Product Spotlight

Product Spotlight: A Sliced Bread Basket

JC Wings’ 1:72 scale Ukrainian Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-29MU1 ‘Fulcrum-C’ Fighter – 2019

The Russo-Ukrainian War is an ongoing and protracted conflict that started in February 2014, primarily involving Russia and pro-Russian forces on one hand, and Ukraine on the other. The war has centered on the status of Crimea and parts of the Donbas, which are largely internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.

Following the Euromaidan protests and the subsequent removal of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on February 22nd and amidst pro-Russianunrest in Ukraine, Russian soldiers without insignias took control of strategic positions and infrastructure within the Ukrainian territory of Crimea. On March 1st, 2014, the Federation Council of the Russian Federation unanimously adopted a resolution to petition Russian President Vladimir Putin to use military force in Ukraine. The resolution was adopted several days later, after the start of the Russian military operation on the “Returning of Crimea”. Russia then annexed Crimea after a widely criticized local referendum which was organized by Russia after the capturing of the Crimean parliament whose outcome was for the Autonomous Repulbic of Crimea to join the Russian Federation. In April, demonstrations by pro-Russian groups in the Donbas area of Ukraine escalated into a war between the Ukrainian government and the Russian-backed separatist forces of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic. In August, Russian military vehicles crossed the border in several locations of Donetsk Oblast. The incursion by the Russian military was seen as responsible for the defeat of Ukrainian forces in early September.

In November 2014, the Ukrainian military reported intensive movement of troops and equipments from Russia into the separatist-controlled parts of the eastern Ukraine. The Associated Press reported 40 unmarked military vehicles on the move in rebel-controlled areas. The Organziation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission observed convoys of heavy weapons and tanks in DPR-controlled territory without insignia. OSCE monitors further stated they observed vehicles transporting ammunition and soldiers’ dead bodies crossing the Russian-Ukrainian border under the guise of humanitarian aid convoys. As of early August 2015, OSCE observed over 21 such vehicles marked with the Russian military code for soldiers killed in action. According to The Moscow Times, Russia has tried to intimidate and silence human rights workers discussing Russian soldiers’ deaths in the conflict. OSCE has time and again reported that its observers were denied access to the areas controlled by “combined Russian-separatist forces”.

The majority of members of the international community and organizations such as Amnesty International have condemned Russia for its actions in post-revolutionary Ukraine, accusing it of breaking international law and violating Ukrainian sovereignty. Many countries implemented economic sanctions against Russia, Russian individuals or companies.

In October 2015, The Washington Post reported that Russia has redeployed some of its elite units from Ukraine to Syria to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In December 2015, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin admitted that Russian military intelligence officers were operating in Ukraine, insisting though that they were not the same as regular troops. As of February 2019, 7% of Ukraine’s territory is classified by the Ukrainian government as temporarily occupied territories.

As of February 6th, 2022, Russia has surrounded Ukraine militarily, and its force presence and posture continue to raise concerns that Russia will invade its neighbor and ignite a new conflict in Europe.

Russia now has over 130,000 troops, as well as a significant amount of weaponry and other hardware, in positions around Ukraine. Though Russia has denied having plans to attack, many in the West remain skeptical. Russia has troops in Belarus, western Russia, and Crimea.

US intelligence previously suggested Russia had plans to launch a military offensive against Ukraine in “early 2022” with a force of 175,000. Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week that Russia had enough troops and equipment in place now to launch an attack with “little warning.”

Ukraine is bracing for a Russian invasion as regular civilians train for war, and NATO is hardening its positions in Eastern Europe to deter Russia from pushing past Ukraine, should it decide to attack.

JC Wings’ recently released Ukrainian Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-29MU1 ‘Fulcrum-C’ Fighter clad in a digitized winter camouflage scheme is now in stock and available for immediate shipment.

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Product Spotlight: Desert Furniture Vans

There were never very many Tiger tanks, less than 1,400 total. They were huge (German crews scornfully called them “furniture vans”), high maintenance, a gas-guzzler even by tank standards, and were more often out of commission due to mechanical failure than damage in combat. And, after its North African debut in a battle near Robaa, Tunisia, a Feb. 5th, 1943, New York Times article stated the Tiger “failed to impress military observers here.” According to those observers “a few well-placed shots even from a light anti-tank rifle” could immobilize it. That article for home consumption literally papered over the truth. Allied troops were scared to death of the Tiger.

Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Early Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E Heavy Tank – “121”, schwere Panzerabteilung 501, Deutsches Afrika Korps, Tunisia, 1943 [Bonus Maybach HL 210 TRM P45 Engine]

There was one very good reason for that fear: they didn’t have a weapon powerful enough to stop it. The reasons for that boiled down to differences in tank doctrine and philosophy based on tradition, prejudice, and circumstance. Despite a World War I flirtation with (other countries’) tanks, in practical terms the US Army was a latecomer to tank warfare, not fielding a mechanized armor corps until 1940, and was prejudicially influenced by horse cavalry advocates led by Chief of Cavalry Maj. Gen. John K. Herr (whose office was not disbanded until 1942). As such, though Army armor advocates studied writings by armored warfare philosopher Gen. Heinz Guderian and others as well as the Wehrmacht’s blitzkrieg battlefield successes, American armor advocates took away only that part of German tank doctrine that suited them: mass, speed, and maneuver. Accordingly, the American role of tanks was not to fight other tanks, but to smash through enemy lines and raise hell in their rear, the traditional role of cavalry.

Overlooked or ignored was the other side of the coin of German blitzkrieg tank doctrine expressed in Guderian’s 1937 book Achtung Panzer!, “The tank’s most dangerous enemy is another tank [emphasis added]. If we are unable to defeat the enemy armor the breakthrough has as good as failed. . . .” The Tiger was the ultimate expression of that tank versus tank doctrine.

To Guderian’s disgust, the Tigers first saw action in the siege of Leningrad. In his book Panzer Leader, Guderian wrote, “[Hitler] ordered that the Tigers be committed in a quite secondary operation, in a limited attack carried out in [swampy, forested] terrain that was utterly unsuitable. . . . The results were not only heavy, unnecessary casualties, but also the loss of secrecy and of the element of surprise for future operations.”

The heavy tank battalion s.Pz.-Abt. 501(Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 501) began arriving in Tunis in late November 1942. Kampfgruppe Lueder (named after its leader Maj. Hans-Georg Lueder), initially three Tigers and four Panzer IIIs, later three more Tigers, went into action on Dec. 1, 1942, participating in the Battle of Tebourba. When the battle ended in a German victory on Dec. 5, Allied troops under British Lt. Gen. Kenneth Anderson had lost 55 tanks, hundreds of vehicles, and more than 1,000 troops captured, with the Tigers knocking out most of the Allied tanks.

Soon the sight of even one Tiger entering battle caused the blood in Allied troops to run cold. The Tiger’s high-velocity 88 mm main gun could outshoot anything they had, and armor piercing shells bounced off the Tiger’s thick armor – even from ranges as close as 50 meters. In an attack against Allied positions in the Medjerda river valley of northwest Tunisia not long after, s.Pz.-Abt. 501 reported that “fleeing enemy columns and tanks were observed as soon as the Tigers appeared.”

Over time, the fearsome and intimidating reputation of the Tiger grew to mythic proportions. Maj. Christopher W. Wilbeck noted in his study of German heavy tank battalions that whenever a German tank appeared, regardless of type, “Among the Allied armies, units continually reported that Tiger tanks were in their sector or that they had destroyed Tiger tanks.”

Though destroying a Tiger was high-risk bordering on suicide early in the war, disabling one was not. The Allies’ most successful anti-Tiger tactic in Tunisia was a retrograde maneuver, laying anti-tank mines guarded by antitank guns. When a Tiger was immobilized by a mine, antitank guns could take it under fire, or artillery fire was called in. Later in France, tactical air – fighter-bombers using rockets and bombs – proved the most effective countermeasure. In March 1943, s.Pz.-Abt. 501 was succeeded by s.Pz.-Abt. 504. During the two months it operated in Tunisia before the surrender of all Axis troops in Tunisia, s.Pz.-Abt. 504 destroyed more than 150 enemy tanks and had a kill ratio of 18.8 enemy tanks for every Tiger lost. (courtesy Defensemedianetwork.com)

“Alwin”, Forces of Valor’s second 1:32 scale Tiger I heavy tank looks to churn up the North African desert some time in April.

