Product Spotlight

Product Spotlight: Heinkels Over the Arctic

 

Corgi’s German Heinkel He-111H-6 Torpedo Bomber – 1H+BB, I./Kampgeschwader 26, Bardufoss Airfield, Norway, July 5th, 1942

Year after year, one of the most popular aircraft in the Corgi aerial armada is their 1:72 scale depiction of the German Heinkel He 111 medium bomber. Their latest incarnation is no different — it comes in the form of a torpedo bomber that served with Kampgschwader 26 in the upper regions of Norway during 1942 (AA33715)

Perhaps the most interesting missions carried out by the ‘H’ model Heinkel He IIIs were those of the torpedo carrying maritime attack bombers, which flew at wave-top height, before delivering their payload of two air launched LT F5b torpedoes. Operating from the airfield at Bardufoss in northern Norway, the anti-shipping Heinkels of KG26 were involved in the infamous attack against Arctic convoy PQ17, which proved to be one of the most disastrous episodes in the history of the Royal Navy. Leaving Iceland, bound for Arkhangelsk in Russia, the convoy consisted of 35 merchant vessels and a large protecting force of naval ships. Quickly detected by the Germans, the first attack came from 25 Heinkel torpedo bombers of KG26 – warned of their approach, the escort vessels put up a murderous wall of defensive fire, which claimed four of the Luftwaffe bombers destroyed. Determined in their attack, the torpedoes did their damage and a number of ships were sunk and the defensive shield of the convoy disrupted.

Worried by the ferocity of the attack and intelligence reports suggesting that the mighty German battleship Tirpitz was steaming towards the battle, naval commanders ordered the escorts to withdraw and the convoy to scatter. Over the course of the next few days, Convoy PQ17 came under repeated attack from U-boats and Ju88 bombers, which claimed 23 of the defenseless ships. July 2017 will mark the 75th Anniversary of this naval disaster.

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Product Spotlight: IJN Deck Camouflage

The Imperial Japanese Navy took great pains to camouflage some of their capital ships to protect them against aerial attack.

While doing research on a few Eaglemoss warships, I thought it particularly interesting to share some insights we came across as to how the Imperial Japanese Navy attempted to camouflage its aircraft carriers against aerial attack.

Dazzle camouflage was developed late in the nineteenth century to protect surface ships against submarine attack. Later on, it was not only used to a greater degree to deceive surface ship gunners and submarine captains but also from scout and strike aircraft. WWII US carriers wore Measure 1, Measure 11, and Measure 21 schemes, and were designed as periscope disruptive schemes. They painted their decks, first with Dark Gray 5-D, then stained their decks with Deck Blue 20-B and Deck Blue Stain 21.

Japanese carriers, such as the Zuiho, Unryu and Chitose, typically the primary targets for Allied bombers and strike aircraft, adopted alternative top deck paint schemes in an effort to mistake them for another type of vessel (merchant ship superstructure, stacks and hatches) when observed from the air. They also tried swirl and strong geometric patterns to break up the flatness of their decks. The carrier Zuiho did not have a superstructure so it had a clean ‘canvas’ deck to represent a skewed ship with strong turret and gun shadow shapes. Nevertheless, it was still sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944.

You can see this type of deck camouflage first-hand with the Eaglemoss IJN Zuiho (EMGC29) and the IJN Chitose (EMGC74) aircraft carriers.

 

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Product Spotlight: Master Fighter Turns Back the Hands of Time to Dien Bien Phu

Surplus US armor was used by the French Army in Indochina in an attempt to defeat the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army

“Underestimation of non-conventional units or a guerilla enemy by regular forces is a cardinal military sin.”

– Howard R. Simpson, Dien Bien Phu: The Epic Battle America Forgot

Admittedly, french manufacturer Quarter Kit, makers of the Master Fighter line of 1:48 scale resin military vehicles, tends to lean heavily on the use of french equipment to retell some of the most important armored battles in military history. For instance, while one of their upcoming Chaffee light tanks is based upon a vehicle that served with the US 1st Armored Division during the latter stages of WWII (MF48602US), two are being created to portray french involvement in Indochina during the early 1950s. Due out in May, the first of these replicas portrays a vehicle that entered service in 1953, and comes decked out in a standard factory-fresh olive drab pattern that might have been better suited to Europe (MF48602FR). The second is designed to model a vehicle that helped to defend french interests at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, and comes painted in a more appropriate jungle motif (MF48602IN).

