10/2022

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  INFO Eduard

  # 152

  e-magazine FREE Vol 21 October 2022

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  INFO Eduard

  # 152

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  e-magazine FREE Vol 21 October 2022

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  eduardeduard

  EDITORIAL

  KITS

  BRASSIN

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED SETS

  BIG ED

  BUILT

  ON APROACH

  –

  November 2022

  TAIL END CHARLIE

  HISTORY

  BOXART STORY

  A6M3 Zero Type 32 ProfiPACK 1/48

  MIDWAY Limited 1/48

  Z-326 Trenér Master Limited 1/48

  Fw 190A-8 Weekend edition 1/48

  MiG-21PFM ProfiPACK 1/72

  F4F-3 Wildcat 1/48

  P-51D cockpit 1/48

  F-4B SPACE 1/48

  The Wildcat at Midway

  Tainan Kōkūtai Markings

  Pappy of the “Strafers”

  The air war over Ukraine Calm before the storm

  The last of the six

  Landing on the island

  Trainer in a good shape

  White Shark over a Lighthouse

  4

  8

  36

  40

  62

  78

  84

  90

  94

  110

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

  Mírová 170, Obrnice 435 21

  support@eduard.com www.eduard.com

  OCTOBER 2022

  CONTENTS

• Page 4

  Good Day, dear Friends

  Today’s newsletter is being posted slightly

  ahead of time in order to be able to provide

  current information regarding this year’s

  E-day, taking place this Saturday at the

  Tankodrom Milovice (Milovice Tank Trai-

  ning Area), with the beginning of festivities

  being slated for Friday evening, as usual.

  There are a few changes in the information

  that has been posted previously. They’re not

  massive, but they are good to know.

  I’ll begin with Friday. The exhibition hall will

  be opened on Friday at 2:00 p.m. to allow

  for setup by participating companies and

  Club or Special Interest Groups displays.

  The doors will open to participating mo-

  delers at 5:00 p.m. with registration co-

  mmencing at 6:00 p.m. and closing at 8:00

  p.m. that evening. Registration of models

  will reopen at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday and

  will go on till 10:00 a.m. The evening sche-

  dule will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday with

  a talk show hosted by aviation artist Ja-

  roslav Velc. This is where our first small

  change comes into play. Unfortunately,

  the announced book “V oblacích” (In the

  Clouds) will not be available for technical

  reasons (the book was to have had its bap-

  tism on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.). A second

  talk show will be hosted by military analyst

  and pilot Milan Mikulecký. He will recount

  his aviation experiences and describe the

  history of his Z-326M, which he will also

  fly as part of Saturday’s planned events. He

  will be also speaking about the renovations

  of historical aircraft as well as the replicas

  building. The third talk show was to be put

  on by the owner of Special Hobby, Jiří Šil-

  hánek, who will unfortunately not be able

  to attend due to health reasons. However,

  we do have substitutes in place, as our in-

  vitation was accepted by American-Czech

  modeler Johnny Vojtech of UMM

  -

  USA. He

  is best known for his unique line of tools

  and excellent building skills, and he is

  a multiple winner of the IPMS USA Nati-

  onal Convention. His models are some of

  the top examples to be seen anywhere

  in the world over the past several years.

  He will be demonstrating the use of his

  tools on Saturday at the Aires table.

  I believe that his experience with the wor-

  kings of model building and of the hobby in

  the US will be interesting to all that attend

  this seminar. We are expecting the program

  to wrap up by 8:00 p.m., though this may not

  happen. It will close when it is done, wha-

  tever time that will be. Refreshment stands

  will be available till 9:00 p.m. on Friday,

  located in front of the hall. On Saturday,

  this stand will be again in front of the hall,

  with one added inside. Company tables will

  be open for business on Friday, but at the

  discretion of each individual company. Our

  tables will be active from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00

  p.m., and this may be extended, depending

  on customer traffic. I do recommend visi-

  ting on Friday, because we all know how

  things can look through Saturday. And for

  those that don’t know, I will tell you – you

  can look forward to crowds and long lineu-

  ps to the checkouts. You can access the list

  of vendors elsewhere in this newsletter or

  at www.eday.cz. You can also find the ways

  of getting to the convention area and how

  to access parking for both visitors and par-

  ticipants. It’s not the same lot. Participating

  modelers will park in the same lot as the

  vendors directly below the convention cen-

  tre hall building and will have their own en-

  trance. At both locations, we will be placing

  people to help with orientation. There is

  a parking fee of 100 Kč (approximately 4 €)

  and allows for leaving and returning to the

  lot. In other words, you pay for parking only

  once, and for both days, if you plan to stay

  on both of them.

  Stands and booths of sellers will be set up

  on the ground floor, while displayed models

  or Club and Special Interest Group displa-

  ys will be located above on the galleries.

  Access to the galleries is by stairs, and

  for now there is no barrier free access

  unfortunately. So, wheelchairs would be

  a problem, but we are prepared to help with

  access, getting wheelchairs to and from

  galleries and if you should require such

  assistance, please let us know at least

  on entry into the convention centre.

  The halls will be open to the public as of

  9:00 a.m. on Saturday, with registration

  opening an hour earlier. Several seller’s

  stands might be opened by then as well, but

  the official opening is at 9:00 a.m. on the dot

  while some expositions and stands might

  be still being set up prior to then. Program

  details are elsewhere in this INFO and

  on our E-day web pages. I would just point

  out the christening of Jaroslav Velc’s afore-

  mentioned book, moderated by Ondřej Neff

  and, of course, both of our usual “Hot Spot”

  debates (a.k.a. „boiling kettles“) modera-

  ted by Petr Švihovec. Model workshops

  will run concurrently, located in separate

  room of the venue building. By the way, we

  ourselves will have interesting program on

  our stand with presentations of the new

  releases and of the modelling techniques

  when using them. The prizegiving ceremo-

  ny is scheduled on 3:30 p.m. and everything

  should wrap up by 5:00 p.m.

  The New Releases for October

  E-day will see the introduction of Octo-

  ber’s new releases, so let’s have a look at

  what awaits you at our table on Friday and

  Saturday. I already wrote at length about

  new kits in September’s newsletter, and

  I will just sum these up by reminding eve-

  ryone that the A6M3 Zero Model 32 is here

  in ProfiPACK form, and there are two Limi-

  ted Edition kits, MIDWAY and Z-326 Trener

  Master. Furthermore, we have a Weekend

  Fw 190A-8, and all of these are in 1:48th

  scale. Besides that, we are re-releasing

  our 1:72nd scale MiG-21PF in the ProfiPACK.

  More detailed info about these releases can

  be found in the next content of this issue.

  Decals

  One of the centerpieces of October’s new

  releases is a set of rivets covering the

  entire surface of Tamiya’s P-38J in 1:48th

  scale. These fall under the label Eddie the

  Riveter. Besides rivets, the set includes

  other surface features such as fuel filler

  caps. Conceptually, this set differs from the

  EDITORIAL

  INFO Eduard4

  October 2022

• Page 5

  initial set in this line, designed for the

  Mi-24. The rivets for Lightning are of coun-

  tersunk type, as opposed to the half-round

  raised rivets of the Hind. Again, the set is

  somehow pricey, but this is dictated by the

  cost-intensive technology used for produc-

  tion. Not much we can do about that right

  now. So please, don’t yell at us over the

  cost of the set. It won’t do either of us any

  good. In terms of classic decal sets, we are

  releasing a generic stencil data sheet for

  the German Ju 87 dive bomber in 1:48th,

  designed to be used with kits of several

  manufacturers that have been released.

  Brassin

  Most of October’s Brassin releases are

  again 3D printed, which is the road we em-

  barked on through the course of this year

  for this line. The advantages offered by this

  technology simply cannot be ignored, and

  in my opinion, they fundamentally change

  the possibilities within this segment of the

  market. As part of our practical demonstra-

  tions, appropriate space will be allocated

  to existing products, as well as to the de-

  velopment of new releases and technolo-

  gies. Demonstrations and explanations will

  be provided by our designers and product

  managers, and there will be a production

  printer at the show. Many people see the 3D

  printing technology as a bit of a magic, and

  from my discussions with modelers, I know

  it is a very interesting topic. So, if you are in-

  terested in how this process works, and in

  what we are planning on doing with it, and

  what unique things our products offer, show

  up at our stand, have a look and ask lots of

  questions! Among the new items, you’ll find

  goodies for our Wildcat, including drop tank

  and wheel well details and similar things

  for the Zero Model 32. For the latter, we

  have a seat, a complete tailwheel assembly

  with a separate tail cone, fuselage guns and

  cannon barrels. Other, even more complex

  sets are in preparation. What these are will

  be revealed at E-day. We will not have just

  sets for our own models, of course. There

  will be items designed for products of our

  valued competitors as well. For example,

  we have three new releases for the Tamiya

  P-38J, to include gun barrels, nose gun

  bay, and superchargers. For Arma Hobby-

  ’s 1:72nd scale FM-2 Wildcat, we have a set

  of wheels and exhausts, and another two

  sets for their Hurricane Mk.I in the same

  scale, coming out of what was included in

  our Limited Edition release of that kit. Also

  of interest will be the exhausts for the

  48th scale F/A-18F from Meng. For this kit,

  we also have a set of F/A-18E/F weapons

  in the BigSin line. There is also a set in

  this line for our Camel. Finally, to end

  off this paragraph, I would like to draw

  attention to the set of Kingfishers for ship

  kits in 1:350th scale.

  Space

  In the Space line, we are releasing a to-

  tal of five new items in 1:48th. The set

  designed for the A6M3 is not only meant

  for the Zero Model 32 being released this

  month, but also for the forthcoming Model

  22 with the original wing, to be released at

  the end of this year. Other sets focus on

  the Spitfire Mk.XII, the P-47N (Academy),

  the Yak-9D (Zvezda) and for Tamiya’s

  well-known Me 262A. The Space sets are

  a 3D printed decal, complemented by steel

  photoetched belts. We still consider steel-

  belts to be the best technology for the desi-

  red realistic look given details, and superi-

  or to 3D decals, which cannot offer desired

  scale thinness when replicating seatbelts.

  We can certainly discuss this theme in de-

  tail at our stand at the show, since there is

  a segment of the modeling community that

  considers this approach to be flawed. We

  will also be offering the first hundred visi-

  tors to our stand a sample Space set to try

  it out personally!

  LööK

  In the LööK line, the purpose of which is

  to easily and effectively raise the level of

  detail offered by original kit parts, we have

  one set for the F4F-3 Wildcat (Eduard,

  1:48) and one for the Meng EA-18G (same

  scale). The expanded LöökPlus sets co-

  ver the 1:48th scale Zvezda Su-25 and the

  Tamiya 1:48th AH-1H and AH-1J.

  Photoetched

  October offers two sets I would like to draw

  your attention to, and these cover the A6M3

  Zero of our own making. These are sets

  covering the landing flaps and an overall

  set detailing the model in general (wheel

  bay doors, seat, engine cabling).

  We updated our older sets to cover the re-

  -release of the Spitfire Mk.XII from Airfix

  in 1:48th, and these now, for example,

  INFO Eduard

  5

  October 2022

• Page 6

  include pre-painted and weathered seat-

  belts, a reworked instrument panel with si-

  mulated glass over the dials, etc. Academy

  has again released two kits of the P-47N

  and F3F in 1:48th. So, for October, we’ve

  got all-new and pretty innovative sets for

  these.

  For the Mi-35M in 1:48th from Zvezda we

  are offering photoetched sets that are an

  extension of the previously released Mi-24

  sets but with version-specific changes in-

  corporated. Gone are the parts for the re-

  tractable landing gear and other items that

  this version lacks, and we added items that

  are unique to the Mi-35M. Likewise for the

  Great Wall Hobby Su-30SM in 1:48th, we

  have a set stemming from the older item

  for their Su-27.

  Hobby Boss has released a new kit of the

  A-4M Skyhawk in 1:72nd, and this also is

  the focus of a relevant photoetched set. In

  the same scale, we even have a set for the

  Fore Hobby Schnellboot. This kit already

  includes a pretty extensive assortment of

  PE details, but there are some items that

  are absent. Our set fills this out quite nice-

  ly with what we consider needed details,

  including pre-painted instrument panels.

  Historical Articles

  Historical articles have long been an inte-

  gral part of our newsletters. After humble

  beginnings, their frequency of inclusion

  has grown, and we have gotten to the point

  where we have enough to allow us to be

  picky. You also now can be picky, with re-

  spect to the ones you want to read. They are

  generally submitted by renowned authors.

  Judge for yourselves. The article “‘Tainan

  Kokutai Markings” about Zeros attached to

  this unit was written by Ed DeKiep, and the

  article “The Wildcat at Midway” was penned

  by another American author, Tom Clea-

  ver. Another two articles come from local

  authors, the first part of series of articles

  about Paul Irvin “Pappy” Gunn was written

  by Richard Plos and the sixth installment of

  the air war over Ukraine series of articles

  by Miro Barič, as usual. The now usual

  Boxart Story short articles are shared be-

  tween Richard Plos (Z-326 Trener Master

  and MiG-21PFM) and Jan Bobek with his

  text regarding the boxart for the A6M3 and

  Fw 190A-8.

  And it is still not all in this respect. We have

  some articles that don’t really fall under

  the historical heading per se, and these are

  dedicated to an event which has its own

  history, and that has the potential to become

  an important piece of history within our

  hobby. I am speaking of the Czech National

  Championship, which this year took part

  in the Prague Olympik Hotel on Septem-

  ber 10. This is an event with a long-stan-

  ding tradition going back to the seventies.

  This year’s event was high-caliber. The

  atmosphere was very pleasant, and the

  social and competitive aspects were of

  a high level. I was inspired by the event, and

  I walked away with a much improved mood.

  Our company continues to fulfill its obliga-

  tions to maintaining the event, and in fact,

  we stand behind the leadership of the Plas-

  tic Model Section of the Czech Modeler’s

  Association and the host club. This year,

  we even played a role as awards sponsor.

  The results of our participation can be seen

  in today’s articles by Jakub Nademlejn-

  ský, dedicated to the most recent National

  Championship. And this won’t be the last

  such event, so if you were able to attend

  and you found something missing, don’t de-

  spair, recording these events will continue

  in the future!

  That’s it for me today. Ladies and gentle-

  men, I look forward to seeing as many of

  you as possible on Friday and Saturday

  at the Tankodrom Milovice (Milovice Tank

  Training Area) at E-day 2022!

  Happy Modelling!

  Vladimír Šulc.

  INFO Eduard6

  October 2022

• Page 7

• Page 8

  In answering the demand for folding wings

  and increased weight of fire, Grumman was

  faced with the problem that they would be

  adding additional weight to a fighter whose

  performance was already compromised by

  lack of power, without an option to change

  up to a more powerful engine. Thus, what

  weight was added had to be minimized

  to the extent possible.

  In the end, this weight saving was found

  in the armament. While two additional ma-

  chine guns were added, the total ammu-

  nition load would remain the same; it was

  the only place where any significant weight

  could be saved. Thus, the redesign would

  redistribute the ammunition from the 450

  rounds per gun of the F4F-3 to 250 rounds

  per gun in what became the F4F-4.

  When more is not better

  The F4F-3’s four .50 in (12.7 mm) guns and

  450 rpg gave the pilot 34 seconds of fi-

  ring time; the reduction to 240 rpg in the

  F4F-4 gave a total firing time of 20 se-

  conds. VF-3's Lt Cdr John S. Thach said of

  this change: “A pilot who cannot hit with

  four guns will miss with eight.”

  Grumman used its newly-developed

  “Sto-Wing” wing folding system, in which

  the outer wing was folded to the rear while

  being a rotated to a near-vertical position,

  which allowed more of the wing to be fol-

  ded than would be the case with a verti-

  cal-folding wing which would be limited by

  the height of the hangar overhead aboard

  an aircraft carrier. The system allowed five

  F4F-4s to be parked in the same space

  taken by two F4F-3s. In practice, this allo-

  wed a 50 percent increase in the number of

  Wildcats carried in a fleet carrier. Squad-

  rons were increased from 18 to 24, a use-

  ful increase that had been shown useful

  in early combat when the limited number

  of fighters meant that a strike force was

  not effectively escorted while there were

  insufficient defenders for the carrier.

  The weight of additional guns and folding

  wings without an increase in power redu-

  ced performance: the F4F-3's top speed

  of 330 mph was reduced to 318 mph

  in the F4F-4. Grumman optimistically clai-

  med that rate of climb declined from the

  F4F-3's 2,303 feet per minute to 1,950 fpm

  in the F4F-4; however, in combat conditi-

  ons, pilots found the F4F-4 only capable of

  some 500 to 1,000 fpm depending on wea-

  ther conditions. At Guadalcanal, the defen-

  ders were generally able to get a two-hour

  warning of inbound attackers through the

  coastwatchers in the Solomons; once

  fighters were manned and airborne, there

  was generally some 60-70 minutes befo-

  re the Japanese arrived overhead. Marion

  Carl recalled that “it took every minute”

  to drag the F4F-4 to 24,000 feet, where the

  Marines could initiate their attack on an

  enemy formation flying between 18-20,000

  feet. Carl compared the overall perfor-

  mance of the F4F-4 as similar to that of

  the equally overweight and underpowered

  HISTORY

  British experience with the Martlet I in combat led the Admi-

  ralty making a request to Grumman for the addition of folding

  wings to allow more Martlets to be carried aboard ship, and for

  an increase in weight of fire. The primary opponent of the British

  Martlets was the German Fw 200 Condor, and the weight of fire

  of four .50-caliber machine guns was insufficient to give good

  odds of a kill in the first pass, which was often the only pass

  in the confrontation.

  The Wildcat The Wildcat

  at Midwayat Midway Photo: US Navy

  Text: Tom Cleaver

  INFO Eduard8

  October 2022

• Page 9

  HISTORY

  Brewster F2A-3. The XF4F-4 appeared

  in December 1941, and Grumman switched

  to production of what would be the ma-

  jor combat version of the Wildcat in Ja-

  nuary 1942. VF-6 aboard USS Enterprise

  (CV-6) was the first to re-equip with the

  new Wildcat on the ship’s return to Pearl

  Harbor after the Doolittle Raid in late Ap-

  ril 1942. During May 1942 the other fleet

  fighter squadrons re-equipped with F4F-4s

  as they arrived in Hawaii. Yorktown, which

  only returned to Pearl on May 27 from the

  Battle of the Coral Sea, saw her regular Air

  Group Five combined with squadrons from

  Air Group Three, which had been sidelined

  by the torpedoing of Saratoga back in Ja-

  nuary. Lt Cdr John S. “Jimmy” Thach, who

  had spent the previous six weeks training

  new aviators assigned to Fighting Three

  in how to fly his “Thach Weave” defensive

  maneuver, brought 25 new F4F-4 Wildcats

  to the carrier, where 11 of VF-3's most ex-

  perienced pilots and 16 VF-42 Coral Sea

  Veterans would man them.

  Seven of VF-6's F4F-3As were quick-

  ly reconditioned and sent on to VMF-221

  on Midway, to supplement their F2A-3

  fighters, arriving on May 26 aboard the

  aircraft ferry USS Kitty Hawk along with

  the VB-6 SBD-2s that went to VMSB-241.

  Both squadrons had only nine days to be-

  come familiar with their new mounts befo-

  re they entered the crucible of combat; the

  Wildcats were given to the most experien-

  ced pilots in the squadron.

  Gathering clouds

  While American codebreakers had been

  reading the Japanese JN-25 code succe-

  ssfully since early 1942, the Japanese issu-

  ed a new code book on May 24; however,

  it was not uniformly in use until May 27,

  which marked the last date the U.S. Navy

  would ever “read the enemy’s mail” for the

  rest of the Pacific War. Fortunately, HYPO

  - the Pacific Fleet’s codebreakers - had

  been able to obtain all needed informati-

  on, including the Imperial Navy’s Order of

  Battle and the expected attack date: June

  4, 1942. While the Americans knew eve-

  rything, they needed to know about their

  opponent, the Imperial Navy had no war-

  ning, and no idea, of what lay in wait.

  Dawn came to the Central Pacific the mor-

  ning of June 4, 1942, revealing clear wea-

  ther over the four carriers of Kidō Butai,

  with building clouds of a storm front to the

  east and northeast. The carriers began

  launching the first strike at 0430 hours:

  36 D3A1 dive bombers, accompanied

  by 36 B5N bombers loaded for level bom-

  bing rather than torpedo attacks, escorted

  by 36 A6M2 Zeros.

  At almost the same time, 11 PBY Catali-

  nas took off from Midway to search north,

  west and south of the atoll. At 0534 hours,

  a PBY sighted Akagi and Kaga through the

  scattered clouds and radioed a report. Ten

  Torpedo Eight was in process of re-equipping with the new Grumman TBF-1 Avenger in March 1942 when the ship

  was ordered to the Pacific. A four-plane detachment that had re-equipped was sent on to Midway, where they

  made an attack on the Japanese carriers. Only one survived to return to Midway, and it never flew again. (USN)

  F4F-4 Wildcat of Hornet’s VF-8 in flight. (USN)

  INFO Eduard

  9

  October 2022

• Page 10

  minutes later, another Catalina repor-

  ted the inbound airstrike. At 0554 hours,

  Midway’s radar picked the attackers, re-

  porting: “Many planes, 93 miles, 310 degre-

  es, altitude 11,000 feet.”

  At 0555 hours, the air raid siren’s wail sent

  the defenders scrambling. VMF-221's Duty

  Officer, 2nd Lieutenant John C. Musselman

  Jr., raced along the line of revetments in

  the command post pickup truck, yelling

  “Get airborne!” At 0600 hours, the order

  was given for VMF-221 to scramble. Ten

  minutes later, 20 F2A-3s and three F4F-3s

  were airborne.

  The 23 pilots of VMF-221, known as the

  “Fighting Falcons,” were a mixed lot. Eight

  were recent flight school graduates who

  had arrived nine days earlier; another five

  recent flight school graduates had arrived

  in March, while the rest had flown off

  Lexington after failing to get to Wake

  Island as reinforcement on December

  24, 1941. Four had seen aerial combat on

  March 10 when Captain John Neefus’ di-

  vision intercepted an H8K “Emily” from

  Kwajalein, which they managed to shoot

  down after a prolonged battle in which one

  F2A-3 was badly damaged by the heavily-

  -armed flying boat.

  Squadron leader 31-year-old Major Floyd

  B. “Red” Parks, a trained dive bomber pilot

  had arrived on Midway in March and taken

  command of VMF-221 on May 8 after the

  original squadron commander, Lt. Colonel

  Ira L. Kimes, had become commander of

  Marine Aircraft Group 22. The night of June

  3, Captain Kirk Armistead found his nor-

  mally extroverted commander moody and

  distracted. When Armistead tried to cheer

  him up, saying “By this time tomorrow, it’ll

  all be over,” Parks replied, “Yeah, for those

  of you who get through it.”

  Parks assigned 13 F2As of second and thi-

  rd division leaders Captains Daniel J. He-

  nnessy and Armistead to orbit north of the

  island as reinforcement, while he led four

  F2A-3s of first division and Captain Robert

  E. Curtin’s two fourth division F2As, along

  with Captain John F. Carey’s three F4F-3

  Wildcats; Carey’s wingmen were Captain

  Marion E. Carl and 2nd Lieutenant Clayton

  M. Canfield. Two Wildcats were airborne

  on dawn patrol while the sixth and seventh

  of the war-weary fighters were grounded

  with mechanical problems.

  Parks’ three divisions took a bearing of 320

  degrees, directly toward the incoming stri-

  ke. Hennessey and Armistead’s eight took

  a heading of 310 degrees to allow for radar

  error and the chance the attackers might

  split and attack from different directions.

  At 0612 hours, Carey’s three Wildcats were

  at 14,000 feet when he sighted the enemy

  40 miles north of Midway. The B5Ns were

  in a “vee of vees” at 11,000 feet, followed

  by the D3As at a slightly higher altitude

  while the Zeros were stepped-up behind

  the dive bombers; the Marines a clear shot

  at the bombers for at least the first pass.

  At 0614 hours, Canfield saw Carey make “a

  wide 270-degree turn, then a 90-degree

  diving turn.” He then heard the electrifying

  “Tally-ho! Hawks at angels-twelve,” and,

  after a slight pause, “accompanied by

  fighters.”

  Carey made steep dive for a “high side

  pass” and caught the lead bomber, wai-

  ting till it filled his gunsight; his long burst

  shredded the B5N and set it afire; the

  gunner’s return fire cracked his wind-

  shield. An instant later, the bomber blew

  up. Carey turned to the next when sudden-

  ly he was raked by a burst of fire that hit

  his right knee and left leg. On the verge of

  passing out in excruciating pain, “I dove at

  about a 40-degree angle and headed for

  a large cloud about five miles away.”

  Canfield followed his leader, recalling,

  “I fired at the number three plane in the

  number three section until it exploded and

  went down in flames.” An instant later, the

  Zeros hit him. “My Wildcat was hit on the

  right elevator, left wing and flap and just

  ahead of the tail wheel by three 20mm ca-

  nnon shells. There was also a .30-caliber

  hole through the tail wheel and one that

  entered the hood on the right side about

  six inches up, passing just over the left

  rudder pedal and damaging the landing

  gear.”

  Canfield sought refuge in nearby cloud.

  Emerging moments later, the enemy was

  gone. “I went around the cloud in the oppo-

  site direction and joined up with Captain

  Carey again.” The two flew unsteadily to-

  Fighting Three’s Lt Cdr John S. Thach spent a year refining his “Thach Weave” defensive

  maneuver that allowed the F4F to successfully confront the A6M2 Zero in combat. (USN)

  Fighting Five’s Commander James H. “Jimmy” Flatley. (USN)

  Lieutenant Scott

  McCusky of VF-6 was

  the first F4F pilot to

  shoot down a Japanese

  airplane during the

  Kwajalein strike in

  February 1942. He also

  scored at Midway,

  defending Enterprise

  against the strike from

  Hiryū. (USN)

  HISTORY

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  Adding wing-folding to the F4F-4 allowed the number of Wildcats aboard a fleet carrier to be increased by 50% over the non-folding F4F-3. (USN)

  HISTORY

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  ward Midway as Carey kept losing altitude

  and falling behind. “I kept throttling back

  so he could keep up. His wounds kept him

  from working the rudders, and his plane

  was all over the sky.”

  They reached Midway under attack and

  prepared to land, at which point Canfield

  discovered his flaps were gone. “When the

  wheels touched the ground the landing

  gear collapsed, and the plane slid along

  the runway. When it stopped, I jumped out

  and ran for a trench just as a Zero strafed

  my abandoned plane.” Carey landed right

  behind and remembered “I ended up in

  a ground loop, as I had a flat tire and could

  not control the plane because of the wound

  in my leg.” Carey crashed into a revetment

  and was pulled out and dragged to safety

  with the bombs falling.

