Strana 7
USS Block Island CVE-21, part 3
History / Vladimír Šulc
After suffering heavy losses in the convoy battles of May 1943,
the U
-
Boat Command withdrew German submarines from the North Atlantic
and concentrated on attacking convoys in the Central Atlantic. These con-
voys, marked UG (United States to Gibraltar), UGS (United States to Gibraltar
Slow Convoys), and UGF (United States to Gibraltar Fast Convoys), traveled
between the United States and the Mediterranean. The first convoys
departed from New York and Hampton Roads, Virginia, in November 1942
as invasion convoys to support the landings in North Africa (Operation
Torch), ending in Casablanca. The USS Block Island entered its final year
of combat service...
The Leyte Gulf Zero
Model & Story / editorial staff, Paolo Portuesi
The Battle of Leyte Gulf took place from October 23 to 26, 1944, and was
the largest naval battle of the Second World War. Some authors even
consider it to be the largest naval battle in history. It occurred in connection
with the American landing on the Philippine island of Leyte, following
the U.S. decision on which invasion route would be prioritized, Taiwan
or the Philippines. During this clash, one naval aviator flying a Zero wrote
a new chapter in the history of warfare.
The latest section, Model & Story, showcases the fascinating combination
of a masterfully assembled model and the history of the aircraft that
inspired it.
Who Shot Down Rolf?
History / Chris Goss
Rolf’s first kill of the Second World War was a French Mureaux 113
of GAO 1/506 on 10 September 1939, followed by a Fairey Battle of 150 Sqn
on 30 September 1939. His next kill was not until 14 May 1940 when he shot
down three French and a single British aircraft in one day. By the end of the
Battle of France, he had shot down eight aircraft (the last two when he was
acting Gruppen Kommandeur of III./JG 53 following the shooting down and
capture of his good friend Werner Mölders on 5 June 1940). Returning to
2./JG 53 for the Battle of Britain, Hauptmann Pingel shot down two more RAF
aircraft before he was posted to command I./JG 26 on 22 August 1940 when
command of JG 26 was given to Major Adolf Galland.
Rolf Pingel's combat luck ran out during the Kanalkampf in July 1941.
To this day, there is still debate about what actually happened during his
crash landing on the coast of the British Isles. An article by Chris Goss
provides the answer.