Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USAF Lockheed-Martin F-22A Raptor Air Dominance Fighter – 04-4065, 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, 53d Test and Evaluation Group, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, November 2021 [Anti-Reflective Coating]
In the world of technological advances, what works one minute may not work the next. Take the Lockheed-Martin F-22 Raptor as a prime example. Billed as a cutting-edge fifth generation fighter, the aircraft may already be showing its age, faced with some unexpected challenges that could put the platform in jeopardy in the not-too-distant future.
In June 2020, the “War Zone” reported that a 401 “Son of Ares” technology demonstration aircraft had conducted multiple test flights over the China Lake Naval Aviation Weapons Center. The surface of the aircraft was covered with a layer of highly reflective metal coating. Its stitching quality is similar to what we saw on this F-22. At the time, the US media assumed that this could be used to test advanced infrared sensors, and even low-power laser systems, as well as the aiming capabilities of these systems for specular reflection targets.
According to the report, the US military is currently conducting a large number of infrared search and tracking systems (IRSTs) tests, which are in the process of early deployment by the US Air Force and Navy. The US military is also developing an air-to-air laser weapon system.
In 2021, scientists developed a new type of stealth coating. This type of stealth coating is a lightweight anti reflective coating based on the structure of a moth’s eye that could make aircraft invisible to radar. The secret to the new coating is the creation of millions of tiny hollow spheres of carbonized sugar, arranged in a tightly-packed hexagonal monolayer. These spheres absorb nearly all radiation used by military targeting radar and law enforcement speed traps.
A coating which is 100 per cent anti-reflective in visible light would appear as a shapeless black mass, while one which had this property in the microwave range would be completely invisible to radar. The secret is the size of the biopolymer beads which form the hollows inside the coating, which at around 6mm are slightly smaller than the wavelengths of microwave and radar beams, and the thickness of the carbon walls that surround them.
Expect this latest technological marvel to land in June.
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USAF Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Attack Aircraft – 79-10781, “Toxic Death”, 410th Flight Test Squadron, 412th Tactical Wing, National Museum of the United States Air Force, 1991 [Retirement Scheme]
There are eclectic paint schemes employed on some aircraft and then there are the ones that border on the bizarre. Such is our characterization for “Toxic Death” – the latest F-117A to roll off the Hobby Master assembly line and into the arms of wide-eyed collectors world wide.
If a band of pirates were to have stolen an F-117 Nighthawk in an alternate dystopian reality, it probably would have looked exactly like YF-117A #781 does. It’s not every day you see one of America’s most sensitive and exotic combat aircraft stripped of its paint and stealth coatings and rattle-canned with graffiti, but that’s exactly what happen on June 27th, 1991.
Just a couple of years after the F-117 was declassified, and just months after its incredible performance during Operation Desert Storm, YF-117 #781 “Scorpion 2” was selected to be retired to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, located at Wright Patterson AFB. At the time, #781 was just ten years old, and had racked up just 437 test flights, but it was a pre-production test aircraft – the second of its kind – and could not be reintroduced into the operational F-117 fleet.
Transferring #781 to a museum was a pretty big deal, as no F-117 had ever been put on public display – not to mention the fact that the aircraft was packed with classified systems and coated with some of America’s most sensitive material. Simply flying it to the museum and pulling out some avionics was not in the cards; the “Black Jet” had to be totally stripped and modified inside and out before being rolled out to the public.
To remove any trace of the highly classified radar-absorbent material that coated the F-117’s faceted surfaces, the aircraft was “media-blasted.” This is a process similar to sand-blasting, but utilizes sodium bicarbonate crystals instead of sand so that the jet’s bare skin, which is an amalgam of composite and metallic materials, would not be harmed in the process.
While media blasting was safe for the jet, it was abhorrent for the crews that had to do it. Everyone involved had to be covered head to toe in protective gear and masks, any open seam sealed with tape. Apparently, the fine particulates got everywhere and into everything – no crevice was too small. It was a nasty, arduous process – and precisely where the “Toxic Death” moniker and skull and crossbones emblazoned on both sides of #781 came from. Since the aircraft was going to be repainted before being put on display anyway, the crews had some fun with their blank canvas.
The “Ray Who?” inscription seen painted in red behind the cockpit apparently refers to the name of a gregarious flight test engineer that worked with the Baja Scorpions, the Lockheed-USAF integrated test unit that conducted F-117 developmental flight testing during the jet’s infancy at Area 51.
