11/2022

• Page 1

  INFO Eduard

  # 153

  e-magazine FREE Vol 21 November 2022

• Page 2

  INFO Eduard

  # 153

  e-magazine FREE Vol 21 November 2022

  © Eduard - Model Accessories, 2022

  FREE FOR DOWNLOAD, FREE FOR DISTRIBUTION!

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

  or graphic presentations can be used in another publication in any other media

  form or otherwise distributed without the prior written

  permission of Eduard - Model Accessories and authors involved.

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

• Page 3

  eduardeduard

  NOVEMBER 2022

  CONTENTS

  EDITORIAL

  KITS

  EVENT

  BRASSIN

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED SETS

  BIG ED

  BUILT

  ON APROACH

  –

  December 2022

  TAIL END CHARLIE

  HISTORY

  BOXART STORY

  F4F-4 Wildcat early ProfiPACK 1/48

  Bf 109G-14/AS ProfiPACK 1/48

  TORNADO IDS Limited 1/48

  Bf 110G-4 Weekend edition 1/72

  SE.5a Hispano Suiza ProfiPACK 1/48

  MiG-21PFM ProfiPACK 1/72

  Absolute Winner of the 2022 Czech (IPMS) Championship

  Red Tails and Co. 1/48

  TORA TORA TORA! 1/48

  Spitfire Story: Per Aspera ad Astra 1/48

  Me 163B 1/48

  Bf 109G-10 Erla 1/48

  F4F-3 wheel bay PRINT 1/48

  Sopwith Camel SPACE 1/48

  USS Lexington

  Pappy of the “Strafers” II

  White codes, black codes…

  Air war over Ukraine: Ukrainian blitzkrieg

  Swede at Santa Cruz

  Surprise over Heesch

  Night over Würzburg

  The Prey

  From dusk to dawn

  4

  6

  26

  34

  32

  58

  70

  80

  86

  96

  114

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

  Mírová 170, Obrnice 435 21

  support@eduard.com www.eduard.com

• Page 4

  EDITORIAL

  Good day, Dear Friends

  One more time I would like to extend my

  thanks to all of you that made your way

  out to Molivice. You overcame your doubts

  and fears of the unknown brought about

  by a new venue out in the middle of almost

  nowhere and by the predicted inclement

  weather. We were all armed with the be-

  lief that after two years of forced inactivity,

  joy could once again be found in the parti-

  cipation of a favorite activity and the mee-

  ting up with old friends in an environment

  surrounded by old armor pieces and new

  models. Those of us involved in putting

  the show together are very pleased that

  we have not disappointed. On behalf of all

  that attended, I would particularly like to

  thank Charles Chad Richmond, a man who,

  at 77 years of age, made his way from Ala-

  bama to Prague, to make his way Saturday

  morning by train to Lyse nad Labem and

  then by bus to Milovice. It was his sixth

  trip to E-day and he attended ModelBrno

  once. Chad is a Vietnam War vet, a combat

  pilot who flew, among others, the AH-1G

  Cobra and the UH-1 Iroquois. He is a holder of

  a slew of decorations, a member of Vete-

  ran’s groups and organizations, as well as

  a modeler and a friend of our nation. We

  look forward to seeing him, and all of you,

  again next year at E-day 2023! Those that

  were not able to attend the show, or did

  attend but for some reason missed the

  E-day Special report, can get a glimpse into

  the goings-on in Milovice here.

  NEW RELEASES FOR NOVEMBER

  KITS

  In the Limited Edition line, we have our

  fifth kit of the Tornado, this time a German

  Tornado IDS in 1:48th scale. As before, this

  kit is based on Revell plastic and contains

  the classic assortment of Eduard acces-

  sories in the form of photoetched, masks

  and Brassins. There is also an expanded

  decal sheet, allowing for one of seven de-

  cal options, the majority of which are Bin-

  desluftwaffe and Bundesmarine machines

  in striking anniversary schemes. Originally,

  we had planned to include a Saudi Tornado,

  but unfortunately, the kit lacks the correct

  pylons . The options are a mix of the noted

  anniversary schemes and standard ones

  because we are aware of the fact that not

  everyone takes a shine to the anniversa-

  ry schemes. I would also like to point out

  that this kit’s decal sheet provides plenty of

  opportunity to test out our decals, for those

  who haven’t yet or those who would like to

  hone their skills in the application of them

  that includes the removal of the carrier

  film.

  In the ProfiPACK line, we are also soldie-

  ring on with the 48th scale Wildcat, relea-

  sing the F4F-4 in its early guise. The kit is

  designed for modelers who don’t feel that

  they would take full advantage of October’s

  Dual Combo Midway kit, containing two

  complete sets of plastic, one for the F4F-3,

  the other the F4F-4. The hero of the boxart

  is Stanley Vejtasa, an American pilot with

  Czech roots, to whom we proudly connect.

  More on Stanley Vejtasa and about the bo-

  xart can be found below in this newsletter.

  There are two November ProfiPACK kits,

  the other being the Bf 109G-14/AS. I will

  now provide a bit of background informa-

  tion surrounding it. This kit was originally

  planned as a Weekend release , but after

  being confronted with the myriad of mar-

  king options, we decided to promote this

  item to the more attractive and better equi-

  pped ProfiPACK level. There are five mar-

  king options, including an Italian aircraft.

  It should also be pointed out, that taking

  into account this is a late war German type,

  the markings are rather striking. It’s plain

  to see that the ‘109, in terms of attractive

  markings and individual stories to tell, ne-

  ver disappoints. For lovers of 1:72nd sca-

  le, I will repeat the good news from this

  past E-day: we are currently working on

  our 1:72nd Bf 109F, G and K and we expect

  the first kits to be released next summer.

  In October, we finalized the parts layout on

  the sprues and the technological executi-

  on of the forms, and this was no easy task.

  The reason is that, as opposed to the 48th

  scale Messerschmitts, we are developing

  the 72nd scale items as one project, ta-

  king into account all versions, from the F-2,

  through the G-2, 4, 6, 14, the AS versions,

  three G-10s, all the way on through to the

  K-4. The laying out of all components into

  fourteen molds was a complicated ride.

  But don’t worry; none of the kits will have

  fourteen sprues. The project vision has two

  sprues with detail parts, which will be co-

  mmon to all versions, two with clear parts

  including formation lights (which are dou-

  bled up to provide spares in case of loss of

  any of these small bits), either of which will

  go into the relevant release. Ten molds co-

  ver fuselages, wings and unique items for

  various versions, where each kit will inclu-

  de one of these sprues. Dual boxings aside,

  there will be two sprues in each kit, but you

  can probably see that.

  Modelers who work in 1:72nd scale of-

  ten complain, and loudly at that, that we

  neglect them. I’m sorry for that. I confess

  that we are first and foremost a 48th scale

  manufacturer with a soft spot for the legacy

  of the old Monogram kits, but even so, we

  do have a segment of our plans dedicated

  to your scale. These include new items, to

  at least one new release per year, Limited

  Edition releases based on reboxing others’

  kits, and Weekend kits that are of our own

  making and have gone through their Limi-

  ted and/or ProdiPACK releases. Since our

  fire a couple of years back, we have been

  intensively renewing our range largely by

  releasing Weekend kits based on older

  items. Often, we simplify the packaging of

  these older items by using original, pre-

  served boxes and sold out ProfiPACK kits

  to support the Weekend line. In September,

  we did this with our Bf 110E kit in the Wee-

  kend 1:72nd scale line, re-energizing the

  Bf 110s in that scale, and this will extend in

  November to the long-awaited Bf 110G-4.

  At the same time, we are nearly ready to

  put back into rotation three older items, the

  Limited kit ‘Adlertag’, dedicated to the Bf

  110C and D in the Battle of Britain, and two

  INFO Eduard4

  November 2022

• Page 5

  ProfiPACKs, the Bf 110C/D and Bf 110G-4.

  These three kits aren’t new, but are items

  that have not been available for a long time

  due to missing sprues. Kits that we con-

  sider to be new releases will follow after

  the New Year. In January, 2023, it will be

  a re-edition of the Bf 110E (7083), the Wee-

  kend Bf 110G-2 in April, and we are hopeful

  that the first quarter of 2023 will finally see

  a list of new ‘110s in 1:48th scale, starting

  with the Bf 110E and Bf 110G-2.

  There is a 1:72nd scale kit amongst the new

  releases for November, in the form of the

  F6F-5N Hellcat, being released in conjunc-

  tion with the SE-5a Hispano Suiza in 48th.

  Both of these are ProfiPACK kits, as is our

  common practice with re-editions.

  BRASSIN

  Most of November’s new releases in the

  Brassin line will again be 3D prints. The

  main themes will centre around the Wildcat

  and the Zero of our own provenance. For

  the F4F-3 Wildcat, we are introducing a set

  of landing flaps and gun bays, and for the

  F4F-4, a cockpit set. For the A6M3, wheels,

  exhausts and a cockpit. For the same kit,

  we also have a LooK set. All are suitable for

  both the Model 22 and 23 A6M3.

  We are not neglecting kits from other ma-

  nufacturers. For the 1:48th Meng EA-18G

  we offer engine exhausts, and for Zvezda’s

  1:48th Yak-9D, we have exhausts as well,

  and a LooK set. A new LooK set is also de-

  signed for the Revell Tornado IDS. This set

  is, naturally, suitable for our above men-

  tioned Limited Edition kit, too. Expanded

  LookPlus sets are being released for the

  Tamiya P-38J and F/A-18F (Meng), both in

  1:48th. For ship modelers, we have two sets

  of life rafts in 1:350th, and the two new Big-

  Sins are not to be overlooked, covering our

  Camel and Wildcat.

  PHOTOETCHING

  For the 48th scale Buccaneer S.2C/D from

  Airfix we have three photoetched sets avai-

  lable along with two mask sets. The same

  can be said in this scale for the Hobby Boss

  F4U-1A Corsair. Our range of landing flaps

  grows with the addition of such an item for

  our F4F-4 Wildcat. Further sets of masks

  and photoetching are being released for the

  48th scale F-35B from Italeri and 32nd sca-

  le F-35C from Trumpeter. There are sets in

  the same scale for Revell’s Bf 109G-2/G-4.

  In the Zoom line, which offers a simplified

  number of pre-painted items, we have

  the new Weekend Bf 109G-14/AS covered.

  In 1:72nd scale, we are offering new sets of

  masks and photoetched brass, and these

  include a set of flaps for the SBD-3 Dau-

  ntless (Flyhawk) and the I-16 Type 5 (Clear-

  prop). In 1:35th, November offers up a set

  for the M1070 Gun Truck from Hobby Boss,

  and in the ship scale of 1:350th, we have

  a new set for the anti-aircraft cruiser

  HMS Colombo kit from Trumpeter. Don’t

  overlook the four new BigEds!

  SPACE

  In the increasingly popular Space lineup,

  we have a total of five new items to in-

  troduce in 1:48th scale. Of these, the sets

  covering the Bf 109G-14 and F4F-4 are de-

  signed for our own kits, and the others are

  for the Airfix Buc, Revel Tornado IDS and

  the Italeri F-35B.

  DECALS

  As far new decals are concerned, we have

  a set of generic stencil data for the German

  Ju 87 in 1:72nd, and these are suitable for

  any manufacturer’s kit if the type. For the

  still-new P-38J from Tamiya in 1:48th, we

  have a sheet coming out called ‘P-38J Over

  Europe’, coming out of the kit we released

  a number of years back with the same

  name using plastic from the Academy kit.

  It contains some very nice markings, and

  deserves a closer look!

  EDDIE THE RIVETER

  The 3D decals we released under the

  Eddie the Riveter banner for the new P-38J

  attracted a lot of attention amongst mo-

  delers, and so we decided that we would

  tweak it for the older P-38F/G/H kit. This

  set also includes surface details besides

  the rivets, such as filler caps for the fuel

  tanks. I will point out that the rivets re-

  presented are of the countersunk variety,

  not raised half-round as was mistakenly

  assumed by some on the internet forums.

  They also pointed out that the P-38 wing

  was puttied a la the P-51 Mustang, but this

  is a point of debate. As you know, we have

  released kits recently of aircraft that did

  have puttied surface features at production

  level, and there is a consensus that rivets

  on surfaces so treated were not visible.

  Over the course of the research that we

  conducted for these projects, we studied

  several examples of the Mustang, among

  other types, in museums as well as in pri-

  vate collections, and we have come to the

  conclusion that invisible rivets are not en-

  tirely consistent with the reality of the si-

  tuation. To a certain degree, it applies to

  modern Warbirds that have their surfaces

  treated with modern products. In aircraft

  that were not brought up to airworthiness,

  or were renovated taking care to preserve

  surface originality, rivets are visible. This

  is why we went with a fully riveted surface

  for the 72nd scale S-199. This brought about

  protests from backers of the smooth sur-

  face school of thought, but I am convinced

  that our approach is the best one. But, of

  course, I won’t force that on anyone. Anybo-

  dy that does not agree with this viewpoint

  can certainly refrain from the purchase of

  the set.

  SWEEP 2

  We are activating another Sweep sales

  event in November. This time, it concerns

  photoetched products and will be rela-

  tively widespread. This event will cover

  some 2,000 products cost-reduced by 50%.

  It is planned to go into effect the second

  week of November, the precise date to be

  announced on social media and on our

  e-shop. Those that are so signed up will be

  informed by email. The sale will concern

  mostly older items with lower turnaround.

  Truth be told, most items are virtually sold

  out with only a handful at most remaining

  in stock, but once they’re gone, they’re

  gone, so if any of these have been on your

  list of items to get, don’t delay. They will

  not be going back into production. Items

  not completely sold out will stay in stock,

  but that stock will not be replenished, and

  it will only be a matter of time before these

  are gone from the catalog as well. After the

  New Year, some Brassin items will receive

  the same treatment, revolving around

  older items with a lower turnaround. There

  won’t be as many of these are there will be

  PE items, but even so it will still be in the

  neighborhood of 400 products. The reason

  for all of this is a move by our retail and

  mail order departments to a new facility,

  which we purchased at the end of the su-

  mmer and are in the process of renovating.

  We expect to be able to move in during the

  first quarter of next year, with the retail de-

  partment slated to do so in February. The

  two reasons for the reduction in inventory

  is to reduce the amount of goods that need

  to be moved, and to provide a financial cu-

  shion in case unforeseen circumstances

  crop up causing any delay in the selling of

  our products. It should all take about two

  weeks, and if you would like to help us in

  this endeavor, please buy! Acquiring the

  new facility, its reconstruction and subse-

  quent occupancy are the final steps we are

  taking to fully recover from the fire we suf-

  fered in December, 2020. With your support,

  we can finally put that entire, dark chapter

  completely behind us, once and for all.

  ARTICLES

  This will be the eighth installment of the

  report on the air war over Ukraine by Mira

  Baric. He is also the author of the inte-

  resting article about the aircraft carrier

  USS Lexington. The third and concluding

  piece on the father of the strafers, Pappy

  Gunn, comes from Richard Plos. We make

  a return to this year’s National Champi-

  onships in Plastic Modelling with an ar-

  ticle about the winning model built by the

  National Champ Jan Koutny. We also have

  five Boxart Stories, describing the events

  depicted on the covers of November’s new

  releases. Three are by Jan Bobek and the

  remaining two by Richard Plos.

  And that would be it for me for now. I wish

  all that, as opposed to us, are going to

  Telford a pleasant trip and a good experien-

  ce, and a good read of our newsletter to all.

  Happy Modelling,

  Vladimir Sulc

  INFO Eduard

  5

  November 2022

• Page 6

  Photo: Miles Harris

  Photo: Eric Friedebach

  Paul Allen was born on January 21, 1953,

  in Seattle, Washington. He met Bill Gates

  at Lakeside, the private high school. Both

  were interested in the computers, and both

  were college dropouts. In 1975 they launch-

  ed the computer company. It was Allen who

  came up with its name, Micro-Soft. Later

  the hyphen was dropped. The company was

  extremely successful, they penetrated the

  market with MS

  -

  DOS operating system

  which ultimately became the top product in

  the market. In 1982 however Allen was dia-

  gnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a malign

  lymphatic system disease. Thanks to the

  radiotherapy and bone marrow transplan-

  tation he was cured but that also prompted

  him to re-evaluate his life. The company

  was no longer his priority and in 1983 he

  resigned from its leadership. However, he

  kept his shares which yielded him a wealth

  valued at more than 20 billion dollars.

  After he left Microsoft, he dedicated him-

  self to his hobbies. Also, he invested in the

  space and AI research but primarily bou-

  ght art and as an avid sports fan several

  sports clubs. His top hobby however was

  the military hardware. His father, Kenneth

  Sam Allen served in WWII. That’s why Paul

  Allen was fascinated by this period of his-

  tory since the early age. In 2004 he founded

  the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Muse-

  um in Everett, Washington state. It became

  home for many aircraft and tank veterans

  of WWII. Many of them were operational.

  However, all his previous activities were

  overshadowed by the search for sunken

  military shipwrecks at the bottom of the

  oceans around the globe.

  In 2003 Allen ordered the construction

  of 127 meters long yacht named Octopus.

  In 2008 he had her converted to the re-

  search vessel standards. She was equi-

  pped with two helicopter landing pads and

  two submarines. One of them was remote

  controlled and submerged significantly de-

  eper. Allen lent the ship for several rescue

  missions and research projects as well, for

  Many people have some kind of hobby. Supposedly our read-

  ers collect and build scale models of the airplanes, armor, or

  ships. There are some who can afford to play with these subjects

  in their actual size. One of those was Paul Allen, well known

  co-founder of Microsoft.

  USS

  Lexington

  Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington state.

  Searching

  for the lost

  ships with

  Paul Allen

  Part one

  Text: Miro Barič

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard6

  November 2022

• Page 7

  Photo: State Library of Victoria

  example research of the ocean fauna and

  mapping of the ocean bottom for Google

  Earth. In January 2015 he set sail for the

  first large scale search in the Iron Bottom

  Sound near Guadalcanal and discovered 29

  sunken American and Japanese ships. In

  March 2015 he discovered the wreck of the

  largest battleship in the world, Japanese

  Musashi.

  Bell from HMS Hood

  Allen did not only search in the Pacific.

  In August 2015 he helped the British Navy

  to retrieve the ship bell from the wreck of

  battle cruiser HMS Hood. She lies almost

  three kilometers deep on the bottom of the

  Atlantic Ocean. Hood was sunk on May 24,

  1941, in the duel with the German battleship

  Bismarck. The German shells penetrated

  the ammunition storage and caused the

  explosion that only three sailors survived

  out of 1,418 crew members. It took a year

  to restore the bell after its long stay at the

  bottom of the ocean and on May 24, 2016,

  exactly on the 75th anniversary of her sin-

  king the bell rang again. The bell was re-

  vealed by princess Anne during the cere-

  mony in Portsmouth. It rang to the honor

  of the fallen sailors in the presence of their

  families. Since then, it has been exhibited

  in the National Museum of the Royal Navy,

  next to the bell from HMS Prince of Wales.

  This battleship accompanied Hood on her

  last voyage and couple of months later,

  on December 10, 1941, she herself became

  a victim of the Japanese aircraft at the

  Malaysian coast.

  The original blue paint was preserved on

  the bell’s crown and inner surfaces. Origi-

  nally the bell was installed on the old ba-

  ttleship HMS Hood dated from 1891. In 1914

  she was sunk on purpose in the port of

  Portland to block one of the approaches in

  the case of an attack by submarines or tor-

  pedoes. Before that however the bell was

  removed and presented to Rear Admiral

  Horace Hood. After his death in the battle

  of Jutland, his widow presented the bell

  to the new battle cruiser HMS Hood. The-

  re are two inscriptions on its bottom edge.

  The top one states: This bell was preserved

  from the battleship HMS Hood 1891–1914

  by the late Admiral Horace Hood, killed in

  action at Jutland on May 31, 1916. There is

  another inscription under it which states:

  As per Lady Hood’s wishes, in the memory

  of her husband, this bell is presented to the

  battle cruiser HMS Hood, a ship launched

  on August 22, 1918.

  No charm third time

  Allen’s ship was constantly busy. In Sep-

  tember 2015 for example she was mapping

  the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea

  around Malta. Several sunken ships and

  shot down airplanes were found. In 2016

  the billionaire bought a 76 meters long ship

  Petrel which originally served for the con-

  struction and maintenance of the under the

  surface facilities, for example the oil dri-

  lling rigs. It took a year to convert her to

  the research vessel. At that time, she was

  the only privately owned ship in the world

  which could search as deep as 6,000 me-

  ters. She was equipped with several so-

  nars, one remote control submarine and

  one self-sustained robot submarine. She

  also featured the system of the electric

  motors which compensated for the drift

  and maintained the vessel in the stable po-

  sition during the research. The first Petrel’s

  “catch” was an Italian destroyer Artigliere

  HMS Hood in the picture dated from 1924. This British battle cruiser ispired the design of USS Lexington.

  Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington state.

  Photo: Eric Friedebach

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard

  7

  November 2022

• Page 8

  Photo:National Museum of the Royal NavyPhoto:National Museum of the Royal Navy

  Photo:National Museum of the Royal Navy

  which was found in the Mediterranean Sea

  in March 2017. Then Petrel relocated to the

  Pacific where she discovered the cruiser

  USS Indianapolis and between 2017 and

  2018 searched the battle places around the

  Philippines. On March 4th RV Petrel disco-

  vered the wreck of the aircraft carrier USS

  Lexington sunken in the Battle of Coral Sea

  on May 8, 1942. This expedition in the spring

  of 2018 was Allen’s last. In the beginning of

  October 2018, he announced the bad news.

  The cancer came back for the third time.

  He had faced the recurrence in 2009 in the

  form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He had

  won the battle with it though. Now he be-

  lieved he could win for the third time. When

  he announced the cancer recurrence, he

  said that he and the doctors are optimis-

  tic as far as the treatment is concerned.

  During the following two weeks however,

  the complications occurred, and Paul Allen

  passed away on October 15, 2018, at the age

  of 65. His wealth, at that time valued at 20.3

  billion of dollars, has been managed by

  a fund which carries on with his work. In

  2019 RV Petrel discovered the number of

  wrecks at the bottom of the ocean as well.

  In 2020 however she was indefinitely doc-

  ked in Scotland due to the covid pandemic.

  This year Allen’s heritage management

  sold the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor

  Museum to Stewart Walton, grandson of

  the Walmart franchise founder. The co-

  llection was preserved in its entirety and

  is currently still located in Everett. Its

  re-opening is planned for 2023 under the

  new name, Wartime History Museum.

  From battle cruiser to aircraft carrier

  Let’s return to USS Lexington. Her career

  almost took a different path. Originally, she

  was not to be an aircraft carrier but a ba-

  ttle cruiser. Due to the frequent changes

  in design and delays in her construction

  she could not be finished as battle crui-

  ser. The ideas about the ship combining the

  speed of a cruiser and the firepower of a

  battleship emerged in the USA pretty early.