  Left behind by Carey and Canfield, Marion

  Carl rolled into an overhead pass against

  the bombers. “I caught sight of these damn

  Zeros … The air was full of them!” He made

  a high-side firing pass on one; when he

  looked back, “I was surprised to see se-

  veral Zeros swinging into position on my

  tail, so I dived straight down at full throttle,

  then zoomed back up to 20,000 feet.”

  As he headed back toward Midway, he spo-

  tted three Zeros below. “They didn’t see me

  drop astern. I gave one a long burst, until

  he fell off on one wing out of control and

  headed almost straight down with smoke

  streaming from the plane.”

  “I looked around and couldn’t find a frien-

  dly airplane any place and the next thing

  I know, I’ve got a Zero on my tail that’s sho-

  oting away. I headed for a cloud, chopped

  the power, and threw the plane into

  a skid. When I came out the other side, the

  Zero had overrun me. I pulled the trigger

  on my guns and got nothing! My guns had

  jammed, but the maneuver scared him so

  badly that he gave up the fight.” Despite

  being badly shot up, Carl was able to limp

  back and land safely.

  The three Wildcats were lucky. Major

  Parks was hit by the swarming escorts

  early in the fight. Parks bailed out and his

  parachute was seen to open. A Zero pi-

  lot strafed him and then strafed his body

  when it fell on one of the outer reefs. All

  six pilots of Parks’ first division were shot

  down. The 20 F2A-3 pilots were not only

  outnumbered by the 36 Zeros, but they

  were also completely outclassed by the

  faster and more agile enemy fighters,

  whose experienced pilots quickly shot

  down 16 Buffalos and one of the patrolling

  Wildcats, with 14 Marines killed in action.

  Four crash-landed on Eastern Island and

  six managed to land after the air raid was

  over. Only two planes were fit to fly again.

  VMF-221 was out of action. The 23 pilots

  were each awarded the Navy Cross, all but

  nine posthumously. Their opponents that

  morning were seasoned veterans of what

  was at the time the most effective naval air

  F4F-4 Wildcats, SBD-3 Dauntlesses and TBD-1 Devastators of USS Hornet’s Air Group Eight aboard ship the morning

  of June 4, 1942. (USN)

  VF-8 F4F-4 Wildcat ready to take off while others are positioned to the side. (USN)

  HISTORY

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• Page 13

  arm in the world, flying the best carrier-

  -based fighter in the world. Against these

  losses, the Japanese admitted loss of se-

  ven B5N2s and two A6M2s.

  Major Parks’ citation reads: "For extraor-

  dinary heroism and conspicuous devotion

  to duty as Squadron Commander for Ma-

  rine Fighting Squadron TWO TWENTY ONE,

  in action against enemy Japanese forces

  during the Battle of Midway, June 4, 1942.

  Leading his squadron in a dauntless and

  aggressive attack against a vastly superi-

  or number of Japanese bomber and figh-

  ter planes, Major Parks aided in disruption

  the plans of the enemy and lessening the

  effectiveness of their attack, thereby con-

  tributing materially to the success of our

  forces. As a result of his courageous and

  daring tactics and because of the circum-

  stances attendant upon this engagement,

  there can be little doubt that Major Parks

  gallantly gave up his life in the service

  of his country. He displayed the charac-

  teristics of a fine leader and excellent

  airman in keeping with the highest tradi-

  tions of the United States Naval Service."

  Captain Phillip R. White complained

  bitterly in his after-action report, writing:

  “The F2A-3 is not a combat aircraft. It is

  inferior to the planes we were fighting

  in every respect. It is my belief that any co-

  mmander who orders pilots out for com-

  bat in a F2A-3 should consider the pilot

  as lost before leaving the ground.”

  Battle rages on

  For their actions at Midway, the Marines

  of MAG-22 were awarded the Presiden-

  tial Unit Citation. Admiral Nimitz recogni-

  zed the Marines' contribution to victory

  at Midway as follows: "Please accept my

  sympathy for the losses sustained by your

  gallant aviation personnel based at Mid-

  way. Their sacrifice was not in vain. When

  the great emergency came, they were

  ready. They met, unflinchingly, the attack

  of vastly superior numbers and made the

  attack ineffective. They struck the first

  blow at the enemy carriers. They were

  the spearhead of our great victory. They

  have written a new and shining page in the

  annals of the Marine Corps."

  Aboard the three American carriers cru-

  ising at “Point Luck,” the crews had been

  awakened at 0130 hours and fed between

  0300-0400 hours to give them time to pre-

  pare. Surprisingly, Yorktown, the only ca-

  rrier of the three whose leaders had direct

  combat experience, was held back in re-

  serve while Enterprise and Hornet, which

  had yet to engage an enemy carrier, were

  assigned to make the maximum-effort

  strike.

  At 0534 hours the Catalina search plane

  reported “Carriers sighted.” At 0553 hours

  came the report, "Many planes heading

  Midway." Finally, at 0603 hours, the Catali-

  na reported "Two carriers and battleships

  bearing 320 degrees, distance 180, course

  135, speed 25." Quick calculations placed

  the enemy fleet 175 miles west-southwest

  of the Americans. In fact, the position re-

  port was incorrect; the enemy was now

  200 miles away. Those extra miles would

  matter.

  At 0607 hours, Admiral Fletcher aboard

  Yorktown ordered Spruance's two carriers

  to attack. "Proceed southwesterly and

  attack enemy carriers as soon as defini-

  tely located." Spruance considered that

  while the reported range was extreme,

  a strike could succeed. Chief of Staff Mi-

  les Browning determined that because

  they would have to turn away to launch

  that they should wait until 0700 hours, gi-

  ving them an hour to close the distance

  a further 25 miles, placing the enemy

  about 155 miles distant. Spruance agreed

  and Enterprise and Hornet began launch-

  ing at 0656 hours. Where the Japanese had

  launched 108 aircraft from four carriers in

  only seven minutes, Enterprise and Hornet

  Only two of ten F4F-4s from VF-8 managed to get back to USS Hornet after CAG

  Stanhope Ring led the strike astray. Ensign Sheedy was one of them. (USN)

  F4F-4 Wildcats and SBD-3 Dauntlesses of Air Group Six aboard USS Enterprise. (USN)

  F4F-4s of Fighting Eight aboard USS Hornet ranged for takeoff. (USN)

  HISTORY

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  13

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  required more than an hour to launch 117.

  The Enterprise Dauntlesses were airborne

  by 0725 hours forming up and climbing in

  circles above the carrier. Twenty minutes

  after the dive bombers launched, the first

  VF-6 Wildcat escort was launched, follo-

  wed by VT-6's 18 slow TBDs. By the time

  the TBDs were airborne and assembled

  under the leadership of Lt Cdr Gene Lind-

  sey, the SBDs were distant on the horizon.

  At this point, the VF-6 Wildcats mistaken-

  ly took up position over Hornet’s Torpedo

  Eight, Leaving Torpedo Six without fighter

  escort.

  Hornet’s air group also broke up shortly

  after CAG Cdr Stanhope Ring took up his

  westerly heading of 265 degrees at the

  head of the dive bombers. Torpedo Eight’s

  Lt Cdr John Waldron, who still believed his

  course information was correct, signaled

  his pilots to follow him and took up what

  he had determined was the most direct

  course to the enemy, taking a heading

  of 240 degrees. The VF-6 F4F-4s followed.

  Fortunately, Admiral Fletcher decided

  to commit Yorktown’s air group to launch

  at 0838 hours. The combat-experienced

  Air Department ordered the squadrons

  to execute a "running rendezvous". Lt Cdr

  Lance Massey’s slow Torpedo Three TBDs

  were launched first and headed off at low

  altitude. Bombing Three and Scouting Five,

  led by VB-3's LCDR Max Leslie, launch-

  ed next, while John Thach’s eight F4F-4

  Wildcats launched last.

  Having taken the most direct course to the

  enemy, Waldron spotted Kidō Butai shortly

  after he spotted smoke on the horizon at

  0925 hours. His guess the enemy would

  make a turn to the north had been right.

  Unfortunately, his call to Stanhope Ring

  that he had found the fleet came too late.

  The Hornet CAG took the SBDs and their

  escorting F4F-4s to maximum range and

  missed the Japanese entirely. Prewar ca-

  rrier doctrine called for a strike force in

  this position to return to the nearest fri-

  endly land base. In this case, that meant

  Midway, which was in no condition to re-

  ceive the strike force. Ring had required

  a “parade ground” formation, which meant

  increased gas usage; it was now questio-

  nable the formation had the fuel to get to

  Midway. Some SBDs and F4Fs tried to re-

  turn to Hornet, while the others headed to-

  ward Midway. While most of the dive bom-

  bers made it; only two of the 10 Wildcats

  returned. Ring’s decision removed Hornet

  from the battle and nearly cost Marc Mit-

  scher his career, had he not already rece-

  ived notice of promotion to Rear Admiral.

  Torpedo Eight had been spotted by the Ja-

  panese scout that had spotted the Ame-

  rican carriers; the enemy was waiting for

  them when they got to the fleet. The Zero

  CAP fell on the TBDs. Waldron was one of

  the first shot down. In the next five minu-

  tes, all but one crashed into the sea with

  no survivors. Ensign George Gay dropped

  his torpedo; as his plane struck the water,

  the hood slammed shut. The TBD tipped

  for its final dive as Gay struggled to open

  the canopy. “I couldn’t hardly get it open.

  That’s when I got scared.” Finally, the hood

  slid back, and he scrambled out. He was

  left bobbing in the sea; a moment later, his

  seat cushion popped to the surface.

  VF-6 commander Lieutenant John Gray

  had become separated from both his

  VT-6 and VT-8. The Wildcats arrived on

  the far side of the enemy fleet and waited

  for the call for assistance from Torpedo

  Six’s Gene Lindsey as they orbited 15 miles

  on the opposite side of the fleet from the

  torpedo bombers they were charged with

  protecting. The VT-6 bombers arrived on

  the wrong side of the formation; Lindseys

  division was spared the attention of the

  CAP as they flew around the enemy forma-

  tion, but were finally caught by the Zeros

  as they began their run in. He and three

  others were shot down, while the other

  three managed to drop their torpedoes and

  escape to return to Enterprise. The second

  division chased Kaga as the CAP slashed

  at them, taking them down one-by-one.

  Finally, only the TBDs flown by Aviation

  Machinist’s Mate 1/c A. Walter Winchell and

  Chief Aviation Machinist Stephen B. Smith

  were still flying, both damaged. They both

  dropped their torpedoes and managed

  to escape the fire. Smith made it back to

  Enterprise, while Winchell and gunner

  Aviation Radioman 3/c Douglas M. Cossit

  were forced to ditch, surviving 17 days in

  their raft until they were rescued by a PBY

  on June 21.

  The 12 TBDs of Yorktown’s VT-3, led

  by Lt Cdr Lance “Lem” Massey, escorted by

  six F4F-4 Wildcats led by John S. Thach,

  found the enemy a matter of minutes af-

  ter the Enterprise SBDs made their de-

  vastating attack on Kaga and Akagi, just

  as Lt Cdr Max Leslie led 36 dive bombers

  nosed over to attack Sōryū. Yorktown’s

  strike was the only air group to make

  a coordinated attack.

  Thach recalled they had only a few hops

  to get used to the new F4F-4. VF-42's Jim

  Adams recalled, “We went from bad to

  worse when we picked up the F4F-4 for

  Midway. We had all kinds of extra weight

  and a real sluggish aircraft; six guns and

  less firing time. The reduction in rounds

  per gun with the increase from four to six

  guns cut the firing time by six seconds.

  That doesn’t sound like much, but it can be

  a lifetime in combat.”

  Thach’s formation included his wingman,

  Ensign Robert A. M. "Ram" Dibb, with

  VF-42's Lt (jg) Brainard Macomber and

  wingman Ensign Edgar Bassett. Aviati-

  on Machinist Mate 1/c Tom Cheek and his

  wingman, Ensign Daniel Sheedy, were

  just astern of the TBDs, all about 1,000

  feet above the bombers, flying at 750 feet.

  Thach later remembered, “We had to do

  S turns, so we wouldn't run away from

  the TBDs and we didn't want to be stalling

  along with no ability to maneuver in case

  something hit us before we anticipated it.

  We were flying our standard combat for-

  mation and were weaving.”

  “Looking ahead, I could see ships throu-

  gh the breaks in the clouds, and I figured

  that was it. We had just begun to approach

  about ten miles from the outer screen of

  this large force, it looked like it was spread

  over the ocean, and several colored anti-

  aircraft bursts appeared in our direction,

  one red and another orange, and then no

  more. I wondered why they'd be shooting

  at us because we weren't even nearly in

  range. We'd been sighted by the surface

  screen, and they were alerting the combat

  air patrol. A very short time after, before

  Douglas TBD-1 Debastators of Torpedo Eight aboard Hornet preparing to take off to strike the Japanese fleet.

  All 18 bombers would be lost in the attack, with only one surviving pilot, ENS George Gay. (USN)

  HISTORY

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• Page 15

  we got near antiaircraft range, Zero fi-

  ghters came down on us. I tried to count

  them, and I figured there were 20.

  “The first thing that happened was

  Bassett's plane was burning. He pulled out,

  and I didn't see him anymore. He was shot

  down right away. I was surprised they put

  so many Zeros on my six fighters. But then

  I saw they had a second large group that

  was now streaming in right past us and

  into the poor torpedo planes.

  “Macomber's position was too close to me

  to permit an effective weave, and I was

  not getting very good shots at the Zeros.

  I called him on the radio and said: ‘Open out

  more. About double your present distance

  and weave.’ No acknowledgment. His ra-

  dio was dead. How ironic this situation had

  become! I had spent almost a year deve-

  loping what I was convinced was the only

  way to survive against the Zero, and now

  we couldn't seem to do it! I couldn't see

  Cheek and Sheedy, so I called Ram Dibb,

  my wingman, and said, ‘Pretend you are a

  section leader and move out far enough to

  weave.’ He said, ‘This is Scarlet Two, wil-

  co.’ His voice sounded like he was elated

  to get this promotion right in the middle of

  a battle.

  “Several Zeros came in on a head-on

  attack on the torpedo planes and burned

  Lem Massey's plane right away. It just ex-

  ploded in flames. And, beautifully timed,

  another group came in on the side again-

  st the torpedo planes. The air was like

  a beehive, and I wasn't sure at that mo-

  ment that anything would work. It didn't

  look like my weave was working, but then

  it began to work. I got a good shot at two

  of them and burned them, and one of them

  made a pass at my wingman, pulled out to

  the right, and then came back. We were

  weaving continuously, and I got a head-on

  shot at him, and just about the time I saw

  this guy coming, Ram said, ‘There's a Zero

  on my tail.’ The Zero wasn't directly astern,

  more like 45 degrees, beginning to follow

  him around, which gave me the head-on

  approach. I probably should have decided

  to duck under this Zero, but I lost my tem-

  per. He just missed me by a few feet with

  flames coming out of the bottom of his

  airplane. This is like playing chicken with

  two automobiles on the highway except

  we were both shooting as well. That was

  a little foolhardy; I didn't try it anymore.

  “Pure logic would convince anyone that

  with their superior performance and the

  number of Zeros they were throwing into

  the fight, we could not possibly survive.

  ‘Well,’ I said, talking to myself, ‘we're going

  to take a lot of them with us if they're going

  to get us all.’ We kept on working the wea-

  ve, and it seemed to work better and be-

  tter. I haven't the slightest idea how many

  Zeros I shot down. I just can't remember,

  I was absolutely convinced that nobo-

  dy could get out of there, that we weren't

  coming back, and neither were any of the

  torpedo planes.”

  Japanese doom

  As Thach weaved against the Zeros and all

  but three of the torpedo planes were shot

  down, the Yorktown dive bombers attacked

  Sōryū. Thach recalled: “I'd never seen such

  superb dive bombing. It looked to me like

  almost every bomb hit. Of course, there

  were some very near misses. There were-

  n't any wild ones. About that time the Zeros

  slacked off. I could only see three carriers.

  One of them, probably either the Sōryū or

  the Kaga, was burning with bright pink and

  sometimes blue flames. I remember lo-

  oking at the height of the flames noticing

  that it was about the height that the ship

  was long, just solid flame going up and

  a lot of smoke on top of that. I saw three

  carriers burning pretty furiously before

  I left; I picked up one torpedo plane and

  flew on back to the Yorktown with it. I was

  over the Japanese fleet a full 20 minutes.”

  In six deadly minutes, the Japanese had

  lost Akagi, Kaga and Sōryū.

  One Japanese carrier was left, the Hiryū.

  As the Americans departed, she launch-

  ed 18 dive bombers and six Zeros at 1100

  hours. At 1205 hours, they found Yorktown.

  Aboard Yorktown, John Bridgers and the

  other pilots held back from the morning

  strike did their best to stay out of the way.

  “The planes from the fourth Japanese ca-

  rrier found the Yorktown before we found

  their ship and, in short order, we were

  under attack. We pilots had no duties other

  than to sit in our ready room. Unable to

  see out, we became more and more tense

  with no activities to release the tension.

  This was by far the toughest experience

  I had during the war. Our antiaircraft guns

  began shaking the ship, and we figured

  enemy planes were closing in. In steel

  ships, there were many plates to rattle

  and reverberate, so the firing of guns was

  a noisy din indeed. Most of us gathered

  around the plate patching the ready room

  deck after one fellow said, ‘Surely lightning

  won't strike twice in the same place!’ The

  response was ‘But do you think the Japs

  know that?’ Just as quickly, we dispersed

  to our empty desk-seats, and in short

  order the ship was struck by a couple of

  bombs. Since the overhead of our ready

  room was the underside of the flight deck

  above, we felt considerable jolts and the li-

  ghts blinked out, to be automatically repla-

  ced by the dim red glare of battle lamps,

  and smoke was immediately evident.

  The attack passed quickly. In a few minu-

  tes, we were released to move topside and

  survey the damage. By now, our ship was

  dead in the water.”

  The defending Wildcats had fought one of

  the wildest battles of the Pacific War. One

  pilot recalled that as he left the fight deck,

  an enemy torpedo bomber was in front of

  him, and he shot it down before he could

  retract his gear.

  Once on the flight deck, Bridgers was

  immediately confronted with war’s cost

  when he saw bodies covered with tarpau-

  lins. Yorktown was soon able get under-

  way and land planes; then came warning

  of a second strike. “After the first attack,

  I observed that many had been injured

  because they were standing around upri-

  ght and were either hit by flying debris or

  knocked up against projecting fittings. This

  must have been something noticed by the

  others, for all of us immediately lay down

  prone on the deck — a precaution well

  worthwhile. Next, there was a tremendous

  explosion, and I was lifted bodily what felt

  to be a foot or more off the deck. I now

  knew what a torpedo hit felt like. Almost

  immediately, it was evident that the ship

  was listing to one side and was once again

  dead in the water. Word was passed to

  An F4F-4 of VF-3 moments after takeoff from USS Yorktown. (USN)

  HISTORY

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  15

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• Page 16

  abandon ship. Large life rafts were thrown

  over the side and the grim business got

  underway. I walked around the island and

  across the deck, trying to decide when

  I would go, secretly hoping someone would

  change their mind about the whole affair.

  I passed Captain Buckmaster taking a turn

  around the deck and he told me to hurry

  and get off the vessel. In several minu-

  tes, I passed him again and he said: ‘Son,

  I thought I told you get off this ship. Now get

  moving!’” Bridgers was soon in the water.

  Summing up Spruance’s performance,

  naval historian Samuel Eliot Morison later

  wrote: "Fletcher did well, but Spruance’s

  performance was superb. Calm, collected,

  decisive, yet receptive to advice; keeping

  in his mind the picture of widely dispa-

  rate forces, yet boldly seizing every ope-

  ning. Raymond A. Spruance emerged from

  the battle one of the greatest admirals

  in American Naval history."

  There is a likely-apocryphal story in the

  U.S. Navy that the Battle of Midway has

  been replayed many times at the U.S. Naval

  War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and

  that each time the Americans lose. More

  than any other battle in World War II, the

  Battle of Midway was won as the result

  of a very fortunate combination of good

  intelligence, planning, and, most of all,

  luck. The American fleet was inferior to its

  Japanese opponents as regards numbers

  and combat experience yet was able to

  sink all four of the Imperial Navy’s aircraft

  carriers committed to the battle.

  Crewmen on deck of USS Yorktown after she was hit in the first strike by aircraft from the Japanese carrier Hiryū. (USN)

  After being badly hit in the first Hiryū strike, Yorktown was able to get underway

  by the time the second strike arrived and was torpedoed. The ship was now doomed,

  and the crew was ordered to abandon ship. (USN)

  Yorktown was able to get underway by the time the second strike arrived,

  and she was attacked again, this time fatally. (USN)

  HISTORY

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• Page 17

• Page 18

  Despite this, the markings of this unit have

  been consistently misunderstood and mi-

  srepresented in nearly all illustrations and

  model decals that have ever been made.

  Even in the Japanese film, “The Eter-

  nal Zero”, which went to great lengths to

  accurately portray these aircraft in Tainan

  Kōkūtai markings and recreated settings

  for Lakunai Airfield, Rabaul, they did not

  get everything correct. Once incorrect in-

  formation makes it into print, it becomes

  almost impossible to correct. So, it’s im-

  portant that previously accepted “facts” are

  re-examined to verify that these are not in

  error, and to avoid perpetuating this inco-

  rrect information in new publications.

  Actually, these errors are somewhat

  understandable. During the short existen-

  ce of Tainan Kōkūtai, there were multiple

  reorganizations, changes in personnel and

  equipment, and a merger with another unit.

  With all these complicated changes, it is no

  wonder that there is so much confusion.

  The intent of this article is to explain the

  current state of decades of research into

  the markings of the Tainan Kōkūtai. This

  will allow readers to understand the me-

  aning of the quantity and color of the fu-

  selage bands and tail stripes used in this

  marking system, as well as the tail code

  ranges associated with these colors.

  (1)(2)(3)

  Notes On Terminology And Unit Structure

  Some readers may be unfamiliar with some

  of the terminology used in this article. The

  following may be of some help with this.

  The aircraft types used will be referred to

  in the remainder of the article by using the

  names that their Japanese pilots called

  them.

  九六式艦上戦闘機 = Kyū Roku-Shiki Kanjō

  Sentōki = Type 96 Carrier Fighter

  This was the Mitsubishi A5M, code name

  “Claude”. Japanese pilots referred to these

  using the abbreviation for “Carrier Fighter”,

  calling them “Kansen”.

  零式艦上戦闘機 = Rei-Shiki Kanjō Sentōki

  = Type 0 Carrier Fighter

  This was the Mitsubishi A6M, code name

  “Zeke” or often just “Zero”. Japanese pilots

  referred to these using the abbreviation for

  “Zero Fighter”, calling them “Reisen”.

  Kōkūtai translates as Air Group. The top

  flying leadership position in the Kōkūtai

  was the Hikōtaichō. The Hikōtaichō usua-

  lly had the rank of LtCdr (Lieutenant Com-

  mander) or Lt (Lieutenant). The Hikōtaichō

  flew as the leader of the mission, which

  usually consisted of aircraft from two or

  three Chūtai, as well as leading his own

  Chūtai.

  The Chūtai is a unit of nine aircraft. The

  leader of the Chūtai was the Buntai-

  chō. These pilots usually had the rank of

  Lt (Lieutenant) or LtJG (Lieutenant Junior

  Grade). If the Hikōtaichō was not flying

  on a mission, the highest ranking Buntai-

  chō took on the role of mission leader. The

  Kōkūtai was usually made up of five or six

  Chūtai. Note that when determining the

  highest ranking officer, there was a senio-

  rity component based on graduating class

  from the Etajima IJN Naval Academy that

  must be taken into account. Two officers

  might have the same rank, but the one from

  the earliest graduating class was conside-

  red as the higher ranking officer.

  The Shōtai is a unit of three aircraft. The

  leader of the Shōtai was the Shōtai-

  chō, who usually had the rank of FPO1c

  (Flight Petty Officer 1st Class) or higher.

  The Chūtai was made up of three Shōtai.

  The wingmen to the Shōtaichō flew in

  a “V” formation with the Shōtaichō in the

  lead, and doing slow rolls to search all

  around for enemy aircraft.

  The description above generally applies

  for the all-fighter units, although there

  are instances where the Chūtai could have

  fifteen+ aircraft, or a Kōkūtai could have

  more than six Chūtai. Also, after combat

  or operational losses, a Shōtai might fly

  a mission with only two aircraft, or a Chūtai

  might fly a mission with only one or two

  Shōtai.

  The Kōdōchōsho was the detailed record of

  the missions flown by a unit. This shows

  where the mission originated, what the

  destination was, and where the mission

  ended. The times for each stage of the mi-

  ssion are listed, using Tokyo rather than

  local time. All of the persons who flew the

  mission were listed, grouped together with

  the Chūtai and Shōtai structure shown,

  and the leaders clearly identified. The re-

  sults of the mission were shown, with lo-

  sses (and manner of demise if known) and

  claims, right down to the type and quantity

  of ordnance expended. Most of these re-

  cords survived the war and are available at

  the Japan Center for Asian Historical Re-

  cords (jacar.go.jp) These records are key

  when comparing to Allied mission records

  to verify claims.

  One point about the Kōdōchōsho that

  has been often misinterpreted is that the

  Chūtai and Shōtai structure was numbe-

  red in the Kōdōchōsho. These numbers

  applied only for each mission. For exam-

  ple, a Chūtai that was numbered as 2 in one

  mission might be numbered as 1 in the mi-

  ssion the following day. The Chūtai of the

  highest ranking Buntaichō (mission leader)

  was always listed as the number 1 Chūtai.

  But the Japanese did not refer to these

  Chūtai using numbers. Instead they used

  the name of the Buntaichō, for example the

  “Sasai Chūtai”.

  Unit History

  The 12th Kōkūtai was formed on July 11,

  1937 following the China Incident. It was

  a land-based unit equipped with carrier

  fighters, carrier bombers, and carrier

  attack aircraft. During the summer of 1940,

  the unit was equipped with the new Rei-

  sen (Zero Fighter, A6M) Model 11. The long

  range of the Reisen allowed the fighters to

  perform bomber escort and fighter sweep

  missions deep into China. By the time this

  unit was reorganized on September 15,

  1941, it had developed a highly experienced

  cadre of fighter pilots. Many of these pilots

  were reassigned to form two new land-ba-

  sed all-fighter units, the 3rd Kōkūtai and

  Tainan Kōkūtai.

  The Tainan Kōkūtai was formed on October

  1, 1941, taking the unit name from Tainan,

  Taiwan, the city where it was based. The

  HISTORY

  The Tainan Kōkūtai was one of the most successful and well

  known of all the land-based Japanese Naval Fighter Groups.

