Product Spotlight

Product Spotlight: Learning to Swim

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.

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Product Spotlight: For the (Air) Defense

Panzerkampf’s 1:72 scale Russian Pantsir S1 Self-Propelled Air Defense System – Russo-Ukrainian War 2022

When it comes to collecting diecast military vehicles, particularly modern era weaponry, air defense systems are oftentimes considered to be one of those bantamweight divisions that routinely takes a back seat to the main event draw — tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. Let’s face it, air defense systems aren’t quite as sexy or well known as the “heavies” of contemporary mobile warfare, oftentimes loitering in the rear areas guarding key positions or routes of advance and therefore far from the fighting where the cameras are rolling.

So, when Panzerkampf decided to model the Russian-built Pantsir S-1 air defense system earlier this year, collectors instantly took note, clearly intrigued by a system they may have seen in the media but wondered what purpose they served and why they were caught up in the conflict miles behind the front lines.

The Pantsir (Russian: “Carapace”) missile system is a family of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery systems. Starting with the Pantsir-S1 (NATO reporting name SA-22 Greyhound) as the first version, it is produced by KBP Instrument Design Bureau of Tula, Russia.

The Pantsir-S1 was designed to provide point air defense of military, industrial and administrative installations against aircraft, helicopters, precision munitions, cruise missiles and UAVs; and to provide additional protection to air defense units against enemy air attacks employing precision munitions, especially at low to extremely low altitudes.

The first finished version was completed in 1995 with the 1L36 radar, later another was designed. It is a short to medium range ground-based air defense system, wheeled, tracked or stationary with two to three operators. Its air defense consists of automatic anti-aircraft guns and surface-to-air missiles with radar or optical target-tracking and radio-command guidance.

The manufacturer claims that their Pantsir has already entered production and may have as many as six different vehicles in the works, largely with different camouflage patterns. So, together with Dragon’s revamped Neo Dragon Armor vehicles and other Panzerkampf “heavies”, it appears as if collectors will have lots to choose from this holiday season, at least as far as modern warfare is concerned. Incidentally, no cost has yet to be established for this item so we are unable to accept any pre-orders. We will update our site once we have a better idea as to how to price this item as well as their expected arrival dates.

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Product Spotlight: Scorched Earth

Dragon’s 1:72 scale US M4A3 Sherman Flame Tank with HVSS Suspension – POA-CWS-H5 Flamethrower, Korea, 1951

When war broke out between the Empire of Japan and the United States in December 1941, war planners at the Pentagon knew that US forces would have to take the war to Japan if they were to break the enemy in their island fortress. Between the tenacity of the average Japanese soldier and the nature of the terrain throughout the south and central Pacific, it was quickly realized that the American arsenal would have to be beefed up substantially if they were to assault and seize those enemy-occupied islands deemed important for capture, so the call went out for all manner of weaponry to help fill the void.

One device that was pressed into service was the man-portable flamethrower, a weapon of war that was both terrifying in nature and successful in use. The use of flamethrowers as a means of breaking an enemy’s morale and storm heavily defended fortifications was nothing new in 1941 — in fact they were first used several decades prior in WWI as a means of clearing trenches and other heavily fortified obstacles standing in the way of an advance. Unfortunately for the operator, a man-portable flamethrower became instantly recognizable to the enemy since he was both conspicuous in stance and an obvious target that could be picked out with ease. It was said that the life expectancy of a flamethrower could oftentimes be measure in seconds so it took nerves of steel and a fair bit of luck to serve as an operator.

Dragon’s 1:72 scale USMC M4A3 Sherman Flame Tank with HVSS Suspension – “35”, POA-CWS-H5 Flamethrower, Hawaii, 1945

Recognizing their vulnerability on the battlefield as well as the incorporation of mechanized units on the mid-twentieth century battlefield, war planners eventually developed more potent and better protected means of employing scorched earth tactics. One such result was the flame tank. A flame tank is a type of tank equipped with a flamethrower, most commonly used to supplement combined arms attacks against fortifications, confined spaces, or other obstacles. The type only reached significant use in the Second World War, during which the United States, Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom (including members of the British Commonwealth) all produced flamethrower-equipped tanks.

A number of production methods were used. The flamethrowers used were either modified versions of existing infantry flame weapons (Flammpanzer I and II) or specially designed (Flammpanzer III). They were mounted externally (Flammpanzer II), replaced existing machine gun mounts, or replaced the tank’s main armament (Flammpanzer III). Fuel for the flame weapon was either carried inside the tank, in armored external storage, or in some cases in a special trailer behind the tank (Churchill Crocodile).

