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{"cz":"Info EDUARD"}
{"cz":"Měsíčník o historii a plastikovém modelářství.","en":"Monthly magazine about history and scale plastic modeling."}
07/2024
INFO Eduard is a monthly scale model-historical magazine published in Czech and English by Eduard Model Accessories since 2010. The magazine is available for free on the Triobo platform and can be downloaded in PDF format. Eduard is a manufacturer of plastic models and accessories with over 30 years of tradition. Throughout its history in the plastic modeling industry, Eduard has become one of the world's leaders. Further details about the company and its product range can be found at www.eduard.com. You can subscribe to the INFO magazine and receive product information for free at: https://www.eduard.com/cs/info-eduard/
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INFO Eduarde-magazine FREE Vol 23 July 2024# 173Page 2
INFO Eduard# 173e-magazine FREE Vol 23 July 2024© Eduard - Model Accessories, 2024FREE FOR DOWNLOAD, FREE FOR DISTRIBUTION!This material may only be used for personal use. No part of the textor graphic presentations can be used in another publication in any other mediaform or otherwise distributed without the prior writtenpermission of Eduard - Model Accessories and authors involved.Editorial and Graphics - Marketing department, Eduard - Model Accessories, Ltd.Page 3
eduardeduardJULY 2024CONTENTSPublished by Eduard-Model Accessories, spol. s.r.o.Mírová 170, Obrnice 435 21support@eduard.com www.eduard.comEDITORIALKITSBRASSINHow to Work with Plastic?PHOTO-ETCHED SETSSPACEBUILTON APPROACH–July 2024TAIL END CHARLIEARTICLESBOXART STORYSpitfire Mk.XVI High Back ProfiPACK 1/48Bf 109G-6 Weekend 1/48Fw 190D-9 Weekend 1/48 Re-ReleaseP-51D MUSTANG 1/72Z-126 Trenér 1/48P-51D Mustang 1/48Bf 109K-4 1/48THE OIL CAMPAIGNA Mustang at BoleslavMustang DayAerial War in Ukraine-Russian Airports Under FireAustralian Mark SixteensIce SeaRed Doras465558746886100112118140Page 4
Good day, Ladies and Gentlemen!With July and the start of the latter half of theyear, we can proudly say that we have achievedour set goals. What we planned for the first halfof the year, we put into production and madeavailable. During the last two weeks of June,we shipped all the preordered P-51D MustangRoyal Class kits. With this item, we haveinaugurated the 72nd series of Mustang kits.It will largely copy the 48th scale line ofMustangs, but it won't be strictly a downsizedversion. The Limited Edition version ‘Aces ofthe Eighth’ is slated and on time for August,which carries over some specific aircraft fromthe various 48th P-51 releases, but also offersnew options that have not been componentspreviously. Of course, this will also havea bearing on the color profiles in future 72ndscale Profipack and Weekend items.We launched the Mustangs, both the newP-51D 1:72nd and the P-51B in 1:48th releasedin May, last Saturday, June 29th, at the airportin Líne in the company of a live Mustang, theP-51D ‘Little Rebel’, which in the Line hangarwas recently replaced by a Spitfire Mk.IX. Thosewho were in Líne on Saturday will certainly notregret it, we enjoyed a pleasant and relaxingaviation themed morning and learned a lotabout the Mustang and other aircraft. And thosewho weren't in Líne can take a look at the photoreport in this issue of our current newsletterbelow. It was already the third such event thatwe organized in cooperation with the ClassicTrainers Association, and I'm sure it wasn't thelast.We also launched the preorder of the 48thB-17F, ‘The Bloody Hundred 1943’ Limited Editionkit in June. This is actually a new item for August,currently sold out here. However, this does notmean that this kit will not be available. A largepart of the shipment was bought by retailerswho will continue to sell this kit for some time.But as an item offered through our e-shop, thispiece is gone. As of today, we are missing thecore item to box all of our B-17Fs, that being theplastic. The bulk of these, some 4,800 completesets, are traveling by train and are already inPoland. We have the rest of the components thatmake up the kit, and once the plastic arrives,we will package the kits and send them outto those that preordered around July 15th.In the second half of July, we will ship the B-17stogether with August new releases to retailers.The delivered by air portion of the plastic, somethree hundred sets, is already in our warehouseas of the end of last week. We will also packthese up this week and send them to the States.‘The Bloody Hundredth 1943’ will then go on salefor the first time at the IPMS Nationals 2024 inMadison, Wisconsin, July 17-20, along with otherAugust items.The most common question when launchinga new kit is ‘what's next?. What other versionsare you going to release?’ There are also caseswhere someone in the middle of a Mustangdiscussion asks when we will release theMiG-21F, but it is, of course, perfectly legitimateto ask about other versions of the Mustangalong with other types of aircraft. Then,sometime around the third or fourth incarnationof a specific theme, another type of debaterappears, who will start ranting about anotheruninteresting and completely unnecessaryMesserschmitt or Spitfire and demand, in thestream of a perceived boredom, the releaseof something ‘interesting’, such as a KB-3Chuchuliga, or at least a Shorts Tucano. I have todisappoint these folks, they will have to acceptthat we are a mainstream company and theywill have to look for such types from someoneelse. There are many manufacturers of high-quality construction kits on the market today,so they will surely see not only the Tucano,which is already on the market, but also thelegendary Chuchuliga. As for our next step withthe Mustang, the P-51B in 1:48th, we will releasethe first Profipack of the P-51B with the originalcanopy, and then, also as a Profipack, the filletedP-51B/C at E-day. There, things get a little trickywith marking options, since there is no cleardivision between filleted and nonfilleted P-51Bsand Cs. Both had or did not have the fillet. In theend, it's the same for canopies, so the labelingof specific boxings for B-type Mustangs willprobably be a bit of a pain in the ass. The last ofthe Profipacks, the B version with the Malcolmhood, will be released in the middle of nextyear, and then we will deal with the Weekendsand possibly other Limited Edition releases.It will be similar for the 72nd scale Ds, the firstLimited Edition kit, ‘Aces of the Eighth’, is alsoscheduled to be released in August, followedby a Profipack P-51D-5 in November and a D-10in January of next year. Further little Ds willgradually be released through more LimitedEdition kits and will basically mirror the 48thscale versions.EDITORIALINFO Eduard4July 2024Page 5
There are also inquiries about other versionsof the B-17. We are counting on those, but we'lllet you rest for a while. The B-17 is a big plane,after all, and the kit is also big and above all,pretty pricey, so give it at least a year or twoof peace and other projects won't hurt thebudget quite so much. In any case, we want tocontinue the history of the 100th BG with a B-17Gkit, and we also want to release B-17Fs andB-17Gs that will cover the entire 8th Air Force.We also want to continue working with HKM,so some B-25 Mitchell and Lancaster projectsare beginning to take shape. A TBH 1943 releasein a different scale is also not out of the question.It's certainly within our power to release a 72ndscale version, but technically a 32nd scale itemis also possible.Another frequent question is about thedevelopment status of the P-40E Warhawkkit. The Warhawk is currently with thetechnologists, the development of the moldsis underway, as well as minor modifications tothe structure so that it optimally correspondsto the technological parameters of the actualairplane. I am assuming that the second half ofJuly will see the first molds, and on E-day at theend of September, the plastic will be availablefor viewing. At that time, the plastic will not becomplete, I think we might have three or foursprues out of a total of six, but that will changequickly and in November at Telford we might beintroducing the complete kit and selling it in‘pre-production’ form in white boxes, similar tohow we did the Mustangs at Easter in Prostějov.In addition to the P-40E, we are working onother projects. Work continues on molds forother versions of the Zero, the A6M5, A6M7and the two-seat A6M2-K, as well as moldsfor the MiG-21F. Both are projects for next year,the Zekes will be introduced in the first halfof next year, the MiG-21F in the second half ofnext year. Absolutely no need to worry about usabandoning these projects.And that will be it with my summarizingcurrent and future projects. I hope you enjoy thismonth’s newsletter, and happy reading!Keep on modelling!Vladimir SulcEDITORIALINFO Eduard5July 2024THE OIL CAMPAIGN
Both the Eighth Air Force and RAF Bomber Command were averse (to put it mildly) to “outsiders” trying to convince them to change their strategic target priorities in search of “the magic spot” that would cause the downfall of Germany.
Adapted from: “Clean Sweep: VIII FighterCommand Against the Luftwaffe - 1942-45"Thomas McKelvey CleaverHISTORYTHE OIL CAMPAIGNBoth the Eighth Air Force and RAF Bomber Command were averse (to put it mildly)to “outsiders” trying to convince them to change their strategic target prioritiesin search of “the magic spot” that would cause the downfall of GermanyGermany and her allies had nowhere nearthe access to oil supplies that the Allies did.The Germans had been forced to createa synthetic oil industry in the 1930s in anticipationof going to war, and the Nazis considered theiralliance with Romania to be their major diplomaticcoup, since it gave them access to and control ofthe oilfields around Ploesti, the only source of oilin Europe. Ploesti’s oilfields were the source of30 percent of the Axis oil supply. The major thrustof the assault on the Soviet Union had been onthe southern front, where anticipated successat Stalingrad would have allowed access to theoilfields of Baku.The Allies had long been aware of the NaziAchilles’ Heel. One of the first missions flown byAmerican heavy bombers had been the abortiveattempt by the HALPRO force, the first B-24sassigned to the Ninth Air Force in 1942, to bombPloesti. The force had not been strong enough toinflict any lasting damage. With the Axis forcesdriven from North Africa after may 1943, Ploestiagain became a target with Operation Tidal Wave,flown on August 1, 1943. In the wake of thatunsuccessful mission, the Fifteenth Air Forcewas created in Italy specifically to mount a major,sustained campaign to destroy Ploesti.General Spaatz’s USSTAF planners estimatedthey could drop German gasoline production50 percent with 15 missions against Ploesti bythe Fifteenth Air Force and 10 against the Germansynthetic oil industry by the Eighth. Ploesti andthe German synthetic oil industry was the onlylifeline the Wehrmacht had to maintaining theability to fight a mechanized war. British plannersin the Ministry of Economic Warfare had longpleaded to no avail with Bomber Command’s SirAthur Harris to attack these targets, with Harrisdismissing such a plan as a “panacea” that woulddivert him from his campaign to destroy Germancities.Spaatz argued to Eisenhower before SHAEFtook control of the Eighth that destroying thepanzer’s gasoline supply was a far greaterblow against the enemy than destroying easily-repaired railroad marshaling yards. Knowinghe could not get SHAEF’s focus away from theTransportation plan, Spaatz pointed out that anaerial offensive against oil would only need halfof Eighth Air Force’s bombers, the rest could beemployed against the rail system. Unfortunately,the Air Force’s history of over-promising on thedecisive results of striking “strategic” targetsand the failure of the ball bearing campaign theprevious fall, worked against Spaatz, even withthe full support of General Arnold in Washington.Churchill, who was concerned that killinglarge numbers of French and Belgian civiliansliving near the rail yards would create politicalproblems both during the war and in itsaftermath, favored the Oil Campaign. However,in a meeting at SHAEF HQ on March 25, 1944,Eisenhower pressed VIII Bomber Command’sGeneral Frederick Anderson about the likelihoodof success of a campaign against synthetic oil,with Anderson forced to confess that the AirForce “could not guarantee that the attacks of oiltargets would have an appreciable effect duringthe initial stages of Overlord.” Anderson did saythat a campaign against the synthetic oil industry“would have a decisive effect within a periodof about six months.” Since he was concernedabout the immediate problems associated withputting an army into France and keeping it there,Eisenhower came down against the proposal.RAF Chief of Staff Air Marshal Sir Charles Portalfound a compromise with the proposal that sucha campaign would be mounted by both EighthAir Force and Bomber Command once the Alliedarmies were firmly in Normandy and any Germancounterattack had been blunted.Since the Fifteenth was not involved in theinvasion, Spaatz was able to convince Tedderto allow him to mount a mission against Ploestishortly after Eisenhower’s decision. The resultswere so good that Tedder allowed the Fifteenthto make repeated attacks between early Apriland late June 1944, which saw the Romanian oilfields and refineries severely damaged and oilproduction severely curtailed. The Axis wouldThe blue noses of the 352nd "Blue-Nosed Bastards of Bodney came in several shades of blue untilthe marking was standardized using RAF Dark Mediterranean Blue. (USAF Official)INFO Eduard6July 2024Page 7
lose all access to Romanian oil at the end ofAugust 1944, when the country surrendered inthe face of Soviet invasion.The Fifteenth’s four fighter groups that re-equipped with the P-51 between March and June1944 - the 31st, 52nd, 322nd and 325th - rackedup impressive scores against both the RomanianAir Force and the Luftwaffe on these missions.Herschel Green, the 325th group’s leading ace,who was a veteran of the North African, Sicilianand Italian campaigns, later recalled that the airbattles over Romania were “the most intensecombat I experienced in my tour.” Ploesti wasso important that two Luftwaffe Gruppen -including Erich Hartmann’s II/JG 52 - werewithdrawn from the Eastern Front to reinforcethe Ploesti defenses.With the Ploesti campaign’s demonstratedsuccess, Spaatz once again asked Eisenhower forpermission to bomb the synthetic oil refineries.When Eisenhower told him to wait till the endof summer, an argument broke out between thetwo that was so intense it was rumored Spaatzhad threatened to resign. Eisenhower relentedby authorizing the Eighth to attack on two daysin May when weather over France preventedbombing of rail targets.The first mission was flown on May 12, 886bombers were sent to bomb a complex ofsynthetic oil plants in central and easternGermany and met significant aerial opposition.The 352nd Fighter Group’s John C. Meyeralmost became someone else’s score in a battleover the synthetic oil plant at Prenzlau. Meyerspotted a combat wing of Fortresses rockedby explosions and took two 487th squadronflights to investigate, closer, Meyer saw severalparachutes in the air, then spotted three gagglesof enemy aircraft. He quickly lost the first two hespotted in the heavy haze, but one Bf 109 fromthe third flight failed to reach the sanctuary ofthe haze and Meyer set it on fire with one burst.After watching it crash, he spotted an airfieldwith bombers on it and made a run in whichhe destroyed a He 177. As he pulled up, a Bf 109bounced him and he only managed to escapewith a series of violent maneuvers taken ata low enough altitude he thought for a momenthe might crash. Meyer was able to return toBodney to complete the last mission of his firsttour of duty, with claims that raised his score to15.5, including 8.5 aerial victories.The Eighth lost 46 bombers on the May12 missions. However, the aerial battles had beenone of the worst days for the Jagdwaffe, whichreported losing 61 fighters. Albert Speer wroteof the strike in his memoirs, stating, “On thatday, the technological war was decided.” Speerauthorized top priority to repairing the syntheticoil refineries and crews worked 24 hours a dayto restore production.On May 28 and 29, the Eighth’s bombersreturned to hit the newly-repaired facilitieswhile the Fifteenth hit Ploesti with its biggestattacks. ULTRA intercepts in June confirmedthat gasoline production had been cut in half.Following these attacks, Speer told Hitler thatif the enemy persisted in these attacks overthe summer, Germany would have no way toprosecute the war by fall.With the invasion a week away, a largercampaign would have to await victory inNormandy. Strategic bombing had finally foundthe target that would change the war.By mid-June, the Allies were firmly ashore inNormandy. General Spaatz renewed his requestthat the Eighth be allowed to resume attacks onthe synthetic oil industry. Eisenhower had himwritten permission to divert the bombers fromdirect support of the invasion on days whenthere was good weather over Germany andwere no missions against “Crossbow sites” (theGerman V-1 launch sites) or infantry support.The synthetic oil plants were located nearcoal deposits in the Ruhr, Silesia, south of Berlinand Leipzig. These plants produced 75 percentof Germany’s total fuel supplies: 85 percent ofhigh-grade diesel and gasoline, and all aviationgasoline.Nearly one-third of this production wasconcentrated in the massive Leuna plant outsideMerseburg and Politz, 70 miles northeast ofBerlin. Five other plants located in centralGermany produced another third.The Leuna plant’s 250 buildings coveredthree square miles and employed 35,000workers, 10,000 of them slave laborers or POWs.A facility that size should have been easy tohit with precision bombing, but the Germandefenses involved greasy black smoke sentup from hundreds of small ovens that ruinedvisibility. Additionally, decoy buildings that wereconstructed outside the plant were bombed asmuch as the plant itself. The plant was protectedby 600 radar-supported 88mm anti-aircraftHISTORYThe legendary Chuck Yeager on the wing of his second P-15, P-51D "Glamourus Glen II" in whichhe shot down an Me 262 in November 1944.INFO Eduard7July 2024Page 8