  This unit had among its ranks some of the highest scoring Japa-

  nese pilots of the Second World War. Their names will be fami-

  liar to many modelers and those interested in the history of the

  Pacific side of the war, for example: Sakai Saburō, Sasai Jun’ichi,

  Ōta Toshio, Nishizawa Hiroyoshi and many more.

  Tainan Kōkūtai Markings Tainan Kōkūtai Markings

  台南海軍航空隊台南海軍航空隊

  Photo: author’s collection

  Text: Ed DeKiep

  INFO Eduard18

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  HISTORY

  unit was incorporated into the 23rd Air Flo-

  tilla. The first aircraft assigned were twen-

  ty Type 96 Kansen (Carrier Fighter, A5M)

  that arrived with Hikōtaichō LT Shingō

  Hideki from Hanoi, Vietnam. Shortly after,

  forty-five Reisen Model 21 were assigned.

  These were distributed equally to form five

  Chūtai with four Type 96 Kansen and nine

  Reisen in each, with Lieutenants Shingō

  Hideki, Asai Masao, Wakao Akira, Kawai

  Shirō, and Inano Kiku-ichi as Buntaichō.

  The Kawai Chūtai was detached to Pa-

  lau, taking with it sixteen Type 96 Kan-

  sen. These aircraft came from the Shingō,

  Asai, Wakao, and Kawai Chūtai. The Kawai

  Chūtai aircraft and pilots departed Tainan

  on December 1, 1941 aboard Kasuga Maru,

  and stopped at Takao, Taiwan to pick up

  some additional pilots from 3rd Kōkūtai.

  There are no known photos showing how

  the Type 96 Kansen were marked at Palau,

  but they probably retained their original

  Tainan Kōkūtai markings.

  The Reisen from the Kawai Chūtai were

  redistributed to the other Tainan Kōkūtai

  Chūtai. Lt Kawai Shirō’s V-172 with Bun-

  taichō markings was given to the Inano

  Chūtai, and was lost when the unit was

  flying to join the 22nd Koku Sentai. But,

  it had not been repainted before it became

  lost due to bad weather, ran out of fuel, and

  forced landed on the Luichow Peninsula

  in China. This Reisen became the famous

  “China Zero” when it was captured, rebuilt,

  and used for flight testing. In the photo

  Nr. 1, it is still wearing it’s Tainan Kōkūtai

  markings, yellow (Kawai Chūtai) fuselage

  band and black (4th Shōtai) Buntaichō tail

  stripes, but the white with red outline tail

  code has been overpainted by the Chinese.

  During January 1942 the Japanese be-

  gan attacking and captured the Bismarck

  Archipelago. The Kawai Chūtai left Palau

  without their Type 96 Kansen, arriving at

  Rabaul on January 28 along with three

  crated Reisen delivered by Meiten Maru.

  They were joined on January 31 by fifteen

  Type 96 Kansen of Chitose Kōkūtai under Lt

  Okamoto Harutoshi. On February 10, 1942

  these units combined to form the 4th Kō-

  kūtai fighter group. While part of the 4th

  Kōkūtai, the Kawai Chūtai continued the

  use of yellow as the fuselage band color

  for Chūtai identification.

  The Inano Chūtai, which consisted of four

  Type 96 Kansen, fourteen Reisen, and three

  Type 98 (C5M) reconnaissance aircraft,

  was detached to the 22nd Kōkū Sentai. The

  Chūtai flew from Tainan, Taiwan to Sai-

  gon, Vietnam on November 26, 1941. Two

  of these Reisen were lost during the trip

  due to bad weather, as described abo-

  ve. The Inano Chūtai aircraft that joined

  22nd Kōkū Sentai retained all their Tainan

  Kōkūtai markings, changing only the “V”

  in the tail code to “II”. Similarly, the Tokaji

  Chūtai from 3rd Kōkūtai, which consisted

  of thirteen Reisen and three Type 98 (C5M)

  reconnaissance aircraft, was detached to

  the 22nd Kōkū Sentai, retained all their 3rd

  Kōkūtai markings, changing only the “X” in

  the tail code to “II”. The photo Nr. 2 (a still

  frame taken from an NHK newsreel film)

  shows a Shōtai from the 22nd Kōkū Sen-

  tai consisting of a Shōtaichō from the To-

  kaji Chūtai with a red fuselage band, along

  with two wingmen from the Inano Chūtai

  with black fuselage bands, flying a bomber

  escort mission.

  Following the departure of the Kawai and

  Inano Chūtai, the strength of the Tainan Kō-

  kūtai was then increased to fifty-four Rei-

  sen distributed equally to form six Chūtai

  of nine Reisen in each. The redistributed

  Reisen of the Kawai Chūtai, along with

  some new Reisen, were used to backfill the

  slots left by the departing Type 96 Kansen.

  Three new Buntaichō were added as well,

  Lieutenants Setō Masuzō, Maki Yukio, and

  one other. The Tainan Kōkūtai fought in this

  form from the Philippines on December 8,

  1941 through Bali, Netherlands East Indies

  on April 1, 1942.

  During this time period, the Tainan Kō-

  kūtai suffered losses, including Buntaichō

  Lt Wakao Akira who was KIA at Balikpa-

  pan on January 25, 1942 and Buntaichō

  Lt Asai Masao who was KIA at Surabaya

  on February 19, 1942. These losses were

  partially addressed by shifting responsibi-

  lities and reassignments of pilots and air-

  craft between Chūtai. In two particularly

  notable examples, the young LtJG Sasai

  Jun’ichi assumed the role of Buntaichō, and

  Hikōtaichō Lt Shingō Hideki reassigned his

  trusted Shōtaichō FPO1c Sakai Saburō to

  help improve Sasai’s fighting skills. At this

  time, the markings on FPO1c Sakai Saburō’s

  Reisen were tail code V-103 (white with red

  outline), red (Shingō Chūtai) fuselage band,

  and white (1st Shōtai) Shōtaichō tail stripe.

  Possibly, if Sakai was allowed to take his

  regular aircraft, V-103, with him after be-

  ing reassigned, the fuselage band Chūtai

  color may have been changed to blue.

  If this happened, then this is in agreement

  with one of the classic representations of

  Sakai’s markings.

  On April 1, 1942 the Tainan Kōkūtai went

  through another major reorganization.

  Lt Shingō Hideki and about half of the Tai-

  nan Kōkūtai pilots left Bali and returned

  to Japan. A new Hikōtaichō, LtCdr Naka-

  jima Tadashi replaced Shingō. The remai-

  ning Tainan Kōkūtai flight personnel were

  transported from Bali to Rabaul, New Bri-

  tain aboard Komaki Maru, arriving on April

  16, 1942. The Tainan Kōkūtai aircraft were

  left behind at Bali, and taken over by 3rd

  Kōkūtai.

  Post-April 1, 1942, the remnants of the Tai-

  nan Kōkūtai combined with the 4th Kōkūtai

  fighter group at Rabaul to form the rebuilt

  unit and were incorporated into the 25th

  Air Flotilla. Thus as part of the 4th Kōkūtai

  fighter group, the Kawai Chūtai rejoined the

  Tainan Kōkūtai. The Tainan Kōkūtai gained

  one of its most well-known pilots from

  the 4th Kōkūtai fighter group at this time,

  FPO1c Nishizawa Hiroyoshi.

  The Tainan Kōkūtai continued to build

  strength when the 1st Kōkūtai fighter

  Chūtai led by Lt Yamashita Jōji, left the

  Marshall Islands to join the unit at Rabaul

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  HISTORY

  towards the end of May, 1942. Also rejoining

  the Tainan Kōkūtai at Rabaul towards the

  end of May, 1942, was the Inano Chūtai after

  ending their detachment to the 22nd Kōkū

  Sentai.

  The main objective of the Tainan Kōkūtai

  following the move to Rabaul was to supp-

  ort the planned invasion of Port Moresby,

  New Guinea. About 2/3 of the strength of

  the unit operated from the airfield at Lae,

  New Guinea. Then on August 7, 1942, word

  came that the US forces had taken over

  the nearly completed airfield the Japanese

  had been building on Guadalcanal, forcing

  a change of objective.

  It was on this first Tainan Kōkūtai missi-

  on to Guadalcanal that day that FPO1c

  Sakai Saburō fought his epic dogfight with

  Lt “Pug” Southerland before finally shoo-

  ting down his heavily damaged F4F Wild-

  cat. And also on this mission that Sakai

  was shot by the rear gunner of an SBD

  Dauntless and lost the sight in his right

  eye. He struggled with his wounds to con-

  tinue flying, but finally returned to Rabaul.

  His wounds were too severe for treatment

  there, so he was evacuated to Japan. Be-

  fore leaving, LtJG Sasai Jun’ichi gave Sakai

  his silver tiger belt buckle, and pleaded for

  his recovery and safe return to Rabaul.

  The photo Nr. 3 show Sakai on arrival at

  Lakunai Airfield, Rabaul with his head

  wound. To his right with clipboard and look

  of horror on his face is FPO1c Ōta Toshio.

  On his left in the white shirt is LtJG Sasai

  Jun’ichi. The Reisen in the background is

  V-138, the aircraft of Hikōtaichō, LtCdr Na-

  kajima Tadashi. The photo Nr. 4 shows the

  bullet damaged leather helmet and flight

  goggles worn by Sakai that day, along with

  the silver tiger belt buckle.

  The battles fought at extreme range trying

  to regain control of Guadalcanal rapidly in-

  creased attrition. On November 1, 1942 the

  Tainan Kōkūtai was renamed 251 Kōkūtai.

  The severe attrition had ended the unit’s

  effectiveness as a fighting force. In mid-

  -November, less than 20 surviving ground

  crew and pilots boarded a transport ship

  and returned to Japan to regroup.

  Markings Origins

  The marking system that evolved with the

  12th Kōkūtai in China was the basis of the

  marking systems used by 3rd Kōkūtai and

  Tainan Kōkūtai. In its final form, these mar-

  kings were as follows:

  Buntaichō = 2 fuselage bands plus 2 tail

  stripes

  Shōtaichō = 1 fuselage band plus 2 tail stri-

  pes

  Wingman = 1 fuselage band plus 1 tail stripe

  The 3rd Kōkūtai followed the same pattern

  for quantity of bands/stripes as used by

  the 12th Kōkūtai. The Tainan Kōkūtai sim-

  plified these markings as described in the

  following sections.

  In addition to the quantity of bands/stripes,

  their color also had meaning. Each Buntai-

  chō had a color that all the fuselage bands

  of the aircraft in his Chūtai were marked

  with. Similarly, there was a color for each

  Shōtaichō and the tail stripes of each air-

  craft within the Shōtai.

  The pattern of colors used for the Chūtai

  and Shōtai markings were the same for

  both the 3rd Kōkūtai and Tainan Kōkūtai.

  I suspect this may be because both units

  followed the pattern of the 12th Kōkūtai.

  However, I have not done enough research

  on this unit to be certain of this, and there

  is some evidence to suggest that only red

  and blue fuselage bands were used by 12th

  Kōkūtai.

  Fuselage Bands

  The fuselage band used by the Tainan Kō-

  kūtai was one of the most distinctive unit

  markings of all the Japanese Naval Figh-

  ter Groups. The fuselage band was slanted

  forward toward the top of the fuselage, so

  that it appeared as a diagonal line when

  viewed from the side. I actually prefer to

  refer to the band as a sash stripe, since this

  is a better description of the appearance.

  A longstanding error in some illustrations

  and decals is the shape of the fuselage

  band at the top of the fuselage. The top is

  rounded, not a sharp point. Also, the fuse-

  lage band does not completely encircle the

  bottom of the fuselage, usually stopping

  at the panel line just below the wing fillet.

  There may be some bands that did comple-

  tely encircle the fuselage, but this may be

  just an interpretation based on a shadow

  on the underside.

  On Reisen with Hōkoku markings on the

  rear fuselage, the band might be painted

  with or without a break, depending on the

  fuselage band color. If there was sufficient

  contrast in the fuselage band color with the

  Black Hōkoku inscription, then the band

  would be painted right up to the inscription

  characters. Red and obviously, Black fuse-

  lage bands always had a break.

  Also, for Reisen from the time period from

  unit formation until April 1, 1942, and based

  probably on the low contrast with the gray

  factory finish, some photos show aircraft

  with blue and white fuselage bands had

  the bands edged in a darker color, possibly

  black edging on blue bands, and red edging

  on white bands. The fuselage bands were

  hand painted using a brush. Each was as

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  HISTORY

  different from another as human finger-

  prints are. The angle of the band varied as

  well as the width from aircraft to aircraft.

  The width sometimes varied within a band

  on a single aircraft. It is not uncommon to

  see brush strokes in photos of wreckage

  with weathered fuselage bands, but this

  was likely not the case when the aircraft

  were still in service.

  Tail Stripes

  The horizontal stripes across the fin and

  rudder of Tainan Kōkūtai aircraft were

  used to indicate the pilot’s leadership posi-

  tion within the unit. The quantity of stripes

  determined whether the pilot was a Bun-

  taichō or a Shōtaichō. This was a simplifi-

  cation of the 12th Kōkūtai marking system,

  since the aircraft of wingmen did not carry

  any tail stripe.

  Buntaichō = two tail stripes, one positioned

  below the rudder mass balance notch and

  above the tail code, and one positioned be-

  low the tail code.

  Shōtaichō = one tail stripe, positioned be-

  low the rudder mass balance notch and

  above the tail code. The Shōtaichō stripe

  was applied to the 3rd, 6th, and 9th Reisen

  in each Chūtai. In the Shōtai with an air-

  craft with Buntaichō tail stripes, both of the

  other aircraft were marked as wingmen.

  It must be noted that the marking system

  used by early war carrier based fighter

  groups included another tail stripe mar-

  king for a Hikōtaichō, which was three tail

  stripes, two positioned above the tail code

  and one positioned below the tail code.

  This marking was not used by land based

  fighter groups. Instead, the Hikōtaichō’s

  aircraft had the same two tail stripes mar-

  king as a Buntaichō.

  As with Reisen from the time period from

  formation until April 1, 1942, some photos

  show aircraft with blue and white tail stri-

  pes, with edging in a darker color, like the

  fuselage bands.

  The tail stripes were also hand painted

  using a brush, so the comments above for

  fuselage bands in general also apply.

  Colors Used

  I tried for years to find something that

  would help to explain what Chūtai and

  Shōtai colors were used for the large Naval

  all-fighter groups and why. Some persons

  have suggested that Heraldry had some-

  thing to do with it, but that didn’t seem like

  it provided a satisfactory answer. But now,

  I have found something that seems much

  more likely as an explanation. Basically,

  the colors used were deeply entrenched in

  Asian religion/culture and the political si-

  tuation of that period of history.

  What kicked me down the research path

  leading to this conclusion began several

  years ago when I was reading an article

  about a Manchukuo Ki-43. On his Avia-

  tion of Japan blog site, Nick Millman po-

  sted photos submitted by a modeler of

  a Ki-43 in Manchukuo markings. Nick ad-

  ded some comments as background infor-

  mation on the Manchukuo (Manchurian)

  roundel. Quoting his comments, “Man-

  churian roundels were applied only to the

  upper and lower surfaces of the wings and

  were based on the Manchurian flag, the co-

  lours of which symbolised five Confucian

  virtues, the five elements and the directi-

  ons of centre, south, east, west and north,

  as well as the five main ethnicities of the

  country - yellow representing the Manchu,

  red the Japanese, blue the Han, white the

  Mongols and black the Koreans.” (4)

  These five colors matched with what I al-

  ready knew were the five colors used by

  the large Naval all-fighter groups. So fi-

  nally, here was something that identified

  those colors as having religious/cultural

  meanings. I did some additional research

  to confirm this, and summarized these me-

  anings in the chart shown on image Nr. 6.

  But Confucianism originated in China, so

  I still wanted to find a stronger connecti-

  on to Japan and/or the Japanese military.

  I finally found this reference to what I was

  looking for, “Bushidō, 武士道 = Code of the

  Warrior - The warrior code was influenced

  by Confucianism, Zen Buddhism and Shin-

  tō. Confucianism engendered filial piety

  and loyalty to one's lord. Zen helped the

  warrior control body/mind and overcome

  fears of death. Shintō brought emperor

  worship.” (5)

  The political situation of that period of his-

  tory provides additional support for the use

  of these colors. As some readers famili-

  ar with the history of Imperial Japan will

  know, Japan had been engaged in subju-

  gation and control of neighboring countries

  under puppet governments for decades

  prior to the outbreak of the Second World

  War. As part of this, they created the Grea-

  ter East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, which

  was touted as a new international order

  which would share prosperity and peace

  for these countries, free from Western co-

  lonialism and domination of the White man.

  But this union of countries was done as

  a means to mask that Japanese control of

  these countries was actually for the eco-

  nomic benefit of Imperial Japan (6).

  The flags of the Greater East-Asia

  Co-Prosperity Sphere puppet govern-

  ments use the colors of the five ethnicities.

  On image Nr. 7 is shown a propaganda

  poster of Manchukuo promoting harmony

  between Japanese, Chinese, and Manchu.

  The caption says, “With the help of Japan,

  China, and Manchukuo, the world can be

  in peace.” The flags shown are, right to

  left; the “Five Races Under One Union” flag

  of China; the flag of Japan; and the flag of

  Manchukuo. (6)

  Fuselage Band Colors

  The initial Chūtai colors for Tainan Kōkūtai

  upon its formation are as follows. Changes to

  these colors as the Tainan Kōkūtai underwent

  its many changes are described in more de-

  tail under the tail code section of the article.

  INFO Eduard

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• Page 22

  Red = 0’s and 10’s tail codes

  Blue = 20’s and 30’s tail codes

  White = 40’s and 50’s tail codes

  Yellow = 60’s and 70’s tail codes

  Black = 80’s and 90’s tail codes

  The color wheel on image Nr. 8 shows

  a way to visualize the progression of the

  fuselage band colors used for Tainan

  Kōkūtai Chūtai identification.

  Tail Stripe Colors

  The Shōtai colors for Tainan Kōkūtai are as

  follows. These are the same colors as used

  for fuselage bands, but used in a different

  order. For most of the existence of the Tai-

  nan Kōkūtai the Chūtai structure had only

  three Shōtai, so black and yellow stripes

  were exceptions.

  White = 1st Shōtai

  Blue = 2nd Shōtai

  Red = 3rd Shōtai

  Black = 4th Shōtai

  Yellow = 5th Shōtai

  A longstanding error regarding the tail stri-

  pe color for Buntaichō marked aircraft is

  that the color for these was always blue.

  This notion has its origin in the use of blue

  as the Sentai Hombu (HQ) color in some

  Japanese Army Air Force units. This Army

  concept has no place within the marking

  systems of Japanese Navy Air Force units.

  Instead, the color used for Buntaichō tail

  stripes matches the color of the Shōtai that

  the aircraft was assigned to.

  The color wheel in image Nr. 9 shows a way

  to visualize the progression of the tail stri-

  pe colors used for Tainan Kōkūtai Shōtai

  identification.

  Tail Codes

  The tail code was structured to give infor-

  mation about the unit assignment and air-

  craft type. As an example, an aircraft with

  the V-128 tail code had the following me-

  aning:

  V = The unit code letter for Tainan Kōkūtai

  1 = The aircraft type (1 = Fighter, 2 = Dive

  Bomber, 3 = Bomber)

  28 = The individual aircraft number

  From formation until April 1, 1942, the Tai-

  nan Kōkūtai tail codes were painted white

  with red edging.

  At Formation on October 1, 1941

  Tail Code (V-101 to V-113), Red fuselage

  band (Shingō Chūtai)

  Tail Code (V-121 to V-133), Blue fuselage

  band (Asai Chūtai)

  Tail Code (V-141 to V-153), White fuselage

  band (Wakao Chūtai)

  Tail Code (V-161 to V-173), Yellow fuselage

  band (Kawai Chūtai)

  Tail Code (V-181 to V-193), Black fuselage

  band (Inano Chūtai)

  On December 8, 1941, after strengthening to

  six Chūtai

  Tail Code (V-101 to V-109), Red fuselage

  band (Shingō Chūtai)

  Tail Code (V-110 to V-118), Red fuselage

  band (Setō Chūtai, 2 fuselage bands on

  Buntaichō aircraft)

  Tail Code (V-121 to V-129), Blue fuselage

  band (? Chūtai)

  Tail Code (V-130 to V-138), Blue fuselage

  band (Asai Chūtai, 2 fuselage bands on

  Buntaichō aircraft)

  Tail Code (V-141 to V-149), White fuselage

  band (? Chūtai)

  Tail Code (V-150 to V-158), White fuselage

  band (Wakao Chūtai, 2 fuselage bands on

  Buntaichō aircraft)

  Note: One of the unknown Chūtai above

  was the Maki Chūtai

  After reorganization and merging with the

  4th Kōkūtai at Rabaul, New Britain, Tai-

  nan Kōkūtai tail codes were painted black.

  This color was a carryover from 4th Kō-

  kūtai. Also carried over from 4th Kōkūtai

  was the use of aircraft numbers 20 and 40.

  Because the numbering began at 20 in the

  Sasai Chūtai, V-128 was marked with a red

  (3rd Shōtai) tail stripe, rather than V-129 as

  before.

  After April 1, 1942 at Rabaul, after merging

  with 4th Kōkūtai fighter group

  Tail Code (V-101 to V-109), Red fuselage

  band (? Chūtai)

  Tail Code (V-110 to V-118), Red fuselage

  band (Yamashita Chūtai, 2 fuselage bands

  on Buntaichō aircraft)

  Tail Code (V-120 to V-128), Blue fuselage

  band (Sasai Chūtai)

  Tail Code (V-129 to V-138), Blue fuselage

  band (Nakajima Chūtai, 2 fuselage bands

  on Buntaichō aircraft)

  Tail Code (V-140 to V-148), Yellow fuselage

  band (? Chūtai)

  Tail Code (V-149 to V-157), Yellow fuselage

  band (Kawai Chūtai, 2 fuselage bands on

  Buntaichō aircraft)

  Tail Code (V-161 to V-169), Black fuselage

  band (? Chūtai)

  Tail Code (V-170 to V-179), Black fuselage

  band (Inano Chūtai, 2 fuselage bands on

  Buntaichō aircraft)

  The Kawai Chūtai had used a Yellow fu-

  selage band throughout their existence.

  While part of 4th Kōkūtai, they used the

  tail code range F-140 to F-153, painted in

  black. This explains why there was no re-

  appearance of the White fuselage band af-

  ter this date. The F was simply overpainted

  and replaced with the V, and Kawai kept his

  Yellow Chūtai color. And when the Inano

  Chūtai rejoined the Tainan Kōkūtai, they

  used aircraft numbers in the 60’s and 70’s

  range, picking up where the Kawai Chūtai

  had left off.

  After receiving 20 crated Model 32 on July

  29, 1942

  Tail Code (V-160 to V-169), Red fuselage

  band (no aircraft assigned)

  Tail Code (V-170 to V-179), Blue fuselage

  band (9 aircraft assigned, starting at V-171)

  Tail Code (V-180 to V-189), Yellow fuselage

  band (10 aircraft assigned)

  Tail Code (V-190 to V-199), Black fuselage

  band (1 aircraft assigned, V-190)

  Color photos of Reisen from the Rabaul

  time period show the red, blue, yellow, and

  black colored fuselage bands. The aircraft

  shown below are:

  Photo Nr. 10: Mitsubishi-built Model

  21, V-117, MN 2641, Hōkoku-529 (順英號

  = donation by Japanese citizen Shibuya

  Yoshihide), Pilot Lt Yamashita Joji (Bun-

  taichō), KIA when crashed near Rabi, New

  Guinea (Northeast side of Milne Bay) af-

  ter being hit by ground fire while strafing

  Gurney Field August 27, 1942, Double Red

  fuselage bands

  Photo Nr. 11: Mitsubishi-built Model 32,

  V-177, MN 3017, Possibly flown by FPO2c

  Yamazaki Ichirōbei who was seriously

  injured in a landing accident after Milne

  Bay raid (wounded during raid?) on August

  23, 1942?, Wreckage at Buna, Single Blue

  fuselage band

  Photo Nr. 12: Mitsubishi-built Model 32,

  V-187, MN 3028, Hōkoku-870 (洪源號

  = Hongwon), Pilot unknown, Wreckage at

  Buna, Single Yellow fuselage band

  Photo Nr. 13: Mitsubishi-built Model 21,

  V-171, MN 5779, Hōkoku-550 (聯合紙器號

  = Union Paper Container), Pilot unknown,

  Wreckage at Lae, Single Black fuselage

  band.

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard22

  October 2022

• Page 23

  When examining photos of Tainan Kōkūtai

  tail codes, it can be seen that the letters

  and numbers had serifs. This is a detail

  that is often missed on illustrations and

  model decals. See photo Nr. 14.

  There is a difference in the tail codes

  applied by 4th Kōkūtai as compared to

  Tainan Kōkūtai. The 4th Kōkūtai used

  a font that appears narrow, while the

  Tainan Kōkūtai appears bold. An example

  of the narrow font is seen in the photo of

  V-153 below. Compare this to the bold font

  seen in the photo of V-110 above. This has

  been useful in determining which aircraft

  carried over from 4th Kōkūtai.

  Aircraft Used

  On December 8, 1941, the Tainan Kōkūtai

  was equipped with new Mitsubishi-built

  Reisen Model 21. These were manufactu-

  red in the October and November 1941 ti-

  meframe. Shipments of Reisen Model 21 to

  replace losses were received periodically.

  Photos show that some of these were Na-

  kajima-built, including some with Hōkoku

  inscriptions built in January 1942. After the

  April 1, 1942 reorganization, Tainan Kōkūtai

  left their aircraft at Denpasar Airfield, Bali

  and these were taken over by 3rd Kōkūtai.

  Not knowing this has caused confusion

  for those that thought these earlier air-

  craft continued on at Rabaul. See the photo

  Nr. 15 as example.

  After April 1, 1942, the Tainan Kōkūtai was

  equipped with the surviving Type 96 Kan-

  sen and Reisen Model 21 of 4th Kōkūtai at

  Rabaul. Due to the work of the ATIU (Air

  Technical Intelligence Unit) investigating

  crash sites and derelict examples at cap-

  tured airfields, we know the most about

  the Reisen from this time period. These

  4th Kōkūtai Reisen were new Nakaji-

  ma and Mitsubishi-built, and some older

  Mitsubishi-built examples. At least two

  (V-136 and V-153) were older than Manu-

  facture Number 2326, completed about

  September 11, 1941, since they had external

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard

  23

  October 2022

• Page 24

  HISTORY

  mass balanced ailerons (see Photo Nr. 16).

  The Tainan Kōkūtai unit strength was quick-

  ly increased first by replacing 4th Kōkūtai

  losses and purging the obsolete Type 96

  Kansen. Then, by adding additional Reisen

  Model 21 to increase the number of Chūtai.