In contrast to man-portable flamethrowers that were vulnerable to bullets and shrapnel making them extremely dangerous to their operators, flame tanks were extremely difficult to catch on fire or explode unless hit with an armor piercing round or explosive reaching the ammunition and engine fuel inside the tank’s main hull. Tanks such as the Churchill Crocodile, which towed the flamethrower liquid container behind the actual tank, held no greater risk of fire than standard tanks. Although the towed container itself could be easily targeted, the tank and its crew remained well protected. The armored trailer and armored coupling of the Churchill Crocodile could be jettisoned from inside the tank if necessary.

Dragon’s 1:72 scale USMC M4A3 Sherman Flame Tank with HVSS Suspension – “F11”, POA-CWS-H5 Flamethrower, Korea, 1951

Crews of flame tanks were not necessarily more vulnerable than those crews in the regular tanks, standard version of the tank (a Churchill Crocodile flame tank being more or less as vulnerable to anti-tank weapons as the standard Churchill), but the crews of flamethrowing tanks were often treated differently should they be captured alive by German troops. Due to the perceived inhumanity of the weapon itself, captured crews of such tanks were often treated much less humanely than crews of regular tanks. Instances of flametankers being executed by German troops upon capture were not uncommon. Subsequently, British tank crews received sixpence a day extra “danger money” due to the threat of arbitrary execution. Flame tanks also suffered from the fact, along with flamethrower-armed troops, that all enemy within range would usually open up on them due to the fear of the weapon.

Recently, Dragon announced the imminent release of no less than three flame tanks as part of their burgeoning Neo Dragon Armor range. Look for the first of these to unleash a firestorm on the diecast battlefield later this year.

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Product Spotlight: A Tiger in Sheep’s Clothing

Dragon’s 1:72 scale US Army M4A3E8 Sherman Tank – “Tiger Face”, “Rice’s Red Devils”, 89th Tank Battalion. Han River, Korea, March 1951

Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, “Hearts and Minds”, and propaganda. The term is used “to denote any action which is practiced mainly by psychological methods with the aim of evoking a planned psychological reaction in other people”.

Various techniques are used, and are aimed at influencing a target audience’s value system, belief system, emotions, motives, reasoning, or behavior. It is used to induce confessions or reinforce attitudes and behaviors favorable to the originator’s objectives, and are sometimes combined with black operations or false flag tactics. It is also used to destroy the morale of enemies through tactics that aim to depress troops’ psychological states.

Dragon’s 1:72 scale US Army M4A3E8 Sherman Tank – “Tiger Face”, 25th Infantry Division, Han River, Korea, March 1951

Psychological warfare was still in its rudimentary stages when war broke out on the Korean Peninsula in 1950. Back then, military commanders understood the importance of fooling the enemy as a means of gaining the upper hand, even if the resources to pull off such a ruse was basic at best. Operation Ripper (March 6th-31st, 1951), as it was known, represented the UN’s attempt to liberate Seoul, South Korea’s capital, from North Korean occupation and push back the combined communist forces to their starting positions along the 38th Parallel. The Chinese Volunteer Army (CVA), who entered the war on the side of North Korea after it was attacked by UN forces in the latter half of 1950, did not possess any tanks and was largely an infantry-based formation that relied heavily upon human wave attacks to seize their objectives. The North Koreans, on the other hand, had lost most of their tanks during the fighting in 1950, and therefore posed little in the way of a threatening force as it had once been a year earlier.

Dragon’s 1:72 scale US Army M4A3E8 Sherman Tank – “Tiger Face”, “Rice’s Red Devils”, 89th Tank Battalion. Han River, Korea, March 1951

For this offensive, the US Army employed a bit of psychological warfare against the Chinese forces who were supposedly very superstitious, and whose culture feared both the tiger and dragon. Interestingly, the tiger is considered to be brave, cruel, forceful, stately and terrifying, the symbol of power and lordliness. In ancient times, the Chinese people usually compared emperors to the tiger. So, in an effort to boost the morale of the UN troops facing them and instill fear in the Chinese troops opposing them, it was decided that US tank crews were to paint their tanks with tiger heads/faces, bloody sharp teeth and claws on the front of their vehicles. These schemes were the most elaborate and colorful markings ever applied to US tanks and it was hoped these tiger faces would help to strike fear in the hearts of the Chinese troops ahead of any advance.