cannons, while several Luftwaffe fighter unitswere based nearby.Merseburg became known as “Mercilessburg”to the bomber crews. Second Lieutenant TomLandry, who would become head coach of theDallas Cowboys, flew most of his missions inthe oil campaign, he remembered that the skyover the city and the plant was filled by “an angryblack cloud of exploding flak.”The B-17s and B-24s primarily dropped250-pound bombs, these were not strong enoughto destroy the reinforced concrete blast wallsprotecting the storage tanks, compressors andother machinery. These lighter bombs also madeGerman firefighting easier because the fireswere less intense and long-lasting as comparedto the destructive effect of the RAF 4,000-pound“cookies,” that were responsible for most of thedamage.The summer of 1944 saw poor weather, whichprevented the bombers returning to a targetquickly. The Germans were able to get plantsback into production at lowered rates within fourto six weeks. Toward the end of the campaign,air force planners using increased photoreconnaissance were able to time attacks tocoincide with production resumption.The first attack of the Oil Campaign was againstthe huge plant at Politz on June 20, 1944. TheFourth Fighter Group provided Target WithdrawalSupport. Fifty ZG 76 Me 410s intercepted thebombers, some carrying massive 50mm anti-tank cannons, escorted by Bf 109s. The Luftwaffeadmitted the loss of 12 Me 410s to the DebdenEagles and other groups.The mission saw the loss of Jim Goodson,who led his 336th squadron in his brand-newP-51D. Spotting airplanes on the airfield atNeubrandenburg on the way home, Goodsonled the squadron in a low-level attack. As hepicked out a Do 217 on the field, his Mustangtook a hit in the vulnerable radiator. With enginetemperature soaring, Goodson crash-landed onthe airfield and was quickly captured. Since theMustang looked undamaged from the air, othersquadron members strafed it as Goodson andhis captors threw themselves on the ground.At the time of his loss, Goodson was VIII fighterCommand’s leading ace, with 14 aerial victoriesand 15.5 ground kills, he would remain top ace ofthe Fourth.The Eighth’s first “Operation Frantic” shuttlemission was flown June 21. Among the others,First Bomb Division contributed 163 B-17s, theirescort to the target was performed by 72 P-38sof the 364th and 55th groups, and 38 P-47sof the 353rd group. The Fourth, flying three16-plane squadrons, reinforced by 16 P-51s fromthe 352nd’s 486th squadron, were led by DonBlakeslee. They rendezvoused with the bombersbefore they hit the target and flew with them toPoltava in Ukraine, a flight of 1,600 miles.Shortly after the Eagles picked up thebombers over Lezno, Poland, 30 Bf 109s attackedthe bombers over Siedlice. Captain Frank Jonesand 1st Lt Joseph Lang each got one, making bothaces. The 335th squadron’s 1st Lt Frank Sibbettwas shot down and killed. Blakeslee navigatedthe flight - as he was later proud to recall - withfour maps and a wrist watch, bringing the groupto Poltava where they landed at 1450 hours,his exact ETA, he considered leading the flightacross Europe his greatest achievement of hiswartime career. Ralph Hofer, who wanderedoff on his own again, was unable to rejoin thegroup and got lost. He landed unexpectedly atKiev, where he was closely interrogated by theRussians before they let him fly over to Poltavathe next day.Unknown to the Americans, the force hadbeen shadowed by a Ju 88 after the formationbroke away from the main force and headedeast. That night, the Luftwaffe staged one of theirlast large-scale bombing missions. The Poltavaairfield was hit, destroying many B-17s - half ofthose on the field.With the majority of the Jagdwaffe inNormandy, missions over Germany did not findlarger air opposition until July 18. The 352nd wasescorting bombers to targets in Peenemündeand Zinnowitz when they encountered a mixedforce of about 40 Me 410s and Ju 88s, witha top cover of 20 Bf 109s that were stalking thebombers. Outnumbered, the 486th and 487thsquadrons attacked, quickly dispersing themwhile the Bf 109 cover was engaged by the 328thsquadron.George Preddy, whose run of victories hadtaken off in late June when he exchanged hisP-51B “Cripes A’Mighty II” for one of the newerCaptain Pierce McKennon was one of the longest-serving pilots in the 4th FG, arriving in 1943 and flyingoperations to the end of the war. (USAF official)The 55th Fighter Group gave up their P-38s for P-51s in the summer of 1944.(USAF official)HISTORYINFO Eduard8July 2024Page 9
P-51Ds, which he named “Cripes A’MightyIII”, claimed two Ju 88s destroyed, a third asa probable, and two more “damaged.” along witha Bf 109 destroyed. With that, his score of aerialvictories rose to 14.5 and he was recognized asthe group’s leading ace.On July 19, the Fourth ran across Bf 109s overMunich. The 336th’s Lieutenants Ira Groundsand Francis Grove got two and one, respectively.First Lieutenant Curtis Simpson, whose P-51Blost its glycol after being damaged during thefight later recalled, “This particular escortflight was the sixth straight flight that we hadmade to Munich in six days, but it was the firstone where there was any opposition. We werejumped by a group of ‘109s and fought all the wayinto Austria. I was on full throttle for far too longa time and my electrical system on the coolantshutters went out. When they closed, the engineoverheated and I lost all of my coolant, If I hadn’tbeen so close to Switzerland I would have endedup as a Prisoner of War or dead. I was lookingfor a place to land, since I did not want to jump.I found this very short meadow that had somewhite signs on it so I thought that I should tryit. I had no other choice. I used full flaps withno power from the engine and I landed slightlyon the tail wheel. There was no one there whenI landed, but as soon as I stopped, here they came.The Swiss had helmets similar to the Germans,and I was not sure where I was. I stood up in thecockpit with my hands raised and asked if theywere Swiss. Luckily they said yes!” Simpson’sMustang was later repaired and taken on chargeby the Swiss Air Force.On August 6, the 357th group provided escortfor another shuttle mission to the Soviet Union.They picked up the B-17s after they hit the Focke-Wulf assembly plant at Rahmel. The bombershad been escorted by the 55th group, led by newgroup commander John D. Landers in their firstP-51 operation. The mission to Gydina and backto England covered 1,595 miles in seven flyinghours.Over Poland, nine Bf 109s from JG 51 went afterthe bombers, but 1st Lt Robert Shaw’s flight cutthem off. Shaw shot one down in flames whileelement leader 1st Lt “Bud” Nowlin chased thefighter flown by Hauptmann Gunther Schack,Staffelkapitän 7./III./JG.51. Schack split withNowlin in pursuit. A burst hit the 109's radiatorand brought a spray of coolant before it slowedso dramatically that Nowlin overran the fighter.Pulling alongside Schack, he realized he had topreserve fuel. He waved and climbed away, notdiscovering until he met Schack 40 years thatshortly after, Schack bailed out.That same day saw George Preddy’s bestday ever. When the group had been informedthe night before that the August 6 missionwould be scrubbed for weather, Preddy spentthe night drinking and shooting craps, he gotgloriously drunk and won $1,200. He had beenasleep an hour when he was awakened with thenews the mission was on. Not only did he havea major hangover, but he was supposed to leadthe mission! He spent 30 minutes in his cockpitbreathing pure oxygen to clear his head, buteven so he vomited in his cockpit while flyingacross the sea.Ninety minutes later, the bombers wereapproaching Hamburg when 30 Bf 109s werespotted stalking the bombers. Preddy ledWhite Flight in a bounce from the rear. He laterreported, “I opened fire on one near the rearof the formation from 300 yards and got manyhits around the canopy. The enemy aircraftwent down inverted and in flames. At this time,Lieutenant Doleac became lost while shootingdown an Me 109 that had latched onto LieutenantHeyer’s tail.” Preddy and Heyer continued theirattack. Preddy got behind his second victory andgot hits around the wing roots, setting the ‘109 onfire. “He went spinning down and the pilot bailedout at twenty thousand feet.” Heyer shot downanother Bf 109.The enemy formation stayed together withthe pilots taking practically no evasive actionas the formation tried to maneuver to attackthe bombers. “We continued our attack on therear end and I fired on another at close range.He went down smoking, and I saw him beginto fall apart below us” Another flight of P-51sjoined the fight. “I fired at another ’109, causinghim to burn after a short burst. He spiraled downin flames.” Still the Germans stayed together asthey made a left turn to attempt another attack.“I got a good burst into another one, causing himto burn and spin down. The enemy aircraft weredown to five thousand now.” One pulled off to theleft in an attempt to engage Preddy. “I was allalone with them now, so I went after this single’109 before he could get on my tail. I got in anineffective burst, causing him to smoke a little.I pulled up into a steep climb to the left above himand he climbed after me. I pulled it in as tight aspossible and climbed.” The enemy pilot openedfire ineffectively as Preddy outclimbed him ina zoom. “He fell off to the left and I droppedastern of him. He jettisoned his canopy as I fireda short burst, getting many hits. As I pulled past,the pilot bailed out at seven thousand feet. I hadlost contact with friendly and enemy aircraft, soI headed home.”George Preddy had just shot down six enemyfighters in one battle. It would be the ETO record.Preddy was still suffering from the epicdrinking bout when he landed. When he shovedopen his canopy, everyone wanted to know hisscore. His first words were “NEVER AGAIN!” Withthis, his score was 28, 24 scored in the P-51to make him the leading Mustang ace. He wasawarded the Distinguished Service Cross for hisrecord mission, and given 30 days leave backhome.As the Fw 190A-8/R2 Sturmbocks becamemore effective, VIII Fighter Command sentfighter groups ahead of the bombers to find andbreak up the Sturmgruppen formations.On August 15, II./JG 300 attacked the 303rd“Hell’s Angels” group when they found thebombers headed for Wiesbaden near Trier. TheSturmbocks popped out of the clouds and shotdown nine B-17s from the low formation. Minuteslater, Bf 109Gs from I./JG 300 found the 466thgroup’s B-24s near Meppel and shot down four.The defending gunners claimed four Fw 190s andnine Bf 109s respectively. On August 16, IV./JG 3The 357th's P-51D-15 "Missouri Armada" was flown by Captain John B. England. (USAF Official)HISTORYINFO Eduard9July 2024Page 10
attacked the 91st group near Halle and claimedsix B-17s in trade for six Fw 190s in a four minutebattle.August 24 saw the loss of the Fourth’s MajorJohn T. Godfrey in a freak “friendly fire” incident.Leading the 336th squadron, Godfrey spottedJu 52/3m transports on the airfield atNordhausen. He led the strafing attack and shotup four while his wingman 1st Lieutenant MelvinDickey shot up three. The light flak was intenseand Godfrey jinked to make himself a difficulttarget. In so doing, he flew into Dickey’s line offire as he opened up on a fourth ground target.Godfrey’s P-51 was hit in the engine and thecoolant system. With the termperature gauge“off the peg” as he later recalled, Godfrey belliedin beyond the field and managed to get out of theairplane as it caught fire and reach cover beforethe enemy troops arrived, despite suffering cutsto his head and leg.At the time he went down, Godfrey was tiedwith Jim Goodson as leading ace of the Fourth,with 29.88 air and ground victories. After threedays on the run and walking 13 miles, he tried tocatch a ride in a boxcar outside Nordhausen, butwas captured by railway guards. He later wrotethat being captured and spending eight monthsas a POW was “the best thing that could havehappened to me,” since he had been obsessedwith becoming the top ace of the ETO. “Prisontaught me what was really important in life.”September 11 saw the strongest Jagdwaffereaction to a bombing raid since May 28. It alsosaw another Eighth Air Force “Frantic” mission,in which 75 B-17s of the 96th and 452nd bombgroups bombed Chemnitz then headed on east,escorted by the 20th Fighter Group. While therewas no enemy response, the force had to picktheir way through heavy weather to land atUkrainian bases. The bombers hit targets inHungary on their way to Italy and the full forcewas back in England by September 17.The other escort groups saw plenty of actionon September 11. One of the forces attackedthe Leuna factory in “Mercilessburg.” SevenJG 400 Me 163s attacked one formation, claimingthree B-17s in the vicinity of Leipzig. The “BloodyHundredth” 100th Bomb Group was lagging, theywere hit by an entire Sturmgruppe and 13 B-17swent down in the five-minute battle. Had it notbeen for the timely arrival of the 339th FighterGroup’s Mustangs, the result might have beenworse, but the P-51s shot down a good numberof enemy fighters. The 92nd bomb group wasalso hit, losing eight, with four others so badlydamaged they made emergency landings atAllied airfields in France. The U.S. fightersoverall claimed an incredible 116 victories forthe day.On September 12, the bombers hit the syntheticfuel factory outside Magdeburg. The Jagdwaffeagain made a strong showing, the groupsreported loss of 23 B-17s. Overall, 43 bomberswere lost, but against these enemy successes,American fighters returned with claims for125 shot down.On September 13, the Mustangs claimed 150shot down. The famous names from the previousyear were gone, returned home at the end oftheir tours or shot down. Their replacementsdemonstrated the result of the strong trainingprogram created in the previous two years backin the United States.By this point, loss of regular supplies ofaviation gasoline due to the destruction of thesynthetic oil factories left the Luftwaffe onlyable to put in occasional appearances, when thegeschwadern were able to collect sufficient gasto mount a mission.The synthetic oil campaign carried out in thesummer of 1944 was the first true test of thebelief that daylight precision bombing couldfatally disable the German economy. Eighth AirForce flew 28 missions in June, 27 in July and23 in August and 15 in September - so fast thatsome bomber crews completed their 35 missiontours in only a few months - with the majority ofthe missions targeting the synthetic oil industry.In the end, the campaign was won by carpetbombing the plants, causing simultaneousdamage to several plants at a time, whichwas beyond the means of the German repairorganization to return them to even a modestpercentage of pre-campaign production. BySeptember, synthetic oil production was ninepercent of what it had been in May, and thePloesti oilfields were in the hands of the Soviets.The German aircraft industry achieved itshighest monthly production total in September,but the overwhelming majority of the airplanesproduced never flew for lack of fuel.Over the course of the campaign, Eighth AirForce lost almost half its operational bomberstrength: 1,022 B-17s and B-24s, as well as 665P-38s, P-47s and P-51s. While the loss rate was1.5 percent over 35 missions as compared to3.6 percent over 25 missions during the “Battleof Germany” that spring, an aircrewman in theEighth still had a one-in-three chance of beingkilled or made prisoner during his tour.After the war, Albert Speer told hisinterrogators that if the Allied Air Forces hadmade these plants their sole objective duringthe summer of 1944, they could have forceda German surrender in eight weeks, which wouldhave allowed the airmen to achieve their dreamof winning the war themselves. As it was, whatwas accomplished likely shortened the Europeanwar by six months.Editor's Notes: The author is responsible for thehistorical, terminological and technical accuracy ofthe article.P-51D-10 "Pauline" of the 339th Fighter Group. One of the last fighter groups to join VIII fighter Command,the 339th FG established themselves as ground attack specialists when the Luftwaffe stopped flying forlack of fuel. (USAF Official)HISTORYINFO Eduard10July 2024Page 11