The freshly stripped #781 made its way to Wright Patterson AFB, and once it arrived was gutted of a ton of other sensitive materials, systems, and reusable parts. Many of the jet’s classified avionics, like its air-data computer, the radar-diffusing grids over its intakes, and low-observable (stealthy) screens over its FLIR and DLIR, had to be dealt with.
Once picked clean, #781 had to be built back up to look like any operational F-117. Certain frequency selective panels, the jet’s exhaust tiles, tail fins, and other sensitive body parts had to be pulled and replaced with lookalikes. Finally, the project was capped off with the application of the Nighthawk’s signature flat-black paint. (courtesy: The Drive)
Look for this latest wunderwaffe, er masterpiece, to land on diecast shelves some time in May.
Hobby Master’s 1:48 scale German Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 “Gustav” Fighter – “Christl”, Gerhard Barkhorn, II./Jagdgeschwader 52, Ukraine, September 1943
“For the last two and one-half years the bitter and costly struggle against Bolshevism has made the utmost demands upon the bulk of our military resources and energies. This commitment was in keeping with the seriousness of the danger, and the over-all situation. The situation has since changed. The threat from the East remains, but an even greater danger looms in the West: the Anglo-American landing! In the East, the vastness of the space will, as a last resort, permit a loss of territory even on a major scale, without suffering a mortal blow to Germany’s chance for survival. Not so in the West! If the enemy here succeeds in penetrating our defenses on a wide front, consequences of staggering proportions will follow within a short time. All signs point to an offensive against the Western Front of Europe no later than spring, and perhaps earlier. For that reason, I can no longer justify the further weakening of the West in favor of other theaters of war. I have therefore decided to strengthen the defenses in the West, particularly at places from which we shall launch our long-range war against England. For those are the very points at which the enemy must and will attack; there–unless all indications are misleading–will be fought the decisive invasion battle.” – Fuhrer Directive No. 51, announcing preparations for a two-front war, November 3rd, 1943
Gerhard Barkhorn is credited with the second highest victory tally in WWII, and is only one of two pilots to have reached the 300 level, the other being Erich “Bubi” Hartmann. For most of his combat career, Barkhorn served with JG 52, although he earned his come uppance in July 1939 with JG 2.
While his unit took part in the Battle of Britain, he was never able to score any victories in the skies over England. Afterwards, JG 52 was transferred to the Eastern Front in July 1941, where Barkhorn earned his first victory on the second of the month. This tally soon grew, reaching an astounding 52 kills by August 1942. For this he was awarded “Das Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuz” (Knights Cross of the Iron Cross). His count continued to soar, reaching 175 victories in January 1943, at which point he received the Oakleaves to his Knights Cross.
In September, he was promoted to the rank of Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 52. He reached the magical mark of 200 kills in November, and gained his 250th victory in February 1944, for which he received the Swords to his Knights Cross with Oakleaves. He eventually claimed 300 victories at the beginning of 1945 and his final kill, an incredible 301 victories, on January 5th, 1945.
On January 15th, he was promoted to the rank of Major and became Geschwaderkommodore of JG 6. In April, he was moved to the “Jagdfliegerheim” for recuperation, before moving to JV 44 — “The Squadron of Experts” — under the tutelage of Johannes Steinhoff & Adolf Galland. Called upon to fly the jet-powered Me 262, he was forced to make a crash landing due to engine failure and heavy enemy opposition on April 17th, which left him seriously injured. The injury would put an end to his flying career, which stood at an incredible 1,104 combat missions, spanning much of Continental Europe.
Look for “Christl”, Gerhard Barkhorn’s Messerschmitt mount, to defend the skies over The Third Reich this April.
Panzerkampf’s 1:72 scale Russian Sukhoi Su-30MKK “Flanker-C” Fighter – “Red 504”, Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia
Pavel Osipovich Sukhoi was a Soviet aerospace engineer and aircraft designer known as the founder of the Sukhoi Design Bureau. Sukhoi designed military aircraft with Tupolev and Sukhoi for 50 years, and produced many notable Soviet planes such as the Sukhoi Su-7, Su-17, and Su-24. His planes set two altitude world records (1959, 1962) and two world speed records (1960, 1962). Sukhoi was honored in the Soviet Union as a Hero of Socialist Labor and awarded the Order of Lenin three times.