  HISTORY

  75 years after sinking of HMS Hood princess Anne revealed her

  restored bell.

  The sailors are carrying the HMS Hood bell to a museum in 2016.

  On the left a bell from HMS Prince of Wales, on the right bell from

  HMS Hood

  Photo: Library of Congress

  A drawing depicting the originally intended design of USS Lexington armed with ten 356 mm caliber guns.

  INFO Eduard8

  November 2022

• Page 9

  A series of studies at the Naval War Co-

  llege discussed these types of vessels

  before the actual design of the first battle

  cruiser, British HMS Invincible was launch-

  ed in 1907 and accepted to service in 1909.

  By the way, aforementioned Sir Horace

  Hood perished in the explosion of Invincible.

  The same year the first design proposals

  for the American battle cruisers were sub-

  mitted but the Congress did not approve

  them due to the political reasons. Things

  started to move forward a bit in 1911 when

  Japan commenced the construction of the

  Kongo class battle cruisers. All however

  remained at a design stage. The project

  of Lexington class was included into the

  Naval Law of 1916 requiring the significant

  expansion of the US Navy. According to this

  plan six ships of this class were to possess

  34,900 ton displacement, length of 259 me-

  ters and speed of 35 knots. To accomplish

  this, they needed 24 boilers which due to

  the long but narrow hull turned out to be

  a problem. The complicated arrangement

  of large number of boilers brought about

  the issue of number of stacks. There were

  to be seven in total, four of them next to

  each other. The armament was to consist

  of ten 356 mm (14 inches) caliber guns. Two

  per each turret on the bow and stern and

  further three guns in the next two turrets

  located above 2-gun turrets closer to the

  hull center. This arrangement was nece-

  ssary since the hull in the bow and stern

  turret locations was too narrow to acco-

  mmodate the barbette of three gun turret.

  The main guns were to be complemented

  by eighteen 127 mm caliber guns.

  The work on Lexington class was stopped

  before it fully took off. The reason was that

  the shipyards’ priority were anti-submari-

  ne vessels. Under different circumstances

  this would have been an advantage. Thanks

  to the other countries’ experience with the

  battle cruisers the number of issues could

  be solved at the design stage instead of co-

  rrecting them during the actual construc-

  tion or even completion. The most serious

  problem of this class of ships turned out to

  be the longitudinal hull strength. The long

  and narrow vessels were stressed not only

  under the inclement weather but also du-

  ring the gunfire. Bent metal plates had to

  be replaced on several British battle crui-

  sers and their hulls reinforced.

  HISTORY

  Photo: Library of CongressPhoto: Naval History & Heritage Command

  USS Saratoga battle cruiser under the construction in March 1922. The view from stern to bow well illustrates

  the barbettes of the main guns’ turrets.

  The drawing depicting the final design of USS Lexington battle cruiser from 1919 featuring eight 406 mm caliber guns.

  INFO Eduard

  9

  November 2022

• Page 10

  Photo: U. S. Navy National Museum of Naval AviationPhoto: U. S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation

  Photo: U. S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation

  USS Lexington is being moved by harbor tugs, January 1928. The ship entered the service a month ago, but her

  maiden voyage was still ahead of her.

  Gunnery practice from the 203 mm caliber guns, January 1928. From the top USS Saratoga (CV-3), USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Langley (CV-1)

  in Puget Sound, 1929.

  Therefore, the Lexington designers spent

  the most of their time on the hull’s stren-

  gth. After many proposals and calculations,

  they arrived at the ideal solution – only to

  change the design again. In 1917 the Ame-

  ricans found out that Britain and Japan

  were designing even larger battle cruisers

  equipped with 381 mm and 406 mm cali-

  ber guns. Lexington class too was to rece-

  ive new 406 mm caliber guns (16 inches).

  There were to be eight of them in total – a

  pair in each of four turrets. The secondary

  armament was to consist of sixteen 152 mm

  caliber guns. The new type of boilers allo-

  wed to reduce their total number to 20 and

  number of stacks to five. Another change

  occurred in 1918 after the aforementioned

  British HMS Hood was launched.

  At that time, it was the largest warship in

  the world and left a great impression on

  the American officials. The British Navy

  allowed a single designer to work with the

  Americans. He also brought HMS Hood

  drawings with him. The result was the

  lengthening and widening of the hull and

  changes in the armor protection. Further

  boilers’ improvement led to the reduction

  of their total number to 16. Only two stacks

  remained. All those changes brought the

  displacement up to 44,200 tons and hull

  length to 266 meters. The maximum speed

  was reduced to 33 knots.

  Washington Naval Conference

  The construction of six ships according to

  the latest design was ultimately decided in

  1919 and the work gradually started in 1920

  and 1921. It did not last long. In Novem-

  ber 1921 the American Secretary of State

  Charles Evans Hughes invited the world

  naval powers to a conference in Washing-

  ton D.C. The reason was to leash the arm

  race which had been launched again and

  proved to be too expensive. The USA, Bri-

  tain, Japan, France and Italy participated

  in the conference which ended in February

  1922 by signing the agreement prohibiting

  the building of new battleships and battle

  cruisers and also limited the parameters

  of other classes of vessels. The large ba-

  ttleships under construction were to be

  scrapped but the Americans, British and

  Japanese were allowed to complete them

  as the aircraft carriers. In the USA the

  affected ships were Lexington class. Out of

  six of these vessels Constellation, Ranger,

  Constitution and United States were sold

  for the scrap metal. Lexington and Sarato-

  ga were converted to the aircraft carriers.

  This conversion carried with it several

  advantages, but disadvantages as well.

  New ships retained the good armor and

  anti-torpedo protection. They also featured

  larger ammunition storages which natura-

  lly stored the aviation bombs and torpedo-

  es instead of gun shells. On the contrary

  the aviation fuel tanks were smaller, the

  hangars’ capacity lower and the flight deck

  narrower in comparison to the aircraft ca-

  rriers built for their purpose from the start.

  At the time of the decision to convert her

  from a battle cruiser to an aircraft carrier

  Lexington was 24 % built. While in the past

  it took years to work on a similar project

  this time the new design was ready and

  approved in four months. The displacement

  was reduced by 4,000 ton which was pri-

  marily achieved by eliminating the main

  gun turrets with their barbettes.

  Originally the Lexington class, and also

  the cancelled class of South Dakota ba-

  ttleships were to receive Mark 2 406 mm

  caliber guns with 50 caliber long barrels.

  Those had been designed in 1916 and 71 of

  them were manufactured. Gradually 68 of

  them were taken over by the Army who in-

  stalled them in the coastal batteries. The

  weight of one gun was 129 tons and could

  fire one ton projectile to the 41 km distance.

  They served in the coastal batteries from

  1924 until 1947 but did not fire a single shot

  in anger. The main 406 mm guns were re-

  moved however, Lexington retained the po-

  werful gun armament. All over the world

  there were admirals in charge of fleets

  who matured on the battleships and nei-

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard10

  November 2022

• Page 11

  Photo: U. S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation

  Photo: Naval Historical Center

  ther the scientists nor technical specialists

  (except of several visionary pioneers) were

  clear about the actual deployment of the

  aircraft carriers and above all their poten-

  tial for the modern warfare.

  There were concerns that at night and du-

  ring the inclement weather this type of ve-

  ssel will not be able to use her aircraft and

  therefore will be at the mercy of the ene-

  my. Therefore, both Lexington and her sis-

  ter ship Saratoga were equipped with the

  battery of eight 203 mm caliber guns. They

  were installed in four turrets on the star-

  board side of the flight deck. Two were lo-

  cated in front of the bridge and two behind

  the stack. The Japanese had similar ideas

  and their aircraft carriers Akagi and Kaga

  carried ten 203 mm caliber guns each. For

  the AA defense Lexington received twelve

  127 mm caliber guns. These were installed

  on the side of the bow and stern, three

  each. A the beginning the ship did not carry

  any lighter weapons only during 1929–1931

  the machine guns were added. She recei-

  ved her first rapid fire guns shortly before

  the USA entered the world conflict. We will

  talk about it next time.

  Lexington was christened by Helen Re-

  becca Roosevelt, wife of the Deputy of the

  Secretary of the Navy, Theodor Douglas

  Robinson. The ship was launched on Oc-

  tober 3, 1925 and accepted to service on

  December 12, 1927. After the completion

  she was 270.7 m long and 32.3 m wide. Her

  draft was 9.2 m and the standard displace-

  ment 36,000 tons which rose to 43,000 tons

  with the full aircraft complement. The flight

  deck was 264 m long. The initial plan coun-

  ted with 78 aircraft on board, 36 of them

  bombers. In the beginning Lexinton carried

  Curtiss F6C-1, Boeing F3B-1 and Martin

  T3M-2 aircraft.

  Legendary sci-fi author

  The ship’s propulsion consisted of four

  electric motors. Each delivered 16,800 kW

  and drove one of four screw propellers.

  The energy for the motors was supplied

  by four turbo-generators made by Gene-

  ral Electric utilizing steam from 16 boilers

  Yarrow. In addition, there were six 750 kW

  electric generators which powered other

  ship’s systems (besides the propulsion).

  The ship’s designers calculated Lexing-

  ton’s maximum speed at 33.25 knots, so

  they were pleasantly surprised when she

  achieved 34.59 knots during the trials. The

  Lexington’s electric propulsion came in

  handy in 1929 when the great draft shut

  down the water powerplants and city of Ta-

  coma ended up without electricity. The US

  Navy sent their new aircraft carrier who-

  se generators were connected to the high

  voltage grid and in a month supplied 4,500

  MWh of the electrical energy.

  At that time, from June 1929, the fresh gra-

  duate of the Naval Academy, ensign Robert

  A. Heinlein, a future famous sci-fi author,

  served on Lexington. His most famous

  books are Star Infantry, Moon is a rough lo-

  ver and Stranger in the strange land. While

  on Lexington his literary career was not

  that successful. He did not succeed in the

  ship’s writing contest with his short story

  about a spy affair at the Naval Academy. He

  was successful though in the line of duty. In

  1931 he was promoted to Lt. jg. and worked

  in the radio communication which at that

  time was still fairly new technology.

  On March 31, 1931, the earthquake destro-

  yed Managua, the capital of Nicaragua.

  Lexington was sent on the humanitarian

  relief mission and Heinlein was part of it.

  Between 1,000 and 2,500 people lost their

  lives. Besides the actual shocks the great

  damage was caused by the fires that follo-

  wed. At that time Lexington was at anchor

  in Guantanamo, Cuba but a day later she

  was already so close that she could launch

  the aircraft carrying medical personnel

  and equipment to Managua. Off course, Le-

  xington not only sailed on the humanitarian

  missions. Practically every year she par-

  ticipated in several naval exercises. Those

  focused on developing the optimal tactics

  for the aircraft carrier. During one such

  exercise in 1935 it was found out that af-

  ter five days of the operations at the high

  speeds Lexington quickly became short of

  fuel. Therefore, the system of refueling at

  sea was developed and later applied during

  the naval battles in the Pacific.

  The exercises decidedly proved that when

  Lexington was subject to battleships’ co-

  mmand, or even had to fight with them in

  a formation in a classic naval battle, she

  was always declared destroyed or at least

  heavily damaged. On the contrary, when

  she had more operational flexibility, she

  scored surprising results. For example,

  on Sunday February 7, 1932, Lexington and

  Saratoga executed a surprise attack on

  Pearl Harbor without being noticed by the

  defenders. They repeated the same trick

  on January 31, 1933, at a dawn. And for the

  third time Lexington and Saratoga succe-

  ssfully attacked the Hawaiian Islands on

  March 29, 1938, also at dawn. It seems that

  rather than American command the Japa-

  nese Navy paid much closer attention. They

  attacked Pearl Harbor on Sunday Decem-

  ber 7, 1941, early in the morning. The Ame-

  ricans were lucky that the Japanese did not

  catch the aircraft carriers there. Lexington

  escorted by three heavy cruisers and five

  destroyers set sail from Pearl Harbor on

  December 5, 1941, to deliver 18 SB2U Vind-

  icator dive bombers to the Marines statio-

  ned on Midway Island. Thanks to it she avo-

  ided the destruction or damage and could

  participate in the battles of WWII.

  To be continued.

  Sources:

  www.snr.org.uk

  www.www.bbc.com

  www.facebook.com

  www.hmshood.org.uk

  www.royalnavy.mod.uk

  warfarehistorynetwork.com

  www.history.navy.mil

  www.wings-aviation.ch

  www.maritime.org

  web.archive.org

  Martin T4M bombers taking off the Lexington flight deck, 1931. Curtiss F6C-1 fighters and Martin T3M-2 bombers on the Lexington deck, 1928.

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard

  11

  November 2022

• Page 12

  Gunn’s motivation to fight was enor-

  mous. He wanted to join his family, since

  January 2, 1942, held captive in the Ja-

  panese POW camp and with his abilities

  and non-orthodox approach to solving

  all kinds of problems he significantly

  contributed to the victory. Shortly upon

  their arrival in Brisbane on December 27,

  1941, Gunn and other USAAF personnel

  was aware how difficult their upcoming

  mission was. The fresh reinforcements

  were not coming, and the Japanese con-

  tinued their successful campaign across

  the Pacific. Perhaps the most impor-

  tant aviation reinforcement was twenty

  P-40s delivered in crates by a cargo ship

  while another batch was sailing from the

  USA towards Australia. Not seeking any

  approval Pappy organized the technical

  group composed of both the Americans

  and Australians who started to uncrate

  and assemble P-40s. Part of this group

  were 25 pilots from 17th FG who escaped

  from Philippines just in time. It turned

  out that the supplies were not comple-

  te. Certain parts were missing but Pa-

  ppy was able to secure their replace-

  ments manufacturing them in the local

  workshops and in the middle of January

  all P-40s were assembled, test-flown

  and armed. General Brereton did not he-

  sitate to issue the proper order and so

  on January 16 two groups of seventeen

  P-40s in total took off from Brisbane

  airport for a long route across the half

  of Australian continent to Darwin at the

  northern coast.

  Pappy of course could not be missing the

  action; however, but he flew his confis-

  cated Beechcraft. There was a good re-

  ason for it. Like all other pilots he belie-

  HISTORY

  PAPPY OF THE “STRAFERS” II

  MACHINE GUNS FOR MITCHELLS

  Sign of the 3rd Attack Group at the entrance to the Charters Towers airbase.

  Photo: worldwarphotos

  In the first part we left Pappy Gunn at the moment he said good-

  bye to his family in Manila, Philippines and together with “Buzz”

  Slingsby at the controls of the second Beechcraft departed for

  Australia where they flew the USAAF personnel. Despite the belief

  in the rapid reinforcement of the archipelago’s defense and con-

  sequently the reunion with his family in the course of two-three

  weeks the Japanese captured Manila nine days after Pappy’s de-

  parture and his wife with children became POWs. At that time Gunn

  became the member of the military personnel again but this time

  as an Army pilot, not a Navy one as between the wars.

  Text: Richard Plos

  INFO Eduard12

  November 2022

• Page 13

  HISTORY

  ved that their destination are Philippines

  and since most of the pilots lacked the

  experience navigating on such a long

  distances Pappy was supposed to be

  their “Flock Leader”. Three P-40s did not

  complete the difficult route and several

  landings enroute. Over several days Pa-

  ppy himself covered some 15,000 kilo-

  meters by flying back and forth. Upon his

  return from Surabaya on Java he tried

  to avoid Japanese-held Davao but at the

  dusk he encountered a Japanese patrol

  floatplane which shot down his unarmed

  Beechcraft. He spent the night in jung-

  le and on the following day he reached

  the airport in Zamboanga. He was lucky

  because shortly another Beechcraft lan-

  ded whose pilot was tasked to remove

  a tail wheel and propeller blades from

  a destroyed B-17. Those were the parts

  necessary to make at least one B-17 at

  Del Monte airworthy. The pilot took Pa-

  ppy on board, and he repaid the favor by

  helping to repair B-17 which with twenty

  pilots and mechanics on board headed to

  Darwin – with Pappy in the left seat of

  course.

  Like a homing pidgeon

  According to many sources, Pappy had

  no problem to fly anything airworthy.

  Even more legendary were his naviga-

  tional skills. He was supposedly some-

  thing like a human “homing pidgeon”.

  It did not matter what the destination

  was or how long the flight took. Lea-

  ding the formation Pappy always reliably

  brought it to the destination without any

  navigational preparations. And he even

  could not do it, he did not use maps!

  “I recall one particular flight on which

  I accompanied him, “recalled after some

  years Major Tom Gerrity. “This flight

  was from Brisbane, Australia, north to

  Townsville. We were flying along at low

  altitude. Pappy seldom flew above five

  hundred feet. As we passed over the

  ground that was entirely unfamiliar to

  me, I asked Pappy where we were and

  how he knew the direction to Townsville.

  At that point Pappy reached over to his

  navigation kit. As I looked into it when he

  opened it, I saw that it had no maps. Ho-

  wever, it had a large bottle labeled ‘Pan-

  ther Juice.’ Pappy pulled out the bottle,

  pretended to drink from it, then lifting his

  nose in the direction of flight and taking

  a long sniff, he said, ‘Directly ahead of us

  is where we want to go.’ Of course, by

  this time I was somewhat doubtful of Pa-

  ppy’s navigation technique. I asked how

  this established the direction we should

  take. Pappy said, ‘Well, some weeks ago

  I flew over this area and there was an

  old dead cow just ahead. I am following

  the smell.’ Despite such extraordinary

  navigation methods Pappy always got to

  his destination without any error. I never

  did see him refer to a map, yet on many

  flights with him I never found any error

  in his navigation.”

  Pappy’s activities during approximately

  one month after his return from Java are

  not reliably documented but it is said,

  and it would look like him, that he flew

  Boomerang with Australians defending

  Rabaul. Boomerangs were no match

  for Zeros and most of them were shot

  down including the one flown by Pappy.

  Shortly before that however he suppo-

  sedly had managed to shoot down a Zero.

  He saved himself on a parachute and

  landed in the jungle approximately ten

  miles from Rabaul. For two weeks he

  was walking through wilderness until he

  reached the little town of Basmata. From

  there he was evacuated by a flying boat

  to Australia together with other Aus-

  tralian pilots. On his walk through the

  jungle, he only ate berries and worms,

  lost 25 pounds (11.4 kilos) but survived.

  Later he shared his survival experience

  with other pilots. And he also tested the

  green pilots’ guts when in the mess hall

  he loudly described which worms and

  bugs are good to eat. The veterans re-

  called how this information helped some

  of them survive.

  Bombing sights’ “relocation”

  In the beginning of April, a couple of first

  B-25s arrived in Australia to equip the

  3rd Attack Group. It was the first twin-

  -engine bomber capable of flying from

  Darwin to Del Monte on Java which was

  still in the American hands. It was de-

  cided to form the group of ten B-25s

  and three B-17s under the command

  of Brigadier General Ralph Royce and

  Pappy sensed the chance to get back to

  Philippines and learn something about

  his family’s fate. He offered himself for

  a position of a pilot and group’s tech-

  nical officer. The 3rd AG commander,

  Col. “Big Jim” Davies was glad to accept

  Cpt. Gunn. A guy of his capabilities

  came handy. There was a little problem

  though. Those B-25s were missing the

  bomb aiming sights. Pappy recalled that

  recently he spotted some B-25s when

  he flew via Canberra. It was twelve

  aircraft received for a Dutch squadron and

  Pappy decided to do some closer re-

  search on this. He got jumped to one DC-2

  and took off for Canberra. No one knows

  what exactly happened there but next

  day Pappy returned with twelve Sperry

  bomb sights. Some time in May that year

  General Kenney, 5th AF Army comman-

  der learned about the Dutch complaining

  about missing bombing sights from their

  B-25s. But at that time there were plen-

  ty of them in stocks in Australia so the

  whole issue was settled.

  After the gunsights relocation opera-

  tion, the raid of the group of ten B-25s

  and three B-17s took place on April 12

  with the target being the ships in Dava-

  o’s port. After the raid the group landed

  at Del Monte, re-armed and re-fueled

  and flew off for another raid, this time

  “As we passed over the ground that was entirely unfamiliar to me,

  I asked Pappy where we were and how he knew the direction to

  Townsville. At that point Pappy reached over to his navigation kit.

  As I looked into it when he opened it, I saw that it had no maps. Ho-

  wever, it had a large bottle labeled Panther Juice.” (Maj. Tom Gerrity)

  Douglas A-20G. The final modification of its attack version. Photo: worldwarphotos

  INFO Eduard

  13

  November 2022

• Page 14

  on Cebu. At Del Monte they boarded

  as many pilots and mechanics as possi-

  ble subsequently and flew to Darwin.

  Through impudence to promotion

  On July 18, 1942, Pappy was, quite unex-

  pectedly, promoted to Major. Generally,

  it was anticipated that due to his an-

  tiques and blunt language he will be ra-

  ther court marshalled than promoted but

  it did happen. Pappy did not keep for him-

  self the comments about “dummies from

  Washington to Australia who sent A-20

  without bombing sights and bomb rac-

  ks”. The staff inspectors of course heard

  this and reported his comments to the

  higher ups. Another of his “sins” were the

  unauthorized modifications of A-20s into

  the attack aircraft by installing the ma-

  chine guns (not exactly sourced accor-

  ding to the military procedures) in their

  noses. He personally tested this new mo-

  dification when he took off for a lone mi-

  ssion. The target was a Japanese airfield

  on the northern coast of New Guinea. He

  did a good job, upon his departure seve-

  ral Japanese aircraft were engulfed in

  smoke and judging by the explosion it is

  more than probable that he hit an ammu-

  nition dump. After this success, and with

  “Big Jim’s” silent blessing, together with

  his mechanics he started modifying other

  A-20s from 90th BG. Besides the machi-

  ne gun conversion, he also designed new

  bomb racks since the original ones were

  still on board of some ships somewhere

  in the middle of the Ocean and Pappy did

  not like them anyway. He designed the

  new ones, better ones, in his own words.

  And he was proven right in the future.

  He did not ask anyone for permission,

  he simply acted. The whole 3rd AG stood

  behind him since all knew that whatever

  Pappy designed or made would work.

  Two men and a bomber

  The famous Pappy’s meeting with Gene-

  ral Kenney took place on August 5, 1942,

  in Charters Towers, home of 3rd Attack

  Group where Pappy served since the

  aforementioned raid even though he was

  not officially assigned to the unit. Gene-

  ral was on his first inspection tour after

  assuming command of the 5th Air For-

  ce. At that time the group was not in the

  best shape because 8th BS had no air-

  planes at all, 13th BS had just couple of

  Douglas A-24 dive bombers, 89th BS had

  twelve B-25s in the inventory but only

  five were airworthy and finally 90th BS

  operated sixteen A-20s. Pappy was not

  present among the officers General met

  in the mess hall that day but his name

  was mentioned soon enough so the 5th

  AF commander learned about a guy

  who knew completely everything about

  the airplanes and their improvements

  including machine guns installation.