  The replacement Reisen that I have been

  able to document have been new Mitsu-

  bishi-built, many with Hōkoku inscriptions.

  All of the Model 21 Reisen used by Tainan

  Kōkūtai had the early type blunt propeller

  spinner.

  The Tainan Kōkūtai was the first unit to

  receive the Reisen Model 32. Manufactu-

  re Numbers covered the range from 3012

  (the first example built with all the featu-

  res of the production Model 32) through

  3032. These Manufacture Numbers were

  consecutive, except for 3030 which was

  missing, probably due to a defect which re-

  quired time to repair. Manufacture Number

  3030, later became the well-known Q-102

  of 2nd Kōkūtai. These 20 Reisen, were the

  only Model 32 assigned to Tainan Kōkūtai,

  but the unit structure these were assigned

  to suggests that the original plan was for

  a total of 40 Model 32. The Model 32 be-

  came a disaster in service with the Tainan

  Kōkūtai due to its reduced range. Just nine

  days after receiving the Model 32, the US

  Forces landed on Guadalcanal and cap-

  tured the nearly completed airfield there.

  The distance from Rabaul to Guadalcanal

  was too far for the Model 32 to fly missi-

  ons there and return. Instead, the Model 32

  were sent to the airfield at Buna, New Gui-

  nea (See photo Nr. 17). Buna was too close

  to the Allied airfields around Port Mores-

  by, and in a matter of weeks many aircraft

  were destroyed on the ground there. These

  aircraft included at least 8 Model 32 and

  2 G6M1-L transports from Tainan Kōkūtai.

  Because of this poor debut, no further

  Model 32 were delivered to Tainan Kōkūtai.

  Conclusions

  Hopefully this article helps to clear up

  any confusion regarding the Tainan Kō-

  kūtai markings. The markings and the co-

  lors were not some inexplicable random

  mashup that could not be understood.

  There was a fully developed unit structure

  and marking pattern that was followed for

  each Chūtai and Shōtai when applying the

  fuselage bands, tail stripes, and tail codes.

  Also, I hope that this article arms the read-

  er with enough knowledge to recognize

  when an illustration or decal sheet has

  incorrectly represented the markings of

  a Tainan Kōkūtai aircraft. And, if accura-

  cy is something that matters to the reader,

  that they can make the needed corrections

  when building their model.

  I don’t consider this research to have rea-

  ched an end. After “Eagles of the Southern

  Sky” was published, I continued resear-

  ching Tainan Kōkūtai markings. Also, Luca

  Ruffato was working on another book about

  the early days of the war when the Japane-

  se attacked New Britain and the surroun-

  ding areas. He was having trouble with the

  markings of the 4th Kōkūtai fighters, so

  I promised to help him by researching

  those markings. Unfortunately, he passed

  away shortly after that, but I continued re-

  searching 4th Kōkūtai markings anyway.

  When the Tainan Ku arrived in Rabaul, they

  took over the Reisen and much of the per-

  sonnel of the 4th Kōkūtai. So, in the ten

  years after the publication of Eagles of

  the Southern Sky, I have learned so much

  new material, as well as finding that some

  of what was previously published was

  incorrect.

  I really enjoy the subject of Japanese air-

  craft, especially those Naval aircraft with

  Hōkoku donor inscriptions and serving

  with units in the South Pacific Theater. And

  I enjoy sharing what I have learned through

  my research with others in the hopes that

  their interest in this subject will increase

  as well. My dream is that one day Japane-

  se aircraft will be as well represented on

  the tables at models shows, as those from

  other countries are.

  References

  (1) The author is an Associate Editor and performed

  the research on Tainan Kōkūtai markings for “Ea-

  gles of the Southern Sky: The Tainan Air Group in

  WWII Volume One: New Guinea”, by Michael Claring-

  bould and Luca Ruffato, October 17, 2012

  (2) “First Eagles, 4th Kōkūtai Fighter Wing, New Gui-

  nea 1942”, by Michael Claringbould with Ed DeKiep,

  Coming Soon!

  (3) “Japanese Navy Zero Fighters (land based): New

  Guinea and the Solomons 1942-1944 (Pacific Profi-

  les Volume Five)”, by Michael Claringbould with Ed

  DeKiep & Ryan Toews, October 29, 2021

  (4)http://www.aviationofjapan.com

  (5) http://www.onmarkproductions.com

  (6) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

  INFO Eduard24

  October 2022

• Page 25

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• Page 26

  If we search for the most interesting WWII aviation

  personalities, besides the fighter aces we could not

  miss Paul Irvin Gunn, master of the medium bom-

  bers’ modifications, who in fact created the

  standalone category of the heavy attack aircraft.

  Gunn was not only an excellent technician but also

  a pilot. And he also excelled in narrating the

  fantastic stories, sometimes hardly credible.

  text Richard Plos

  The advantage of the low altitude air attack

  is to limit the enemy reaction on the ground

  to very minimum. Before he manages to

  activate the AA defense he’s already under

  the fire or bombing and its too late for any

  action. The idea struck Paul Gunn alrea-

  dy during his service as

  a Navy pilot, reactivated into

  USAAF service, when after

  the Japanese attack on Pearl

  Harbor he flew the supply

  and transportation missi-

  ons in the Philippines. As

  a former Philippine Airlines

  flight director, he was very

  well familiar with the whole

  region and in order to avoid

  the interception by the Japanese fighters

  in some areas the propellers of his aircraft

  “combed” the treetops.

  Gunn was convinced that bombing from

  the high altitude represents too high a risk

  by both the AA fire and fighters. So, when

  the 3rd Attack Group in Australia received

  sixteen new Douglas A-20As, Gunn rolled

  up the sleeves. The flight performance of

  these aircraft put it somewhere between

  the heavy fighter and medium bomber.

  They were maneuverable and fast, so they

  seemed ideal for the low altitude attack

  role. Of course, after some modifications

  which included quite extensive sheet metal

  work since the original glass nose had to

  be rebuilt to the metal one and four machi-

  ne guns installed in the bombardier’s po-

  sition including machine gun ammunition

  belts and all attachments to the airframe.

  Another machine guns were attached on

  each side of the fuselage. Gunn, truthful to

  his fame, and nicknamed “Pappy” due to his

  age, did not worry too much about the tech-

  nical rules and regulations. Only the result

  mattered to him. „Forget the book. Set fire

  to the goddamned book,” he once roared at

  a Group Commander when asked to comply

  with the maintenance books.

  Men at the right place

  Luckily the 5th Air Force, where 3rd AG

  was attached, commander became Gene-

  ral George Kenney. He was a no nonsense

  and practical person. In 1930s he himself

  assisted with a design of the 23 lbs para-

  -fragmentation bombs dropped from the

  low altitudes. Instead of the unauthorized

  HISTORY

  (photo: author’s collection)

  (photo: worldwarphotos)

  B-25 modified according to Pappy Gunn’s proposals

  carried the name Pappy’s Folly with author in the coc

  -

  kpit. The aircraft was B-25C serial number 41-12437

  originally destined for the Dutch East Indies air force.

  PAPPY OF THE “STRAFERS”

  PAUL IRVIN “PAPPY” GUNN

  INFO Eduard26

  October 2022

• Page 27

  HISTORY

  A-20 modifications causing an uproar du-

  ring the General’s inspection, Kenney was

  keenly interested in Gunn’s work. Not only

  that, but he also tasked Gunn to modify the

  A-20 bomb bay to carry the aforementio-

  ned bombs. “It apparently hadn’t occurred

  to him to ask permission of anyone to

  install an armament load that was nothing

  like the original one, or to bother about

  what anyone else thought about cutting the

  airplane all apart to make new installati-

  ons”, recalled General after many years

  in his book “The Saga of Pappy Gunn”.

  The tests that followed proved the deva-

  stating effect of these bombs dropped from

  the low altitudes. The modified aircraft fou-

  ght its way to the target area by heavy fire

  of its six 0.5-inch machine guns which lite-

  rally defoliated the vegetation and pinned

  the soldiers to the ground. The following

  explosions of the small but effective bombs

  created the “death zones” where the chan-

  ce of survival was minimal. To avoid the

  damage of aircraft by its own ordnance the

  application of the braking parachutes was

  instrumental. The bombs drop was exe-

  cuted at the altitude close to the treetops.

  Due to such a low altitude the bombardier

  was not necessary. This tactic was so su-

  ccessful that it became the primary attack

  method of the units equipped with Douglas

  A-20 and a little later the Pappy’s modifi-

  cations were adopted by the aircraft ma-

  nufacturer as well. A-20G were leaving the

  assembly lines as the attack version alrea-

  dy, armed with machine guns in the nose.

  The same modification was applied to B-25,

  which was a larger, more robust airplane

  superior to A-20 in some areas. These

  changes addressed so called skip-bom-

  bing using ricocheting off the water sur-

  face as 250 lbs bombs were being dropped

  from approximately 250 feet altitude at the

  airspeed of more than 216 knots (400 kph)

  and after several bounces of the water

  surface they impacted the ship’s hull and

  exploded upon the impact. It was decidedly

  more accurate and more effective deploy-

  ment than the bombing from the high alti-

  tudes. Slim, fast maneuvering ships were

  a difficult target to hit. And more to it, modi-

  fied Mitchells were able to set forward fire

  from up to fourteen 0.5-inch caliber machi-

  ne guns! The manufacturer came up with

  the nose mounted 75 mm cannon version

  and as opposed to most of the pilots it was

  much beloved by Pappy Gunn.

  But we jumped ahead a bit in our story. Who

  was Paul Irvin Gunn before the outbreak of

  the Pacific War? Who was the man instru-

  mental in creating the famous “Strafers”

  which so effectively destroyed the ground

  and naval targets?

  Mom, I too will be flying just like

  that!

  A farmer’s son with seven siblings, four of

  those were almost a generation older, he

  lost his father at the age of seven and for

  several years that followed lived with his

  mother and three siblings (he was the se-

  cond youngest of all of them) at his uncles’

  farm. Once, walking with his mother from

  the nearby town, a stranger offered them

  a ride in the car. It was in 1908 and very

  first time Paul saw a car. He retold the sto-

  ry about the car ride for many years that

  followed and every time he embellished it.

  The car in his narratives grew bigger every

  time, possessed higher performance and

  more details were added about the ride and

  astonishment of all at the farm when they

  arrived in the cloud of dust. Allegedly one

  of the pigs lost its life in the process, who

  knows… It was one typical side of Paul Gun-

  n’s character. His stories were sometimes

  hardly credible but nevertheless, entertai-

  ning for the audience. Fact is that this event

  sparked interest in the cars in eight years

  old Paul. It lasted two years. Then one day

  in 1910 an airplane dashed above the farm

  and Paul told his mother: “Once I’ll too be

  flying just like that”. That desire stuck to

  him and when the war in Europe broke out,

  he was devouring all stories about the air

  battles. When in 1917 USA joined the figh-

  ting, Paul was just one year short of the

  military service age limit. He solved the

  issue in his typical way, he told the US Navy

  recruiting commission that he was born on

  October 18, 1899, i.e., one full year earlier

  than his actual age.

  So, he was enlisted however instead of

  the pilot training, after a short stint in the

  kitchen (story of him cooking the tapioca

  pudding was one his favorites) he became

  an aircraft mechanic. The war ended befo-

  re he could utilize his skills, so he decided

  to stay in the Navy a continue pursuing the

  pilot qualification. He had never been pati-

  ent enough, so he saved some money for

  the private pilot training and got some fli-

  ght hours in compensation for his help with

  maintaining the training aircraft as well. In

  the spring of 1922, he flew his first solo, af-

  ter that he obtained his pilot’s license and

  shortly after that he even bought his own

  airplane. Well… For 250 dollars he bought

  a non-airworthy Curtiss Seagull floatplane

  from WWI from Navy surplus stocks and

  started to fix it over the weekends. Nobody

  will ever know where the US Navy aircraft

  mechanic sourced all the necessary spa-

  re parts… At that time, he met one Clara

  Luis Crosby and even he had claimed not

  to marry before he reached forty, after

  a year of dating he proposed to her. He was

  not fond of her first name though and in his

  typical manner called her Polly all his life.

  Their honeymoon was stylish, the young

  couple spent it travelling along the coast in

  Paul’s Curtiss floatplane.

  (photo: U.S. Navy)

  In 1930s Paul Gunn served also as a pilot aboard the light cruiser USS Omaha. He flew missions with

  a floatplane launched from a catapult.

  “It apparently hadn’t occurred to him to ask permission of anyone to

  install an armament load that was nothing like the original one, or to

  bother about what anyone else thought about cutting the airplane all

  apart to make new installations” (general George Kenney)

  INFO Eduard

  27

  October 2022

• Page 28

  Peculiar from head to toe

  Two years later, when Gunn was twenty-

  -four-year-old, his six years’ contract with

  Navy expired. The promise he will be fina-

  lly given the pilot training made him to sign

  for further six years and, in the spring of

  1925, he finally obtained his wings. His boy-

  ’s dream was fulfilled, and Gunn became

  a respected naval aviator. As a testimony

  to that, he even served at Pensacola base

  in the flight instructor role from August

  to September 1928. Many Navy pilots, who

  became famous during WWII, were his stu-

  dents and many recalled after many years

  his unique teaching methods and colorful

  language he used when they did not under-

  stand fast enough what he required. Gunn

  was only interested in flying and aircraft

  and was not too mindful of the subordina-

  tion and career or promotion in the rank.

  He was not disobedient just always found

  his own way to do things without paying

  to much attention to rules and regulations

  or rank. He was a peculiar personality ho-

  wever popular among pilots and surprisin-

  gly some of his superiors as well.

  In the beginning of 1929, he was transferred

  from Pensacola to Anacostia base near

  Washington, D. C., where his commanding

  officer was Lieutenant Commander Jose-

  ph J. “Jocko” Clark, later a Rear Admiral,

  new USS Hornet (CV-12) commander and

  after that commander of the whole Task

  Force 3. A Cherokee, he was the first native

  American ever to graduate from the Naval

  Academy. He very quickly became friend

  with Paul. “In those days Anacostia had the

  task of flying many important government

  officials around the country and therefore

  we wanted the best pilots we could get.

  With the whole Navy to draw on, we pic-

  ked P. I. Gunn. In those days we called him

  ‘P. I.’, he got the nickname of ‘Pappy’ later.

  He was exceptionally able, always ready to

  go anywhere any time – day or night. He had

  a cheerfull and inspiring personality and

  a high sense of duty,“ the Rear Admiral re-

  membered him after years. In August 1930,

  having completed his second six years’

  contract with Navy Gunn signed for the thi-

  rd term. He decided to serve twenty years

  to earn reserve status with half-pension

  and at the age of mere 37 years. The duty

  brought him to Atlantic, Caribbean and

  Pacific. In the fall of 1931, he was hospita-

  lized with double hernia (according to his

  account caused by the frequent catapult

  launches off the cruisers’ deck) in Hawaii

  and after the discharge he returned to his

  family which at that time counted four chi-

  ldren. He stayed at home in San Diego until

  1933 and became the member of VF-2 “Top

  Hat” squadron flying from USS Lexington.

  Aboard he met Clark again which was

  not a coincidence. Truth was that “Jocko”

  personally requested Gunn for his unit.

  He appreciated him as an outstanding figh-

  ter pilot excelling in both dogfighting and

  air gunnery. And VF-2 was considered an

  elite Navy squadron. Nevertheless, in 1933

  Paul Gunn was transferred to Hawaii again

  in the role of a Naval Aviation technical

  officer and flew out of the land bases. From

  time-to-time Lexington paid visit to Pearl

  Harbor and Gunn could meet his former

  colleagues from VF-2. Typically, he took

  advantage of the situation to fly with them

  off the aircraft carrier deck. When on July

  2nd, 1937, Amelia Earhart disappeared over

  the Pacific Ocean flying from Port Mores-

  by to Howland Island also the VF-2 pilots

  searched for her, and Gunn could not miss

  it.

  As we mentioned earlier Paul Gunn alwa-

  ys thought independently and had his own

  ways. One of the proofs of his peculiarity

  is how he handled prolonged teeth aches.

  They bothered him for years, so he decided

  to solve the problem for good. He visited

  a military dentist in Hawaii and asked him

  to extract all his teeth and replace them

  with prosthetics. Doctor refused and sche-

  duled Gunn for a comprehensive diagno-

  sis to determine next steps. Paul left and

  headed directly to a civilian Japanese den-

  tist in Honolulu, had the molds done and ri-

  ght after all the teeth were gone. When the

  military dentist tried to get hold of Paul sin-

  ce he missed the appointment, he took out

  the brand-new prosthetics from his mouth

  stating he had no more any problems with

  his teeth …

  Back to civilian life …

  On August 6, 1937, Paul Irvin Gunn com-

  pleted his twenty years of service with the

  Navy and retired to reserve with the rank

  of Chief Petty Officer. He already had his

  plans. During his service in Hawaii, he met

  two men. One was Robert Tyce, civilian

  air transport pilot, and Charles Knox who

  During his career Gunn flew variety of the aircraft

  types including Boeing F4B fighter.

  One of Gunn’s superiors was Joseph J. “Jocko” Clark who later became a Rear Admiral and Task Force

  3 commander.

  At dusk a Zero attacked him and showered him with bullets but Gunn,

  wildly maneuvering, managed to escape the Japanese at the treetop

  altitude. However, when he was passing the Zablan Field base, he

  received further “friendly” hits from the AA defense which confused

  him with the Japanese aircraft. With the failing engine he turned

  around and at 10 pm, in pitch black, he performed an emergency

  landing with his Beechcraft at the local runway …

  (photo: National Archives)

  (photo: National Archives)

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard28

  October 2022

• Page 29

  in 1934 launched the air transport within

  Hawaiian Islands as the K

  -

  T Flying Servi-

  ce company. Paul usually spent weekends

  with them, trained the mechanics and toge-

  ther with Tyce new pilots as well. After he

  retired from the Navy he continued to work

  for K

  -

  T full time. He trained the pilots, per-

  formed the inspections and test flights and

  occasionally flew the regular commercial

  flights with passengers or mail. It is of in-

  terest that later Bob Tyce became the first

  civilian casualty of the Japanese attack on

  Pearl Harbor. He stood in front of his airli-

  nes’ hangar on Oahu when the first wave

  of the Japanese attacks stormed above him

  and one of the fired bullets mortally woun-

  ded him. And another curiosity: One of the

  aircraft operated by then K

  -

  T airlines, and

  supposedly flown by Gunn as well, was

  a Waco UIC serial number N13408. It is still

  flying nowadays.

  In 1939 Paul met Andres Soriano, head of

  the influential Filipino family industrial clan

  of Ayalas. Soriano owned twin-engine Be-

  echcraft and was looking for a pilot for it.

  Paul accepted his offer for the position and

  in the end of 1939 moved to Manila. His fa-

  mily left Hawaii for their US home for three

  months while Paul made all arrangements

  in the new home. At the same time, he ma-

  naged to convince Soriano to finance the

  creation of the Philippine Airlines where

  in 1941 the Philippine government invested

  its share as well. Paul always spoke about

  Philippine Airlines as of “his” airline but in

  fact he has never had any shares in it. After

  Paul found the nice house, the family was

  reunited. All prospects looked great. Paul

  was the airline’s flight director in charge of

  three Beechcraft Model 18 and one Sikorski

  S-43. And then December 7, 1941, came …

  … and back on duty again

  On December 8, 1941, General Brereton, Co-

  mmander in Chief of the USAAF in Philippi-

  nes confiscated all Philippine Airlines air-

  craft as well as two Philippines Air Force

  Beechcrafts. Gunn was ordered to report in

  Fort William McKinley where he was told

  by the General’s aide that he was assigned

  to the USAAF. The same day the Japanese

  aircraft showed up and their fire damaged

  two Philippine AF Beechcraft and Phili-

  ppine Airlines Sikorski S-43 amphibian.

  It was clear to Gunn that it was only a ma-

  tter of time when they lose all the remai-

  ning aircraft and therefore decided to relo-

  cate them to a small airfield at Grace Park

  which directly bordered with the gravey-

  ard. That grew around the unused airfield

  so much that Gunn had to break couple of

  tombs so as they were not in the way while

  the aircraft were taxiing.

  Harold G. “Buzz” Slingsby and Louis James

  Connelly flew together with Gunn various

  transportation and supply flights. They

  formed a provisional transportation flight

  under the USAAF command operating four

  Beechcraft (they managed to repair one

  damaged army aircraft). This kind of flying

  triggered a lot of adrenalin, the pilots had to

  maintain the treetop altitude, even at night,

  in their unarmed aircraft otherwise they

  risked being shot down by the Japanese

  fighters which ruled the skies. Soon they

  lost one airplane which was shot to pie-

  ces by the Japanese fighters on the ground

  at the Bataan airport where Connelly had

  flown the military supplies in. After that,

  on December 13, Gunn himself was shot

  down on his return from Del Monte where

  he had flown medical material and several

  officers in. At dusk a Zero attacked him and

  showered him with bullets but Gunn, wildly

  maneuvering, managed to escape the Japa-

  nese at the treetop altitude. However, when

  he was passing the Zablan Field base, he

  received further “friendly” hits from the AA

  defense which confused him with the Ja-

  panese aircraft. With the failing engine he

  turned around and at 10 pm, in pitch black,

  he performed an emergency landing with

  his Beechcraft at the local runway …

  Shortly before Christmas Gunn was orde-

  red to transport a group of Americans to

  Australia. He said goodbye to his family

  with the promise to be back in ten days.

  At that time almost everyone in Philippi-

  nes still believed that within a few days the

  American reinforcements would arrive to

  push Japanese out of the country. Regar-

  dless, Gunn instructed his wife, in the case

  of the Japanese occupation, not to say her

  husband served with the USAAF. She was

  to claim he had perished in the air accident

  over the ocean and his body was never

  found. Shortly after midnight on Decem-

  ber 24 Gunn and Slingsby took off with five

  passengers each on the heading to Austra-

  lia. Two days later they landed in Darwin.

  On January 2, 1942, the Japanese entered

  Manila. Polly with children was put in the

  prisoners’ camp built on the University of

  Santo Tomas campus where they all re-

  mained until the end of hostilities. For Gunn

  this meant fighting on two fronts: for the

  United States and for his family.

  To be continued

  On March 15, 1941, the maiden flight of the Philippine Airlines was flown by this Beechcraft Model 18

  registered NPC-54.

  A happy family captured in photograph in Honolulu during Pappy’s service

  on Hawaiian Islands.

  (photo: author’s collection)

  (photo: the family archives)

  INFO Eduard

  29

  October 2022

• Page 30

  It started with serious talks about the po-

  ssible deliveries of modern Western air-

  craft to Ukraine. Then it was confirmed

  that Ukraine had not only received the

  American anti-radar rockets HARM but

  also that they were successfully deploy-

  ed. And thirdly, during the reported peri-

  od so far unseen massive attacks against

  the Russian airbases in the occupied Cri-

  mea took place. At the outbreak of the war

  Ukraine was asking her allies for, at that

  time urgently needed, combat aircraft de-

  liveries. Initially the Soviet types MiG-29

  and Su-25 in Polish, Slovak and Bulgarian

  air force inventories were being conside-

  red. In March the whole project spectacu-

  larly collapsed since no one was willing to

  supply these aircraft to Ukraine directly.

  All those complicated schemes, including

  the aircraft transfer via several countries

  failed as there was always someone invol-

  ved who would not want to risk the conflict

  escalation.

  Since then, however the situation has

  changed significantly. Ukraine has al-

  ready received decidedly more effective

  weapon systems which the allies were

  afraid to supply during the first weeks of

  the conflict. The Su-25 ultimately did re-

  ach Ukraine (however via a proxy) and in

  August another four Su-25 followed from

  Northern Macedonia. As of September 1,

  the Slovak MiG-29 fighters are grounded

  and even though the Slovak Ministry of De-

  fense keeps the silence it is a “public se-

  cret” that they are possibly earmarked for

  Ukraine. There are 11 MiG-29 upgraded to

  AS version in the Slovak AF inventory and

  couple of more non-airworthy as a source

  of the spare parts. Maybe we can report

  more details next time.

  However, Ukraine and her biggest ally,

  USA are looking beyond the antiquated

  Soviet era aircraft. In the middle of July,

  the House of Representatives of the USA

  Congress approved the bi-partisan pro-

  posal to earmark 100 million USD for the

  conversion training of the Ukrainian pilots

  to the American aircraft. The proposal was

  presented by Democratic congresswoman

  Chrissy Houlahan and Republican congre-

  ssman Adam Kinzinger and the politicians

  from both sides of the aisle voted for it.

  The goal is to train the Ukrainian pilots to a

  point where they can be ready to immedia-

  tely fly the American aircraft once the USA

  decides to supply them. The Ukrainian AF

  speaker, Col. Juryi Ignat told the Air Force

  Magazine that there are at least 30 pilots

  competent in English who could leave for

  the USA in case the training agreement

  goes in the effect. They would be joined by

  the ground personnel who would learn to

  maintain the American fighters.

  What type of fighters are we talking about?

  General Charles Q. Brown, USAF Chief of

  Staff tried to make the process as vague

  as possible. On July 20, at the Securi-

  The frontline in Ukraine has been stabilized for a long time. During

  the reported period from July 16 to September 1 the line virtually

  has not changed. Despite the massive shelling there was only

  a moderate advancement of couple of kilometers forward and

  couple of kilometers backwards at another location. However,

  regarding the air war over Ukraine, three decisive events took

  place, as described herewith. Consequently, the major changes

  took place at the frontline since the Russian retreat from Kiev at

  the end of March and beginning of April.

  Text: Miro Barič

  The moment when HARM rocket is just being launched was captured. The rear mirrors show that HTS container is missing from the underwing hard points.

  The air war over Ukraine

  Calm before the storm

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard30

  October 2022

• Page 31

  ty Forum in Aspen, Colorado he said that

  the USA consider supplying Ukraine with

  the 4th generation fighters. According to

  him there are several options, from the US

  made fighters to the aircraft manufactured

  in Europe. He named Eurofighter Typho-

  on, Swedish Gripen and French Rafale. “It

  will be something non-Russian, but I can-

  not tell you what exactly,” stated General

  Brown. Why did we say he was vague?

  General named all the existing Western

  fighter types. None of those, however, are

  available immediately and not in the suffi-

  cient quantities. The only available fighter

  jets are American F-16 of the older pro-

  duction blocks. There are many of them

  and ready for the immediate delivery. This

  is also confirmed by the Ukrainian pilots

  who only talk about F-16 and about poten-

  tial deliveries of the A-10 attack aircrafts.

  The Air Force State Secretary, Frank Ken-

  dall commented on this matter at the As-

  pen forum. According to him the A-10 deli-

  veries are possible, but it largely depends

  on Ukrainians whether they want them at

  all. And Ukrainians were quite clear about

  it: “Our country doesn’t need A-10s, we

  need F-16s,” told Military.com server the

  deputy to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defen-

  se Juryi Sak.