A Mustang at Boleslav
A long brief from Historical Airshow Mladá Boleslav
Originally, I wasn’t even supposed to be in Boleslav. Steve assigned me to Hradec, and took the rest of the shows. But whenHradec was postponed to next year, it looked like I wouldn’t be getting in any airshow flight time with the P-51 this year. Tobe perfectly honest, I found that I had no real level of regret from the development. I had a couple of performances undermy belt with Trener Box and the Pilatus, and that was probably enough to fulfill the year’s requirement to exhibit. However,about two weeks before the show, Steve tells me that he has some personal items to take care of and that he will eithercancel the performance, or pass it on to me. Well, I just happened to be on vacation and had the time, so why not?A long brief fromHistorical Airshow Mladá BoleslavRadim Vojta(foto Petra Nováková)EVENTSo what followed was a phone call to TomášRatimec in an effort to find out just what it wasthat was expected from me: ‘Well, you and MíraSázavský will do a two ship flyby, he will thenseparate for some solo aerobatics, and finish upwith a four ship display with the Thunderbolt andSpitfire’. That made a lot of sense to me, as I’vebeen flying the P-51 for a relatively short timeand I haven’t had many opportunities to practicea solo display yet. I only tried something overthe airport a couple of times, which was enoughfor me to realize that the Mustang was neithera Spitfire nor a Yak-3, and that aerobatics ina fairly confined space would not be so easy withit. I could, however, fly in a group, since I havebeen doing that quite a bit recently.As we packed up in the morning, I immediatelyunderstood what a new challenge the Mustangpresented. It has a second seat instead ofa fuselage tank, so although I tried my best toconvince Jana that it would be more comfortableif she went to Boleslav by train, I failed. Fine,I’ll take you with me, I told her - but we needto minimize the amount of stuff we carry!No evening gown, five o’clock tea dress, threehandbags and two hats. And certainly, no kitchensink. Maybe two pairs of shorts and a changeof underwear. But when I looked in the luggagecompartment after arriving at the airport andsaw how much space there was, I realized thatI was in for it. Especially when I took the sparetailwheel out, saying that we don’t need to take itwith us, I got a look that said it all. In addition toeverything needed for the weekend, ten pairs ofboots and winter ski gear could easily have beenaccommodated as well.After talking with Steve, I planned the tripthere with a stop at Sazena. I haven’t hada chance to land the Mustang on a grass runwayyet, so I wanted to try it out at a field witha longer strip. Most of all, I appreciated that RWY15L/33R has a runway edge lights and a lengthof 840 meters, while the adjacent 15R/33L isa full 1,315 meters long and has a long clearwaywith the same surface and pavement strength.So I came up with a plan to put down in a threepoint landing on the longer runway, but in linewith the beginning of the lights - and if I manageto stop at the opposite end of the line of lightswithout any problems, I will know that the 1000meters of runway at Boleslav will suffice. Andif it doesn’t work, nothing happens, I still haveanother six hundred meters ahead of me – andjust case, I can set down in Mnichovo Hradiště tobe safe and fly from there. The Mustang was inBoleslav several times, as was the Corsair andthe Yak-3, but the pilots were more experiencedon those respective types. I was only there witha Spitfire and Hurricane, but that doesn’t reallycount, since they are grass hoppers, any meadowbeing to their liking. I only have a few hours inthe P-51D so far. The Chief (now generally knownas Head of Air Operations) from Sazená, HonzaŠimon, approved my plan, so there was nothingstanding in the way of the test, except for my ownfear deep down that I might bounce too much andembarrass myself.So I loaded Jana into the airplane, and withthe help of Sucháč and Krechonaut, set offinto the wild blue over Plasy and Rakovník toSazka. Jana was said to have shed a tear aftertake-off, it was her first flight in a Mustang andactually it was a premiere for me too, as I havenever flown anyone in a warbird. All my flightsso far have been single seaters, so there wasno such opportunity, unless we were going torecreate a bit of Dark Blue World film and carrya passenger in my lap. We rumbled our way overthe countryside under a gloomy sky, the Merlingrowling over Plasy, and for a while over thelandscape of my youth west of Kladno, whereI know every field intimately, because I underwentcountless practice dead-stick landings on themin training in a Zlin 126, then growled throughSlaný and up to the shooting range of Mr. Marešat Velvary. Fuel cock, 26 inches, flaps ten, thentwenty and enter the traffic pattern at Sazenáafter three ultralights and a Seneca doing singleengine approaches. Damn, that was more trafficthan I expected. Fortunately, by then we were atabout 250 km/h, so we could shoehorn into thequeue pretty easily. So now I was curious howit would unfold. Wheels, flaps, propeller, final,aim abeam the beginning of runway lights, idle,touch down on three points, and….well! Whatta‘ya know? It worked, so all that was left was tomaintain direction, brake lightly - and suddenlyI was aware that we had come to a stop after 750meters. Damn, I didn’t expect that! And since theresult was better than expected and the trafficat Sazená was greater, I told myself that I wouldThe girls by the wing. Between Jana and Petra, the top of the head of lit-tle Andulka Cermak can be seen,who is still just a bit shy.INFO Eduard12July 2024Page 13
So what followed was a phone call to TomášRatimec in an effort to find out just what it wasthat was expected from me: ‘Well, you and MíraSázavský will do a two ship flyby, he will thenseparate for some solo aerobatics, and finish upwith a four ship display with the Thunderbolt andSpitfire’. That made a lot of sense to me, as I’vebeen flying the P-51 for a relatively short timeand I haven’t had many opportunities to practicea solo display yet. I only tried something overthe airport a couple of times, which was enoughfor me to realize that the Mustang was neithera Spitfire nor a Yak-3, and that aerobatics ina fairly confined space would not be so easy withit. I could, however, fly in a group, since I havebeen doing that quite a bit recently.As we packed up in the morning, I immediatelyunderstood what a new challenge the Mustangpresented. It has a second seat instead ofa fuselage tank, so although I tried my best toconvince Jana that it would be more comfortableif she went to Boleslav by train, I failed. Fine,I’ll take you with me, I told her - but we needto minimize the amount of stuff we carry!No evening gown, five o’clock tea dress, threehandbags and two hats. And certainly, no kitchensink. Maybe two pairs of shorts and a changeof underwear. But when I looked in the luggagecompartment after arriving at the airport andsaw how much space there was, I realized thatI was in for it. Especially when I took the sparetailwheel out, saying that we don’t need to take itwith us, I got a look that said it all. In addition toeverything needed for the weekend, ten pairs ofboots and winter ski gear could easily have beenaccommodated as well.After talking with Steve, I planned the tripthere with a stop at Sazena. I haven’t hada chance to land the Mustang on a grass runwayyet, so I wanted to try it out at a field witha longer strip. Most of all, I appreciated that RWY15L/33R has a runway edge lights and a lengthof 840 meters, while the adjacent 15R/33L isa full 1,315 meters long and has a long clearwaywith the same surface and pavement strength.So I came up with a plan to put down in a threepoint landing on the longer runway, but in linewith the beginning of the lights - and if I manageto stop at the opposite end of the line of lightswithout any problems, I will know that the 1000meters of runway at Boleslav will suffice. Andif it doesn’t work, nothing happens, I still haveanother six hundred meters ahead of me – andjust case, I can set down in Mnichovo Hradiště tobe safe and fly from there. The Mustang was inBoleslav several times, as was the Corsair andthe Yak-3, but the pilots were more experiencedon those respective types. I was only there witha Spitfire and Hurricane, but that doesn’t reallycount, since they are grass hoppers, any meadowbeing to their liking. I only have a few hours inthe P-51D so far. The Chief (now generally knownas Head of Air Operations) from Sazená, HonzaŠimon, approved my plan, so there was nothingstanding in the way of the test, except for my ownfear deep down that I might bounce too much andembarrass myself.So I loaded Jana into the airplane, and withthe help of Sucháč and Krechonaut, set offinto the wild blue over Plasy and Rakovník toSazka. Jana was said to have shed a tear aftertake-off, it was her first flight in a Mustang andactually it was a premiere for me too, as I havenever flown anyone in a warbird. All my flightsso far have been single seaters, so there wasno such opportunity, unless we were going torecreate a bit of Dark Blue World film and carrya passenger in my lap. We rumbled our way overthe countryside under a gloomy sky, the Merlingrowling over Plasy, and for a while over thelandscape of my youth west of Kladno, whereI know every field intimately, because I underwentcountless practice dead-stick landings on themin training in a Zlin 126, then growled throughSlaný and up to the shooting range of Mr. Marešat Velvary. Fuel cock, 26 inches, flaps ten, thentwenty and enter the traffic pattern at Sazenáafter three ultralights and a Seneca doing singleengine approaches. Damn, that was more trafficthan I expected. Fortunately, by then we were atabout 250 km/h, so we could shoehorn into thequeue pretty easily. So now I was curious howit would unfold. Wheels, flaps, propeller, final,aim abeam the beginning of runway lights, idle,touch down on three points, and….well! Whatta‘ya know? It worked, so all that was left was tomaintain direction, brake lightly - and suddenlyI was aware that we had come to a stop after 750meters. Damn, I didn’t expect that! And since theresult was better than expected and the trafficat Sazená was greater, I told myself that I wouldThe girls by the wing. Between Jana and Petra, the top of the head of lit-tle Andulka Cermak can be seen,who is still just a bit shy.EVENTINFO Eduard13July 2024Page 14
EVENTA P-51D and kegs of Pilsner Urquel. This looks to be the hangar where the valu-ables are stored...not even fly the second circuit and go straighton to Boleslav. I tried to take off at flaps 20.As expected, it required a little more right footto keep the plane pointed in the right direction,but other than that, we were back in the air aftermaybe 600 meters…The landing in Boleslav on Runway 04 was,as expected, without any problems, and sowe arrived as essentially the very first for theAviation History Day. We dragged all our thingsout of the compartment behind the back seatand when Míra and the other Mustang arrivedabout an hour later, we set out to come up witha program for the two of us. Quite logically, wedecided that it would be better for me to be onthe wing as number two, because I have beenflyin formations a lot in recent years and this isprecisely the position I am very used to.We started with a ten-second interval, whichturned out to be unnecessarily long. It took mea bit to catch up with Míra, but I was nailingthe turn. I settled into position and immediatelymanaged to find a good aiming point - the pitottube lined up against the prop spinner. Aftera few maneuvers, however, I understood that,in general, a formation is a formation isa formation, but there is nevertheless a bit ofa difference. It doesn’t go for the gas as much aslighter planes, the inertia is noticeable there, andthe time that is lost due to a late reaction is notthat easily made up. The only chance is a slightchange in the flight trajectory and consequentlymove in closer or further away, precipitating theneed for sometimes tighter turns, sometimes notso much, to put myself where I needed to be.Preparation for the show.INFO Eduard14July 2024Page 15
EVENTThe airshow began on Saturday and I haveto say that it was great from my point of view.Boleslav’s people have always been very wellorganized. Most of all, I really like the colourcoordinated staff who’s functions were indicatedby the colour of the t-shirts they wore, somethinglike you find on aircraft carriers. The browns arethe physically powerful members, the musclethat moves according to the reds, which arethe controlling elements. So it was very easyeven for a person who was in Boleslav for theINFO Eduard15July 2024Page 16
EVENT(photo: Jakub Vaněk)INFO Eduard16July 2024Page 17
EVENTfirst time (and therefore did not know the localaero clubbers by face) to find their way around.Whenever a plane’s flight time neared, thebrowns set into motion in sufficient numbersto push the aircraft off the stand and closer totake-off position. As all this was going on, OndraBordovský in his red t-shirt would inform ofany necessary changes to the show programand made possible all necessary adjustments.I don’t even need to talk about the fact thatfire protection and technical assistance wereautomatically available at all times. Some showsare better, some less so, but I would plead withthe organizers of the latter (and not necessarilythe smaller) to take note of this specific showto see how it’s done. There’s nothing worsethan when it’s nearing show time and the pilotis desperate to find someone to help him pushthe aircraft out - and even then it’s often chaotic,because everyone has a different opinion onwhen, who and where to push. Similarly, you tendto notice and appreciate the finer points, suchas receiving an ID badge around the neck withcontacts for transport to the hotel, of the directorof the show and information about when andwhere briefings will take place. These amountto details, yes, but these are the things that goa very long way to making the whole experiencethat much more pleasant.Everything else was also perfectly organized;food, accommodation, transport to and from thehotel, you had somewhere to hide from the sun(or cold and rain, the hustle and bustle, as thesituation warrants), where to strategically pee(yes, even that is a problem at some airshows).And since we also have a lot of friends in Boleslav,from aerobatic pilots to museum workers, wewere able to spend a lot of quality time withpeople from fifteen to over eighty years of age.But, back to the flying…As agreed upon beforehand, we took off for thefirst display as a pair. I was surprised myselfhow it went. Acceleration was the same, whichto be honest I wasn’t really sure it would be -we have different propellers, our ‘Little Rebel’has the original one with cuffs at the base ofthe blades, while ‘Excalibur’ has the newer andmore powerful paddle blades. While waiting ina designated space, Míra tested me a bit withsharper turns, and it was there that I began torealize that I needed to put in an effort to keepup - the acceleration was nowhere near whatI’m used to. And it’s always easier to fly two ofthe same type in formation, and so I was curiousto see how things would go with the Thunderboltin the early evening. We exchanged informationa few times about who had what engine settings.Since they were identical in level flight, it wasclear that we both had engines in similarcondition. But I had to go with the revolutionsa little higher, so that I could then go to a higherboost pressure, if the need arose.(photo: Jakub Vaněk)INFO Eduard17July 2024Page 18