Dragon’s 1:72 scale US Army M4A3E8 Sherman Tank – “Tiger Face”, 24th Infantry Division, Han River, Korea, March 1951

Unfortunately, this colorful plan might have worked a year earlier but due to some misinformation regarding the dates of the Chinese New Year, never achieved its stated aim of forcing the Chinese to flee. In 1951, The Year of the Tiger as it was known by the Chinese, actually ended on February 5th, 1951, one month prior to the start of the UN attack. On the other hand, February 6th, 1951 ushered in the Year of the Rabbit, which had no detrimental effect on the average Chinese soldier. Changing the painted images of the tiger to a rabbit on many of the Allies’ tanks was obviously a moot idea so the tiger faces that adorned the tanks were left as is. After the offensive ended in late March, the elaborate guise was no longer needed so the paint schemes were either left to fade or were painted over to their original schemes.

Dragon’s 1:72 scale US Army M4A3E8 Sherman Tank – “Tiger Face”, 24th Infantry Division, Han River, Korea, March 1951

Never one to shrink from a daunting task, Dragon, under their Neo Dragon Armor brand, plans on re-producing these battle wagons with not one but five different iterations of the famed “Tiger Face” Sherman. Each has been painstakingly researched based upon information obtained from actual photos and other historical documents. Look for the entire collection to roll out sometime this fall.

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Product Spotlight: On Hallowed Ground

Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale US M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo Assault Tank with VVSS Suspension – “Cobra King”, C Company, 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, Bastogne, Belgium, December 26th, 1944 [Bonus Ford GAA V-8 Engine

To this day, there is some debate whether or not the beleaguered 101st Airborne Division, who were tasked with defending the Belgian crossroads town of Bastogne during the Ardennes counteroffensive, were in need of rescuing against vastly superior German forces then encircling the area. Ask the “Screaming Eagles” holed up in the town and they’ll say they were simply holding out against ferocious if failed Nazi assaults for several days running. Patton’s 3rd Army, on the other hand, who had ceased attacking German forces well to the south of the so-called “Bulge”, pivoted 90-degrees then marched through the thick of winter for two days, will answer differently, acting like saviors for the men of the 101st who, for all intents and purposes, were cut off from the world and hanging on by a thread.

On the morning of December 26th, 1944, as part of a concerted effort to relieve the 101st Airborne (“Screaming Eagles”) defending the all-important crossroads town of Bastogne, the 4th Armored Division’s (“Breakthrough”) Combat Command Reserve (CCR) was ordered by Division HQ to link up with Combat Command B (CCB), which was still fighting for the town of Chaumont in southeast Belgium. Colonel Wendell Blanchard, commander of CCR, called together Lt. Colonel Creighton Abrams of the 37th Tank Battalion, and Lt. Colonel George L. Jaques of the 53rd Armored Infantry Battalion.

He told them to attack and seize the village of Chaumont, which was just 3 miles from Bastogne. From there, they were to advance in earnest up the main road, break through the German cordon, and make contact with the beleaguered 101st, which was rapidly running out of ammunition.

After capturing Chaumont, the two commanders initially planned to attack the town of Sibret, but because it was so heavily defended, they instead chose to assault the nearby village of Assenois, which was located on a secondary road but still provided access to Bastogne. With artillery firing in support, the leading element of CCR, comprised of three Shermans followed by a halftrack full of infantry, then two more Shermans, stormed the village. Abrams’ tanks blasted their way through the obstacles, while dismounted infantry mopped up the remaining strongpoints. After eliminating several enemy soldiers laying Teller mines along the road, Abrams command linked up with elements of the 101st at 1700 hours. The siege had been lifted and with it came the collapse of Hitler’s “Wacht am Rhein” operation.

Look for the “First in Bastogne” Sherman from Forces of Valor to break the siege in the Ardennes Forest early this fall.

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Product Spotlight: When the Whippoorwill Sings

Forces of Valor’s 1:72 scale RAF Curtiss P-40B Tomahawk Fighter – No.112 Squadron, North Africa, October 1941

The eastern whippoorwill is a medium-sized bird within the nightjar family, found primarily in North America. The whippoorwill is commonly heard within its range, but less often seen because of its camouflage. It is named onomatpoeically after its song. Unlike the melodic call of most birds in the wild, a Whippoorwill singing near a house was oftentimes considered an omen of death, or at least of bad luck. As legend goes, a man could rid himself of an aching back if he turned somersaults in time to whippoorwill calls. On the other hand, if a Native American heard a whippoorwill’s called invitation, he or she was advised to decline it.

