:::Edit:::
My collection so far-



Many of the above are fully painted and on display here. The list is ever growing so if your favourite isn't there already keep an eye out it might appear soon.
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Hi folks. I just wanted to share the many tiny WWII aircraft I've been painting in a big gallery. They're 1:300 scale, so very small indeed.

One of my Spitfires, just to kick things off with a bang. First pic in the thread should be a good'un.

Here's a couple of scale shots just to give you an idea of the scale of these things.
The Fighters are small, really small.


And the bombers obviously are a little bigger.



Kicking things off with my RAF bombers.


A pair of Briatol Blenheim IV - Long nose medium bombers.
By the start of the war Bristol's Blenheim was already a little long in the tooth. It wasn't the fastest plane nor the most heavily armed but it was a rugged machine and very useful. Blenheims were flown everywhere. Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Finland, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Yogoslavia, even Romania. The various marks of these versatile aircraft served in every role imaginable, light transport, reconnaissance, night fighters, bombers, torpedo bombers and more. Somewhere near 1,930 were built and served in airforces across the world long after the end of the war in Europe.


And another pair of Bristol aircraft, a MkI Blenheim and a Beaufighter.


The two largest aircraft in my collection, a pair of Short Stirlings.
The Short Stirling was the first of the RAFs four engine heavy bombers. It was a powerful and agile design beloved by its pilots and very well armed. Not at all an easy target for enemy fighters. However as the bombs got bigger and bigger the design of the Stirling's loading bay proved unsuitable and more adaptable airframes like the Lancaster and the Halifax took over as the Stirling was phased out of bomber service and into transport and glider tug roles.

Dehavilland's Wooden wonder the famous Mosquito. Had to have one in invasion stripes.
De Havilland ingenious plan for an all wooden, High speed, high altitude unarmed bomber was just what the air ministry needed in 1941. Construction didn't have to compete for war materials like steel or aluminium and its clever plywood-balsa plywood sandwich was both light and surprisingly durable. It provided a high level reconnaissance platform that could outrun intercepting fighters and also replaced the venerable Blenheim MkI and IVs to become Bomber Command's premier medium bomber. They caused considerable consternation for the enemy with their high speed precision attacks and as the war went on its many variants went a long way to enhancing the RAFs contribution to allied victory.


Next up we have a couple of Vickers Wellingtons. Love these things!
The Wellington bomber was comprised of a light geodetic frame covered with lacquered canvas. The airframe could absorb crazy amounts of punishment and still fly but it afforded little protection for the aircrew inside. One of Bomber commands first main bombers it dropped the first 4,000lb block-busters in August 1940. As better and more capable bombers took over its many variants saw service in as many roles as could be found, magnetic mine sweepers, torpedo armed submarine hunters and transports. It even saw service right up until 1953 as a pilot trainer.



And lastly for now a big bomber formation shot.

More to follow as and when I get a chance to point a camera at them. (Hopefully with better results next time)

An update to the aircraft gallery, this time staying with the RAF and moving onto fighters.


The Aircraft of NewZealand hurricane ace "Cobber" Kain who fought in the battle of France and became one of the first aces of the war. He died pulling stunts on take-off and the wreckage of his plane was left as a warning to other young pilots not to showboat.


These are the Hurricanes of 245 Squadron who were stationed at Aldergrove, Northern Ireland (not far from where I live) The Aircraft Marked DX-? is that of Squadron Leader J. W. C. Simpson.


The Spitfire of Brendan "Spitfire Paddy" Finucane. An Irishman flying in the RAF who, before his death in 1942 was believed to have shot down as many as 32 enemy aircraft.


Adolph "Sailor" Malan, South African Spitfire ace and one of the highest scoring pilots to have served wholly with Fighter Command during WWII.


These are a pair of Spitfires of 41 Squadron who saw action over Dunkirk, in the Battle of Britain and on into the invasion of German occupied Europe when they were stationed on the continent until the end of the war.


A Beaufighter of 252 Squadron Coastal Command also stationed at Aldergrove.
The air ministry needed an escort fighter to accompany longer range night bombings and the Beaufighter was the result. Its development reads like something out of the A-team where a team of crack improvisers borrow parts from here there and everywhere and botch them together in a shed only to emerge (in this case only 8 short months later) with a fully formed radar equipped night fighter. It also had great success as a torpedo bomber (dubbed the Torbeau) taking out German U-boats. Australian Beaufighters became the scourge of many a Japanese merchant and naval ship earning them the name "the Whispering Death"


The hapless Boulton Paul Defiant- practically obsolete from inception and pressed into desperate service during the Battle of Britain it eventually found a more suitable role as a night fighter.


Three Fairey Fulmars. These were the first carrier-borne aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm that had any real success against enemy aircraft.

Good to see these especially the early more obscure types.

Would be great to have something alongside these to show the scale. I have a some WWII at this scale and I don't think the photos do justice to how small the models are.

Wonderful models

FacebookJunkie wrote:
Would be great to have something alongside these to show the scale. I have a some WWII at this scale and I don't think the photos do justice to how small the models are.

Yeah, these things are tiny!

And one more just for fun.

S is for Spitfire

One little update to my RAF bombers.

These three Fairey Battles of 12 Squadron. (they're actually Fulmars but I use them as Battles) The code on the leading aircraft PH-K is that of Garland, Gray and Reynolds who were shot down in their attack on the Veldwezelt bridge in Belgium on May 12th 1940.

Aircraft PH-F is that of Thomas, Carey and Campion who led the attack on a second bridge at Vroenhoven in the same operation.

There seems to be some discrepancy over the actual success or failure of the mission. Different sources are telling different things. Either way it seems a lot of pilots and aircrew died and its debatable how much the German advance was slowed.

Its listed in the Check Your 6! Battle of Britain campaign book under the title "Impossible Mission." Which probably says it all.

I've also added a couple more scale shots to the OP just to help folks get a sense of scale from the start.

They look lovely - who makes them please?

Absolutelly lovely work I dare say, well done and we need more Beafigthers!

Thanks for all the positive feedback folks.

I bought a good lot of these from a company called 2nd City games on that popular auction site.

Then there's another guy with a webstore, Museum Miniatures. Got all the fulmars and Defiants and quite a few Luftwaffe planes off him.
https://www.museumminiatures.co.uk/wwii-aircraft.html#/page/2

Good service and nice quality from both.

But I've since discovered Scotia Grendel
http://www.scotiagrendel.com/Products/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=58_90&zenid=s9l3k0tjdd1si8uom2dafmgn83

who sell a massive selection and I'll be making a big order sometime from them but having never bought from them before I can't comment much further than just saying the selection is astonishing and the quality looks good in the pictures.

The game I'm using them for is Check your 6! By Skirmish Champaigns and in particular their "Over the Channel" Battle of Britain campaign book. Its a Hex based system with some very carefully drawn up rules accounting for all the variation of performance and capabilities of various aircraft of the time. Its a great little game.

Coming up I'll be displaying my Luftwaffe. So keep an eye out for those.

Gorgeous work on these.