  At the same time, he was an outstanding

  pilot and storyteller. However, some of

  his stories were to be taken with a grain

  of salt. This got General interested and on

  the following day he went to the hangar

  where Pappy, with several mechanics

  and his faithful “right hand”, Sgt. Evans,

  was tuning up an A-20. The General could

  see a group of shirtless sweaty men co-

  mmanded by a tall, slim, blue eyed man

  in T-shirt wearing a mechanic’s cap with

  pinned Major’s insignia.

  “General, this is Major Gunn, our Engi-

  neering Officer who invents new ways

  to make it hard for the Japs every day,”

  introduced “Big Jim” Pappy to General

  McKenney who wanted to know immedia-

  tely what Pappy and his gang was up to.

  “Pappy wiped the sweat off his forehead,

  tilted his cap back, looked me over with

  a pair of steely blue eyes, grinned, and

  began to talk. He evidently had decided

  that I was intelligent enough to listen to

  him. I instinctively knew that I was being

  paid a compliment that had nothing to do

  with the two stars on the collar of my

  shirt,” recalls General McKenney in his

  book. He was stunned how well thought

  out Pappy’s modifications were and his

  tactics according to which it was more

  efficient to destroy the Japanese aircraft

  on the ground rather than in the air. It was

  clear to the 5th AF commander that the

  man in front of him was the one he ne-

  eded. He had some ideas of his own and

  sought someone like Pappy who would

  materialize them. “I liked Pappy at first

  sight, and somehow I knew that he liked

  me and would break his neck carrying out

  my instructions.”

  When McKenney and Davies were retur-

  ning to the headquarters General advised

  HISTORY

  Pappy in the cockpit of B-25C “Not in Stock” (41-12483). The inscription under the canopy states the roles of

  Sgt. Evans, co-pilot, occasionally bombardier and gunner, chief mechanic… This aircraft was not assigned to

  the combat duties. Pappy used it to deliver supplies to New Guinea. The bombing missions’ symbols were left

  from the prior combat activity when the aircraft was named Mr.X first and then Longue Lizzard. This aircraft

  took part in the April 11, 1942, raid.

  Pappy (on the right) with the future Brigadier General F. H. Smith (in the center) and an unidentified member

  of 3rd AG.

  Photo: author´s archive

  Photo: author´s archive

  INFO Eduard14

  November 2022

• Page 15

  3rd AG commander of his plan. Pappy will

  remain with the group for another two

  weeks to finish his job and then he will

  report to the Army Headquarters whe-

  re he will be assigned as an Officer for

  the Special Projects. And he will take

  with him his “Friday Man”, Sgt. Evans.

  Col. Davies opposed but to no avail. And

  when on August 21 the General returned

  to the Army Headquarters Pappy alrea-

  dy waited in his office. And he received

  his first assignment right away. At that

  time the USAAF was suffering from the

  lack of the fighters. There were approxi-

  mately 170 non-airworthy ones gathered

  at Eagle Farm airbase, mostly P-40s

  suffering from various defects and da-

  mages. Pappy’s task was to make air-

  worthy as many as possible in the shor-

  test time possible. Any workshops in

  Australia able to manufacture the nece-

  ssary spare parts were at his disposal,

  as well as the required number of me-

  chanics. Pappy, shadowed by Evans, left

  the office smiling and in relatively short

  time reported that a hundred of fighters

  are ready for the combat deployment.

  Against the ships

  The attacks against the surface vessels

  showed that the conventional bombing

  of these slim and maneuverable tar-

  gets was difficult. Dropping the bombs

  from the high altitudes was inefficient,

  lower altitudes were too dangerous for

  the bombers since the Japanese conti-

  nuously boosted their ships’ AA defense.

  The new tactics was developed, so-called

  skip-bombing i.e., bombs released at

  a very low altitude above the sea surface

  utilizing the effect of the bombs bouncing

  off the surface and hitting the ship’s hull.

  Initially B-17s were considered for these

  missions but they lacked the forward-fi-

  ring force to silence the enemy’s AA fire.

  General McKenney decided to try B-25 for

  this mission and of course commissioned

  Pappy to execute the task. The goal was to

  fit into the nose, a bombardier’s position,

  as many 12.7 mm machine guns as possi-

  ble with minimum 500 rounds per barrel.

  The General also requested, based on the

  Gunn’s A-20 modification, to install the

  additional machine guns on the fuselage

  sides or even on its bottom. At that time

  Pappy had one whole hanger in Brisbane

  at his disposal. It was in fact the proto-

  type workshop. The installation of four

  machine guns into the B-25’s glass nose

  was created here, and the plan was to add

  a pair of guns on each side of the fuselage

  and another three on the bottom of it. Pro-

  blem with feeding the ammunition belts

  at the end prevented the bottom wea-

  pons installation and it looked that eight

  forward firing machine guns was a ma-

  ximum number feasible, the fact neither

  Kenney nor Gunn considered sufficient.

  But in the meantime, they had other

  problems to solve. In the beginning the

  aircraft was nose heavy which Gunn

  resolved by moving the waist guns to

  the rear and by installing the auxiliary

  two hundred gallons fuel tank into the

  fuselage behind the wing’s trailing edge.

  This eliminated the installation of the

  ballast in the rear fuselage and in addi-

  tion increased the aircraft range. Ano-

  ther problem was popping up the rivets

  from the skin due to the side weapons’

  recoil which Pappy ultimately resolved

  by installing the rubber inserts between

  the aircraft skin and the weapons. Such

  modified aircraft received, as an answer

  to all critics, the inscription “Pappy’s

  Folly” under the cockpit supplemented

  by a cartoon of a cowboy with two dra-

  wn revolvers yelling” “And that’s plain

  English!”

  In the middle of December, Pappy, with

  Evans in the co-pilot’s seat, flew his new

  “toy” to his good old 3rd AG to show the

  modification to his old comrades and

  let them try it as well. On the following

  day after his arrival in Charters Towers

  “Pappy’s Folly” and five more B-25s

  took off so as the pilots could see the

  effect of Pappy’s simulated attack.

  The concentrated fire of eight weapons

  left an impression on them and it was

  decided: 3rd AG Mitchells will become

  skip-bombers! The first victim of such

  modified B-25 though became a cow

  which walked into the target area at the

  moment Pappy squeezed the triggers

  during the simulated attack …

  To be continued

  HISTORY

  A dramatic picture of an A-20 at the moment of explosion of the “skipping bombs” on the ships’ hull.

  The schematic of the machine guns

  installation in the B-25 nose and

  on the fuselage sides.

  Pic.: author´s archive

  The General could see a group of shirtless sweaty men commanded

  by a tall, slim, blue eyed man in T-shirt wearing a mechanic’s cap with

  pinned Major’s insignia.

  Photo: worldwarphotos

  INFO Eduard

  15

  November 2022

• Page 16

  Another marking feature of the S-199 were

  the alpha-numerical fuselage codes iden-

  tifying the aviation units and institutions –

  combat units, flying schools, training cen-

  ters or research centers. The rules and

  regulations were established, same as for

  the national insignias, by the aforementi-

  oned MNO order: MNO

  -

  VL c. j. 157 Taj. let.

  1946 (Ministry of Defense regulation No.

  157; Secret; Aviation; 1946) dated Janua-

  ry 1946, namely its descriptive attachment

  No. 2, graphic attachments Nos. 3 and

  4 and especially the table of national

  insignia design (for further study refer to the

  Jan Máče Publisher “Coloration and mar-

  kings of the Czechoslovak Air Force during

  1945–1957” publication released in 2004).

  Let us quote the fourth paragraph from

  the Attachment No. 2 of the Applicati-

  on and the Maintenance of the Markings:

  “All code letters are painted in vertical font

  and are of the same measurements. To

  make them clearly visible they are painted

  black on the light background and white on

  the dark background (in compliance with

  the Czechoslovak Aviation Norms)”. During

  the initial period this identification marking

  was placed on both sides of the fuselage

  and the wing undersides either comple-

  te on each half of the wing or split so as

  letters were on one wing half and numeral

  on the other one. This marking system is

  documented for example on the first res-

  tored C-10.1 aircraft “black V-9” or S-99.6

  “black EV-11” (later converted to S-199.183)

  even though in the second case the pre-

  sence of the code on the lower wing is

  disputable due to the poor quality of the

  source photograph. From April 1951 the

  markings were applied to the fuselage only

  in accordance with the new order MNO

  -

  VL

  č. j. 0010941/51.

  In reality not all was done according to the

  rules so in the number of pictures of S-199

  we can identify the aircraft painted in light

  green-gray color and the markings pain-

  ted in white instead of black. The aircraft

  painted in darker green overall featured the

  unit markings consistently painted white

  though. The letters (a letter in case of LVA

  and VLU/LVU) were separated by a hyphen

  and the codes were brush-painted into the

  previously outlined shapes, therefore the

  shapes and sizes of the letters and nume-

  Text: Michal Ovčáčík

  Photo collections of the author, Jaroslava Bartáček,

  Bohumír Kudlička and Libor Režňák; Letecká badatelna

  (Aviation Researchers) via Pavel Krejčí

  White codes, black codes…

  3. part

  Coloration

  of the Czechoslovak

  Air Force S-199

  HISTORY

  In the 2nd part dedicated to the Czechoslovak S-199 coloration

  we focused on two color shades applied on these aircraft and

  two orders specifying the appearance and positioning of the

  national insignias.

  Avia manufactured S-199.466 painted in the medium green-gray with black code letters UC-80 from the 4th Aviation Training Squadron based at Prostějov-Štichovice. On May 17,

  1951, the Flying School air cadet Jaroslav Sejrek botched this landing. The arrow pointed to the fuselage step was painted black, sprayed through the stencil.

  INFO Eduard16

  November 2022

• Page 17

  rals were not identical, and their appearan-

  ce slightly differed among the aviation units.

  From the beginning of 1950s the more stan-

  dardized shapes appeared sprayed through

  the stencils with typical dividing “bridges”

  in the letter and number bodies (these li-

  nes could be however painted over, and the

  codes had more streamlined appearance).

  The serial numbers applied to S-199 were

  painted on the vertical tail surface only

  (on both sides always between the leading

  edge and the national insignia), sprayed

  through the stencil in black color and for-

  mat such as S199-180. Based on the serial

  length it could be positioned higher above

  or lower below the stabilizer upper surface.

  To distinguish the aircraft among the va-

  rious divisions the order MNO

  -

  VL c. j. 157

  Taj. let. 1946 established the propeller spi-

  nners color coding (see further) which was

  basically complied with until 1951 when

  due to the arrival of the jet aircraft in the

  Czechoslovak Air Force, it lost its purpose.

  Nevertheless, the S-199s which continued

  to fly retained in many cases the color of

  their spinners even if they were transfe-

  rred to another unit. The colors applied on

  the S-199 spinners were as follows: 2nd

  Air Division blue, 3rd AD white and 4th AD

  black. Some aircraft assigned to the Air

  Military Academy sported white-blue spi-

  nners (with vertical color division in front

  of the propeller blades), other aircraft, not

  only from the Academy had their spinners

  later overpainted with the camouflage color

  or RLM 02 primer.

  At this point we conclude our small excur-

  sion into the Czechoslovak S-199 “color

  mysteries” dedicated not only to modelers.

  This topic doesn’t seem to be finished and

  closed though since the further research

  can bring interesting new information to the

  light. In that case we believe there will be

  a chance to get back to the topic here, on

  the INFO Eduard pages.

  HISTORY

  The code letters JV initially identified the 2nd flight of the 1st Aviation Squadron

  (4th Air Division) based at Zvolen airfield, also known as “Three Oaks”. The black

  fuselage marking, hand painted into previously outlined lettering, is captured in the

  photograph. Letter V is taller than letter J. Pilot in the picture is Lt. František Fořt.

  A great example of the fuselage markings painted precisely according to the Attachment No. 2 to the

  Application and Maintenance of the Marking, order of MNO

  -

  VL c. j. 157 Taj. Let. 1946: UF-55 was painted

  white on the dark base. The aircraft in the photograph, S-199 serial number 543, belonged to the 4th Air

  Training Squadron and was struck off charge after the crash landing at Prostějov airfield on May 26, 1953.

  The picture of the former reconnaissance S-199.310, UL-51, from the 5th Aviation Training Squadron. On August 26, 1952, Corporal Josef Mucha was unable to take off with it from

  Zvolen airfield due to the collapsed landing gear. The aircraft carried yellow identification stripes on the rear fuselage and upper wing surfaces. The black markings on the fuselage

  were sprayed through a stencil and the thin division lines in both the letters and numbers were overpainted.

  INFO Eduard

  17

  November 2022

• Page 18

  HISTORY

  The dark green camouflaged S-199.185 with white code IF-01, originally belonging to 1st Squadron of 51. lp (51st Air Regiment) in Pilsen. There are clear gaps left by “bridges”

  of the template in the lines of individual letters and numbers.

  An emergency landing of Avia S-199.47 from the 2nd flight of the 18th Air Squadron in Plzeň which took place in Dobřany shooting range area on April 23, 1952. Rather weathered

  look of the BS-35 fuselage code is in contrast with glaring white of the national insignia. The code was sprayed through a stencil. The aircraft was painted gray green overall.

  INFO Eduard18

  November 2022

• Page 19

  An example of the marking of the S-199.245 “black A-784” from the Air Military Academy inventory, damaged upon landing on September 20, 1949, by student pilot Štefan Bolcha.

  Later the same marking A-784 was carried by the aircraft serial numbers 134 and 47.

  Rather poor quality but interesting photograph captures

  the aircraft of the staff flight of the 3rd Air Division mar

  -

  ked IR-5 with number shaped in an unusual manner.

  This S-199 could not be identified further but is painted

  light green-gray overall and features the older type

  of “Erla Haube” canopy opening to the side.

  The photograph of the tail section of the brand new S-199

  serial number 167 is dated October 1948. The black serial

  number was applied using the stencil in the “S199-167”

  format. Other stencils are visible: ZDE ZVEDATI (LIFT

  HERE, on the fuselage), ZDE NETLAČIT (DON’T PUSH

  HERE, on the rudder trim) and 1.5 atm (on the tail wheel

  fork), also painted black. Two trim surfaces on the rudder

  were painted red.

  HISTORY

  INFO Eduard

  19

  November 2022

• Page 20

  The long awaited Ukrainian countero-

  ffensive commenced on August 29 in the

  Kherson area. It was launched simulta-

  neously in the north, center and south of

  the area. All bridges across Dnieper were

  repeatedly hit by HIMARS rocket launch-

  ers and therefore impaired the Russian

  supplies to the troops on the river’s right

  bank. The reinforcements and ammunition

  had to be transported across the pontoon

  bridges and also in Mi-8 helicopters. The

  transport helicopters’ formations were

  on these missions escorted by Ka-52 and

  Mi-28 combat helicopters. Initially the

  Ukrainian advance was slow. They learned

  their lesson on the Russian tactics and did

  not want to suffer significant losses for the

  price of a little territory gain. In addition,

  the Ukrainians strictly limited the access

  to the information about the whole area.

  The Russian propaganda took advantage

  of it. Based on the photographs of seve-

  ral Ukrainian tanks knocked down during

  the attacks on the Russian fortified posi-

  tion the Russians claimed the Ukrainian

  offensive was a debacle where the whole

  Ukrainian units were annihilated. On Sep-

  tember 4 however these “annihilated units”

  liberated the village of Vysokopylya in the

  north of Kherson area. The Russian had

  transformed it into the heavily fortified

  point. Previously it took the Russian tro-

  ops months and weeks to capture similar

  Ukrainian positions. The Ukrainians were

  able to achieve this in couple of days and in

  a similar manner methodically advance in

  other places. Since we mentioned HIMARS

  rocket launchers, they were used, at least

  during the first days of the counterattack,

  to hit the first line targets. This happened

  for the first time. Until then the Ukrainians

  used them exclusively to destroy the very

  import targets located deep in the enemy

  territory.

  Counterattack in two directions

  While everybody was watching the Kherson

  area the Ukrainians unexpectedly hit on

  the other side of the frontline, in Kharkov

  area. While in the first sector the Russians

  had meticulously prepared several lines

  of defense in the other on the consistent

  line of defense practically did not exist. The

  Russian troops were concentrated in the

  fortified cities and villages with no man’s

  land between them. But more importantly,

  there was open space behind them and no

  second line of defense. And the Ukrainians

  precisely hit this weak point. On September

  6 they advanced to Balakliya, an important

  transportation center. They did not waste

  time by re-capturing the city though, they

  rushed further towards Kupyansk. The

  Russian troops had to flee Balakliya other-

  HISTORY

  This article covers the period from September 1 to October 1.

  Since the beginning of war, the most important events took pla-

  ce during this month. The whole Kharkov area was liberated,

  and the Ukrainian troops achieved important successes in the

  Kherson area. The aviation activities were closely tied to

  the ground fighting so let’s look at that one first.

  Ukrainian soldiers liberated Kupyansk during a surprise offensive in the Kharkiv region.

  The beginning of the Ukrainian offensive in Kherson Oblast in late August and early September. In the background are

  YPR-765 transports, which are the Dutch version of the US M113 machines.

  Ukrainian soldiers raise the flag in Vysokopylya,

  Kherson Oblast.

  Text: Miro Barič

  Photo: Ukrainian Armed Forces

  and public sources

  Air war

  over Ukraine

  Ukrainian

  blitzkrieg

  INFO Eduard20

  November 2022

• Page 21

  HISTORY

  wise they would have been surrounded.

  This was repeated at several other places

  and on September 10 the Ukrainians rea-

  ched Kupyansk and Izyum. By September

  12 the whole Kharkov area was liberated

  when the Ukrainian troops reached the

  Russian border in the north. On the libe-

  rated territory they captured hundreds of

  pieces of the military equipment left behind

  in panic by the fleeing occupiers. The cap-

  tured equipment included the undamaged,

  most modern Russian T-90M tank which

  is supposedly being studied somewhere

  in the West at this time.

  There has been a lot of speculation if the

  Ukrainians just took advantage of the weak

  Russian defense lines in the Kharkov area,

  or they had planned the attack from the

  beginning and the Kherson counterattack

  was only a bait which the Russians took.

  As usual the truth is somewhere in be-

  tween. The Ukrainians supposedly wanted

  to attack in two places from the beginning

  and the Kherson direction was not only

  a bait and both attacks were planned as

  the full scale operations. Even before the

  second operation was launched the infor-

  mation from “secret services community”

  leaked into the Western media according to

  which the Ukrainians had intended to attack

  in two directions but the American allies,

  who were consulted, advised to focus on

  Kherson. It is clear now that leaking this

  information was to confuse the Russians

  and divert their vigilance to the other front-

  -line sectors. And it seems to have worked

  out. The Russians only managed to react

  in their typical fashion – by shelling the

  civilian targets far behind the front-line.

  After the Kharkov area liberation on Sun-

  day September 11 there were attacks on the

  power stations and transformer system.

  On September 14 the attack on Karachuniv

  dam at the city of Krivyy Rih followed.

  It was hit by eight rockets launched from

  the bombers. It’s damage caused floods

  in the surrounding area. 112 houses were

  flooded. Article 56 of the Supplementary

  Protocol for the International Humanitarian

  Law from 1977 forbids the military attacks

  on the facilities that release the destructive

  forces. Specifically, the dams, levees and

  nuclear power stations are listed.

  After a short operational break necessa-

  ry to consolidate the liberated territory,

  re-supply and give troops some rest, on

  Friday September 23 the Ukrainian troops

  on the north-eastern front continued to

  advance. The target was city of Lyman. The

  Ukrainians repeated the successful scena-

  rio from the beginning of September. They

  did not waste time re-capturig the strongly

  fortified city but by-passed it on both sides

  threatening to surround it. This time the

  Russian troops did not retreat immediate-

  ly. They planned to ambush the Ukrainians

  Symbols of combat actions on a HIMARS missile launcher of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

  While fleeing the battlefield, the Russian soldiers also left behind an undamaged state-of-the-art T-90M tank.

  INFO Eduard

  21

  November 2022

• Page 22

  a bit further north. For several days they

  attacked from different direction on the

  villages east of city of Kupyansk where the

  Ukrainians established a little bridgehead

  behind Oskil river. The Russians deployed

  the elite units equipped with T-90 tanks. All

  these attacks were repelled though, thanks

  to the minefields, artillery, mobile missi-

  les, and aviation. The Russians lost tens

  of tanks and three to four tactical battalion

  groups. They did not relieve the pressure

  on Lyman and the city surrendered in the

  beginning of October. The Ukrainians rea-

  ched the road connecting another two im-

  portant cities, Svatove and Krmnina. In the

  beginning of October there was another

  successful breach in the Kherson area.

  Mobilization and annexation

  There was a little “earthquake” in the di-

  plomatic and political quarters. The su-

  ccessful Ukrainian advance forced the Ru-

  ssian president Putin to declare a partial

  mobilization on September 21. On March

  8 in the speech to the Russian women he

  stated it will never happen. The mobiliza-

  tion affected 300 thousand reservists with

  the military experience and ideally posse-

  ssing much needed specializations. They

  were to be dispatched to the front after

  receiving the resumption military training.

  But as a Russian saying goes, they wanted

  the best, but it ended as always. A large

  number of men fled Russia since the mi-

  litary commissars were drafting practica-

  lly everybody who they could get hold of,

  regardless of the experience. And over the

  time more and more cases were reported

  when they sent drafted men to the front

  immediately and without any training.

  Consequently, Putin declared the referen-

  dums about the annexation to Russia of

  four occupied Ukrainian areas – Donetsk,

  Luhansk, Zaporozhiye and Kherson. It did

  not matter that none of these are contro-

  lled by Russians and the fighting is still

  going on in all of them. These mock refe-

  rendums were completed on September

  27 with the outcome predictable in advan-

  ce. Neither Ukraine nor the rest of the

  world honored them. At the UN General

  Assembly 143 countries voted for the reso-

  lution condemning the illegal annexation.

  Only five countries were against – Russia,

  Belorus, Nicaragua, North Korea and

  Syria. Despite this fact the Russians claim

  the occupied territories belong to them and

  threaten with nuclear weapons deploy-

  ment to defend them.

  The ongoing war in Ukraine is still conven-

  tional one and we all hope it will not esca-

  late based on the aforementioned threats

  - on the contrary, that it will end as soon as

  possible. One of the things that significantly

  contributed to the rapid Ukrainian advance,

  and which deserves more attention are

  the HARM missiles. We spoke about their

  initial deployment by the Ukrainians in the

  previous article. The information available

  was rather sketchy though and this has not

  changed since. It is clear though that besi-

  des Mig-29 fighters they are being used by

  Su-27. Probably it is only a matter of insta-

  lling the modified attachment points. HARM

  missiles play the irreplaceable role in blin-

  ding the Russian AA defense. According to

  the unconfirmed Ukrainian information in

  a day they managed to destroy 10 Russian

  radars. At the crucial moments of launch-

  ing the Ukrainian counterattacks this

  enabled more flexible deployment of the

  HISTORY

  A Ukrainian Su-27 with an AGM-88 HARM missile underhung.

