Product Spotlight

Product Spotlight: The Aardvark – You Say Goodbye, and I Say Hello

HA3017

“It’s quite an historic day from an Air Force perspective particularly for the guys who’ve worked on the F-111… to see the last one just about to depart.”

– Wing Commander Clive Wells, Royal Australian Air Force, as the final F-111 leaves for the Pacific Air Museum, September 4th, 2013

Gone from our inventory for several months, and stricken from the RAAF roster for several years, the F-111 Aardvark strike aircraft will be making an encore performance this fall, thanks to two new builds still in the work shed. The first version from Hobby Master, slated for an August fly-in, is based upon a Royal Australian Air Force F-111C that took part in the “RAAF Farewell”, a swan song to the inimitable Aardvark performed by No. 82 Wing, during December 2010 (HA3017).

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In 2007, the Australian government decided to retire all of its F-111s by 2010, and acquire 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets as an interim replacement, pending the arrival of the F-35 Lightning JSF then under development. The F-111 fleet was considered to be at risk due to fatigue issues, and too expensive to operate as each aircraft required 180 hours of maintenance for every hour of flying time. No. 82 Wing began re-equipping with the Super Hornet in 2010, and the last F-111s were retired on December 3rd that year. FACDU was combined with the RAAF Special Tactics Project in July 2009 to form No. 4 Squadron. The following year, No. 82 Wing became home to No. 5 Flight, which was responsible for training personnel to operate the RAAF’s two IAI Heron unmanned aerial vehicles based at Kandahar in Afghanistan. The Air Force acquired a third Heron in 2011, based in Australia and operated by No. 5 Flight. As of that year, the F-35 was not expected to enter Australian service until 2018. The RAAF hoped to be able to sell off its Super Hornets “with very low kilometres on the clock” by 2020, but this would depend on delivery of the replacement F-35s. In April 2013, No. 5 Flight was transferred from No. 82 Wing to Surveillance and Response Group’s No. 92 Wing. The following month, the Federal government announced plans to purchase twelve Boeing EA-18G Growlers to supplement the Super Hornet fleet. No. 6 Squadron is expected to begin taking delivery of the Growlers in 2017, at which point its Super Hornets will be transferred to No. 1 Squadron.

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Product Spotlight: Another Prowler Trips the Alarm

HA5002

“Without question, the arrival of the EA-6B Prowler on the carrier deck established airborne electronic attack as an invaluable, ‘don’t leave home without it’ part of every Navy and Marine strike mission.”

– Rick Morgan, LCDR, USN (Ret.) and historian for the Prowler Association

With sales for their first EA-6B Prowler exceeding expectations, Hobby Master took the wraps off of their second iteration, which is painted in a subdued desert camouflage scheme. The next release, expected some time in August, depicts an electronics warfare aircraft from Electronic Attack Squadron 133 “Wizards”, when it was deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, during 2007 (HA5002).

Electronic Attack Squadron 133 (VAQ-133) is an EA-18G Growler squadron of the United States Navy based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. Beginning in 2013, the squadron began the transition from the EA-6B to the Growler. Upon completion of the transition spring 2014, the Wizards returned to their attachment to Carrier Air Wing Nine. The squadron’s nickname is “Wizards” and its radio callsign is “Magic”.

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Electronic Attack Squadron 133 (VAQ-133) was established on March 4th, 1969, at Naval Air Station Alameda, California. The squadron originally flew the EKA-3B Skywarrior. In August 1971, the Wizards relocated to NAS Whidbey Island. Following this move, the squadron received and transitioned to the EA-6B Prowler.

Following the 2012-2013 deployment of Carrier Air Wing 9 onboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), VAQ-133 will be reassigned to Carrier Air Wing Eight based aboard the carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77). This reassign was originally slated to occur in January 2014 but changing operational requirements accelerated this reassignment until immediately after the end of the 2012-2013 deployment. As of mid-2014, VAQ-133 made a transition from the EA-6B to the Boeing EA-18G Growler.

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Product Spotlight: Unternehmen Rheinubung

ATL7134101

“Sink the Bismarck.”

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

With so many product spotlights on some of the recently received aircraft, its refreshing to turn our focus to sea power now and again. One such exemplar of new warships available for sale is the DeAgostini 1:1250 scale replica of the Kriegsmarine’s DKM Bismarck.

The German battleship Bismarck is one of the most famous warships of the Second World War. The lead ship of her class, she was named after the 19th-century German chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck’s fame came from the Battle of the Denmark Strait in May 1941 (in which the battlecruiser HMS Hood, flagship and pride of the Royal Navy, was sunk), from Churchill’s subsequent order to “Sink the Bismarck”, and from the relentless pursuit by the Royal Navy that ended with her loss only three days later.