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Product Spotlight: Vorrucken nach Norden

Corgi 1:72 German Junkers Ju-87B-2 Stuka Dive-Bomber – 3./Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 “Immelmann”, Battle of Moscow, December 1941

Without doubt one of the most instantly recognizable aircraft of the Second World War, the Junkers Ju-87 Stuka may not have been the most effective strike aircraft to see combat during the conflict, but it was certainly one of the most feared. Capable of providing strategic, precision bombing support for advancing Wehrmacht ground units, the Stuka heralded the coming of war and as such, had been designed specifically to instill fear and confusion into enemy troops and the terrified population at large. Attaching a wailing siren, known as the ‘Jericho Trumpet’, to one of the undercarriage spats on the Stuka’s airframe, only served to enhance the reputation of this aircraft, with its distinctive gull wings coming to represent the fearsome manifestation of Blitzkrieg! Although the Stuka had been found to be vulnerable against the modern fighters of the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain, it would go on to play a significant role during Operation Barbarossa, where its precision strikes were used to clear a path for advancing ground units along the vast front line.

This 3./StG.2 Stuka wears the standard camouflage of Black/green and Dark green over light blue, but has a roughly applied winter distemper to give it additional protection whilst operating during winter conditions. It also features a representation of gaping mouth artwork over the air cooler and above, which is described as ‘Ghost Bones’, making this one of the most distinctive Stukas to serve on the Eastern Front.

Corgi 1:72 German Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 “Gustav” Fighter – Black Double Chevron ‘Mickey Mouse’, Hptm. Horst Carganico, CO II./Jagdgeschwader 5 “Eismeer”, Pskow South Airfield, Soviet Union, Early 1944

Born in Silesia in October 1917, Horst Carganico was already a pilot with Jagdgeschwader 1 at the outbreak of WWII and would see his first combat action against the RAF whilst flying from Luftwaffe bases in Norway. Despite this, it would be on the Eastern Front where Carganico would have his greatest success as a fighter pilot, taking an active part in Operation Barbarossa and claiming at least 20 aerial victories by the end of September 1941. In the six weeks from the beginning of April 1942, he would go on a scoring run which would see him claiming a further 23 victories, but as Soviet fighter effectiveness began to improve steadily during the year, he would not have everything his own way. On two separate occasions, he would be brought down over Soviet territory following combat with the VVS (Soviet Air Force), luckily managing to evade capture and return to his unit both times.

Carganico was known for adding his personal “Mickey Mouse’ emblem to the majority of the Messerschmitt fighters he flew, including the rather elaborate example which adorned this II./Jagdgeschwader.5 machine, which surely made this one of the most distinctive fighters on the Eastern Front. He would survive the savage fighting in the East only to be killed in May 1944 whilst engaged in combat with USAAF fighters over Saint-Dizier – attempting a forced landing in his damaged aircraft, the fighter struck high tension cables and crashed. Carganico posted an impressive combat record of 60 confirmed victories from a total mission count of around 600 sorties, mainly on the Eastern Front.

Corgi 1:72 German Junkers Ju 88A-5 Medium-Bomber – F1+AS, 8./Kampfgeschwader 76, Orscha, Russia, December 1941

As arguably the most versatile German aircraft of the Second World War, Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-88 units were probably the most capable strike assets they had available at the start of Operation Barbarossa and they would be used extensively throughout the campaign. During the opening attack in the early hours of June 22nd, 1941, hand-picked, experienced Ju-88 crews were sent as pathfinders to ‘light up’ the Soviet airfields closest to the western edge of the invasion, illuminating targets for the main attack force which followed just minutes later. Immediately returning to their bases, they were refuelled and loaded with standard bombs, so they could head back to the target airfields and participate in the rout of the Soviet Air Force. In other sectors, the Ju-88s of KGs 76 and 77 reported the inexplicable loss of several experienced crews, losses which have since been attributed to friendly fire incidents during the melee of the initial attacks.