  A series of shots of the Ukrainian MiG-29UB two-seater. Although not visible in these photos, it is a “white 91” machine. Note the Spirit of Kiev emblem on the nose.

  A Ukrainian Su-25 in low flight over a highway.

  INFO Eduard22

  November 2022

• Page 23

  Ukrainian AF to support the ground attacks.

  The Russian AF also had to engage in the

  support of the ground attacks. In the pre-

  ceding months it had always attacked from

  the distance – either by the guided missiles

  launched from their own territory far be-

  hind the frontline or unguided rockets on

  the ballistic trajectory couple of kilometers

  away from the frontline. During this peri-

  od of time however the Russian pilots had

  to execute repeated direct attacks. It was

  required in an effort to stop or at least slow

  down the Ukrainian blitzkrieg and chaotic

  situation on the ground battlefield. During

  these direct attacks they were of course

  exposed to the mobile AA missiles used by

  the Ukrainian soldiers which led to the ste-

  ep increase in the losses.

  Russian losses

  On September 7 a Su-25SM was shot down

  in the Kharkov area. At least four porta-

  ble missiles were launched at it as it can

  be seen in the video footage. It shows in

  what environment the Russian pilots have

  to operate while directly attacking the

  ground targets.

  The aircraft wreck was found in four days,

  on September 11, near the village of Volo-

  chiv Yar. It carried “blue 04” call sign and

  registration number RF-95134. Pilot’s fate

  remains unknown. Around the same time

  Su-34 with “red 20” call sign and registra-

  tion number RF-95004 was shot down near

  Izyum. It’s burnt out wreck was discovered

  by the Ukrainian soldiers on September

  9 during their advance.

  This type, supposedly a pride of the

  Russian AF, has not been very successful

  in the Ukrainian war. At least 18 Su-34 are

  confirmed destroyed. The heavier losses

  were suffered only by Su-25 (namely 23)

  which however more frequently operate

  in the dangerous vicinity of the frontline.

  One Su-34 was to be destroyed on Sep-

  tember 12, but it is not fully confirmed. The

  incident was captured on video shot from

  the distance showing the wreck lying on

  a Crimean field surrounded by the firefigh-

  ting vehicles and rescue team members.

  According to some source it could have

  been Su-25.

  Su-34’s black day was Saturday Septem-

  ber 24 when two of this aircraft type were

  confirmed destroyed. In fact, the Ukrainians

  claimed more kills on that day, including a

  helicopter. Two kills however are recorded

  on video. The first Sukhoi plunged to the

  ground near Hlushchenkov in the Kharkov

  area after the hits by Stinger mobile missi-

  les set one of its engines on fire. The other

  Su-34 crashed on that day at Petropavlivka

  near Kupyansk. The crew ejected to safety.

  During this reporting period the Ukrainians

  also claimed several helicopters destro-

  yed. The hits by mobile missiles on two

  Ka-52 are confirmed and both helicopters

  crashed on October 1 in the Zaporozhye

  area. Their crash was captured on video.

  Kamov Ka-52 is another aircraft type that

  has not been successful in the Ukrainian

  war. At least 22 of them were destroyed.

  Accidents and gift for intelligence

  In addition to the combat losses the inten-

  se deployment and consequent pilots’ and

  equipment fatigue result in accidents. Two

  of them on the Russian side were recorded

  during the reporting period. On September

  19 two S-25s were taking off from Millero-

  vo airbase one after the other in quick or-

  der. Under the wings they carried two drop

  tanks and two B-13L rocket launchers for

  five S-13 122 mm caliber rockets, a typical

  load for the type of combat missions Ru-

  ssian AF conducts in Ukraine. Immediately

  after getting airborne both aircraft started

  to turn left. The rear aircraft banked too

  much, slipped to the ground and explo-

  ded. The pilot did not survive. According

  to the Russian media it was 27-years old

  Daniil Dolbik from city of Donetsk in the

  Russian Rostov area (not to be confused

  with well-known Donetsk in Ukraine!). The

  HISTORY

  A Russian Su-25 “Blue 04” with registration number

  RF-95134 was shot down in Kharkiv Oblast in early

  September.

  The downed Su-30SM with registration number RF-81773 and call sign ”Red 62” left a gift to the Ukrainians

  in the form of an RTU 518-PSM electronic warfare container.

  INFO Eduard

  23

  November 2022

• Page 24

  cause of the accident remains unknown.

  It could have been pilot’s error, sudden

  mechanical failure or combination of both.

  Another accident took place on October 1 at

  Belbek airbase in Sevastopol, Crimea. Mig-

  31 was unable to gain altitude after the take

  off. A pilot aborted the take off however did

  not manage to stop the aircraft before the

  end of runway, slipped of it and crashed on

  the cliffs above the seacoast. The explosion

  of the ordnance carried under the wing fo-

  llowed and the Russian pilot perished.

  Besides the aircraft and helicopters which

  destruction was confirmed during the re-

  porting period, the wrecks of the aircraft

  shot down in the preceding months were

  found. These have not been recorded in the

  loss reports yet. The most interesting dis-

  covery of this kind was Su-30SM carrying

  the registration number RF-81773 and “red

  62” call sign. The Ukrainian soldiers found

  its wreck near Izyum but the plane could

  have been shot down several months ear-

  lier. All that time the Russians have not

  attempted to recover or destroy it, which is

  surprising as there was a newest system

  for the electronic warfare on board called

  Chibiny-U. It consists of the RTU 518-PSM

  container with the active jamming system

  located on the right wingtip, RTU 518-LSM1

  container with the passive detection of the

  signals hostile to the aircraft located on the

  left wingtip and the system KS REP in the

  fuselage. The container RTU 518-PSM was

  found at the Su-30SM crash site almost in-

  tact which will be a gold mine for the Wes-

  tern intelligence.

  Ukrainian losses

  During the reported period the speaker of

  the Russian Ministry of Defense, Igor Ko-

  nashenkov announced that from the begi-

  nning of the “special military operation” 300

  Ukrainian aircraft have been shot down.

  This is an oddity of the Russian propagan-

  da since anyone even remotely interes-

  ted in the matter knows that Ukraine has

  never had so many aircraft altogether. On

  the contrary, from September 1 to October

  1 only four Ukrainian aircraft have been

  shot down. On September 7, on his 95th

  combat mission, Vadym Blagovisny, Su-25

  pilot from 299th Tactical Air Brigade was

  killed. He perished a week before his 27th

  birthday. On September 19, near Yehoriv-

  ka in the Donetsk area another Ukraini-

  an Su-25 was shot down. Pilot’s fate re-

  mains unknown. The Russian media later

  stated that he had been hit by 9K33 Osa

  (SA-8 Gecko), a self-propelled AA sys-

  tem. On September 29 in the Kherson area

  a Ukrainian Su-24 was destroyed. One of

  its engines was hit by an air-ground mi-

  ssile and set of fire. The crew ejected and

  survived. Only couple of days earlier the

  Ukrainians published a video showing

  a pair of Su-24 dropping the para-bombs

  on the Russian positions. The Ukrainian

  Su-24s should have been all completely

  destroyed long time ago, according to the

  Russian claim. Apparently, they continue

  to fly and fight. Thursday September 29

  however was a black day for the Ukraini-

  an AF. Besides the aforementioned Su-24,

  a Mig-29 was lost in combat. Its pilot,

  26-years old Maj. Taras Redkin was killed.

  Weapons from Iran

  Another crucial event was noted during

  the reporting period – Russian deployment

  of the Iranian drones. It remains unknown

  how many of them Iran delivered, tens of

  Mohajer-6 and Shahed-129 and several

  hundreds of Shahed-136 kamikaze drones

  are mentioned. It was reported that as far

  as Shahed-136 is concerned Russia is inte-

  rested in several thousands of them. Iran

  has denied any drones’ deliveries. It is lo-

  gical, it would be a breach of the sanctions

  which prohibit the export of select types

  of weapons. There is a proof, however.

  On September 23, near Odessa a Moha-

  jer-6 drone was fished out of the Black Sea.

  It had been shot down there previously. The

  miniature guided missile was still hanging

  under its wing. Its avionics must have been

  examined in detail in order to develop the

  countermeasures. A number of countries

  will certainly be interested in them. At least

  two Shahed-129 drones were shot down by

  the Ukrainian forces. These are fairly large

  drones. Mohajer-6 wingspan is 10 meters,

  Shahed-129 16 meters. They are propelled

  by a noisy reciprocal engine, fly slowly (200

  kph and 150 kph) and are easily detected by

  radar. Their advantage is a very long range,

  2,000 km, and 1,700 km respectively.

  The most widely used UAVs in the Russi-

  an service are however the Iranian Sha-

  hed-136 kamikaze drones. They are 3.5 m

  long, feature delta wing and are propelled

  by four cylinder reciprocal engine driving

  a pusher propeller. Their maximum spe-

  ed is 185 kph. The range is not known, it

  is said to be around 2000 km. The aircraft

  weighs 200 kilos out of which 40 kilos go to

  the explosive head. The Ukrainians nickna-

  med them “moped” thanks to their typical

  engine sound. The information about their

  efficiency vary. One extreme opinion state

  that they are exceptionally dangerous and

  cause Ukrainians heavy losses. The oppo-

  site opinion describes them as primitive

  and easy to destroy. As usual the truth is

  somewhere in between. Shahed-136 dro-

  nes are in fact easy to shoot down. They

  fly slow and low, and it was reported that

  the infantry shot them down with Kalashni-

  kovs. For that reason, the Russians launch

  them in large numbers and waves to cho-

  ke the defenses and let at least couple of

  them to penetrate to the target. Once they

  manage that they are accurate and there-

  fore efficient.

  HISTORY

  The Ukrainians fished out of the Black Sea a nearly intact Iranian Mohajer-6 drone.

  The Russians have begun using Iran's Shahed-136 kamikaze drones in large numbers.

  INFO Eduard24

  November 2022

• Page 25

  HISTORY

  Preparing a Ukrainian Su-27 for a training flight. It carries no armament on the hangers.

  INFO Eduard

  25

  November 2022

• Page 26

  Stanley Winfield Vejtasa was the only U.S. Navy

  aviator to receive the Navy Cross for his servi-

  ce as a bomber and fighter pilot. He capped

  his remarkable career in the 1960s as skipper

  of the USS Constellation (CV-64) and later

  as commander of Naval Air Station Miramar

  (yes, the Top Gun!).

  He was born on July 27, 1914, in Paris, Montana.

  His mother was Inga Amalia Rinnhagen, a Nor-

  wegian American. He inherited from her the

  Nordic appearance that later earned him the

  nickname Swede. Stanley's father John was

  born in 1888 in Fairdale, Walsh County, North

  Dakota. Swede's Czech grandfather František

  Josef Vejtasa, who was from Boňov in the High-

  lands region (Vysočina), met, in the USA, his

  wife Františka née Svobodová, who was born

  in Ohrazenice, near Boňov. Besides John, they

  had nine more children. The daughters were

  named Antonia, Amelia and Marry. Two sons

  were given the English names Stanley and

  Frank, but the others had the typically Czech

  names Cyril, Anton, Vlastimil and Bohumil.

  Stanley joined the US Navy in 1937 and in

  August 1939 he became a pilot with SBD

  Dauntless in Scouting Squadron Five

  (VS-5) aboard the USS Yorktown. He received

  his first Navy Cross for a raid on March 10,

  1942, on Salamaua and Lae, New Guinea. He

  earned a second one for the May 4, 1942, raid

  on Tulagi and for the Battle of the Coral Sea,

  specifically for his part in the sinking of the

  aircraft carrier Shōhō on May 7 and for aeri-

  al combat with enemy aircraft during May 8.

  He received his third Navy Cross for extra-

  ordinary achievement on October 26, 1942,

  during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands as

  a member of VF-10 aboard the USS Enterprise.

  During this battle, the Reaper 7 division he led

  was part of CAP (Combat Air Patrol) over the

  task force. Big E and the USS Hornet launched

  a total of 37 Wildcats in their defence. Heading

  towards the Americans was a Japanese for-

  mation of 55 aircraft led by Lt. Cdr. Shigeharu

  Murata. The Japanese commander had visual

  contact with the American carrier two minutes

  before his formation appeared on the radars of

  both flat tops. At 0915, Murata gave the order

  to attack. What followed was a large-scale en-

  gagement of more than ninety aircraft, which

  was accompanied on the American side by

  tremendous improvisation by both ship crews

  and airmen due to radar malfunctions on the

  carriers.

  Vejtasa first succeeded in attacking six D3A

  Vals from Zuikaku under Lt.(jg) Nobuo Yoneda

  and shot down the damaged machine of PO2c

  Toshio Nishimori, who was lagging the for-

  mation. Vejtasa then attacked three Vals from

  Zuikaku that were retreating. They were led by

  Lt. Yutaka Ishimaru. Vejtasa managed to shoot

  down one of the wingmen just above the water.

  This moment is captured on our boxart by artist

  Piotr Forkasiewicz. Until this moment Vejtasa

  failed to drop one of the auxiliary tanks and

  even had to restart the engine. At that time, the

  Hornet was hit by three bombs, two torpedoes

  and two damaged Japanese bombers crashed

  into the carrier deliberately. When the second

  attack wave approached, only eight Wildcats

  were patrolling over the American fleet, four

  of them under Vejtasa's command. Thirteen

  others were circling low over the surface.

  Around 1045, Vejtasa formation spotted B5N

  Kate torpedo bombers from Zuikaku between

  storm clouds and the task force. Vejtasa and

  his wingman attacked the formation under

  Lt. Masayuki Yusuhara. He shot down one

  bomber by himself and then, in cooperation

  with another pilot, shot down the crew of PO1c

  Ken-ichirō Toshida. He then attacked three Ka-

  tes from 45th Shōtai of Zuikaku. Directly from

  behind, he shot down 2nd plane of PO1c Heiji

  Tamura, then hit the lead aircraft of Ens. Kazu-

  masa Kanada and finally destroyed 3rd plane

  of PO1c Kazu-o Yamauchi.

  During the Japanese torpedo attack, Vejta-

  sa pursued low over the water another Kate,

  apparently commanded by PO1c Yasuo Kikuchi

  of the 44th Shōtai. Either Vejtasa or one of the

  ships firing furiously at the Japanese hit the

  bomber. The burning machine slammed into

  the destroyer USS Smith, leaving on board

  a torpedo warhead that exploded six minu-

  tes later. Eventually, Vejtasa chased one of

  the bombers retreating low. He set it on fire

  with the rest of his ammunition and watched

  in amazement as the Japanese crew flew the

  burning machine another five miles before it

  crashed into the sea. The battle was not yet

  over, but Vejtasa´s formation was crucial in

  disrupting the attack against the Enterprise.

  His record of seven aerial victories in a single

  combat was matched only by few American

  pilots by the end of the war.

  BOXART STORY #82202

  Text: Jan Bobek

  Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz

  Swede at Santa Cruz

  INFO Eduard26

  November 2022

• Page 27

  #82162

  BOXART STORY

  The Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-14/AS with

  a number one on the side of the fuselage

  was found at the end of the war at Twenthe

  airfield in the Netherlands. In the past, there

  were disputes about the colour of the stripes

  on the fuselage, the colour of the fuselage

  number, or whether its serial number was

  786930 or 786938. In our kit, we leaned to

  -

  wards some selection of these possibilities.

  The machine probably belonged to III./JG 6,

  although it lacks the III. Gruppe marking and

  the bands on the fuselage, which are rare

  -

  ly documented on this unit, should be three,

  two red and a white one in the middle. The

  question is how this Messerschmitt got to

  this base. Because JG 6 did not have a base

  at Twenthe and did not operate in this part of

  Europe from early January 1945. It cannot be

  ruled out that “1” participated in the attack on

  Allied airfields on New Year's Day 1945, the

  so-called Operation Bodenplatte.

  JG 6 “Horst Wessel” is one of the lesser

  -

  -known Luftwaffe units. As its combat name

  suggests, the I. and II. Gruppe were formed

  at Königsberg in July 1944 by the re-desig

  -

  nation of I. and II./ZG 26 “Horst Wessel”. Their

  pilots switched from twin-engined fighters

  to Fw 190s. The III. Gruppe had a different

  origin, however, and was formed in October

  1944 by the renaming of I./JG 5 “Eismeer”

  equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 109s. It was

  commanded by the well-known fighter pi

  -

  lot Theo Weissenberger, who had 200 aerial

  victories to his credit at that time. At the

  end of November, he left this unit to join

  JG 7 armed with Me 262 jets to take over

  its I. Gruppe. He was replaced by Major

  Helmut Kühle, who previously commanded

  II./JG 52 and before that, in 1943, had the Slovak

  13./JG 52 under his command.

  The commander of the entire JG 6 was

  Austrian Obstlt. Johann Kogler, originally

  a Bf 110 pilot and a veteran of the Battle of

  Britain. He learned of the plan to attack Allied

  airfields at a briefing in early December. The

  target of JG 6 was to be the Volkel airbase in

  The Netherlands. He briefed some of his offi

  -

  cers about the operation and its target and

  even had a model of Volkel airfield built so

  that the raid could be well prepared. When

  the offensive in the Ardennes began to take

  place, Kogler was surprised because the or

  -

  der to raid the Allied airfields had not come.

  He was even more surprised when the order

  eventually came on December 31, 1944, the

  raid was to be carried out on New Year's Day.

  Everything seemed to be in perfect read

  -

  iness and three Ju 88 night fighters from

  III./NJG 5 were on standby at each Gruppe to

  guide the attacking formations to their tar

  -

  gets in flight very low over the terrain. The

  first wave of the attack was to be carried

  out by Focke-Wulfs from I. and II. Gruppe,

  while Messerschmitts from III. Gruppe were

  to provide altitude cover. The Germans, ho

  -

  wever, had no idea of the newly built Allied

  air bases at Heesch and Helmond, which

  were on their flight path to Volkel. During the

  flight to the target, the formation even flew,

  to the surprise of both sides, over Heesch

  airfield, where Canadian Spitfires were ba

  -

  sed. Moreover, while navigating to Volkel,

  where two Wings of Tempests and Typho

  -

  ons were based, an error was made, and the

  JG 6 formation did not find the intended tar-

  get at all. Instead, I./JG 6 mistakenly attacked

  Eindhoven, while II./JG 6 together with

  III./JG 6 attacked Helmond also by mistake.

  The worst losses were suffered by III./JG 6,

  this unit lost 13 of the 20 Messerschmitts

  deployed. It was attacked by several Spitfi

  -

  res from No. 401 Squadron RCAF while still

  flying towards the target. The German figh

  -

  ters reported the Canadians to Kühle, but he

  ordered them to continue to the target. Then

  the Canadians managed to shoot down two

  Bf 109s. Only then did Kühle order part of his

  unit to engage the Spitfires.

  After the action, JG 6 claimed the destruction

  or damage of 43 aircraft on the ground and

  the shooting down of six fighters in the air.

  However, the operation ended disastrous

  -

  ly for this unit. Kommodore Kogler and

  Major Kühle were hit by flak, the Kommo-

  dore was captured while the commander

  of III./JG 6 was killed. Total 43% of the 77 air-

  craft deployed were destroyed or damaged.

  The unit lost 23 pilots who were killed,

  missing, or captured.

  JG 6 was withdrawn from combat after this

  action in order to be reequipped. Its new

  Kommodore was Gerhard Barkhorn, and

  it was to fight on the Eastern Front until

  the end of the war.

  Text: Jan Bobek

  Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz

  Surprise over Heesch

  INFO Eduard

  27

  November 2022

• Page 28

  On the cover of the Bf 110 G-4 night fighter

  release, Adam Tooby depicts a dramatic scene

  in which fighter ace Wilhelm Johnen shoots

  down a British Lancaster bomber. The Me

  -

  sserschmitt, which sports Johnen's victories

  marked on its tail surfaces, was found at the

  end of the war in Neubiberg, Bavaria, and be

  -

  longed to the 7./NJG 6, which was part of the

  III./NJG 6 led by Johnen. This machine brings

  several questions. For example, why are the

  victories of the Gruppe commander marked

  on an airplane from the 7. Staffel. How is it

  possible that some of Johnen's victories are

  missing or show a wrong date on said mar

  -

  kings. Another question is whether or not the

  rudders of this machine were painted white.

  This Johnen's aircraft is a classic example

  of Luftwaffe improvisation level at the end

  of the war.

  Wilhelm Johnen was trained in Pardubice

  in occupied Bohemia, then in Zeltweg, Styria,

  Wien-Aspern and finally in Schleissheim, Ba

  -

  varia. In June 1941, he became a night fighter

  pilot in 3./NJG 1. This Staffel was redesignated

  in December 1942 to 5./NJG 5 and in May 1944

  to 9./NJG 6. The last change was related to the

  redesignation of the entire II./NJG 5 to III./NJG

  6 and Johnen was appointed commander of

  8./NJG 6. In mid-February 1945, Hptm. Johnen,

  already a Knight's Cross recipient, became

  commander of the entire III./NJG 6. His unit,

  previously deployed in Hungary for several

  months, had to withdraw to bases in Bavaria

  before the advancing Red Army. At the end

  of March, Johnen was forced to reorganize his

  force and concentrate all combat equipment

  and personnel under 7./NJG 6. Hence his

  aerial victories appeared on the tail surfaces

  of a machine from the 7th Staffel, even though

  he was the commander of the entire Gruppe

  and didn't previously serve with 7./NJG 6,

  even when it bore different designations.

  Wilhelm Johnen achieved his last, 34th vic

  -

  tory on the night of 16-17 March 1945 near

  Würzburg. His plane was destroyed by RAF

  Mosquito after the landing. The city was rai

  -

  ded by 225 Lancasters and 11 Mosquito aircraft

  from 5 Group Bomber Command RAF. The

  town was an important transport hub, but the

  -

  re were no industrial or military targets. The

  primary reason for the raid was to break the

  resistance of the German population. The first

  bombs fell on the city at 2125 hours. Firstly 396

  tons of bombs were released on the buildings,

  destroying roofs and windows, then the bom

  -

  bers dropped 582 tons of incendiary bombs.

  The raid lasted only twenty minutes, but some

  3,000 residents and approximately 2,000 refu

  -

  gees were killed in the firestorm, which re-

  ached between 1,500 and 2,000°C. About 90%

  of the historic centre and 68% of the buildings

  in the suburbs were destroyed. Considering

  the extent of the percentages of the urban

  area destroyed, this was bigger a destruction

  than the raid on Dresden. The fire was visible

  from a distance of 240 km and the clearing

  of the debris was not completed until 1964.

  The RAF lost only six Lancasters during the

  raid and probably five of these were attacked

  by night fighters. It is not certain which one

  was shot down by Johnen's crew. One of these

  was an NG352 (EA

  -

  J) from No. 49 Squad

  -

  ron RAF, commanded by F/O John B. Gibson.