Later on during the First Indochina War, the French Army made a final if fateful stand at Dien Bien Phu, before withdrawing its remaining forces from the region

Master Fighter has announced several new vehicles that are also expected to put in an appearance in late Spring, so we are currently in the process of adding them to our product portfolio.

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Product Spotlight: Royal Navy Admiral Class Battlecruiser – HMS Hood (51)

 

HMS Hood, pride of the Royal Navy, and one of the first surface warships to fall victim to the Kriegmarine’s battleship Bismarck

“That the sinking of the Hood was due to a hit from Bosmarck’s 15-inch shell in or adjacent to Hood’s 4-inch or 15-inch magazines, causing them all to explode and wreck the after part of the ship. The probability is that the 4-inch magazines exploded first.”

– British Board of Inquiry convened in the aftermath of the sinking of the HMS Hood

As we near the release date for Walterson’s relaunched fleet of 1:700 scale Forces of Valor warships, we take our fourth close-up look at some of the ships you can expect to see. The Royal Navy’s Admiral Class Battlecruiser, HMS Hood (51), will forever be remembered as the ship that tangled with the Bismarck almost on an even basis yet, despite its promise as a viable combatant, suffered an ignominious fate on the morning of May 24th, 1941.

Just before 06:00 on May 24th, 1941, while Hood was turning 20 degrees to port to unmask her rear turrets, she was hit again on the boat deck by one or more shells from Bismarck’s fifth salvo, fired from a range of approximately 16,650 metres (18,210 yd). A shell from this salvo appears to have hit the spotting top, as the boat deck was showered with body parts and debris. A huge jet of flame burst out of Hood from the vicinity of the mainmast, followed by a devastating magazine explosion that destroyed the aft part of the ship. This explosion broke the back of Hood, and the last sight of the ship, which sank in only three minutes, was her bow, nearly vertical in the water.

A close-up loot at the Hood, which reveals the thin deck susceptible to plunging fire from the Bismarck

Hood sank with 1,418 men aboard. Of the 1,418 crew, only three men – Ordinary Signalman Ted Briggs, Able Seaman Robert Tilburn, and Midshipman William John Dundas – survived; they were rescued about two hours after the sinking by the destroyer HMS Electra. Electra spotted a lot of debris, but no bodies.

Badge of the HMS Hood with the motto “Ventis Secundis” (With a Favorable Wind”), wishful thinking that failed to prevent its fate on the morning of May 24th, 1941

The HMS Hood is expected to be resurrected from the ocean depth’s some time in May.

 

 

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Product Spotlight: USS Missouri (BB-63)

USS Missouri (BB-63) looks to be re-commissioned into the Forces of Valor navy this summer

 “It is my earnest hope, and indeed the hope of all mankind, that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past — a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for freedom, tolerance and justice.”
– Gen. Douglas MacArthur, aboard the USS Missouri at the conclusion to the signing of the Instrument of Surrender, September 2nd, 1945

Several years ago, we had the great pleasure of visiting the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii. Part of our trip involved seeing the USS Arizona Memorial, as well as a trek through the Iowa-class battleship, USS Missouri, which is fittingly moored aft of the Arizona. I remember pausing when we came to the end of the guided walk through, and looking, quite fondly, at the spot on the deck where delegates of the Imperial Japanese Empire formally signed the instrument of surrender in Tokyo Bay on September 2nd, 1945, thus formally ending hostilities in the Pacific Theatre of Operations.

Therefore, it is, with great pleasure that Waltersons’ will soon be re-releasing a 1:700 scale replica of the USS Missouri in its WWII-era configuration, reworked and remastered to conform with their all-new warships lineup.

The ceremony aboard the deck of the Missouri lasted 23 minutes and was broadcast throughout the world. The instrument was first signed by the Japanese foreign minister Mamoru Shigemitsu “By Command and on behalf of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese Government” (9:04 am). General Yoshijirō Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff, then signed the document “By Command and on behalf of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters” (9:06 am).

At 9:08 a.m., U.S. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, the Commander in the Southwest Pacific and Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, accepted the surrender on behalf of the Allied Powers and signed in his capacity as Supreme Commander.[4]

After MacArthur’s signature as Supreme Commander, the following representatives signed the instrument of surrender on behalf of each of the Allied Powers:

On September 6, Colonel Bernard Theilen took the document and an imperial rescript to Washington, D.C., and presented them to President Harry S. Truman in a formal White House ceremony the following day. The documents were then exhibited at the National Archives.