This formidable ship, the largest warship then commissioned, was intended primarily as a commerce raider, having a broad beam for stability in the rough seas of the North Atlantic and fuel stores as large as those of battleships intended for operations in the Pacific Ocean. Still, with eight 15 inch main guns in four turrets, substantial welded-armour protection and designed for a top speed of not less than 29 knots (she actually achieved 30.1 knots in trials in the calmer waters of the Baltic, an impressive speed when set against any comparable British battleship), Bismarck was capable of engaging any enemy battleship on reasonably equal terms. Her range of weaponry could easily decimate any convoy she encountered. The plan was for Bismarck to break through into the spacious waters of the North Atlantic, where she could refuel from German tankers and remain undetected by British and American aircraft, submarines and ships, while attacking the convoys.

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Product Spotlight” “MiG Mad Marine”

HA4312

“Ted and I flew together a lot,” Glenn recalls near the end of a chapter on Korea.”Ted flew about half his missions as my wingman. He was a fine pilot, and I liked to fly with him.”

– Major John “Old Magnet Ass” Glenn, recalling his days of flying with famed baseball player, Ted Williams, during the Korean Conflict

To round out this month’s product spotlight, we have this handsome North American F-86F Sabre jet, bearing the markings of “MiG Mad Marine”, the plan John Glenn flew over Korea during the 1950s era Korean Conflict (HA4312).

After WWII, Glenn was assigned to VMF-311, flying the new F9F Panther jet interceptor. He flew his Panther in 63 combat missions during the Korean War, gaining the dubious nickname “magnet ass” from his apparent ability to attract enemy flak. Twice he returned to base with over 250 flak holes in his aircraft. Glenn flew for a time with Ted Williams, a future hall of fame baseball player for the Boston Red Sox, as his wingman.

Glenn flew a second Korean combat tour on an inter-service exchange program with the United States Air Force. He logged 27 missions in the faster F-86F Sabre, and shot down three MiG-15s near the Yalu River in the final days before the cease fire.

On November 20th, 1951, squadron pilots received their new F-86 Sabre aircraft and went to face the Chinese, North Korean, and Soviet pilots in their MiG-15 aircraft. Major William T. Whisner Jr. got his fifth MiG kill on February 23rd, 1952, becoming an Ace.

When the 51st Group adopted a checkered design for its F-86 tail markings, it also received the designation “Checkertails”. The red squadron colors appeared in the design. Thus, the Assam Draggins of World War II became known as the “Checkertails” of the Korean War.

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Product Spotlight: Messerschmitts Over England

HA8701c

“As England, in spite of her hopeless military situation, still shows no sign of willingness to come to terms, I have decided to prepare, and if necessary to carry out, a landing operation against her. The aim of this operation is to eliminate the English Motherland as a base from which the war against Germany can be continued, and, if necessary, to occupy the country completely.”

– Fuhrer Directive No. 16, announcing Unternehmen Seelowe (Operation Sea Lion), the invasion of England, July 16th, 1940

Its been an eventful few days. Not only have we received some of the latest 1:72 scale jets from Hobby Master but so too their first ever 1:48 scale Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter, resplendant in an early war mottled grey camouflage scheme (HA8701).

Numerically the most abundant fighter produced by either side during WWII, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 formed the backbone of the Jagdwaffe on both the eastern and western fronts, as well as in the Mediterranean and North Africa. Of the eight distinct sub-types within the huge Bf 109 family, the most populous was the G-model, of which over 30,000 were built between 1941-45. Despite its production run, only a handful of genuine German Bf 109s have survived into the 1990s, and with the serious damaging of the RAFs G-2 at Duxford in October 1997, only the German-based MBB G-6 and Hans Ditte’s G-10 (both composites) are currently airworthy.

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Product Spotlight: (Tom) cat on a Hot Tin Roof

HA5202

“We sat at the end of the runway, our F-14’s GE-110 motors humming, awaiting our clearance to begin what would be the last F-14 Demonstration ever. The Air Boss’s voice crackled over the radio: “Tomcat Demo, you’re cleared to five miles and 15k feet. The air show box is yours.” At that very moment, I distinctly remember what my Commanding Officer told us before the show: “Fellas, make it memorable… just not too memorable!””

– Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Lieutenant Commander Joe “Smokin” Ruzicka shortly before flying the last F-14 Demonstration flight, 2006

Our latest cache of military hardware includes this F-14 Tomcat, which bolted off the deck for its final time in 2006. The second in Hobby Master’s growing fleet of F-14 Fleet Defense Fighters, this beauty bears the insignia of VF-31 “Tomcatters”, and is painted in a stunning low-vis camouflage scheme intended to make it blend in with its nautical surroundings (HA5202).