  Flight Engineer Sgt. Roberts later recalled

  that they reached the target area a little ear

  -

  lier than the Pathfinder crews. Roberts was

  just pouring tea when their machine was hit

  by a devastating cannon fire. He knew that

  he had about ten seconds to bail out of the

  burning Lancaster. He helped their bombar

  -

  dier, Canadian Sgt. R. M. Henderson, to get out

  of his position. The machine was full of smo-

  ke and flames. Apart from the top gunner,

  Sgt. Austin Finnerty, all crew members man-

  aged to bail out. In the days that followed, they

  were all successively captured. One experi

  -

  ence Roberts has not forgotten was a mem-

  ber of the German Home Guard escorting him

  with a World War I spiked helmet.

  Next morning, two clergy men found radio

  operator Sgt. Don J. Hughes hiding in the sa

  -

  cristy of the Elbelstadt church. They handed

  him over to a local doctor, from whom he

  was taken for interrogation. After two days

  in police custody, on Sunday, March 18, 1945,

  detectives Josef Axt and Johann Weber of the

  Würzburg Criminal Police came for him. They

  took him to the river and Axt shot him in the

  back of the head. Hughes' body was found

  the next day and after the war he was buried

  in the Durnbach War Cemetery. Following

  a trial in 1946, Axt was executed by firing

  squad, while Weber was sentenced to twenty

  years in prison.

  BOXART STORY

  Text: Jan Bobek

  Illustration: Adam Tooby

  Night over Würzburg

  #7465

  INFO Eduard28

  November 2022

• Page 29

  BOXART STORY

  Being shot down is every fighter pilot’s ni-

  ghtmare. But it doesn’t have to be someone’s

  end. Many have been shot down, some even

  more than once, and managed to escape. It is

  admirable that pilots have returned under fire

  of combat after such an experience. Unless

  they were captured... Lt. d. R. Hans Schultz

  was shot down twice, and he survived both

  times. The first time he also managed to

  escape, the second time he was not so lucky.

  And it is the theme of Adam Tooby’s boxart,

  where Schultz falls victim to Canadian C. H.

  R. Lagesse of No. 29 Squadron RAF. However,

  interesting events preceded this incident...

  On March 20, 1918, an unprecedented affair

  occurred in the Luftstreitkräfte (German AF).

  Hptm. Rudolf Berthold, the then comman-

  der of Jasta 18, was to take command of the

  JG II fighter group, but he conditioned his

  move on the possibility of taking his uni-

  t’s personnel with him. But the inclusion of

  Jasta 18 into JG II was not possible, so a “great

  exchange” happened, the victim of which was

  one of the fighter units of JG II, namely Jas-

  ta 15. The commanders simply swapped their

  Jasta logs and bases as well. Jasta 18 headed

  to Guise and became Jasta 15, while the ori-

  ginal Jasta 15 had to move to Bruille, where

  it began operating as Jasta 18. And the very

  next day it joined the German spring offensive

  in the 17th Army sector. Under the command

  of Lt. d. Res. August Raben, Jasta 18 adopted

  a new identity for their aircraft in the form

  of white fuselages with red noses. The first

  day of the offensive passed and the next day

  Jasta 18 suffered its first loss. Lt. d. R. Hans

  Schultz was shot down over no-man’s land.

  He was unharmed, managed to escape and

  returned to the unit two days later.

  In the early evening of June 6, nine Jasta

  18 fighters took off at about 1800 hrs from

  Lomme airport for a patrol flight north of the

  French town of Hazenbrouck. The unit was

  at the time in the process of changing their

  Albatroses for Fokkers D.VII. This new type

  probably prevailed in the formation. At 1745

  hrs, SE.5a formation of No. 29 Squadron RAF

  also took to the air, heading for the same

  sector. The German pilots spotted the enemy

  flying a little lower around 18:00 and swooped

  down on them, but the RAF pilots managed to

  turn their aircraft against the enemy in time.

  Then a skirmish ensued. Lt. Rolfe chased one

  of the Fokkers down to 9000 ft (2700 m), whe-

  re the aircraft caught fire and crashed. Karl

  Albert Mendel, an ace with seven kills, was

  killed in the cockpit. Meanwhile Lt. Lagesse in

  his SE.5a (D5969) was already chasing Fokker

  D.VII of Hans Schultz. The combat report sta-

  ted: “Lt C H R Lagesse, accompanied by Capt

  R C L Holme MC and Lt H A Whittaker, saw

  an enemy Scout over Hazebrouck at about

  1800 hrs. All three dived on it. Lt Lagesse fou-

  ght it to within about 2000 ft of the ground,

  when it was obviously due to land this side.

  He then left it, and the enemy aircraft landed

  north of Hazebrouck and turned over on its

  nose.” Again, Schultz escaped the crash alive,

  but this time he did not escape capture and

  remained in custody for the rest of the war.

  His Fokker D.VII 386/18 was the first exam-

  ple of this type to fall into British hands, and

  of course it was thoroughly examined. Today

  it is an exhibit at the Royal Air Force Museum

  in Hendon.

  Hans Walter Schultz was born in Berlin on

  27 May 1893 and began his flying career

  with the observation Fliegerabteilung 273

  (FA A 273). He completed fighter training from

  14 October to 14 November 1917 and was then

  assigned to Jasta 15, which later became Jas-

  ta 18. He scored his only kill before being cap-

  tured on 24 May 1918. He survived his capture

  and became an architect after the war. He died

  on 20 July 1975 in Berlin.

  His defeater, Camille Henri Raoul Lagesse,

  achieved his fifth success by shooting down

  Schultz and thus became an ace. By the end

  of the war, he had fifteen more kills (including

  two balloons) under his belly and became

  the 23rd most successful Canadian fighter

  pilot of the Great War. Born in January 1893

  on the island of Mauritius, he graduated from

  the Royal College and continued his studies

  in France. Then he joined the ranks of the

  28th London Regiment in 1916 and changed for

  the Royal Flying Corps in July 1917, where he

  was promoted to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant

  on September 26, 1917. He transferred

  to No. 29 Squadron on March 20, 1918 and flew

  a total of 426 combat hours during the war.

  He was twice awarded the DFC for his com-

  bat achievements and received the Croix de

  Guerre as well. He died just six months after

  Schultz, on February 15, 1976, in France.

  Text: Richard Plos

  Illustration: Adam Tooby

  The Prey

  #82132

  INFO Eduard

  29

  November 2022

• Page 30

  Night fighters were a specifically trained

  breed of pilots during World War II, and

  this was doubly true of the naval ones.

  One of those who took a keen interest

  in this “discipline” within the US Navy was the

  legendary Butch O'Hare, America’s first na-

  val fighter ace. He was on a night mission

  with his Hellcat F6F-3 when the disappeared

  somewhere in the ocean off the Gilbert Is

  -

  lands on November 26, 1943. This was not

  a standard night fighters deployment,

  however, just a proving-ground operation

  of “daylight” F6F-3s supported by Avenger

  equipped with airborne radar.

  The first actual deployment of night

  fighters was preceded by Project Affirm,

  under which the Navy had been testing

  the use of AI radar installed on modified

  F4U-2 Corsairs since 1942. Then in April

  1943, VF(N)-75 was formed and deployed

  with these aircraft from October 31 in the

  Solomon Islands battles. They operated

  from a land base, but in January 1944 two

  detachments (10 and 11) were withdrawn

  to form VF(N)-101, which moved aboard

  USS Enterprise (Det. 10) and USS Interpid

  (Det. 11).

  Then, when the aircraft carrier USS Inde

  -

  pendence (CVL-22) was torpedoed and da-

  maged on November 20, 1943, she sailed for

  repairs to San Francisco, where she was

  fitted with an additional catapult, and it was

  decided that she would become the base of

  a night air group. By July 3, 1944, she was

  in the Hawaiian Islands, where she began

  night operations training on August 24.

  The fighter unit, VF(N)-75, was renamed

  VF-41 on March 26, 1944, and rearmed from

  Corsairs to F6F-5N Hellcats and replaced

  CVLG-22 on board. Shortly thereafter, it was

  reinstated as VF(N)-41 i.e. as night fighting

  unit. Together with the torpedo VT(N)-41,

  armed with TBF Avengers, they formed the

  CVLG(N)-41 group.

  Training in Hawaii was completed after four

  days, on August 29, 1944, when Independen

  -

  ce sailed as part of Task Group 38 to take

  part in Operation Palaus, which was inten

  -

  ded to secure bases for the October attack

  on the Philippines. Its mission was to provi

  -

  de night reconnaissance and patrol flights,

  but since the enemy was not conducting any

  night activity, the unit switched to day ope

  -

  rations.

  In the ranks of the VF(N)-41 was also

  Lt. William E. “Bill” Henry, the most succe-

  ssful naval night fighter ace with 9.5 kills.

  The unit joined the fighting on September

  12, 1944, and the first success was shared

  by Ens. George W. Obenour and Ens. Robert

  W. Klock, who shot down one G4M Betty.

  On the same day, “Bill” Henry also scored

  his first fighter success, sharing one Dinah.

  While this was his second success at the

  time, he achieved the first one as a Dauntle

  -

  ss pilot and member of VS-3 when he shot

  down a Type 95 biplane on October 3, 1942.

  William “Bill” Henry was a graduate of Ju

  -

  nior College in his native Bakersfield. He

  enlisted in the Navy in February 1940 as

  an air cadet and was promoted to the rank

  of Ensign on December 19 of that year.

  He served with VS-3, operating from aboard

  the USS Saratoga, from December 1940

  to December 1942, earning the DFC and

  Air Medal for his service. He then beca-

  me a fighter pilot and served in the ranks

  of VF(N)-75, with which he moved to Inde-

  pendence after reorganization of the unit.

  He gradually added more success until

  January 16, 1945, when he put a full stop

  to VF(N)-41’s overall score by destroying

  a Ki-43 Oscar. The unit scored 46 confirmed

  kills, three probable and three damaged

  while operating from USS Independence.

  On the boxart by Petr Štěpánek, Lt. “Bill”

  Henry prepares his Hellcat F6F-5N for

  takeoff. There’s nothing strange about ta

  -

  king off in daylight. There wasn’t always

  enough “work” for night fighters and so they

  flew daytime missions. Sometimes the ra

  -

  dar was removed, but the planes were then

  unbalanced and harder to control. Henry

  himself shot down only four of his victims

  at night (three of them H8K Emily), the other

  successes were achieved at dawn or dusk.

  Henry earned a bachelor’s degree in

  Aeronautical Engineering from the California

  Institute of Technology in 1949 but continued

  to serve. He was Exec of VF-3, then served

  as CO of Section C of that unit at Valley Forge

  until December 1, 1950. He was subsequent

  -

  ly promoted to the rank of Commander and

  retired on March 1, 1961. He died at the age of

  75 on June 24, 1995, in Los Altos, California.

  BOXART STORY

  Text: Richard Plos

  Illustration: Petr Štěpánek

  From dusk to dawn

  #7079

  INFO Eduard30

  November 2022

• Page 31

• Page 32

  UDÁLOST

  Text and photo: Jan Koutný

  International

  M1124 MaxxPro

  Absolute Winner of the 2022

  Czech (IPMS) Championship

  in his own words

  The model represents the vehicle nickna-

  med “Sv. Václav” (St. Wenceslas), which

  was used by the Czech Army in Afghani-

  stan in March-April 2012 in Wardak pro-

  vince. It was acquired by the Czech Army

  as a loan from the US Army. The photo-

  graphs of the vehicle were taken at the

  Solthan Kheyl base, and the model is ba-

  sed on photographs taken by the driver

  of the vehicle, Mr. Tomáš Procházka. He

  decorated this vehicle with several spe-

  cific motifs (the inscription Modelář 1:1,

  the head of a Star Wars trooper and the

  motif of St. Wenceslas with text). The ve-

  hicle is complemented by the Czech flag,

  which was placed on the upper rear part

  of the hull.

  Compared to the original 1:72 scale kit

  from Galaxy Hobby, the weapons on the

  gun turret have been changed, using a 30

  mm AGS 17 grenade launcher and a 7.62

  mm PKT machine gun. The upper part of

  the hull was modified, where antennas,

  jammers and rope were specifically pla-

  ced compared to the scale kit. The inte-

  rior of the vehicle and the engine com-

  partment as well as the detailed chassis

  were upgraded. The vehicle is shown

  with the gunner's hatch open, the doors

  open and the bonnet open as per the pho-

  tograph. The wheels have been replaced

  and the correct diameter of 1189 mm has

  been used, corresponding to a 16.5 mm

  diameter in 1:72 scale. In the kit, the whe-

  els have 15 mm size in diameter, which

  is basically the only fault in an otherwise

  well designed kit. On the model, the rear

  fenders, lower armour tub, side covers

  in the engine compartment, hood and tu-

  rret armour have been reduced to match

  scale and proportion. Minor details such

  as mirror mounts, door handles, weapon

  handles, antennas, cables, lights, seats,

  armament and equipment were added

  and refined. The vehicle had several vi-

  sible damages caused by operation, spe-

  cifically a dented front bumper under the

  red letter “M” for “Modelář” (Modeller, re-

  ferring to the name of Czech plastic sca-

  le modelling magazine), which was spray

  painted, crooked. In addition, the rear left

  fender was bent. The lettering on the lo-

  wer part of the rear door, namely “trai-

  ler connection” and “NZIJNZ”, was also

  sprayed crooked, as shown on the model.

  Trailer M1102 is a complete new build and

  camouflaged based on photos. The entire

  vehicle, including the trailers, was per-

  fectly documented when photos of this

  vehicle, including the above photo, were

  published on the Modelfórum website

  for the use of modellers by their author,

  Tomáš Procházka. Link here.

  USED KITS AND ACCESSORIES

  Kit: M1124 MAXXPRO by Galaxy Hobby

  Scale: 1/72

  Model of M1102: new build according to the

  drawings scaled down to 1:72 scale

  Photo etch for the model: Tetra

  Grenade launcher: Alex Miniatures

  Machine gun: M240 D/C from Minimali World

  (modified to PKT 7.62 mm)

  Equipment: mix of Galaxy Hobby, CMK, OKB

  Grigorov and other manufacturers

  Wheels: H

  -

  Models

  Decals: Aircutter, on a cart by Handl (custom

  work)

  Other details: Evergreen profiles, mix of wi-

  res and photo etch (different manufacturers)

  INFO Eduard32

  November 2022

• Page 33

  UDÁLOST

  INFO Eduard

  33

  November 2022

• Page 34

  #82202

  F4F-4 Wildcat early

  1/48

  ProfiPACK edition kit of US aircraft carrier

  based fighter F4F-4 Wildcat in 1/48 scale.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  marking options: 6

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: yes, pre-painted

  painting mask: yes

  resin parts: no

  Product page

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard34

  November 2022

• Page 35

  BuNo. 03417, Lt. Stanley W. Vejtasa, VF-10, USS Enterprise (CV-6), October 1942

  BuNo. 5149, VF-3, USS Yorktown (CV-5) & USS Hornet (CV-8), May/June 1942

  Ens. Thomas W. Rhodes, VF-6, USS Enterprise (CV-6), beginning of August 1942

  Paris, Montana native, Stanley Winfield Vejtasa after

  graduation from the university in Montana enlisted

  in the Navy where he undertook the pilot training.

  He finished it at Pensacola base in June 1939 when

  he was twenty-five years old. Consequently, he was

  assigned to VS-5 flying Dauntless off USS Yorktown

  aircraft carrier (CV-5). During the Battle of Coral

  Sea, he scored the hit on Shōhō aircraft carrier.

  In May 1942 he was transferred to VF-10 where he flew

  Wildcat off USS Enterprise aircraft carrier until July

  1943. During the Battle of Santa Cruz, he flew the

  depicted Wildcat BuNo. 03417 and scored seven kills

  at its controls - two D3A Val and five B5N Kate, plus

  one probable kill of B5N Kate. After this mission he

  had eight Japanese flags painted on the access

  hatch under the windshield on the fuselage port side.

  In April 1942 this Wildcat was assigned to VF-3 unit

  based at Kaneohe Bay airbase. The following month

  it was assigned to Ens. G. F. Markham. After that

  the unit was transferred on board of USS Yorktown

  (CV-5). During the Battle of Midway Fox-10 was also

  flown by Lt. A. J. Brassfield who during this engage

  -

  ment shot down four carrier borne D3A Val bombers

  and damaged another two. Despite all the efforts

  of the defenders USS Yorktown was damaged and

  for that reason the surviving Yorktown pilots and

  her Wildcats as well had to be transferred to USS

  Hornet (CV-8) where, under the command of Lt. Cdr.

  Thatch, they formed the provisional unit designated

  VF-3-42-8. One of the pilots of this unit was John

  Burton Bain who flew Wildcat portrayed hereby.

  At that time Ens. Bain’s score stood at two confirmed

  kills, A6M Zero fighter from the Battle of Coral Sea

  and another Zero from the Battle of Midway, shot

  down during the preceding raid on Shōkaku. The

  -

  refore, there are two Japanese flags painted under

  his windshield as a symbol of his success in combat.

  The national markings in the form of blue circles with

  white star and red circle in the center were painted

  on both sides of the fuselage and in four positions

  on the wings. They were supplemented by red and

  white stripes on the rudder. During the Battle

  of Midway these stripes were painted over with the

  camouflage paint and the red circles were deleted

  from the national insignia. The kill marks were added

  only at the time Ens. Bain was flying this aircraft.

  Texan Thomas Walker Rhodes enlisted in the Navy on

  January 7, 1937 and served as a radio operator at VT-2

  until January 1941 when he commenced his pilot trai

  -

  ning. After its completion first he flew with VF-2 and

  in March 1942 he was ordered to VF-6 where he stayed

  until September 1942. During this deployment he took

  part in the air battles defending the units that had lan

  -

  ded at Guadalcanal. On August 7, during the dogfight

  with Zeros, his Wildcat was damaged by the gunfire

  of his opponent, but regardless Rhodes scored one

  A6M Zero kill. On August 24 he added a carrier borne

  bomber B5N Kate to his score. He continued with his

  career with Navy, ultimately, he scored five kills and

  on February 1, 1965 retired. He passed away on August

  15, 2016, at the remarkable age of 99 years.

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard

  35

  November 2022

• Page 36

  Ens. Benjamin F. Currie, VF-5, USS Saratoga (CV-3)/Guadalcanal, autumn 1942

  Ens. Hamilton McWhorter, VF-9, USS Ranger (CV-4), October 1942

  On August 7, 1942, the American naval forces, to the big

  surprise of the Japanese, disembarked the 1st USMC

  Division on Guadalcanal and led by General Vandegrift

  captured the Japanese unfinished airfield. The first

  American pilots to land on this island were the Ma

  -

  rines from VMF-223 (F4F Wildcat) and VMSB-232 (SBD

  Dauntless) who did so on August 20, 1942. Later they

  were reinforced by further USAAF and USMC units. Due

  to the heavy losses in the battles with the retaliating

  Japanese units it was decided to further reinforce the

  fighter component of the Cactus Air Force, as the air

  units operating from Guadalcanal were called, and

  on September 9 another 24 Wildcats from VF-5 were

  dispatched to the island from Espiritu Santo. They

  immediately joined the fight against the incoming

  Japanese formations. One of the VF-5 pilots involved

  in the Henderson airfield’s defense was Ens. Benjamin

  Currie. The unit was relieved from the Guadalcanal

  operations in the middle of October and sent for a rest.

  In November the pilots returned to the United States

  and in January 1943 the unit was disbanded.

  Athens, Georgia native Hamilton McWhorter enlisted

  in the Navy in June 1941 having graduated from the

  university in Georgia. After he completed the training

  in Miami he was assigned to VF-9 flying Wildcats. In the

  beginning of October, the unit embarked on USS Ranger

  (CV-4) aircraft carrier headed to the African continent

  where it was to participate in the Allied successful

  landing at Casablanca in the French Morocco (operati

  -

  on Torch). For the better friend-or-foe recognition the

  aircraft participating in the operation Torch carried

  a yellow outline to the fuselage and lower wings na-

  tional markings. After the French resistance ceased

  the USS Ranger formation was dispatched back to

  Norfolk. In the beginning of 1943, VF-9, as the first Navy

  unit equipped with Hellcats, embarked on USS Essex

  (CV-9) aircraft carrier and was dispatched to the Pacific.

  On November 19, 1943, McWhorter became the first

  Hellcat pilot who scored five kills in the combat again

  -

  st the Japanese. During the further battles he added

  seven more kills to his credit and his final score stood

  at twelve enemy aircraft shot down.

  OTU VFB-8, Daytona Beach, the United States of America, 1944

  VFB-8, the operational-training unit, based at NAS

  Daytona Beach in Florida, was from its establishment

  in January 1943 commissioned to train the dive bom

  -

  bing and equipped with SBD Dauntless aircraft. After

  March 1944 its inventory was changed and Dauntle

  -

  ss were replaced by F4F and FM versions of Wildcat

  and the new task of the unit was to train bombing

  techniques to the VBF squadrons’ pilots flying Hell

  -

  cat. Wildcats were used in this role until September

  1944 when they were replaced by Hellcats supple

  -

  mented by FM-2 in April 1945 and SB2C Helldiver in

  June of the same year. The featured F4F-4 Wildcat

  flew with this unit and sports the tri-color camouf

  -

  lage of Glossy Sea Blue on the upper surfaces while

  the side surfaces were sprayed in Intermediate Blue.

  The lower surfaces were painted white, the natio

  -

  nal insignia on the fuselage and wings show design

  introduced after August 1943. Wildcats flying at the

  training units carried highly visible markings in the

  form of large letters and numbers painted on the

  fuselage, occasionally on the tail surfaces or wings.

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard36

  November 2022

• Page 37

  OVERTREES

  OVERLEPT

  #82202X

  F4F-4 early

  1/48

  Product page

  Product page

  Recommended:

  for F4F-4 Wildcat early 1/48

  481093 F4F-4 landing flaps (PE

  -

  Set)

  FE1290 F4F seatbelts STEEL (PE

  -

  Set)

  644164 F4F-4 LööK (Brassin)

  648769 F4F gun barrels PRINT (Brassin)

  648779 F4F undercarriage legs BRONZE (Brassin)

  648803 F4F-4 cockpit PRINT (Brassin)

  3DL48090 F4F-4 SPACE (3D Decal Set)

  EX904 F4F-4 TFace (Mask)

  #82202-LEPT

  F4F-4 Wildcat early

  1/48

  Cat. No. 648803

  Cat. No. 644164

  Cat. No. 648779

  Cat. No. 648769

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard

  37

  November 2022

• Page 38

  #82162

  Bf 109G-14/AS

  1/48

  ProfiPACK edition kit of German fighter plane

  Bf 109G-14/AS 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 11/2022

  INFO Eduard38

  November 2022

• Page 39

  WNr. 784938, III./JG 6, Bissel, Germany, January 1945

  WNr. 783891, Fw. Heinz-Paul Müller, 9./JG 300,

  Jüterbog-Damm, Germany, autumn 1944

  Lt. Walter Köhne, CO of 6./JG 11, Wunsdorf, Germany, October 1944

  One of the last established Luftwaffe units was

  Jagdgeschwader 6 established in July 1944. Its Stab

  plus I. and II. Gruppe were activated in, at that time,

  Königsberg (nowadays Kaliningrad) and equipped

  with Fw 190A fighters. Its III. Gruppe was established

  in October 1944 by re-naming I./JG 5 and equipped

  with Messerschmitts Bf 109G. On January 1, 1945, the

  entire unit took part in the operation Bodenplatte,

  an attack of the fighter units on the Allied airports

  located on the liberated territories of the Western

  Europe. Bf 109G-14/AS marked Green 1 was pho

  -

  tographed in May 1945 at the airport in Twente.

