šurák, 2nd Squadron, 8 Fighter Air Regiment,

  Klecany, May 17, 1951

  This aircraft was taken over by the military admi-

  nistration on May 2, 1949, after being factory test-

  -flown on December 9, 1948. It was subsequently

  handed over to the Police Air Patrol, where it served

  with the OK

  -

  BYH matriculation. It stayed with this

  aviation component until December 23, 1950, when

  it was returned to the Air Force for a transfer price

  of 364,000 CZK. During nineteen-months long service

  with Police Air Patrol, the aircraft had only 47 flight

  hours logged. Subsequently, the aircraft served with

  the Air Force and was one of the few equipped with

  AFP 32.5/7×9 or AFP 12.5/7×9 cameras in the rear

  fuselage. These were protected on the ground and

  during the flight, when not in use, by sliding covers.

  The aircraft served for an unspecified period with

  the 1 Air Training Regiment in Olomouc, but training

  of the pilots was not conducted there on S-199s. The

  aircraft served there as a teaching aid only, although

  it was airworthy. During February-April 1954 period it

  was still in service with the 6 Fighter Air Regiment,

  based at Mladá airfield. The red spinner was proba

  -

  bly a remnant of the aircraft's service with the Police

  Air Patrol, so it was painted in scarlet color.

  Not much is known about the history of this “Mule”,

  but its service at the Air Military Academy in Hra

  -

  dec Králové, where it made an emergency landing on

  March 16, 1950, is certain. The pilot was a pilot-stu

  -

  dent, ac. (trainee) Milan Pohlodek. The airframe of

  the aircraft was cancelled after the accident, engine

  No. 105 went for inspection. The damage cost was

  estimated at nearly two million of Czech crowns. An

  interesting feature of the aircraft is the drawing of a

  crayfish on the bonnet of the engine, most probably

  painted in red. It is not clear who the author was and

  on what occasion it appeared on the aircraft. From

  the photographs of the crashed aircraft, it seems

  that the spinner was painted in white and blue, as

  these were usual spinner colors of the Academy.

  Aircraft No. 235 was assigned to Air Regiment No. 7

  on May 17, 1949, where it was given the fuselage code

  IV-4. In August of the same year, the aircraft under

  -

  went radiator repair and in January 1950 undercarri-

  age repair followed. Subsequently, the aircraft was

  transferred to the 8 Air Fighter Regiment where it

  was assigned to the 2nd Squadron and redesignated

  MR-43. On May 17, 1951, it was destroyed in a crash

  caused by engine jam due to insufficient oil level. The

  pilot, por. (Lieutenant) Šurák, bailed out and saved

  himself on a parachute. He suffered just minor arm

  injury. The aircraft crashed near Černíkovice village

  in the Benešov district. The lack of oil was caused by

  the fact that the aircraft's technicians were called to

  guard and so forgot to refill the oil tank.

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard40

  July 2022

• Page 41

  OVERTREES

  OVERLEPT

  #70151X Avia S-199

  bubble canopy 1/72

  Product page

  Product page

  Recommended:

  for Avia S-199 1/72

  672284 S-199 exhaust stacks PRINT (Brassin)

  672285 S-199 wheels PRINT (Brassin)

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  bubble canopy

  LEPT 1/72

  Cat. No. 672289

  Cat. No. 672284

  Cat. No. 672285

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard

  41

  July 2022

• Page 42

  #82211

  A6M2 Zero Type 11

  1/48

  ProfiPACK edition kit of Japanese WWII naval fighter plane

  A6M2 Zero Type 11 in 1/48 scale.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  marking options: 5

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: yes, pre-painted

  painting mask: yes

  resin parts: no

  Product page

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard42

  July 2022

• Page 43

  CPO Koshirō Yamashita, 12th Kōkūtai, Hankow airfield, China, September 1940

  Lt. Mitsugu Kofukuda, 14th Kōkūtai, Hanoi airfield, French Indochina, October 1940

  PO2c Hideo Ôishi, 12th Kōkūtai, Hankow airfield, China, March 1941

  This is an early production A6M2 Zero Type 11 with

  longer rear canopy glazing, curved air intake under

  the engine cowling and higher mounted exhausts.

  It was Koshirō Yamashita's personal plane. At the

  time he flew with the Zeros at 12th Kōkūtai he was

  already thirty years old, yet he became the most

  successful ace of that unit. From 1927 he served as

  a fireman at the Yokosuka Naval Barracks. He be-

  came a fighter pilot in 1932. During the war against

  China, he served aboard the aircraft carriers Akagi

  and Ryūjō. In May 1940, he was assigned to the 12th

  Kōkūtai and scored five victories on September 13

  during the first engagement of Zeroes against the

  enemy. His personal aircraft, 3-165, was piloted in

  this action by PO2c Toshiyuki Yoneda and Yamashita

  flew the 3-171. During the fighting in China, Yama

  -

  shita scored a total of ten victories. He later served

  as an instructor with Kasumigaura, Tainan and Tsuiki

  Kōkūtai. In January 1944, he was assigned to Kōkūtai

  201 on the island of Palau and was killed on March 30

  in combat with US Navy aircraft.

  This is a late production A6M2 Zero Type 11 with shor

  -

  ter rear canopy glazing, standard air intake under the

  engine cowling and lower mounted exhausts. Mitsugu

  Kofukuda graduated from the Naval Academy in 1931.

  After fighter training, he served in several units, inclu

  -

  ding the aircraft carriers Kaga and Ryūjō. From June

  1938 until the end of the year, he served in China with

  the 12th Kōkūtai. A year later he was assigned to the

  14th Kōkūtai, which received Zero fighters in the fall of

  1940. After moving to the Hanoi base in French Indo

  -

  china, Kofukuda's unit was able to engage in combat

  over southern China with new fighters. Lt. Kofukuda

  with his Zero 9-182 led a fighter escort in a raid on

  Kunming on October 7, and his six-man formation ma

  -

  naged to shoot down 13 enemy aircraft. In June 1942

  he held the position of Hikōtaichō with the 6th Kōkūtai,

  which was to be based at Midway. The unit participated

  in the fighting for Guadalcanal from August 1942 and

  was redesignated Kōkūtai 204. From the spring of 1943

  until the end of the war, Kofukuda served mostly with

  the Yokosuka Kōkūtai. He participated in the testing

  of the Heinkel He 100 and in the development of the

  Mitsubishi J2M Raiden and A7M Reppu fighters. At the

  end of the war he was promoted to the rank of Com

  -

  mander. After the war he changed his name to Terufu-

  mi Kofukuda and worked for the police. He joined the

  JASDF in 1954 and retired in 1967 with the rank of Lie

  -

  utenant General. He died in July 1995 at the age of 86.

  This is an early production A6M2 Zero Type 11 with

  longer rear canopy glazing, curved air intake under

  the engine cowling and higher mounted exhausts. Hi

  -

  deo Ôishi, after serving on the aircraft carrier Hōshō,

  began his combat activities in 1938 aboard the air

  -

  craft carrier Sōryū. He was then assigned to the 12th

  Kōkūtai and was among the pilots who delivered the

  new Zero fighters to the Chinese battlefield in the su

  -

  mmer of 1940. During the famous battle of September

  13, 1940, Zero 3-173 was piloted by PO3c Hatsumasa

  Yamaya who scored two victories. Ôishi became fa

  -

  mous on October 4, 1940, when, during aerial combat

  south of Chengdu, he landed with three other pilots

  at an enemy base and attempted to set fire to the

  parked aircraft. The 3-173 is marked with 14 victories

  achieved by various pilots. Ôishi shot down two pla

  -

  nes with it on March 14, 1941. After the disbandment

  of the 12th Kōkūtai, Ôishi served with several units

  as an instructor and returned to combat in June 1944

  with Kōkūtai 201 in the Philippines. He was killed in

  action over Cebu on September 12, 1944. He achieved

  a total of six victories.