  Time Magazine published the report on the

  secret training center where the Ukrai-

  nian pilots train on the A-10 simulators,

  however in this case it is another innova-

  tive volunteer initiative of ordinary Ukrai-

  nians. There is a soldier behind it who,

  while being shot at in the trenches, ima-

  gined that A-10, which he knew from Iraq

  war footages, would come to his aid. The

  simulators were built by volunteers from

  the widely accessible components. It is

  certainly beneficial to have a pilot with at

  least minimal training for various types of

  aircraft however officials don’t subscribe

  to this. “A-10 will not dominate our skies,

  won’t stop the bombers and missiles. They

  would become the target for the Russian

  fighters and AA defense since we lack the

  means to neither effectively cover them

  nor break through the enemy AA defense.”

  HARM in action

  Things are getting better though, at least

  in the case of the AA defense elimination.

  During the first week in August the Ukrai-

  nian armed forces released the surprising

  information that in one day they managed

  to destroy four S-300 AA systems and one

  Pancir-S. It immediately raised the spe-

  culations how they achieved this success.

  On August 7, the Russian sources followed

  up by publishing the photographs of the

  fragments that clearly came from AGM-99

  HARM (High Speed Anti-Radiation Missi-

  le) rocket. Further speculations followed,

  this time what the launching platform was.

  The ground launch pad was considered

  this however was planned but never ma-

  terialized. Consequently, Pentagon con-

  firmed HARM missiles supplies noting

  the Ukrainians integrated them into their

  Mig weapons system. Type remained un-

  specified but the only aircraft the Ukraini-

  an AF deploys in this manner are Mig-29.

  I was debated that the aircraft avionics was

  modified to be able to use HARM and that

  they may carry the targeting containers

  AN/ASQ-213 HTS (HARM Targeting System).

  The Ukrainians indicated that they had

  modified four Mig-29 fighters for HARM

  missiles deployment. Oleksy Arestovych,

  advisor to Ukrainian president Volodymyr

  Zelensky, stated that “with our four aircraft

  armed with anti-radar missiles from 1980s

  we decimated the Russian AA defense on

  Dnieper’s left bank.” By mentioning the mi-

  ssiles from 1980s he may have intended to

  say that HARM rockets were developed in

  1983 and introduced into service in 1985.

  They became famous during the operati-

  on Desert Storm in 1991 when they deci-

  mated the Iraqi radars. Arestovych could

  have also indicated that Ukraine does not

  have the latest version of these missiles.

  While most of its users operate AGM-88E

  type Ukraine received the older versions

  AGM-88B, C or D. These rockets are capa-

  ble of autonomous operation and if Ukrai-

  nians gave up some of their features the

  modifications for use on Mig-29 could have

  been minimal indeed.

  Note to modelers

  It’s rather improbable that Ukraine will

  publish detailed photographs of their air-

  craft equipped with HARM rockets. Should

  that happen the aircraft tactical codes will

  be most likely censored. This seems to

  be the recent practice – pictures and vi-

  deos of the Ukrainian aircraft are shot in

  a way to hide these numbers, or they are

  censored. But if you want to build a scale

  model of the Ukrainian fighter armed with

  HARM rockets you can try MiG-29MU2 ver-

  sion. Its tactical number is white 12 with

  thin blue outline and it is the only aircraft

  of this version in the Ukrainian AF inven-

  tory. It had been upgraded to specialize in

  the attacks on the ground targets and its

  data systems enable it to carry the Wes-

  tern weapons. For that reason, it is highly

  probable that it will be included among the

  MiG-29 wing showing HARM rocket on the inner attachment and R-73 rocket on the outer attachment.

  The middle hard point is empty.

  Detail of HARM missile fitted to the Ukrainian MiG-29.

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard

  31

  October 2022

• Page 32

  aircraft earmarked to carry out the attacks

  with HARM rockets. This airplane sports

  different digital camouflage pattern the-

  refore you should refer to the photogra-

  phs of the real aircraft. Recently a video

  was published showing this aircraft equi-

  pped with two R-27 and four R-73 rockets.

  The camera focus avoids the identification

  markings however at one moment number

  12 is visible.

  Later a video appeared, mainly from Mig-

  29 cockpit showing the launch of HARM

  rockets. Again, the bort number is not

  visible but the ordnance combination is

  clearly visible. You can attach HARM roc-

  kets, produced by Eduard in 1/72, 1/48 and

  1/32 scales, to the inner wing attachment

  points where R-27 rockets are norma-

  lly mounted. Under the fuselage you can

  attach the drop tank intended to increase

  the operational range. R-73 rocket will go

  on the outer hard points and the middle

  attachments remain empty. HTS container

  is not visible in the video. Also based on

  the video it seems that no other equipment

  had been added to the cockpit except of

  two satellite navigation systems. Pilot flies

  armed with the rockets to the designated

  area, launches them towards the Russian

  AA radars and then the missiles do the rest

  of the job themselves. And to make things

  even more complicated, in the beginning

  of September a photograph appeared

  capturing a Ukrainian Su-27 armed with

  two HARM rockets under the wings.

  Crimea is no longer a paradise

  The third crucial occurrence in the sixth

  month of the conflict in Ukraine were the

  attacks on Crimea. Russia annexed this

  peninsula in 2014. Up until now the war

  avoided it except the invasion troops were

  attacking the Ukrainian South from there

  and also the Black Sea Fleet operates the-

  re. Its ships and submarines fire rockets

  at the Ukrainian cities. For the Russian ci-

  vilians however, it was a quiet place at sea

  where they could go for summer vacation.

  This changed on Tuesday August 9 when

  a series of strong explosions took place

  at Saki airbase near Novofedorivka sum-

  mer resort. It was tourists who published

  the first images of the explosions and

  massive smoke columns rising from the

  base. Thanks to these videos it can be de-

  termined that two strong explosions occu-

  rred practically at the same time several

  hundred meters apart. That eliminates

  the possibility of an accident. Despite this

  the Russian official sources stated exact-

  ly that. The explosions were supposedly

  caused by a negligence in the ammuniti-

  on dump protected by barriers therefore

  there were no damages to the rest of the

  airport facilities and no airplane was de-

  stroyed. This lie did not last 24 hours.

  In the morning before the disaster Planet

  Labs PBC took the satellite images of the

  airport where we can see one transport

  Il-76 parked near the runway and on the

  apron 12 Su-24, 10 Su-27 and Su-30, 6 he-

  licopters and several other aircraft, mostly

  smaller transport types. A day after explo-

  sions the same company took new images

  where the extensive devastation of the

  Saki airport can be seen. Large portions

  of the airbase burnt out, but the largest

  impact was on the apron where between

  9 and 12 aircraft were destroyed. At least

  five S-24 and four Su-30 of the Black Sea

  Aviation could be totally written off.

  In some places, between the parked air-

  craft something like craters can be seen.

  That leaves the room for speculations that

  the Ukrainians had received ATACMS roc-

  ket with 300 km range or that they comple-

  ted the development of their own ballistic

  rocket Hrim-2 on which they had worked

  for very long time before the war. The ai-

  rbase is located 200 km from the closest

  frontline sector. Officially the Ukrainians

  kept silence about the incident. Oddly, the

  Russians, despite all the facts, stated that

  Ukrainians had nothing to do with the ex-

  plosions at Saki airbase. There were se-

  veral rationales for this – they would have

  to admit that the Crimea AA defense failed

  and then they did not want to scare civi-

  lians. The second did not work at all. The

  beaches were immediately abandoned and

  the Kerch bridge connecting Crimea with

  Russia was jammed by the fleeing tourists

  for several days. The traffic jam was 100

  km long!

  Later, Washington Post and server Politi-

  co, referring to several sources from the

  Ukrainian government and secret servi-

  ces, published that the Crimea attack was

  The only Ukrainian MiG-29 upgraded to MU2 version.

  Video shots of the MiG-29MU2 taking off armed with two R-27 and four R-73 rockets.

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard32

  October 2022

• Page 33

  executed by the Ukrainian Special Forces.

  This could be a smoke screen as well. The

  Russians are moving the reinforcements

  to Kherson area via Crimea and the infor-

  mation about the Ukrainian Special For-

  ces active there will force them to leave

  some military contingent on the peninsu-

  la to protect several important locations.

  Exactly one week passed and Crimea

  was shaken by more explosions even of

  the larger intensity. On Tuesday August 16

  three locations were hit. First in the early

  morning the ammunition dump was de-

  stroyed in the village of Majske in Djankoy

  region. It was followed by the explosion

  of the transformer station supplying the

  railroads with electricity. As a result, the

  train service between Crimea and Ukrai-

  nian South was interrupted. And thirdly

  the Gvardeiskoye airbase near Simferopol

  was hit. It is a home to the combined air

  unit with 12 Su-24 bombers and 12 Su-25

  fighter bombers.

  Again, the reasons were debated. The

  Ukrainians still did not claim responsibility.

  The Russians however changed their rhe-

  toric. In the case of Saki explosions, they

  claimed it was “an accident caused by neg-

  ligence.” That reckless soldier supposedly

  threw cigarette butts precisely among the

  aircraft in at least three different locations.

  In the second case though the FSB secret

  service immediately blamed the “Ukrainian

  saboteurs” for the explosions. How exact-

  ly these sabotages were supposed to be

  executed was not published. Only once the

  information popped up in the Russian me-

  dia that the drone loaded with explosives

  was used for the attack.

  The Russian leadership supposedly gave

  up pretending the illusion that Crimea is

  safe. The mass exodus of the Russian ci-

  vilians proved that denial makes no sense.

  Instead, the Russians started to boost the

  defense of the Kerch bridge connection

  Crimea with Russia. After the attacks on

  August 16, they also withdrew their air-

  planes and helicopters from the airports

  in the occupied Crimea to safer locations.

  In the beginning of September Ukraine fi-

  nally revealed the truth. Valery Zaluzhny,

  the supreme commander of the Ukrainian

  armed forces admitted that the Ukrainian

  rockets are responsible for the attack on

  the Russian bases. According to his state-

  ment ten Russian aircraft were destroyed

  by them at Saki airbase. Zaluzhny said that

  by attacking Crimea the Ukrainians not

  only intended to cause the damage to the

  military infrastructure but also shake the

  Russian military confidence and sense of

  being bulletproof. Saki had been chosen as

  the first target in Crimea on purpose, due

  to the nearby summer resorts. Kremlin

  has tried to convince the civilian populati-

  on that the war does not affect them at all.

  People however saw it by their own eyes

  on the beaches near Saki. The only thing

  Zaluzhny did not disclose was the type of

  the rockets used. Owing to the distance

  from the frontline only the aforementioned

  ATACMS or Hrim-2 can be considered.

  Air combat

  In addition to these three decisive events

  the “regular” air activities continued. Even

  though the front lines have not changed

  for the most part the activity in the air

  has intensified significantly, especially on

  the Ukrainian side. Between July 16 and

  August 16 loss of three Bayraktar TB2

  drones was confirmed. It is the proof that

  the Ukrainians still use them despite the

  Russian claims that all of them had been

  destroyed, several times! On August 15 two

  Ukrainian Mig-29 pilots were buried, Col.

  Juryi Pohorilyi from 114th brigade of the

  Tactical AF and Maj. Anton Listopad from

  204th brigade. Hundreds of people showed

  up to pay respects. It was not announced

  though when exactly they perished.

  On August 7 president Volodymyr Zelen-

  skyi posthumously decorated another

  Mig-29 pilot, Lt.Col. Eduard Vahorovskyi.

  Maj.Dmytro Kolomiyets, who perished

  in the cockpit of L-39 Albatross, was

  The overall photograph of Saki airport in the morning of August 8 before the attack

  taken by Planet Labs PBC company.

  The detailed picture of Saki airport before the August 9 attack.

  The overall view of Saki airport on August 10 taken by Planet Labs PBC. The dark

  areas represent areas hit by fires.

  The detailed photograph of the apron on Saki airport with destroyed aircraft.

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard

  33

  October 2022

• Page 34

  decorated as well. During the attack on

  the Ozerne airport in Zhitomir region he

  drew the enemy fire on himself to enable

  the other airplanes to fly to safety. He was

  shot down during this action. These two

  events are older news, taking place pri-

  or to the last month. During the reporting

  period however the loss of Maj. Oleksandr

  Kukurba, Su-25 pilot form 299th brigade

  of the Tactical Aviation can be confirmed.

  In April he was decorated as Hero of

  Ukraine and was killed on July 26 during

  his 100th combat mission.

  The losses mounted on the Russian side

  as well. On July 17 the Su-34 carrying bort

  number red 51 and code RF-95890 was

  shot down near Alchevsk in Luhansk regi-

  on. Highly probably it was hit by a friendly

  AA fire and the gossip goes that it was the

  first confirmed combat “success” of the

  S-400 system. Two days later, on July 19

  another Sukhoi was shot down near New

  Khakhovka in Kherson region, this time by

  the Ukrainian AA fire. The exact type re-

  mains unknown, but a pilot ejected before

  the airplane crashed.

  Also, several Russian drones were de-

  stroyed, and the images appeared of the

  Russian Su-25 and Su-30SM wrecks

  which had been shot down earlier but not

  recorded. The Ukrainians also claimed

  hits on several Ka-52 helicopters. During

  the weekend of August 13 and 14 three of

  them were supposed to be shot down. Only

  two helicopters of this type can be confir-

  med to have been hit, however. According

  to the Ukrainians the experienced pilot,

  Col Vassilyi Kleshchenko supposedly died

  in one of them. On May 9, 2021, he led the

  helicopter formation during the Red Squa-

  re military parade. An interesting trend

  in the significant drop in the Russian

  attacks by the ballistic cruising missiles is

  being observed.

  After the attack on Saki airbase the

  Russians, as always took revenge by she-

  lling the Ukrainian civilian targets – even

  though they themselves stated Ukraine

  had nothing to do with it. They took the

  same course of action after the loss of the

  cruiser Moscow or blown-up ammunition

  dumps, caused by “unfortunate accident”.

  At that time the Ukrainian cities were tar-

  geted by the salvos of the guided missi-

  les launched from the bombers. This time

  the cities of Nikopol and Marhanets, on

  the opposite bank of Dnipro River across

  the Zaporozhiye nuclear power station

  were bombarded. The unguided missiles

  launched from the Grad rocket launch-

  ers were used. For over a month the

  Russians did not fire a single Kh-22 rocket

  even though previously they used these

  antiquated missiles from 1960s at a large

  scale. Only after the second attack on Cri-

  mea, on August 16 they fired two Kh-22

  rockets from Tu-22M3 bomber at the re-

  gion near Odessa. Maybe they found them

  forgotten somewhere … The more modern

  missiles are being used less and what is

  important that the Ukrainian AA defense

  managed to shoot down more and more of

  them.

  A storm arrived

  On August 29 it did happen. Announced

  long before the Ukrainian counter-offen-

  sive was launched in the South in Kher-

  son region. The Ukrainian troops started

  to advance simultaneously in three direc-

  tions and at majority of locations they ma-

  naged to breech the first, in some places

  even the second line of Russian defense.

  Several villages were liberated for example

  Vysokopylya in the North of the Kherson

  region. It was fortified and it was supposed

  that the Russian elite paratrooper units

  could hold it for a long time. Ultimately,

  they were chased away by the Ukrainian

  troops which, according to the Russian

  propaganda were crushed right after they

  launched the attack. The best answer to

  it was that the Ukrainian crushed the

  Russian defense. HARM rockets limited the

  Russian AA defense to the point that the

  Bayraktar TB2 drones could freely opera-

  te again. New videos they recorded show

  how they destroy the Russian equipment.

  The Air Forces of both sides were highly

  active attacking at the frontline especially

  in the central sector of the Kherson regi-

  on where the Ukrainians scored some su-

  ccess. HIMARS rockets repeatedly hit and

  eliminated all bridges over Dnieper River.

  Thanks to this they prevented supplies

  of reinforcements and ammunition as well

  as retreat of the Russian troops. Those

  ended up trapped on the Dnieper right

  bank and were fired at while attempting to

  cross the river over the pontoon bridges.

  In the beginning of September, the Ukrai-

  nians took advantage of the fact that the

  Russians concentrated all their reinforce-

  ments and focus on the South and launch-

  ed the massive attack on the opposite end

  of the frontline – in Kharkov area.

  To be continued.

  Wreck of the shot down Russian drone Orlan-10

  The Russian Su-25 in flight over Ukraine.

  Wreck of the Su-34 coded RF-95890 shot down on July 17 near Alchevsk.

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard34

  October 2022

• Page 35

  Series of pictures capturing Ukrainian Su-25 and their pilots. The fuselage bort number were censored.

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard

  35

  October 2022

• Page 36

  Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is one of the

  most important military commanders

  of World War II. He held the key position

  of Commander of the Combined Fleet and

  was one of the most persistent and influen-

  tial opponents of war with the US. He was

  aware of the military and industrial poten-

  tial of the USA, as he studied there and later

  worked as a Naval Attaché in Washington.

  Ironically, he was tasked with planning the

  attack on the Hawaiian Islands. As early as

  1940 he predicted that a war with the USA

  and Great Britain could be successfully

  fought for no longer than six to twelve mon-

  ths. For the first half of April 1943, Yama-

  moto ordered an airborne operation, I-gō,

  to improve situation in New Guinea and

  in the air battles over Guadalcanal.

  Yamamoto personally supervised this ope-

  ration from Rabaul, accompanied by his

  chief of staff, Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki.

  To everyone’s surprise and over the pro-

  tests of his staff officers, he decided to

  inspect the Ballale, Shortland and Buin ba-

  ses in the Bougainville area. The flight was

  scheduled for April 18, 1943, with two Betty

  bombers from Kōkūtai 705 and an escort of

  six Zeros from Kōkūtai 204. On the morning

  of April 18, exactly one year after Doolittle’s

  raid on Tokyo, Yamamoto and Ugaki flew to

  Bougainville Island.

  On the American side, Operation Vengean-

  ce was in full swing. In fact, the Americans

  had managed to intercept a Japanese ra-

  diogram with the itinerary of Yamamoto’s

  trip. Sixteen P-38 fighters from the 347th

  FG were on the way from Guadalcanal. The

  two formations met at 9.35 am over Bou-

  gainville Island. The Japanese flew higher

  than the Americans, who kept low to re-

  duce the risk of being spotted. They had to

  climb rapidly, and Lightning was perfect

  for that. The bombers flew at 4,500 ft and

  the two Zero formations 1,500 ft higher.

  Twelve Lightnings provided top cover and

  four pilots attacked the formation of eight

  Japanese aircraft. They included Doolittle’s

  godson, Capt. Thomas G. Lanphier Jr., 1st

  Lt. Rex T. Barber, 1st Lt. Besby F. Holmes

  and 1st Lt. Ray Hine.

  These four attackers crossed the coast at

  1,000 ft and climbed toward the Japanese.

  Holmes, however, was unable to drop his

  tanks and had to briefly disengage from the

  fight along with Hine. Thus, only Lanphier

  and Barber headed for the bombers. Soon,

  however, they had to split up, Lanphier

  alone facing one trio of Zeros and Barber

  sending Yamamoto’s bomber into the jun-

  gle. Holmes and Hine fought off the Zeros

  closing on Lanphier. Lanphier hit another

  bomber over the jungle, presumably the

  one with Ugaki on board. Shortly thereafter,

  Lanphier, Holmes and Hine attacked Ugaki’s

  bomber again, forcing it to land into the sea

  near the coast.

  The Japanese escort was commanded by

  Lieutenant Takeshi Morizaki with wing-

  men PO1c Toyomitsu Tsujinoue and Seaman

  Sho-ichi Sugita. The other trio was led by

  CPO Yoshimi Hidaka PO2c Yasuji Okazaki

  and Seaman Kenji Yanagiya. Hidaka was the

  first to spot the Americans. However, their

  Zeros did not have radios, so he signalled

  the danger by waving his wings. Morizaki’s

  trio attacked Lanphier and Barber to drive

  them away from the descending Bettys.

  Hidaka and his wingmen attacked Holmes

  and Hine. Hidaka hit the auxiliary tanks on

  Holmes’ Lightning, but the American didn’t

  notice the damage and eventually dropped

  them. Sugita hit the engine of Hine’s ma-

  chine. Yanagiya flew to Buin Base and fired

  into the surface of airfield, alerting the figh-

  ters. He later met Hine and shot him down.

  Yamamoto did not survive the crash of the

  bomber, and the escort pilots took it for

  granted that they should be killed in action,

  although no one blamed them. Hidaka and

  Okazaki were killed in action over Guadal-

  canal on June 7, 1943, and Yanagiya was

  severely wounded in same action. Morizaki

  was shot down off Lunga Point on June 16,

  1943, and Tsujinoue was killed at Rendova

  on July 1, 1943. Sugita, who was to become

  one of the Navy’s most successful fighters,

  was shot down by Hellcat over Kanoya on

  April 15, 1945. The opening part of this legen-

  dary encounter was captured in a painting

  by Piotr Forkasiewicz, showing Yanagiya

  with Barber’s Lightning in the background.

  For more details on this Japanese pilot, the

  only one of the six to survive the end of the

  war, see the text included in our October kit

  A6M3 Zero Model 32.

  BOXART STORY #82213

  Text: Jan Bobek

  Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz

  The last of the six

  INFO Eduard36

  October 2022

• Page 37

  #84116

  BOXART STORY

  In one of the Boxart Stories in the last

  issue of Eduard INFO magazine, I mentio-

  ned the formation of I./JG 1, which became

  one of the key fighter groups in the Defence

  of the Reich during the second half of the

  War. With the cover of Fw 190 A-8 October

  release, we are getting back to this unit.

  Also, the pilot whose aircraft is depicted on

  the boxart is not mentioned in our kits for

  the first time. It is Lt. Heinz-Günther Lück.

  He was born on February 13, 1921, in Duis-

  burg. After pilot and fighter training, he was

  assigned as a Feldwebel to JG 1 in August

  1942. At the end of the year, he was pro-

  moted to the rank of Leutnant and served

  briefly with 2./JG 1. But in July 1943, he was

  assigned to 1./JG 1. He scored a total of six

  aerial victories over B-17 bombers; one

  them was recorded as shared. He scored

  his first kill on July 26, 1943, near Emden.

  Lück’s combat career ended on April 9,

  1944, while fighting an American air raid

  that was heading for Pomerania and occu-

  pied Poland. The Americans sent 542 bom-

  bers with fighter escorts over the conti-

  nent. Their route took them over the North

  Sea and Denmark, and the crews faced

  very bad weather. Only 402 B-24s and B-

  -17s made it over the target, accompanied

  by 719 Thunderbolt, Mustang and Lightning

  fighters. Bombardment groups lost 32

  machines and 177 were damaged. Bom-

  ber gunners claimed 45 certain victories,

  eight probable and reported also further

  14 German machines as damaged. Escort

  fighters claimed 20 certain kills and lost

  ten aircraft.

  Germans sent 356 single-engine fighters

  and 56 twin-engine fighters against the

  raid. But only 232 made it to contact enemy.

  After the fight, they wrote off 27 fighters

  and lost 14 airmen killed or missing.

  Fw 190 pilots of I. and II./JG 1 formed a ba-

  ttle group that managed to make a con-

  centrated attack on a formation of sixty

  Liberators. The Americans were initially wi-

  thout fighter cover, but soon Thunderbolts

  intervened. They were engaged not only

  by Focke-Wulf pilots, but also by their co-

  lleagues in the lighter Bf 109 Gs of III./JG 1,

  which provided fighter escort. JG 1 fighters

  reported ten victories over bombers and

  three in combat with American fighters. In

  the process they themselves lost four Fw

  190s, two of their pilots were killed and two

  were wounded. One of them was Lt. Lück.

  During the fight, the engine of his White

  14 was hit by defensive fire from the bom-

  bers. He had to look for a place to make

  an emergency landing, and the opportu-

  nity presented itself on the Danish Island

  of Ærø. Flying with him was another co-

  lleague in White 3 aircraft which suffered

  a technical problem. They circled the is-

  land for a while to find a suitable landing

  site and finally landed near Stokkeby. Lück

  crashed into a small dike and injured his

  head on the dashboard. He was taken to

  hospital in Ærøskøbing with a concussion.

  However, this was not his first injury. He

  first had to be treated after a motorcycle

  accident on November 30, 1943, near

  Deelen in the Netherlands.

  His Fw 190 A-8 W. Nr. 170050 was dis-

  mantled after a few days and transported

  to the mainland. It was manufactured by

  Focke-Wulf in Cottbus in February 1944 and

  originally bore the factory marking DU+KX.

  This machine was flown to I./JG 1 on April

  3 by Uffz. Helmut Riehl, a pilot from 2./JG 1.

  The machine was assigned to 1./JG 1 and,

  in addition to the fuselage number, was gi-

  ven a red stripe on the rear fuselage, which

  was an element of JG 1’s rapid identificati-

  on system for Luftwaffe fighter units. When

  Lück made his emergency landing, the air-

  craft still did not have the JG 1 emblem with

  the winged red 1 on the engine cowling.

  It was one of the first A-8s that I./JG 1 re-

  ceived. Until March 1944, it used mainly

  A-4, A-6 and A-7 versions. During April

  1944, I./JG 1 received a total of 34 Fw 190

  A-8 fighters but lost eight during the same

  month. April was the month that brought

  the heaviest losses yet for I./JG 1, losing 24

  aircraft in combat. Worse times were yet

  to come in July 1944 during the fighting in

  Normandy this unit had 30 fighters destro-

  yed by the enemy and even 37 during the

  fighting in December.

  Lt. Heinz-Günther Lück, wounded in an

  emergency landing, did not return to com-

  bat duty and served in various staff posi-

  tions. His unfortunate landing apparently

  saved his life.

  Text: Jan Bobek

  Illustration: Antonis Karydis

  Landing on the island

  INFO Eduard

  37

  October 2022

• Page 38

  The Z-26 two-seat trainer, aptly named Tre-

  nér (meaning “trainer” or “coach” in Czech),

  first flew on October 20, 1947. The result of

  the work of the design team led by Karel

  Tomáš answered the requirements of the

  Ministry of Defence, calling for simple-to

  -

  -operate aircraft suitable for pilot trai-

  ning. The wooden design of the wing and

  tail surfaces was soon replaced by an

  all-metal one, thus creating the Z-126 ver-

  sion, the archetype of several other ver-

  sions of the Trenér, which gradually got a

  more powerful six-cylinder engine instead

  of the original four-cylinder one. First, the

  Walter Minor 4-III with a maximum output of

  77 kW (105 hp) was replaced in the Z-226B

  and Z-226T versions by the technically

  related WM 6-III unit with an output of 118

  kW (160 hp), and later by the more mo

  -

  dern M-137 engine with an output of 132 kW

  (167 hp). The latter also powered the last

  type of the Z-226 series, the MS version,

  equipped with the pitch-adjustable pro

  -

  peller V-503A. At that point it was clear the

  Trenér line needs a substantial upgrade.