Now it's the turn of the Luftwaffe, Bombers first as before. There seems to have been a lot more variation in the Luftwaffe's paint schemes so mostly I've just gone for ones I like the look of rather than any specific groups.


My first Luftwaffe bomber was this Do-17z. (The Flying Pencil) An early medium bomber it quickly proved woefully under-defended and easy prey for fighters.


Next up was the Ubiquitous Ju88, probably the most significant aircraft of the Luftwaffe used in virtually every theatre for a wide range of jobs. These three were some of the first German planes I painted. They turned out a little darker than the rest that would follow and the Yellows didn't come out quite so cleanly.


The venerable He111 medium bomber. It was an ageing design that proved more and more under-par as the war went on. These account for more of my Bombers than any other type. I've done half of them in green and another four (smaller crummier miniatures) in grey.


Another instantly recognisable airframe the Ju87- Stuka seen here in their later Night bomber black/grey. The classic dive bombers were equipped with howling "Jericho Trumpets" that wail as the aircraft dives down on its target. A potent terror weapon. They were older but still very accurate ground attack aircraft but were quite vulnerable to more modern fighters.


And I'll round out the Luftwaffe bombers section with another great big bomber formation, this time with a couple of fighter escorts.

Very nice selection of German planes, can we expect to see some of the other Henkel planes ?

Afraid not. The He111 is the only one I've got. There are more of the various Heinkels available from Scotia Grendel but I haven't got any yet.

I have a tiny planes wish list drawn up for my next 6mm air project but more Germans isn't it. Got all the Luftwaffe fighters and bombers I'll ever need. Unless...

Just posting to thank you for the links,kinda into ww1&2 aircraft and ships,both war planes and ships run in my family's blood so has always held some significance for me.
Bought myself a bunch from Museum Miniatures a Squadron of 3Hurricanes,and a couple of German Bombers to hunt and destroy 1 Ju-88 & He111.

Looking at your ebay seller - I think he's just reselling the Scotia figs with a 20p mark up.... at least, the product codes and ref pics are uncannily similar to those on the Scotia website :-)


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Actually - had to comment on your desc. of the Defiant....It wasn't considered obsolete at the time, in fact it was thought to herald a new kind of Bomber-destroyer (eg similar idea to the German Zerstorer) - unfortunately it ended up meeting the same fate as the Me110 did when encountering much more agile fighters, and was repurposed to a nightfghter where it found much more success (again like the 110.) Originally Churchill wanted as many Defiant sqns as Hurries and Spits, fortunately Dowding knew better and limited them to 2 sqns (which were massacred then withdrawn North.)

Very interesting. Didn't know that about Dowding and Churhill. I'm sure there's plenty that Dowding doesn't get enough credit for.
My intention as regards the defiant was that Boulton Paul designed to the brief, which was for a turret fighter. Problem was that turret fighters proved tragically ineffective and vulnerable. The concept was flawed. They were doomed from the drawing board.

My comments on each plane (I'm planning to edit the OPs and add more by the way) are only brief and admitadly very broad strokes. I'm trying to encompas many aspects of the complicated design and implimentation of each plane, their service record and legacy into a couple of short sentences. Which isnt always easy, and will always fall short of the whole story. I fully welcome more descussion and observations from everyone with something to add. So thanks and keep posting by all means.


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 u971 wrote:
Just posting to thank you for the links,kinda into ww1&2 aircraft and ships,both war planes and ships run in my family's blood so has always held some significance for me.
Bought myself a bunch from Museum Miniatures a Squadron of 3Hurricanes,and a couple of German Bombers to hunt and destroy 1 Ju-88 & He111.

Very nice, throw in a pic when you get them painted up. I'll be excited to see them. Paint us up a Hurricane ace or two.

The latest instalment in my aircraft gallery is the Luftwaffe fighters. A few more names and numbers this time and I've added a little more description of each type of aircraft too.


Here is a selection of Bf 109 aircraft. There's so much variation in the markings and styles I was just picking and choosing ones I liked and famous flyers. So no proper squadrons this time.
Mescherschmitt's Bf 109 was the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. Very advanced for its time it first served in the Spanish Civil War and then on into the beginning of WW2 hostilities where its combination of speed, agility and deadly firepower was a tall order to match. Through constant development and in the hands of some of Germany's top aces it remained competitive to the end of the war.


The classic yellow nosed Bf109 of Adolf Galland. <-+-


Gerhard Schopfel's Bf 109 marked 1+1


One of my favourite WWII aviation stories is of this guy, Franz Stiegler escorting a crippled B17 out of Germany in this Bf109 marked 2+~


Moving on to the Bf110 which was the aircraft of choice for many top German pilots in the early years of WWII. The German top brass really believed in the Zerstorer concept; the fighter-Bomber, one plane to rule them all or something like that: but the reality of the Bf 110 was a more of a jack of all trades and master of none. Too slow and unwieldy to really cope with more modern fighters and too light and limited in range to carry much of a bomb load.
Its shortcomings in daylight operations saw it withdrawn to night fighting where its spacious canopy allowed for adaptation to radar guidance and it soon became the bane of many a night bomber.


This example marked S9+CB is the aircraft of Walter Rubensdörffer who was the leader of ErprGr210 and was shot down in England following a low-level raid at Croydon Airport on 15 Aug 1940.


This is one of my favourite nose arts seen on the Bf 110 the "Wespe" Tricky enough to paint at 1:300 scale!


Hans-Joachim Jabs < + AA who flew 720missions both day and night claiming 50 enemy aircraft many of which would have been considered technically far superior to his own ageing Bf 110.


This is the Bf 110 of Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer G9 + EF the port tail fin of which recently sold at auction for £90,000. Schnaufer claimed 121 victories in 164 combat missions.


Wilhelm Herget < M8 + HP - flew over 700 missions as a night fighter mainly against RAF bombers over the western front. I enjoyed painting the shark teeth on this one.


The long awaited and delayed replacement for the venerable and much maligned Bf-110 came in the form of the Me 410. (The original designation was going to be Me 210 but the prototype and initial production craft had such a poor reputation that the final redesign was given a new designation in an attempt to allay concerns) By the time of its entering service in 1944 It was a case of too little too late for the Luftwaffe as the old Bf 110 had muddled through most of the war and early jet technology was already in development.


Often considered the very best of the piston driven fighters the Luftwaffe ever developed the Focke Wulf 190-D (the Dora) in the hands of a decent pilot was more than a match for the Spitfire or the P-51. However by the time it was available in large scale use in early 1945 its deployment was limited by serious shortages of aviation fuel.


This is the FW 190-D of German ace Hans Dortenmann who flew mostly in Russia and in Germany until the end of the war. He painted the entire vertical surface of his tail fin yellow for easy identification.

Have a bunch of these, bought for "Micronaughts" and now used for "Bag the Hun".

I went with 1:600 so have an idea on the size of these, yours looks drop dead gorgeous, specially with the squadron markings on (I didn't even try on 1:600)

Seriously well done on some seriously nicely painted models there

love those...BTW for anyone else whose painting skills are rather more limited - Doms Decals do a sheet of markings for 109s.