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard

  43

  July 2022

• Page 44

  PO3c Kunimori Nakakariya, 12th Kōkūtai, Hankow airfield, China, May 1941

  PO3c Masayuki Nakase, 12th Kōkūtai, Hankow airfield, China, May 1941

  This is a mid-production A6M2 Zero Type 11 with lon-

  ger rear canopy glazing, curved air intake under the

  engine cowling and lower mounted exhausts. Na

  -

  kakariya became a fighter pilot in March 1940 and

  then within a year underwent further training and

  service with Ôita, Ômura and Kanoya Kōkūtai. In April

  1941, he was assigned to the 12th Kōkūtai in China as

  a twenty-year-old but talented aviator. With 3-138,

  he achieved two victories over I-15 biplanes during

  a long-range flight over Tiansu on May 26, 1941.

  In September 1941 he was assigned to the newly

  formed 3rd Kōkūtai and, after fighting over the Phi

  -

  lippines and the Dutch East Indies, he was involved

  in aerial combat over Australia until May 1943. He

  then served for a year as an instructor in the Ômura

  Kōkūtai. In May 1944, he was assigned with the rank

  of Warrant Officer to Kōkūtai 653, which participated

  in the Battle of the Philippine Sea with the carriers

  Chitose, Chiyoda, and Zuihō. With this unit he took

  part also in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and then fought

  from land bases in the Philippines. After returning to

  Japan, he was assigned to Kōkūtai 601. He achieved

  a total of 16 victories.

  This is a late production A6M2 Zero Type 11 with shor

  -

  ter rear canopy glazing, standard air intake under

  the engine cowling and lower mounted exhausts. Na

  -

  kase underwent training with the Yokosuka Kōkūtai

  and after completing fighter training in March 1938

  was assigned to the Ômura Kōkūtai. He then served

  in China for six months with the 14th Kōtūtai but did

  not come into contact with the enemy. In the summer

  of 1940, he was assigned to the 12th Kōkūtai as a Zero

  pilot. During an air battle south of Chengdu on Octo

  -

  ber 4, 1940, he landed with three other pilots at an

  enemy base and set fire to a command post. In ano

  -

  ther raid on Chengdu, this time on March 14, 1941, he

  shot down five I-15 biplanes and claimed as probable.

  He achieved three more victories over Nanzheng on

  May 26 with the machine 3-143. From September 1941

  Nakase served with the newly formed 3rd Kōkūtai.

  He was killed on February 9, 1942, during an attack

  on a Dutch Army vehicle. He was posthumously pro

  -

  moted two ranks to the rank of Ensign and his name

  was cited in the All Units Bulletin. He is credited with

  18 victories.

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard44

  July 2022

• Page 45

  OVERTREES

  OVERLEPT

  #82211X A6M2 1/48

  Product page

  Product page

  Recommended:

  for A6M2 Zero Type 11 1/48

  481076 A6M2 landing flaps (PE

  -

  Set)

  481077 A6M2 Zero (PE

  -

  Set)

  FE1238 A6M2 seatbelts STEEL (PE

  -

  Set)

  644128 A6M2 LööK (Brassin)

  644134 A6M2 LööKplus (Brassin)

  648693 A6M2 wheels (Brassin)

  648694 A6M2 engine PRINT (Brassin)

  648695 A6M undercarriage legs BRONZE (Brassin)

  648698 A6M2 seat PRINT (Brassin)

  648721 A6M2 Model 11 exhausts early PRINT (Brassin)

  648723 A6M2 cannon barrels & cockpit guns PRINT (Brassin)

  648724 A6M2 landing flaps PRINT (Brassin)

  648763 A6M2 engine complete PRINT (Brassin)

  3DL48050 A6M2 SPACE (3D Decal Set)

  D48098 A6M2 stencils (Decal Set)

  D48100 A6M2 national insignia (Decal Set)

  EX821 A6M2 TFace (Mask)

  #82211-LEPT

  A6M2 Zero model 11 LEPT 1/48

  Cat. No. 648763

  Cat. No. 648698

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard

  45

  July 2022

• Page 46

  RED TAILS & Co. DUAL COMBO

  1/48

  Limited edition kit of US WWII fighter aircraft P-51D Mustang in 1/48 scale.

  From the kit you can build Mustangs with or without dorsal fin assembly,

  flying with the four Groups (31st FG, 52nd FG, 325th FG and 332nd FG) from

  the 15th AF during WWII from Italy.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  marking options: 12

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: yes, pre-painted

  painting mask: yes

  resin parts: no

  Product page

  #11159

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard46

  July 2022

• Page 47

  P-51D-20, 44-63237, Col. William A. Daniel, CO of 31st FG, 15th AF, Mondolfo,

  Italy, April 1945

  P-51D-5, 44-13382, Lt. James L. Brooks, 307th FS, 31st FG, 15th AF,

  San Severo, Italy, summer 1944

  P-51D-5, 44-13494, Lt. Walter J. Goehausen Jr., 308th FS, 31st FG, 15th AF,

  San Severo, Italy, summer 1944

  Even though 31st FG did not receive much publicity

  during WWII the unit scored several unique achie

  -

  vements. Not only it was the first American fighter

  group which went to combat in ETO, in addition it was

  the first American FG which landed in Algeria du

  -

  ring the Operation Torch (invasion to North Africa).

  Also, its pilots were selected to be the first American

  group to land on Malta and Sicily later. William Allen

  Daniel while flying with 31st FG scored five confir

  -

  med kills of the enemy aircraft, last one was a Me

  262 shot down on March 24, 1945, during the escort

  of bombers to Berlin. By this deed he ranked among

  33 air aces who flew with this group.

  James Lynn Brooks, Binton, Virginia native, under

  -

  went the pilot training in 1942. After graduation he

  was ordered to 307th Fighter Squadron operating in

  MTO. While he was with this unit, at that time flying

  the phenomenal Mustangs, he was credited with 13.5

  victories which made him a pilot with the highest

  kill score in this unit. He also flew in the Korean War

  and after that he took a job as a test pilot. Same as

  the other 31st FG Mustangs, also Brooks’ airplane,

  nicknamed February, sported the red stripes on its

  tail surfaces that helped the bomber crews to reco

  -

  gnize friendly fighters.

  After the previous deployment with VIII Fighter Co

  -

  mmand in Great Britain the 308th Fighter Squadron

  was sent to Africa within the 31st FG under the 12th

  AF command. Here this unit took part in the supp

  -

  ort of the landings in Sicily, Salerno and at Anzio.

  In Great Britain its pilots flew Spitfires Mk.V but du-

  ring the Africa fighting they converted to the modern

  Spitfires Mk.VIII and Mk.IX. In April 1944 the 308th FS

  (together with the other 31st FG squadrons) was re

  -

  -equipped with Mustangs which they flew within the

  15th AF escorting the four-engined bombers over the

  targets in the occupied Europe and Germany as well.