As the German invasion gathered momentum, Ju-88 units would be constantly employed in attacking Soviet airfields ahead of ground units, but would also become extremely proficient at targeting Soviet troop and armor concentrations which were threatening the flanks of advancing German columns. This attractive 8./KG.76 Ju-88 came down behind German lines during the early winter of 1941, probably due to engine trouble, as it was later recovered and returned to operational condition. Looking resplendent in its winter whitewash, it also features the distinctive wasp emblem of the unit on its front fuselage.

All three Corgi 1:72 scale Vorrucken nach Norden (Advance to the North) aircraft are now in stock and ready for immediate shipment.

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Product Spotlight: The Little Tramp

Corgi 1:48 Royal Flying Corps Bristol F2B Fighter – D8084/S, “Charlie Chaplin”, Capt. Sydney Dalrymple and 2/Lt. G. Beagle, RAF No.139 Squadron, Villaverla Aerodrome, Italy, August 1918

Great War Australian ace pilot, Captain Sydney Dalrymple, transferred to the newly formed No.139 Squadron at Villaverla in Italy during the summer of 1918, where he would be flying the Bristol fighter in an armed reconnaissance role. At this stage of the war, Dalrymple only had a single aerial victory to his name, however, this was gained while flying the Martinsyde G100 ‘Elephant’, an aircraft which gained its nickname due to its size and ungainly flying characteristics. Early operations with the Bristol fighter in Italy proved disappointing, as the aircraft were initially flown in a similar manner to the much maligned BE2c, flying straight and level to allow the observer to take his pictures.

Indeed, the squadron had lost three crews in action during this period and only switched to flying the aircraft much more aggressively following the arrival of famous ace, William Barker, as their new Commanding Officer, who understood the fighting qualities of this effective multi-role aircraft. On August 8th, 1918, Dalrymple and his gunner, 2/Lt. G Beagle, used Bristol F2B Fighter D-8084 to shoot down two Aviatik D.1 Berg fighters near Caldonazzo during the same mission and would dispatch two Albatros D.IIIs on September 13th flying a different Bristol. Now officially an ‘Ace’ pilot, Dalrymple was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on November 1st, 1918. Bristol F2B Fighter D-8084 was unusual in that it carried the “Charlie Chaplin” artwork on the port side engine cowling.

Corgi AA28802 is now in stock and ready for immediate shipment.

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Product Spotlight: The Sukhoi Su-30 “Flanker-C” Multirole Fighter

Hobby Master 1:72 scale Russian Sukhoi Su-30SM “Flanker-C” Fighter – “Red 3”, 31st Guards Fighter Regiment, Zernograd, Russia, 2015

With so much hype surrounding the recently unveiled Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate Light Stealth Fighter, Hobby Master seized upon the opportunity to show off their latest Sukhoi endeavor.

The Sukhoi Su-30 (NATO reporting name: Flanker-C/G/H) is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Russia’s Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and air-to-surface deep interdiction missions.

The Su-30 started out as an internal development project in the Sukhoi Su-27 family by Sukhoi. The design plan was revamped and the name was made official by the Russian Defense Ministry in 1996. Of the Flanker family, the Su-27, Su-30, Su-33, Su-34 and Su-35 have been ordered into limited or serial production by the Russian Defense Ministry. The Su-30 has two distinct version branches, manufactured by competing organisations: KnAAPO and the Irkut Corporation, both of which come under the Sukhoi group’s umbrella.

KnAAPO manufactures the Su-30MKK and the Su-30MK2, which were designed for and sold to China, and later Indonesia, Uganda, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Due to KnAAPO’s involvement from the early stages of developing the Su-35, these are basically a two-seat version of the mid-1990s Su-35. The Chinese chose an older but lighter radar so the canards could be omitted in return for increased payload. It is a fighter with both air supremacy and attack capabilities, generally similar to the U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle.