Nice work on the planes Nose art that wasp looks difficult,as do the shark teeth,very cool though,planes with art on them always get the kills,enemy's to busy admiring the fine paintwork
When mine arrive probably tomorrow yorkshire not that far from wales,not going for any ace's myself likely do one or two welsh plane insignia's from pilots that protected wales,rest are going to be basic paintjob no unit markings,like pilot training planes had,as for the german planes will paint them similar to yours with the classic paint schemes for planes of there types,actually looking forward to painting something that's not 40k models should be fun.

I like the little history lessons accompanying the cute tiny planes

Great work and write up
Love the FW190.

Oh Yes, Love them.

 u971 wrote:
Nice work on the planes Nose art that wasp looks difficult,as do the shark teeth,very cool though,planes with art on them always get the kills,enemy's to busy admiring the fine paintwork
When mine arrive probably tomorrow yorkshire not that far from wales,not going for any ace's myself likely do one or two welsh plane insignia's from pilots that protected wales,rest are going to be basic paintjob no unit markings,like pilot training planes had,as for the german planes will paint them similar to yours with the classic paint schemes for planes of there types,actually looking forward to painting something that's not 40k models should be fun.

I think you diffinately should have this plane in your collection.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/german-world-war-ii-fighter-8072752
If you don't I sure will.

And thanks everyone for the kind comments. More little write ups for some of the above to come too as I get a chance to look into them. Mostly just the Hurricane and the Spitfire still to do, and neither will be easily summarised.

I Remember hearing about that German pilot in a Documentary,helped win the war due to the research yielded from the mint condition Wulf.
My planes never arrived still waiting on them,expect them soon though,and yeah i will paint up that fighter like the image with the chevron Marking,interesting history behind it.

As for summery why not add basic weapon summery's too such as the different marks of spitfires armaments. for example.

Mk IA
8 × 0.303" Browning machine guns; 350 rpg
2 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Hispano II cannon; 60 round drum 4 × 0.303" Browning machine guns; 350 rpg
2 × 250 lb (113 kg) or 1 × 500 lb (227 kg) bombs
Max Speed:367 mph (582 km/h) at 18,600 ft (5,669 m)

Top Trumps style listings.

EDIT:They Showed Up Sweet I thought they were "Plastic" Not Metal nice and weighty,now i just need to work out what color do i put under the planes full body camo,or white underside,think full coverage would be easier,more German stuff on my to get list,for sure the bombers,more sizable than they look in your pictures,plus an escort,and more hurricanes.

Hope GW Flying Bases will work should be fine with a bit of tweeking.

Simply amazing paint jobs on such tiny miniatures! They really look fantastic.

Think i'am going to add specifications of the planes when i get mine painted that is,and some randomly selected backround,i'am more into the planes themself though and don't intend on playing no games with them.

That He-111 is damn massive what a monster of a plane.


My future little hurricane squadron.

Funny, seeing those bare metal planes isn't making me want to rush out and buy more just yet.
I thought I was just sick of painting goblins but maybe I might need a break from painting anything for a while.
Maybe I should start writing again.

Forgot I had these too. The only three Russian planes in my collection so far.

The I-16 was another relic of the Spanish Civil war that saw action in WWII. No doubt the Stukas and Bf 110's were glad of something contemporary to shoot at over Russia.

And rounding things out for now I'll just add a series of my objective pieces. In all so far I've made 5 pieces. Scale-wise they're much smaller scale than the planes. The scenarios call for a 4 hex size factory or a 5 hex airfield. So really I'm just fitting the object into the size I have available.
I made all of these mostly from balsa wood except the radar towers that are made of some play clay that my kids left out. I flattened it into about a 1/4 inch thick block and cut out the pylon shapes once it had dried.

First up is the Vickers Factory at Brooklands.

This is where Vickers built Wellington bombers.
On Sep 4th 1940 the Zerstorers of Erprgr210 made a daylight raid on the Vickers factory flying in at treetop level under the radar. 83 workers were killed and many hundreds injured in the bombing.

The reacting Hurricanes of 253 squadron beat a vengeful pursuit of the raiders all the way out of England.

This one is based on the radar towers of Britain's Chain home stations.

The radar defence system was a massive tactical asset giving Fighter Command a good 20 minute warning in advance of enemy raids to scramble and position its fighters.

They were often the target of Luftwaffe bombing raids like on 16th August 1940 when Stukas of StG2 fell upon the Chain Home station at Ventnor, only recently restored to operational condition following an attack on the 12th. It would remain out of service following this attack for over a month.


This little bridge is (very) loosely based on the one in Vroenhoven Belgium.

One of the bridges in the mission I detailed above in the Fairey Battle's blurb; when the RAF attempted to destroy a series of Belgian bridges in an effort to slow down the German advance.

I built a little pair of German anti-aircraft guns for each side of the bridge but they mostly just throw the scale out an make it look like a much smaller bridge. Still I'm pretty happy with it.

Lastly we have a pair of airfields, complete with balsa wood command buildings, hangars, barracks huts and bunkers.


They even have a pair of light anti-aircraft guns each to defend against low level enemy bombing raids.

Cool Paintjob on the russian planes,thinking of buying some more now i have some paint on my hurricanes love the way they paint up,also a nice break from 40k,the cockpit is kinda fiddly but i rolled with it,Not going for Markings but might add them at a later date,they would not even exist if it was not for your sweet collection ,of which i'am jealous.


Next on my list more hurricanes definitely a spitfire,and some 109s plus a Wulf,depending on how i do or do not pull off the dazzle like camo on the he-111&ju-88 will get more of them too,along with a couple of beaufighters,getting a bit ahead of myself though as i have no more flight bases ordered some though.

Good stuff. That's how it goes it seems, you start small and before you know it you NEEEED MOAR PLANES!
My shopping list never seems to get any shorter.

And yeah, it makes a really nice change from painting 28mm figures all the time. It's a different world.

nice paintjob - just to confirm, your models, your rules, but if you're interested, there was actually a standard camo scheme for RAF fighters, (which was reversible, called A and B schemes) so your Brit fighters should have a standardised look about them.

A standardised look, a little something like this.

Don't sweat it man. I had my Hurricane for J. W. C. Simpson painted before I figured that one out too. You'll notice if you look at my Hurricanes his had a different camo later than the rest. Its wrong, though I've found it actually helps to identify him durring a game.

Have to say that this page caught my eye as I'm about to start something remarkably similar! :-) As part of that, I've been doing research into RAF colour schemes - would any other dakka users be interested in me posting it here, or should I keep my anorak at home? :-)

I would be deeply interested as I'm not done yet and wouldn't at all rule out a bunch more RAF planes in the future.
Maybe some African theatre desert colours. I know there was a yellow and black training corps scheme too, but I wouldn't be interested in painting those myself. Feel free to Post a link here when you get it put together.