ATC gave us the go ahead to begin and I realizedI had no idea of where the hell we actually were.It’s weird, if I am flying in groups with Treneraircraft (a Czech designed and built trainer/aerobatic type) or Harvards, I sort of know whereI am all the time without having to look anywherebut at the flight leader. I don’t know if I was justbusier, or if things were happening faster, but inshort, the spatial orientation was worse at times.But Mira informed me that we were going intothe flypast, so I can reset my vestibular systemand mentally set a position for the final approachto 04. The Mustangs revved up and I could seethe ground passing by below us, and I am noteven fully aware of how fast we were flying. Fourhundred? Five? God knows! We turned slightlyto the right, returning to the airport. A three-sixty followed, and Mira tightened up as per ourprevious planning, and I could feel the increasein g’s, and the Mustangs made a whistling sound,which is produced at greater angles of attackby air flowing through the gun ports. But duringthe turn, I began losing some distance from theoutside. I couldn’t increase throttle, I had to startto tighten the inside of the corner, but even thatwasn’t enough to compensate anymore... ‘Mira...take it down a notch’, I requested, and the distancebegan to shorten, allowing me to get back intoposition. ‘And now bring her back up’. We leveledoff after the turn, followed by a short flight fromthe airport, a right turn, we throttled up and gotready for a break. Flying low over the runway,I could peripherally see the aircraft stand behindExcalibur and the spectators, transformed intoone long blur. ‘For so many years I flew at dizzyingspeeds so that the world was a blur to me. Thelandscape was a blur, and a man just a dot’, asWerich said in the fairy tale ‘The King Had ThreeSons’. I waited for Mira’s command. He neededspeed and inertia to go into a vertical and his soloperformance. ‘Break…..now!’ Excalibur pulled intoa cuban eight in front of me and I broke away intoa turn with a sharp bank and only a slight climb.I cut the throttle back to reduce a speed, droppedthe flaps to twenty, speed 160 mph, and extendedthe gear, and lined up with Runway 22. Full flaps,speed 115, I then passed the runway threshold,set the throttle to idle, and the engine went froma deep growl to an idle ‘mole fart’. I sat her downin a three point landing, maintained direction,and lightly applied the brakes. Mira whizzed pastme to the left at high speed and continued hisdisplay. I left the runway, retracted the flaps, wentthrough the standard of procedures, continuedtaxiing and was quite happy, back on the ground.Only slightly sweaty…In about an hour and a half, we took off again,this time for the final passes as a foursome.The first pair to take off was a Spitfire Mk.XIV anda P-47D Thunderbolt, with the P-51s followingclosely behind. I started in a position on theright, I kind of preferred that, and shortly aftertake-off I shifted to the left, as per plan, becausethat was my designated place in the formation.We then caught up with the aircraft ahead ofus, and I was on the inside of the turn, makingmy task a little easier than it was for Mira.It didn’t take long for me to get into position andslowly, I got in line. The Thunderbolt led the wayand I noted the silhouette of the Spitfire Mk.XIVflying behind him. We got a peek at the Mk.XVIwith a Merlin, and it had a sort of a subtlety toEVENTINFO Eduard18July 2024Page 19
EVENTit compared to the raging XIV with the Griffonengine. I slid into position to the Thunderbolt’sleft and watched him. I couldn’t figure out ifI like the plane or not. She’s pretty attractiveonthe ground, but now with the undercarriageand flaps tucked neatly away, she really doeslook like a jug, as she was affectionately (ornot) known during the war. Her name is NellieB. ‘Nellie’, I thought, ‘you’re a tad chubby. Admitit….you have an appetite!’ At that point, we weregetting close to our fly past. The Thunderbolt hasdifferent dynamics than the Mustang and startedto pull away from us as we descended, giving ussomething to do to catch up. After the pass, wewent into a right climbing turn, and the situationreversed, with us trying not to overtake her.We turned left and went into the second flypast.Two Merlins, a Griffon and an R-2800, must bequite a sound on the ground! We returned to theairport for our break, initiated on command by theP-47. Mira went first, climbing and disappearingoff to the right. After two seconds, it was my turn.I tried to overtake Mira in the turn and did sowhile in it. We flew as a pair over the runway andbroke off for individual passes. I went into thecircuit and had the Spitfire and T-bolt in front ofme, also getting ready for their flypast. I lined upwith ‘Little Rebel’ followed by ‘Excalibur’. I roaredover Runway 04 and broke right to join a leftcircuit for 22. I watch the other aircraft as theywent one at a time into their passes. I waited untilthey were out of the way, since landing againstthem would be a pretty lousy idea. ATC confirmedand gave me clearance to land. I approached therunway, sat her down and came to the realizationthat I had enough for one day.Before flight back to Pilsen.(photo: Petra Nováková)INFO Eduard19July 2024Page 20
EVENTSunday flight back to PilsenI have zero idea what I wastrying to snap a pic of, andmost likely I just hit the shutterbutton by accident, but it didyield an interesting image!INFO Eduard20July 2024Page 21
EVENTFlypast over Rakovnik’s airport on the wayhome. Jana is making sure Lajka the dog hasa good view from the back seat. Photo: MatyasKoehllerWe were the last display, and there’s alwaysa kind of a release after the engines are shutdown. I think that everyone feels some variationof the release after all is said and done. In theevening we had a few rum pralines and then justslept and went home the next day. It was theicing on the cake. The P-51D rolls along ratherwell, even in economy cruise power settings.We were happy to fly through a few airportsalong the way and before you could say ‘cobbler’,we were back in Pilsen.So, what more can be said? I’m very glad thatSteve passed this show on to me, because thisgave me a lot of flight experience with the type.I’ve experienced the huge difference in thelanding run with a three point landing versuslanding on main wheels only, however easier andsafer it is on the wheels with a heavy warbird. Weconfirmed that the P-51D is ideal for a weekendtrip for two, because it can carry a lot morepersonal items than the Zlín 526. So if you shouldhappen to be contemplating which aircraft totake on such a trip with your wife, Jana andI highly recommend the Mustang!Once again, the Boleslav team showed that theyare extremely capable of putting on an excellentairshow focused on aviation, beyond beingcategorized as ‘a small aeroclub with a grassairstrip trying to put on a show’. These peopleare performing well in the big league. If we cancomplain about anything, then perhaps Sunday’sweather could have come a day early, but that’sjust to show how hard you have to look to find anysort of a negative…INFO Eduard21July 2024Page 22
After the return to Pilsen. You wouldn’t guessit, but the Mustang is quite a bit larger than theTrener!A meeting of modelers and aviationenthusiasts took place at Hangar 3 at thePilsen-Linie airport on the last Saturdayof June for the premiere christening of twonew Eduard kits: the P-51B/C Mustang in1/48th scale and the P-51D in 1/72nd scale.The B-17F “The Bloody Hundredth” was alsomodestly featured, thanks to a stroke of luckand logistical effort, as it was the very first(and so far only) packaged box. Its big debutawaits at IPMS USA in mid-July.The event in Pilsen was planned to start at11 am, but organizers from Eduard and thelocal Classic Trainers were at the airportmore than two hours earlier. The firstvisitors began arriving after ten o’clock. Theirnumber was limited to one hundred and fiftyto maintain the intimacy of the event. Aftera welcome by Vladimír Šulc, Radim Vojta, oneof the pilots of the “Pilsen” Mustang, took thefloor and shared his experience of flying theP-51D. He discussed the differences thiswarbird presents compared to the Spitfire,Hurricane, and Yak-3. Jiří Horák, the secondCzech pilot flying the Little Rebel, thendescribed some lesser-known technicalcharacteristics of the P-51D.Both pilots, being modelers themselves,highlighted details important from a model-er’s perspective and addressed commonmistakes regarding the Mustang, such asthe positions of flaps, control surfaces, andlanding gear doors during various phases ofground presence. After their presentations,the Little Rebel was pushed out on a standoutside the hangar. Inside, Eduard’s Mustangkit designer, Stanislav Archman, gave a pre-sentation.The actual christening of the kitstook place before the flight program.Saturday’s meeting concluded with a flightdemonstration of the Little Rebel, pilotedby Jiří Horák. Everyone agreed that anotherjoint event should be organized soon.Classic Trainers are a fantastic group, andtheir Hangar 3 is absolutely magnificent!Jan ZdiarskýPhoto: Jan Zdiarský,Michal Krechowski,Vladimír ŠulcTitle artwork:Piotr Forkasiewicz29 June 2024, LKLN Pilsen-Line AirportHangar 3EVENTINFO Eduard22July 2024MUSTANG DAY
A meeting of modelers and aviationenthusiasts took place at Hangar 3 at thePilsen-Linie airport on the last Saturdayof June for the premiere christening of twonew Eduard kits: the P-51B/C Mustang in1/48th scale and the P-51D in 1/72nd scale.The B-17F “The Bloody Hundredth” was alsomodestly featured, thanks to a stroke of luckand logistical effort, as it was the very first(and so far only) packaged box. Its big debutawaits at IPMS USA in mid-July.The event in Pilsen was planned to start at11 am, but organizers from Eduard and thelocal Classic Trainers were at the airportmore than two hours earlier. The firstvisitors began arriving after ten o’clock. Theirnumber was limited to one hundred and fiftyto maintain the intimacy of the event. Aftera welcome by Vladimír Šulc, Radim Vojta, oneof the pilots of the “Pilsen” Mustang, took thefloor and shared his experience of flying theP-51D. He discussed the differences thiswarbird presents compared to the Spitfire,Hurricane, and Yak-3. Jiří Horák, the secondCzech pilot flying the Little Rebel, thendescribed some lesser-known technicalcharacteristics of the P-51D.Both pilots, being modelers themselves,highlighted details important from a model-er’s perspective and addressed commonmistakes regarding the Mustang, such asthe positions of flaps, control surfaces, andlanding gear doors during various phases ofground presence. After their presentations,the Little Rebel was pushed out on a standoutside the hangar. Inside, Eduard’s Mustangkit designer, Stanislav Archman, gave a pre-sentation.The actual christening of the kitstook place before the flight program.Saturday’s meeting concluded with a flightdemonstration of the Little Rebel, pilotedby Jiří Horák. Everyone agreed that anotherjoint event should be organized soon.Classic Trainers are a fantastic group, andtheir Hangar 3 is absolutely magnificent!Jan ZdiarskýPhoto: Jan Zdiarský,Michal Krechowski,Vladimír ŠulcTitle artwork:Piotr Forkasiewicz29 June 2024, LKLN Pilsen-Line AirportHangar 3INFO Eduard23July 2024Page 24
Hangar 3, morningEVENTINFO Eduard24July 2024Page 25
Launch of the eventEVENTINFO Eduard25July 2024Page 26
From left to right: Steve Stead - owner and pilot of Little Rebel,Radim Vojta and Jiří Horák - pilots, Vladimír Šulc,and Michal Krechowski on the wing.EVENTINFO Eduard26July 2024Page 27
Radim Vojtaintroduces thepeculiarities of P-51Dpiloting.Jiří Horák explainsthe technicalcharacteristicsof the P-51D.Preparing the P-51D for flight.EVENTINFO Eduard27July 2024Page 28
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Stanislav Archman presentson the construction of the P-51B, C, D kits.Martin Nademlejnský and histeam at the Eduard sales stand.EVENTINFO Eduard29July 2024Page 30
Cristening of the P-51B/C 1/48, P-51D 1/72,and B-17F “The Bloody Hundredth” 1/48 kits.EVENTINFO Eduard30July 2024Page 31
There’s always plenty to see atClassic Trainers in their Hangar 3.EVENTINFO Eduard31July 2024Page 32
P-51D Little Rebel flight demonstration.EVENTINFO Eduard32July 2024Page 33
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After the landing - Jiří Horák,pilotEVENTINFO Eduard38July 2024Page 39
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During the flightdemonstration, the LittleRebel carried severalkits from the christeningin place of the originalfuselage fuel tank. Theywere carefully unloadedfrom the aircraft afterlanding.EVENTINFO Eduard40July 2024Page 41
The very first packaged B-17F “The Bloody Hundredth” 1/48 (August release) was also carried by the Mustang.The kit was then signed by Jiří Horák and other members of the Little Rebel team.EVENTINFO Eduard41July 2024Page 42
Two Bluenosers.We couldn’t miss this photo arrangement...!Some of Eduard’s team arranged a reward in the formof a chance to wash Little Rebel after the flight.EVENTINFO Eduard42July 2024Page 43
“I enjoy open hangar days. People come, they lookaround, and they are interested. However, evenmore I like the model events with Eduard - ModelAccessories that we organize occasionally. We’vecollaborated like this before with the Spitfire,Hurricane, Trener series Zlins, and yesterday withthe Mustang. Modelers are disciplined and genuinelyinterested, so it’s no problem to allow them closecontact with the aircraft. They can take pictures,look wherever they want, and there’s no need toworry about them touching things they shouldn’tand fiddling with something that shouldn’t be fiddledwith. They’re genuinely interested too, so we enjoytalking about planes because they’re always askingquestions and it’s usually to the point. We hope thiswasn’t the last event of its kind.”Radim Vojta,Classic Trainers30 June 2024EVENTINFO Eduard43July 2024Mustang day - Bonus
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RIGHT GUNBAYIDENTIFICATION LIGHTSON THE RIGHT WING TIPEVENTINFO Eduard49July 2024Aerial War in Ukraine - Russian Airports Under Fire
During the monitored period from May 1 to May 31, the Russians attempted to open a new front in the Kharkiv area. It ended as it always does. Meanwhile, Ukraine intensified its campaign against Russian airports. The targets included air defense systems, radars, and bomb and fuel depots. It seems they are preparing the ground for the anticipated deployment of F-16 fighters.
Miro BaričRussian Airports Under FireThe offensive against the Kharkiv regionbegan on Friday, May 10. The Russians gatheredaround 50,000 soldiers for it. The Ukrainians sawthis buildup of forces at their borders but hadlimited options to counter them because the Westonly allowed the use of their weapons under thecondition they are deployed within the Ukrainianterritory.At first, the Russians advanced quickly,causing alarmed comments in the Western pressand criticism of why Ukraine had not fortifiedthis area. Well, try building fortifications right atthe border under the watch of Russian artillery...In reality, the first Ukrainian line was about10 km from the border, and the Russians nevercrossed it. The border zone was a kind of grayarea patrolled only by small units.The Russian advance focused on the town ofVovchansk northeast of Kharkiv and the villageof Lypci, located a bit further west. The plan wasto create two pincers aimed ultimately at Kharkiv– or at least to divert Ukrainian units from otherareas of the front. None of this succeeded.In other sectors, the Russian advance did notspeed up, and even in the Kharkiv region, theyonly managed to occupy a few abandonedvillages at great cost. By the end of the monitoredperiod, the Ukrainians even started pushing theRussians back.Western Missile against Russia?This Kharkiv adventure did have one significantconsequence, although not the one the Russiansenvisioned. Most Western countries liftedrestrictions that prohibited Ukrainians fromusing their weapons against Russian territory.The result was, for instance, the destruction of anS-300 battery in the Belgorod region. The S-300missiles, in a ground-to-ground configuration,were previously used by the Russians to shellKharkiv and kill its residents.At first glance, this sounds overly optimistic.However, details gradually emerged, revealingthat the USA only slightly relaxed its restrictions.Ukrainians can only use standard GMLRSmissiles from HIMARS rocket launchers, witha range of about 80 km, against Russian territory.They cannot attack Russia with ATACMS missiles,which have a range of 300 km. Thus, criticalcommand posts of the Russian army remainout of Ukrainian reach. The areas Ukraine canshell are also limited, and they must carefullyselect their targets. They can only strike thoseunits actively attacking Ukrainian territory fromRussian soil. Therefore, Ukraine continues tofight mainly with domestically produced droneson Russian territory, while Western missilesare used against occupied territories, focusingparticularly on Crimea.Attacks on AirportsOn Saturday, April 27, drones struck theKuschevskaya airbase in Russia's Krasnodarregion. One Flanker (Su-27 or Su-35) wasdamaged, and one unidentified aircraft wasdestroyed. Much more significant, however, wasthe hit on a warehouse containing kits for thewing-mounted guided glide bombs, which wascompletely destroyed. The Russian air forcehad been using these bombs to attack Ukrainianfrontline positions for several months, so theirdestruction is a welcome aid to the defendersin the trenches.On Tuesday, April 30, 12 ATACMS missiles hittargets around the Dzhankoi and Gvardeiskoeairbases in occupied Crimea.Belbek airport in Crimea suffered massivedamage on Wednesday, May 15, after beinghit by ATACMS missiles. Two MiG-31 fightersand one unidentified aircraft were completelydestroyed. One Su-27 was damaged, andanother three Su-27s were likely damaged.One MiG-29 was also destroyed. ThisMiG-29 was one of the nine originally Ukrainianfighters captured by the Russians at Belbekairbase during the 2014 occupation of Crimeaand had remained in a non-operational statesince. Additionally, a fuel depot was completelyburned down, which is a significant blow tothe Russian air force's ability to operate fromBelbek. Without the necessary infrastructure,it's just a concrete runway without thecapability to quickly prepare aircraft for combatmissions. The final blow was the destructionof an S-400 air defense battery, with photosof the battery appearing on social media.During the monitored period from May 1 to May 31, the Russians attempted to opena new front in the Kharkiv area. It ended as it always does. Meanwhile, Ukraineintensified its campaign against Russian airports. The targets included air defensesystems, radars, and bomb and fuel depots. It seems they are preparing the groundfor the anticipated deployment of F-16 fighters.Note the weatheringon this Ukrainian MiG-29.Aerial War in UkraineINFO Eduard50July 2024Page 51