  It was reported that it had probably landed here

  due to the engine failure on its return from the

  operation Bodenplatte. JG 6 aircraft typically carried

  red-white-red markings on the rear fuselage,

  this particular aircraft sported only 2 bands.

  This Messerschmitt Bf 109G-14/AS serial num

  -

  ber 783891 and marked Yellow 15 was flown by

  Fw. Heinz-Paul Müller at 9./JG 300. At its controls he

  claimed two Mustangs shot down. The service of this

  aircraft with Luftwaffe ended on November 27, 1944

  over Clausthalle-Zellerfeld where it was shot down and

  its pilot was wounded. JG 300, operating over Germany

  within the Defense of the Reich in the autumn of 1944,

  marked its aircraft with the red band wrapping around

  the fuselage behind its national insignia.

  While the Fw 190A-5 flown by Uffz. Walter Köhne

  at 1./JG 1 carried the name of pilot’s angora cat

  Uschi, his Bf 109G-14/AS he flew commanding 6./JG 11

  carried the shepherd dog’s head and it name Satan.

  On July 14, 1944 Lt. Köhne assumed the command

  of 6. Staffel JG 11 and coming with it he had

  to take conversion training to Bf 109G since he flew

  Focke-Wulfs with the previous unit. At the time

  of his assuming the unit’s command he was the

  ace with twenty-eight kills to his credit and added

  another two until the end of war. He led the unit

  until its disbandment in the beginning of April 1945,

  then he was commanded to Landsberg for the

  conversion training to Me 262 jets.

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard

  39

  November 2022

• Page 40

  WNr. 785185, Lt. Heinz Schüler, 16./JG 5, Stavanger-Forus, Norway, March 1945

  WNr. 785083, Sgt. Magg. Aroldo Burei, 1a Squadriglia, 1o Gruppo,

  Caccia ANR, Malpensa, Italy, April 1945

  In November 1944 in Stavanger 16. Staffel Jagd-

  geschwader 5 was established in order to bo-

  ost the IV. Gruppe inventory to four Staffels. The

  IV./JG 5 equipment was unified to Bf 109G-14 even

  though couple of Fw 190 continued flying with

  the unit till the end of 1944. Bf 109G-14/AS marked

  blue 17 was flown by Lt. Heinz Schüler who painted

  Berlin’s coat of arms under the windshield. It is ap

  -

  parent in the photographs that at that time the air-

  craft did not carry the Defense of the Reich markings,

  however when Lt. Schüler landed it on March 27,

  1945 at Stavanger-Sola airport it sported black and

  yellow bands (JG 5 aircraft marking) behind the

  fuselage national insignia.

  After declaration of the Italian Social Republic on

  September 18th, 1943, a puppet state on the German

  armed forces occupied territory, and under the le

  -

  adership of Benito Mussolini, Germany allowed this

  state to form the army in the strength of four divi

  -

  sions. Its aviation component, named Aeronautica

  Nazionale Repubblicana, consisted of two fighter

  groups (Gruppo Caccia), a group of torpedo bom

  -

  bers (Gruppo Aerosiluranti Buscaglia) and several

  transport flights. 1o Gruppo Caccia (Asso di Bastoni)

  initially flew Macchi C.205 but from November 1944

  till February 1945 went through the transition trai

  -

  ning on Messerschmitt 109 in Holzkirchen, Germany.

  In February the unit received Messerschmitts 109

  of the versions G-10 (manufactured by Erla facto

  -

  ry in Leipzig), G-14 and G-14/AS and several K-4s.

  The original German markings were oversprayed

  in Italian colors and the aircraft received the Itali-

  an markings. The German iron crosses were left on

  the wing underside surfaces.

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard40

  November 2022

• Page 41

  OVERTREES

  OVERLEPT

  #82162X

  Bf 109G-14/AS

  1/48

  Product page

  Product page

  Recommended:

  for Bf 109G-14/AS 1/48

  48942 Bf 109G-14 (PE

  -

  Set)

  FE910 Bf 109G seatbelts STEEL (PE

  -

  Set)

  648247 Bf 109G exhaust stacks (Brassin)

  648261 Bf 109G-6 wheels (Brassin)

  648265 Bf 109G external fuel tanks (Brassin)

  648309 Bf 109G undercarriage legs BRONZE (Brassin)

  648310 Bf 109G control surfaces (Brassin)

  3DL48092 Bf 109G-14/AS SPACE (3D Decal Set)

  D48025 Bf 109G stencils (Decal Set)

  D48027 Bf 109G Balkenkreuze (Decal Set)

  D48028 Bf 109G svastikas (Decal Set)

  EX512 Bf 109G spinner spirals (Mask)

  EX616 Bf 109G-14 TFace (Mask)

  #82162-LEPT

  Bf 109G-14/AS

  1/48

  Cat. No. 648309

  Cat. No. 648247

  Cat. No. 648265

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard

  41

  November 2022

• Page 42

  TORNADO IDS

  Limited edition kit of European twin engine combat aircraft

  Tornado IDS designed for fighter bomber role in German Air Force

  in 1/48 scale. Kit presents not only German Tornados in markings

  from Tiger Meets but also in standard camouflage.

  plastic parts: Revell

  marking options: 7

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: yes, pre-painted

  painting mask: yes

  resin parts: yes, wheels and seats

  Prepared in cooperation with Wingman Decals and Jürgen Busse.

  https://www.shopofphantoms.com/

  Product page

  #11165

  1/48

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard42

  November 2022

• Page 43

  MFG 2, Eggebek airbase, Germany, 2002-2004

  JaboG 38, Jever airbase, Germany, 1986

  During 2002-2004 this colorfully painted Panavia

  Tornado IDS airplane coded 46+20 belonging to the

  Marinefliegergeschwader 2 was flown at the airshows.

  MFG 2 unit was as the last fighter wing of the German

  Navy disbanded in 2005. Under the MFG 2 marking

  on the vertical tail surface this Tornado 46+20 sports

  the insignia of the re-activated Aufklarungsgeschwa

  -

  der 51 (AG 51) „Immelmann“ (51st Reconnaissance

  Wing). This unit was equipped with Tornadoes and

  took over part of the MFG 2 tasks. Tornado IDS 46+20

  camouflage is painted according to the so-called

  Norm 87.

  The Jagdbombergeschwader 38 unit was based

  in the North, Lower Saxon’s Jever. It was established

  in August 1983 and was armed with the multi-pur

  -

  pose Tornado IDS aircraft. In 1989 its 2nd Staffel

  was equipped with Tornadoes ECR and flew them

  until 1995 when the ECR type Tornadoes were trans

  -

  ferred to JaboG 32. On August 20005 the JaboG 38

  was disbanded. The IDS Tornado coded 43+22

  is camouflaged according to the so-called Norm 76.

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard

  43

  November 2022

• Page 44

  AG 51 „Immelmann“, Schleswig-Jagel airbase, Germany, 2002-2003

  MFG 1, Schleswig-Jagel airbase, Germany, 1993

  Aufklarungsgeschwader 51, the predecessor of the

  TaktLwG 51, was re-activated in January 1994. Pre

  -

  vious AG 51, together with its sister unit AG 52 (both

  were equipped with the reconnaissance RF-4E), were

  disbanded in the middle of 1993. Newly established

  AG 51 received Tornadoes IDS supplemented with

  ECT version. Camouflage of the Tornado coded 43+46

  was sprayed according to the so-called Norm 95

  in three shades of grey and due to its participati-

  on in the NATO Tiger Meet 2002, taking place at the

  Portuguese airbase Beja (Base Aerea no.11/Base

  Aerea de Beja) the tiger stripes were addes.

  Marinefliegergeschwader 1 (MFG 1) wing of the

  German Navy was operational from 1959 to 1993 and

  in 1981 was equipped with 57 new Tornado fighters.

  Until then they had flown the American Strarfigh

  -

  ters. After the end of Cold War and Germany unifi-

  cation it was decided to reduce the number of the

  Bundeswehr units. MFG 1 was one of the „victims“

  of this developments and on December 31, 1993 was

  disbanded. The second MFG 1 flight was incorporated

  into the MFG 2. Tornado IDS 43+87 camouflage was

  painted according to the so-called Norm 76.

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard44

  November 2022

• Page 45

  JaBoG 31, Norvenich airbase, Germany, 2001-2002

  AG 51 „Immelmann“, Schleswig-Jagel airbase, Germany, 2006-2007

  Jagdbombergeschwader 31 (abbreviated as JaBoG 31)

  is the fighter-bomber wing based at Norverich in the

  Western Germany. The unit was established in 1957 at

  Buchel airbase because Norverich base was not yet

  prepared to operate the new jet airplanes. On April 20,

  1961 the squadron was named „Boelcke“ in the honor

  of Oswald Boelcke, WWI Luftstreitkrafte fighter pilot.

  In 1979 the Jagdbombergeschwader 31 was the first

  Luftwaffe unit to be equipped with the new Panavia

  Tornado IDS aircraft. As a result of the German Air

  Force restructuring, on October 1, 2013 it was renamed

  to the Taktisches Luftwaffegeschwader 31 „Boelcke“

  (abbreviated as TaktLwG 32 „B“). On the same day the

  unit became the core unit of the newly established

  Tactical Air Force Group „Richthofen“. In 2001 the

  Tornado coded 44+21 received the special color sche-

  me commemorating 1 250 000 hours logged by the

  Luftwaffe pilots in Tornadoes.

  Predecessor of the TaktLwG 51, Aufklarungsgeschwa

  -

  der 51, was re-activated in January 1994. The previ-

  ous AG 51, together with its sister unit AG 52 (both

  were equipped with reconnaissance RF-4E) was

  disbanded in the middle of 1993. Newly established

  AG 51 received Tornadoes IDS supplemented by ECR

  version. The tiger striping carried by 44+87 was

  presented for the first time at the NATO Tiger Meet

  in 2006 taking place at Albacete airbase in Spain.

  Tornado IDS 44+87 camouflage was painted

  according to the so-called Norm 95.

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard

  45

  November 2022

• Page 46

  OVERTREES

  OVERLEPT

  #11154X

  Tornado IDS

  1/48

  #11165-LEPT

  Tornado IDS

  1/48

  Product page

  Product page

  Recommended: for TORNADO IDS 1/48

  JaBoG 33, Buchel airbase, Germany, 1999

  This unit was previously known as Jagdbomber-

  geschwader 33. Due to the German Air Force restructu-

  ring, on October 1, 2013 the unit was renamed to the

  Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33. It is based in the

  Western Germany at Buchel airbase and it is the only

  German AF unit able to carry the nuclear weapons.

  Tornado IDS 44+88 camouflage is painted according

  to the so-called Norm 83.

  644184 Tornado IDS LööK (Brassin)

  3DL48089 Tornado IDS SPACE (3D Decal Set)

  EX905 Tornado IDS TFace (Mask)

  648029 AIM-9M/L (Brassin)

  648095 GBU-24 (Brassin)

  648180 AGM-88 HARM (Brassin)

  648207 IRIS

  -

  T (Brassin)

  648559 B-61 nuclear bombs (Brassin)

  648598 GBU-54 Thermally Protected (Brassin)

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard46

  November 2022

• Page 47

  Bf 110G-4 1/72

  Weekend edition kit of German WWII twin-engine heavy

  fighter aircraft Bf 110G-4 in 1/72 scale. This version was

  used in night fighter role with three crew.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  marking options: 4

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: yes

  painting mask: no

  resin parts: no

  #7465

  Product page

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard

  47

  November 2022

• Page 48

  Hptm. Wilhelm Johnen, 7./NJG 6, Neubiberg, Germany, 1945

  WNr. 5427, Oblt. Ernst-Georg Drünkler, 2./NJG 5, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, June 1943

  WNr. 5547, Ofw. Helmut Treynogga & Uffz. Heinz Schwarz, 6./NJG 6, Stuttgart-Echterdingen, Germany, March 1944

  Messerschmitt Bf 110G-4 coded 2Z+FR from 7./NJG

  6 was one of the aircraft the Allies found at the

  Neubiberg airport in the spring of 1945. Even though

  according its codes it belonged to 7. Staffel it was

  actually a personal aircraft of Wilhelm Johnen,

  III./NJG 6 commander. This airplane is much less

  known as the another Johnen’s aircraft coded C9+EN

  in which he performed an emergency landing due

  to the damaged engine at night April 27-28, 1944.

  2Z+FR was his last aircraft from the later production,

  equipped with the FuG 220 SN-2D antenna system

  with dipoles fixed at 45 degrees, Eberspächer type

  exhausts and Schräge Musik cannons. The camouf

  -

  lage was painted in RLM 76 on the lower and side

  surfaces and RLM 75 on the upper surfaces. Those

  were lightened by spraying the irregular „snakes“

  in RLM 76 quite densely so only small patches

  of darker color were visible.

  In October 1942 Oblt. Ernst-Georg Drünkler was

  transferred to 1./NJG 1 and later to NJG 5. Bf 110G-4

  coded C9+AK from 2./NJG 5 was equipped with FuG

  202 antenna system and Eberspächer type exhausts.

  The camouflage was painted in RLM 76 on the lo

  -

  were and side surfaces, RLM 74 and RLM 75 on the

  upper surfaces. During the night of June 12-13, 1943

  the RAF Bomber Command dispatched 501 aircraft to

  Bochum in the continued Battle of Rhurland, 323 of

  the bombers were Avro Lancasters and 167 Handley

  Page Halifaxes plus eleven Mosquitos. On that night

  Oblt. Ernst-Georg Drünkler claimed his first two

  aerial victories. During this mission on early morning

  his Bf 110G-4 (serial number 5427) was damaged

  by the bombers‘ defense fire resulting in the for-

  ced landing in the water canal at Bergervaart near

  Bergen op Zoom. The airplane was destroyed.

  On the night of March 15-16, 1944, after an unsu

  -

  ccessful attempt at intercepting the British bom-

  bers raiding Munich, Ofw. Helmut Treynogga lost the

  orientation and due to the shortage of fuel lan-

  ded at Dübendorf airport in Switzerland. Together

  with his radio-operator Uffz. Heinz Schwarz he was

  interned for five weeks during which time the

  aircraft equipped with FuG 202 radar was intensively

  tested. After the return to Germany Ofw. Treynogga

  was re-assigned to the night fighter unit. On the

  night of June 4-5, 1944 he again lost the orienta

  -

  tion over the Italian city of Graziano. He bailed out

  but was found dead. Bf 110G-4 coded 2Z+OP which

  Ofw. Treynogga landed in Switzerland was camouf-

  laged in RLM 74 and RLM 75 on the upper and side

  surfaces, the lower surfaces were sprayed in RLM

  76 except of the lower starboard wing which was

  painted black. The aircraft lacked two MG 151/20

  cannons typically mounted on the lower fuselage.

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard48

  November 2022

• Page 49

  WNr. 720260, Oblt. Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, Stab IV./NJG 1, Saint Trond, Belgium, April 1944

  Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, the most successful night

  fighter ace of all times, recipient of the Knight Cross

  with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, flew from

  the beginning of his military aviation career with

  night fighter units. In total he shot down 121 enemy

  aircraft, predominantly the four-engine British bom

  -

  bers. During the whole war he was wounded only

  once and none of his crew members was ever woun

  -

  ded in combat. He survived the war and at the end

  of hostilities dedicated himself to the family wine

  business. He died on June 15, 1950, two days after his

  personal car had collided with a truck in Cestas near

  Bordeaux in France. Schnaufer, nicknamed „The Ni

  -

  ght Ghost of St. Trond“, flew this Bf 110G-4 during the

  spring months of 1944 when he assumed command

  of IV. Gruppe Nachtjagdgeschwader 1. The aircraft

  original camouflage of RLM 74 and RLM 75 on the

  upper surfaces partially showed through the overco

  -

  at of RLM 76. The lower and side surfaces remained

  in the original coat of RLM 76, the lower port wing

  surface was painted black.

  Recommended:

  for Bf 110G-4 1/72

  SS781 Bf 110G-4 Weekend (PE

  -

  Set)

  672013 Bf 110G wheels (Brassin)

  CX378 Bf 110G-4 (Mask)

  Cat. No. 672013

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard

  49

  November 2022

• Page 50

  #82132

  SE.5a Hispano Suiza

  1/48

  ProfiPACK edition of British WW1 fighter aircraft

  SE.5a in 1/48 scale. The kit contains Hispano

  Suiza powered SE.5as.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  marking options: 5

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: yes, pre-painted

  painting mask: yes

  resin parts: no

  Product page

  Re-release

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard50

  November 2022

• Page 51

  D5969, Lt. Camille H. R. Lagesse, No. 29 Squadron, St. Omer, France, June 1918

  C5303, Lt. Leslie N. Franklin, No. 56 Squadron, Baizieux, France, March 1918

  D3511, Maj. Roderick S. Dallas, No. 40 Squadron, Bruay Airfield, France, May 1918

  Canadian Camille Henri Raoul Lagesse was born

  in January 1883 in Quatre Bornes on the island

  of Mauritius, where he studied at Royal College.

  He undertook further studies at Bordeaux university

  in France after which he worked in the sugar refine

  -

  ry. In 1916, he joined the 28th Battalion of the London

  Regiment in England. By July 1917, he was reassigned

  to the Royal Flying Corps and, after completing his

  training, he was transferred to No. 29 Squadron,

  where he served from March 1918. He stayed with this

  unit until the end of the war and achieved twenty

  victories during this time. His service was appre

  -

  ciated by the DFC (twice) and the Croix de Guerre

  awards. Lt. Lagesse, whose nickname “Largearse”

  was playing on his name, scored his first five kills

  when flying this aircraft. One of his victims was

  Lt. H. Schultz, a Jasta 18 Fokker D.VII pilot, whom

  Lagesse forced to land on June 6, 1918. Chulz then

  became a POW. Upperside surfaces of D5969 SE.5a

  were painted in usual PC-10 color, which tended to

  change in time from greenish khaki-like to more

  brownish hue. Undersides were left in the natu

  -

  ral fabric color. The PC-10 overlaped to the bottom

  surfaces.

  The famous No. 56 Squadron was not only made up

  of names such as James McCudden, Arthur Rhys

  Davids and Albert Ball, also pilots that didn't reach

  quite the same aerial success served with the unit.

  One of these was Lt. Leslie Nansen Franklin, who

  shot down a total of four enemy aircraft over France.

  He met his end on July 14, 1918. During an attack on

  a reconnaissance LVG Type C, he was shot down

  and last seen as his aircraft plummeted in flames

  near Hendecourt in France. The aircraft on which

  Lt. Franklin achieved his second victory, carried

  the standard SE.5a camouflage scheme made up of

  PC-10 on the upper and side surfaces while the lo-

  wer surfaces remained in the natural fabric color.

  Fighters flown by No. 56 Squadron were carrying

  a wide white stripe around the rear fuselage

  (not extending to the bottom surface of the fuse-

  lage) from the end of September 1917 to the end of

  March 1918. The stylized white letter X was repeated

  on the upper surface of the top wing and again

  on the lower surface of the bottom wing in black.

  Roderick Stanley Dallas, DSO & Bar, DSC, Croix

  de Guerre avec Palme, was born on July 30, 1891,

  in Mount Stanley remote property not too far from

  the town of Esk in Queensland, Australia. He refused

  to serve with the RFC and he joined the RNAS instead,

  where he undergo pilot training. His next move led

  him to 1st Naval Wing at the end of 1915 and he be

  -

  came the unit’s CO on June 14, 1917. Before the merge

  of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air

  Service into the Royal Air Force in April 1918, he had

  been named the CO of No. 40 Squadron RFC, equi

  -

  pped with SE.5a fighters. June 1, 1918, was a fate-

  ful day, as he met a trio of Fokkers Dr.I from Jasta

  14. In the ensuing combat he was shot down by Lt.

  Johannes Werner. At that time, Major Dallas was

  officially credited with 39 kills (some sources claim

  32), the score making him second most successful

  Australian fighter pilot of Great War. The standard

  camouflage scheme on the aircraft of No. 40 Squadron

  were complemented by addition of PC-12 brown and

  Ochre Yellow (which was used for mixing PC-10 color)

  on the upper surfaces of the aircraft. The serial

  number was partially overpainted and the roundels

  remained on the wings only.

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard

  51

  November 2022

• Page 52

  F5910, Lt. William G. Claxton, No. 41 Squadron, Lealvillers, France, February 1918

  C9539, Capt. Henry G. Forrest, No. 2 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, Savy-Berlette,

  France, March 1918

  Lt. William Gordon Claxton, DSO, DFC & Bar, was born

  in June 1899 in the town of Gladstone in the Canadian

  province of Manitoba. At the age of eighteen he joi

  -

  ned the RFC and underwent training on Canadian soil.

  He ended up being assigned to No. 41 Squadron ope-

  rating over France. In the period between May 27 and

  August 13, Claxton achieved 37 kills. For his calmness

  under intense combat situations, he earned the

  nickname “Dozy”. On August 17, 1918, he was shot

  down by future 50-kills ace Lt. Johannes Gilderme

  -

  ister during combat with Jasta 20 Fokker D.VIIs east

  of Wervicq. He was second Gildermeister’s victim.

  With serious head wounds, he managed to land be

  -

  hind enemy lines and thanks to the quick treatment

  in hospital his life was saved by a German doctor.

  After the war, he made a living as a newsman and

  died on September 28, 1967, in Toronto. Aircraft

  ofNo. 41 Squadron were marked with a pair of verti-

  cal white stripes behind the national roundels from

  March 22, 1918, and aircraft of A Flight had wheel

  discs painted in blue. The individual aircraft letter

  in white was repeated on the top surface of the

  upper wing.