RAF Paint Schemes in WW2: 101 :-)

Ok, so some of this might be stating the obvious, but the below is a summary of information I've gleaned from around the web to help in painting aircraft minis for a Battle of Britain game - hopefully it might be of use or interest to someone out there.

1) RAF Scheme basics. The Air Ministry was responsible for paint schemes on all RAF aircraft in WW2, in the late 30's they devised a schema where each aircraft subtype (by no. of engines, no. of crew and no. of wings) would have it's own Camouflage pattern. These schemes held through the entire war. That means that ALL single engine, single seater monoplanes, such as the 1940 Spitfires & Hurricanes, had the EXACT same pattern as the 1944 Typhoons over Normandy and the 1945 Tempests flying over Germany. The same holds true for all other types, eg the 4 engined multi crew 1941 Stirling Bomber carried the same pattern as the 1942 Lancaster. This makes painting guides fairly simple, and makes recognition of RAF fighters and bombers easy - the patterns are quite distinctive - conversely not applying the std pattern makes the aircraft look very un-RAF.

2) Variations. The original plan in 1939 was for 4 variants for each scheme. These were: A - the basic pattern, B - a mirror image of A, C - A but with the 2 tone colours reversed, and D - B but with the colours reversed. Types C & D were only ever 'provisional' and the only known usage of C is on a single Fairey Battle in the Battle of France - thus leaving types A & B.
Manufacturers were instructed to make equal numbers of airframes in type A & B, this was done by the simple expedient of turning over the rubber sheets used for masking during painting, and putting them on the opposite side of the aircraft. One consequence of this is that even and odd airframe numbers then tended to all have the same pattern type - most even serial numbered Spits had type A, while the odd numbered ones had type B - the reverse happened to be true for Hurricanes. (Note: this is a generalisation caused by manufacturing methods rather than a rule - that means that if you want to paint a specific named plane, you'll need to check if it carried type A or B camo via a picture, rather than basing it on the serial no.) From 1941, in an effort to speed production, manufacturers were instructed to just use one scheme, most picked type A, which was then used to the end of the war. (Note - the net says 'most' - I've been unable to find out if there were indeed any exceptions for planes carrying type B post 1941, but have been unable to find anything.)

3) Scheme colours. While the 'patterns' stayed the same, there were different colours for different environments (I'll cover underside variations later.)
From 1939 the main scheme was the Temperate Land Scheme : Dark Green and Dark Earth with various undersides, from mid 1940 fighters used Sky, bombers had black initially but Day bombers went to Sky.
From August 1941 as the combat took place at higher altitudes as the RAF went on the offensive, fighters adopted the Day Fighter Scheme: Dark Green and Ocean Grey with Medium Sea Grey undersides - this gave the best mix of concealment at altitude with camouflage on the concrete pens This was used until the end of the war.
Maritime types used the Temperate Sea Scheme, Dark Slate Grey and Extra Dark Sea Grey
Maritime Patrol types changed to white undersides and sides with (eventually) only Extra Dark Sea Grey tops
The Desert Scheme was Dark Earth and Mid Stone over Azure Blue
The Far East used the Temperate Land Scheme with Sky Blue undersides, later Medium Sea Grey
PR aircraft mainly used PRU Blue

4) Fighter underside variations - these changed quite often, fixing your models to a specific period.
From 1938 - June 1940 - port side black, starboard white, no roundels. This was to aid ground recognition for AA gunners as it provided a strong contrast.
From 6th June until November (ie the Battle of Britain period) the undercolour was 'Sky' to aid concealment in the air. Note though that this was a new colour and stocks were limited - thus squadrons tended to improvise with what they had to hand, either using similar colours, or mixing their own versions. This means again that if you are modelling a particular squadron in the BoB, you'll need to check what version of 'Sky' they used - the colour itself is a greeny-blue, but some squadrons used sky blue instead. Also note that as aircraft were replaced, the proper sky colours were provided on aircraft from the factories.)
In November 1940 post BoB analysis suggested that there was merit in the Black/white recognition scheme - to that end to avoid wholesale repainting just the port wings underside was painted black, the rest being left in Sky.
In April 1941 the aircraft again reverted to all under sky as the RAF took on a more offensive role, up until August, when the Temperate Scheme was replaced by the Day Fighter Scheme.

That's part 1! I'll leave part 2, roundels, nose spinners and other markings till later if this seems popular :-)

Hey theCrowe - knew I had another question - do you mind sharing your basing method please?



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Hey theCrowe - knew I had another question - do you mind sharing your basing method please?

I picked up a few bags of Dropzone Commander flying bases and glued the little plastic cups to the top with a 2mm neo-magnet inside. Then every plane has another 2mm magnet superglued to the underside at the balance point. That way I can use whatever planes I need for a game on the same 24 bases.
Honestly the bombers would need bigger magnets, 5mm maybe. They're too big and tend to fall off the 2mm ones if you're not careful.

ok, thanks. I've picked up Bag the Hun, so will start with fighters but will need/want to expand to HE111s and Ju88s so there's stuff to escort etc, probably no need for any 4 engined beasts.

By the way, I also enjoyed your RAF paint scheme summary and look forward to reading more on the undersides. That's where the real complicated action is at. Most of my RAF don't have underside roundels. Cobbler Kain's hurricane does, and has the black/white half and half scheme. And the Beaufighter has underside roundels because its based on a coastal command unit from May 1941 (I think, can't recall exactly) there's a photo of that exact plane that I based it on and it has them.
Most of my bomber command planes have all black undersides.
There's actually a surprising amount of variation overall considering how strictly regulated the RAF were with their paint schemes. I gave m Spitfires a range of variations mostly so I could tell them apart in game, after experiencing the frustration of trying to keep track of four almost identical Hurricanes on the tabletop at once.
My Germans are a little easier to keep track of.

Just a few underside shots to help illustrate the various Underside schemes. These are by no means exhaustive, authoritative or for sure, its mostly been my best guess and instinct, and on occasion the paints available to hand at the time.


Bomber command planes had all black undersides with Roundels removed to make them harder to spot at night. Roundels were added later on to aid identification by friendly anti-aircraft gunners.


The various fighter command underside schemes includes the black/white half and half scheme from early on. Then the variously duck-egg-ish blue without roundels. Followed by the return of the underside roundels and also with invasion stripes. And lastly a night fighter in all black.


I've given my fleet air arm fulmars a pale grey/white underside with roundels and my Coastal command Beaufighter has a darker grey underside (though it maybe should've been duck-egg) and underside roundels placing it at the end of 1940 (when 252 squadron got Beaufighters and before the order would have been sent to have the underside roundels painted over)

And just by way of example here's a German He 111 and FW 190D. The Luftwaffe had various markers in yellow on the go with engine cowling being the most common and others including wing tips and fuselage bands in various theatres. German Crosses were standard underside markings occasionally with aircraft code lettering beside.

Other variants of underside German crosses have only the four right angle corners in black. Like this FW 190D I think this was done only later in the war.

Great stuff - reminds me I need to write up on roundels - difficulty is that there are so many exceptions it's hard to find the rule! :-)

Nicely done!