  The design team of the Zlín company deci

  -

  ded to equip the Trenér with a retractable

  landing gear to reduce aerodynamic drag.

  Furthermore, there was a modified wing

  with enlarged fuel tanks (from 35 l to 45 l)

  to extend range and endurance or a new ca

  -

  nopy for better visibility. In addition, exter-

  nal fuel tanks could be installed on the wing

  tips. The new version was designated Z-326

  Trener Master, or C-305 in the case of the

  military version and was also the first of the

  Trenér line to allow IFR flight and therefore

  night flying. To this end, the C-305 also re

  -

  ceived small lights on the landing gear legs.

  These were used for visual inspection from

  the ground during final landing approach.

  If they were visible, the landing gear was

  down, if not, the air traffic controller alerted

  the pilot.

  The powerplant was again a WM 6-III

  six-cylinder engine, which was later repla-

  ced by the M-137. The version powered by

  the latter was designated Z-236M, then

  Z-326MF after the installation of the V-503A

  propeller.

  The first prototype was taken into the air

  by the factory pilot Leopold Brabec for the

  first time on August 12, 1957. Ten C-305s

  were produced for the air force, most of the

  civilian versions were exported. There were

  numerous customers in France, Germany,

  Spain and in many other countries. Of the

  ten military C-305s, nine eventually made

  it to civilian service. Five of them are still

  flying today, one even in period military li

  -

  very. It is OK

  -

  OTP (originally 0612), while the

  second one in this livery, OK

  -

  OTE (originally

  0610), reached its flight hours limit and is

  kept in the Military Historical Institute de

  -

  pository today.

  OK

  -

  OTP started its service with then

  Czechoslovak air force on December 14,

  1960 and underwent two overhauls during

  its military period of service. The aircraft

  was handed over to the Svazarm organiza

  -

  tion on July 29, 1971 and received the civilian

  matriculation OK

  -

  OTP. It was flown by the

  Prievidza Aero Club and on December 29,

  1979, was converted to the Z-326M version

  by Aerotechnik company. Its last flight was

  to be from Prievidza to Dubnica on May 25,

  2008. The crew of Jánošík and Chupek trans

  -

  ported it to its new owner, who intended to

  hang it under the ceiling of a private muse

  -

  um. In green painting it was to represent

  a Bf 109. Before the aircraft was irreversibly

  damaged, it was discovered by Karel Toman,

  who spared this Trener Master from an ig

  -

  nominious fate with desire to restore it to

  flying condition again. So, the aircraft was

  moved to Prague and in 2012 Milan Mikulec

  -

  ký stepped in and took over the restoration

  project. After a complete overhaul by Zlin

  -

  -Avion Service, the aircraft received some

  of the original military equipment again and

  also the factory drawing coloring valid for

  the military C-305. Due to the installation of

  the M-137 engine, it is of course no longer

  a genuine C-305, which was powered exclu-

  sively by the WM 6-III engine.

  The second aircraft in Adam Tooby’s dra

  -

  wing is the Swiss Z-326MF, serial number

  925. It is a final production run aircraft that

  came to its current owner via France, whe

  -

  re it was exported in 1967 and flew as an

  F

  -

  BORV originally. It was converted to the

  MF version by Zlin-Avion Service company

  in 2016, after which it returned to its owner

  in Yverdon.

  BOXART STORY #11167

  Text: Richard Plos

  Illustration: Adam Tooby

  Box design: Jan Zdiarsky

  Trainer in a good shape

  INFO Eduard38

  October 2022

• Page 39

  #70144

  BOXART STORY

  Cape Arkona is the northernmost tip of the

  Rugia island and owes its name to the tem

  -

  ple of the ancient Slavic god Svantovit. The

  temple was built by the West Slavic tribe of

  the Rans, sometimes also called Ruyans.

  In the early Middle Ages, the whole of Rugia

  was the power and religious center of this

  Slavic tribe, which settled on the island in

  the seventh century and gradually became

  a local military and naval power. However,

  the temple, as well as the adjacent town,

  was conquered and destroyed by the Danish

  king Valdemar I in 1168 after many fights and

  clashes. Rans were the last of the western

  Slavic tribes and they gave whole the island

  Rugia or Ruyan its name (Rügen in German).

  After centuries of being part of the Danish

  or Swedish kingdoms and then belonging to

  France or Prussia, the island eventually be

  -

  came part of Germany. Rugia later became

  a popular holiday resort, a status that was

  further enhanced by the Nazis, who built the

  monumental Prora holiday resort, which

  was never completed. Today, there are two

  lighthouses right on Cape Arkona, as well as

  two military bunker complexes. East Ger

  -

  man air force planes have certainly over-

  flown them many times as well as the 148

  ft (45 m) high white cliffs. Whether a MiG

  -

  -21PFM with tactical code 22+02 also passed

  over them on one of its last flights, we do not

  know. But the scenery by Piotr Forkasiewicz

  looks great, doesn’t it?

  MiG-21s have been flying over the Baltic

  Sea since the 1960s. The then German De

  -

  mocratic Republic (GDR) was among the

  first Warsaw Pact countries to receive the

  new supersonic and their first Mach 2 figh

  -

  ter aircraft. The first MiG-21F-13 landed at

  Marxwalde airfield, the base of JG 8 wing,

  on 4 May 1962, and over the next two years

  two further wings converted to the type:

  JG 3 at Preschen and JG 9 at Peenemünde.

  By the end of 1964, the first MiG-21PFs had

  already appeared in the GDR. They were first

  assigned to JG 1 stationed at Cottbus-Dre

  -

  witz as part of the LSK/LV (Luftstreitkräfte/

  Luftverteidigung – Air Force/Air Defence).

  However, the East German Air Force re

  -

  -designated these aircraft as MiG-21PFM,

  where the M was to emphasize that they

  were modernized MiG-21s. Later, however,

  JG 8 began to receive further upgraded MiGs

  that bore the same designation, now direct

  -

  ly from the manufacturer. To distinguish

  these two different versions of MiG-21, the

  actual MiG-21PFMs were re-designated as

  MiG-21SPS. As those familiar with the matter

  know, the SPS (Sduv Pogranichnovo Sloja -

  Boundary Layer Blowing, in German Grenz

  -

  schichtablösung) system was designed to

  blow the flaps with air taken from the en

  -

  gine compressor to increase their effici-

  ency at low speeds. The installation of this

  system was made possible by the upgraded

  R-11F2S-300 engine. The SPS was put into

  operation when the flaps were set at 45°, i.e.,

  in the landing position. It resulted in a 21,6 kt

  (40 km/h) reduction in landing speed compa

  -

  red to the MiG-21F-13. Aircraft equipped with

  the GP-9 cannon were then referred to as

  MiG-21SPS

  -

  K (sometimes written as SPS/K).

  The aircraft originally coded 441 was as

  -

  signed to JG 8 on November 30, 1968 and

  transferred to JG 1 stationed at Cottbus/

  Holzdorf on May 5, 1975. There it remained

  in service until 1990, when it received the

  special anniversary painting to say “good

  -

  bye”. Thanks to the white base color the air-

  craft earned the nickname Der Weisse Hai

  (White Shark). A total of 24 MiGs-21SPS and

  SPS/K survived and stayed in service until

  German reunification. With the new desig

  -

  nation 20+02, the “White Shark” flew only

  a few sorties before it was like all the others

  of this type sent to the nearby Drewitz air

  -

  base, where also other obsolete and retired

  aircraft were collected, following an organi

  -

  zational restructuring. These transfers were

  under the responsibility of the Bundeswehr

  -

  kommando Ost, Abwicklungsstäbe Nord und

  Süd (Federal Armed Forces Command East,

  Processing Staff North and South), while

  the aircraft that were in active service were

  handled by the ÜLSt MatWi's Überleitstelle

  Materialwirtschaft (Materials Management

  Transition Center). At Drewitz, this aircraft

  was decommissioned and met its fate on

  November 13, 1992, when it was scrapped.

  One more aircraft received this attractive

  anniversary livery, the one with serial num

  -

  ber 944504, which was given the code 22+31

  after German reunification. This one esca

  -

  ped scrapping and was put on private dis-

  play in Eisdorf.

  White Shark over a Lighthouse

  Text: Richard Plos

  Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz

  INFO Eduard

  39

  October 2022

• Page 40

  #82213

  A6M3 Zero Type 32

  1/48

  ProfiPACK edition kit of Japanese WWII naval fighter

  plane A6M3 Zero Type 32 in 1/48 scale.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  marking options: 5

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: yes, pre-painted

  painting mask: yes

  resin parts: no

  Product page

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard40

  October 2022

• Page 41

  Ldg. Sea. Kenji Yanagiya, Kōkūtai 204, Rabaul base, New Britain, April 1943

  c/n 3018, Tainan Kōkūtai, Buna airfield, New Guinea, August 1942

  PO1c Kyoshi Itō, 3. Kōkūtai, Koepang airfield, Timor Island, September 1942

  This aircraft is reconstructed with the field applied

  green paint typical for aircraft of this unit in early 1943.

  It has a dismantled radio station and antenna column

  to reduce weight. Leading Seaman Yanagiya made seve-

  ral operational flights with this plane during April 1943.

  He also flew with it on April 18, 1943, while escorting

  Admiral Yamamoto to Ballale on Bougainville Island. The

  formation of two G4M Betty bombers and six Zeros was

  surprisingly attacked by P-38 fighters, both Bettys were

  shot down and Admiral Yamamoto was killed. Five of the

  six accompanying Japanese fighters were successively

  killed in action during the war, one of them being the se-

  cond ranking naval ace, Shō-ichi Sugita (80 v.). The only

  survivor of the war would be Yanagiya. Born in March

  1919, after completing flight training in March 1942 he

  was assigned to the 6th Kōkūtai, which was to be ba-

  sed at the captured Midway Atoll. From October 1942 he

  was deployed to Rabaul and in November his unit was

  redesignated Kōkūtai 204. In May 1943 he was promoted

  to Petty Officer 2nd Class, but on June 7 he was severe-

  ly wounded in aerial combat off Russell Island and had

  to have his right arm amputated. After hospitalization

  and rehabilitation, he was able to continue flying with

  a prosthesis and served as an instructor until the end of

  the war. He achieved a total of eight individual victories

  and participated on eighteen shared kills. Kenji Yanagiya

  died in February 2008.

  The aircraft was produced on June 15, 1942, and on August

  22 was assigned to Tainan Kōkūtai detachment in Buna.

  The aircraft was found by the Allies in an upside-down

  position during the capture of Buna on December 27,

  1942. From its color photograph it is estimated that the

  tip of the tail surfaces were black, less likely red. It was

  flown by, among others, Buntaichō and the commander of

  the detachment in Buna, Lt. Kikuichi Inano, whose usual

  aircraft was a V-190. PO2c Ichirōbei Yamazaki probably

  crashed with V-177 on August 23 after a dogfight with

  the RAAF's Kittyhawks of No. 75 Sq and suffered severe

  injuries. This fighter pilot originally served with the Ôita

  Kōkūtai and in the spring of 1942 was assigned to the 4th

  Kōkūtai in Rabaul and Lae. In April was integrated with

  his unit into the Tainan Kōkūtai. In March 1942 he was shot

  down over New Guinea, about 80 miles inland, after a do-

  gfight with the crew of a Hudson bomber. With the help of

  friendly natives, he built a raft on which he sailed down

  the river for four days to his own troops. He was wounded

  over Port Moresby in May and had to undergo prolonged

  medical treatment after his August wound. In May 1943

  he was assigned to Kōkūtai 251 (formerly Tainan Kōkūtai)

  and was killed in action off Rendova Island on July 4, 1943.

  In total, he achieved 14 victories.

  This aircraft was purchased by Hiroshima Prefectu-

  ral Medical Association, whose name is listed on

  the patriotic donation inscription (Hōkoku) No. 1000.

  It was flown by Kyoshi Itō, who used also Zero X-151

  with Hōkoku No. 984. Itō was born in November 1921

  in Murakami, Niigata Prefecture. He served on the

  torpedo boat Ōtori in 1939, in late 1940 got flight

  training at Tsuchiura Kōkūtai and in November 1941

  was assigned for combat duty to 3rd Kōkūtai. With

  this unit he fought in the Philippines and Indonesia

  and took part in raids on Australia. In September and

  October 1942, with most of the 3rd Kōkūtai, he was

  involved in the fighting over Guadalcanal. In Novem

  -

  ber his unit was redesignated Kōkūtai 202 and re-

  turned to Koepang. From the spring until September

  1943, unit conducted combat flights over Australia,

  also with Zero Type 32 fighters. In November 1943, Itō

  received a written command commendation stating

  that he had shot down 23 aircraft and destroyed 9 on

  the ground. He then served as an instructor in Japan

  with the Ôita and Tsukuba Kōkūtai and joined the air

  combat in February 1945. After the war, he married

  the eldest daughter of the owner of the family con

  -

  struction company Katō in Murakami and adopted the

  family name Katō. Under his leadership, the company

  rose to the top position in Murakami, and he recei

  -

  ved the Medal with Purple Ribbon and the Minister of

  Construction Award. Kyoshi Katō retired in 1992 and

  died in July 2012.

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard

  41

  October 2022

• Page 42

  Zuikaku Fighter Squadron, aircraft carrier Zuikaku, October 1942

  CPO Takeo Tanimizu, Tainan Kōkūtai (II), Tainan airbase, Taiwan, September 1944

  The appearance of the aircraft has been reconstructed

  to the condition in which the Zuikaku fighters took part

  in the Battle of Santa Cruz in October 1942. At that time,

  the yellow identification stripe on the leading edge of

  the wing was already in use. The Type 32 Zeroes was

  tested aboard the Shōkaku and Zuikaku carriers from

  July 1942. Some records indicate that smaller numbers

  of these machines were used by both carriers as ear

  -

  ly as August 1942 during the fighting in the Solomon

  Archipelago. During this period some of their fighters

  operated from land bases, probably with Type 32s. Du

  -

  ring the Battle of Santa Cruz, on October 26, 1942, each

  of these carriers had ten Type 32s in their armament

  in addition to the Type 21s. Because of their faster dive

  speed and shorter range, they were probably used

  primarily for CAPs. The commander of the fighters

  aboard the Zuikaku at the time was Lt. Ayao Shirane

  (9 victories), who led fighter escorts in two raids on

  the American task force during the battle. After the

  Battle of Midway, the Japanese improved their CAPs

  and patrolled in three flight levels during the Battle

  of Santa Cruz. Yet they were unable to stop a group

  of Dauntlesses from VB-8 and VS-8, which, without fi

  -

  ghter escort, fought their way to the carrier Shōkaku

  and damaged her. The commander of the patrolling

  fighters from Zuikaku was Lt. Shigeru Araki, who was

  killed a year later in combat over Rabaul.

  This aircraft bears a non-standard and heavily

  weathered dark green paintjob. A production ta

  -

  ble of unusual finish was added probably after an

  overhaul. The inscription on its side mentions aerial

  combat and the shooting down of a B-24 bomber over

  Kaohsiung on August 31, 1944, and the shooting down

  of another B-24 during September 3. The name of the

  airman is not listed, but he was the instructor of this

  operational training unit, Chief Petty Officer Takeo

  Tanimizu. Lt(jg) Ki-ichi Tsuda was photographed next

  to the aircraft. Tainan Kōkūtai (II) shot down one B-24

  of the 308th BG on August 31 and damaged another,

  its wreckage was found in 1996 in Guangxi Province.

  Takeo Tanimizu was born in April 1919 and completed

  his flight training in March 1942. Aboard the aircraft

  carrier Jun'yō, he took part in the attack on the Aleu

  -

  tians. He then served aboard the training aircraft ca-

  rrier Kasuga Maru and in February 1943 was assigned

  to the fighter unit of the Shōkaku. From November

  1943 he fought in the defense of Rabaul. In March

  1944, he was assigned to Tainan Kōkūtai (II) in Tai

  -

  wan and had a near fatal patrol flight on November

  3, 1944, during which a Mustang of the 74th FS shot

  him down over a convoy entering the port of Amoy

  in China. Tanimizu suffered burns and after a month

  of treatment was assigned to Kōkūtai 203 in Japan.

  He participated in the defense of Kyūshū and the

  fighting over Okinawa. He achieved a total of 18

  victories. Tanimizu died in March 2008.

  KITS 10/2022

• Page 43

  OVERTREES

  OVERLEPT

  #82213

  A6M3 Zero Type 32

  1/48

  Product page

  Product page

  Recommended:

  for A6M3 Zero Type 32 1/48

  481091 A6M3 Zero landing flaps (PE

  -

  Set)

  481092 A6M3 Zero (PE

  -

  Set)

  648786 A6M3 seat PRINT (Brassin)

  648787 A6M3 tailwheel PRINT (Brassin)

  648788 A6M3

  cannon barrels & cockpit guns PRINT (Brassin)

  3DL48088 A6M3 SPACE (3D obtisk)

  EX899 A6M3 Zero TFace (Mask)

  644185 A6M3 Löök (Brassin) release 11/2022

  648799 A6M3 wheels (Brassin) release 11/2022

  648800 A6M3 cockpit PRINT (Brassin) release 11/2022

  648801 A6M3 exhausts PRINT (Brassin) release 11/2022

  #82213-LEPT

  A6M3 Zero Type 32

  1/48

  Cat. No. 648787

  Cat. No. 648788

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard

  43

  October 2022

• Page 44

  #11166

  MIDWAY

  1/48

  Limited edition kit of US carrier based fighter F4F-3

  and F4F-4 Wildcat in 1/48 scale. Kit presents Wilcats

  from United States Navy and Marine Corps, from pre-war

  service to the Battle of Midway.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  marking options: 10

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: yes, pre-painted

  painting mask: yes

  resin parts: no

  Product page

  DUAL COMBO

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard44

  October 2022

• Page 45

  F4F-3, BuNo. 1865, VF-72, USS Wasp (CV-7), December 1940

  F4F-3, BuNo. 4022, Capt. Herbert Casper Freuler, VMF-211, Wake Island, December 1941

  F4F-3A, BuNo. 3920, Lt. James Seton Gray, VF-6, USS Enterprise (CV-6), February 1942

  The first production block of Wildcats, 49 aircraft in

  total, were supplied in the pre-war color scheme i.e.,

  the fuselage and wings’ lower surfaces were sprayed

  in aluminium dope and the wing upper surfaces were

  painted yellow. The national insignia were in all four

  positions, on the fuselage they were painted either on

  the nose or on the engine cowling. The color of the tail

  surfaces indicated the aircraft carrier. In this case it

  was USS Wasp (CV-7). The wing stripes, including the

  front of the cowling identified the aircraft allocation

  to the unit section. Red was the color of the first se

  -

  ction and if only the upper front of the cowling was

  painted in this color it marked the second aircraft in

  this section. This Wildcat was captured on the film

  during the landing on the USS Wasp deck. The pilot

  managed to catch the landing rope with his hook ho

  -

  wever the rope broke and the aircraft was stopped

  by the safety net. In the film we can clearly see that

  this Wildcat carries the unit marking on the port wing

  only, starboard wing is missing both the red diagonal

  stripe and the number 2. The starboard wing could

  have been replaced and the marking added later.

  The Japanese made their first attempt att capturing

  the Wake Atoll on December 11, 1941, but their attack

  was repelled. They did not give up, after receiving the

  reinforcements the landing on the island was schedu

  -

  led for December 23. The landing was preceded by the

  air attacks from Sōryū and Hiryū carriers executed on

  December 22, 1941, again opposed by Wildcats from

  VMF-211. There were the last two remaining VMF-211

  Wildcats as the unit was decimated during the previous

  landing attempt. One of their pilots was Captain Herbert

  Casper Freuler who on this day shot down two B5N Kate

  bombers. Shortly after a Zero shot him down and he

  was wounded. After the Japanese captured the island

  Captain Freuler was taken POW and spent the following

  3.5 years in captivity. After the end of WWII, he continued

  his service with USMC and retired in 1955 as Brigadier

  General.

  Milwaukee, Wisconsin native, James Seton Gray loved

  the flying since the childhood. In 1930, at the age of six-

  teen years he became the youngest pilot license holder.

  After he graduated from the United States Naval Acade-

  my in 1936, he served on the ships. In 1938 he started his

  pilot training and after its completion he was assigned to

  VF-6 on board of USS Enterprise (CV-6). After the USA en-

  tered the war, he took part in the first Navy raid against

  the Japanese on Taroa island in Marshall Islands. During

  the raid he shot down two A5M Claude fighters. During

  the Battle of Midway he commanded the whole VF-6

  escorting VT-6 Devastators on their attacks against the

  Japanese carriers. During the afternoon CAP on that day

  he shot down E13A Jake floatplane. Gray added further

  kills to his score while commanding the night fighters

  aboard USS Enterprise in 1944 and became a fighter ace.

  Lt. Gray’s Wildcat in which he fought over Marshall and

  Gilbert archipelagos was camouflaged in Light Gray and

  Blue Gray. The rudder sports nine red and white stripes.

  The national markings on the fuselage and wings were

  already supposed to be enlarged however the aircraft

  photograph shows that the large insignia were painted

  on the fuselage and starboard wing only. The port wing

  retained the original size insignia.

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard

  45

  October 2022

• Page 46

  F4F-3, Lt. Frank Bernard Quady, VF-6, USS Enterprise (CV-6), April 1942

  F4F-3, BuNo. 3986, Lt. Albert Ogden Vorse, VF-2, USS Lexington (CV-2), May 1942

  F4F-4, BuNo. 5171., Lt. Cdr. John Smith Thach, VF-3, USS Yorktown (CV-5), May/June 1942

  The attack against Japan, scheduled for April 1942 was

  going to be conducted by B-25 medium bombers taking

  off of the aircraft carrier and was going to attack Japa

  -

  nese homeland islands. USS Hornet (CV-8) aircraft ca-

  rrier became the “floating airport” for these bombers

  and was escorted by the formation gathered around

  USS Enterprise (CV-6) which was going to provide the

  air cover for the mission since the Hornet aircraft

  were not available until the bombers departure. One

  of the VF-6 pilots providing the fighter cover for the

  whole mission was Minneapolis native Lt. Frank Quady.

  He graduated from the Annapolis Academy and pinned

  his “wings” on in April 1941. He flew with VF-6 aboard

  USS Enterprise (CV-6) participating in Hornet escort

  during the Doolittle raid but also in all preceding mi

  -

  ssions flown by this unit during the first six month of

  the war. His last combat mission with VF-6 was Battle

  of Midway. Then the service with VF-11 followed and

  he increased his score by two D3A Val dive bombers

  shot down. Later he became member of the staff of

  the TF 58 commanding officer, Vice Admiral Mark

  A. Mitcher and was among the staff members killed

  during the attack of two kamikaze aircraft on USS

  Bunker Hill (CV-17) on May 11, 1945.

  Albert Vorse was born on August 9, 1914, in Philadelpia,

  Pennsylvania and after he finished his studies at the

  Naval Academy in 1937, he was ordered on board of the

  USS Astoria heavy cruiser (CA-34). In March 1940 he was

  dispatched to the Pensacola base where he completed

  his pilot training. In 1941 he was assigned to VF-3. After

  the USS Saratoga (CV-3) was torpedoed by I-6 submari

  -

  ne in January 1942 and sent for repairs back to the USA

  part of VF-3 pilots, including their mounts was assigned

  to VF-2 on board of USS Lexington (CV-2). Therefore,

  within VF-2 operation out of USS Lexington the aicraft

  carrying VF-3 markings flew as well. Wildcat BuNo. 3986

  originally was operated by VF-3 and assigned to Lt. No

  -

  yel Gayler therefore the kill markings under the canopy

  was actually his personal score. On USS Lexington “Fox

  5” was assigned to Lt. Vorse who within VF-2 took part

  in the Battle of the Coral Sea where USS Lexington was

  sunken. After more than 76 years the shipwreck was

  found by Paul G. Allen on his research vessel R/V Petrel.

  The photographs released after researching Lady Lex

  capture a Wildcat marked F-5 (previous marking F-13) in

  which Lt. Vorse fought in the Battle of the Coral Sea and

  claimed one bomber and one fighter shot down. His total

  score at the end of the war was 11.5 kills.

  In May 1942 a new Wildcats F4F-4 with folding wings were

  delivered to VF-3. The handful of pilots of the emerging

  VF-3 squadron flew these aircraft at Kaneohe Bay base.

  The unit was commanded by John “Jimmy” S. Thach who

  developed the tactics known as Thach Weave, first time

  applied in combat during the Battle of Midway. It was a ma-

  nner of mutual protection of the pairs of Wildcats against

  more agile Zero fighters. Mainly thanks to this tactic the

  Wildcats could defend themselves against the numerically

  superior Zeros while they escorted the first wave of bom-

  bers launched against the fleet of the Japanese carriers

  in the Battle of Midway. Thach himself claimed three Zeros

  shot down and other pilots of his section scored kills as

  well. At the controls of the Wildcat “Fox 1” “Jimmy” Thach

  shot down a B5N Kate bomber on his second sortie during

  the battle. In the period photographs of Jimmy Thach’s

  Wildcat it is clearly visible that VF-3 insignia under the

  canopy was damaged. Nevertheless, our decal sheet con-

  tains its undamaged version too. Wildcats were camouf-

  laged in Light Gray on the lower surfaces and Blue Gray on

  the side and upper surfaces. The national insignia in the

  form of the blue circles with white star and red circle in

  the center were painted on the fuselage and four positions

  on the wings. The additional marking was red and white

  stripes on the rudder. During the Battle of Midway these

  stripes were overpainted with the camouflage color and

  the red circles were deleted from the national insignia.

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard46

  October 2022

• Page 47

  F4F-4, VF-8, USS Hornet (CV-8), May/June 1942

  F4F-4, Lt. Walter Albert Haas, VF-8, USS Hornet (CV-8), June 1942

  F4F-4, Ens. Ralph McMaster Rich, VF-6, USS Enterprise (CV-6), April/June 1942

  Another battle the USS Hornet (CV-8) took part in

  after the participation in the Doolittle bomber raid

  on Tokyo was Battle of Midway. VF-8 pilots were the

  least experienced fighters out of all deployed figh

  -

  ter units. Right at the beginning of the battle the

  squadron suffered heavy aircraft losses when after

  the botched escort of the bombers launched against

  the group of Japanese ships ten pilots got lost on the

  return flight. All of them had to perform the emer

  -

  gency landings on the ocean surface due to the ex-

  hausted fuel. Eight pilots were rescued even though

  some of them had to wait several days until the help

  arrived. During the Battle of Midway the red circle on

  the national insignia were already deleted as well as

  the red and white stripes on the rudder. The feature

  aircraft carried the Black Spade insignia in front of

  the wind shield.