Such was the fate of the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter, an aircraft rushed into production early on in the Second World War, and meeting with mixed results for several allied nations. First taking to the air in 1938, a scant year before hostilities broke out in Europe, the P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in front line service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter of World War II, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation’s main production facilities in Buffalo, New York.

Forces of Valor’s 1:72 scale American Volunteer Group Curtiss P-40B Warhawk Fighter – R.T. Smith, 3rd Pursuit Squadron, China, June 1942

While it wasn’t a complete disaster in aerial combat, it failed at higher altitudes since it lacked a two-speed supercharger, which instantly made it inferior to Luftwaffe fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in high-altitude combat, meaning it was rarely used in operations in Northwest Europe. However, between 1941 and 1944, the P-40 played a critical role with Allied air forces in three major theaters: North Africa, the Southwest Pacific, and China. It also had a significant role in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska and Italy.

Forces of Valor’s 1:72 scale USAAC Curtiss P-40B Warhawk Fighter – 78th Pursuit Squadron (18th Pursuit Group), Bellows Field, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, December 7th, 1941

That said, Forces of Valor plans on introducing three different P-40s later this summer, each drawn from a different theatre of action and user nation called upon to fly it. While the P-40 paled in comparison to other Allied front line fighters, it nevertheless served a crucial role in the early to mid stages of the conflict and until such time as more potent fighter aircraft could be designed, fielded and flown against the best that the Axis air forces could send aloft.

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Product Spotlight: Up the Boot

Armored Fighting Vehicles of World War II 1:43 scale US M18 Hellcat Light Tank Destroyer – “Black Cat”, 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 5th Armored Division, Italy, 1944

The tank destroyer battalion was a type of military unit used by the United States Army during World War II. The unit was organized in one of two different forms – a towed battalion equipped with anti-tank guns, or a mechanized battalion equipped with armored self-propelled guns. The tank destroyer units were formed in response to the German use of massed formations of armored vehicles units early in WWII. The tank destroyer concept envisioned the battalions acting as independent units that would respond at high speed to large enemy tank attacks. In this role, they would be attached in groups or brigades to corps or armies. In practice, they were usually individually attached to infantry divisions. Over one hundred battalions were formed, of which more than half saw combat service. The force was disbanded shortly after the end of the war when the concept had been shown to be militarily unsound.

One such unit was the 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion. The 805th was formed from the 105th Anti-tank Battalion on December 15th, 1941, in line with the reorganization of the anti-tank force. It was shipped to the United Kingdom in August 1942, and then deployed for the North African Campaign in January 1943, equipped with M3 GMC tank destroyers. It was attached briefly to the 34th Infantry Division, then attached to the 1st Armored Division on February 20th, just in time to see action at the Battle of the Kasserine Pass, where it took heavy losses. On March 23rd, equipped with the new M10 tank destroyer, it fought at the Battle of El Guettar.

In October 1943, it converted to a towed battalion equipped with 3″ anti-tank guns, and was shipped to Italy, arriving in the Naples area on October 25th – the first 3″ towed battalion to see combat. It was attached to the 34th Infantry Division in January 1944, and supported the division in fighting on the Bernhardt Line and at Monte Cassino, before being shipped to the Anzio beachhead in mid-March and attached to the 36th Infantry Division. In June, it was attached to the 1st Armored Division.

It re-equipped with M18 Hellcats in the summer of 1944, but continue to be used mainly for indirect-fire missions through the remainder of the war, attached to a variety of different units during the drive north. On April 21st, 1945, they were attached to the 34th Infantry Division when it captured Bologna, and with the 88th Infantry Division when it reached the Brenner Pass in early May.

The second batch of six Armored Fighting Vehicles of World War II, which includes the Hellcat shown here, are now in stock and ready for immediate shipment. And if you’re looking to retake Italy from the Nazis, you may want to deploy this combat vehicle to the front lines.