Finally got around to bringing the USA into the war. (Think that's an actual quote from FDR)

I'll kick this one off with a couple of early paint scheme aircraft from the United States Navy.
these are both in the early 1942 scheme with the red disc in the center of the National Aircraft Insignia and horizontal red and white rudder striping.



the absolutely beautiful Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat. These were the most versatile and widely used flying boat of the war and continued to see service long after in some armed forces as late on as the 1980s!!! Some modern day fire fighting services still use them as water bombers!


This is the Douglas SBD Dauntless of pilot Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa who once, when attacked by three A6M2 Zero fighters shot two of them down and cut off the wing of the third in a head-on pass with his wingtip. Proper aviation badassery that. I'll be painting up three zeros soon just for that game.


More 'Mercan planes to come soon.

Again, just gorgeous. Fantastic work.

Thanks very much CptJake.

I'm on a real aircraft kick these days so I'm turning them out quicker than an oversubscribed wartime production line, and I'm really enjoying it again too.

Next up its a few more painted planes, that is planes based on ones that were painted in American factories. The USAAF started using this kind of olive drab for a while before the factories just stopped painting them altogether.


These are the mean greens.


This is of course "Ye Olde Pub" the B-17 of USAAF pilot Charlie Brown (yes really) whose plane got shot to absolute shreds on a bombing run over Bremen. A Luftwaffe fighter, Franz Stigler took off to investigate and found it to be the most damaged plane he'd ever seen still flying. He chose not to attack the B-17 but attempted to convince Brown to land and save his wounded crew. Brown did not wish to be captured in Germany or make for nearby neutral Sweden and kept flying for England. Stigler escorted the B-17 to the coast before returning home. Both pilots met 40 years later and were friends until Stigler's death in 2008.
You can read lots more on The Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident here.


Next up its one of my absolute all time favourite planes the Lockheed P-38 Lightning aka "the fork-tailed devil"


This is "Scat II" the P-38 flown by a young Captain Robin Olds. In the 479th fighter group over occupied France in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. Olds went on to fly P-51 Mustangs over Germany finishing his wartime service with a plethora of medals and awards. His long and distinguished airforce career continued until his retirement in 1973 as Brigadier General.

Them are some cleanly painted lines on them planes,damn nice colors also,guessing that's not GW paint your using,The Catalina looks lush as does the b17 them kill marking are well small.
America definitely designed some pretty looking planes in ww2,cool to see you are still painting can be difficult to stay motivated. Nice work on the Lightnings too,a beast of a plane them things.

Thanks man. Glad to be back at it.

Sticking with the P-38 for now (because look at these things!) but this time I've done a couple in bare metal silver schemes.


No more famous flyers (that I know of) this time. Just a couple of examples of the kind of style I was seeing. Note the black anti-glare panels painted in front of the cockpits and on the sides of the engines facing the pilot. These were often done in black or the standard USAAF green.

This sleek looking light bomber is a Douglas A-26 Invader.

Another shiny silver scheme with invasion stripes. (It is an 'Invader' afterall) Though their deployment was delayed due to terrible visibility from the cockpit needing to be rectified, so they didn't see service in Europe until September 44 missing the D-day invasion by a few months. Still there's every likelihood a new Allied plane in Sep 44 would've warranted identification stripes until they were all done away with by the end of the year.

These machines were fast and lethal ground attack and low level bombing aircraft and packed an absolute metric butt-load of weaponry compared to anything else of their type. They remained in service after WW2 on through the Korean War and into Vietnam finally retiring in 1969.


And while we're on the topic of Invasion Stripes.

These are all my invasion striped aircraft so far. Given the wide variety of paint schemes from the various allied airforces involved in the invasion of Normandy you can see the need for this kind of identification marking.

So that wraps up my collection of American aircraft for now. (Got more in the post so look out for them in the future.) Here's all my American planes together.

Now salute the flag and repeat after me, You ess ay!

Ok folks, before you read any further you're going to have to open this link in a new tab for some appropriate atmosphere music.

Done? Then on with the post.

That's right if you haven't guessed already its the mighty four engined symbol of British wartime Britishness. Its the all time champion of dam-busting, tall-boy toting, blockbusting, grand slamming and general purpose aerial bombardment, the mighty Avro Lancaster.


Probably the most recognised heavy bomber in the history of ever. A testament to its seemingly endless versatility and adaptability. It's large unobstructed loading bay could accommodate the demands of ever increasing sizes of bombs (unlike the Short Stirling) and it was said to have been a remarkably fast and nimble aircraft for its weight.





And just for the spectacle of it here's all my RAF bombers in a big group shot.


Thanks for looking folks. More to come soon I hope.

Absolutely brilliant stuff, quite excellent level of detail you have achieved at the scale.

A highlight for me is the Catalina, definitely think the paint job does justice to such a beautiful aircraft.

I love your "twin-tailed devils". Very good work!

The Macchi C.202 Folgore (Italian "thunderbolt")
These fast machines look sleek and deadly. A real piece of Italian style in the air. Unfortunately for the Regia Aeronautica that was about as far as it went.
A woefully insufficient compliment of only two nose-mounted machine guns (that were quite prone to jamming) combined with faulty radios and inefficient oxygen systems meant that their pilots rarely had the resources to push these elegant fliers to success.
But still, they were the best fighters the Italians had and were best not underestemated.


I've just had a big batch of planes delivered so expect more here soon. Some more mostly Americans and some Japanese so watch this space for more tiny ( although that B-29 is a monster!) aircraft hopefully sooner than later.

Thanks everyone for viewing these and most especially for all your kind comments and encouragement. It keeps me enthusiastic to keep on researching collecting and painting.

I'll drop in a few Japanese aircraft quickly before getting back into my USAAF collection.



First up its the absolute icon that is the Mitsubishi A6M "Zero"

When these bad boys appeared in the skies of the Pacific Theatre they were faster and more manoeuvrable than any of their USAAF adversaries. Speed was very much their armour though as their light weight airframe couldn't take much punishment.


This is the Zero of Petty Officer Tadayoshi Koga whose final mission ended in a crash landing on the North Pacific Alaskan island of Akutan. In July 1942 the plane was found mostly intact and was the first flyable Zero the United States had gotten a hold of. It was considered a prize beyond value in the fight to defeat the Imperial Japanese forces and was quickly tested and evaluated by the USAAF. They learned a lot about its capabilities and limitations but mostly confirmed what many of their pilots in the pacific were already learning the hard way.

Next up its the venerable Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally".

These were first deployed in 1938 flying bombing missions over China proving their worth as reliable long range medium bombers.
They underwent numerous upgrades including a remote controlled 'stinger' tail gun, larger loading bays and engines and control surfaces however by 1942 they were becoming increasingly obsolete.

Originally designated the code name 'Jane' it was changed to "Sally" due to General MacArthur's objections, Jean being the name of his wife.

Back with the USAAF again and I've taken it back to both sides of 1942 with a pair of Brewster Buffalos.