  Walter John Goehausen was born on June 20, 1921,

  in St. Louis, Missouri. After his pilot training he was

  ordered to the 308th FS and while flying combat with

  it he scored ten kills of the enemy aircraft. Besides

  the oblique red stripes, the markings of the 31st FG

  aircraft, his Mustang, nicknamed Miss Mimi II, also

  carried the yellow stripes on the wings and the tail

  surfaces which was the marking of the American

  fighters operating in the Mediterranean introduced

  in March 1943.

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard

  47

  July 2022

• Page 48

  P-51D-5, 44-13261, Col. Marion Malcolm, CO of 52nd FG, 15th AF,

  Madna, Italy, April 1945

  P-51D-5, 44-13428, Lt. John B. Lawler, 2nd FS, 52nd FG, 15th AF,

  Madna, Italy, July 1944

  P-51D-5, 44-13287, Lt. William Parent, 4th FS, 52nd FG, 15th AF,

  Madna, Italy, August 1944

  The 52nd FG path to the Mediterranean battlefields

  was similar to the path of its sister 31st FG. Also, the

  pilots’ training was conducted on P-39 and P-40 air

  -

  craft followed by the transfer to Great Britain where

  the pilots flew Spitfires Mk.V. They fought with this

  type during the landings in Africa, Sicily and Italy.

  In April 1944 the re-equipment to the Mustangs took

  place and the unit was transferred under the 15th AF

  command. The type of missions changed as well. The

  52nd FG pilots were to continue flying escorts for the

  four engine bombers on their raids over the occupied

  territories, Germany and her Allies. Marion Malcolm

  assumed command of the 52nd FG on August 27,

  1944, and led the unit until the end of WWII. At the

  end of his tenure with 52nd FG, until his return to

  the USA in August 1945 he flew his personal aircraft

  nicknamed Queen Marjorie.

  Because during the escort missions of the four

  -

  -engined bombers the friendly fire on the escorting

  fighters took place often, the 52nd Fighter Group

  Mustangs carried for easier friend-foe recognition

  the yellow band around the fuselage in front of the

  tail surfaces. Later the whole tail was painted ye

  -

  llow. Sporting the yellow band at the end of July, the

  photographer captured the aircraft of Norfolk, Virgi

  -

  nia native Lt. Lawler who on July 25, 1944, scored his

  10th and 11th kill as documented by the kill marks

  under the canopy. John Barry Lawler christened his

  Mustang Candy II. His previous Mustang P-51C carried

  the name Candy. There is an Albert Vargas’ pin-up

  girl drawing glued next to the vertical surface code

  letter.

  On September 1, 1944, a flight by Maj. Wyatt P. Exum

  made this aircraft famous. Returning from the missi

  -

  on to Hungary this pilot landed near Lt. Charles Wil-

  son’s Mustang who had to make the emergency lan-

  ding due to the damage sustained during the attack

  on the train. He took the unhurt pilot into the cockpit

  and together they flew 400 miles back to the Madna

  airport. William Parents’ Mustang sported the whole

  tailplanes painted in yellow, on the port it carried the

  inscription Pendaja and Miss Ruth on the starboard.

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard48

  July 2022

• Page 49

  P-51D-5, 44-15284, Lt. Col. Felix L. Vidal, CO of 325th FG, 15th AF,

  Lesina, Italy, spring 1945

  P-51D-5, 44-13440, Lt. William R. Hinton, 317th FS, 325th FG, 15th AF,

  Lesina, Italy, September 1944

  P-51D-20, Maj. Norman L. McDonald, CO of 318th FS, 325th FG, 15th AF,

  Mondolfo, Italy, April 1945

  Felix Louis Vidal was born on July 22, 1912, in Ma-

  dison, South Dakota. After graduation from Madison

  High School, he enlisted in the military academy in

  West Point. After the graduation, he went through pi

  -

  lot training and when the USA entered WWII he held

  the staff and command posts. On March 2, 1945, he

  assumed command of the 325th Fighter Group and

  on June 6, 1945, Lt. Col. Wyatt P. Exum replaced him

  in this role. Felix Vidal's further career was associa

  -

  ted with the aviation and army and he retired in 1963

  with the rank of Brigadier General. He passed away

  on July 16, 1983, in Brevard, Florida. During his tenure

  with the 325th FG, nicknamed Checkertails due to

  their recognition markings, Felix Vidal flew Mustang

  christened Dusty Butt. On May 31, 1945, this airplane

  was damaged during the crash.

  The 317th FS was activated on July 1, 1942, on Rhode

  Island and after six months of the intense training

  on P-40, together with its sister squadrons from the

  325th FG it was transferred to North Africa. While

  there it was put under the 12th AF command and fou

  -

  ght in Algeria and Tunisia. In the beginning of Sep-

  tember 1943, the unit started its conversion to P-47

  after which the whole group was ordered to bom

  -

  bers’ escorting missions under the 15th AF command.

  In May 1944 the unit started to fly Mustangs which

  they operated until the end of war. William “Billy”

  Hinton, the ace with five kills, christened his aircraft

  BALLZOUT II (the name BALLZOUT was also carried by

  his first Mustang P-51C). The inscription was pain

  -

  ted together with his personal insignia in the form of

  a spittin´ tiger.

  Norman Leroy McDonald was born on January 21,

  1918, in Framingham, Massachusetts and in the se

  -

  cond half of 1930s underwent civilian pilot training.

  He continued training with the Army Air Force which

  he completed in December 1941. In May 1942 he was

  ordered to the 52nd FG, namely the 2nd FS. With this

  unit he flew in the North African campaign and af

  -

  ter he finished his tour of duty from October 1943

  he went through the conversion to P-47 in the USA.

  After that, he was sent to Checkertails on his own

  request in August 1944. He assumed the command of

  the 318th Fighter Squadron and held this post until

  January 5, 1945. While he flew with the 318th FS he

  added four kills of the enemy aircraft to his 7.5 air

  victories scored with the 2nd FS.

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard

  49

  July 2022

• Page 50

  P-51D, Flt. Off. Charles A. Lane, 99th FS, 332nd FG, 15th AF, Ramitelli, Italy, March 1945

  P-51D-15, 44-15569, Capt. Roscoe C. Brown, CO of 100th FS, 332nd FG,

  15th AF, Ramitelli, Italy, 1945

  P-51D, Lt. Frederick E. Hutchins, 302nd FS, 332nd FG, 15th AF,

  Ramitelli, Italy, October 1944

  Charles Lane, St. Louis, Missouri native started his

  pilot training in 1943 in Tuskegee, Alabama. After its

  completion he was ordered to 99th FS where, until

  the end of war he completed 26 missions on P-47 and

  P-51. He continued in the military career after the

  war and spent altogether 27 years flying fighters,

  transports and even B-52 bombers. In 1970 he reti

  -

  red with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He passed

  away in 2016. Same as the other sister squadrons

  of the 332nd Fighter Group, the 99th Fighter Squad

  -

  ron aircraft’ marking was the rear fuselage and tail

  surfaces painted in eye-catching overall red which

  helped the crews of the escorted bombers to reco

  -

  gnize their own fighters. The marking gave the unit

  the nickname Red Tails.