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Product Spotlight: “The Gremlin Teaser”

Corgi’s 1:72 scale RAF Short Stirling Mk. III Heavy Bomber – “The Gremlin Teaser”, No.199 Squadron, RAF North Creake, England, 1944

Back during the early days of World War II, British RAF pilots often blamed so-called “gremlins” for any malfunctions their aircraft experienced in combat. For purposes of discussion, a gremlin is a mischievous mythical creature that’s said to cause trouble to machinery, particularly in airplanes. When you’re a nervous flyer, confronting all sorts of man made issues, the last thing you want to think about are gremlins messing with the plane’s engines or other mechanical components.

The word gremlin first appeared in print in 1929. It emerged from the U.K.’s Royal Air Force aviator slang (possibly influenced by goblin), and it became especially popular during World War II, as pilots were forced to contend with FLaK, enemy fighters, poor weather and even night time flying to perform their missions.

Of course, there’s no such thing as a gremlin yet pilots persisted in blaming the mythical tricksters on otherwise inexplicable accidents — convenient scapegoats, if you will, for any odd issues they faced that couldn’t be explained away or overcome.

As if thumbing its nose at the supposed gremlin infestation plaguing other RAF aircraft, Stirling Mk.III LJ542 was unusual in that it sported rather elaborate nose artwork — a feature which wasn’t quite as prevalent on British aircraft as it was on those flown by the USAAF, but was particularly impressive nonetheless. Named “The Gremlin Teaser”, the artwork featured a pin-up girl wearing what appears to be strap-on angel wings, the inference thought to be that this angelic figure was flying in defiance of evil, in this age-old wartime struggle of good against evil, something its crew must have felt they were doing on a nightly basis.

While the Lancaster would go on to become synonymous with the RAF’s bombing campaign over Nazi-occupied Europe, aircraft such as the Short Stirling soldiered on alongside the Lancs. Indeed, the impressive stature of the Stirling was a result of the massive, lengthened undercarriage the aircraft employed, a design modification needed to give the Stirling a greater angle of attack during take-off.

The Stirling’s huge bomb bay allowed the aircraft to carry three times as many bombs as the Vickers Wellington and almost nine times the weight carried by a Bristol Blenheim, presenting the RAF with a potent new weapon with which to take the war to the enemy and pointing the way towards the future of night bombing operations.

“The Gremlin Teaser” would end up being a veteran of 60 operational sorties and during her time with No.199 Squadron, was involved in undertaking vital electronic countermeasures missions, particularly around the time of D-Day, confusing enemy defenses in advance of the Allied invasion.

Corgi’s latest Short Stirling bomber, “Gremlin Teaser”, is currently en route to us and available for shipping early next week.

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Product Spotlight: Final Hours of the Red Baron

Corgi’s 1:48 scale German Fokker Dr.1 Triplane Fighter – Werner Steinhauser, Jasta 11, Cappy Aerodrome, France, April 21st, 1918

Werner Steinhauser was beginning to develop into an extremely gifted aviator under the guidance of his inspirational Commanding Officer, Manfred von Richthofen, when he took off with the Flying Circus on the morning of April 21st, 1917. When he initially joined the unit earlier that year, he had only a solitary observation balloon victory to his credit. Now that he found himself in the company of some of the Luftstreitkrafte’s most gifted fighter pilots, he began to show real skill and poise during combat situations and as a consequence, his victory tally began increasing.

Flying alongside von Richthofen in his own distinctively marked personal Fokker Dr.1 fighter on the morning of April 21st, 1917, Steinhauser would be involved in the intense fighting with the Sopwith Camels of RAF No.209 Squadron, which ultimately resulted in the death of his mentor. The famed ‘Flying Circus’ never really recovered from the loss of von Richthofen and from this date, an ever increasing number of Allied fighters in the air at any one time would result in the loss of the majority of their most successful pilots. Going on to score a further six aerial victories after this fateful day, Werner Steinhauser would himself be shot down and killed near Neuilly on June 26th, just three days before he would have celebrated his 22nd birthday.

Corgi’s 1:48 scale German Fokker Dr.1 Triplane Fighter – Ltn Hans Weiss, Jasta 11, Cappy Aerodrome, France, April 21st, 1918

At 10am on April 21st, 1918, six Fokker Dr.1 fighter aircraft of Jasta 11 took off from Cappy aerodrome to embark on an offensive patrol over the Somme Valley region. Led by their inspirational commander, Manfred von Richthofen, this was an elite unit where only the finest fighter pilots were invited to join the squadron – the ‘Best of the Best’. Hans Weiss has joined Jasta 11 with a reputation as being something of a balloon specialist, but by this date, he was credited with an impressive ten combat victories.As the formation approached Le Hamel, they spotted a pair of Allied reconnaissance aircraft over the town and dived in to attack.