  Australian ace Capt. Henry Garnet Forrest, DFC, was

  born on December 5, 1895, in Brunswick, Melbourne,

  Australia. He joined the Australian Army in 1915 and

  took part in the Battle of Gallipoli as a member of

  the 23rd Infantry Battalion. In April 1917, he joined the

  ranks of the Australian Flying Corps and following

  training, he served progressively with Nos. 32 and

  43 Squadron. On August 6, 1917, he was wounded and

  after recovery time, he was assigned to No. 2 Squad

  -

  ron AFC. He achieved eleven kills there and served

  with this unit till the end of the war. He consequent

  -

  ly left the service and died on December 3, 1945,

  in Caulfeld in Australia. Capt. Henry G. Forrest,

  nicknamed “Rusty”, achieved all of his eleven kills

  flying this airplane. Its upper surfaces were pain

  -

  ted in standard PC-10 color. Aircraft of the 2nd AFC

  carried a white boomerang ahead of the tail surfaces

  during this time period, and the individual aircraft

  letter was repeated on the upper surface of the

  top wing.

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard52

  November 2022

• Page 53

  OVERTREES

  OVERLEPT

  #82131X

  SE.5a

  1/48

  #82132-LEPT

  SE.5a Hispano Suiza

  1/48

  Product page

  Product page

  Recommended:

  for SE.5a Hispano Suiza 1/48

  48915 SE.5a stretchers (PE

  -

  Set)

  FE843 SE.5a seatbelts early STEEL (PE

  -

  Set)

  648296 SE.5a propeller two-blade (left rotating) (Brassin)

  648299 SE.5a guns (Brassin)

  648318 SE.5a propeller four-blade (Brassin)

  648320 SE.5a radiator - Hispano Suiza for 2blade prop (Brassin)

  Cat. No. 648299 Cat. No. 648320

  Cat. No. 648318

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard

  53

  November 2022

• Page 54

  #7079

  F6F-5N Nightfighter

  1/72

  ProfiPACK edition kit of US Naval night fighter

  aircraft F6F-5N Hellcat in 1/72 scale.

  plastic parts: Eduard

  marking options: 4

  decals: Eduard

  PE parts: yes, pre-painted

  painting mask: yes

  resin parts: no

  Product page

  Re-release

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard54

  November 2022

• Page 55

  F6F-5N, Lt. William E. Henry, VF(N)-41, USS Independence (CVL-22), September 1944

  F6F-5N, VMF-511, USS Block Island (CVE-106), April 1945

  This aircraft was flown by Lt. William E. „Bill“ Henry,

  the most successful night fighter ace within US Navy.

  He was credited with 9.5 kills achieved during the

  period from September 1944 to January 1945. Three

  of his victims were four engine “Emily” flying boats.

  This F6F-5N was sprayed Glossy Sea Blue color and

  represents the standard late-war Navy camouflage

  scheme. The markings and the radar cover were

  painted white.

  The first aircraft carrier to have a US Marine Cor

  -

  ps night fighter unit on board was USS Block Island

  (CVE-106). VMF-511 embarked on Block Island in

  March 1945, and was a mixed group of eight Corsairs,

  two photo-reconnaissance F6F-5P Hellcats and eight

  F6F-5N Hellcat night fighters. The squadron joined

  the Okinawa battle on May 10, 1945 and was conse

  -

  quently sent to the eastern coast of Borneo to supp-

  ort landing operations at Balikpapan. The first and

  only success came on July 3, 1945, when 1st Lt. Bru

  -

  ce Reuter shot down an E13A “Jake” floatplane. The

  Hellcat nicknamed “Butch” was one of eight VMF-511

  Hellcat nightfighters aboard Block Island. The White

  block with Blue “I” is a carrier identification symbol

  while the small Blue “M” signifies the USMC.

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard

  55

  November 2022

• Page 56

  Hellcat NF Mk.II, No. 892 Naval Air Squadron, Drem Airbase, Great Britain, May – August 1945

  F6F-5N, BuNo. 78669, Maj. Bruce Porter, CO of VMF(N)-542, Yontan Airfield, Okinawa, May 1945

  No. 892 Naval Air Squadron was reformed in April

  1945 as a night fighter squadron with 16 NF Mk.II

  Hellcats. After a short deployment onboard HMS

  Premier, the squadron was subsequently underta-

  king night fighter training at Drem Airbase till the

  end of the WWII. The Hellcat depicted was built for

  the US Navy and bore the BuNo. 79015. It was pur

  -

  chased then by the Royal Navy and coded KD 127.

  The British roundels were applied on the original

  US camouflage scheme. The wing armament option is

  not clear from the reference photo, but it seems the

  20-mm cannons were mounted.

  Hellcat BuNo. 78669 was the personal mount of

  five-kills ace Maj. Bruce Porter, Commanding Officer

  of VMF(N)-542. He inherited this F6F-5N from his pre

  -

  decessor. The Hellcat carried a big red heart and the

  white name “Millie Lou” on the nose. Porter ordered

  his ground crew to overpaint it immediately after

  his arrival and a big bottle of Schenley bourbon and

  “Black Death” in white overpainted the previous nose

  art. Porter downed three Zeros over the Solomons

  in June/July 1943 while serving with VMF-121.

  On June 15, 1945 he added two more kills to his

  tally, shooting down a Kawasaki Ki-45 “Nick” heavy

  fighter and a “Betty” bomber carrying an Ohka

  suicide rocket plane.

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard56

  November 2022

• Page 57

  OVERTREES

  OVERLEPT

  #7077X

  F6F-5

  1/72

  #7079-LEPT

  F6F-5N Nightfighter

  1/72

  Product page

  Product page

  Recommended:

  for F6F-5N Nightfighter 1/72

  672203 F6F wheels (Brassin)

  Cat. No. 672203

  KITS 11/2022

  INFO Eduard

  57

  November 2022

• Page 58

  BRASSIN

  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

  644181

  Yak-9D LööK

  1/48 Zvezda

  644184

  Tornado IDS LööK

  1/48 Revell/Eduard

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard58

  November 2022

• Page 59

  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

  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

  644185

  A6M3 LööK

  1/48 Eduard

  644182

  P-38J LööKplus

  1/48 Tamiya

  Product page

  Product page

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  INFO Eduard

  59

  November 2022

• Page 60

  BRASSIN

  Collection of 4 sets for F/A-18F in 1/48 scale.

  Recommended kit: Meng

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

  - TFace painting mask

  - ejection seats

  - undercarriage wheels

  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

  644183

  F/A-18F LööKplus

  1/48 Meng

  648793

  F4F-3 gun bays PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard60

  November 2022

• Page 61

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  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

  648794

  F4F-3 landing flaps PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  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

  648799

  A6M3 wheels

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  61

  November 2022

• Page 62

  BRASSIN

  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

  648800

  A6M3 cockpit PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  648801

  A6M3 exhausts PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  Product page

  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

  INFO Eduard62

  November 2022

• Page 63

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  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

  648803

  F4F-4 cockpit PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  63

  November 2022

• Page 64

  BRASSIN

  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

  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

  648804

  EA-18G exhaust nozzles PRINT

  1/48 Meng

  648805

  Yak-9D exhaust stacks PRINT

  1/48 Zvezda

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard64

  November 2022

• Page 65

  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

  653012

  Carley float for 25 people – Type 2 PRINT

  1/350

  Product page

  BRASSIN 02/2022

  BRASSIN

  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

  653011

  Carley float for 25 people – Type 1 PRINT

  1/350

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  65

  November 2022

• Page 66

  Vickers Mk.I gun

  wheels

  20lb bomb carrier PRINT

  seat PRINT

  Rotherham air

  pumps PRINT

  Gnome engine PRINT

  BRASSIN

  SIN64893

  Sopwith Camel Gnome engine

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

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

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  - Gnome 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 %.

  INFO Eduard66

  November 2022

• Page 67

  exhausts PRINT

  cockpit w/ reflector gun sight PRINT

  BRASSIN

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

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  - cockpit PRINT

  - wheels

  - exhausts PRINT

  - undercarriage legs BRONZE

  All sets included in this BIG SIN are available separately,

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

  SIN64894

  F4F-3 w/ reflector gunsight ESSENTIAL

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page

  undercarriage legs BRONZE

  wheels early

  INFO Eduard

  67

  November 2022

• Page 68

  3DL48089 Tornado IDS SPACE 1/48 Eduard/Revell

  3DL48093

  Buccaneer S.2C/D 1/48 Airfix

  Easy

  application

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard68

  November 2022

• Page 69

  SPACE

  3DL48091 F-35B SPACE 1/48 Italeri

  3DL48090

  F4F-4 SPACE

  1/48 Eduard

  3DL48092

  Bf 109G-14/AS

  1/48 Eduard

  Product page Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  69

  November 2022

• Page 70

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED

  NOVEMBER 2022

  M1070 Guntruck

  1/35 Hobby Boss

  36491

  INFO Eduard70

  November 2022

• Page 71

  BRASSIN 02/2022BRASSIN 02/2022

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED

  72725

  SBD-3 air brakes

  1/72 Flyhawk

  INFO Eduard

  71

  November 2022

• Page 72

  73780

  SBD-3

  1/72 Flyhawk

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED

  SBD-3

  SS780

  INFO Eduard72

  November 2022

• Page 73

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED

  321002

  33336

  F-35C

  F-35C

  seatbelts

  F-35C

  1/32 Trumpeter

  33335

  INFO Eduard

  73

  November 2022

• Page 74

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED

  53287

  HMS Colombo

  1/350 Trumpeter

  INFO Eduard74

  November 2022

• Page 75

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED

  INFO Eduard

  75

  November 2022

• Page 76

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED

  491312

  FE1312

  F-35B

  1/48 Italeri

  F-35B

  INFO Eduard76

  November 2022

• Page 77

  73782

  I-16 Type 5

  1/72 Clear Prop

  PHOTO

  -

  ETCHED

  INFO Eduard

  77

  November 2022

• Page 78

  DECAL SET

  D48107

  P-38J over Europe

  1/48 Tamiya

  Product page

  P-38J-25-LO, s/n 44-23627,

  1stLt. Sam Plotecia, 392nd FS,

  367th FG, Juvincourt AB,

  France, 1944

  P-38J-15-LO, s/n 42-68004,

  1stLt. Clark R. Livingston,

  392nd FS, 367th FG, Juvincourt AB,

  France, December 1944

  P-38J-10-LO, s/n 42-67685,

  Maj. Joseph Myers, 38th FS, 55th FG,

  Nuthampstead AB, England,

  November 1943

  P-38J-10-LO, s/n 42-67940,

  Lt. Jack M. Jarell, 485th FS,

  370th FG

  P-38J-25-LO, s/n 44-328677,

  Maj. Robert C. Rogers, 492nd FS,

  367th FG, Peray, France, August 1944

  INFO Eduard78

  November 2022

• Page 79

  DECAL SET

  EDDIE THE RIVETER

  D72044

  Ju 87 stencils

  1/72 Academy, Airfix, Italeri, Revell

  ER48003

  P-38J raised rivets and surface details

  1/48 Tamiya

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  79

  November 2022

• Page 80

  BIG ED

  All sets included in this BIG ED are available separately,

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

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

  BIG49347

  EA-18G 1/48 Meng

  53180 USN ensign flag modern STEEL 1/350

  53233 Aircraft Carrier figures USN present 3D 1/350

  53284 USS Constellation CV-64 part 4 - hull & deck 1/350

  53285 USS Constellation CV-64 part 5 - island 1/350

  491288 EA-18G 1/48

  FE1289 EA-18G seatbelts STEEL 1/48

  EX876 EA-18G 1/48

  Product page

  Product page

  INFO Eduard80

  November 2022

• Page 81

  BIG72172 Stirling Mk.III ADVANCED 1/72 Italeri

  72722 Stirling Mk.III exterior 1/72

  72723 Stirling Mk.III fuselage bomb bay 1/72

  72724 Stirling Mk.III wings bomb bays 1/72

  73776 Stirling Mk.III 1/72

  CX629 Stirling Mk.III 1/72

  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

  BIG72171 Stirling Mk.III ESSENTIAL 1/72 Italeri

  72722 Stirling Mk.III exterior 1/72

  73776 Stirling Mk.III 1/72

  CX629 Stirling Mk.III 1/72

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  81

  November 2022

• Page 82

  MASKS

  IT FITS!

  JX297 F-35C

  1/32 Trumpeter

  JX298 F-35C TFace

  1/32 Trumpeter

  JX299 Bf 109G-2/4

  1/32 Revell

  JX300 Bf 109G-2/4 TFace

  1/32 Revell

  EX900 F-35B

  1/48 Italeri

  EX901 F-35B TFace

  1/48 Italeri

  EX902 F4U-1A

  1/48 Hobby Boss

  EX903 F4U-1A TFace

  1/48 Hobby Boss

  EX904 F4F-4 TFace

  1/48 Eduard

  EX905 Tornado IDS TFace

  1/48 Eduard/Revell

  EX906 Buccaneer S.2C/D

  1/48 Airfix

  EX907 Buccaneer S.2C/D TFace

  1/48 Airfix

  CX633 Bf 110E

  1/72 Eduard

  JX297 F-35C

  JX297 F-35C

  JX297 F-35C

  JX299 Bf 109G-2/4 JX299 Bf 109G-2/4 JX299 Bf 109G-2/4

  JX298 F-35C TFace

  JX298 F-35C TFace

  JX298 F-35C TFace

  JX300 Bf 109G-2/4 TFace

  JX300 Bf 109G-2/4 TFace JX300 Bf 109G-2/4 TFace JX300 Bf 109G-2/4 TFace

  JX300 Bf 109G-2/4 TFace JX300 Bf 109G-2/4 TFace

  JX298 F-35C TFace

  JX298 F-35C TFace

  JX298 F-35C TFace

  INFO Eduard82

  November 2022

• Page 83

  MASKS

  EX902 F4U

  -

  A1 EX902 F4U

  -

  A1 EX902 F4U

  -

  A1

  EX900 F-35B EX900 F-35B EX900 F-35B

  EX903 F4U

  -

  A1 TFace

  EX903 F4U

  -

  A1 TFace EX903 F4U

  -

  A1 TFace EX903 F4U

  -

  A1 TFace

  EX903 F4U

  -

  A1 TFace EX903 F4U

  -

  A1 TFace

  EX901 F-35B TFace

  EX901 F-35B TFace

  EX904 F4F-4 TFace EX904 F4F-4 TFace

  EX904 F4F-4 TFace

  EX901 F-35B TFace EX901 F-35B TFace

  EX901 F-35B TFace EX901 F-35B TFace

  EX906 Buccaneer S.2C/D

  EX907 Buccaneer S.2C/D TFace EX907 Buccaneer S.2C/D TFace EX907 Buccaneer S.2C/D TFace

  INFO Eduard

  83

  November 2022

• Page 84

  RELEASES

  NOVEMBER 2022

  KITS

  PE

  -

  SETS

  ZOOMS

  MASKS

  82202 F4F-4 Wildcat early 1/48 ProfiPACK

  82162 Bf 109G-14/AS 1/48 ProfiPACK

  11165 TORNADO IDS 1/48 Limited

  7465 Bf 110G 1/72 Weekend edition

  82132 SE.5a Hispano Suiza Re-release 1/48 ProfiPACK

  7079 F6F-5N Nightfighter Re-release 1/72 ProfiPACK

  53287 HMS Colombo 1/350 Trumpeter

  321001 F-35C 1/32 Trumpeter

  321002 Bf 109G-2/4 1/32 Revell

  36491 M1070 Gun truck 1/35 Hobby Boss

  481093 F4F-4 landing flaps 1/48 Eduard

  491312 F-35B 1/48 Italeri

  491314 F4U-1A 1/48 Hobby Boss

  491316 Buccaneer S.2C/D 1/48 Airfix

  72725 SBD-3 air brakes 1/72 Flyhawk

  73780 SBD-3 1/72 Flyhawk

  73782 I-16 Type 5 1/72 Clear Prop

  33335 F-35C 1/32 Trumpeter

  33336 F-35C seatbelts STEEL 1/32 Trumpeter

  33337 Bf 109G-2/4 1/32 Revell

  33338 Bf 109G-2/4 seatbelts STEEL 1/32 Revell

  FE1312 F-35B 1/48 Italeri

  FE1313 F-35B seatbelts STEEL 1/48 Italeri

  FE1314 F4U-1A 1/48 Hobby Boss

  FE1315 F4U-1A seatbelts STEEL 1/48 Hobby Boss

  FE1316 Buccaneer S.2C/D 1/48 Airfix

  FE1317 Buccaneer S.2C/D seatbelts STEEL 1/48 Airfix

  SS780 SBD-3 1/72 Flyhawk

  SS781 Bf 110G-4 Weekend 1/72 Eduard

  JX297 F-35C 1/32 Trumpeter

  JX298 F-35C TFace 1/32 Trumpeter

  JX299 Bf 109G-2/4 1/32 Revell

  JX300 Bf 109G-2/4 TFace 1/32 Revell

  EX900 F-35B 1/48 Italeri

  EX901 F-35B TFace 1/48 Italeri

  EX902 F4U-1A 1/48 Hobby Boss

  EX903 F4U-1A TFace 1/48 Hobby Boss

  EX904 F4F-4 TFace 1/48 Eduard

  EX905 Tornado IDS TFace 1/48 Eduard/Revell

  EX906 Buccaneer S.2C/D 1/48 Airfix

  EX907 Buccaneer S.2C/D TFace 1/48 Airfix

  CX633 Bf 110E 1/72 Eduard

  INFO Eduard84

  November 2022

• Page 85

  RELEASES

  BIG-EDBIG-ED

  BIG ED

  BRASSIN

  LöökPLUS

  BIG SIN

  SPACE

  DECALS

  EDDIE THE RIVETER

  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

  3DL48089 Tornado IDS SPACE 1/48 Eduard/Revell

  3DL48090 F4F-4 SPACE 1/48 Eduard

  3DL48091 F-35B SPACE 1/48 Italeri

  3DL48092 Bf 109G-14/AS SPACE 1/48 Eduard

  3DL48092 Buccaneer S.2C/D SPACE 1/48 Airfix

  D48107 P-38J over Europe 1/48 Tamiya

  D72044 Ju 87 stencils 1/72

  Academy, Airfix, Italeri, Revell

  ER48004 P-38F/G/H raised rivets & surface details 1/48 Tamiya

  NOVEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard

  85

  November 2022

• Page 86

  BUILT

  Cat. No. 11159

  marking G

  built by Jan Baranec

  Product page

  1/48

  INFO Eduard86

  November 2022

• Page 87

  BUILT

  P-51D-5, 44-15284, Lt. Col. Felix L. Vidal, CO of 325th FG, 15th AF, Lesina, Italy, spring 1945

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

  Madison, South Dakota. After graduation from

  Madison High School, he enlisted in the milita-

  ry academy in West Point. After the graduation,

  he went through pilot training and when the USA

  entered WWII he held the staff and command

  posts. On March 2, 1945, he assumed command

  of the 325th Fighter Group and on June 6, 1945,

  Lt. Col. Wyatt P. Exum replaced him in this role.

  Felix Vidal's further career was associated with

  the aviation and army and he retired in 1963 with

  the rank of Brigadier General. He passed away

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

  tenure with the 325th FG, nicknamed Checkertails

  due to their recognition markings, Felix Vidal flew

  Mustang christened Dusty Butt. On May 31, 1945,

  this airplane was damaged during the crash.

  644031 P-51D-15+ LööK (Brassin)

  648485 P-51D exhaust stacks (Brassin)

  648504 P-51D wheels cross tread (Brassin)

  648522 P-51D cockpit (Brassin)

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

  648742 P-51D wheel bay PRINT (Brassin)

  ACCESSORIES USED:

  INFO Eduard

  87

  November 2022

• Page 88

  1/48

  TORA TORA TORA!

  A6M2 Zero Type 21 over Pearl Harbor

  BUILT

  Cat. No. 11155

  marking C

  built by Mattia Pancotti

  Product page

  DUAL COMBO

  INFO Eduard88

  November 2022

• Page 89

  BUILT

  Lt. Masaji Suganami, Sōryū Fighter Squadron, first attack wave

  In the first wave, eight Zeros from Sōryū, led by

  Suganami, attacked Wheeler and Ewa airfields.

  They destroyed 27 aircraft on the ground and shot

  down five planes in combat. Suganami then lost

  orientation, so he decided to return over the tar-

  get and sacrifice himself. However, he encounte-

  red other planes and returned to the carrier. Af-

  ter graduating Naval Academy in 1933, he served

  in 13th and Tsukuba Kōkūtais. He led fighters on the

  carrier Ryūjō till November 1941, after that Sōryū

  fighters until June 1942. At the Battle of Midway,

  in the first attack wave, his formation shot down

  six American fighters. From July 1942 he served as

  Hikōtaichō of fighters at Genzan Kōkūtai (later Kō-

  kūtai 252). Suganami went missing on November

  14, 1942 while escorting Rear Admiral Tanaka's de-

  stroyers off Guadalcanal. Six Zeros under his co-

  mmand provided the 4th CAP. They first attempted

  to attack a "beautiful formation" of B-17s. After that

  attack on ten F4Fs from VF-10 brought them four

  victories. On return Suganami, over the protests

  of his subordinates, separated from the formation

  and headed southwesterly. He apparently joined

  the attack on SBDs from VB-10 and later, before

  running out of fuel, shot down Lt. Col. "Joe" Bauer,

  commander of VMF-212 and Medal of Honor reci-

  pient.

  481076 landing flaps (PE

  -

  Set)

  648692 A6M2 type 21 cockpit PRINT (Brassin)

  648693 A6M2 wheels (Brassin)

  648694 A6M2 engine PRINT (Brassin)

  648722 A6M2 exhausts PRINT (Brassin)

  ACCESSORIES USED:

  INFO Eduard

  89

  November 2022

• Page 90

  BUILT

  1/48

  DUAL COMBO

  Cat. No. 11162

  marking L

  built by Robert Szwarc

  Product page

  A58-145 (EE852), F/Lt Llewellyn Wettenhall,

  No. 79 Squadron RAAF, Kiriwina,

  Trobriand Islands, December

  Spitfire flown by F/Lt Llewellyn Wettenhall within No. 79 Squadron

  RAAF in the fall of 1943 carried the name "Nipponese" and girl's

  nose art on the port side. On December 31, 1943 the pilot's fate was

  sealed in this aircraft when it was lost crossing the south coast of

  New Britain during the scouting mission of six Spitfires near this

  island. After crossing the coast the formation entered the dense

  clouds and the unit lost contact with its leader. F/Lt Wettenhall has

  never been seen again.