Irkut traditionally served the Soviet Air Defense and, in the early years of Flanker development, was given the responsibility of manufacturing the Su-27UB, the two-seat trainer version. When India showed interests in the Su-30, Irkut offered the multirole Su-30MKI, which originated as the Su-27UB modified with avionics appropriate for fighters. Along with its ground-attack capabilities, the series adds features for the air-superiority role, such as canards, thrust-vectoring, and a long-range phased-array radar. Its derivatives include the Su-30MKM, MKA, and SM for Malaysia, Algeria, and Russia respectively. The Russian Air Force operates several Su-30s and has ordered the Su-30SM variant as well.

Look for Hobby Master’s inaugural Su-30 to take wing before the end of this year.
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Product Spotlight: “Witchcraft”

Corgi’s 1:72 scale USAAF Consolidated B-24H Liberator Heavy Bomber – 42-52534, “Witchcraft”, 790th Bombardment Squadron, 467th Bombardment Group, USAAF Station 145 Rackheath, Norfolk, England, January 1945

The afternoon of January 14th, 1945, was no ordinary day at USAAF Station 145 Rackheath, in Norfolk, England. Thirty B-24 Liberators from the 467th Bomb Group had been allocated to take part in a raid against steelworks at Hallendorf, near Hanover and had left the base at approximately 09.00. One of the aircraft taking part in the raid was named “Witchcraft” and on her return, she would set a mission record for the entire Second Air Division, one which had attracted the attention of USAAF ‘Top Brass’. As the aircraft returned to their home airfield 6 hours and 35 minutes after they took off, 42-52534 “Witchcraft” landed and parked up in her usual hard standing position, to be met by General Ketner, Commander of the 2nd Air Division and other high ranking officials, not to mention a film crew and members of the press – even the famous “Rackheath Band” were in attendance.

“Witchcraft” had just completed her 100th credited mission without suffering a single mechanical abort, a real testament to the efforts of her assigned ground crew. Known colloquially as the ‘League of Nations’, the ground crew was led by M/Sgt Joe Ramirez, who was of Mexican heritage, with other members of his team being of Chinese, German, Dutch and American extraction.

General Ketner presented each member of the ground crew with an award to mark this significant wartime achievement and a quite extraordinary bomber. As the air and ground crews who had participated in the ‘Witchcraft’s significant 100th mission without mechanical or crew illness abort posed for pictures beside an aircraft which had now taken its place in Eighth Air Force history, it was almost time for the traditional addition of another mission marking to be painted on the aircraft’s scoreboard. This honor always fell to the aircraft’s crew chief, M/Sgt Joe Ramirez, but as this day marked such a significant achievement for both the aircraft and her hard-working ground crew, he thought that a little additional decoration was in order.

As well as painting the small yellow bomb symbol on ‘Witchcraft’s already impressive mission tally, he also added an oversized bomb above the aircraft’s distinctive port side nose artwork, with the number 100 at the side of it. Although ‘Witchcraft’ had been flown operationally by several different crews during her time in England, she was very much the property of her dedicated ground crew, who were both extremely proud and rather protective of their bomber. As their aircraft received official Eighth Air Force recognition on her significant mission achievement, there can be no doubting that this day belonged to her ground crew. Consolidated B-24H Liberator 42-52534/Q2-M ‘Witchcraft’ would end the war with 130 credited missions without suffering a mechanical abort, an achievement which was unequaled by any other B-24 in the European Theatre of operations.

Look for Witchcraft to brew up sometime in June.

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Product Spotlight: “Never to be So Foolish Again”

Corgi’s 1:48 scale Royal Flying Corps Bristol F2B Fighter – D-8063, RAF No.139 Squadron, Villaverla, Italy, September 1918

The outbreak of the Great War placed a moral burden on the shoulders of a young Edward, Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne. Desperate to do his duty and be seen alongside the thousands of troops heading for France, he was forbidden from joining his Grenadier Guards regiment at the front by Lord Kitchener, who was concerned about the potential damage his loss or capture would have on a nation at war. Nevertheless, over the course of the next four years, the Prince would regularly visit the trenches and was extremely popular among the fighting men of Britain. An early supporter of the airplane, the Prince is thought to have made several flights as a passenger whilst in France, however, an incident which reputedly occurred in September 1918 is quite astonishing. Whilst visiting No.139 Squadron in Italy, the Prince was taken on several flights in Bristol F2B Fighter D-8063 by celebrated Canadian ace and friend William Barker and on one such flight, it was reported that the Prince was taken close to the front lines, where he fired the aircraft’s Lewis guns on enemy trenches.