In the postwar years, Sukhoi was among the first Soviet aircraft designers who led the work on jet aircraft, creating several experimental jet fighters. From 1949, Sukhoi fell out of Stalin’s favour and was forced to return to work under Tupolev, this time as Deputy Chief Designer. In 1953, the year of Stalin’s death, Sukhoi was permitted to re-establish his own Sukhoi Design Bureau. Sukhoi produced several major serial combat aircraft during the Cold War, including the supersonic Su-7, which became the main Soviet fighter-bomber of the 1960s, and interceptors Su-9 and Su-15, which formed the backbone of the Soviet Air Defence Forces. Sukhoi also pioneered variable-sweep wing aircraft, such as the Su-17 and Su-24. Sukhoi also started a number of projects that were not developed, including the ambitious Mach-3-capable Sukhoi T-3 attack aircraft. From 1958 to 1974, Sukhoi served as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
Sukhoi died on September 15th, 1975, at the Barvikha sanatorium in Moscow, and was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery. The last fighter Sukhoi designed was the T-10 (Su-27) but he did not live to see it fly.
Panzerkampf plans to pay homage to the legendary aircraft designer with this Su-30MKK fighter that bears Sukhoi’s likeness on its tail. No firm date has been established concerning its release.
The Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF) was an international peacekeeping force created in August 1982 following a 1981 US-brokered ceasefire between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel to end their involvement in the conflict between Lebanon’s pro-government and pro-Syrian factions. The ceasefire held until June 3rd, 1982 when the Abu Nidal Organization attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov, Israel’s ambassador to London. Israel blamed the PLO and three days later invaded Lebanon. West Beirut was besieged for seven weeks before the PLO acceded to a new agreement for their withdrawal. The agreement provided for the deployment of a Multinational Force to assist the Lebanese Armed Forces in evacuating the PLO, Syrian forces and other foreign combatants involved in Lebanon’s civil war.
The four-nation MNF was created as an interposition force meant to oversee the peaceful withdrawal of the PLO. The participants included the U.S. Multinational Force (USMNF), which consisted of four different Marine Amphibious Units (MAUs); British 1st Queens Dragoon Guards armored reconnaissance regiment; the 1st inter-arm Foreign and French Brigade, 4 Foreign Legion Regiments, 28 French Armed Forces regiments including French and Foreign paratroopers, units of the National Gendarmerie, Italian paratroopers from the Folgore Brigade, infantry units from the Bersaglieri regiments and Marines of the San Marco Regiment. Additionally, the MNF was in charge of training various units of the Lebanese Armed Forces.
The relatively benign environment at the beginning of the mission gave way to chaos as the civil war re-escalated following the assassination of President-elect Bashir Gernavel in September 1982. Subsequent political and military developments on the ground caused the MNF to be viewed not as a peacekeeper, but as a belligerent. In early 1984, after it became apparent that the government of Lebanon was no longer able to impose its will on warring factions as they entered Beirut and hostilities renewed, the MNF ended its presence mission in Beirut and went offshore before completely leaving Lebanon in July of the same year in the aftermath of the October 1983 barracks bombing that killed 241 U.S. and 58 French servicemen. It was replaced by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) already present in Lebanon since 1978 under the leadership of Ghanian Lieutenant General Emmanuel Erskine.
The involvement of British forces in the Multinational Force was agreed by the UK Government on December 15th, 1982. The American request for UK military support posed a dilemma for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who was wary of entanglement in the complex conflict in Lebanon. However, she agreed to a small, limited commitment as a token effort to support the UK-US ‘special relationship’. The contingent of BRITFORLEB, code-named Operation Hyperion, was limited to an armored reconnaissance squadron equipped with Ferret armored cars with, at most, 115 deployed personnel. British Forces were based in the East Beirut district of Regie Hadath. The contingent did not suffer any fatalities and was withdrawn, with the other multinational contingents, in February 1984. BRITFORLEB consisted of three squadron-sized rotations from armored reconnaissance units: C Sqn (Feb-Aug 1983) and A Sqn (Aug-Dec 1983) from the 1st Queens Dragoon Guards, and A Sqn (Dec 1983-Feb 1984) of the 16th/5th The Queen’s Royal Lancers.
Looking to pay tribute to the “special relationship” that continues to exist between the US and UK as well as the British contribution to the UN peackeeping mission, Waltersons will be releasing a 1:72 scale replica of a helicopter that participated in BRITFORLEB – the British effort to bring peace to Lebanon in the early 1980s. Their newest British-based Chinook proudly wears an over-sized Union Jack on its rear pylon as well as its fuselage underside and capitalizes on the success of Walterson’s range of CH-47 Chinook helicopters. Expect their newest rotary wing aircraft to soar over Beirut and the diecast battlefield this April.