  Collingswood, New Jersey native, Walter Albert Haas was

  the first Wildcat pilot to score a kill of the Zero fighter. It

  occurred on May 7, 1942, during the attack on Shōhō aircraft

  carrier while he flew with VF-42 off the USS Yorktown (CV-5)

  aircraft carrier. In June, during the Battle of Midway Lt. Haas

  still flew with VF-42 which was incorporated into VF-3. After

  the USS Yorktown was damaged, both VF-3 and VF-42 pilots

  were transferred on board of the USS Hornet (CV-8) where

  under the leadership of Lt. Cdr. Thach they formed the pro

  -

  visional unit designated VF-3-8-42. One of the unit’s pilots

  was Lt. Haas who during the Battle of Midway shot down one

  B5N Kate. Six Japanese flags marking on his Wildcat repre

  -

  sents the actual pilot’s score of 4.83 kills i.e., four individual

  kills and two in the cooperation. The shots were taken by

  the crew of John Ford who recorded a documentary film

  shown in the movie theaters under the title “The Battle of

  Midway” already in September 1942. Interesting fact is that

  in the movie Lt. Haas’s Wildcat did not carry the marking

  of any unit that participated in the battle. In the middle of

  June 1942, after the return to Pearl Harbor this provisional

  unit was disbanded, and Lt. Haas joined the new Navy pilots

  flight training program. After that he was commissioned to

  command the bomber squadron aboard the USS Ticonderoga

  (CV-14) where he flew until the end of war. Initially the Wild

  -

  cat marked white 17 probably flew with VF-8. The original

  marking on the fuselage and the engine cowling was over

  -

  sprayed with the camouflage paint.

  Ralph M. Rich was born on January 22, 1916, in Den-

  mark, North Dakota. In October 1939, after he joined

  the US NAVY reserves, he was accepted to the pilot

  training which he completed on June 12, 1940. On

  November 28 of the same year, he boarded the USS

  Enterprise (CV-6) where he was assigned to VF-6.

  During the fighting in Pacific, he participated in the

  raid on Marshall and Gilbert Islands where he de

  -

  stroyed one Japanese bomber on the ground. His next

  mission was the attack on Japanese occupied Wake

  Atoll. This was followed by the VF-6 deployment from

  the deck of USS Enterprise during the Battle of Mid

  -

  way where Ens. Rich, in the cooperation with other

  two pilots shot down a B5N Kate bomber defending

  the formation of the US aircraft carriers. On June 18,

  1942, during the shooting exercises at 5,000 feet abo

  -

  ve Kaneohe Bay base the wing of the Wildcat flown

  by Lt. Rich tore off. The aircraft crashed and the pilot

  perished. Ens. Rich flew the featured aircraft in Ap

  -

  ril 1942 when the planes were camouflaged in Light

  Gray on the bottom surfaces and Blue Gray on the

  side and top surface. National insignia were painted

  on the fuselage, four positions on the wings and com

  -

  plemented with red and white stripes on the rudder.

  At the time of the Battle of Midway the rudder stripes

  were overpainted with camouflage paint red circles

  were deleted from the national insignia and the

  aircraft marking was changed to F-5. The national

  marking on the fuselage was larger, slightly moved

  forward so the original marking was partially visible.

  The aircraft number was painted on the starboard

  wing only.

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard

  47

  October 2022

• Page 48

  OVERTREES

  OVERTREES

  OVERLEPT

  #82201X

  F4F-3/3A Wildcat

  1/48

  #82202X

  F4F-4 early Wildcat

  1/48

  Product page

  Product page

  Product page

  #11166-LEPT

  MIDWAY

  1/48

  BuNo. 5244, Lt. William Nicholas Leonard, VF-3, USS Yorktown (CV-5), June 1942

  Douglas, Arizona native, William Nicholas Leonard

  graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis in

  1938. In June 1940 he started his pilot training at

  Pensacola base and successfully completed it in Ja

  -

  nuary 1941 at the 25 years of age. He was ordered

  to VS-41 aboard USS Ranger (CV-4) which operated

  SBU-1 bombers. After VF-41 was redesigned the ori

  -

  ginal SBU aircraft were replaced with F4F. From June

  1941 he flew with VF-42 which was during the Battle

  of Midway incorporated into VF-3 operating from the

  deck of USS Yorktown (CV-5). Leonard flew the fea

  -

  tured Wildcat marked 13. It was a replacements and

  re-marked aircraft with its original numeral 26. At

  its controls Leonard increased his score by a B5N

  Kate bomber. This Wildcat did not carry VF-3 insignia

  and it cannot be excluded that after the transfer to

  USS Hornet Leonard painted four Japanese flags on

  the fuselage representing his current score. There is

  even a photograph showing Leonard posing in such

  decorated Wildcat on the board of USS Hornet couple

  of days after the Battle of Midway. In this case ho

  -

  wever it is not his personal aircraft. In 1943 Leonard

  flew with VF-11 on Guadalcanal and increased his

  score by two Zeros shot down.

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard48

  October 2022

• Page 49

  Recommended:

  for MIDWAY 1/48

  481086 F4F-3 landing flaps (PE

  -

  Set)

  FE1290 F4F seatbelts STEEL (PE

  -

  Set)

  644171 F4F-3 early LööK (Brassin)

  644164 F4F-4 LööK (Brassin)

  648756 F4F 42gal ventral drop tank PRINT (Brassin)

  648765

  F4F-3 cockpit w/ telescopic gun sight PRINT (Brassin)

  648766 F4F-3 exhausts PRINT (Brassin)

  648767 F4F-3 wheels early (Brassin)

  648768 F4F-3 wheels late (Brassin)

  648769 F4F gun barrels PRINT (Brassin)

  648770 F4F-3 life raft PRINT (Brassin)

  648777 F4F-3 cockpit w/ reflector gun sight PRINT (Brassin)

  648781 F4F seat early PRINT (Brassin)

  648795 F4F-3 wheel bay PRINT (Brassin)

  3DL48076 F4F-3 late SPACE (3D Decal Set)

  3DL48080 F4F-3 early SPACE (3D Decal Set)

  EX878 F4F-3 TFace (Mask)

  648793 F4F-3 gun bays PRINT (Brassin) release 11/2022

  648794 F4F-3 landing flaps PRINT (Brassin) release 11/2022

  648803 F4F-4 cockpit PRINT (Brassin) release 11/2022

  Cat. No. 648765

  Cat. No. 648766

  Cat. No. 648795

  Cat. No. 3DL48080

  Cat. No. 648770

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard

  49

  October 2022

• Page 50

  Z-326 Trenér Master

  1/48

  Limited edition kit of Czechoslovak single engine two-seat trainer

  and aerobatic aircraft Zlín Z-326 Trenér Master including Z-326M

  and Z-326MF versions in 1/48 scale. Kit presents markings selection

  including Czechoslovak, Czech and foreign users.

  plastic parts:Eduard

  marking options: 10

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: yes, pre-painted

  painting mask: yes

  resin parts: no

  Product page

  #11167

  DUAL COMBO

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard50

  October 2022

• Page 51

  Z-326M, No. 612, private owner, Točná airfield, Czech Republic, summer 2022

  Z-326MF, No. 925, private owner, Yverdon, Switzerland, 2018

  Z-326, No. 908, private owner, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2020

  The ČSLA (Czechoslovak Air Force) took delivery of ten

  C-305s, the military modification of the Z-326. It was

  handed over to the Army on December 14, 1960. During

  the service it underwent two overhauls, the second one

  was completed just seven days before the handover

  to the Prievidza Aero Club on July 29, 1971. There the

  A/C received the matriculation OK

  -

  OTP and on Decem-

  ber 29, 1979, it was converted to the Z-326M standard

  by installation of the M-137 engine. It stayed in Prie

  -

  vidza after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia with the

  Slovak matriculation OM

  -

  OTP. The aircraft made its

  last flight in red, white and black paint on May 25, 2008,

  when the crew Jánošík/Chupek flew it from Prievidza

  to the new owner. The aircraft was to be hung from

  the ceiling of a private museum and the green paint

  was planned to imitate Bf 109. Before the wing spars

  could be irreversibly damaged, as it was planned to

  anchor the cables to them, the A/C was purchased and

  transported to Prague by Karel Toman. He planned to

  bring it back to airworthy condition. In 2012 the project

  was taken over by Milan Mikulecký. After a complete

  overhaul by Zlin-Avion Service, the aircraft received

  some military equipment and paintwork according to

  the factory drawing for C-305. According to contem

  -

  porary documentation and testimonies, the 0612 was

  delivered in this livery, but only photographs of simple

  silver paint finish are known. The alternative marking

  0610 can be used to build historically documented

  C-305 in these colors.

  The aircraft from the last production run of Z-326 is

  one of those exported to France. There it received the

  F

  -

  BORV matriculation in 1967. After retirement from

  service in France it was put into storage for some

  time and later sold to a private owner in Switzerland.

  There it was repaired and operated in a new livery,

  but with the original powerplant. In 2015 and 2016

  the aircraft was converted by Zlin-Avion Service to

  the Z-326MF version and returned to its home base

  in Yverdon consequently. The livery evokes the look

  of American Navy aircraft from the 1930s.

  This Z-326 became the first ever aerobatic aircraft in

  Iceland. It set off from Czechoslovakia to the island

  country on July 14, 1966, first by rail, then by ship.

  It has changed several owners in Iceland. Today, it is

  owned by Helgi Rafnsson. Among the pilots who put

  their hands on the controls of this aircraft is also one

  of Icelandic most famous pilots, Magnus Norðdahl. The

  former airline commercial pilot and DC-4 captain was

  born in 1928 and even after his 80th birthday he was

  still performing great aerobatics with TF

  -

  ABC inclu-

  ding the famous “Lomcovac” on various occasions.

  The aircraft got an unusual livery in Iceland. The pain-

  ting overlays all the stencilling; it was not restored.

  The number 168 on the vertical fin does not correspond

  to the serial number, as usual with other Treners.

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard

  51

  October 2022

• Page 52

  Z-326, No. 933, Burdigala Flying Group, Bordeaux-Léognan-Saucats Aérodrome, France, 2016

  Z-326, No. 876, private owner, Germany, 2018

  Z-326MF, No. 861, Fundació Parc Aeronàutic de Catalunya, Barcelona-Sabadell, Spain, 2005

  A very unusually colored Z-326 flies from Bordeaux-

  -Léognan-Saucats airport today. The owner is obvi-

  ously a fan of Navy aircraft and so he painted and

  decorated his Trener in this spirit. The aircraft was

  handed over to the CNVM (Centro Nacional de Veri

  -

  ficación de Maquinaria) in Spain in 1968. From there

  it was later sold to the French owner. It was flown

  by the Picardie-Amiens Aero Club and is operated by

  the Burdigala Flying Group today. In addition to seve

  -

  ral unidentified air unit markings, the aircraft also

  sports various non-standard symbols.

  The aircraft was produced in 1963 and sold to Germa

  -

  ny on January 5, 1965. It received the D

  -

  EFAI matricu-

  lation, after some time it was sold to Sweden (where

  it flew as SE

  -

  CWK), but later returned to Germany.

  Subsequent changes of owners took the aircraft

  first to France and then back to Germany again…

  In Germany the aircraft continued to operate with the

  original German matriculation. From 1984 to 1993 it

  was owned by Dietmar Metz, now a member of the

  Dragon Trener Team. Dietmar started his aerobatic

  career flying the D

  -

  EFAI. Today, this Trener Master

  has a new owner and a new livery, which includes

  also a small Czech cockade.

  The first Trener Master exported to Spain was the one

  with the serial number 861. Manufactured in 1962, it

  was sold to Spain on April 29, 1964, and obtained the

  EC

  -

  WXA matriculation. The aircraft served with the

  Spanish National Aerobatic Team as the first Z-326.

  The team won the 1964 World Championships in Bil

  -

  bao. Subsequently, the aircraft was grounded for se-

  veral years. In the 1990s, members of the Foundation

  at Barcelona-Sabadell Airport attempted to repair it

  to airworthy condition, but eventually it was trans

  -

  ported to Zlin-Avion Service in 2002 for complete

  overhaul and conversion to the Z-326MF standard.

  It was all completed in 2003. Since then, it has been

  operated by the Sabadell Airport Foundation, now

  with the EC

  -

  AXA matriculation.

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard52

  October 2022

• Page 53

  Z-326, No. 915, private owner, Chichester airfield, Great Britain, 2021

  Z-326M, No. 604, Aeroklub Josefa Františka Prostějov, Prostějov airfield, Czech Republic, 2010

  C-306, No. 572, Czechoslovak People's Army, Czechoslovakia, 1970

  This Trener Master was originally exported to Por-

  tugal, where it flew with CS

  -

  ALU matriculation and

  was reportedly tested by the Air Force for possible

  pilot training usage. It was later grounded and stored

  for several years before being purchased by Henry

  Labouchere. The aircraft was said to have flown only

  eight hours at that time! On the flight to the UK, the

  new owner was arrested in Spain and spent the ni

  -

  ght in prison in Breganza. This reportedly happened

  due to the fact that all the A/C documents, including

  insurance ones, expired. In 1982 the aircraft was

  bought by Roger Charles Poolman, and from 1988

  until 2000 it was in possession of the Nimrod Group

  of Cheltenham. The next owner was Peter Colman,

  who undertook an extensive refurbishment of the

  aircraft. Since 2017 the owner has been Tim Cooper,

  who keeps flying it from Chichester airfield in the

  southern England region.

  This aircraft is serving with the Prostějov Aero Club,

  which is proudly bearing the name of the most fa

  -

  mous Czechoslovak WWII fighter pilot Josef Fran-

  tišek, a native of nearby Otaslavice. The aircraft

  itself bears a proud name as well, as the aeroclub

  members named it after its predominantly red colo

  -

  ring “the Red Baron”. The aircraft is mainly used for

  sailplane towing, which is the task in which it repla

  -

  ced its predecessors Z-226 OK

  -

  MQB and OK

  -

  KMS.

  However, it began its career much earlier as a mili-

  tary C-305 with fuselage code 0604. It was entered

  to the civil register on May 8, 1968, and was assigned

  first to Prague, then to Vrchlabí Aero Club. Later it

  was moved to the regional Aero Club Olomouc and

  consequently to Prostějov.

  This is the first ever C-305 produced. It was handed

  over to the Czechoslovak Air Force on July 20, 1960

  and differed from the other aircraft of this type by

  the installation of a towing device, which was later

  removed. Unlike the other C-305s, handed over to

  Svazarm organization after the end of their service

  in the army, this aircraft was transferred to the Mili

  -

  tary Historical Institute in Prague-Kbely to be subse-

  quently exchanged for an airworthy example of ano-

  ther Czechoslovak aircraft, Z-22 Junák from Belgium

  as none of these aircraft survived in Czechoslovakia.

  In Belgium this Trener Master received the OO

  -

  CSA

  matriculation but did not fly for long. On March 20,

  1971, it was destroyed in a crash in Schaffen. Both

  crew members perished.

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard

  53

  October 2022

• Page 54

  648729 Z-326/526 wheels 1/48 (Brassin)

  D48097 Z-126/226/326/526 cockpit placards (Decal Set)

  Z-326MF, No. 931, private owner, Slaný airfield, Czech Republic, 2022

  This aircraft was manufactured in 1967 and at the

  end of October of the same year it was flown to the

  factory warehouse in Vyškov, where it remained until

  April 1968. It was then sold to France and flown there

  on July 11, 1968. In France, it received the F

  -

  BPNP ma

  -

  triculation and flew as a trainer and towing aircraft

  for ten years at Carcassonne airfield in southern

  France region. From 1979 this A/C served to flight

  school at Nimes airport but was moved by ship to the

  Caribbean in November 1983. There its new owner

  flew it from Pointe-a-Pitre airport in Guadeloupe.

  From September 1985 to August 1988 the F

  -

  BPNP

  was stored and did not fly, the exception were last

  few flights at the turn of 1988/89. It changed hands

  several times over the next twenty years but did

  not fly at all. In 2008 it returned to the Otrokovice

  in Czech Republic and underwent an overhaul by

  Zlin-Avion Service as well as conversion to the

  Z-326MF standard. The FTO Aviatický klub (Aviatic

  Club) from Roudnice n/L became the operator of the

  aircraft, but it is also employed by Vintage Aviation

  for pilot training. The aircraft’s livery has a histo

  -

  rical context. In the 1960s and 1970s, the aerobatic

  team of Great Britain led by Neil Williams flew Z-226s

  and Z-526s in the same colors.

  OVERTREES

  OVERLEPT

  #82183X

  Z-326/526 Trenér Master

  1/48

  #11167-LEPT

  Z-326/526

  Trenér Master

  1/48

  stránka produktu

  stránka produktu

  Recommended:

  for Z-326/526 Trenér Master 1/48

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard54

  October 2022

• Page 55

  Fw 190A-8 1/48

  Weekend edition kit of German WWII fighter aircraft

  Fw 190A-8 in 1/48 scale.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  marking options: 4

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: no

  painting mask: no

  resin parts: no

  #84116

  Product page

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard

  55

  October 2022

• Page 56

  WNr. 170050, Lt. Heinz-Günther Lück, 1./JG 1, Bad Lippspringe, Germany, April 1944

  WNr. 733700, Uffz. Günther Pape, 3./JGr. 10, Jüterbog, Germany, November 1944

  WNr. 732217, Uffz. Heinz Birk, 12./JG 5, Herdla, Norway, February 1945

  Lt. Heinz-Günther Lück flew with JG 1 during his who-

  le combat career. He was credited with five kills in

  total, all of them four-engined B-17s. On April 9, 1944

  his Fw 190A-8 „white 14“ was hit in the engine by the

  defense fire while he was attacking the formation of

  the American bombers and Lt. Heinz-Günther Lück

  was forced to perform an emergency landing on the

  island of Ørø near Stokkeby. His wingman in „white 3“

  landed alongside. Lück was wounded when his head

  hit the instrument panel and was treated for the

  resulting concussion at the hospital in Erøskøbing.

  In the following days the aircraft was dismantled

  and transported away. Lt. Heinz-Günther Lück was

  re-patriated back to Germany and to his unit

  JG 1 where he fought until the end of hostilities.

  The aircraft flying with 3./JGr 10 were equipped with

  the 210 mm diameter rocket launchers installed on

  the bottom of the fuselage. This rear-firing device

  was used for attacking the formations of the Ame

  -

  rican bombers. During September and October 3./JGr

  10 suffered heavy losses inflicted by the American

  escort fighters and the unit had to withdraw for the

  scheduled rest and replenishment. „Black 6“ does not

  feature the rocket launcher which could be removed

  at any time. „Black 6“ was decorated by the yellow

  snake with red head and red outlined back painted

  on both sides of the fuselage. On April 5, 1945 Uffz.

  Günther Pape was shot down and killed over Thürin

  -

  gen in the duel with P-47 piloted by Lt. L. Dean from

  393rd FS/367th FG. On November 8, 1997 his remains

  were found and Günther Pape was burried in Hotzel

  -

  rod at Eisenach.

  Since summer 1944 Uffz. Heinz Birk flew with 7./JG 5

  and 10./JG 5. In the fall of 1944 he was transferred

  to 12./JG 5 where he flew Fw 190A-8 „blue 5“ WNr.

  732217. Operating out of Herdla airport in Norway JG 5

  fought against Soviet VVS and RAF. The photographs

  dated from February 1945 capture the „blue 5“ with

  twelve kill markings on the rudder. Eleven of them

  are painted with red stars and one with English co

  -

  cade. Uffz. Heinz Birk survived the war.

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard56

  October 2022

• Page 57

  WNr. 171189, Maj. Karl Kennel, CO of II./SG 2, Kitzingen, Germany, May 1945

  In the beginning of April 1945 the II./SG 2 comman-

  ded by Gruppenkommandeur Major Karl Kennel was

  located, together with Ju 87G from 10.(Pz)/SG 2 and

  10.(Pz)/SG 77 at Mimoň-Kummer airport. Until the end

  of war the airport was constantly raided by Ameri

  -

  cans and Soviets. On April 21, 1945 the SG 2 command

  was assumed by Geschwaderkommodore Oberst

  Hans-Ulrich Rudel, who sortied with the whole SG

  2 for missions against the Red Army and 2nd Polish

  Army tanks and vehicles in the vicinity of Lobenda

  -

  va and Bautzen. On May 8, 1945 the Soviet Pe-2s and

  P-39s attacked the retreating German columns fle

  -

  eing Mimoň to reach the Americans. The raid was un-

  successfull and the Mimoň center suffered damages

  from it. Major Karl Kennel escaped to Kitzingen in his

  Fw 190A-8 WNr. 171189. The aircraft was damaged

  upon landing. It carried the standard camouflage in

  RLM 74/75/76 with additional mottling in RLM 81/82.

  Recommended:

  for Fw 190A-8 1/48

  48992 Fw 190A-8 (PE

  -

  Set)

  48993 Fw 190A-8 landing flaps (PE

  -

  Set)

  FE863 Fw 190A seatbelts STEEL (PE

  -

  Set)

  FE1059 Fw 190A-8 Weekend (PE

  -

  Set)

  644015 Fw 190A-8 LööK (Brassin)

  648356 Fw 190A wingroot gun bays (Brassin)

  648366 Fw 190A propeller (Brassin)

  648371 Fw 190A control surfaces early (Brassin)

  648381 Fw 190A exhaust stacks (Brassin)

  648461 Fw 190A-8 engine (Brassin)

  648462 Fw 190A-8 fuselage guns (Brassin)

  648463 Fw 190A-8 cockpit (Brassin)

  648464 Fw 190A-8 engine & fuselage guns (Brassin)

  648476 Fw 190A-8 undercarriage legs BRONZE (Brassin)

  SIN64861 Fw 190A-8 ESSENTIAL (Brassin)

  3DL48079 Fw 190A-8 SPACE (3D Decal Set)

  D48037 Fw 190A-8 national insignia (Decal Set)

  EX587 Fw 190A TFace (Mask)

  EX677 Fw 190A-8 Weekend (Mask)

  Cat. No. 648464

  Cat. No. 648476

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard

  57

  October 2022

• Page 58

  #70144

  MiG-21PFM

  1/72

  ProfiPACK edition kit of Soviet Cold War aircraft

  MiG-21PFM in 1/72 scale.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  marking options: 5

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: yes, pre-painted

  painting mask: yes

  resin parts: no

  Product page

  Re-release

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard58

  October 2022

• Page 59

  Jagdfliegergeschwader 1, Holzdorf/Drewitz Air Base, Germany, 1990–1991

  No. 7909, 11 Fighter Air Regiment, Czechoslovak Air Force, Žatec airfield,

  Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, March 1991

  921 Fighter Regiment, Vietnamese People’s Army Air Force, Noi Bai airfield,

  Democratic Republic of Vietnam, 1968

  This aircraft was delivered to East German Air For-

  ce (Luftstreitkräfte und Luftverteidigung der Deut-

  schen Demokratischen Republik) in January 1968. It

  was given tactical number 441 and was assigned to

  JG 8 (Fighter Squadron No. 8). During its service it

  was also serving with JG 3 and JG 1. In 1990, after

  the reunification of Germany, with the new designa

  -

  tion 22+02 and repainted in the anniversary colors,

  it was flown together with other JG 1 aircraft to Dre-

  witz base, where it awaited its end. It was scrapped

  in November 1992. The upper and side surfaces were

  painted white, while the lower surfaces remained in

  light grey-blue. The white paint was complemen

  -

  ted by distinctive elements of yellow and red, and

  a shark's mouth was added to the nose. The aircraft

  was called Der weiße Hai (the White Shark) after

  it received this colorful marking.

  The No. 7909 MiG-21PFM was delivered to Czechoslo

  -

  vakia on January 29, 1969. At the beginning it was

  assigned to 9 slp (9th Fighter Air Regiment); from

  April 1973 served with 1 slp. From December 1982 on

  -

  wards this aircraft was flown by 11 slp. It was put out

  of operation in March 1991 and consequently flown to

  the disposal site at the Vodochody airfield on March

  20, 1991. The coat of arms of Žatec town was painted

  on the nose, the yellow band on the tail identified the

  aircraft which was to be put out of operation. The

  rest of the aircraft remained in natural metal finish,

  which was a common practice regarding this type.

  This aircraft was flown by 921 Fighter Regiment

  “Sao Do” (Red Star) in 1968. The first examples of

  MiG-21PFM were delivered to this unit during that

  year. Some sources say that this particular aircraft

  was flown by Nguyen Van Coc, a fighter ace credited

  with nine kills. The B&W photos of this aircraft can

  be interpreted in several ways. One of the theories

  says that green splotches were sprayed on the upper

  sides. The splotches were not sharp-edged, and the

  surrounding area was also covered by the thin layer

  of the green color. This gave this area light-green

  appearance. The canopy frame and the antenna were

  left in natural metal finish.

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard

  59

  October 2022

• Page 60

  Egyptian Air Force, Inshas air base, Arab Republic of Egypt, early 80´s

  No. 4410, 11 Fighter Air Regiment, Czechoslovak Air Force, Žatec airfield,

  Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, spring 1990

  This aircraft is one of the few MiG-21PFMs flown by

  Egyptian Air Force following the Six-Day War. Prior

  to this Arab–Israeli conflict, total of 235 various

  MiG-21s were delivered to Egypt but only about ten

  of them survived the war. The first and surprising

  Israeli aerial attack on Egyptian airbases on June 5,

  1967, known as the Operation Moked, cost Egyptians

  about 90 of their MiG-21s itself. This aircraft was

  delivered to Egypt around 1970 and took part in the

  US

  –

  Egyptian military exercise Bright Star in 1982.

  The MiG-21PFM No. 4410 can be rightfully considered

  the most colorful aircraft of this type serving with

  the Czechoslovak Air Force. The aircraft was delive

  -

  red to Czechoslovakia in November 1966 and served

  first with 9 slp (9th Fighter Air Regiment), later with

  8 slp and, finally, with 11 slp. There the 4410 received

  the painting on the ridge and vertical tail surfaces

  made in blue, white and red, i.e., in the national colors

  on the occasion of the honorary title “Invasion” bes

  -

  towed on the unit on May 5, 1991. Later, the diagonal

  stripes behind the cockpit received white, five-poin

  -

  ted stars. The yellow band around the fuselage was

  an indication that this aircraft was to be scrapped

  and the only flight to be done in this form occurred

  on March 19, 1993. That was the day the aircraft was

  flown to Vodochody airfield to the storage place.