Look for the USS Missouri (FOV861003A) to weigh anchor some time in May.

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Product Spotlight: DKM Bismarck

“Sink the Bismarck!”

– Prime Minister Winston Churchill, after learning of the demise of the battlecruiser HMS Hood, May 1941

Earlier this month, we began examining some of the reworked warships due out shortly from Forces of Valor. Many have been reworked, repainted and repackaged, all in an effort to bring the series up to speed and attract new collectors into the fold. Our second warship spotlight focuses on the German Kriegsmarines infamous battleship, DKM Bismarck, pride of the German fleet and one of its earliest victims in the Battle of the Atlantic (FOV861006A).

Operation Rheinubung (“Rhine Exercise”) was the sortie into the Atlantic by the new German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen from May 18th-27th, 1941, during World War II. This operation culminated in the sinking of the Bismarck.

During both World Wars, the island of Britain was dependent upon huge numbers of merchant ships to bring in food and essential raw materials, and protecting this lifeline was one of the highest priorities for British forces. Likewise, Germany recognized that, if this lifeline could be severed, Britain would be defeated, regardless of any other factor.

Operation Rheinubung was the latest in a series of raids on Allied shipping carried out by surface units of the Kriegsmarine. It was preceded by Operation Berlin, a highly successful sortie by Scharnhorst and Gneisenau which ended in March 1941.

By May 1941, the Kriegsmarine warships, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Admiral Hipper were at Brest, on the western coast of France, posing a serious threat to the Atlantic convoys. Two new warships now became available to the Germans: the battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, both initially stationed in the Baltic Sea.

The aim of the operation was for Bismarck and Prinz Eugen to break into the Atlantic and attack Allied shipping. Raeder’s orders to Lutjens were that “the objective of the Bismarck is not to defeat enemies of equal strength, but to tie them down in a delaying action, while preserving her combat capacity as much as possible, so as to allow Prinz Eugen to get at the merchant ships in the convoy” and “The primary target in this operation is the enemy’s merchant shipping; enemy warships will be engaged only when that objective makes it necessary and it can be done without excessive risk.”

To support and provide facilities for the capital ships to refuel and rearm, German Naval Command (OKM) established a network of tankers and supply ships in the Rheinubung operational area. 7 tankers and 2 supply ships were sent as far afield as Labrador in the west to Cape Verde islands in the south.

Lutjens had requested that Grand Admiral Erich Raeder delay Rheinubung long enough either for Scharnhorst to rendezvous at sea with Bismarck and Prinz Eugen or for Bismarck’s sister-ship Tirpitz to accompany them. Raeder had refused. The crew of the newly-completed Tirpitz was not yet fully trained, and Raeder cited the coming German invasion of Crete as a reason for disrupting Allied supply lines and diverting strength from the Mediterranean.

To meet the threat from German surface ships, the British had stationed at Scapa Flow the new battleships HMS King George V (sometimes referred to as KGV) and HMS Prince of Wales (PoW) as well as the elderly battlecruiser HMS Hood. Elsewhere, at Gibraltar, at Halifax, Nova Scotia and at sea in the Atlantic were the battleships Revenge, Rodney and Ramillies, the battlecruisers Repulse and Renown, and aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal and Victorious. Cruisers and air patrols provided the fleet’s ‘eyes’. At sea, or due to sail shortly, were 11 convoys, including a troop convoy.

OKM did not take into account the Royal Navy’s determination to destroy the German surface fleet. To make sure Bismarck was sunk, the Royal Navy would ruthlessly strip other theatres of action. This would include denuding valuable convoys of their escorts. The British would ultimately deploy six battleships, three battlecruisers, two aircraft carriers, 16 cruisers, 33 destroyers and eight submarines, along with patrol aircraft. It would become the largest naval force assigned to a single operation up to that point in the war.

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Product Spotlight: IJN Super Battleship Yamato

 

 

IJN super battleship Yamato, flag ship of the post-Midway Japanese navy

“Yamato was simply built to stand up to and utterly outclass any conceivable American or British opponent by sheer weight of gunfire and elephant-like armor. As such, hers is a sort of ‘brute force’ approach to protection. Her armor layout isn’t the most efficient, but she has a lot of armor, so it doesn’t really matter.”

– Jon Parshall, historian and author of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway

This April, we expect to take delivery of the first of several redeveloped warships from Waltersons, the new owners of the Forces of Valor brand. As such, we thought it made sense to preface their release with a little history of each warship and their relative importance in naval history. To kick things off, we look at the Imperial Japanese Navy’s super battleship Yamato.