  Roscoe Conkling Brown was born on March 9, 1922, in

  Washington, DC. In 1943 he completed his bachelor’s

  studies at the university in Springfield. The same

  year he enlisted in the USAAF, completed the training

  at the aviation school in Tuskegee after which he was

  ordered to the 100th FS where he flew combat mi

  -

  ssions until August 1944. During WWII he flew 68 mi-

  ssions and in June 1945 he was given the command

  of the 100th FS. In 1945 he retired from the army air

  force with the rank of Captain. Later he obtained his

  PhD at the New York university and set on the aca

  -

  demic career path. For more than 25 years he was

  a university of New York professor. He remained

  active in the field of education even after his reti

  -

  rement. He passed away on July 2, 2016. Brown’s

  Mustang carried a numeral 7 on the fuselage nose,

  the inscription Bunnie of the port and Miss Kentucky

  State on the starboard. The last three digits of the

  serial number were painted above the fuselage na

  -

  tional marking.

  Frederick Emmanuel Hutchins was born on Sep-

  tember 16, 1920, in Donaldsonville, Georgia. On April

  29, 1943, he completed his pilot’s training in Tuske

  -

  gee and from December was deployed in Italy with

  the 302nd Fighter Squadron. On February 5, 1944,

  Hutchins flew his first combat mission. On October

  6, 1944, his unit participated in strafing the targets

  in Greece. During the attack on the airport Megara

  Hutchins’ Mustang was shot down and its pilot crash

  landed on the Greek territory where he was saved by

  the local population. He returned to his home base in

  Ramitelli on October 23. His final score in WWII was

  four kills. He continued in the service including the

  Korean and Vietnam wars. All Mustangs flown by

  Hutchins were christened Little Freddie and same

  as all 332nd Fighter Group Mustangs sported the tail

  surfaces painted red. The 302nd Fighter Squadron

  marking within the group was yellow nose and two

  digits numeral on the fuselage.

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard50

  July 2022

• Page 51

  OVERTREES

  OVERTREES

  OVERLEPT

  #82101X P-51D-5 Mustang

  1/48

  #82102X P-51D Mustang

  1/48

  #11159-LEPT

  RED TAILS & Co.

  1/48

  Product page

  Product page

  Product page

  Recommended:

  for P-51D Mustang 1/48

  FE1021 P-51D seatbelts STEEL (PE

  -

  Set)

  FE1141 P-51D-5 Weekend (PE

  -

  Set)

  644021 P-51D-5 LööK (Brassin)

  644030 P-51D-10 LööK (Brassin)

  644031 P-51D-15+ LööK (Brassin)

  644051 P-51D-5 LööKplus (Brassin)

  644052 P-51D-10 LööKplus (Brassin)

  644053 P-51D-15+ LööKplus (Brassin)

  648485 P-51D exhaust stacks (Brassin)

  648486 P-51D exhaust stacks w/ fairing (Brassin)

  648487 P-51D Hamilton Standard propeller (Brassin)

  648489 P-51D-5 cockpit (Brassin)

  648494 P-51D wheels diamond tread (Brassin)

  648495 P-51D undercarriage legs BRONZE (Brassin)

  648503 P-51D wheels oval tread (Brassin)

  648504 P-51D wheels cross tread (Brassin)

  648505 P-51D wheels block tread (Brassin)

  648511 P-51D wheels diamond tread 2 (Brassin)

  648512 P-51D wheels rhomboid treat (Brassin)

  648513 P-51D wheels pointed cross tread (Brassin)

  648514 P-51D wheels grooved (Brassin)

  648517 P-51D gun bays (Brassin)

  648522 P-51D cockpit (Brassin)

  648555 P-51D engine (Brassin)

  648570 P-51D gun sights (Brassin)

  648571 P-51D 75gal drop tanks (Brassin)

  648572 P-51D 108gal drop tanks (Brassin)

  SIN64864 P-51D-5 ESSENTIAL (Brassin)

  SIN64869 P-51D ADVANCED (Brassin)

  3DL48002 P-51D-5 SPACE (3D Decal Set)

  3DL48003 P-51D-10 SPACE (3D Decal Set)

  3DL48004 P-51D-15+ SPACE (3D Decal Set)

  D48033 P-51D national insignia (Decal Set)

  D48034 P-51D stencils (Decal Set)

  EX663 P-51D TFace (Mask)

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard

  51

  July 2022

• Page 52

  Fw 190A-8 standard wings 1/72

  Weekend edition kit of German WWII fighter aircraft

  Fw 190A-8 with standard wings in 1/72 scale.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  No. of decal options: 4

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: no

  painting mask: no

  resin parts: no

  Product page

  #7463

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard52

  July 2022

• Page 53

  Lt. Hans Dortenmann, 2./JG 54, Villacoublay, France, June 1944

  Ofhr. Walter Köhne, 3./JG 1, Bad Lippspringe, Germany, May 1944

  WNr. 172733, Uffz. Ernst Schröder, 5./JG 300, Löbnitz, Germany, October 1944

  On June 10, 1944, 2./JG 54 was withdrawn from the

  Eastern Front and deployed to France to join III./JG

  54. On June 20, 1944, Hans Dortenmann assumed

  command of 2. Staffel JG 54. At that time, he flew

  a FW-190A-8 marked “Red 1” which sported the green

  heart with the emblem of III. Gruppe under the coc

  -

  kpit on both sides of the fuselage. Vertical band be-

  hind the fuselage cross was marking of III. Gruppe,

  while there was also emblem of 2. Staffel painted on

  the nose. A blue band on the tail was JG 54 Defense

  of the Reich marking. On June 24, 1944, Dortenmann

  shot down a P-51 near Evreux but two days later he

  himself was shot down near Paris. The aircraft was

  destroyed but the pilot bailed out and survived.

  Shortly after the attack on the Soviet Union, Wal

  -

  ter Kohne was seriously wounded. On June 4, 1943,

  following a long period of recuperation, he was as

  -

  signed to 2./JG 1, at the time based at Deelen in the

  Netherlands. He flew combat missions over the Wes

  -

  tern Europe up to the end of the war, scoring thirty

  kills in total, the majority of which were B-17 and

  B-24 heavy bombers. The standard camouflage sche

  -

  me of this Fw 190A-8 is supplemented by Defense of

  the Reich JG 1 markings – 900 mm wide red fuselage

  band, the JG 1 unit marking, and a personal mar

  -

  king in the form of the name of the dog that was the

  3. Staffel mascot.

  In October 1944, the aircraft flown by Ernst Schröder

  carried II. Gruppe markings in the form of a horizon

  -

  tal bar in the Staffel color behind the fuselage cross.

  The slogan Kölle alaaf with the Cologne Coat of Arms

  was carried on the port side of the fuselage, while the

  name of Schröder’s girlfriend Edelgard was painted on

  the starboard. In November, the II. Gruppe marking di

  -

  sappeared under the 900 mm wide red fuselage band

  on the rear fuselage. At the same time the shadows

  were added to the coat of arms and the second part of

  the inscription and the exclamation mark was added

  as well. The name of the girlfriend was modified to

  a fancier appearance.

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard

  53

  July 2022

• Page 54

  W.Nr. 350185, Oblt. Karl-Heinz Koch, CO of 12./JG 5, Herdla, Norway, April 1945

  In the end of 1944, Oblt. Karl-Heinz Koch flew with

  13./JG 5. In the beginning of 1945, he was transfe

  -

  rred to 12./JG 5 where he was flying Fw 190A-8 (WNr.

  737070) marked “Blue 9”. On February 9, 1945, this

  aircraft was lost in the dogfight with No. 65 Squadron

  RAF Mustangs Mk.III near Førdefjord. Oblt. Karl-Heinz

  Koch obtained another Fw 190A-8 (WNr. 350185) and

  it was again marked “Blue 9” and also carried JG 5

  insignia on the nose portside. There were five kill

  marks painted on its white rudder. On April 5, 1945,

  Oblt. Koch was shot down in this plane which was

  heavily damaged during the emergency landing.

