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

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

Hobby Master’s second 1:48 scale look at the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter is nearing its operational readiness date, and this one is ever-so-important to historians and collectors alike. HA8702 portrays Oberstleutnant Adolf Galland’s Bf-109E fighter, when he was attached to Jagdgeschwader 26 “Schlageter”, then deployed to Audembert, France, June 1940.

Undoubtedly one of the best known Bf 109Es of them all, Galland’s famous E-4/N was marked with Kommodore markings, 57 victory bars on the rudder and the familiar black and white mouse personal emblem. But the writing was on the wall for this aircraft by December 1940. Having scored an additional three kills with it, Galland then received a new Bf 109E-0, and proceeded to fly both types from Brest in early 1941. The Bf 109Es scope protuding from the windscreen was not a telescopic sight, but just a straightforward telescope, which enabled Galland to identify between friend and foe at a greater range.