The Chrysanthemum Seal, effectively the Imperial Seal of Japan, which was placed prominently on the bow of the IJN Yamato

The Forces of Valor rendition of the famed warship portrays her during Operation Ten-Go, a fateful and last ditch effort by the IJN to thwart the US landings at the island of Okinawa towards the end of the war. Operation Ten-Go was a Japanese naval operation plan that consisted of four likely scenarios. Its first scenario, Operation Heaven One (or Ten-ichi-gō天一号) became the last major Japanese naval operation in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The resulting engagement is also known as the Battle of the East China Sea.

In April 1945, the Japanese battleship Yamato (the heaviest battleship in the world), along with nine other Japanese warships, embarked from Japan on a deliberate suicide attack upon Allied forces engaged in the Battle of Okinawa. The Japanese force was attacked, stopped, and almost destroyed by United States carrier-borne aircraft before reaching Okinawa. Yamato and five other Japanese warships were sunk.

The battle demonstrated U.S. air supremacy in the Pacific theater by this stage in the war and the vulnerability of surface ships without air cover to aerial attack. The battle also exhibited Japan’s willingness to sacrifice entire ships, even the pride of its fleet, in desperate kamikaze attacks aimed at slowing the Allied advance on the Japanese home islands. This extremism reportedly contributed to the US decision to employ nuclear weapons against the Japanese.

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Product Spotlight: Marine Adversaries

Among the many new items we’ve received over the past month or so, are two Northrop F-5 Freedom fighters operated by the USMC under the guise of the VMFT-401 “Snipers”. These aircraft are used to emulate several Russian adversarial aircraft and help teach pilots how to evade, engage and hopefully destroy an agile enemy aircraft under varying conditions.

Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 (VMFT-401) is a United States Marine Corps Reserve fighter squadron flying the F-5N Tiger II. Known as the “Snipers”, the squadron is the only adversary squadron in the Marine Corps, also is the first and only reserve squadron in the Marine Corps tasked to act as the opposing force in simulated air combat. They are based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and fall under the command of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing and Marine Aircraft Group 41. VMFT-401 is a non-deployable unit.

Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 (VMFT-401) was activated on March 18, 1986 at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona. In June 1987 the squadron received a number of Israeli F-21A Kfirs and during that year logged more than 4,000 hours of flight time during 16 major exercises. In 1989, they transitioned to the F-5E Tiger II which they still use.

Following the inactivation of Marine Aircraft Group 46 in June 2009, VMFT-401 transitioned under Marine Aircraft Group 41.

The squadron was recognized by the Commandant of the Marine Corps for flying more than 50,000 mishap-free flight hours. They broke the 50,000 hour mark in early July 2010 having not had a mishap since October 1995. At an average of 45 minutes per flight, 50,000 hours equates to nearly 70,000 mishap free sorties.

Shown here are USMC Northrop F-5F Tiger II Fighter – VMFT-401 “Snipers,” 25th Anniversary, Yuma NAS, Arizona, August 2011 (HA3324) and USMC Northrop F-5F Tiger II Fighter – VMFT-401 “Snipers,” Yuma NAS, Arizona, June 2006 (HA3325).

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Product Spotlight: We’re High on Hornets

While the aviation community seems to be focusing on 5th generation stealth fighters, both President-elect Trump and Hobby Master seem to be more taken aback with F/A-18 Super Hornets. Admittedly, Super Hornets are no replacement for the more expensive F-35 Joint Strike Fighters now entering service, but they still look cool and will likely carry on for some time until the F-35s completely replace them some time in the 2020s.

This January, Hobby Master released not one but two brand new toolings for the venerable F/A-18 Super Hornets: one and E model operated by VFA-14 “Tophatters” (HA5101) and the other an F variant supplied to VFA-103 “Jolly Rogers” (HA5102). Both versions are now in stock, loaded to bear, and ready to take center stage amidst any diecast aviator’s collection.

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Product Spotlight: Heinkels Over the Arctic

 

“The worst journey in the world.”