On hearing of this unofficial action, the King was said to be furious and chastised his son, telling him ‘never to be so foolish again’. Although the Bristol F2B Fighter would go on to be regarded as one of the finest fighting airplanes of the Great War, its combat introduction on the Western Front was inauspicious to say the least. Intended as a replacement for the much maligned Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c, the Bristol fighter was rushed into service so it could take part in the Second Battle of Arras in April 1917 and demonstrate the advancement in Allied aircraft design. During its first operational sortie on April 5th, six aircraft from No. 48 Squadron RFC, led by famous VC winner William Leefe Robinson, were bounced by Albatros fighters of Jasta 11, led by Manfred von Richthofen. During the ensuing melee, four of the new fighters, including the one flown by Robinson, were shot down, with another suffering serious damage – VC hero Robinson was initially posted as killed in action, but later discovered to have been taken prisoner. Despite this, once the many qualities of the Bristol Fighter had been appreciated, pilots quickly learned that this large airplane could be flown extremely aggressively and was more than capable of taking on the German fighters. With a fixed forward firing Vickers gun for the pilot and Scarff ring mounted Lewis guns for the observer, the Bristol fighter would enable crews to score victory numbers equivalent to those claimed by single seat fighters.

Corgi’s first ever Bristol F2B fighter is currently en route to us and expected to ship out to our customers by the last week of May.

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Product Spotlight: Revisting the “Thatch Weave”

Hobby Master’s 1:48 scale USN Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat Fighter – Lt. Edward H. “Butch” O’Hare, “White F-15”, VF-3, USS Lexington (CV-2), 1942

Some time ago, Hobby Master released a 1:48 scale tribute to Lt. Commander John S. Thatch, inventor of the so-called “Thatch Weave,” an early war combat tactic that was aimed at preventing enemy aircraft from assuming a position behind friendly aircraft for fear of being shot down themselves. Of course, Thatch wasn’t alone in developing the combat tactic — he was assisted by then Lieutenant Edward “Butch” O’Hare.

Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry “Butch” O’Hare was an American naval aviator of the United States Navy, who on February 20th, 1942, became the Navy’s first flying ace when he single-handedly attacked a formation of nine heavy bombers approaching his aircraft carrier. Even though he had a limited amount of ammunition, he managed to shoot down five enemy bombers. On April 21st, 1942, he became the first naval recipient of the Medal of Honor in World War II.

O’Hare’s final action took place on the night of November 26th, 1943, while he was leading the U.S. Navy’s first-ever nighttime fighter attack launched from an aircraft carrier. During this encounter with a group of Japanese torpedo bombers, O’Hare’s Grumman F6F Hellcat was shot down; his aircraft was never found. In 1945, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS O’Hare (DD-889) was named in his honor.

A few years later, Colonel Robert R. McCormick, publisher of the Chicago Tribune, suggested that the name of Chicago’s Orchard Depot Airport be changed as a tribute to Butch O’Hare. On September 19th, 1949, the Chicago, Illinois airport was renamed O’Hare International Airport to honor O’Hare’s bravery. The airport displays a Grumman F4F-3 museum aircraft replicating the one flown by Butch O’Hare during his Medal of Honor flight. The Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat on display was recovered virtually intact from the bottom of Lake Michigan, where it sank after a training accident in 1943 when it went off the training aircraft carrier USS Wolverine (IX-64). In 2001, the Air Classics Museum remodeled the aircraft to replicate the F4F-3 Wildcat that O’Hare flew on his Medal of Honor flight. The restored Wildcat is exhibited in the west end of Terminal 2 behind the security checkpoint to honor O’Hare International Airport’s namesake.

“Butch” O’Hare’s 1:48 scale Wildcat is now in stock and ready for immediate shipment.