Legendary Cruise Ships’ 1:1250 scale replica of the Olympic-Class Ocean Liner RMS Titanic – 1912
The Olympic-class ocean liners were a trio of British ocean liners built by the Harland & Wolff shipyard for the White Star Line during the early 20th century. They were Olympic (1911), Titanic (1912) and Britannic (1914). All three were designed to be the largest and most luxurious passenger ships at that time, designed to give White Star an advantage in the transatlantic passenger trade. While Olympic, the lead vessel, had a career spanning 24 years and was retired and sold for scrap in 1935, her sisters would not see similar success: Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage and Britannic was lost during World War I after hitting a mine off Kea in the Aegean Sea before she could enter passenger service. Although two of the vessels did not have successful careers, they are among the most famous ocean liners ever built. Both Olympic and Titanic enjoyed the distinction of being the largest ships in the world. Olympic was the largest British-built ship in the world for over 20 years until the commissioning of Queen Mary in 1936. Titanic’s story has been adapted into many books, films, and television programs and Britannic inspired a film of the same name in 2000.
RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15th, 1912, after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died, making it the deadliest sinking of a single ship up to that time. It remains the deadliest peacetime sinking of an ocean liner or cruise ship. The disaster drew public attention, provided foundational material for the disaster film genre, and has inspired many artistic works.
RMS Titanic was the largest ship afloat at the time she entered service and the second of three Olympic-class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line. She was built by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. Thomas Andrews, the chief naval architect of the shipyard, died in the disaster. Titanic was under the command of Captain Edward Smith, who went down with the ship. The ocean liner carried some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia, and elsewhere throughout Europe, who were seeking a new life in the United States and Canada.
The first-class accommodation was designed to be the pinnacle of comfort and luxury, with a gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants, and opulent cabins. A high-powered radiotelegraph transmitter was available for sending passenger “marconigrams” and for the ship’s operational use. Titanic had advanced safety features, such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, contributing to its reputation as “unsinkable”.
Titanic was equipped with 16 lifeboat davits, each capable of lowering three lifeboats, for a total of 48 boats; she carried only 20 lifeboats, four of which were collapsible and proved hard to launch while she was sinking (Collapsible A nearly swamped and was filled with a foot of water until rescue, Collapsible B completely overturned while launching). Together, the 20 lifeboats could hold 1,178 people – about half the number of passengers on board, and one third of the number of passengers the ship could have carried at full capacity (consistent with the maritime safety regulations of the era). When the ship sank, many of the lifeboats that had been lowered were only about half full.
Unlike the original passenger ship, which was sent to the bottom of the Atlantic in 1912, expect this 1:1250 scale replica to make port by the middle of February.
Neo Dragon Armor’s 1:72 scale US M4A3 (76mm) Sherman Medium Tank – Creighton Abrams’ “Thunderbolt IV”, 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, Bastogne, Belgium, December 1944
Creighton Williams Abrams Jr. (September 15, 1914 – September 4, 1974) was a United States Army general who commanded military operations in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1972, which saw United States troop strength in South Vietnam reduced from a peak of 543,000 to 49,000. He was then Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1972 until his death in 1974.
In 1980, the United States Army named its then new main battle tank, the M1 Abrams, after him. The IG Farben building in Germany was also named after Abrams from 1975 to 1995.
Abrams graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in the Class of 1936 (ranked 185th of 276 in the class), and served with the 1st Cavalry Division from 1936 to 1940, being promoted to first lieutenant in 1939 and temporary captain in 1940.
Abrams became an armor officer early in the development of that branch and served as a tank company commander in the 1st Armored Division in 1940.
During World War II, Abrams served in the 4th Armored Division, initially as regimental adjutant (June 1941 – June 1942), battalion commander (July 1942 – March 1943), and regiment executive officer (March–September 1943) with the 37th Armor Regiment. In September 1943, a reorganization of the division redesignated the 37th Armor Regiment to the 37th Tank Battalion, which Abrams commanded; he also commanded Combat Command B of the division during the Battle of the Bulge.
During this time Abrams was promoted to the temporary ranks of major (February 1942), lieutenant colonel (September 1942), and colonel (April 1945). Abrams was promoted to lieutenant colonel eleven days before his 28th birthday.