  648738

  Spitfire Mk.V

  landing flaps PRINT

  (Brassin)

  INFO Eduard90

  November 2022

• Page 91

  built by Robert Szwarc

  Product page

  Product page

  BUILT

  BEST BRASS AROUND

  Me 163B

  Gaspatch model

  1/48

  #491204 general set (PE

  -

  Set)

  #EX794 (Mask)

  ACCESSORIES USED:

  INFO Eduard

  91

  November 2022

• Page 92

  BUILT

  1/48

  Bf 109G-10 Erla

  Cat. No. 82164

  marking A

  built by Paolo Portuesi

  Product page

  INFO Eduard92

  November 2022

• Page 93

  BUILT

  WNr. 491353, Cap. Ugo Drago, CO of 4a Squadriglia, 2o Gruppo Caccia, Aeronautica Nazionale

  Repubblicana, Aviano, Italy, February 1945

  After the declaration of Italian Social Republic

  on September 18, 1943, a puppet state on the terri-

  tory of Italy occupied by German military under the

  command of Benito Mussolini, Germany allowed

  this Republic to establish its own military force

  of four divisions. Its air force component called

  Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana consisted

  of two fighter plane groups (Gruppo Caccia), tor-

  pedo groups (Gruppo Aerosiluranti Buscaglia) and

  several transportation squadrons. In 1945, both

  fighter plane squadrons flew Messerschmitts

  Bf 109G-6/G-10/G-14. The Commanding Officer

  of 4a Squadriglia, carrying the title of Gigi Tre Osei,

  was in this time Capitano Ugo Drago, an ace with

  seventeen kills to his credit. In April 1945, he was

  awarded the German Knight's Cross. After the

  war, he emigrated to Argentina, where he made

  a living as a flight instructor. He returned to Italy

  in 1953 and took up a post with Alitalia with which

  he flew until 1973. He died in Rome on April 22,

  2007. Towards the end of the war, the majority

  of markings on ANR aircraft in the form of fuselage

  and wing crosses were no longer removed, with

  only the swastika being oversprayed and repla-

  ced by markings of Italian aircraft. This marking,

  an Italian flag edged in yellow, was also added

  to the fuselage sides.

  INFO Eduard

  93

  November 2022

• Page 94

  1/48 Eduard

  BUILT

  F4F-3 wheel

  bay PRINT

  Cat. No. 648522

  built by JAN BARANEC

  Product page

  INFO Eduard94

  November 2022

• Page 95

  BUILT

  built by Jan Novotný

  Product page

  INFO Eduard

  95

  November 2022

• Page 96

  ON APPROACH

  DECEMBER 2022

  644186

  Z-326 LööK

  1/48 Eduard

  644187

  F-35B LööK

  1/48 Italeri

  644188

  Mosquito B Mk.IV LööK

  1/48 Tamiya

  635017

  WWII German clamps Type 1 PRINT

  1/35

  BIG33144 Yak-9T 1/32 ICM

  BIG33145 Bf 109G-6 1/35 Border Model

  BIG49348 Spitfire F Mk.XVIII 1/48 Airfix

  BIG49349 P-38J 1/48 Tamiya

  BIG49350 F-86F-40 1/48 Airfix

  BIG49351 Yak-9D 1/48 Zvezda

  644186 Z-326 LööK 1/48 Eduard

  644187 F-35B LööK 1/48 Italeri

  644188 Mosquito B Mk.IV LööK 1/48 Tamiya

  632183 Bf 109G-4 wheels 1/32 Revell

  632184 Bf 109G-2/4 exhaust stacks 1/32 Revell

  632185 Bf 109G-2/4 undercarriage legs BRONZE 1/32 Revell

  635017 WWII German clamps Type 1 PRINT 1/35

  635020 MG 34 gun w/ammunition belt PRINT 1/35

  648796 WWII USAAF oxygen cylinder A-4 PRINT 1/48

  648798 F6F wheel bays PRINT 1/48 Eduard

  648802 A6M3 Type 32 landing flaps PRINT 1/48 Eduard

  648806 A6M3 Type 22 folding wingtips PRINT 1/48 Eduard

  648807 A6M3 Type 22 landing flaps PRINT 1/48 Eduard

  648808 A6M wheels w/smooth tire 1/48 Eduard

  648811 P-38J seat PRINT 1/48 Tamiya

  648812 P-38J cockpit PRINT 1/48 Tamiya

  648814 Buccaneer S.2C/D wheels 1/48 Airfix

  653013 Carley float for 40 people – Type 1 PRINT 1/350

  653014 Carley float for 40 people – Type 2 PRINT 1/350

  644189 A6M3 Zero LööKplus 1/48 Eduard

  644190 Tornado IDS LööKplus 1/48 Revell

  SIN64895 A6M2 Zero Model 21 ADVANCED 1/48 Eduard

  SIN64896 F4F-3 w/ telescopic gunsight ESSENTIAL 1/48 Eduard

  BIG ED (December)

  BRASSIN (December)

  LöökPlus (December)

  BIGSIN (December)

  LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard

  and STEEL seatbelts for Z-326 in 1/48 scale.

  Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - resin: 2 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details:

  yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard

  and STEEL seatbelts for F-35B in 1/48 scale.

  Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Italeri

  Set contains:

  - resin: 1 part

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes,

  pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  LööK set - Brassin pre-painted dashboard

  and STEEL seatbelts for Mosquito B Mk.IV

  in 1/48 scale. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic

  parts. Recommended kit: Tamiya

  Set contains:

  - resin: 3 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes,

  pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - clamps for German WWII AFV

  in 1/35 scale. Made by direct 3D printing.

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 50 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  PRELIMINARY IMAGES

  PRELIMINARY IMAGES

  PRELIMINARY IMAGES

  INFO Eduard96

  November 2022

• Page 97

  635020

  MG 34 gun w/ammunition belt PRINT

  1/35

  ON APPROACH

  LööK set - MG 34 German WWII machine gun in 1/35 scale.

  The set consists of 1 gun. Made by direct 3D printing.

  Set contains:

  - resin: 4 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  632183

  Bf 109G-4 wheels

  1/32 Revell

  632184

  Bf 109G-2/4 exhaust stacks

  1/32 Revell

  Brassin set - the undercarriage wheels for Bf 109G-4

  in 1/32 scale. The set consists of the main wheels and

  a tailwheel. Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Revell

  Set contains:

  - resin: 3 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: yes

  Brassin set - exhaust stacks for Bf 109G-4

  in 1/32 scale. Easy to assemble, replaces

  plastic parts. Recommended kit: Revell

  Set contains:

  - resin: 2 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes

  - painting mask: no

  INFO Eduard

  97

  November 2022

• Page 98

  ON APPROACH

  DECEMBER 2022

  632185

  Bf 109G-2/4 undercarriage legs BRONZE

  1/32 Revell

  648796

  WWII USAAF oxygen cylinder A-4 PRINT

  1/48

  648798

  F6F wheel bays PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  Brassin set - the undercarriage legs for Bf 109G-2/4 in 1/32 scale.

  The legs are made of bronze. Recommended kit: Revell

  Set contains:

  - resin: 2 parts

  - bronze: 2 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - oxygen tanks for US WII aicraft in 1/48 scale.

  The set consists of 6 tanks. Made by direct 3D printing.

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 6 parts

  - decals: yes

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - wheel bays for F6F

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

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 4 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: no

  INFO Eduard98

  November 2022

• Page 99

  ON APPROACHDECEMBER 2022

  648802

  A6M3 Type 32 landing flaps PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  648806

  A6M3 Type 22 folding wingtips PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  648807

  A6M3 Type 22 landing flaps PRINT

  1/48 Eduard

  Brassin set - landing flaps for A6M3 Type 32

  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: 4 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - folding wingtips for A6M3 Type 22 in 1/48 scale.

  The set consists of the wingtips for both wings. Made by

  direct 3D printing. Recommended kit: Eduard

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 4 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - landing flaps for A6M3 Type 22 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

  INFO Eduard

  99

  November 2022

• Page 100

  ON APPROACH

  648808

  A6M wheels w/smooth tire

  1/48 Eduard

  648811

  P-38J seat PRINT

  1/48 Tamiya

  648812

  P-38J cockpit PRINT

  1/48 Tamiya

  Brassin set - the undercarriage wheels for A6M

  Zero 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

  Brassin set - the seat 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: 1 part

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: yes, pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  Brassin set - the cockpit for P-38J

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

  Recommended kit: Tamiya

  Set contains:

  - 3D print: 40 parts

  - decals: yes

  - photo-etched details: yes,

  pre-painted

  - painting mask: no

  DECEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard100

  November 2022

• Page 101

  ON APPROACH

  648814

  Buccaneer S.2C/D wheels

  1/48 Airfix

  653013

  Carley float for 40 people – Type 1 PRINT

  1/350

  653014

  Carley float for 40 people – Type 2 PRINT

  1/350

  Brassin set - the undercarriage wheels for

  Buccaneer S.2C/D in 1/48 scale. The set consists

  of the main wheels and a nose wheel.

  Easy to assemble, replaces plastic parts.

  Recommended kit: Airfix

  Set contains:

  - resin: 3 parts

  - decals: no

  - photo-etched details: no

  - painting mask: yes

  Brassin set - Carley type lifeboats for 40 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 40 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

  DECEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard

  101

  November 2022

• Page 102

  ON APPROACH

  644189

  A6M3 Zero LööKplus

  1/48 Eduard

  Collection of 4 sets for A6M3 Zero in 1/48 scale.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

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

  - TFace painting mask

  - seat

  - undercarriage wheels

  DECEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard102

  November 2022

• Page 103

  BRASSIN 02/2022BRASSIN 02/2022

  ON APPROACH

  644190

  Tornado IDS LööKplus

  1/48 Revell

  Collection of 3 sets for Tornado IDS in 1/48 scale.

  Recommended kit: Revell

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

  - TFace painting mask

  - undercarriage wheels

  DECEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard

  103

  November 2022

• Page 104

  ON APPROACH

  SIN64895

  A6M2 Zero Model 21 ADVANCED

  1/48 Eduard

  Collection of 5 sets for A6M2 Zero Type 21 in 1/48 scale.

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  - engine PRINT

  - gun bays PRINT

  - tailwheel PRINT

  - landing flaps PRINT

  - folding wigtips PRINT

  All sets included in this BIG SIN are available separately,

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

  DECEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard104

  November 2022

• Page 105

  SIN64896

  F4F-3 w/ telescopic gunsight ESSENTIAL

  1/48 Eduard

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

  Recommended kit: Eduard

  - cockpit PRINT

  - wheels

  - exhausts PRINT

  - undercarriage legs BRONZE

  All sets included in this BIG SIN are available separately,

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

  BRASSIN 02/2022BRASSIN 02/2022

  ON APPROACHDECEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard

  105

  November 2022

• Page 106

  PE

  -

  SETS

  53288 USS DDG-1000 Zumwalt 1/350 Snowman Models/Takom

  32479 Yak-9K landing flaps 1/32 ICM

  321003 Yak-9K 1/32 ICM

  36492 WC-51 1/35 Zvezda

  481094 Beaufort Mk.I bomb bay 1/48 ICM

  481095 Beaufort Mk.I landing flaps 1/48 ICM

  491318 Beaufort Mk.I 1/48 ICM

  491320 Mi-4 1/48 Trumpeter

  72726 B-26B/C Marauder exterior 1/72 Hasegawa/Hobby 2000

  73783 A-1H 1/72 Hasegawa/Hobby 2000

  73784 A-1J 1/72 Hasegawa/Hobby 2000

  73785 P-39Q 1/72 Arma Hobby

  73786 B-26B/C Marauder interior 1/72 Hasegawa/Hobby 2000

  73787 Yak-9D 1/72 Zvezda

  ZOOMS

  33339 Yak-9K 1/32 ICM

  33340 Yak-9K seatbelts STEEL 1/32 ICM

  FE1318 Beaufort Mk.I 1/48 ICM

  FE1319 Beaufort Mk.I seatbelts STEEL 1/48 ICM

  FE1320 Mi-4 1/48 Trumpeter

  FE1321 Mi-4 seatbelts STEEL 1/48 Trumpeter

  SS785 P-39Q 1/72 Arma Hobby

  SS786 B-26B/C Marauder 1/72 Hasegawa/Hobby 2000

  SS787 Yak-9D 1/72 Zvezda

  MASKS

  JX301 Yak-9K 1/32 ICM

  JX302 Yak-9K TFace 1/32 ICM

  EX908 Beaufort Mk.I 1/48 ICM

  EX909 Beaufort Mk.I TFace 1/48 ICM

  EX910 Mi-4 1/48 Trumpeter

  EX911 Mi-4 TFace 1/48 Trumpeter

  CX634 Yak-9D 1/72 Zvezda

  CX635 A-1H 1/72 Hasegawa/Hobby 2000

  CX636 A-1J 1/72 Hasegawa/Hobby 2000

  SPACE

  3DL32009 Yak-9K SPACE 1/32 ICM

  3DL48094 Beaufort Mk.I SPACE 1/48 ICM

  3DL48095 Mi-4 SPACE 1/48 Trumpeter

  3DL48096 Z-326 SPACE 1/48 Eduard

  3DL72005 Ki-84 Hayate SPACE 1/72 Arma Hobby

  3DL72006 P-51B SPACE 1/72 Arma Hobby

  DECALS

  D32019 Ju 87 stencils 1/32 Hasegawa/Trumpeter/Revell

  ON APPROACH

  DECEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard106

  November 2022

• Page 107

  ON APPROACH

  Bf 109E-3 #7032 1/72

  WNr. 1079, Ofw. Erich Rudorffer, 2./JG 2,

  Baumont-le-Roger, France, September 1940

  WNr. 1380, Obstlt. Carl-Alfred Schumacher,

  CO of JG 1, Jever, Germany, early 1940

  WNr. 1271, Oblt. Helmut Henz, CO of 4./JG 77,

  Kristiandsand-Kjevik, Norway, September 1940

  Oblt. August-Wilhelm Schumann, 5./JG 52,

  Mannheim-Sandhofen, Germany,

  November-December 1939

  Obstlt. Max Ibel, CO of JG 27,

  Guines, France, September-October 1940

  WNr. 5058, Fw. Arthur Haase, 6./JG 51, Marquise-West, France, August 1940

  DECEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard

  107

  November 2022

• Page 108

  ON APPROACH

  SAMURAI 1/48

  #11168

  A6M3 Zero Type 22 and 32

  Dual Combo

  c/n 3032, Lt. Kiku-ichi Inano,

  Tainan Kōkūtai, Buna airfield,

  New Guinea, August 1942

  Kōkūtai 204, Vunakanau airfield,

  Rabaul, New Britain, April 1943

  PO1c Kyoshi Itō, 3. Kōkūtai,

  Koepang airfield, Timor Island,

  September 1942

  Tainan Kōkūtai (II), Tainan airbase,

  Taiwan, summer 1944

  DECEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard108

  November 2022

• Page 109

  ON APPROACH

  Tsukuba Kōkūtai, Tsukuba airbase,

  Japan, 1944

  Kōkūtai 204, Rabaul, New Britain,

  April 1943

  Lt.(jg) Takeyoshi Ôno, Kōkūtai 251,

  Rabaul airbase, New Britain, May 1943

  Rabauru Kōkūbuntai, Lakunai airfield,

  Rabaul, New Britain, second half 1943

  Lt. Cdr. Saburō Shindō, Kōkūtai 582,

  Buin airfield, Bougainville Island, June 1943

  Iwakuni Kōkūtai, Iwakuni airbase,

  Japan, 1944

  Kōkūtai 251, Rabaul airbase,

  New Britain, May 1943

  Ensign Tetsuzō Iwamoto,

  probably Kōkūtai 253, Rabaul, New Britain,

  late 1943/early 1944

  DECEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard

  109

  November 2022

• Page 110

  ON APPROACH

  P-51D-10 1/48#84184

  s/n 44-14223, Lt. Col. Elwyn G. Righetti,

  CO of 55th FG, 8th AF, Wormingford,

  United Kingdom, December 1944–March 1945

  s/n 44-14237, Capt. William T. Whisner,

  487th FS, 352nd FG, 8th AF, Bodney,

  Great Britain, November 1944

  s/n 44-14292, Col. Claiborne H. Kinnard,

  CO of 4th FG, 8th AF, Debden, United Kingdom,

  November 1944

  s/n 44-14789, Capt. John B. England, 362nd FS, 357th FG, 8th AF, Leiston,

  United Kingdom, December 1944

  DECEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard110

  November 2022

• Page 111

  Spitfire Mk.IXc #7466 1/72

  MK244, W/Cdr Jan Čermák,

  No. 312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron,

  No. 134 Wing, RAF Appledram,

  United Kingdom, June 1944

  MK832, S/Ldr Robert K. Hayward,

  No. 411 squadron, B.4 Beny-sur-Mer Airfield RAF,

  France, July–August 1944

  Lt. Robert J. Connors, 309th FS, 31st FG, 12th AF,

  Castel Volturno, Italy, February–March 1944

  MK144, S/Ldr Alan G. Page, No. 132 Squadron,

  RAF Ford, United Kingdom, February–May 1944

  ON APPROACHDECEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard

  111

  November 2022

• Page 112

  ON APPROACH

  Fw 190D-9 1/48#8188

  PRELIMINARY IMAGES

  DECEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard112

  November 2022

• Page 113

  Re-release

  1./KG(J) 6, Prague-Kbely,

  Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia,

  March/April 1945

  WNr. 130342, 5./NJG 11,

  Fassberg, Germany 1945

  13./JG 27, Schleswig-Holstein,

  Germany, May 1945

  WNr. 130282, Hptm. Franz Wienhusen, CO of IV./JG 4,

  Frankfurt/Rhein-Main, Germany, November 1944

  WNr. 130297, Fw. Horst Petzschler,

  10./JG 51, Insterburg, East Prussia,

  May 1945

  Bf 109G-10 Mtt. Regensburg

  1/48 #82119

  ON APPROACHDECEMBER 2022

  INFO Eduard

  113

  November 2022

• Page 114

  FIGHTING A BAD MOOD

  Are you often in a bad mood this year?

  We are overwhelmed with news on all

  sides with information about the war

  in Ukraine, inflation, rising energy pri-

  ces and what increased costs and pri-

  ces mean for business as for household

  budget. This confusion is not improved

  by politicians who sometimes give the

  impression of living in an ivory tower on

  a glass rock with their heads in the

  clouds. I am not just referring to the

  Czech Republic, but somehow to a num-

  ber of other countries from which I read

  the news. Although the Czechs, with their

  bureaucracy and slow decision making,

  sometimes seem to want to take the top

  spot in this discipline.

  Walking through Prague, where I live, one

  can see numbers of closed business as

  a result of the covid pandemic. Now some

  companies, shops and restaurants are

  also closing because of inflation and the

  sagging energy market. The situation is

  not easy for our company either. With the

  Russian invasion of Ukraine, there has

  been a significant drop in sales virtually

  overnight. Even after eight months, the

  market situation has not calmed down

  and it is still not certain whether we have

  hit bottom or not. The current negative

  development period is now longer than

  the whole 2008-2009 crisis.

  These worries add on top of what the

  past two years have given us. We are

  still dealing with the rise in the price of

  production materials, the sharp increase

  in the cost of international transport,

  accompanied by the delays and unrelia-

  bility of delivery times.

  We consider innovation to be the main

  tool to deal with the crisis. We have al-

  ways been an innovative company, but

  the current issues pushed us to acce-

  lerate our innovative activities. Since the

  last spring, we have been investing hea-

  vily in 3D printing technology. We have

  already bought four printers and are in

  the process of buying two more, we are

  improving our production processes and

  thanks to this, despite the crisis, our sa-

  les of Brassins are growing compared to

  last year. We are also planning to pur-

  chase two new injection machines for the

  press shop to increase production capa-

  city. We have introduced new procedu-

  res in the production of metallic moulds,

  such as 3D scanning to review progress

  of tooling, which helps us to reduce pro-

  duction time, saves costs, and also ensu-

  res optimal fitting of the components of

  the kits. The reviewers don't write any-

  thing about it, they probably take it for

  granted, but it's not.

  We are also innovating our marketing

  activities, for example, we have set up an

  Instagram account, the number of peo-

  ple who follow it has already exceeded

  five thousand, and thanks to their active

  involvement it is still growing. Another

  big change is ahead for Eduard INFO ma-

  gazine, we are preparing the introduction

  of the Triobo software, which will lead to

  a new, more modern and professional

  online form of the magazine. This jour-

  nal has undergone a dynamic evolution

  in the last two years from one monthly

  article we now bring three to four main

  articles and recently we have introduced

  one-page Boxart stories. We see these

  as part of an improvement with the kits,

  where we've started to pay even more

  attention than before to the historical

  background of the box arts. Eduard INFO

  magazine is no longer just a list of news,

  it is also fun for modellers and is on its

  way to becoming a quality and popular

  scale modelling magazine.

  The bad mood and the global crisis can

  be fought in different ways. Scale mode-

  lling is one of the unequivocally positive

  ways to relax and create something that

  makes you happy. We are doing every-

  thing we can to improve the current si-

  tuation. Do it too! Fight, resist, don't give

  up! Help us, be with us. BUILD, assemble,

  learn new techniques, use our innovati-

  ons! You will help us and yourself. We will

  reward you by making great new kits and

  accessories for you that will keep you

  entertained and put you back in a good

  mood. Plus, we'll give you a monthly INFO

  magazine with lots of inspiration and

  keep you entertained on Facebook and

  Instagram. Who has this nowadays? And

  get ready for another Sweep discount

  event, this time it will be all about photo

  etch and later followed by Brassins.

  Jan Bobek

  INFO Eduard114

  November 2022

• Page 115

  www.eduard.com/bfc

  BUNNY BUNNY FIGHTERFIGHTER

  CLUB

  Eduard's special membership club for all modeling enthusiasts!

  15% Permanent Club discount at Eduard Store – you will receive permanent 15% discount on all Eduard

  products and also discount on various other non-Eduard products. Fixed, permanent, forever!

  Unique valuable Club kits and accessories – you will gain access to unique and nowhere else to be sold

  products, specially made for BFC members.

  Even better prices at Eduard events stand – do you know that Eduard usually has huge discounts on

  their products at fairs and events all over the world? BFC members will have even higher discount at

  these events.

  Club T-shirt – you will receive fancy BFC T-shirt with unique design and special barcode

  (used for event discounts). This exclusive T-shirt will be only available

  to the members of BFC.

  Free entry fee on E-day – you will not have to pay a penny to visit Eduard's E-day.

  That means lot of fun at E-day for two days and entry kit, absolutely free!

  * E-day - INTERNATIONAL SCALE KIT EXHIBITION - IPMS Czech Republic Championship

  BOX CONTENT:

  Plastic parts, Marking options 6, Decal Set, PE parts, Maska, Brassin

  parts (two different types of wheels, landing flaps, dust filter with

  eyelid, intake ring and RP-3 60lb rockets), 3D decals for main and si

  -

  dewalk instrument and control panels with photo-etched details and

  seat belts.

  BOX CONTENT:

  Plastic parts, Marking options 4, Decal Set, PE parts, Maska, Brassin

  parts (undercarriage wheels, cockpit, exhaust nozzle, FOD).

  How to become a member of BFC?How to become a member of BFC?

  Simply by purchasing the Activation product. You will be given 15% discount on (almost) every Eduard

  product in your shopping cart. To apply this discount, the Activation product has to be in your shopping

  cart. Activation product is excluded from this calculation.

  Activation products:Activation products:

  Tempest Mk. V + T-shirt 1/48MiG-21MF + T-shirt 1/72