  Recommended:

  for Fw 190A-8 standard wings 1/72

  72611 Fw 190A-8 (PE

  -

  Set)

  72612 Fw 190A-8 landing flaps (PE

  -

  Set)

  672080 Fw 190A wheels late (Brassin)

  672081 Fw 190A-8 cockpit (Brassin)

  672082 Fw 190A-8 engine (Brassin)

  672085 Fw 190A exhaust stacks (Brassin)

  672086 Fw 190A propeller (Brassin)

  672088 Fw 190A-8 engine & fuselage guns (Brassin)

  D72009 Fw 190A stencils (Decal Set)

  D72012 Fw 190A Balkenkreuze (Decal Set)

  D72016 Fw 190A-8 national insignia (Decal Set)

  Cat. No. 672082

  Cat. No. 672086

  Cat. No. 672080

  Cat. No.672081

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard54

  July 2022

• Page 55

  Z-526AFS Akrobat 1/48

  Weekend edition kit of Czechoslovak single seat aerobatic

  plane Z-526AFS Akrobat in 1/48 scale.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  marking options: 4

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: no

  painting mask: no

  resin parts: no

  #84185

  Product page

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard

  55

  July 2022

• Page 56

  Z-526AFS

  -

  V, No. 1219, OK

  -

  CXB, Tábor, Czech Republic, 2022

  Z-526AFS, No. 1220, OK

  -

  CXC, Svazarm, Czechoslovakia, 1972–1975

  Z-526AFS, No. 1327, SP

  -

  WER, Katowice, Poland, 2010–2018

  Zlin Z-526AFS OK

  -

  CXB serial number 1219 was manu-

  factured in 1972 and assigned to the national aeroba-

  tic team. It was painted in a golden-brown color, the

  same as OK

  -

  CXC. In the end of 1970s, the airplane was

  repainted in the typical red-white livery. It was kept

  as an aircraft of the national team until the second

  half of 1980s when it run out of the aerobatic life li

  -

  mit and the aircraft was rebuilt to a glider-towing

  version Z-526AFS

  -

  V. After Czechoslovakia split in

  1993 it was assigned to the Aeroclub Holešov. In 2008,

  it underwent the general overhaul after which it was

  repainted in red-silver livery and has been flying

  in this coloring until now. Around 2009 the airpla

  -

  ne was acquired by a private owner and was based

  at the Frýdlant nad Ostravicí aifield. It was several

  times loaned by Aeroclub Krnov and frequently flew

  as towing aircraft in sailplane competitions. In 2019

  it was bought by Tomáš “Stanislavovič” Jirmus who

  operates it at the Tabor airport nowadays.

  Zlin Z-526AFS OK

  -

  CXC serial number 1220 was manu

  -

  factured in 1972 and assigned to Václav Šmíd, mem-

  ber of the national aerobatic team based at Kladno

  airfield. It received the golden-brown livery and

  since the paint work was not very well executed the

  aircraft was nicknamed a “brownie”. It flew in this

  paintwork until 1975 when Václav Šmíd had to stop

  flying aerobatics. In the end of 1970s, the aircraft was

  repainted in blue-white livery which became typical

  for “Shorty” (Z-526AFS nickname in translation).

  In the end of 1980, the aerobatic life of the aircraft

  was at its end, so the aircraft was rebuilt into AFS

  -

  -V tow version and kept on flying as a glider-towing

  airplane. After the split of Czechoslovakia, the plane

  was assigned to the Aero Club Olomouc where it is

  flying today.

  Zlin Z-526AFS SP

  -

  WER serial number 1327 was ma

  -

  nufactured in 1974 and exported to Poland where

  it flew with the registration SP

  -

  ELB for a national

  aerobatic team. Later it was flown by Aero Club

  Katowice and around 2010 it underwent the gene

  -

  ral overhaul with the associated re-registration to

  SP

  -

  WER. The aircraft was painted in yellow-black

  -

  -silver livery and kept on flying in this scheme in

  Katowice until 2018 when it was bought by a Czech

  private owner. Another general overhaul was per

  -

  formed after which this “Shorty” was repainted in

  yellow-black-silver combination again. In this livery,

  registered as OK

  -

  ERB, it still flies today and still has

  its quota of aerobatic flight hours. Its home base is

  the Skuteč airfield.

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard56

  July 2022

• Page 57

  Z-526AFS, No. 1301, D

  -

  EWBA, Rumbach, Germany, 2009–2016

  Zlin Z-526AFS serial 1301 was manufactured specifi-

  cally for the Polish aerobatic national team carrying

  SP

  -

  ENA registration. It flew intensely for the first

  ten years, but a bit less afterwards. Then it flew

  in the Aero Club Nowy Targ until the end of 1990s.

  Around 2000 it was repainted and carried a LOT ad

  -

  vertisement. In 2009 it was sold into private hands

  in Germany and was re-registered as D

  -

  EWBA. The

  owner, Mr. Adacci, had the smoke generator installed

  on the aircraft and flew with it in the airshows. In

  2016 it was bought by David Sýkora and transferred

  from Rumbach airport to Panenský Týnec where this

  “Shorty” flew for another five years and during this

  time received a new paintwork in metallic-red wine

  color. Shortly after it was acquired by another priva

  -

  te owner and now flies out of the Hodkovice airfield.

  It still has a quota of the aerobatic flight hours.

  Recommended:

  for Z-526AFS Akrobat 1/48

  644143 Z-526AFS LööK (Brassin)

  644150 Z-526AFS LööKplus (Brassin)

  648729 Z-326/526 wheels (Brassin)

  648733 Z-526AFS cockpit PRINT (Brassin)

  3DL48060 Z-526AFS Akrobat SPACE (3D Decal Set)

  D48097 Z-126/226/326/526 cockpit placards (Decal Set)

  EX833 Z-526AFS Akrobat TFace (Decal Set)

  Cat. No. 648733

  Cat. No. 644143

  Cat. No. 648729

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard

  57

  July 2022

• Page 58

  #8113

  Albatros D.V

  1/48

  ProfiPACK edition kit of German WWI

  fighter aircraft Albatros D.V

  in 1/48 scale.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  No. of decal options: 5

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: yes, pre-painted

  painting mask: yes

  resin parts: no

  Product page

  Re-release

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard58

  July 2022

• Page 59

  Albatros D.V 2299/17, Lt. Xaver Danhuber, Jasta 26, Abeele, Belgium, 1917

  Albatros D.V, Ltn. Kurt Monnington, Jasta 18, early 1918

  Albatros D.V, 2263/17, Ltn. Otto Kissenberth, Jasta 23b, summer 1917

  Although this Albatros D.V is usually assigned to

  Bruno Loerzer, it is very probable, it was in fact the

  mount of Xavier Danhuber, the winner in 11 aerial

  combats. Apart of other indications, he was photo

  -

  graphed himself standing by the plane or sitting in

  the cockpit. Danhuber first saw action with Kagohl 6

  (Kampfgeschwader der Obsten Heeresleitung - Com

  -

  bat squadron of the Supreme Commander), later was

  transferred to Schutzstalfel 25, before he was as

  -

  signed to Jasta 26 on July 1, 1917. Danhuber got woun-

  ded upper arm in an air fight on October 18 and after

  his return on November 7, he moved to Jasta 79b as

  he was appointed the CO of the unit. He was injured in

  a crash when test-flying a Pfalz Dllla at the Thugny

  airfield on February 11, 1918. After several months of

  medical treatment and convalescence Danhuber had

  returned to his unit and reassumed command on Oc

  -

  tober 9. Five days later he achieved his 11th and last

  victory, shooting down Sopwith Dolphin near Bohain.