As the battle commenced, an unseen flight of Sopwith Camels joined the melee to protect the reconnaissance aircraft and just minutes later, the infamous reign of the Red Baron would be over. The distinctive white colored Fokker Dr.1 flown by Weiss had been hit by return fire from the British reconnaissance aircraft, severing one of his rudder cables and forcing an immediate return to Cappy. Nursing his damaged aircraft back to his home airfield, Weiss would live to fight another day, however, his Commanding Officer would not be quite so lucky.

Weiss would later command Jasta 11 himself, but only for a three week period, before he also fell in combat, the victim of Canadian ace Merrill Taylor.

Both triplanes are now winging their way to us from the Corgi Aerodrome and should be ready to seek vengeance for the death of the Red Baron by the third week of June.

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Product Spotlight: Panzers on the Neva

The area around Leningrad is one of the most geographically diverse in the world, situated in the southern sub zone of the taiga – a snow covered forest found in the cold subarctic. The subarctic is an area of the Northern Hemisphere that lies just south of the Arctic Circle where forests occupy about 40% of the territory, and swamps a further 10%. There are cliffs in the Gulf of Vyborg and to the north of Lake Ladoga, huge swampy areas to the south, marshy valleys with granite boulders on the Karelian Isthmus, canyons and waterfalls, plains and hills to the south of Neva. By any military measure, the region was not conducive to mobile military operations much less ideal “tank country,” yet it nevertheless served as the backdrop for the first actions of the Tiger I heavy tank — an ill-suited baptism of fire its designers, the architects of the Blitzkrieg and troops picked to employ it would just as soon prefer to forget.

Forces of Valor’s German Initial Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E Heavy Tank – “100”, schwere Panzerabteilung 502, Leningrad, Russia, February 1943

Schwere Panzerabteilung 502 took the Tiger I into combat for the first time south of Lake Ladoga near Leningrad on September 16th, 1942. On September 22nd, after crossing a causeway, one Tiger became bogged down in the mud, thereby living up to its iconic unit heraldry of an elephant blindly on the march. After several unsuccessful attempts to recover it, the vehicle had to be abandoned, fierce enemy fire deterring the crew from reaching the vehicle. To prevent its capture, a decision was eventually made to destroy the vehicle, which was carried out on September 25th. All in all, a rather ignominious start for what was hoped to be a miracle weapon.

On that same day several new Tigers as well as Panzer IIIs arrived at the front, thereby bringing the unit up to its full armored complement. On January 14th, 1943, Soviet troops disabled and captured one of the battalion’s Tiger tanks near Leningrad during Operation Spark. A second vehicle was captured several days later. Both Tigers were quickly brought to the Kubinka experimental armor facility where they were thoroughly analyzed for strengths and weaknesses. Efforts were then made to develop and organize strategies to counter the tank.

A handful of additional Tiger Is were issued to the unit in February 1943, replacing several vehicles lost in combat. On April 1st, 1943, a second and third company were formed. Thirty one Tigers were shipped to the unit in mid to late May 1943, which brought the battalion up to full strength. In June 1943, due to a change in the organization of heavy tank battalions, the 1st company was completely outfitted with Tiger Is, rather than a mix of Tigers and Panzer IIIs.

The battalion participated in engagements on the Eastern Front during 1943 and 1944. The unit operated around Lake Ladoga from July to September 1943 and Newel, near Belarus during November and December 1943 covering the retreat of German forces from the Leningrad area. The 502nd held Narva, Estonia from February to April 1944. The 502nd fought in Pleskau in April and May 1944, then around Dunaburg, Latvia in July.

The battalion only received a few Tiger IIs. The last 13 Tiger IIs built were picked up directly at the factory by crews of the 3rd Company of the 510th and the 3rd company of the 502nd on March 31st, 1945.The 502nd received the lion’s share of the final batch produced – eight vehicles it then took into combat on April 1st, 1945. In hindsight, schwere Panzerabteilung 502 was both one of the first and, as it turns out, one of the very last heavy tank battalions formed during the second world war to take the Tigerwaffe into battle.

Forces of Valor’s German Initial Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E Heavy Tank – “100”, schwere Panzerabteilung 502, Leningrad, Russia, February 1943, is expected to rumble into battle this September, terrain and overwhelming numbers of enemy forces permitting.

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