The aircraft hits were confirmed by satelliteimages.On Sunday, May 19, the Kushchevskayaairbase was again targeted by Ukrainian drones.One Flanker (Su-27 or Su-35) was destroyed.This aircraft originally belonged to the RussianKnights aerobatic team, identifiable by itsdistinctive white-blue-red coloring. One Su-34was also damaged. The damaged aircraft canalso be seen in satellite images. After the attack,most of the Russian aircraft left this base.On Wednesday, May 22, five ATACMS missileshit an S-400 air defense battery at Mospinoairport in the Donetsk region. The radar, controlcenter, and two launchers were destroyed, whileone launcher was damaged.Destroyed in the AirIn total, the Russian air force lost six aircrafton the ground and five more were damagedduring the month. Only one aircraft was lost inthe air, but it was a significant loss. A Su-34 withthe designation RF-95002 and fuselage number"red 21" was destroyed during a combat flight onS-400 system destroyed on May 15 at the Belbek airport in Crimea.A Maxar satellite captured the wreckage of two MiG-31fighters the day after the attack on Belbek airport.A fuel depot at the Belbek base, in a satellite image from Maxar, shown before and after the attack.A destroyed warehouse containing kits for glide bombs at the Kuščevskaja base. A Flanker in the colors of the Russkiye Vityazi aerobatic team wasdestroyed on May 19 at the Kuščevskaja base. The upper photo wastaken by Planet Labs on May 5, and the lower one was taken on May 23.A pair of MiG-31 fighters in an image released by theRussian Ministry of Defense.A destroyed non-airworthy ex-Ukrainian MiG-29 at Belbek airport.INFO Eduard51July 2024Page 52
Monday, May 6, near the town of Valuyki in theBelgorod region. It belonged to the 47th BomberAviation Regiment of the 105th Mixed AviationDivision. Its crew, Yevgeny Kuznetsov andVladimir Strelkov, did not have time to eject andboth pilots died. According to Russian sources,they were among the most experienced pilots.The aircraft had also completed a number ofcombat missions, symbolized by the red starsbelow the cockpit, with the first ones added inSyria.Additionally, Ukraine reported shooting downseven Su-25 attack aircraft and one Ka-52helicopter during the monitored month, but theselosses have not yet been confirmed. In one case,however, there is a blurry video purportedlycapturing the strike on a Russian Su-25.Fuel in the GunsightIn addition to airport attacks, Ukrainecontinued targeting refineries, strategicenterprises, and other significant sites. On Friday,May 10, an ATACMS missile completely destroyedthe largest fuel depot in the entire Luhanskregion.A major attack occurred on the night of May11-12, when Ukrainian military intelligence(GRU) drones repeatedly hit a refinery inVolgograd, approximately 475 km from thefront line. Simultaneously, steelworks inNovolipetsk and another refinery in Kalugawere attacked. The next day, a Storm Shadowmissile struck a large radar complex in Crimea.On Friday, May 17, a concentrated attacktargeted a refinery in Tuapse in southern Russia.Ukrainians exploited gaps in Russian air defense,sending a total of 80 drones in a column. Thissame refinery had been seriously damaged bydrones back in January, with repairs lasting untilApril.On the morning of Thursday, May 23, a RussianVoronezh-DM radar station in the Krasnodarregion, used for over-the-horizon early detection,was hit by drones. This occurred 430 km fromthe front line. The radar's stated range was upto 6,000 km.In Luhansk, on Monday, May 27, an old, long-unused airfield, now serving the Russians forimporting and storing supplies, was targetedby ATACMS missiles. Based on the massive firethat broke out on the runway, a fuel depot wasdestroyed.Bombing Their OwnThe Russians also shelled their own territory,albeit unintentionally. On Sunday, May 4, a glidebomb intended for Kharkiv fell on Belgorod,damaging around 30 houses and resulting incivilian casualties.In three months, the Russian air force dropped46 FAB-250 and FAB-500 bombs on its ownterritory. On May 18, eight of these bombs fell inthe Belgorod region alone. These reports comefrom Russian media that support the attack onUkraine. Then, on May 20, four glide bombs fellon Shebekino, which is on the Russian side ofthe border opposite Ukrainian Vovchansk. It isfortunate for Russian civilians that most of thesebombs did not explode, likely because they werenot armed during faulty or emergency drops.A controversial incident occurred in Belgorodon Sunday, May 12, when a multi-family buildingin a residential area was hit. Part of the buildingcollapsed immediately, and the rest fell on therescuers searching for victims in the rubble.At least 15 people died and 20 were injured. It isunclear what hit the building. Various Russiansources mentioned an ATACMS missile, Tochka-U,Vilkha, or a guided Hammer bomb. It was alsospeculated tha the Czech Vampire rocketlauncher was used. Some Russian sourcesadmitted that the building was not intentionallytargeted, claiming a downed missile had hit it.The building was not struck from the Ukrainianside, as windows on the adjacent entranceremained intact. The explosion occurred on theside facing Russian territory, where neighboringwindows were shattered. Most likely, thebuilding was hit by a Russian air defense missile.It should be noted that conspiracy theoriesemerged suggesting the building was blown upby the Russian secret service. Similar suspiciousexplosions preceded Putin's first term in officein 2000. He was "re-elected" again recently.The practical outcome of his fifth term isa change in the position of defense minister.Sergei Shoigu was replaced by Andrei Belousov.Duels between Boat and HelicopterUkraine continued its naval drone operations.In addition to attacking Russian ships, theystarted using these drones armed withunconventional weapons. Drones equippedwith Grad rocket launchers shelled the coastA Su-34 marked RF-95002 and fuselage number "red21" was destroyed on May 6. Combat mission symbolsare visible under the cockpit.The Voronezh-DM radar station hit byUkrainian drones on May 23.A Russian bomb that fell on a house in the Belgorodregion of Russia.An apartment building destroyed in Belgorod on May 12.INFO Eduard52July 2024Page 53
of Crimea. On Monday, May 6, footage of battlesbetween Ukrainian drones and Russian patrolhelicopters was released. In one video, a RussianKamov Ka-29 helicopter fires a machine gun ata Ukrainian naval drone in Vuzka Bay, Crimea.The prolonged duel involved intense maneuveringfrom both vehicles, but eventually, the boat washit and started burning.However, a second battle ended in a draw.The naval drone was equipped with an anti-aircraft missile, either an R-73 or R-60, mountedon a rail on its back. When a Russian Mi-8helicopter attacked, the drone fired this missileat it. Although the missile missed, the helicopterretreated to safety.During the observed period, naval drones sankat least one Russian speedboat and reportedlyhit a Russian minesweeper. The Karakurt-classcorvette Cyclone was supposedly destroyedby missiles in the port of Sevastopol on Sunday,May 19.Ukrainian LossesThe Ukrainian air force also suffered lossesduring this period, both on the ground (though notas severe as the Russian losses) and one in theair. On Saturday, May 11, the Russians managedto locate a forward helicopter base nearManvelivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region. TwoMi-24 helicopters were destroyed in thesubsequent attack, killing at least three pilots:Major Anatoliy Skiba, Lieutenant OleksandrAtasov, and Chief Sergeant Serhiy Nazarčuk,all reportedly from the 11th Independent ArmyAviation Brigade.On May 15, 16, and 18, the airfield in Myrhorodin the Poltava region was repeatedly targetedby Russian missile attacks. Satellite imagesindicate that one aircraft shelter took a direct hit,but it is unclear if anything was inside.Subsequently, on Wednesday, May 22, Dniproairport, where retired Yak-40 aircraft weredestroyed the previous month, was hit again.This time, a MiG-29 fighter was struck. Given theintense fire, it was likely an airworthy airplaneand not a decoy.The sole Ukrainian air loss occurred on Friday,May 17, when a Su-27 from the 831st TacticalAviation Brigade was shot down while attackingground targets. The experienced pilot, LieutenantColonel Denis Vasyljuk, was killed. The aircraftwas reportedly hit by an R-37 or R-77 missilefired by a Russian Su-35S fighter.Propaganda vs. RealityTo avoid accusations of spreading only"Western propaganda," we also include somefrom the Eastern perspective. The Russianarmed forces officially announced that fromMay 11 to May 17, they destroyed four Mi-24helicopters, six MiG-29 fighters, and one Su-27.Out of these eleven claims in one week, onlyImages from the duel between a Russian Ka-29and a Ukrainian naval drone.A Ukrainian Su-24.Lieutenant Colonel DenisVasyljuk died on May 17 in thecockpit of a Ukrainian Su-27.FrankenSAM –a combination ofa Buk launchsystem andSea Sparrowmissiles.A Kub system deliveredto Ukraine from theCzech Republic.A Ukrainian OSA AK with R-73 missiles.A Ukrainian MiG-29 in a shelter.A Ukrainian naval drone equipped with an R-73 missile.INFO Eduard53July 2024Page 54
three are confirmed.Since the start of the three-day specialoperation, which by the time this informationwas released had lasted 816 days, the Russiansofficially announced the destruction of 601aircraft, 274 helicopters, 24,234 unmannedvehicles, 522 anti-aircraft missile systems,16,058 tanks and other armored vehicles, 1,303rocket launchers, and 9,635 guns and mortars.How Ukraine could have obtained such quantitiesof equipment and how it can continue to fightafter such losses remains unexplained byRussian propaganda.Austrian expert and author of many books onmilitary aviation Tom Cooper published muchmore sober figures. His Slovak colleague MilošŠipoš compiled tables of losses that are 100%verified, showing that from February 24, 2022,to May 18, 2024, Ukraine lost 38 aircraft of alltypes and 48 helicopters. This does not includedecommissioned machines that were groundedat airports and subsequently destroyed orcaptured by the Russians.During the same period (two years and threemonths), the Russian air force lost 99 aircraftand 117 helicopters. The actual numbers onboth sides are likely higher as many losses areconfirmed only after several months.New ReinforcementsFinally, let's mention some new additions tothe Ukrainian air force's arsenal. MiG-29 fighterswere seen equipped with BRU-61 racks. Eachof these racks can normally carry four GBU-39SDB (Small Diameter Bombs). The BRU-61s aremounted on the inner hardpoints under the wingsnear the fuselage. However, the MiG-29's payloadcapacity isn't large enough to handle a full loadof eight GBU-39 bombs. Each rack can thereforecarry a maximum of three bombs, totalingsix. There were also flight photos showinga MiG-29 carrying five of these bombs – three onone rack and two on the other. According to theaccompanying description, these photos evenshowed an originally Slovak MiG-29, but thisis not certain. At the very end of the observedperiod, it was reported that Sweden woulddeliver two Saab 340 Airborne Early Warning andControl (AEW&C) aircraft to Ukraine. In recentyears, these aircraft have received upgradedelectronic systems providing them with higherprotection. Their radar can capture aerialtargets at a range up to 400 km and can trackmore than 300 targets simultaneously – not justaerial, but also maritime and ground targets. Forthe planned deliveries of F-16 aircraft, this issignificant because the Saab 340 can serve asextended eyes for these fighters. Until now, theUkrainian air force did not have this capability,while the Russian side had the advantage withA-50 aircraft.GBU-39 bombs under the wing of a MiG-29.A Ukrainian Mi-17V-5 helicopter was damaged bya shrapnel, presumably from a man-portable missile.The photo was released on May 30. The Afghanemblem is visible under the Ukrainian insignia.A hypermarket in Kharkiv that was hit by a Russian glide bomb on May 25, killing 19 peopleand injuring 65.These photos allegedly show an originally Slovak MiG-29 carrying the GBU-39 bombs.INFO Eduard54July 2024Page 55
#8286BOXART STORYThe wereabouts of Allied air units duringWorld War II were often very tortuous, andtheir pilots faced many difficulties. Two RAAFsquadrons that became part of the AustralianColtishall Wing at the turn of 1944 and 1945serve as examples of different deploymentpaths.The first unit, No. 451 Squadron, was deployedin Africa and the Mediterranean from May 1941until the end of 1944. Initially, its pilots flewHurricanes, switching to Spitfires in March 1943,and even testing Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib planesin the Mediterranean in the second half of theyear. Ultimately, however, the unit remainedloyal to the Spitfires. Its deployment was somonotonous and casual that it became thesquadron with the lowest morale in the RAAF in1942 and 1943. By the end of 1944, the commandwas not considering moving No. 451 Squadronback to Australia, and its equipment was notsuitable for deployment in Italy. Therefore,it handed over its Mk.IX Spitfires to another unit,moved to Britain, and re-equipped with Mk.XVISpitfires.The second unit of the Australian Wing,No. 453 Squadron, had a considerably morecolourful history. It was first deployed withBrewster Buffalo aircraft in the fight againstthe Japanese, and after suffering heavy losses,the command disbanded it in the spring of 1942.In the summer of 1942, a new RAAF unit withthis number was established in the UK withSpitfire aircraft.. In January 1944, it becamepart of No. 125 Airfield, then No. 125 Wing withinthe 2nd Tactical Air Force in May 1944. It wasone of the squadrons operating from Frenchterritory in June 1944 and withdrew to theUK in September 1944. Its pilots scored theirlast aerial victories on September 27, 1944, incombat with Messerschmitt Bf 109s at Arnhem.In Britain, both squadrons were based atMatlaske airfield as part of the Australian Wingand became part of the Air Defence of GreatBritain (ADGB). The main task of the Australianairmen was to attack V-1 and V-2 weaponlaunchers in the Netherlands. Occasionally, theywere tasked with fighter sweeps or escortingbombers, but their primary mission was groundattacks, targeting train transports or armouredpersonnel carriers. The Australians no longerclashed with enemy airmen, their mainadversary was German flak.The Wing was led by former No. 453 SquadronRAAF commander, W/Cdr Donald G. Andrews,who had previously served with RAF SquadronsNo. 615, 245, and 175. He served with AustralianNo. 453 Squadron until May 1944 and wasawarded the DFC for his performance. After anoperational hiatus, he assumed command ofthe Australian Wing in February 1945. Despiteincorporating his old No. 453 Squadron into it,he also deployed pilots from No. 451 Squadroninto combat. He later recalled that withinten days, German flak shot down two of hiswingmen, fortunately with both airmen escapingsafely. Records from both squadrons, however,indicate that malfunctions and accidents werethe primary causes of Spitfire losses.In April 1945, the Australian Wing primarilyescorted British bombers on daytime operationsover northern Germany. An exception wason April 11, during a raid by about a hundredHalifaxes on Bayreuth railway station. Andrewspersonally led the wing in this action, butexecuting the escort was challenging asbomber crews struggled to maintain formation.This raid marked the third attack on the city inApril 1945, resulting in the destruction of abouta third of its buildings. American troops enteredBayreuth on April 14, 1945.The final ceremonial task of the AustralianWing was to provide escort by No. 453 Squadronfor Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands onher return to her homeland on May 2, 1945.Following the end of the war in Europe, theWing relocated to bases in Germany.Andrews's personal Supermarine SpitfireLF Mk XVI, TB520, adorned with fuselagedesignation DGA and Gremlin emblem, remainedin service for nearly two more years after thewar's conclusion. It was transferred to No. 183Squadron RAF at Wunsdorf in mid-June 1945.A few weeks later, the Spitfire was sent to theUK to join No. 587 Squadron of the RAF. After thesquadron disbanded in June 1946, ownershipof Andrews's former aircraft passed toNo. 691 Squadron. Unfortunately, the Spitfiresustained irreparable damage during take-offat Middle Wallop airfield in Hampshire on March24, 1947.Illustration: Piotr ForkasiewiczAustralian Mark SixteensText: Jan BobekINFO Eduard55July 2024Page 56