The F-14 Tomcat program was initiated when it became obvious that the weight and maneuverability issues plaguing the U.S. Navy variant of the Tactical Fighter Experimental (TFX) (F-111B) would not be resolved to the Navy’s satisfaction. The Navy requirement was for a fleet air defense fighter (FADF) with the primary role of intercepting Soviet bombers before they could launch missiles against the carrier group. The Navy also wanted the aircraft to possess inherent air superiority characteristics. The Navy strenuously opposed the TFX, which incorporated the Air Force’s requirements for a low-level attack aircraft, fearing the compromises would cripple the aircraft, but were forced to participate in the program at direction of then Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara who wanted “joint” solutions to the service aircraft needs to reduce developmental costs. The prior example of the F-4 Phantom which was a Navy program later adopted by the USAF (under similar direction) was the order of the day. Vice Admiral Thomas Connolly, DCNO for Air Warfare took the developmental F-111A for a flight and discovered it was unable to go supersonic and had poor landing characteristics. He later testified to Congress about his concerns against the official Department of the Navy position and in May 1968, Congress killed funding for the F-111B allowing the Navy to pursue an answer tailored to their requirements.

The F-14 first flew on December 21st, 1970, just 22 months after Grumman was awarded the contract, and reached Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 1973. While the Marine Corps was interested in the F-14 and went so far as to send pilots to VF-124 to train as instructors, they were never fully sold on the aircraft and pulled out when the stores management system for ground attack munitions was left undeveloped, leaving the aircraft incapable of dropping air-to-ground munitions (these were later developed in the 1990s).

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Product Spotlight: There’s a Prowler on the Grounds

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– Rick Morgan, LCDR, USN (Ret.) and historian for the Prowler Association

They’re finally in. Hobby Master’s eagerly awaited inaugural EA-6B Prowler Electronic Warfare Aircraft (HA5001) is now vaulting from our deck and winging their way to everyone that ordered one.

The Northrop Grumman (formerly Grumman) EA-6B Prowler is a twin-engine, mid-wing electronic warfare aircraft derived from the A-6 Intruder airframe. The EA-6A was the initial electronic warfare version of the A-6 used by the United States Marine Corps in the 1960s. Development on the more advanced EA-6B began in 1966. An EA-6B aircrew consists of one pilot and three Electronic Countermeasures Officers, though it is not uncommon for only two ECMOs to be used on missions. It is capable of carrying and firing anti-radiation missiles (ARM), such as the AGM-88 HARM missile.

Prowler has been in service with the U.S. Armed Forces since 1971. It has carried out numerous missions for jamming enemy radar systems, and in gathering radio intelligence on those and other enemy air defense systems. From the 1998 retirement of the United States Air Force EF-111 Raven electronic warfare aircraft, the EA-6B was the only dedicated electronic warfare plane available for missions by the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and the United States Air Force until the fielding of the Navy’s EA-18G Growler in 2009. The last Navy deployment was over in November 2014, with the full withdrawal from US Navy service in early 2015.

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Product Spotlight: Corgi Paradrops on Crete

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“As a base for air warfare against Great Britain in the Eastern Mediterranean we must prepare to occupy the island of Crete (Operation Merkur). For the purpose of planning, it will be assumed that the whole Greek mainland including the Peloponnese is in the hands of the Axis Powers. Command of this operation is entrusted to Commander-in-Chief Air Force who will employ for the purpose, primarily, the airborne forces and the air forces stationed in the Mediterranean area.”

– Fuhrer Directive 28, announcing Unternehmen Merkur (Operation Mercury), Fuhrer Headquarters, April 25th, 1941

Corgi seems to be experiencing greater success of late getting some of their delayed products to market, which, among other things, includes this Junkers Ju-52 tri-motor tranpsort, Bearing the insignia of 4U+NH 2/Kampfgeschwader zur besonderen Verwendung 1, an air transport unit responsible for ferrying German Fallschirmjager during Unternehmen Merkur (Operation Mercury), the airborne seizure of the all-important Mediterranean island of Crete during mid 1941.

According to Wikipedia, The Battle of Crete (German: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, Greek: Μάχη της Κρήτης, also Unternehmen Merkur, Operation Mercury) was fought during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany began an airborne invasion of Crete. Greek forces and other Allied forces, along with Cretan civilians, defended the island.^[9] After one day of fighting, the Germans had suffered heavy casualties and the Allied troops were confident that they would defeat the invasion. The next day, through communication failures, Allied tactical hesitation and German offensive operations, Maleme airfield in western Crete fell, enabling the Germans to land reinforcements and overwhelm the defensive positions on the north of the island. Allied forces withdrew to the south coast. Over half were evacuated by the British Royal Navy; the remainder surrendered or joined the Cretan resistance.

The Battle of Crete was the first battle where Fallschirmjäger (German paratroops) were used en masse, the first mainly airborne invasion in military history, the first time the Allies made significant use of intelligence from the decrypted German messages from the Enigma machine, and the first time German troops encountered mass resistance from a civilian population.^[10] Due to the heavy casualties suffered by the paratroopers, Adolf Hitler, the German leader, forbade further large-scale airborne operations. In contrast, the Allies were impressed by the potential of paratroopers and started to form both airborne-assault and airfield-defence regiments.

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