  His Albatros was painted in black and white bands

  scheme typical for Jasta 26 aircraft. It also sported

  the six-pointed star on both sides of the fuselage and

  five-colour Flugzeugstoff on the wings.

  This aircraft is a bit of mystery, as it is not clear,

  which pilot was flying it. It was assigned to Georg

  von Hantelmann for some time due to one mistake in

  a famous publication. Legendary German historian,

  late Alex Imrie believed this was the personal mount

  of Ltn. Otto Brandes, some other sources insist on

  Ltn. Kurt Monnington as the pilot of this one. Both are

  possible, as they both served with Jasta 18 at around

  the same time. Kurt Monnington, after his transfer

  from German army (Deutsches Heer) to air force

  (Luftstreitkräfte), served with FA62 before he was

  posted to Jasta 15 in 1917. After the „great swap“ of

  the personnell with Jasta 15 orchestrated by Rudolf

  Berthold in March 1918, he became member of Jasta

  18. There he scored his first victory on May 18, 1918,

  downing an SE.5a. He added six more to his fighter

  pilot account. The aircraft was painted in typical

  colours of the „new“ Jasta 18, i.e. red nose and blue

  fuselage. The aircraft had probably the upper wing

  changed from another aircraft, which was painted in

  camouflage colors instead of the printed Flugzeugs

  -

  toff (so called Lozenge). Also, the rudder was chan-

  ged after some damage.

  Otto Kissenberth was born on February 26, 1893, in

  the Bavarian town of Landshut and volunteered for

  the German air force (Luftstreitkräfte) after the

  outbreak of the war. Following his pilot training he

  served with several units and found himself picked

  for duty with the fighter unit KEK Ensisheim at the

  beginning of 1916. The small, specialized unit was re

  -

  designated Jasta 16 in November of the same year. On

  August 4, 1917, Kissenberth was named Commanding

  Officer of Jasta 23b. On May 29, 1918, he crashed in

  a captured Sopwith Camel, and the resulting injuries

  precluded a return to a combat unit. Over the course

  of the First World War, he shot down a total of twenty

  enemy aircraft and was awarded the Pour le Méri

  -

  te on June 30, 1918. Otto Kissenberth died on August

  2, 1919, in a mountain climbing mishap in the Alps.

  The wings of Kissenberth's aircraft were covered in

  Flugzeugstoff with five-color pattern (so-called Lo

  -

  zenge) while the entire fuselage and tail surfaces

  were painted black. As a tribute to his passion,

  mountain climbing, Kissenberth's aircraft carried

  paintings of flowering Edelweises.

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard

  59

  July 2022

• Page 60

  Albatros D.V 2065/17, Oblt. Richard Flashar, Jasta 5, Boistrancourt, France, July 1917

  Albatros D.Va, 7161/17, Uffz. Erich Gürgenz, Jasta 46, early 1918

  Richard Flashar is proof that a good Jasta comman-

  ding officer does not need a long list of kills to his

  credit necessarily. Flashar achieved only two vic

  -

  tories, but due to his leadership and organizational

  skills he commanded the elite Jasta 5 unit from June

  1917 to May 1918. Finally, he became commander of

  the parent Jagdgruppe 2. The end of Flashar's air

  -

  craft was rather unceremonious. It was borrowed

  by Hans Joachim von Hippel, who entered a fight

  with three or four Sopwith Camels and lost left lo

  -

  wer wing during combat on February 18, 1918. More

  to it the engine stopped, but von Hippel miraculously

  managed to descent from some 13,000 ft (4,000 m)

  and crash-land the Albatros. The aircraft flipped, but

  pilot escaped unhurt. Aircraft of Jasta 5 had their

  tails painted in green at the time and the fuselage

  of Flashar's Albatros was painted in light grey, while

  the wings were camouflaged in green and purple. The

  most distinctive feature of the marking, the red dra

  -

  gon either differed on port and starboard in shape, or

  the second known photo of Albatros with this pain

  -

  ting shows different aircraft decorated in such a ma-

  nner. It is hard to say, as the evidence is deficient...

  This aircraft was probably flown by Erich Gurgenz,

  a native of Berlin who served with Jasta 46 from

  February 10, 1918. This airplane fell into the hands of

  the Allies after being shot down and was displayed

  on several occasions. It was restored in 1979 and is

  displayed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space

  Museum in Washington DC today. Gürgenz died next

  day in captivity after being shot down. The writing

  “Stropp“ means small or little boy in German. This

  could either mean that Gürgenz

  was not too tall or he was a bit of a tomboy. The air

  -

  craft had its fuselage in natural wood finish. There

  are some indications that the wings were painted

  green and mauve at the factory actually, and the

  five-color pattern printed Flugzeugstoff wings were

  replaced by French or Americans after the capture.

  So it is possible to paint the wings similarly to the

  marking D scheme, if someone feels so…

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard60

  July 2022

• Page 61

  OVERTREES

  OVERLEPT

  #8113X Albatros D.V 1/48

  #8113-LEPT

  Albatros D.V 1/48

  Product page

  Product page

  Recommended:

  for Albatros D.V 1/48

  48218 Albatros D.V/Va (PE

  -

  Set)

  49194 WWI Instruments (PE

  -

  Set)

  FE401 Albatros D.V Weekend (PE

  -

  Set)

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard

  61

  July 2022

• Page 62

  #82164

  Bf 109G-10 Erla

  1/48

  ProfiPACK edition kit of German WWII fighter aircraft Bf 109G-10 in 1/48 scale.

  The kit is focused on 109s produced by Erla Werke in Leipzig.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  No. of decal options: 5

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: yes, color

  painting mask: yes

  resin parts: no

  Product page

  KITS 07/2022

  Re-release

  INFO Eduard62

  July 2022

• Page 63

  WNr. 491353, Cap. Ugo Drago, CO of 4

  a

  Squadriglia,

  2

  o

  Gruppo Caccia, Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana,

  Aviano, Italy, February 1945

  Oblt. Alfred Seidl, CO of I./JG 3, Paderborn, Germany, late December 1944

  WNr. 490655, Lt. Antonius Wöffen, CO of 6./JG 27,

  Rheine-Hopsten, Germany, early March 1945

  After the declaration of Italian Social Republic on

  September 18, 1943, a puppet state on the territory

  of Italy occupied by German military under the co

  -

  mmand of Benito Mussolini, Germany allowed this

  Republic to establish its own military force of four

  divisions. Its air force component called Aeronautica

  Nazionale Repubblicana consisted of two fighter pla

  -

  ne groups (Gruppo Caccia), torpedo groups (Gruppo

  Aerosiluranti Buscaglia) and several transportation

  squadrons. In 1945, both fighter plane squadrons flew

  Messerschmitts Bf 109G-6/G-10/G-14. The Comman

  -

  ding Officer of 4

  a

  Squadriglia, carrying the title of

  Gigi Tre Osei, was in this time Capitano Ugo Drago, an

  ace with seventeen kills to his credit. In April 1945,

  he was awarded the German Knight's Cross. After the

  war, he emigrated to Argentina, where he made a li

  -

  ving as a flight instructor. He returned to Italy in 1953

  and took up a post with Alitalia with which he flew

  until 1973. He died in Rome on April 22, 2007.