BOXART STORY #84201Throughout most of its existence,Jagdgeschwader 5 operated over variousregions of northern Europe. Its Stab, I., II.,and III. Gruppe equipped with Bf 109E, F andGs based in northern Finland, fought mostlyagainst elements of the Soviet air force in thearea of Murmansk. It’s IV. Gruppe operated mostlyfrom bases in Norway and often against aircraftof the RAF and on occasion with the Fleet Air Arm.Besides the aforementioned Jagdgruppen underJG 5, there were also two other autonomousStaffeln with twin-engined Messerschmitt Bf 110and Fw 190A fighter-bombers.Jagdgeschwader 5 was quickly nicknamed‘Eismeer’, (meaning ‘Ice Sea’), an obviousreference to their theatre of operations. Theirmost successful period was through 1942 and1943 while operating against the Soviets. Thenumber of kills attained by JG 5 pilots wasapparently in the neighbourhood of 2700 (thoughsome sources put the number as high as 3200).Among JG 5's top fighter pilots were two airmenwho achieved over 200 victories during their timewith the unit. These were Theo Weissenberger,who achieved a total of 208 victories, andHeinrich Ehrler, whose score stood at 204 kills.Aerial combat in this part of Europe waschallenging not only because of the climaticconditions but also due to other factors, such asthe position of the sun during the Polar Day, whenthe sun does not set and can be seen just abovethe northern horizon at night. If aerial combattook place over the sea, an aviator's prospectsfor rescue in the event of a surface landing werepoor, even during the summer months.This box art by Antonis Karydis depictspart of an aerial encounter that took place onJuly 20, 1943, at 10:30 pm near Vardø, Norway.Hptm. Heinrich Ehrler played a key role in thisengagement, for which he was awarded the OakLeaf Cluster to the Knight's Cross.A German convoy was sailing near Vardø, andthe Soviets attempted to attack the vesselsseveral times throughout the day. The last raidwas carried out by eight Shturmoviks from the46th ShAP based at Vaenga airfield. The firstfour were led by regimental commander Maj.Mikhailov, and the second group was led byCapt. Kalichev. The escort for the first groupwas provided by Airacobras from the 255thIAP SF, and the second group was protectedby Hurricanes from the 78th IAP. The Sovietformation took off at 22:36 Soviet time, but oneof the Shturmoviks had to turn back due toengine problems. Mikhailov's formation attackedthe German vessels at 23:28 and reported twohits. Kalichev's group, reduced to three aircraft,attacked artillery positions on the Norwegiancoast near Kiberg.At that moment, enemy pilots flyingMesserschmitt Bf 109 Gs from II./JG 5, who hadtaken off from nearby Kirkenes, were already inthe target area. The Soviet fighters claimed tohave downed five aircraft, which they identifiedas Fw 190s, but the Germans appear to havesuffered no losses in this engagement. ThreeHurricanes were shot down in the battle, andnone of the pilots survived. Another Hurricanecrashed during the return. In this engagement,Ehrler, as commander of 6./JG 5, claimed twoHurricanes as his 111th and 112th victories. SomeHurricanes, possibly as many as five, wereclaimed by other airmen of II./JG 5.Ehrler took command of III./JG 5 in 1943 andbecame Kommodore of the entire JG 5 in mid-1944. However, his career was ruined by theRAF raid on the battleship Tirpitz on November12, 1944. Mistakes and misunderstandings onthe part of command of both the Kriegsmarineand aerial ops resulted in JG 5 not being toldwhere the ship was or where the bombers were!The end result is well known, but JG 5 CO, Ehrler,was brought before a court, and the sentenceof the classic show trial, three years’ detention,was reported by the BBC a day before it waspublished, no less!Thanks to the activities of Ehrler’s subordinates,it became possible for Hitler to step in and havethe sentence reduced to three months. At thesame time, Ehrler was allowed to return tothe front. Theo Weissenberger took him underhis protective wing to JG 7, equipped with theMe 262. With this unit, Ehrler died in combat inApril, 1945. According to witnesses who heard hisfinal words, his death was the result of a suicideramming attack of an American B-24 Liberator.The majority of the responsibility for the chaosduring the defence of the Tirpitz lies on theshoulders of the command of air operations inNorway, who was no other than GeneralleutnantEduard Ritter von Schleich, a veteran of the FirstWorld War and good friend of Goering’s. Threedays after the sinking of the Tirpitz, Goeringquietly moved him behind the scenes.Text: Jan BobekIllustration: Antonis KarydisIce SeaINFO Eduard56July 2024Page 57
#84102BOXART STORYOne of the legendary fighter pilots of II./JG 52,"Heino" Sachseberg, was retrained from flyingthe Bf 109 to the Me 262 after achieving his 104thvictory in the spring of 1945. His final unit wasGalland's Jagdverband 44 equipped with Me 262jets.The jet powered Me 262 were most vulnerableduring take-off and landing. Aircraft of JV 44were no different, because during low speeds,the Me 262 was more difficult to control, and thethrottle had to be treated with a gentle respect,or the result could be a stalled engineor a fire. During the final phases of the war,it was standard practice for jet aircraft to becovered by piston engined planes during thesecritical flight phases. As a result, JV 44 organizeda protective flight using Fw 190 Ds under theleadership of Heino Sachsenberg.Sachsenberg was a logical choice. He certainlydidn’t lack bold nerve, and he had several year-long experience fighting fast flying enemyfighters at low altitudes. His pilots also had tocontend with another danger - friendly groundfire. According to the memoirs of JohannesSteinhoff,a good chunk of crews of the anti-aircraftartillery at Riem were women. There was no realeffort to distinguish between friendly and enemyaircraft. The Me 262 did enjoy relative security inthis respect due to its distinctive silhouette andengine noise. Perhaps this was why the bottomsurfaces of the Doras of JV 44 were painted redon the bottom, with white stripes.The duties of Sachsenberg’s protective flightwere largely improvised. His pilots couldn’tcommunicate directly with the pilots of thejet powered Me 262s. They simply took off andcircled the field at low altitudes until the Me 262swere safely on their way. Usually, there weretwo Fw 190 Ds in the air, but, as an exception,Riem was circled by four.Problems began when the jets returned.For them to set down as quickly as possible,there must not have been anything in their way.The Focke-Wulfs always had to land before theMesserschmitts. This left their colleagues in theMe 262s to land without the protective cover anddependant on their skill, luck and field AAA.Galland himself was victim of this practice.On April 26, 1945, he crashed at Riem withinjuries and a damaged aircraft. There was noone in the air to cover him. Sachsenberg’s -190swere covered in their shelters at the northernedge of the air field, and his pilots weren’t tooclose to the remaining JV 44 pilots. Up to now,there are five Fw 190 Ds that served with JV 44,and most of them wore a black and white squaresymbol with a red ring and a specific slogan. Theinscription was very personal and the authorshipwas probably tied to a specific pilot.Almost certainly, this is the case with Red ‘3’,which was assigned to Hptm. Waldemar Wübke(15 victories and a veteran of JG 54). Apparently,this notorious prankster and Sachsenbergunderstood each other quite well, and on hisaircraft he reiterated the inscription fromhis aircraft as far back as 1940. Another twopilots who flew with Sachsenberg (and wereconfirmed by JV 44 documentation) were Lt. KarlH. Hoffmann and Hptm. Klaus Faber (2 victoriesand a JG 27 veteran). The fifth member of thisflight was not Fw. Bodo Dirschauer, as previouslystated, but Maj. Wilhelm Steinmann, a holder ofthe Knight's Cross with 44 victories.The protection flight over Riem engagedAmerican pilots only a few times, but details arenevertheless lacking. During the evacuation ofthe base, two Focke-Wulfs were left behind, theremainder were to move to Ainring at Salzburg.It appears that only two made it, and the thirdwas found at the end of the war at Bad Aibling.JV 44 always reported having five Fw 190 D-9sand Fw 190D-11s. Klaus Faber recounted afterthe war ferrying Red ‘13’ from Ainring to BadAibling. On the way, he met a group of Mustangsand Thunderbolts, and reportedly shot downone, maybe two of them. He was also to delivera supply of whiskey back to Ainring. Capitulationfound JV 44 at Ainring, at Salzburg and Innsbruck.Her members found their way home fairly quickly.Note: This text is a slightly edited excerptfrom Sachsenberg's biography, published inINFO Eduard 11/2010. A biography of his uncle,WWI naval fighter Gotthard Sachsenberg, can befound in INFO Eduard 04/2021.Illustration: Antonis KarydisRed DorasText: Jan BobekINFO Eduard57July 2024Page 58
#8286Spitfire Mk.XVI High Back1/48The ProfiPACK edition kit of British fighter aircraft Spitfire Mk.XVIin 1/48 scale. It is possible to built either the Spitfire Mark Sixteenwith standard canopy or with high back from the kit.plastic parts: Eduardmarking options: 6decals: EduardPE parts: yes, pre-paintedpainting mask: yesresin parts: noProduct pageKITS 07/2024INFO Eduard58July 2024Page 59
TB752, S/Ldr Henry Zary, CO of No. 403 Squadron, B.114 Diepholz, Germany,April–May 1945SM403, F/O Gordon M. Hill, No. 416 Squadron, B.56 Evere, Belgium, December 1944The Spitfire serial number TB752 was built byVickers-Armstrong at the Castle Bromwichfactory with elliptical wingtips and was handedover to No. 33 Maintenance Unit RAF Lynehamon February 21, 1945. The first combat unit withwhich TB752 served was No. 66 Squadron in March1945, where it received the fuselage code LZ-F.On March 25, 1945, it suffered damage to its wingand propeller during an emergency landing, whichwas repaired by No. 409 RSU. On April 19, 1945, therepaired TB752, this time with clipped wingtips,was transferred to a new operational combat unit,No. 403 Squadron. There it received the codesKH-Z and became the favorite aircraft of No. 403Squadron commander S/Ldr Henry Zary. On hisvery first flight with TB752, Zary shot down oneBf 109 on April 21, scoring five confirmed victoriesand becoming an ace. On April 25, he destroyedone Me 262 and one Ju 88 during strafing attackon German airfield with TB752. Other No. 403Squadron pilots achieved notable successes inthe cockpit of TB752 in the last days of the war.For example, on April 25, P/O D. Leslie shot downone Fw 189, on May 1 F/O R. Young shot down anFw 190 and on May 3 F/O Fred Town sent downa He 111. Shortly after the war, the TB752 propellercone received a red, white and blue paint job andthe code letters KH-Z were given black outlines.In 1955 TB752 was moved to Manston where itstood for many years on a pedestal at the airportentrance gate. In 1978 the Medway branch of theRoyal Aeronautical Society offered to refurbish itand on July 7 was TB752 transferred to RochesterAirport. On September 15, 1979, followinga successful refurbishment, TB752 returnedto Manston in the livery of No. 403 Squadron.In mid-December 1944, No. 416 Squadron wasrearmed from Mk.IX Spitfires to the all-newMk.XVIE ones. One of the first of the newlydelivered Spitfires was an aircraft with serialnumber SM403 with a shortened wingspan,which subsequently received the code lettersDN-S. When SM403 was taken by F/O GordonHill for a flight test to see how the new Spitfireperformed, the name “Sweet Sixteen” stuck withhim upon landing and he had it painted on thetank cover of his new Spitfire by ground staff.According to his personal recollections, the“Sweet Sixteen” was his favorite Spitfire. Hill’sfirst combat mission with the new SM403 wasa patrol of twelve “Sixteen’s” on ChristmasDay 1944 over the Malmedy-Houffalize area.By December 31, 1944, No. 416 Squadron hadflown 73 combat sorties on patrols and sweepsand claimed a kill on an Fw 190. By the end ofWorld War II, No. 416 Squadron had then flown2,040 combat sorties with its “sixteens” as partof No. 127 Wing, adding to its wartime total of75 confirmed kills the amount of enemy groundequipment destroyed.KITS 07/2024INFO Eduard59July 2024Page 60
TB349, F/Lt Malcom J. Gordon, No. 421 Squadron, B.90 Petit Brogel, Belgium,February–April 1945RR227, S/Ldr Otto Smik, No. 127 Squadron, B.60 Grimbergen, Belgium, November 1944Malcolm “Mac” Gordon was very proud of hisSpitfire which bore a long unintelligible inscription“Chinawattakamapoosekinapee” on the left sideof the engine cowling. The story of this strangeinscription took place one evening over a fewbeers when Mac and Bill Marshall decided to comeup with a name for Mac’s Spitfire. As the night woreon and the beer consumption increased, the namegot longer and longer. The red Indian emblemon the left side of the engine cowling depictsthe logo of the McColl Frontenac Oil Company,which sponsored No. 421 Squadron. “Mac” Gordonachieved a total of five kills during his wartimecareer in the cockpit of several Spitfires withNos. 403 and 421 Squadron and received the DFC.When No. 127 Squadron was rearmed withSpitfires Mk.XVI in early November 1944, Otto SmikDFC became its new commander on November13. He had the honor of becoming one of onlythree Czechoslovaks to command a Britishsquadron. Unfortunately, Smik’s command wasshort-lived. He was shot down by anti-aircraftartillery during an attack on Zwolle stationon November 28, 1944 and did not survive anemergency landing with his difficult-to-controlaircraft. Smik chose the serial number RR227as his personal Spitfire for No. 127 Squadron.Unfortunately, the appearance of his aircraft isnot documented photographically. Earlier sourcesstate that the fuselage designation may havebeen 9N-B or 9N-R, but new research confirmsthat both the fuselage letters B and R were wornby Spitfires of a different serial number at thetime. Among the first newly delivered Spitfires toNo. 127 Squadron after Smik’s death was anaircraft that received the letter N. It is thusvery likely that Smik also took his favoriteletter N for No. 127 Squadron as he did duringhis time in the ranks of Czechoslovak No. 310and No. 312 Squadrons. Smik also painted thesymbols of kills on his planes in various forms,the flag of the Squadron commander cannot becompletely ruled out, nor can the presence ofthe Czechoslovak cockade. S/Ldr Otto Smik wasthe most successful Czechoslovak pilot fightingin Spitfires, in their cockpits he achieved elevenconfirmed kills of enemy aircraft and destroyedthree V-1 missiles.KITS 07/2024INFO Eduard60July 2024Page 61
F/Lt Gordon M. Braidwood, No. 322 Squadron, B.106 Twente, Netherlands, April 1945TB520, W/Cdr Donald G. Andrews, CO of Coltishall Wing, RAF Matlaske,United Kingdom, March–May 1945No. 322 Squadron was formed at Woodvale in June1943 by renumbering No. 167 squadron, which hadin its staffing a high proportion of Dutch pilots.In December 1943 it moved south to Hawkingewith its Spitfires Mk.V. In March it moved toAcklington where it was rearmed with the all-new and powerful Spitfires Mk.XIV with Griffonengines. As part of the West Malling Wing, the unitwas deployed during the V-1 missile offensiveagainst southern England in early June, and bythe end of August the pilots of No. 322 Squadronhad succeeded in destroying 108.5 V-1 missiles.When the threat ended in August, the unit wasrearmed to Spitfires LF Mk.IX. Rearmament toSpitfires Mk.XVIe followed in November, andin early 1945 the unit moved to Belgium to jointhe Norwegian No. 132 Wing. Here, as part of the2nd TAF, it mostly carried out support attacks onGerman ground and air equipment until the endof the war. One of the most successful pilots wasBritish A Flight Commander, F/Lt G. M. Braidwood,who was credited with five aircraft destroyed andseven damaged while strafing German airfields.Australian “Don” Andrews, a native ofQueensland, joined the RAAF in November1940. He trained in Canada and sailed to the UK.In November 1941 he was posted to No. 615 (Countyof Surrey) Squadron and six weeks later toNo. 245 (Northern Rhodesia) Squadron, withwhich he remained until July 1942 when he joinedNo. 175 Squadron as Squadron Leader. He was thentransferred to No. 453 (RAAF) Squadron wherehe initially commanded A Flight and in Septembertook over the whole Squadron and receiveda DFC. He remained in command of No. 453 (RAAF)Squadron until the end of his tour in May 1944.After retirement he took over the Coltishall Wingin February 1945 as supernumerary, supervisingtwo Australian Spitfire squadrons (Nos. 451 and453 Squadron). In April he was given command ofthe Biggin Hill Wing. He left the wing in June, wasrepatriated in September and retired from RAFservice in April 1946. During his wartime careerhe achieved one confirmed kill, one probablekill and damaged three enemy aircraft. All hispersonal aircraft were decorated with a drawingof a “Gremlin” figure holding a sign on the nosereading “You Have Been Warned”.Recommended: forSpitfire Mk.XVI High Back 1/48FE1223 Spitfire Mk.XVI seatbelts STEEL (PE-Set)648307 Spitfire Mk.XVI top cowl (Brassin)3DL48041 Spitfire Mk.XVI SPACE (3D Decal Set)OVERTREES#8286XPro SpitfireMk.XVI High Back1/48Product pageOVERLEPT#8286-LEPT1Pro SpitfireMk.XVI High Back1/48Product page#648307KITS 07/2024INFO Eduard61July 2024Page 62