The attack on Pearl Harbour gave the Top Brass of the USAAF a lot of thinking to do, and among the many changes to be made was a new paint scheme. Gone were the yellow wings of the 1930s and in January 1942 the National Insignia roundels were added to both upper and lower wing positions.

This picture shows both a Brewster F2A Buffalo and a larger Douglas Dauntless in early 1942 colours.


Then in May 1942 the roundel was revised to remove the red portion to better distinguish it from the Japanese Hinomaru, and the tail stripes were dropped too leaving just the plain blue and white insignia in six positions. Buffalos that flew in the Battle of Midway would have been painted like this.

The Brewster F2A Buffalo was over-weight underpowered and unstable and the Japanese fighters it was up against could fly rings around it. By 1942 the much derided "Flying Coffin" was largely considered an obsolete 2nd line aircraft better suited to training duties than front line fighting. That said the Finnish Air Force made a great success of their Buffalo squadrons producing 36 Buffalo Aces.


I've also done an earlier model B-17 in an early 1942 scheme.

The B-17 D and E were two distinctly different aircraft. Following front line deployment by both the RAF and USAAF the new B-17E got a redesigned tail with a larger vertical stabiliser, a dorsal gun turret, a tail gunner position and the ventral 'bathtub' gunner's position was replaced with a bubble turret.

Yes folks, the mighty Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter bomber. These are some older Razorback models introduced in November 1942.


The mighty "Jug" (Juggernaut) was among the heaviest single engine fighters of the war. It was a big bruiser of a fighter that could give as as good as it got and it became the real workhorse of the USAAF.


They weren't good climbers but man could they dive. German fighter pilots soon learned that you couldn't dive out of a fight with a Thunderbolt like you could from a Spitfire but they had no trouble climbing up and over them. A new propellor helped solve that problem.


This Thunderbolt was one flown by Francis Stanley "Gabby" Gabreski, the highest scoring Thunderbolt Ace of the war. Gabreski flew 166 combat sorties and was officially credited by the USAAF with 28 aircraft destroyed in air combat and 3 on the ground. He was captured in July 1944 and remained a POW in Germany until he was liberated by Soviet forces in April 1945. He would go on to become a Korean War jet ace and eventually retired from service in the USAF as a Colonel in November 1967.


This is "Margie II" flown by Gerald Grace who Flew 96 missions with the 396th Fighter Group. Once shot down by ground flak near Soissons, France, Aug. 31,1944 in German held territory, he evaded capture and managed to make his return to base exactly 24 hours after being shot down, setting a new record for passing through Paris. His plane was named after Marjorie, his sweetheart back home, whom he married in 1945. They had nine kids together.

Cool stuff here one of the advantages of working near Duxford sometimes is seeing their historic aircraft in the sky.

Inspirational work as always,the level of detail you manage to pull off on the tiny planes is very nice,compare to my skills at painting the planes your skills far outpace my skills at it,gives me something to aspire to though.

Looking really good mate.

The markings all look incredible, you're just freehanding them all, yeah? Any tips on how you do them so well?

I am looking at building up some WW2 squadrons for playing Sturmovik Commander (WW2 port of Aeronautica Imperialis). Tossing up between 1/200 and 1/300 (9mm or 6mm) scale. If you were starting from scratch again which do you think you'd go with? Seems like there's a bigger range for lower price in 6mm, though these guys do quite a large range of 9mm aircraft, I don't know what their shipping prices and reliability are like....

http://www.angelfire.com/nj4/armamentsinminiature/aircraftinminiature/9mm/resin09mm.htm

Thanks for the comments folks, it keeps me motivated to do more. I'm pretty proud of those last few too.

AllSeeingSkink, I've spoilered my wall of text response below...

Thanks for the detailed explanation!

Unfortunately I'm in Australia so both 1/200 and 1/300 is going to be shipped overseas

Wow! I hadn't seen Scotia Grendel's 1/300 range until now, somehow managed to miss it (probably because they call it "collectair" rather than listing it as "1/300"). It's both really cheap and a huge range. I might buy a few groups from them just to see how I like it and if I decide it's too small just swap over to 1/200.

Plus they have a Hawker Tempest V in 1/300 which is one of my favourite planes that's lacking from the 1/200 ranges

The beautiful, fast and deadly North American Aviation P-51 Mustang.

Often considered the finest piston driven single engine fighter ever produced. After an engine swap and the addition of greater fuel capacity the P-51 fulfilled a vital role as a long range, high altitude bomber escort.


I had to paint at least one of my P-51s as one of the Red Tails of the 332nd fighter group. I remember watching the old Tuskegee Airmen movie (the one with Laurence Fishburne) as a kid and finding it a really compelling story. Still haven't seen the new one (though I've read mixed reviews).

Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Led the 99th Pursuit squadron of the "Red Tails" flying sixty missions in P-39, Curtiss P-40, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustang fighters. His life and career has been celebrated with countless public recognitions of his achievements in overcoming adversity and signalling an ongoing change for racial equality. He died a Four Star General in 2002.
Clarence E "Bud" Anderson -"Old Crow" - a triple ace promoted to Major by age 22. Often considered one of the finest pilots in the force he went on be a test pilot for the airforce. At the grand old age of 95 he still retains his pilots license and gives lectures on experience.


These are the aircraft of Ray S Wetmore - "Daddy's girl" (green nose) And John C Meyer- "Petie 2nd" (blue nose)
Both men were high scoring P-51 aces in WW2 who went on to fly the F-86 Sabre jet fighter after the war.
Major Wetmore was a quadruple ace during WW2 and the youngest Major at 21 on VE Day. Major Wetmore was killed in a freak accident when his F-86 crashed in Feb 1951.
Meyer went on to become a jet ace in the Korean war. He retired in 1974, as commander-in-chief of the Strategic Air Command.


Another plane often hailed as one of the best fighter aircraft of the USAAF is the Vought F-4U Corsair. Seen here in tricolour night camouflage with a radar dome mounted on the starboard wing.


The US Navy had mixed success with the F4U which had difficulty with carrier landings. Following the introduction of the Grumman Hellcat the Navy used some of its Corsairs as radar equipped night fighters.


And lastly for now it's probably the most significant and controversial aircraft of the entire war. The Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay. Which of course dropped the first atomic bomb, "Little Boy" targeted on Hiroshima.


The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was the product of one of the biggest, most expensive, most state of the art research and development projects of the USAAF at the time. Introduced in May 1944 it was a high altitude strategic bomber capable of flight at altitudes up to 31,850 feet (9,710 m) at speeds of up to 350 mph. Higher and faster than most Japanese fighters were capable of.


In the 1980's debate persisted about the correct historical context for the display Enola Gay, and a 50th anniversary exhibit in 1995 sparked controversy. It has now been fully restored and on display since 2003.


Size-wise its the largest aircraft in my collection so far. This is a comparison against my three other allied four-engine heavy bombers and the largest German bomber in my collection the He111. Looking at these bombers in comparison you can see about a decade worth of development in bomber design and modernisation unfolding.

Very cool. You inspired me to put in about a $100 order for 1/300 aircraft but I don't think I'll be able to reproduce your incredibly detailed markings!