– British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in his remarks about the lend-lease convoys transiting the Arctic to reach the Russian ports of Archangel and Murmansk

Among its many roles, the He 111 served as a torpedo bomber in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. In the Atlantic campaign the Luftwaffe created Fliegerführer Atlantik for this purpose. In the spring 1941, the Luftwaffe had been using conventional bombs to attack shipping more often than not. Such a method resulted in heavy losses to He 111 units in aircraft and crew as the 111s attack point was too close. III./Kampfgeschwader 40 had only eight of 32 crews remaining by April 1941 and had to be withdrawn. Most He 111 units were replaced by the faster Junkers Ju 88 and Dornier Do 217 which also suffered losses, but not to the extent of the He 111.

A proper aerial torpedo could have prevented such losses. The German Navy had purchased Horton naval torpedo patents from Norway in 1933 and the Whitehead Fiume patent from Italy in 1938. But air-launched torpedo development was slow. In 1939 trials with Heinkel He 59 and Heinkel He 115 had revealed a 49 percent failure rate owing to aerodynamic difficulties and depth control and fusing difficulties. Until 1941 the Luftwaffe obtained poor results in this field. When in 1941 the Luftwaffe took an active interest, the Kriegsmarine resisted Luftwaffe involvement and collaboration and direct requests by the Luftwaffe to take over development was refused. With the Atlantic campaign in full swing, the Luftwaffe needed a torpedo bomber to allow its aircraft to avoid increased shipboard anti-aircraft armament. It set up a number of schools devoted to torpedo attack at Gossenbrode, Germany and Athens, Greece. It was found that the He 111 was highly suited to such operations. In December 1941 the Luftwaffe was granted the lead in torpedo development. Trials at Grossenbrode enabled the He 111 to carry two torpedoes, while the Ju 88 could also manage the same number and remain faster in flight. KG 26 was equipped with both the He 111 and Ju 88. Some 42 He 111s served with I./KG 26 flying out of Norway.

The He 111’s ordnance was the Italian Whitehead Fiume 850 kg (1,870 lb) torpedo and the German F5 50 kg (110 lb) light torpedo. Both functioned over a distance of 3 km (1.9 mi) at a speed of 40 km/h (25 mph) The Whitedhead armament weighed over 200 kg (440 lb). To make an attack the He 111 pilot had to drop to 40 m (130 ft) and reduce air speed to 190 km/h (120 mph). The water depth had to a minimum of 15 m (49 ft). In comparison to the Italian and German-designed ordnance, the Imperial Japanese Navy‘s Type 91 torpedo — the ordnance which proved so devastating to the U.S. Navy‘s warships during the Attack on Pearl Harbor — would end up being considered for German production as the Luftorpedo LT 850, after its plans were taken to Germany nine months later by IJN submarine I-30 on August 2, 1942.

The He 111 was committed to operations in the Arctic Ocean against the Arctic convoys traveling to the Soviet Union from North America and the United Kingdom. One notable action involved I./KG 26 attacking Convoy PQ 17 in June 1942. I./KG 26 and its He 111s sank three ships and damaged three more. Later, III./KG 26 helped Ju 88s of III./KG 30 based at Banak sink several more ships. Some 25 out of 35 merchant ships were sunk altogether. Convoy PQ 16 was also successfully intercepted by KG 26, who claimed four vessels, but lost six crews in return. Convoy PQ 18 was also intercepted during 13 15 September 1942. In total some 13 out of 40 ships were sunk. However it cost the Luftwaffe 40 aircraft, of which 20 were KG 26 He 111s. Of the 20 crews, 14 were missing.[42]

He 111 torpedo units continued to operate with success elsewhere. Anti-shipping operations in the Black Sea against the Soviet Navy were also carried out. The Soviets mainly sailed at night and singly, making interception very difficult. The Soviets also heavily protected their shipping at sea and in port. Anti-aircraft defensive fire was severe in daylight and at night was supported by searchlights, though these measures did not stop the He 111 completely. Geschwader continued to press home their attacks with some success.

In the Mediterranean theatre the Allies had won air superiority by 1943 but the torpedo Geschwader, KG 26, continued to operate He 111s in shipping attack units. The He 111s attacked Allied shipping along the African coast flying from bases in Sicily and Sardinia both in daylight and darkness. In spite of nightfighers and anti-aircraft defences the He 111s continued to get through to their targets. Losses meant a gradual decline in experienced crews and standards of attack methods. Such missions were largely abandoned in the spring owing to shortages in aircraft and crews. By April, KG 26 could only scrape together some 13 Ju 88 and He 111 torpedo bombers. With the exception of I./KG 26 all other groups converted onto the Ju 88.

Look for Corgi’s recently announced Heinkel He-111H-6 torpedo bomber some time this summer (AA33715).

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