  Towards the end of the war, the majority of markings

  on ANR aircraft in the form of fuselage and wing cro

  -

  sses were no longer removed, with only the swasti-

  ka being oversprayed and replaced by markings of

  Italian aircraft. This marking, an Italian flag edged

  in yellow, was also added to the fuselage sides.

  In December 1944, the CO of I. Gruppe, Oblt. Seidl re

  -

  ceived a new Bf 109G-10 off the production line at Erla

  in Leipzig. At the time, the Gruppe was operating out

  of Paderborn, from where they conducted missions

  against American and British units. In all probabili

  -

  ty, Oblt. Seidl led the unit with this aircraft during

  Operation Bodenplatte on January 1, 1945. The target

  was the air base at Eindhoven. The markings of the

  aircraft were supplemented by a white band ahead

  of the tail, which identified aircraft of JG 3 within the

  framework of the Defense of the Reich. Ahead of the

  fuselage cross was the Gruppe leader marking, and

  below the opening part of the canopy, the pilot had

  a personal marking applied in the form of the nu-

  meral 8. This marking was applied to aircraft flown

  by Seidl during his service with JG 53, during which

  he would acquire all of his 31 victories. An oddity on

  this aircraft is the absence of the lower wing crosses.

  The aircraft was equipped with a gun camera.

  Antonius Wöffen took part in combat missions with

  JG 27 from May 1943, when it was deployed on the

  southern front, until March 11, 1945, when he was

  shot down with this aircraft by anti-aircraft fire and

  after a successful belly landing was taken prisoner

  by American GIs. During the Second World War, he

  achieved five confirmed kills. In photographs taken

  just after the landing, it is clear that under the yellow

  numeral 24 there was an older marking in the form

  of a numeral 5. The paint scheme of the aircraft was

  supplemented by a green fuselage band, the identi

  -

  fier for JG 27 within the framework of the Defense of

  the Reich.

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard

  63

  July 2022

• Page 64

  Hptm. Erich Hartmann, CO of I./JG 52, Görlitz, Germany, April 1945

  Lt. Friedrich-Wilhelm Schenk, CO of 2./JG 300, Borkheide, Germany, February 1945

  Erich Hartmann, the most successful fighter pilot of

  all times, first joined the 7. Staffel of JG 52 on Octo

  -

  ber 10, 1942. He stayed with Jagdgeschwader 52 till

  the end of the World War Two; in fact he became the

  commander of its I. Gruppe. The total count of his vic

  -

  tories was 352. For his exceptional success he was

  awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak

  Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. After WWII he was

  transferred to the POW camp in the Ural Mountains in

  Soviet Union and was not released until 1955. The fo

  -

  llowing year he joined the ranks of Western German

  Luftwaffe. He became commander of JG 71, the first

  Luftwaffe squadron equipped with jet-powered figh

  -

  ter aircraft. He retired in 1970 and died on September

  20, 1993. Hartmann's aircraft carried a black tulip

  marking outlined in white on the nose. Below the

  cockpit on the left side there was a heart marking

  bearing the name of Hartmann's wife. The Gruppe le

  -

  ader marking took the shape of a double wedge, but

  only as a white outline.

  Friends and colleagues of Friedrich-Wilhelm Schenk

  came up with a nickname Timo-Schenko for him.

  It was a joke that took advantage of the name of

  Soviet Marshall Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshen

  -

  ko, and it quickly caught on to the point where the

  ground crew painted the name on the fuselage of

  Schenk's aircraft. Friedrich-Wilhelm Schenk flew

  with JG 300 from July 1944 up to March 1945, when

  he was reassigned to JG 7 and flew Me 262 jet figh

  -

  ters there. During the Second World War, he achieved

  seven kills and after the war became Lufthansa pilot.

  KITS 07/2022

  INFO Eduard64

  July 2022

• Page 65

  OVERTREES

  OVERLEPT

  #82164X Bf 109G-10 Erla 1/48

  #82164-LEPT

  Bf 109G-10 Erla 1/48

  Product page

  Product page

  Recommended:

  for Bf 109G-10 Erla 1/48

  481006 Bf 109G-10 Erla (PE

  -

  Set)

  FE910 Bf 109G seatbelts STEEL (PE

  -

  Set)

  FE1191 Bf 109G-10 ERLA Weekend (PE

  -

  Set)

  644004 Bf 109G-10 LööK (Brassin)

  644045 Bf 109G-10 w/ early wheels LööKplus (Brassin)

  644046 Bf 109G-10 w/ late wheels LööKplus (Brassin)

  648158 Bf 109G-10 wheels (Brassin)

  648239 Bf 109G-6 radio compartment (Brassin)

  648247 Bf 109G exhaust stacks (Brassin)

  648261 Bf 109G-6 wheels (Brassin)

  648265 Bf 109G external fuel tanks (Brassin)

  648309 Bf 109G undercarriage legs BRONZE (Brassin)

  648310 Bf 109G control surfaces (Brassin)

  648422 Bf 109G-10 cockpit (Brassin)

  648441 Bf 109G-10 engine (Brassin)

  D48042 Bf 109G-10 Erla national insignia (Decal Set)

  D48025 Bf 109G stencils (Decal Set)

  D48027 Bf 109G Balkenkreuze (Decal Set)

  D48028 Bf 109G svastikas (Decal Set)

  EX512 Bf 109G spinner spirals (Mask)

  EX608 Bf 109G-10 (Mask)

  EX609 Bf 109G-10 TFace (Mask)

  Cat. No. 648441

  KITS 07/2022

  Cat. No. 648422

  INFO Eduard

  65

  July 2022

• Page 66

  BRASSIN

  LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard

  and STEEL seatbelts for A-1H in 1/48 scale.

  Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Tamiya

  Set contains:

  - resin: 1 part

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard and STEEL

  seatbelts for Beaufigher Mk.VI in 1/48 scale.

  Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Tamiya

  Set contains:

  - resin: 1 part

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details:

  yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  644161

  A-1H Löök

  1/48 Tamiya

  644162

  Beaufighter Mk.VI LööK

  1/48 Tamiya

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard66

  July 2022

• Page 67

  LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard

  and STEEL seatbelts for Beaufigher Mk.X in 1/48 scale.

  Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Tamiya

  Set contains:

  - resin: 3 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details:

  yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard and STEEL

  seatbelts for Su-25 in 1/48 scale. Easy to assemble,

  replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: Zvezda

  Set contains:

  - resin: 1 part

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  644163

  Beaufighter Mk.X LööK

  1/48 Tamiya

  644166

  Su-25 LööK

  1/48 Zvezda

  Product page

  Product page

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  INFO Eduard

  67

  July 2022

• Page 68

  BRASSIN

  Collection of 3 sets for Hawk 81-A2 in 1/32 scale.

  Recommended kit: Great Wall Hobby

  - LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboards & Steelbelts)

  - TFace painting mask

  - undercarriage wheels

  Collection of 3 sets for F-104A in 1/48 scale.

  Recommended kit: Kinetic

  - LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboards & Steelbelts)

  - TFace painting mask

  - undercarriage wheels

  634028

  Hawk 81-A2 LööKplus

  1/32 Great Wall Hobby

  644167

  F-104A LööKplus

  1/48 Kinetic

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard68

  July 2022

• Page 69

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  Collection of 3 sets for F-104C in 1/48 scale.