The P51's look great, I'd be torn whether to paint them all as individual iconic aircraft as you have done or painting them as a single unified squadron. Should get yourself some razorback Stangs too!

Is the scaling on the bombers correct? I never realised the He111 was so huge. In terms of plan area it's not a hell of a lot smaller than the B17.

I've been seeing your models in the gallery and they never fail to impress!

Thanks for sharing them

Thanks Kid_K, I've appreciated your comments and votes.

@AllSeeingSkink (again) Yeah I highly recommend Scotia Grendel. Their stuff is really very good and the range is extensive. (Honestly, I'm not on their payroll, though i should be. finder's fee, or commission) I have another batch of their Soviet and French aircraft on the go but there's always more on the list to be had.
And yes, I think Davis's P51 should've been a razorback. But I'd gone for Razor-bolts already so I went for bubble-stangs.

What squads are you looking at putting together? I hope we'll see some local Ausie fliers. I found when gaming with a painted squadron it got very hard to track individuals in a swirling dogfight. That's why I started doing famous fliers in the first place, easier to differentiate.

Scaling-wise, close enough for rock'n'roll i guess. I might've expected the B-29 to be just a little bigger and the He111 maybe a bit smaller though it was pretty big for a twin engine plane.

As far as painting tips goes I'll tell you what I'm doing.
First off you'll need to do your research. Find out who was flying and when. Look up photos or illustrated examples of their planes for reference.
I'm priming in black and usually I'll base-coat upper and underside colours then hit it with an ink wash and then drybrush a light highlight coat the same colour as the base coat. Then I'll add any camo pattern secondary colours. Stripes, anti-glare panels etc. same again, base, ink, highlight if they're big areas like on RAF or Luftwaffe patterns. Then I'll do roundels and letters, then finally any kill markings or nose art.
For brighter colours like yellows and reds I'm finding a base coat of white followed by a colour ink wash helps make the markings stand out. Generally on things this small brighter colours really help.

I've got four flying Tigers Tomahawks here that I'm thinking of doing a painting tutorial with. They'll be a bit standalone in my collection so it'll be something a bit different to do with them.

I think what impresses me is just how well you do the markings.... how circular your circles look, how detailed your stars look, how neat the text is. You must have a good eye and steady hands!

I guess I'll see when I get my hands on the ones I've ordered if I can reproduce anything close to that. I'm more used to painting larger aircraft, 1/72 to 1/32 scale with 1/48 being my favourite, so I never have to freehand anything, it's all decals and careful masking.

At the moment I've ordered 4 Hawker Tempests and 4 P38's because I just love them and some 190's to fight against them (love the 190's too!). Then 4 F4F's and 4 A6M's to get a bit of early Pacific theatre happening. Then on top of that 6 Mk1 Spits, 6 Hurricanes, 12 Me 109's, 4 He 111's and 4 Ju87B's for some Battle of Britain fun.

No Aussie planes unfortunately, Australia has never really made great planes, we had the CAC Boomerang which was slow even when compared with a Zero Maybe if I do another order I'll grab a few Boomerangs to duel with the Japs.

Yeah man, the Boomerang was an important plane for its time. Filled a real need intercepting Japanese bombers before anything better was available.
I'd love to see some more RAAF love going on here. One of my Lancs has a RAAF squadron code I think, but one from European Theatre.. But I'd like to see some Pacific theatre no-red-roundels on the go, maybe on Beaufighters or Catalinas, something very typically RAAF.

My love for WW2 planes comes from a couple of kits my dad had when I was a kid. A P-38 and a Catalina. Not sure what scale they were but that Catalina was maybe a foot long! Beautiful kits, even unpainted as they were. I once built an airfix Bf-109, think my dad was disappointed I didn't pick a Spitfire.

Anyway, thanks for the compliments, I'll try and keep up the standard.

I don't know a huge amount about the Boomerang but my understanding was its importance was largely overstated (probably due to national pride and it being the only fighter we produced ). The Boomerang didn't show up until mid 1943, by which time we were getting shipments of P40's from the yanks and I think MkV Spitfires were also here and MkVIII's on their way. Of 250 Boomerangs built I don't think any actually shot down an enemy plane, I believe the best they can claim is having caused a flight of unescorted bombers to be diverted Though still it's an iconic plane and I believe it was used to good effect in ground attack. Also it was delivered to less vital airfields so that the better fighters which were short in number could be diverted to higher risk airfields. I will grab some if I do another order because it is an iconic plane and all WW2 planes are awesome IMO. That is assuming I get through the 50 or so planes I bought this time, haha.

Though you have made me facepalm, I should have got some Aussie Spits! Doh! Could have gotten some MkIX's and pretended they were MkVIII's and done a 457th Grey Nurse Squadron. Although they are just spits and spits are so common, it's a bit of a unique paint scheme for them.

Ah well, next time.

Yeah, I grew up building model planes and fantasising about aircraft, it lead me to studying engineering (though oddly enough I have barely worked on aircraft since I got my degree, only a few UAV's). I stopped building planes when I was about 12 and got back in to it when I was about 28, lol. WW2 planes have always held a special place for me, the mixture of elegance with aerodynamic lines and sheer brutality with massive piston engines and batteries of machine guns and cannons jammed in to them.

I had started a plog of my slightly larger scale aircraft but haven't updated it in about 18 months...

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/691077.page

Obviously because of the scale difference they aren't comparable to your work, all the planes I work on are big enough for me to mask the markings which is not something I'll be able to do at 1/300.

Alright tiny plane lovers. Something a bit different this time. I've got here four 1:300 scale Curtis P-40 Tomahawks from Scotia Grendel and I thought It'd be fun to do a kind of painting tutorial with them. (which I've spoilered if you're not into that sort of thing)


More importantly- this is the aircraft of Charles Older- A Marine Corps Reserve Pilot who resigned to join the American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers to fight the Japanese before America officially joined the war.
By the end of the war he was a Lieutenant Colonel and a triple ace. He would go on to fly B-26 Invaders in Korea following which his career in law saw him the Judge in the trial of Charles Manson in 1971.

Looking good as always! Thanks for the walk through on how you do it as well.

My order from Scotia Grendel came in today. So far I've cleaned up my 24 Battle of Britain fighters (a mix of Hurricanes, Spits and 109's) but only painted a single Hurricane so far. An unforeseen challenge is that I've spent years gathering colours for WW2 aircraft but almost all of them are airbrush paints that are ill suited to painting these little guys. So now it seems I have to find some new paints.

Nice and obscure!

(of course I recognized the Republic of China markings from captured equipment I saw at the PRC military museum (and or the Taiwanese/RoC flag) but I'm special)

What a superb thread.
Love the little history tidbits too

I'm going good guns these days painting up a lot of Soviet lovelies for you all. But in the meantime I'll show you a couple of German Jets I got done.

The Messerschmitt Me 262 was the world's first operational jet fighter and at the time of its introduction in April 1944 was the fastest most heavily armed fighter in the sky. Arriving too late in the war to have any significant impact on the outcome it was none the less an important pioneer in early jet technologies.