During much of this time, the 4th Armored Division (led by the 37th Tank Battalion) was the spearhead for General George S. Patton’s Third Army, and he was consequently well known as an aggressive armor commander. By using his qualities as a leader and by consistently exploiting the relatively small advantages of speed and reliability of his vehicles, he managed to defeat German forces that had the advantage of superior armor and superior guns. He was twice decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism, on September 20 and December 26, 1944. General George Patton said of him: “I’m supposed to be the best tank commander in the Army, but I have one peer – Abe Abrams. He’s the world champion.” Frequently the spearhead of the Third Army during World War II, Abrams was one of the leaders in the relief effort that broke up the German entrenchments entrenchments surrounding Bastogne and the 101st Airborne Division during the Battle of the Bulge. In April 1945, he was promoted to (temporary) colonel but reverted to lieutenant colonel during the post-war demobilization. On April 23, 1945, Will Lang Jr. wrote a biography of Abrams called “Colonel Abe” for Life.
brams was promoted to general in 1964 and appointed Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army, but not before being seriously considered as a candidate for chief of staff. Due to concerns about the conduct of the Vietnam War, he was appointed as deputy to his West Point classmate, General William Westmoreland, commander of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), in May 1967.
Abrams succeeded Westmoreland as COMUSMACV on June 10th, 1968, although his tenure of command was not marked by the public optimism of his predecessors, who were prone to press conferences and public statements.
It has been asserted by authors such as Lewis Sorley that in contrast to Westmoreland, Abrams implemented counterinsurgency tactics that focused on winning the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese rural population. A joint military-civilian organization named Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support under CIA official Willian Colby carried out the hearts and minds programs. According to a colonel cited in Men’s Journal, there was more continuity than change in Vietnam after Abrams succeeded Westmoreland. Newsweek magazine at the time of Abrams’ appointment observed that its sources within the Lyndon Johnson administration had spoken at length with Abrams in the past and had come away convinced that the general would make few changes. The magazine quoted an unidentified military analyst to the effect that, “All this talk of dropping search-and destroy operations in favor of clear-and-hold is just a lot of bull.” Indeed none of the strategy papers produced by Abrams on assuming command of MACV indicated the need for any change in U.S. strategy and U.S. forces continued large-scale operations to engage People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) main force units including the Battle of Hamburger Hill in May 1969.
Neo Dragon Armor’s 1:72 scale US M4A3E8 Sherman Medium Tank – Creighton Abrams’ “Thunderbolt VII”, 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, Germany, 1945
From 1969, the Vietnam War increasingly became a conventional war between the military forces of South Vietnam and North Vietnam. Following the election of President Richard Nixon, Abrams began implementing the Nixon Administration’s Vietnamization policy to decrease U.S. involvement in Vietnam. With this new goal, Abrams had decreased American troop strength from a peak of 543,000 in early 1969 to 49,000 in June 1972. The South Vietnamese forces with aerial support from the U.S. repelled the PAVN conventional Easter Offensive in 1972. The prolonged efforts and expense of the war had by then exhausted much of the American public and political support. Abrams disdained most of the politicians with whom he was forced to deal, in particular Robert McNamara and McGeorge Bundy, and had an even lower opinion of defense contractors, whom he accused of war profiteering.
Abrams was also in charge of the Cambodian Incursion in 1970. President Nixon seemed to hold Abrams in high regard, and often relied on his advice. In a tape-recorded conversation between Nixon and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger on December 9th, 1970, Nixon told Kissinger about Abrams’ thoughts on intervention in Cambodia that: “If Abrams strongly recommends it we will do it.” Troop levels in Vietnam eventually reached 25,000 in January 1973, at the time of the four power Paris Peace Accords . Although it occurred before he assumed total command, Abrams bore the brunt of fallout from the My Lai maasacre in March 1968.
Nixon grew increasingly dissatisfied with Abrams’ performance during Operation Lam Son 719 and had debated for some time whether to recall Abrams. On May 4, 1972 Nixon resolved to replace Abrams with his former deputy General Frederick Weyand, but the decision was not publicly announced until 20 June 1972.
To honor Creighton Abrams, Dragon has announced not one but two different versions of his celebrated WWII Sherman tank. The first, Thunderbolt IV is based on his M4A3 (76mm) Sherman medium tank, which he commanded as he led his unit in the relief effort of the besieged town of Bastogne.
A second tank, which was announced earlier this morning, pays homage to Thunderbolt VII, which was a M4A3E8 Sherman medium tank. This latest vehicle is expected in early 2023.
Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale Russian Mikoyan Gurevich MiG 31K “Foxhound-D” Interceptor with KH-47M2 “Kinzhal” Hypersonic Missile – “Blue 31”, Gromov Flight Research Institute, Zhukovsky Air Base, Russia, 2022
The Mikoyan MiG-31 (NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft that was developed for use by the Soviet Air Forces. The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the earlier MiG-25 “Foxbat”; the MiG-31 is based on and shares design elements with the MiG-25. The MiG-31 is among the fastest combat jets in the world. It continues to be operated by the Russian Air Force and the Kazakh Air Force following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Russian Defence Ministry expects the MiG-31 to remain in service until 2030 or beyond; that was confirmed in 2020 when an announcement was made to extend the service lifetime from 2,500 to 3,500 hours on the existing air frames.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, MiG-31 aircraft have reportedly shot down several Ukrainian aircraft, mainly by utilizing the long range R-37 air-to-air missile. By remaining at high speed and high altitude, MiG-31s have been able to operate virtually unopposed due to Ukraine’s own fighters lacking range, speed, or altitude.
The R-37M has, since October 2022, been the main threat against the Ukrainian Air Force. The Ukrainian Air Force has a significant lack of fire and forget missiles. They relied on the R-27 missiles, both the R-27ER and R-27ET, the R-27ET’s range is 60 miles. The Ukrainian pilot must illuminate the Russian aircraft with their radar to guide the missile to the target. Russian pilots firing active radar, fire and forget, R-77 give the Russian pilots the ability to launch their missiles and then take evasive action. Ukrainian pilots were forced to “exploit ground clutter and terrain-masking to get close enough to fire before being engaged”. During the first three days of the war both sides lost aircraft. The Ukrainians replaced them with older air frames that were made flyable. However the Russian Air Force turned to the MiG-31 with the R-37M missile that has a range of 200 miles. Combined with its superior radar, on the MiG-31, the Ukrainian Air Force has started loosing more aircraft. A report by the Royal United Services Institute states that in October some six R-37Ms were being fired at the Ukrainian Air Force a day. Four MiG-31 were also deployed to Crimea. Due to the protection offered by the range of R-37M missiles Ukraine has been forced to try and attack the air bases directly to destroy MiG-31s with the attack on them before the attack on the Belbek airbase and an attempted drone attack in August. Only one MiG-31 has been lost due to an accident.
The MiG 31 is also designed to carry and launch the much hyped Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-to-surface missile (NATO reporting name Killjoy), which is a Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic air-to-surface missile. It has a claimed range of more than 2,000 km (1,200 mi), Mach 12 speed (2.5 mi/s), and an ability to perform evasive maneuvers at every stage of its flight. It can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads and can be launched from Tu-22M3 bombers or MiG-31K interceptors. It has been deployed at airbases in Russia’s Southern Military District and Western Military District.
The Kinzhal entered service in December 2017 and was one of the six new Russian strategic weapons unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 1st, 2018.
Look for Hobby Master’s inaugural MiG-31 to break several speed records this coming April.
At the height of the Cold War, when both western and eastern forces stared down one another all along the subdivided stretch of Central Europe, no other weapon came to be as synonymous with the Soviet Union’s aggressive stance as the MiG. Yes, there was the AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifle and T-55 series of main battle tanks, but it was the MiG that personified the East, able to stand toe-to-toe with the best the West could produce in the Korean and later the Vietnamese Conflicts. While there were other design bureaus operating within the Soviet Union vying to produce the preeminent fighter, MiG retained the title throughout the 50’s and well into the 90’s, taking a back seat to the likes of Sukhoi in just the last few years.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat,twin jet fighter aircraft, the world’s first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. It was the first Soviet production aircraft capable of supersonic speeds in level flight. A comparable U.S. “Century Series” fighter was the North American F-100 Super Sabre, although the MiG-19 primarily fought against the more modern McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and Republic F-105 Thunderchief over North Vietnam. This aircraft was originally used by the Soviet Union but it was later used by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.
In 1950, the Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) design bureau (also known as OKB-155) began work on a new fighter aircraft, intended to have a greater range than the existing MiG-15 and MiG-17 aircraft, and capable of reaching supersonic speeds in level flight. MiG chose to use two of the new Mikulin AM-5 axial jet engines (a scaled-down version of the Mikulin AM-3 that powered the Tupolev Tu-16 bomber) for its new fighter. As a test bed for the new engine, OKB-155 was authorised on 20 April 1951 to convert one of the prototype MiG-17s, replacing the single Klimov VK-1 engine with two 19.60 kN (4,410 lbf) AM-5s (later replaced by 21.08 kN (4,740 lbf) AM-5As), with the testbed, designated SM-1 (or I-340), flying late in 1951. While the SM-1 was a useful testbed, its performance was less than expected, and first resulted in an afterburner being designed for the AM-5, resulting in the AM-5F (reaching 26.45 kN (5,950 lbf) with reheat).