  Recommended kit: Kinetic

  - LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboards & Steelbelts)

  - TFace painting mask

  - undercarriage wheels

  Brassin set - a British submunition delivery system JP233

  in 1/32 scale. Recommended for British Tornado GR.1/4 a/c.

  The set consists of 2 pods. Made by direct 3D printing.

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 6 parts

  - decals: yes

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  644168

  F-104C LööKplus

  1/48 Kinetic

  632181

  JP 233 dispenser PRINT

  1/32

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  69

  July 2022

• Page 70

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - the exhaust pipes for A6M2 Model 11

  in 1/48 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.

  Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 4 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  648721

  A6M2 Model 11 exhausts early PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  648745

  F-15E/I/K wheels

  1/48 Great Wall Hobby

  Product page

  Product page

  Brassin set - the undercarriage wheels for F-15E/I/K

  in 1/48 scale. The set consists of the main wheels and

  a nose wheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: GWH

  Set contains:

  - resin: 3 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: yes

  INFO Eduard70

  July 2022

• Page 71

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - the undercarriage wheels for Beaufighter

  Mk.X in 1/48 scale. The set consists of the main wheels

  and a tail wheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic

  parts. Recommended kit: Tamiya

  Set contains:

  - resin: 4 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: yes

  Brassin set - the undercarriage wheels for AH-1

  in 1/48 scale. The set consists of the main wheels and

  a tail wheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Tamiya

  Set contains:

  - resin: 3 parts

  - 3D print: 1 part

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: yes

  648755

  Beaufighter Mk.X wheels

  1/48 Tamiya

  648760

  A-1H wheels

  1/48 Tamiya

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  71

  July 2022

• Page 72

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - the exhausts for Beaufighter in 1/48 scale.

  Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replaces

  plastic parts. Recommended kit: Tamiya

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 8 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - the engine for A6M2 Zero in 1/48 scale.

  The set consists of the complete engine and separate

  cowlings. Made by direct 3D printing.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 25 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes

  - painting mask: no

  648762

  Beaufighter exhausts PRINT

  1/48 Tamiya

  648763

  A6M2 engine complete PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard72

  July 2022

• Page 73

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - ejection seat for Su-25 in 1/48 scale.

  Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble,

  replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: Zvezda

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 2 parts

  - decals: yes

  - photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - Carley type lifeboats for 10 people

  in 1/350 scale. The set consists of 20 floats.

  Made by direct 3D printing.

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 20 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes

  - painting mask: no

  648764

  Su-25 ejection seat PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  653005

  Carley float for 10 people – Type 1 PRINT

  1/350

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  73

  July 2022

• Page 74

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - Carley type lifeboats for 10 people

  in 1/350 scale. The set consists of 20 floats.

  Made by direct 3D printing.

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 20 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - the 42gal ventral drop fuel tank

  for F4F in 1/72 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.

  Recommended kit: Arma Hobby

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 2 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  653006

  Carley float for 10 people – Type 2 PRINT

  1/350

  672290

  F4F 42gal ventral drop tank PRINT

  1/72 Arma Hobby

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard74

  July 2022

• Page 75

  Brassin set - the rudder pedals for Luftwaffe WW2

  a/c in 1/72 scale. The set consists of 3 pairs of pedals.

  Made by direct 3D printing.

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 6 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  672292

  Luftwaffe rudder pedals PRINT

  1/72

  Product page

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - the seat for F4F in 1/72 scale.

  Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble,

  replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: Arma Hobby

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 1 part

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  672291

  F4F seat PRINT

  1/72 Arma Hobby

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  75

  July 2022

• Page 76

  BRASSIN

  E

  -

  BUNNY

  SQUAT

  Brassin set - the 4xETC 50 bomb rack for S-199

  in 1/72 scale. The set consist of the rack and 4 bombs.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - resin: 21 parts

  - decals: yes

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  672293

  S-199 4xETC 50 rack w/bombs

  1/72 Eduard

  Product page

  INFO Eduard76

  July 2022

• Page 77

  www.eduard.com/bfc

  BUNNY BUNNY FIGHTERFIGHTER

  CLUB

  Eduard's special membership club for all modeling enthusiasts!

  15% Permanent Club discount at Eduard Store – you will receive permanent 15% discount on all Eduard

  products 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 sold

  products, specially made for BFC members.

  Even better prices at Eduard events stand – do you know that Eduard usually has huge discounts on

  their products at fairs and events all over the world? BFC members will have even higher discount at

  these 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 available

  to 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 Championship

  BOX CONTENT:

  Plastic parts, Marking options 6, Decal Set, PE parts, Maska, Brassin

  parts (two different types of wheels, landing flaps, dust filter with

  eyelid, intake ring and RP-3 60lb rockets), 3D decals for main and si

  -

  dewalk instrument and control panels with photo-etched details and

  seat belts.

  BOX CONTENT:

  Plastic parts, Marking options 4, Decal Set, PE parts, Maska, Brassin

  parts (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 Eduard

  product in your shopping cart. To apply this discount, the Activation product has to be in your shopping

  cart. Activation product is excluded from this calculation.

  Activation products:Activation products:

  Tempest Mk. V + T-shirt 1/48MiG-21MF + T-shirt 1/72

• Page 78

  BRASSIN

  Collection of 3 sets for Spitfire Mk.Vb in 1/48 scale.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  - engine

  - gun bays

  - landing flaps PRINT

  All sets included in this BIG SIN are available separately,

  but with every BIG SIN set you save up to 30 %.

  SIN64886

  Spitfire Mk.Vb ADVANCED

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  INFO Eduard78

  July 2022

• Page 79

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  Collection of 3 sets for Spitfire Mk.Vc in 1/48 scale.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  - engine

  - gun bays

  - landing flaps PRINT

  All sets included in this BIG SIN are available separately,

  but with every BIG SIN set you save up to 30 %.

  SIN64887

  Spitfire Mk.Vc ADVANCED

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  79

  July 2022

• Page 80

  3DL48071 A-1H SPACE 1/48 Tamiya

  3DL48072

  Go 242B SPACE 1/48 ICM

  Product page

  Product page

  3DL48071 A-1H SPACE 1/48 Tamiya

  3DL48072 Go 242B SPACE 1/48 ICM

  3DL48073 A-1J SPACE 1/48 Tamiya

  3DL48074 Beaufighter Mk.VI SPACE 1/48 Tamiya

  3DL48075 Beaufighter Mk.X SPACE 1/48 Tamiya

  3DL53010 Life buoy SPACE 1/350

  3DL17001 Life buoy SPACE 1/700

  EASY

  APPLICATION

  INFO Eduard80

  July 2022

• Page 81

  3DL48073 A-1J SPACE 1/48 Tamiya

  3DL48075

  Beaufighter Mk.X SPACE 1/48 Tamiya

  Product page

  Product page

  Product page

  SPACE

  3DL48074 Beaufighter Mk.VI SPACE 1/48 Tamiya

  INFO Eduard

  81

  July 2022

• Page 82

  3DL53010 Life buoy SPACE 1/350

  3DL17001

  Life buoy SPACE 1/700

  Product page

  Product page

  SPACE

  INFO Eduard82

  July 2022

• Page 83

• Page 84

  USS Constellation CV-64 part 3 - railings & safety nets

  1/350 Trumpeter

  53283

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED

  JULY 2022

  INFO Eduard84

  July 2022

• Page 85

  36483

  Sd.Kfz.247 Ausf.B

  1/35 Revell/ICM

  BR