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard60

  October 2022

• Page 61

  OVERTREES

  OVERLEPT

  #70144X

  MiG-21PFM

  1/72

  #70144-LEPT

  MiG-21PFM

  1/72

  Product page

  Product page

  Recommended:

  for MiG-21PFM 1/72

  72695 MiG-21PFM (PE

  -

  Set)

  672185 R-3S missiles for MiG-21 (Brassin)

  672186 R-3S missiles w/ pylons for MiG-21 (Brassin)

  672191 RS-2US missiles for MiG-21 (Brassin)

  672192 RS-2US missiles w/ pylons for MiG-21 (Brassin)

  672189 UB-16 rocket launchers for MiG-21 (Brassin)

  672190 UB-16 rocket launchers w/ pylons for MiG-21 (Brassin)

  672231 MiG-21PFM wheels (Brassin)

  672232 MiG-21PF/PFM exhaust nozzle (Brassin)

  672233 MiG-21PFM ejection seat (Brassin)

  672234 MiG-21PFM cockpit (Brassin)

  3DL72004 MiG-21PFM SPACE (3D Decal Set)

  Cat. No. 672232

  Cat. No. 672234

  Cat. No. 672190

  KITS 10/2022

  INFO Eduard

  61

  October 2022

• Page 62

  BRASSIN

  LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard and STEEL

  seatbelts for F4F-4 in 1/48 scale. Easy to assemble,

  replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - resin: 1 part

  - 3D print: 1 part

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard

  and STEEL seatbelts for F/A-18F in 1/48 scale.

  Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Meng

  Set contains:

  - resin: 3 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  644164

  F4F-4 LööK

  1/48 Eduard

  644174

  F/A-18F LööK

  1/48 Meng

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard62

  October 2022

• Page 63

  LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard and STEEL

  seatbelts for P-38J in 1/48 scale. Easy to assemble,

  replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: Tamiya

  Set contains:

  - resin: 1 part

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details:

  yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  Collection of 4 sets for EA-18G in 1/48 scale.

  Recommended kit: Meng

  - LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboards & Steelbelts)

  - TFace painting mask

  - ejection seats

  - undercarriage wheels

  644178

  P-38J LööK

  1/48 Tamiya

  644179

  EA-18G LööKplus

  1/48 Meng

  Product page

  Product page

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  INFO Eduard

  63

  October 2022

• Page 64

  BRASSIN

  Collection of 4 sets for F4F-3 in 1/48 scale.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  - LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboards & Steelbelts)

  - TFace painting mask

  - exhausts

  - undercarriage wheels

  Brassin set - the exhaust stacks for Yak-9T in 1/32 scale.

  Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replaces

  plastic parts. Recommended kit: ICM

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 2 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  644180

  F4F-3 late LööKplus

  1/48 Eduard

  632182

  Yak-9T exhaust stacks PRINT

  1/32 ICM

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard64

  October 2022

• Page 65

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - 42gal ventral drop tank for F4F in 1/48 scale.

  Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replaces

  plastic parts. Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 2 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  648756

  F4F 42gal ventral drop tank PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  Brassin set - the seat for A6M3 in 1/48 scale.

  Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replaces

  plastic parts. Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 1 part

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  648786

  A6M3 seat PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  65

  October 2022

• Page 66

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - the tailwheel for A6M3 in 1/48 scale.

  The set consists of the tailwheel and separate tailcone.

  Made by direct 3D printing. Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - 3D parts: 4 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: yes

  648787

  A6M3 tailwheel PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  648788

  A6M3 cannon barrels & cockpit guns PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  Product page

  Brassin set - the cokpit machine guns and wings gun

  barrels for A6M3 in 1/48 scale. Suitable for A6M3 Type 32,

  22 and 22a. Made by direct 3D printing.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - 3D parts: 6 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes

  - painting mask: no

  INFO Eduard66

  October 2022

• Page 67

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - the gun barrels for P-38J in 1/48 scale.

  Three variants of the barrel of the far left machine

  gun are included. Made by direct 3D printing.

  Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Tamiya

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 5 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - the superchargers for P-38J in 1/48 scale.

  Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble,

  replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: Tamiya

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 2 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  648789

  P-38J gun barrels PRINT

  1/48 Tamiya

  648791

  P-38J superchargers PRINT

  1/48 Tamiya

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  67

  October 2022

• Page 68

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - the nose gun bay for P-38J in 1/48 scale.

  The cowlings are included. Made by direct 3D printing.

  Recommended kit: Tamiya

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 30 parts

  - decals: yes

  - photo-etched details: yes

  - painting mask: no

  648790

  P-38J nose gun bay PRINT

  1/48 Tamiya

  Product page

  INFO Eduard68

  October 2022

• Page 69

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - the wheel bay for F4F-3 in 1/48 scale.

  Made by direct 3D printing.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 13 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  648795

  F4F-3 wheel bay PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  69

  October 2022

• Page 70

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - exhaust nozzles for F/A-18E or F

  in 1/48 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.

  Recommended kit: Meng

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 6 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - OS2U-3 Kingfisher a/c for USN

  vessels in 1/350 scale. The set consists of 2 a/c.

  Made by direct 3D printing.

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 2 parts

  - decals: yes

  - photo-etched details: yes

  - painting mask: no

  648797

  F/A-18E,F exhaust nozzles PRINT

  1/48 Meng

  653009

  OS2U-3 Kingfisher PRINT

  1/350

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard70

  October 2022

• Page 71

  Brassin set - the undercarriage wheels for F4F

  in 1/72 scale. The set consists of the main wheels.

  Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replaces

  plastic parts. Recommended kit: Arma Hobby

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 2 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: yes

  672299

  F4F wheels late PRINT

  1/72 Arma Hobby

  Product page

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - the exhausts for FM-2 in 1/72 scale.

  Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble, replaces

  plastic parts. Recommended kit: Arma Hobby

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 1 part

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  672298

  FM-2 exhaust PRINT

  1/72 Arma Hobby

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  71

  October 2022

• Page 72

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - the undercarriage wheels for F4F in 1/72

  scale. The set consists of the main wheels. Made by direct

  3D printing. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Arma Hobby

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 2 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: yes

  Brassin set - the exhausts for Hurricane Mk.I

  in 1/72 scale. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Arma Hobby

  Set contains:

  - resin: 2 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  672300

  F4F wheels late w/rims PRINT

  1/72 Arma Hobby

  672301

  Hurricane Mk.I exhaust stacks

  1/72 Arma Hobby

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard72

  October 2022

• Page 73

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  Brassin set - the undercarriage wheels for Hurricane

  Mk.I in 1/72 scale. The set consists of the main wheels

  and a tailwheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Arma Hobby

  Set contains:

  - resin: 3 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: yes

  672302

  Hurricane Mk.I wheels

  1/72 Arma Hobby

  Product page

  E

  -

  BUNNY SQUAT

• Page 74

  BRASSIN

  SIN64891

  Sopwith Camel Le Rhone engine

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  Collection of 6 sets for Sopwith Camel in 1/48 scale.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  - Le Rhone engine PRINT

  - wheels

  - seat PRINT

  - Vickers Mk.I gun

  - Rotherham air pumps PRINT

  - 20lb bomb carrier PRINT

  All sets included in this BIG SIN are available separately,

  but with every BIG SIN set you save up to 30 %.

  Vickers Mk.I gun

  wheels

  20lb bomb carrier PRINT

  seat PRINT

  Rotherham air

  pumps PRINT

  Le Rhone engine PRINT

  INFO Eduard74

  October 2022

• Page 75

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  Collection of 6 sets for F/A-18E/F in 1/48 scale.

  - AIM-9M/L

  - AIM-120C AMRAAM

  - GBU-24

  - AGM-65

  - GBU-16

  - AIM-9X

  All sets included in this BIG SIN are available separately,

  but with every BIG SIN set you save up to 30 %.

  SIN64892

  F/A-18E/F armament

  1/48

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  75

  October 2022

• Page 76

  3DL48084 Yak-9D SPACE 1/48 Zvezda

  3DL48085

  Me 262A SPACE 1/48 Tamiya

  Product page

  Product page

  snadná

  aplikace

  INFO Eduard76

  October 2022

• Page 77

  SPACE

  3DL48086 Spitfire Mk.XII SPACE 1/48 Airfix

  3DL48087

  P-47N SPACE 1/48 Academy

  3DL48088

  A6M3 SPACE 1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  77

  October 2022

• Page 78

  BT-2

  1/35 Hobby Boss

  36490

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED

  OCTOBER 2022

  INFO Eduard78

  October 2022

• Page 79

  Ju 87G-1/2

  1/35 Border Model

  321000

  33333

  33334

  Ju 87G-1/2 (interior)

  Ju 87G-1/2 seatbelts STEEL

  BRASSIN 02/2022BRASSIN 02/2022

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED

  INFO Eduard

  79

  October 2022

• Page 80

  FE1310

  FE1311

  Su-30SM (interior)

  Su-30SM seatbelts STEEL

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED

  Su-30SM

  1/48 Great Wall Hobby

  491310

  INFO Eduard80

  October 2022

• Page 81

  53286

  Schnellboot S-38

  1/72 Fore Hobby

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED

  DECAL SET

  D48106

  Ju 87 stencils

  1/48 Hasegawa/Airfix/Italeri

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  81

  October 2022

• Page 82

  DECAL SET

  D48103

  P-38J Pacific Lightning

  1/48 Tamiya

  Product page

  P-38J-15-LO, s/n 42-103484, Lt. Charles B. Ray,

  80th FS, 8th FG, 5th AF Nadzab, New Guinea,

  autumn 1944

  P-38J-15-LO, s/n 42-104032, Lt. Frank Lent,

  431st FS,475th FG, 5th AF, Nadzab,

  New Guinea, March 1944

  P-38J-10-LO, s/n 42-67604, Lt. Glen C. Holder,

  35th FS, 8th FG,5th AF, New Guinea,

  spring 1944

  P-38J-15-LO, s/n 42-67147,

  Lt. William Gresham,432nd FS, 475th FG,

  5th AF, New Guinea, 1944

  P-38J-10-LO, s/n 42-67898, Lt. Allen Hill,

  80th FS, 8th FG,5th AF, Finschhafen, New Guinea, January 1944

  INFO Eduard82

  October 2022

• Page 83

  P-38J-15-LO, s/n 42-103484, Lt. Charles B. Ray,

  80th FS, 8th FG, 5th AF Nadzab, New Guinea,

  autumn 1944

  P-38J-15-LO, s/n 42-104032, Lt. Frank Lent,

  431st FS,475th FG, 5th AF, Nadzab,

  New Guinea, March 1944

  P-38J-10-LO, s/n 42-67604, Lt. Glen C. Holder,

  35th FS, 8th FG,5th AF, New Guinea,

  spring 1944

  P-38J-15-LO, s/n 42-67147,

  Lt. William Gresham,432nd FS, 475th FG,

  5th AF, New Guinea, 1944

  P-38J-10-LO, s/n 42-67898, Lt. Allen Hill,

  80th FS, 8th FG,5th AF, Finschhafen, New Guinea, January 1944

  EDDIE THE RIVETER

  ER48003

  P-38J raised rivets and surface details

  1/48 Tamiya

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  83

  October 2022

• Page 84

  BIG ED

  All sets included in this BIG ED are available separately,

  but with every BIG ED set you save up to 30%.

  BIG5366 USS Constellation CV-64 PART I 1/350 Trumpeter

  BIG49344

  A-1H 1/48 Tamiya

  53281 USS Constellation CV-64 part 1 - lifeboats 1/350

  53282 USS Constellation CV-64 part 2 - aircraft 1/350

  53283 USS Constellation CV-64 part 3 - railings & safety nets 1/350

  491283 A-1H 1/48

  FE1284 A-1H seatbelts STEEL 1/48

  EX131 A-1H 1/48

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard84

  October 2022

• Page 85

  BIG49346 Go 242B 1/48 ICM

  491287 Go 242B 1/48

  FE1287 Go 242B seatbelts STEEL 1/48

  EX868 Go 242B 1/48

  Product page

  All sets included in this BIG ED are available separately,

  but with every BIG ED set you save up to 30%.

  BRASSIN 02/2022BRASSIN 02/2022

  BIG ED

  BIG49345 Su-27K 1/48 Minibase

  491285 Su-27K 1/48

  FE1286 Su-27K seatbelts STEEL 1/48

  EX872 Su-27K 1/48

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  85

  October 2022

• Page 86

  MASKS

  IT FITS!

  JX295 Ju 87G-1/2

  1/35 Border Model

  JX296 Ju 87G-1/2 TFace

  1/35 Border Model

  EX893 P-47N

  1/48 Academy

  EX894 P-47N TFace

  1/48 Academy

  EX895 Mi-35M

  1/48 Zvezda

  EX896 Mi-35M TFace

  1/48 Zvezda

  EX897 Spitfire Mk.XII

  1/48 Airfix

  EX898 Spitfire Mk.XII TFace

  1/48 Airfix

  EX899 A6M3 Zero TFace

  1/48 Eduard

  CX631 I-16 Type 5

  1/72 Clear Prop

  CX632 A-4M

  1/72 Hobby Boss

  JX295 Ju 87G-1/2

  JX295 Ju 87G-1/2

  JX295 Ju 87G-1/2

  EX893 P-47N EX893 P-47N EX893 P-47N

  JX296 Ju 87G-1/2 TFace

  JX296 Ju 87G-1/2 TFace

  JX296 Ju 87G-1/2 TFace

  EX894 P-47N TFace

  EX894 P-47N TFace EX894 P-47N TFace EX894 P-47N TFace

  EX894 P-47N TFace EX894 P-47N TFace

  JX296 Ju 87G-1/2 TFace

  JX296 Ju 87G-1/2 TFace

  JX296 Ju 87G-1/2 TFace

  INFO Eduard86

  October 2022

• Page 87

  MASKS

  EX897 Spitfire Mk.XII

  EX897 Spitfire Mk.XII EX897 Spitfire Mk.XII

  EX895 Mi-35M EX895 Mi-35M

  EX895 Mi-35M

  EX898 Spitfire Mk.XII TFace

  EX898 Spitfire Mk.XII TFace EX898 Spitfire Mk.XII TFace

  EX898 Spitfire Mk.XII TFace

  EX898 Spitfire Mk.XII TFace EX898 Spitfire Mk.XII TFace

  EX896 Mi-35M TFace

  EX896 Mi-35M TFace

  CX631 I-16 Type 5

  CX632 A-4M CX632 A-4M CX632 A-4M

  CX631 I-16 Type 5 CX631 I-16 Type 5

  EX896 Mi-35M TFace

  EX896 Mi-35M TFace EX896 Mi-35M TFace

  EX896 Mi-35M TFace

  INFO Eduard

  87

  October 2022

• Page 88

  RELEASES

  OCTOBER 2022

  KITS

  PE

  -

  SETS

  ZOOMS

  MASKS

  82213 A6M3 Zero Type 32 1/48 ProfiPack

  11166 MIDWAY Dual Combo 1/48 Limited

  11167 Z-326 Trenér Master Dual Combo 1/48 Limited

  84116 Fw 190A-8 1/48 Weekend edition

  70144 MiG-21PFM Re-release 1/72 ProfiPack

  53286 Schnellboot S-38 1/72 Fore Hobby

  321000 Ju 87G-1/2 1/35 Border Model

  36490 BT-2 1/35 Hobby Boss

  481088 Mi-35M exterior 1/48 Zvezda

  481089 Mi-35M cargo interior 1/48 Zvezda

  481090 Spitfire Mk.XII landing flaps 1/48 Airfix

  481091 A6M3 Zero landing flaps 1/48 Eduard

  481092 A6M3 Zero 1/48 Eduard

  491302 Spitfire Mk.XII 1/48 Airfix

  491304 F3F-2 1/48 Academy

  491306 P-47N 1/48 Academy

  491308 Mi-35M interior 1/48 Zvezda

  491310 Su-30SM 1/48 Great Wall Hobby

  73779 A-4M 1/72 Hobby Boss

  33333 Ju 87G-1/2 1/35 Border Model

  33334 Ju 87G-1/2 seatbelts STEEL 1/35 Border Model

  FE1302 Spitfire Mk.XII 1/48 Airfix

  FE1303 Spitfire Mk.XII seatbelts STEEL 1/48 Airfix

  FE1304 F3F-2 1/48 Academy

  FE1305 F3F-2 seatbelts STEEL 1/48 Academy

  FE1306 P-47N 1/48 Academy

  FE1307 P-47N seatbelts STEEL 1/48 Academy

  FE1308 Mi-35M 1/48 Zvezda

  FE1309 Mi-35M seatbelts STEEL 1/48 Zvezda

  FE1310 Su-30SM 1/48 Great Wall Hobby

  FE1311 Su-30SM seatbelts STEEL 1/48 Great Wall Hobby

  SS779 A-4M 1/72 Hobby Boss

  JX295 Ju 87G-1/2 1/35 Border Model

  JX296 Ju 87G-1/2 TFace 1/35 Border Model

  EX893 P-47N 1/48 Academy

  EX894 P-47N TFace 1/48 Academy

  EX895 Mi-35M 1/48 Zvezda

  EX896 Mi-35M TFace 1/48 Zvezda

  EX897 Spitfire Mk.XII 1/48 Airfix

  EX898 Spitfire Mk.XII TFace 1/48 Airfix

  EX899 A6M3 Zero TFace 1/48 Eduard

  CX631 I-16 Type 5 1/72 Clear Prop

  CX632 A-4M 1/72 Hobby Boss

  INFO Eduard88

  October 2022

• Page 89

  NOVINKY

  BIG-EDBIG-ED

  BIG ED

  BRASSIN

  LöökPLUS

  BIG SIN

  SPACE

  DECAL SET

  EDDIE THE RIVETER

  BIG5366 USS Constellation CV-64 PART I 1/350 Trumpeter

  BIG49344 A-1H 1/48 Tamiya

  BIG49345 Su-27K 1/48 Minibase

  BIG49346 Go 242B 1/48 ICM

  632182 Yak-9T exhaust stacks PRINT 1/32 ICM

  644164 F4F-4 LööK 1/48 Eduard

  644174 F/A-18F LööK 1/48 Meng

  644178 P-38J LööK 1/48 Tamiya

  648756 F4F 42gal ventral drop tank PRINT 1/48 Eduard

  648786 A6M3 seat PRINT 1/48 Eduard

  648787 A6M3 tailwheel PRINT 1/48 Eduard

  648788 A6M3

  cannon barrels & cockpit guns PRINT 1/48 Eduard

  648789 P-38J gun barrels PRINT 1/48 Tamiya

  648790 P-38J nose gun bay PRINT 1/48 Tamiya

  648791 P-38J superchargers PRINT 1/48 Tamiya

  648795 F4F-3 wheel bay PRINT 1/48 Eduard

  648797 F/A-18E,F exhaust nozzles PRINT 1/48 Tamiya

  653009 OS2U-3 Kingfisher PRINT 1/350

  672298 FM-2 exhaust PRINT 1/72 Arma Hobby

  672299 F4F wheels late PRINT 1/72 Arma Hobby

  672300 F4F wheels late w/rims PRINT 1/72 Arma Hobby

  672301 Hurricane Mk.I exhaust stacks 1/72 Arma Hobby

  672302 Hurricane Mk.I wheels 1/72 Arma Hobby

  644179 EA-18G LööKplus 1/48 Meng

  644180 F4F-3 late LööKplus 1/48 Eduard

  SIN64891 Sopwith Camel Le Rhone engine 1/48 Eduard

  SIN64892 F/A-18E/F armament 1/48

  3DL48084 Yak-9D SPACE 1/48 Zvezda

  3DL48085 Me 262A SPACE 1/48 Tamiya

  3DL48086 Spitfire Mk.XII SPACE 1/48 Airfix

  3DL48087 P-47N SPACE 1/48 Academy

  3DL48088 A6M3 SPACE 1/48 Eduard

  D48103 P-38J Pacific Lightning 1/48 Tamiya

  D48106 Ju 87 stencils 1/48 Hasegawa/Airfix/Italeri

  ER48003 P-38J raised rivets & surface details 1/48 Tamiya

  OCTOBER 2022

  INFO Eduard

  89

  October 2022

• Page 90

  BUILT

  Cat. No. 82201

  marking E

  built by Paolo Portuesi

  Product page

  1/48

  F4F-3 Wildcat

  INFO Eduard90

  October 2022

• Page 91

  BUILT

  BuNo. 2531, Lt. Elbert S. McCuskey, VF-42, USS Yorktown (CV-5), May 1942

  Elbert Scott McCuskey was born February 8, 1915

  in Little Rock, Arkansas, and after attending uni-

  versities in Alabama and Arkansas, he signed up

  for naval aviation training on May 28, 1938. After

  successfully undergoing pilot training, he was as-

  signed to VS-41 on the USS Ranger as an Ensign

  in October 1939. In July 1941, he was reassigned to

  VF-42 on the USS Yorktown, on which he would

  serve until July 1942. Then, until June 1943, he

  trained young Naval Aviators in the art of flying,

  floowing this up with a return to operational fly-

  ing as a unit commander, first with VF-6, and then,

  from March 1944, with VF-8. Both of these units

  were flying the Hellcat by then. During his com-

  bat career in the Second World War, he gained 13.5

  kills. He remained loyal to the Navy after the war,

  not retiring until July 1965. He died of a heart attack

  on June 15, 1997. With this Wildcat, he shot down

  a Zero in the Battle of the Coral Sea. The aircraft

  was camouflaged in the same way as the Wildcat

  flown by Lt. Edward O’Hare, and even the markings

  were similar, with one difference being the appli-

  cation of large American markings on the fuselage

  and wings. An interesting facet to this aircraft was

  the original markings on the wings being visible

  under the new ones.

  648766 F4F-3 exhausts PRINT (Brassin)

  648767 F4F-3 wheels early (Brassin)

  648769 F4F gun barrels PRINT (Brassin)

  648777 F4F-3 cockpit w/ reflector gun sight PRINT (Brassin)

  EX878 F4-3 TFace (Mask)

  ACCESSORIES USED:

  INFO Eduard

  91

  October 2022

• Page 92

  1/48 Eduard

  BUILT

  P-51D cockpit

  Cat. No. 648522

  built by JAN BARANEC

  Product page

  INFO Eduard92

  October 2022

• Page 93

  BUILT

  F-4B

  1/48

  Tamiya

  built by Jan Novotný

  # 3DL48040

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  93

  October 2022

• Page 94

  ON APPROACH

  NOVEMBER 2022

  644181

  Yak-9D LööK

  1/48 Zvezda

  644184

  Tornado IDS LööK

  1/48 Revell/Eduard

  644185

  A6M3 LööK

  1/48 Eduard

  648799

  A6M3 wheels

  1/48 Eduard

  BIG5367 USS Constellation CV-64 PART II 1/350 Trumpeter

  BIG49347 EA-18G 1/48 Meng

  BIG72171 Stirling Mk.III ESSENTIAL 1/72 Italeri

  BIG72172 Stirling Mk.III ADVANCED 1/72 Italeri

  644181 Yak-9D LööK 1/48 Zvezda

  644184 Tornado IDS LööK 1/48 Revell/Eduard

  644185 A6M3 LööK 1/48 Eduard

  648793 F4F-3 gun bays PRINT 1/48 Eduard

  648794 F4F-3 landing flaps PRINT 1/48 Eduard

  648799 A6M3 wheels 1/48 Eduard

  648800 A6M3 cockpit PRINT 1/48 Eduard

  648801 A6M3 exhausts PRINT 1/48 Eduard

  648803 F4F-4 cockpit PRINT 1/48 Eduard

  648804 EA-18G exhaust nozzles PRINT 1/48 Meng

  648805 Yak-9D exhaust stacks PRINT 1/48 Zvezda

  653011 Carley float for 25 people – Type 1 PRINT 1/350

  653012 Carley float for 25 people – Type 2 PRINT 1/350

  644182 P-38J LööKplus 1/48 Tamiya

  644183 F/A-18F LööKplus 1/48 Meng

  SIN64893 Sopwith Camel Gnome engine 1/48 Eduard

  SIN64894 F4F-3 w/ reflector gunsight ESSENTIAL 1/48 Eduard

  BIG ED (November)

  BRASSIN (November)

  LöökPlus (November)

  BIGSIN (November)

  LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard

  and STEEL seatbelts for Yak-9D in 1/48 scale.

  Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Zvezda

  Set contains:

  - resin: 1 part

  - 3D print: 2 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details:

  yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard

  and STEEL seatbelts for Tornado IDS in 1/48 scale.

  Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Revell / Eduard

  Set contains:

  - resin: 5 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details:

  yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard

  and STEEL seatbelts for A6M3 in 1/48 scale.

  Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - resin: 4 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details:

  yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - the undercarriage wheels for A6M3

  in 1/48 scale. The set consists of the main wheels and

  a tailwheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - resin: 3 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: yes

  INFO Eduard94

  October 2022

• Page 95

  648793

  F4F-3 gun bays PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  ON APPROACH

  Brassin set - the wing gun bays for F4F-3 in 1/48 scale.

  The set consists of the bays for both wings. Made by direct 3D printing.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - 3D parts: 18 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes

  - painting mask: no

  648794

  F4F-3 landing flaps PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  648800

  A6M3 cockpit PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  Brassin set - landing flaps for F4F-3 in 1/48 scale.

  The set consists of the deployed flaps for both wings.

  Made by direct 3D printing. Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 6 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - the cockpit for A6M3 in 1/48 scale.

  Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble,

  replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 31 parts

  - decals: yes

  - photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  INFO Eduard

  95

  October 2022

• Page 96

  ON APPROACH

  NOVEMBER 2022

  648801

  A6M3 exhausts PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  648803

  F4F-4 cockpit PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  648804

  EA-18G exhaust nozzles PRINT

  1/48 Meng

  Brassin set - the exhausts for A6M3 in 1/48 scale.

  Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble,

  replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 2 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - the cockpit for F4F-4 in 1/48 scale.

  Made by direct 3D printing. Easy to assemble,

  replaces plastic parts. Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 12 parts

  - decals: yes

  - photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - exhaust nozzles for EA-18G

  in 1/48 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.

  Recommended kit: Meng

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 6 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  INFO Eduard96

  October 2022

• Page 97

  ON APPROACHNOVEMBER 2022

  648805

  Yak-9D exhaust stacks PRINT

  1/48 Zvezda

  653011

  Carley float for 25 people – Type 1 PRINT

  1/350

  653012

  Carley float for 25 people – Type 2 PRINT

  1/350

  Brassin set - the exhaust stacks for Yak-9D

  in 1/48 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.

  Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Zvezda

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 8 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - Carley type lifeboats for 25 people

  in 1/350 scale. The set consists of 10 floats.

  Made by direct 3D printing.

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 10 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - Carley type lifeboats for 25 people

  in 1/350 scale. The set consists of 10 floats.

  Made by direct 3D printing.

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 10 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes

  - painting mask: no

  INFO Eduard

  97

  October 2022

• Page 98

  ON APPROACH

  644182

  P-38J LööKplus

  1/48 Tamiya

  Collection of 4 sets for P-38J in 1/48 scale.

  Recommended kit: Tamiya

  - LööK set (pre-painted Brassin dashboards & Steelbelts)

  - TFace painting mask

  - superchargers

  - undercarriage wheels

  NOVEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard98

  October 2022