While the SM-1 was a test bed, the SM-2 (or I-360) was intended as the required supersonic escort fighter, with work authorised on 10 August 1951. The SM-2 was a twin-engined, mid-winged aircraft. Its thin wings, which had been designed at TsAGI, the Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, for supersonic flight were swept back at an angle of 55 degrees and had a single wing-fence on each side. Unusually, a T-tail was fitted. Armament was two Nudelman N-37 37-mm cannon located in the leading edge of the aircraft’s wings, near the wing roots – the guns had been moved compared to those in the MiG-15 and -17 to avoid ingestion of gun blast gases causing surging of the aircraft’s engines. The first SM-2, the SM-2/1 was sent to the Letno-Issledovatel’skiy Institut (en:flight research institute) (LII) in April 1952 for testing, and was flown for the first time on May 24th, 1952, with test pilot G. A. Sedov at the aircraft’s controls. With the un-reheated AM-5A engines, the SM-2 could not exceed the speed of sound in level flight, so reheated AM-5F engines were substituted. While the new engines improved performance, the aircraft was found to have handling problems, particularly at high angles of attack, where the aircraft was prone to spinning. To solve these problems the aircraft’s horizontal tail was lowered, with other changes including moving the aircraft’s airbrakes and deepening the wing fences, with the modifications causing the aircraft to be redesignated SM-2A and then SM-2B.
The AM-5F still generated inadequate thrust and so the Mikulin engine design bureau developed a new engine to replace it, the AM-9B (later re-designed the Tumansky RD-9), rated at 25.5 kN (5,700 lbf) dry and 31.87 kN (7,160 lbf) with reheat. When fitted with the new engines, the SM-2B became the SM-9, first flying in this form on 5 January 1954. The SM-9’s performance impressed the Soviet authorities, and it was ordered into production as the MiG-19 on February 17th, 1954, despite the fact that factory testing had only just started.
The rush to get the MiG-19 into service resulted in initial production aircraft having a number of serious problems. The type suffered a number of in-flight explosions, eventually traced to poor insulation between the aircraft’s engines and fuel tanks in the rear fuselage – overheating of these tanks could cause fuel explosions. This was eventually partly solved by fitting a metal heat shield between the engines and the tanks. The aircraft’s elevators proved ineffective at supersonic speeds, and an all-moving slab tail was tested by the second and third SM-9 prototypes, and later included in the major production type, the MiG-19S, which also featured an improved armament.
At the same time that the daylight escort fighter was developed from the SM-2 and SM-9 into the MiG-19 and MiG-19S, work went on in parallel to design and build a radar-equipped all-weather fighter, with the first prototype SM-7/1 flying for the first time on August 28th, 1954. This prototype had a similar airframe to the first SM-9, including the conventional fixed horizontal tail, with the second and third SM-7s introducing similar changes to those tested on the SM-9 prototypes, including the slab tail. The all weather fighter entered production as the MiG-19P in 1955. Major differences from the MiG-19S included RP-1 Izumrud radar in the aircraft’s nose, with small radomes in the centre and on the top lip of the air intake and an armament of two cannon in the aircraft’s wing roots. From 1957, production of all weather fighters switched to the missile equipped MiG-19PM, with an armament of four K-5M air-to-air missiles, with the cannon removed.
In 1955, following American introduction of high-altitude reconnaissance balloons and overflights by British Canberra aircraft, which could not be intercepted by existing aircraft, together with intelligence reports of the development of the Lockheed U-2 with an even greater ceiling, development began on a specialist high-altitude version of the MiG-19, the MiG-19SV, which entered limited production. This had more powerful engines and was lightened, with seatback armour and one of the guns removed, while flap settings were adjusted to give greater lift at higher altitudes and a new pressure suit was introduced. These changes increased the aircraft’s ceiling from 17,500 m (57,400 ft) to 18,500 m (60,700 ft). The prototype MiG-19SV was further modified (as the MiG-19SVK) with increased wingspan, giving a ceiling of 19,100 m (62,700 ft), but this was still inadequate to deal with the U-2, and effort was switched to adding rocket boosters.
Now Panzerkampf has faithfully recreated the MiG 19 interceptor as part of its ever growing armada of 1:72 scale diecast military aircraft, the first of which is now in stock and ready for immediate shipment.
Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale US M4(105) Sherman Medium Tank with VVSS Suspension and Deep Wading Gear – 713th Tank Battalion, Okinawa, April-June 1945 [Bonus Continental (Wright) R-975, Radial 9 Engine]
Deep wading or deep fording is a technique used by some heavy semi-amphibious vehicles to traverse water that is several meters deep – the vehicle drives on the riverbed/lakebed/seabed and uses screens or a pipe (a snorkel) that reaches above the water surface for an air supply. The technique has been used by armored military vehicles such as tanks and armored personnel carriers. Deep fording generally implies driving through water of such a depth that the vehicle is mostly or entirely submerged by the water, sometimes to several times the height of the vehicle itself, as well as a sealed crew compartment, complete with air supply for the crew. This makes it different from the less extreme “wading” done by many off-road vehicles which are simply fitted with a snorkel that is higher than the normal engine air intake, roughly level with the top of the cab. In these cases, the crew compartment is not watertight, and the snorkel provides air only for the engine. Thus maximum height is limited by the crew’s need to breathe, and very rarely completely submerges the vehicle.
In contrast, lighter, true-amphibious vehicles that float on the water surface are not limited by the depth of the water.
Although Duplex Drive allowed landing craft to release tanks farther from shore, the alternative deep wading gear permitted a tank to drive partially or completely underwater on the sea floor rather than swim. Deep wading Churchills took part in the 1942 Dieppe raid, and also operated during the D-Day assault. These tanks were given waterproofed hulls and air intake and exhaust trunking to allow them to come ashore from shallow water. Tall ducts extended from the engine deck to above the turret top and they needed to stay above water. The front duct was the air intake for the engine and crew compartment, the rear duct vented the exhaust. This device saw use in many amphibious operations, it was also used on light tanks and tank destroyers. The US had similar devices for trucks and jeeps.
The Germans gave their Tiger tank a long snorkel, essentially a long tube on the commander’s hatch that allowed it to wade through up to four metres of water, as well as rubber gaskets on all openings. This was necessary because the large tank was too heavy for most bridges in Europe and Russia at the time, meaning that they had to be able to deep ford across rivers when a bridge was not available. The Tiger was the first tank to come with deep fording ability as designed, although the earlier Tauchpanzer, a modification of the Panzer III and Panzer IV, was designed to drive on the sea-bed, part of the German preparations for Operation Sea Lion, the planned invasion of Britain in 1941. A long, flexible rubber hose with a floating buoy on the end supplied the engine and crew with air and gave the waterproofed tank a maximum diving depth of 15 metres (49 ft) making it an extreme example of a wading tank. They were also extremely unpopular with their crew, because they were in danger of breaking down in deep water and drowning the crew. Since the crew was unable to see where they were going, direction was given by means of radio and a spotter on the surface. The Germans eventually converted 168 Panzer IIIs and 42 Panzer IVs into Tauchpanzers, although they were never used for their intended purpose in the end.
The Pacific Theatre of Operations had its own set of unique obstacles and consequential techniques aimed at overcoming the challenges posed by forcible entry by sea. Though the Marine Corps was accustomed to landing individual tanks using LCM (Landing Craft Mechanized), it profited from massive landing operations to combat test an alternative innovation: the pontoon-based T6 flotation device which allowed a Sherman’s main gun to be used as it swam to shore.
As detailed in Oscar Gilbert’s Marine Tank Battles in the Pacific, two platoons in each battalion combat-tested the bulky system, which proved more seaworthy than the ill-fated Sherman Duplex Drive amphibious tanks at Normandy, but not necessarily more useful as it took the Shermans five hours to swim ten miles to shore.
“The lead tank of the 1st Tank Battalion detachment, commanded by Sergeant D.I. Bahde, immediately ran afoul of a passing destroyer. Unable to speed up, slow down, or steer adequately, the tank plowed inexorably toward the ship, which refused to give way. The tank crashed into the side of the ship, achieving the dubious honor of being the only tank ever to ram a ship at sea.“
But it wasn’t long before Marine tankers were soon heavily engaged with the nearly 100,000 Japanese soldiers and conscripted civilians defending the island.
By then the Marine tankers had perfected a “corkscrew and blow torch” in which they plastered a sector of the battlefield with main gunfire, before tanks with hull-mounted auxiliary flamethrowers rooted out the survivors.
Riflemen covered tanks from behind to ward of suicide assaults and the tankers even called down air-bursting artillery to spray shrapnel over their own turrets for added protection. Some Marine Shermans sported arrays of M2A1 anti-personnel mines on their hulls which could be remotely detonated as a last-ditch defensive measure.
Thanks to these tactics and the open terrain, Marine tank losses to close assaults were reduced to nil, contrary to the fortunes of less-experienced Army tank units.
Look for Forces of Valor’s latest M4 Sherman tank, equipped with both deep wading gear and a flamethrower, to storm ashore later this year.