#84201Bf 109G-6 Erla1/48The Weekend edition kit of German WWII fighter aircraft Bf 109G-6 in 1/48 scale.The real Messerschmitts presented in this kit were all built in Erla Leizig factory.plastic parts: Eduardmarking options: 4decals: EduardPE parts: nopainting mask: noresin parts: noProduct pageKITS 07/2024INFO Eduard62July 2024Page 63
Bf 109G-6, Hptm. Heinrich Ehrler, CO of 6./JG 5, Alakurtti,Finland, July 1943Bf 109G-6/R6, WNr. 15367, Oblt. Herwig Zuzic, CO of 8./JG 1,Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, July 1943Heinrich Ehrler began his military career in 1935with the anti-aircraft artillery and fought in theSpanish Civil War as a member of 3.F/88. Hecompleted fighter training in early 1940 and wasassigned to 4./JG 77, which was later redesignated4./JG 5, based in Norway. In late May 1942, Ehrlerwas transferred to 6./JG 5 at Petsamo and becameits commander in August. He achieved his 100thvictory on June 8, 1943. During this period, he flewa Bf 109G-6 Yellow 12 in Erla factory camouflage,with the symbols of his aerial victories painted onthe left side of the rudder. As the Kommodore ofJG 5, Ehrler was responsible for cover of theTirpitz battleship, which was anchored in Norway.After its sinking, he was wrongly convicted,but the sentence was commuted. On February27, 1945, he joined JG 7, flying Me 262 jets.In combat with Liberator bombers on April 4, 1945,he managed to shoot down two B-24s andrammed a third. According to witnesses whoheard Ehrler’s last words, he carried outa suicide attack. His number of victories thusstopped at 208, and for these achievements,he was decorated with the Knight’s Cross withOak Leaves.Herwig “Lauser” Zuzic was born on June 23, 1917,in Oberweissburg, Austria. During OperationBarbarossa, he flew with 4./JG 77. On September24, 1941, flying his Bf 109E-4 he collided withOfw. Eugen Wintergest’s Bf 109E-7 to the northof Perekop. Both pilots were captured by theSoviets and used in propaganda efforts toconvert Luftwaffe pilots to the Soviet Air Force.After a few months, they were dropped off inRomania as agents. They immediately reportedto the German authorities, were reinstatedinto Luftwaffe service, but withdrawn fromthe Eastern Front. In early 1943, Zuzic servedat the rank of Oberleutnant with IV./JG 1 and inMarch 1943 was appointed commander of 8./JG 1.He had 13 kills from the Eastern Front painted onthe left side of the rudder of his Bf 109G-6 Black1. His 14th and last victory came on July 27, 1943,when he shot down a B-17. On August 19, 1943, hecollided mid-air with another Bf 109G-6 during anair battle over Zuidzande and was killed.KITS 07/2024INFO Eduard63July 2024Page 64
48885 Bf 109G-6 (PE-Set)FE910 Bf 109G seatbelts STEEL (PE-Set)FE1170 Bf 109G-6 Weekend (PE-Set)644003 Bf 109G-6 LööK (Brassin)644060 Bf 109G-6 LööKplus (Brassin)648247 Bf 109G exhaust stacks (Brassin)648250 Bf 109G-6 engine & fuselage guns (Brassin)648255 Bf 109G-6 propeller (Brassin)648261 Bf 109G-6 wheels (Brassin)648265 Bf 109G external fuel tanks (Brassin)648309 Bf 109G undercarriage legs BRONZE (Brassin)648843 Bf 109G-6 cockpit PRINT (Brassin)3DL48014 Bf 109G-6 SPACE (3D Decal Set)D48025 Bf 109G stencils (Decal Set)D48027 Bf 109G Balkenkreuze (Decal Set)D48045 Bf 109G-6 national insignia (Decal Set)EX510 Bf 109G camo scheme - Erla (Mask)EX512 Bf 109G spinner spirals (Mask)EX525 Bf 109G-6 classic canopy (Mask)Recommended: forBf 109G-6 Erla 1/48Bf 109G-6, WNr. 15909, Hptm. Gerhard Barkhorn, CO of II./JG 52,Anapa, the Soviet Union, September 1943Bf 109G-6/R6, WNr. 26048, Oblt. Friedrich Brock, 8./JG 54,Ludwigslust, Germany, January 1944The personal aircraft of Gerhard Barkhorn, whowas CO of II./JG 52, was manufactured by the Erlafactory. At least a part of Erla G-6 productionutilized the cowling designed for the G-5 versionwith an additional small bump on the right side.The name “Christl” is a reference to Barkhorn’swife Christa. The black double chevron identifiesthe aircraft of the Gruppe CO. Barkhorn achieved301 aerial victories during WWII, all of them asa member of JG 52. This makes him secondamong German fighter aces. His first victim wasdowned on July 2, 1940 and the last on January5, 1945. In 1945, Barkhorn became the CO of JG 6and flew Me 262 jet fighters as a member of JV 44shortly before the German surrender. In the postwar era, he joined Bundesluftwaffe. Barkhornwas awarded the Knight’s Cross on August 23,1942 with Oak Leaves (on January 11, 1944) andSwords (on March 2, 1944).Friedrich Brock was born on May 6, 1916, inPerlach. In August 1939, he began his trainingat the Schule/Flieger-Ausbildungs-Regiment23 in Kaufbeuren. In November 1940 he transferredto Flugzeugführerschule A/B 63 in Marienbad.In March 1942 he joined Jagdfliegervorschule3 in Vienna-Schwechat and completed hisfighter pilot training on November 12, 1942, withErgänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost in France. His firstcombat unit was 8./JG 54 at Siverskaya Air Base.He joined on November 13, 1942. In January 1943,III./JG 54 was transferred to Oldenburg to defendnorthern Germany. Brock achieved his first killthere on June 13, 1943. Later he was shot downseveral times during fights with American B-17sand was seriously wounded on April 8, 1944. HisBlack 8 aircraft bore all the identifying featuresof the period, i.e., the 8./JG 54 emblem on thenose, the III./JG 54 emblem under the cockpitand a blue identification stripe on the rear. Flyingthis aircraft, Uffz. Günther Sahl was shot downand killed on April 9, 1944. After his recovery,Friedrich Brock became the operations officerof III./JG 54 (later renamed IV./JG 26) in October1944 and did not fly combat missions anymore.In May 1945 he was captured and after hisrelease in September 1945 he devoted himselfto his profession as a dentist. He died on May 3,1994, in Berlin.KITS 07/2024INFO Eduard64July 2024Page 65
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WNr. 600424, Lt. Heinz Sachsenberg, München-Riem, Germany, April-May 1945WNr. 210194, Fw. Werner Hohenberg, Stab I./JG 2, Merzhausen,Germany, January 1, 1945Lt. Heinz Sachsenberg (104 victories) was the COof Platzschutzschwarm. The aircraft assigned toSachsenberg carried the inscription ‘Verkaaft’smei Gwand, I foahr in himmel’, which is a Bavarianproverb ‘sell my shroud, I am leaving for Heaven’.The font was Schwab, which was popular at thetime. Sachsenberg, holder of the Knight’s Cross,came from an aviation family. His uncle Gotthardwas an World War I ace and holder of Pourle Mérite, as he shot down 31 enemy aircraft.Heinz’s brother, also named Gotthard, flew a nightfighter with NJG 3 and shot down two Britishbombers and fell on March 8, 1943. Sachsenberg´s‘Dora’ was found at the end of the war at Munich-Riem, where it was left behind after the JV 44 fledto Austria at the end of April 1945.Fw. Werner Hohenberg, took part in the raid onSt. Trond airport flying as a part of the I./JG 2 staffflight of commander Franz Hrdlicka. During thissortie Hohenberg´s aircraft was hit in the tailsurfaces and on return the engine of his aircraftwas hit by the anti-aircraft gun projectiles. At 9:35he force-landed at Dorff village and spent therest of the war in captivity. The B Battery of the430th AAA Batalion was credited with shootinghim down. Hohenberg’s Dora sports a typicalSorau factory camouflage in RLM 75/81/76 on thefuselage and also on the wings. The spiral waspainted on the front part of the propeller spinneronly. Stripes on the rear fuselage indicate JG 2deployment in the Reich Defense role.KITS 07/2024INFO Eduard66July 2024Page 67
WNr. 210909, Maj. Gerhard Barkhorn, Stab JG 6, Welzow,Germany, February 1945WNr. 210003, Oblt. Hans Dortenmann, 12./JG 26, Germany, 1945The personal aircraft of Gerhard Barkhorn, thenew CO of JG 6 at the time, was manufactured bythe Focke-Wulf factory in Sorau. The name ‘Christl’is a reference to Barkhorn´s wife Christa. Markingon the fuselage identifies the Geschwader’s COaircraft. Barkhorn achieved 301 aerial victoriesduring WWII, all of them as a member of JG 52,putting him in second place among German fighteraces. His first victory was achieved on July 2, 1940and the last on January 5, 1945. In 1945, Barkhornbecame the CO of JG 6 and flew Me 262 jet fightersas a member of JV 44 shortly before the Germansurrender. Barkhorn was awarded the Knight´sCross on August 23, 1942, with Oak Leaves(on January 11, 1944) and Swords (on March 2, 1944).In the post-war era, he joined Bundesluftwaffe.Oblt. Hans Dortenmann, a 38-kills fighter ace andKnight's Cross holder, noted in his memoirs thathe used Dora WNr. 210003 as a personal mountfrom September 1944 to the end of hostilities.He personally destroyed her to avoid falling intoenemy hands at the end of the war. At first, duringDortenmann´s service with III./JG 54, the airplanewas marked 'Red 1'. In late February III./JG 54 wasredesignated IV./JG 26, and Dortenmann wasappointed Staffelkapitän of 12./JG 26. His Dorabecame 'Black 1'. The White-Black band appearedon the tail as well as IV. Gruppe‘s wave. Accordingto Dortenmann´s memoirs, the original RLM 74/75camouflage scheme was changed to RLM 81/82,but the reason for re-painting remains unknown.A new style blown canopy was installed insteadof the original flat one. The vertical part of the tailunit was painted yellow from JG 54 days.48651 Fw 190D-9 (fotolept)FE1209 Fw 190D-9 Weekend (fotolept)644014 Fw 190D-9 LööK (Brassin)648688 Fw 190D exhaust stacks (Brassin)648737 Fw 190D landing flaps PRINT (Brassin)648757 Fw 190D landing flaps wooden PRINT (Brassin)3DL48185 Fw 190D-9 SPACE (3D obtisk)EX328 Fw 190D Weekend (maska)Recommended: forFw 190D-9 1/48#648757KITS 07/2024INFO Eduard67July 2024How to Work with Plastic? Part I - The Basics
In this workflow article, I will cover the most basic modeling procedures and techniques, presenting the tools that help with usual activities every modeler should master. For this demonstration, I've chosen the new P-51B/C 1/48 scale kit, which includes several features for easy assembly, such as the parts being connected to the sprues from the bottom, making it especially beginner-friendly.
How to Work with Plastic?KITSJakub NademlejnskýIn this workflow article,I will cover the most basicmodeling procedures andtechniques, presentingthe tools that helpwith usual activitiesevery modelershould master. For thisdemonstration, I've chosenthe new P-51B/C 1/48 scale kit,which includes several features for easyassembly, such as the parts being connectedto the sprues from the bottom, making it especiallybeginner-friendly.Experienced modelers might initially see this articleas unnecessary, but I recommend reading it nonetheless.Repetition is the mother of wisdom!Part I-The BasicsThe photo shows all the toolsI use to build the model.I use two types of nippers.The blue-handled nippershave cutting blades onboth sides and are moresubstantial, making thembetter for splitting bulkierframes or massive spruesthat are hard to access.Comparison of frame cuts: onthe left is the frame cut withthe single cuttingblade nippers,and on the right with the twocutting-blade nippers. Thesingle cutting-blade makesa straight cut, while two cutting-blades tend to chip the plastic.The red-handled nippers haveonly one cutting blade anda flat blade, and when usedon frame sprues, they cleanlycut through in one go. Note,I always position the flat bladeagainst the plastic part.INFO Eduard68July 2024Page 69
KITSA piece of the cockpit floor part cut with singlecuttingblade nippers. The photo shows thebottom sprue stumps on the part.Here, the sprue stumps on the bottom of the cockpit floor arevisible.I'll cut these sprue stumps off with singlecutting-blade nippers.I sand the spots clean after cutting. Alternatively, I can clean the part witha straight-bladed scalpel...or a round-bladed scalpel.When handlingsmall parts,I use straighttweezers. I don'thold the part tootightly to avoid itslipping out of thetweezers.I place the control stick on thecockpit floor in the slot where theinstructions indicate to glue it.I then glue it in place using Mr. Cement SP glue. I dip the brush thoroughly into the glue,wipe the excess against the edge of the container, and then apply a sufficiently wet brushto the joint between the stick and the floor.INFO Eduard69July 2024Page 70
The joint dries within 5 seconds. Any excess glue will disappear afterthe first coat of primer or paint.Here, I used Mr. Cement S glue to glue the tank, which driesa little slower than Mr. Cement SP glue.I use the same procedure to attach the tank in the cockpit.The bottom sprue stumps can also be found onthe wing halves. Again, I cut them off with singlecutting-blade nippers...KITSINFO Eduard70July 2024Page 71
For gluing fuselage halves or wings, I always dry-fit the parts together and flatten themto make the joint as clean as possible.To glue the wing halves together, I decided to useMr. Cement SP B, which is Mr. Cement SP glue tintedblack. The color allows me to see where the gluehas been applied....and sand the stumps fromthe sprues with a coarse file.KITSINFO Eduard71July 2024Page 72
Caution: when using solvent glues, always keep your fingerswell away from the glued joint......otherwise, your fingers will etch the surface of the wing.I then sand the glue marks carefully witha file.I restore the panel lines that were lost during sanding and gluing with a razor saw.I restore the panel lines on the leadingedge of the wing, one at a time from bothhalves of the wing.Another option is to use a chisel, whichI place in an existing engraved line and pullbackward to complete the new engraving.When sanding, I move the file according to theshape of the leading edge of the wing to keepits shape.The wing is then sanded and polishedwith fine files or sandpaper of 1000, 1200,and finally 1500 grit.I place the saw in the existing lines and, with slowforward strokes, restore the lost panel lines.KITSINFO Eduard72July 2024Page 73
I use Mr. Cement S glue to dissolve any residual plastic dust. I then polish the entire area with 1500 grit sandpaper dipped in water.I prick one rivet at a time.Polish and sand the joint of the wing halves. There will be nodifference after applying a primer surfacer or paint.Lost rivets are restored with a phonograph needle fixed in a holder.To be continued...KITSINFO Eduard73July 2024Page 74
BRASSINLööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard and STEELseatbelts for A-20J/K in 1/32 scale. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: HKMSet contains:- 3D print: 2 parts- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noLööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard and STEELseatbelts for F4U-2 in 1/48 scale. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: Magic FactorySet contains:- resin: 1 part- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted- painting mask: no634046A-20J/K LööK1/32 HKM644265F4U-2 LööK1/48 MAGIC FACTORYProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard74July 2024Page 75
644273B-26B Marauder LööK1/48 ICMLööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard and STEELseatbelts for B-26B Marauder in 1/48 scale. Easy toassemble, replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: ICMSet contains:- 3D print: 2 parts- resin: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noBRASSINCollection of 3 sets for P-47D-30 in 1/48 scale.Recommended kit: Miniart- LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboard & Steelbelts)- TFace painting mask- undercarriage wheels644274P-47D-30 LööKplus1/48 MINIARTProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard75July 2024Page 76
BRASSINCollection of 4 sets for Bf 109G-6 in 1/72 scale.Recommended kit: Eduard- LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboard & Steelbelts)- gun barrels- exhaust stacks- undercarriage wheelsCollection of 4 sets for Bf 109F in 1/72 scale.Recommended kit: Eduard- LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboard & Steelbelts)- gun barrels- exhaust stacks- undercarriage wheels674010Bf 109G-6 LööKplus1/72 Eduard674011Bf 109F LööKplus1/72 EduardProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard76July 2024Page 77