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Product Spotlight: Operation Vengeance

i’s 1:72 scale CorgUSAAF Lockheed P-38G Lightning Interceptor – 43-2264, Major John Mitchell, “Miss Virginia”, 339th Fighter Squadron “Gremlin on a Double Eagle”, 347th Fighter Group, Operation Vengeance, April 18th, 1943

Having been forced to endure the horrors of the surprise Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, the American people found themselves dragged into a war they had tried so hard to avoid, now determined to avenge this day of infamy. Their long fightback began with victory at the Battle of Midway in June 1942, but for the men of the USAAF 347th Fighter Group, their chance to inflict a huge psychological blow against the Japanese nation and specifically against man who had planned the Pear Harbor attack would come in April the following year. US Navy intelligence code-breakers had been monitoring Japanese communications for months and discovered that Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto planned to fly from Rabul to troops stationed in the Solomon Islands, to boost their morale in the wake of the Midway defeat. Flying in one of two Mitsubishi G4M ‘Betty’ bombers and protected by six Zero fighters, the formation was intercepted by sixteen US Lockheed P-38G Lightnings, whose pilots had made the long flight from Guadalcanal with one specific aim – vengeance. In the ensuing dogfight, P-38G ‘Miss Virginia’ piloted by Rex T. Barber, slipped in behind the bomber carrying Admiral Yamamoto and unleashed a torrent of bullets from his .50 calibre machine guns, sending it crashing into the jungle below. ‘Operation Vengeance’ had been successful and one of America’s most deadly enemies had been eliminated. In what proved to be one of the most significant aerial engagements of the Second World War, ‘Operation Vengeance’ was the ambitious plan to intercept an aircraft carrying Japan’s most accomplished military tactician and architect of the Pearl Harbor attack, Isoroku Yamamoto.

The mission was entrusted to brilliant US aviator Major John Mitchell, who would have to plot a course far enough away from islands inhabited by Japanese spotters and low enough to avoid detection by enemy radar, whilst ensuring his fighters intercepted the enemy formation at exactly the right moment. With only a map, his watch and a highly accurate compass borrowed from the US Navy installed in his fighter, the mission had only a slim chance of success, but was a risk they had to take. The only aircraft capable of undertaking this perilous 1000 mile round trip was the Lockheed P-38 Lightning and even then only by using drop tanks containing additional fuel – indeed, due to short supply, each aircraft was fitted with a single large 330 gallon drop tank, as well as a smaller 150 gallon tank. As the sixteen Lightnings took off from Kukum Field, Guadalcanal at 7am on April 18th, 1943, they had no idea of the size of the enemy force they would be facing, or if indeed they would manage to intercept them. In a feat of exceptional airmanship, the Lightnings arrived at the anticipated interception point just one minute behind schedule and to a shout of ‘Bandits’ from one of the American pilots. In the ensuing dogfight, ‘Operation Vengeance’ would strike a huge blow in the fortunes of the Pacific War and highlight that America would accept nothing less than total victory.

You too can get Yamamoto with John Mitchell’s 1:72 scale “Miss Virginia”, which is expected to arrive at the interception site the first week of May.

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Product Spotlight: Rise of the “Dragon Lady”

Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale USAF Lockheed U-2S Reconnaissance Aircraft – 168-10337, 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale AFB, California, 2015

The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed “Dragon Lady”, is an American single-jet engine, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides day and night, high-altitude (70,000 feet, 21,300 meters), all-weather intelligence gathering.

Lockheed Corporation originally proposed it in 1953, it was approved in 1954, and its first test flight was in 1955. It was flown during the Cold War over the Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, and Cuba. In 1960, Gary Powers was shot down in a CIA U-2A over the Soviet Union by a surface-to-air missile (SAM). Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. was shot down in a U-2 during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

U-2s have taken part in post-Cold War conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and supported several multinational NATO operations. The U-2 has also been used for electronic sensor research, satellite calibration, scientific research, and communications purposes. The U-2 is one of a handful of aircraft types to have served the USAF for over 50 years, along with the Boeing B-52 and Boeing KC-135. The newest models (TR-1, U-2R, U-2S) entered service in the 1980s, and the latest model, the U-2S, had a technical upgrade in 2012.

Look for Hobby Master’s first ever U-2 spy plane to lift off later in April.

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