BRASSINBrassin set - fuel drop tanks for P-51B or P-51Cin 1/48 scale. The set consists of 2 tanks. Made bydirect 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replaces plasticparts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 6 parts- decals: yes- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noBrassin set - engine for P-51B or P-51Cin 1/48 scale. The cowlings are included.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 55 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes- painting mask: no6481004P-51B/C engine1/48 EduardProduct pageProduct page6481005P-51B/C 75gal drop tank early PRINT1/48 EduardINFO Eduard77July 2024Page 78
6481009P-51B/C/D seat Type 3 PRINT1/48 Eduard672358P-51D exhaust stacks PRINT1/72 EduardBRASSINBrassin set - pilot seat for P-51B or P-51Cor P-51D in 1/48 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 1 part- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted- painting mask: noBrassin set - exhaust stacks for P-51D in 1/72 scale.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noProduct pageProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard78July 2024Page 79
BRASSINBrassin set - propeller for P-51D in 1/72 scale. Madeby direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 3 parts- resin: 4 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: no672361P-51D Hamilton Standard propeller PRINT1/72 EduardBrassin set - exhaust stacks for P-51D in 1/72 scale.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 2 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: no672359P-51D exhaust stacks w/ fairing PRINT1/72 EduardProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard79July 2024Page 80
BRASSINBrassin set - propeller for P-51D in 1/72 scale.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replacesplastic parts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 3 parts- resin: 4 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: noBrassin set - cockpit for P-51D-5in 1/72 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 21 parts- decals: yes- photo-etched details:yes, pre-painted- painting mask: no672363P-51D-5 cockpit PRINT1/72 Eduard672362P-51D Hamilton Standard propeller uncuffed PRINT1/72 EduardProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard80July 2024Page 81
BRASSINBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for P-51Din 1/72 scale. The set consists of the main wheels anda tail wheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yes672366P-51D wheels diamond tread1/72 EduardProduct pageBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for P-51Din 1/72 scale. The set consists of the main wheelsand a tail wheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plasticparts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yes672367P-51D wheels oval tread1/72 EduardProduct pageINFO Eduard81July 2024Page 82
BRASSINBrassin set - the undercarriage wheels for P-51Din 1/72 scale. The set consists of the main wheelsand a tail wheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plasticparts. Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- resin: 3 parts- decals: no- photo-etched details: no- painting mask: yesBrassin set - pilot seat for P-51D in 1/72 scale.Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble,replaces plastic parts.Recommended kit: EduardSet contains:- 3D print: 1 part- decals: no- photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted- painting mask: no672372P-51D seat PRINT1/72 Eduard672368P-51D wheels cross tread1/72 EduardProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard82July 2024Page 83
www.eduard.com/bfcBUNNY BUNNY FIGHTERFIGHTERCLUBEduard's special membership club for all modeling enthusiasts!15% Permanent Club discount at Eduard Store – you will receive permanent 15% discount on all Eduardproducts and also discount on various other non-Eduard products. Fixed, permanent, forever!Unique valuable Club kits and accessories – you will gain access to unique and nowhere else to be soldproducts, specially made for BFC members.Even better prices at Eduard events stand – do you know that Eduard usually has huge discounts ontheir products at fairs and events all over the world? BFC members will have even higher discount atthese events.Club T-shirt – you will receive fancy BFC T-shirt with unique design and special barcode(used for event discounts). This exclusive T-shirt will be only availableto the members of BFC.Free entry fee on E-day – you will not have to pay a penny to visit Eduard's E-day.That means lot of fun at E-day for two days and entry kit, absolutely free!* E-day - INTERNATIONAL SCALE KIT EXHIBITION - IPMS Czech Republic ChampionshipBOX CONTENT:Plastic parts, Marking options 6, Decal Set, PE parts, Maska, Brassinparts (two different types of wheels, landing flaps, dust filter witheyelid, intake ring and RP-3 60lb rockets), 3D decals for main and si-dewalk instrument and control panels with photo-etched details andseat belts.BOX CONTENT:Plastic parts, Marking options 4, Decal Set, PE parts, Maska, Brassinparts (undercarriage wheels, cockpit, exhaust nozzle, FOD).How to become a member of BFC?How to become a member of BFC?Simply by purchasing the Activation product. You will be given 15% discount on (almost) every Eduardproduct in your shopping cart. To apply this discount, the Activation product has to be in your shoppingcart. Activation product is excluded from this calculation.Activation products:Activation products:Tempest Mk. V + T-shirt 1/48MiG-21MF + T-shirt 1/72Page 84
BRASSINCollection of 6 sets of tools for German WWIIAFV in 1/35 scale.- pickaxes- crowbars- wire cutters- shovels- axe- hammerAll sets included in this BIG SIN are available separately, butwith every BIG SIN set you save up to 30 %.SIN635001WWII German tool set1/35Product pageINFO Eduard84July 2024Page 85
BRASSINCollection of 4 sets for F-16C Block 42 in 1/48 scale.Recommended kit: Kinetic- cockpit- undercarriage bays- undercariage wheels- exhaust nozzleAll sets included in this BIG SIN are available separately,but with every BIG SIN set you save up to 30 %.SIN648127F-16C Block 42 till 20051/48 KineticProduct pageINFO Eduard85July 2024Page 86
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Dunstable Business Centre, Office Suite No.2, Blackburn Road, Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire LU5 5BQTel: +44 (0)1582 668411, Email: kim@guidelinepublications.co.ukAll major credit cards accepted.Orders can be placed by mail, telephone, email or through the website.(www.guidelinepublications.co.uk) Plus postage and packing on allorders. Overseas readers pay postage at air mail printed paper rate.Warpaint on the webFor more information and secure ordering please visit:www.guidelinepublications.co.uk1 Bristol Beaufighter £13.002 Blackburn Buccaneer £13.003 Junkers Ju 87 Stuka £13.004 North American F-100 Super Sabre £13.005 Hawker Typhoon £13.006 Avro Shackleton £14.007 Junkers Ju 88 £13.008 Hawker Hunter £17.009 Grumman F4F Wildcat/Martlet £13.0010 Vickers Wellington £13.0011 de Havilland Sea Vixen £13.0012 Fairey Swordfish £15.0013 Focke Wolfe Fw 200 Condor £14.0014 BAC Lightning £18.0015 Short Stirling £14.0016 Hawker Sea Fury £13.0017 Gloster Javelin £14.0018 Douglas Skyraider £14.0019 de Havilland Hornet and Sea Hornet £14.0020 Supermarine Seafire (Griffon engine) £15.0021 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley £14.0022 Gloster Meteor £20.0023 Fairey Gannet £15.0024 Dornier Do 217 £14.0025 Short Sunderland £14.0026 Bristol Blenheim £15.0027 de Havilland Vampire £20.0028 Fairey Firefly £17.0029 Hawker Sea Hawk £15.0030 Avro Vulcan £16.0031 RAF/RN Phantoms £17.0032 Douglas A-20 Boston/Havoc £17.0033 Heinkel He 177 £14.0034 Avro Lincoln £16.0035 Fairey Barracuda £15.0036 Handley Page Victor £16.0037 Gloster Gladiator £17.0038 Republic F-105 Thunderchief £15.0039 Supermarine Walrus £13.0040 Canadair/Commonwealth Sabre £16.0041 Fairey Fulmar £15.0042 Boulton Paul Defiant £13.0043 Lockheed F-104 Starfighter £18.0044 de Havilland Venom £15.0045 Martin B-57 Canberra £16.0046 Handley Page Halifax £17.0047 McDonnell F-101 Voodoo £15.0048 Westland Lysander £15.0049 Fiat G.91 £15.0050 Bristol Beaufort £15.0051 Lockheed Neptune £16.0052 Fairey Albacore £15.0053 Avro Anson £16.0054 Westland Whirlwind F.Mk I £13.0055 Hawker Tempest £14.0056 Blackburn Firebrand £14.0057 Handley Page Hampden £14.0058 Supermarine Swift £14.0059 Lockheed Hudson £14.0060 English Electric Canberra £20.0061 Savoia Marchetti S.79 Sparviero £14.0062 Handley Page Hastings £14.0063 Vickers Valiant £14.0064 Convair F-102 £15.0065 Westland Wessex £17.0066 Bristol Bulldog £13.0067 Folland Gnat and Ajeet £13.0068 Bristol Brigand £13.0069 Martin B-26 Marauder £14.0070 Vought Corsair £18.0071 Armstrong Whitworth 650/660 Argosy £14.0072 Vickers Supermarine Merlin Seafire £14.0073 North American B-25 Mitchell £15.0074 Hawker Siddeley Harrier £17.0075 BAe Sea Harrier £15.0076 Grumman Tracker/Trader/Tracer £17.0077 Curtiss P-40 £15.0078 Aer Macchi C.202-205 Folgore-Veltro £15.0079 Consolidated PBY Catalina £17.0080 Saab Draken £17.0081 Junkers Ju 52 £14.0082 BAC Jet Provost £17.0083 Fairey Battle £17.0084 Grumman F6F Hellcat £18.0085 Supermarine Scimitar £15.0086 Vickers Wellesley £15.0087 Grumman Avenger £18.0088 Lockheed T-33A £15.0089 Avro Lancaster £18.0090 Boeing B-17 £18.0091 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 'Fishbed' £27.0092 Grumman HU-16 Albatross £17.0093 Messerschmitt Me 262 £15.0094 Supermarine Attacker £15.0095 Westland Sea King £18.0096 Consolidated B-24 Liberator £27.0097 North American RA-5C Vigilante £18.0098 Avro York £17.0099 McDonnell Demon £17.00100 Republic F-84F and RF-84F £20.00101 de Havilland D.H.82 Tiger Moth £16.00102 Convair B-36 £16.00103 Avro Manchester £14.00104 General Dynamics F-111 & EF-111A £20.00105 Sopwith Pup £14.00106 Sikorsky S-55/H-19 & Westland Whirlwind £18.00107 Ilyushin Il-2 ‘Sturmovik’ £15.00108 Martin Mariner and Marlin £17.00109 Douglas C-54/R5D Skymaster & DC-4 £21.00110 Westland Scout & Wasp £16.00111 Vought OS2U Kingfisher £16.00112 Douglas A3D Skywarrior £20.00113 Panavia Tornado ADV £17.00114 McDonnell F-4 Phantom II £25.00115 Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle £14.00116 Hawker Fury and Nimrod £17.00117 Douglas F4D/F-6 Skyray & F5D Skylancer £15.00118 NAA B-45 Tornado £16.00119 Grumman F9F Panther £15.00120 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 £17.00121 Douglas A-4 Skyhawk £26.00122 Albatros D.I - D.III £16.00123 de Havilland (Canada) Chipmunk £15.00124 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 £17.00125 Bristol Britannia, Argus and Yukon £17.00126 Grumman F-14 Tomcat £26.00127 Cessna T-37 A/B/C and A-37 A/B £21.00128 Bristol Scout £15.00129 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 £18.00130 Ilyushin Il-28 £18.00131 Auster in British Military & foreign air arm service £18.00132 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress £25.00133 Douglas C-47 Skytrain/Dakota £25.00134 Aero L-29 Delfin £21.00135 DH.89 Dragon Rapide & Dominie £17.00136 Airspeed Oxford & Consul £18.00137 Douglas SBD Dauntless £28.00138 Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk £18.00139 de Havilland (Canada) DHC-2 Beaver £18.00140 North American OV-10 Bronco £28.00141 Vickers Viking, Valetta & Varsity £19.00Warpaint SpecialsNo.1 Republic P-47 Thunderbolt £19.00No.2 Messerschmitt Bf 109 £25.00No.3 de Havilland Mosquito £25.00No.4 Cessna Bird Dog £12.00No.5 NAA P-51 Mustang and Derivatives £22.00No.6 Dambusters and the Lancaster £20.00Having launched the signature bomber for use in the European Theatre, Boeing embarked on a voyage intothe unknown. Bringing together numerous untried technologies the Boeing Aircraft Company launched itsmost significant bomber, the B-29 Superfortress. Although beset by development problems and havingsuffered the loss of the prototype and its Chief Test Pilot Eddie Allan, the company pushed on to create thefirst long-range strategic bombers. Once the Pacific Islands had been captured the B-29 Bomb Groupsbegan bombing raids on the Japanese Home Islands. On the other side of the Himalayas further bombgroups launched attacks against targets in Japan. As combat experience grew the focus turned todestroying as much as possible of its production facilities, mainly by firebombing areas known to havethese targets. And then the world changed forever. The use of two atom bombs against Hiroshima andNagasaki had shown the power of the atom. When the Japanese finally surrendered the Cold Wararrived to take its place. War in Korea followed, being the swan song for the B-29 while its youngersibling, the B-50, assumed the mantle of Strategic Defence, a position it held until the B-47 Stratojetarrived. One of the largest aircraft of World War II, the B-29 remained in service in various roles throughout the1950s, being retired in the early 1960s after 3,970 had been built. The Royal Air Force flew the B-29 with the service name‘Washington from 1950 to 1954’ while the re-engined B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II became the first aircraft to fly around the worldnon-stop, during a 94-hour flight in 1949. The Soviet Union produced 847 Tupolev Tu-4s, an unlicensedreverse-engineered copy of the B-29. This latest in the essential Warpaint series offers a comprehensive look atthe famous bomber in all its guises, with history, development, service details, and colour artwork and scale plansby Sam Pearson.BoeingBB--2299andBB--5500SuperfortressBy Kev DarlingB-29 Superfortress 44-70072 X-55 named Limber Richard of the 5thBombardment Squadron, 9th Bombardment Group, flying toward Japanwith other squadron bombers in 1945. The bombing missions againstJapan a 3,500 mile round trip, could last as long as sixteen hours. Alsoshown is at least one B-29 of the 1st BS of the same group, completewith black and yellow rear fuselage and fin bands. (USAF via DRJ)WARPAINT SERIES No.143paint Master 21/06/2024 14:48 Page 118During the 1960s, Dassault commenced development of what would become the Mirage F1 as a privateventure, alongside the larger Mirage F2. Work on the F1 eventually took precedence over the more costlyF2, which was cancelled during the late 1960s. The Armée de l'Air took great interest in the fledgling F1 tomeet its requirement for an all-weather interceptor aircraft. The Mirage F1 was of similar size to the MirageIII and Mirage 5 and was powered by the same SNECMA Atar engine that had been used on thelarger Dassault Mirage IV, however, unlike its predecessors, it had the layout of a swept wing, but mountedhigh on the fuselage, and a conventional tail surface as used by the F2. Although it had a smaller wingspanthan the Mirage III, the Mirage F1 nevertheless proved to be superior to its predecessor, carrying morefuel while possessing a shorter take-off run and greater manoeuvrability. This latest addition to theWarpaint series includes all the usual reference and historical material that has made the series the go-to source for modellers and aviation enthusiasts alike. This book is written by Andy Evans and issuperbly illustrated by Sam Pearson.All these titles are available in printed format via our on demand printing service. Please contact our office for further information.£25.00Warpaint series No.143Orders from the world’s bookand hobby trade are invitedNewreleasePrevious Warpaint titles£19.00Warpaint series No.142Boeing BB--2299 and BB--5500SuperfortressGGUUIIDDEELLIINNEE PPUUBBLLIICCAATTIIOONNSS LLIIMMIITTEEDDDassaultMMIIRRAAGGEE FF11By Andy EvansA French Air Force Mirage F1 returns to its missionafter receiving fuel from a US Air Force KC-10Extender while flying over Afghanistan in support ofOperation ‘Enduring Freed om’, on 25 Novem ber2010. (US Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. Eric Harris)WARPAINT SERIES No.14242 Warpaint Mirage F1.qxp_Warpaint Master 19/03/2024 20:24 Page 58Dassault MMiirraaggee FF11Warpaint 143 B-29 & B-50 + Mirage F1.qxp_Warpaint Advert 22/06/2024 09:42 Page 1Page 94
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EDDIE THE RIVETERER32007Triple radial rows1/32ER48012Triple radial rows1/48Product page Product pageER72007Triple radial rows1/72Product pageThis product is used to create raisedrivets on rounded surfaces. It can be usedfor example on propeller cones, enginecovers and engine radiators. How to workwith these products can be found inINFO 08/2023.INFO Eduard105July 2024Page 106
BIG EDAll sets included in this BIG ED are available separately,but with every BIG ED set you save up to 30 %.BIG5372 HMS Ark Royal 1939 1/350 I LOVE KITBIG49410P-47D-30 1/48 MINIARTBIG49411U-2R 1/48 Hobby Boss53305 HMS Ark Royal 1939 part 1 1/35053306 HMS Ark Royal 1939 part 2 1/35053307 HMS Ark Royal 1939 part 3 1/35053308 HMS Ark Royal 1939 part 4 1/350491432 P-47D-30 1/48FE1433 P-47D-30 seatbelts STEEL 1/48EX1025 P-47D-30 1/48491438 U-2R 1/48FE1439 U-2R seatbelts STEEL 1/48EX1021 U-2R 1/48Product pageProduct pageProduct pageINFO Eduard106July 2024