On the left is the Me-262 of Heinrich Bär. 'Red 13'
Heinz Bär was credited with 220 aerial victories, including 16 while flying the Me 262. He was also known for his ill discipline and lack of respect for authority. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring had a particular dislike of him and three times denied him the highest award, the 'Diamonds' to his Knight's Cross.

Then on the right its another of Franz Stigler's rides. Franz Stigler, you'll recall was that B-17 escorting fella. (Well, he escorted one B-17 out of Germany, he was known to have shot down another 11 heavy bombers) "White 3" was his personal jet, flown by him directly from the production line at Leipheim to join Galland's JV44. Adolph Galland was known to pull rank and borrow it on occasion as 'White 3' was considered something of a "hot" ride.

Sorry the mythology about German jets is a sore spot for me.

The Messerschmitt Me 262 was the world's first operational jet fighter and at the time of its introduction in April 1944 was the fastest most heavily armed fighter in the sky. Arriving too late in the war to have any significant impact on the outcome it was none the less an important pioneer in early jet technologies.

It was also insanely expensive and hard to build and maintain while losing a 2 front war AND killing a good portion of their own population. I remember studies showing how many 100s of conventional fighters the Germans could have built for the cost of their jet program but they really really believed just one more wonder weapon could turn things around...

Basically they were trying to leapfrog to the weapons of the 50s or even the 60s while their opponents just doubled down on the technology of the 40s and won.

The real irony is that the allies also made super weapons like mass production, radar and atomics. Only theirs worked.

Oh and as always gorgeous models!

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Sorry the mythology about German jets is a sore spot for me.

The Messerschmitt Me 262 was the world's first operational jet fighter and at the time of its introduction in April 1944 was the fastest most heavily armed fighter in the sky. Arriving too late in the war to have any significant impact on the outcome it was none the less an important pioneer in early jet technologies.

It was also insanely expensive and hard to build and maintain while losing a 2 front war AND killing a good portion of their own population. I remember studies showing how many 100s of conventional fighters the Germans could have built for the cost of their jet program but they really really believed just one more wonder weapon could turn things around...

Basically they were trying to leapfrog to the weapons of the 50s or even the 60s while their opponents just doubled down on the technology of the 40s and won.

The real irony is that the allies also made super weapons like mass production, radar and atomics. Only theirs worked.

Oh and as always gorgeous models!

I don't think any of that stuff takes away from the Me262 being a good aircraft for what it was, and it could have been available earlier when it actually could have made a significant impact to the allied bombing campaign if things had of panned out differently.

All countries were developing jets, the Germans were just a bit ahead and pushing them in to service while the allies were holding them back. Don't forget the Gloster Meteor was operational about the same time as the Me262, it just wasn't pushed in to front line service because it didn't need to be, the allies had air superiority by the time it entered service whereas the 262 was trying to claw it back. Near the end of the war the 'muricans were sending their P80 jets in but the war ended before they saw service.

First and foremost Germany lost because they didn't have the resources to support fighting the British, the Yanks and most importantly the Soviets. Like every other country they had to push technology forward or risk being left in the dust, it was at times mismanaged and money got pumped in to dead end projects, but then the same is true of every country that tries to push technology. At the start of the war a fighter that could fly 340mph was considered fast, by the end of the war prop fighters were pushing toward 450mph which was becoming a limitation as prop efficiency fell off a cliff at those speeds, to not push the development of jets would have been insane.

Not to mention the Germans WERE pumping huge resources in to existing technologies. Don't forget the 109 was the most heavily produced fighter with around 35,000 built, and the Fw190 at 20k, pretty hefty numbers right there and not a bad effort for a country that was being actively bombed, the Brits only got out 23k Spits and 15k Hurricanes with a few thousand other fighters (Tiffies and Tempests) and the Americans in their safety across the Atlantic pumped out ~16k Thunderbolts, ~16k Mustangs, ~14k P40's and ~10k Lightnings to go along with their 30k bombers (B17's and 24's). I'm not sure how many La's and Yaks the Sovients produced but I'm sure it was a lot, Germany just didn't have the industry to win that air war against 3 massive forces. A few 100 or even a few 1000 more 109's instead of investing in 262's wasn't going to change anything (if such an investment was even possible, the 190 originally used a radial engine largely because Germany couldn't produce enough inline engines to meet the demand for existing aircraft designs).



Automatically Appended Next Post:

 theCrowe wrote:
I'm going good guns these days painting up a lot of Soviet lovelies for you all. But in the meantime I'll show you a couple of German Jets I got done.

The Messerschmitt Me 262 was the world's first operational jet fighter and at the time of its introduction in April 1944 was the fastest most heavily armed fighter in the sky. Arriving too late in the war to have any significant impact on the outcome it was none the less an important pioneer in early jet technologies.


On the left is the Me-262 of Heinrich Bär. 'Red 13'
Heinz Bär was credited with 220 aerial victories, including 16 while flying the Me 262. He was also known for his ill discipline and lack of respect for authority. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring had a particular dislike of him and three times denied him the highest award, the 'Diamonds' to his Knight's Cross.

Then on the right its another of Franz Stigler's rides. Franz Stigler, you'll recall was that B-17 escorting fella. (Well, he escorted one B-17 out of Germany, he was known to have shot down another 11 heavy bombers) "White 3" was his personal jet, flown by him directly from the production line at Leipheim to join Galland's JV44. Adolph Galland was known to pull rank and borrow it on occasion as 'White 3' was considered something of a "hot" ride.

Very cool. You've earned my respect with your Balkenkreuz as I've been failing dismally at painting them on my 109's. I can manage to paint 1 not too badly, but then painting the matching one on the other wing, urgh, driving me insane, think I'm gonna have to put an order in to Dom's Decals and get some Balkenkreuz decals.

The difference of course is that Germans chose to start a war with (deep breath) France, Poland, the Netherlands, England, the USSR, the United States and their own people.

Valid points both of you. There's certainly more to a historical aircraft than just the airframe. Context is key. Thanks for your input guys.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
I don't think any of that stuff takes away from the Me262 being a good aircraft for what it was, and it could have been available earlier when it actually could have made a significant impact to the allied bombing campaign if things had of panned out differently.

All too true. The design mission changed numerous times at Hitler's order, which required it to go back to the drawing board again and again. If they had stuck to the original mission, it would have slowed down the Allies (but not really stopped them).

Still a beautiful craft in the end, and the painting of them is incredible.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
First and foremost Germany lost because they didn't have the resources to support fighting the British, the Yanks and most importantly the Soviets. Like every other country they had to push technology forward or risk being left in the dust, it was at times mismanaged and money got pumped in to dead end projects, but then the same is true of every country that tries to push technology. At the start of the war a fighter that could fly 340mph was considered fast, by the end of the war prop fighters were pushing toward 450mph which was becoming a limitation as prop efficiency fell off a cliff at those speeds, to not push the development of jets would have been insane.

Not to mention the Germans WERE pumping huge resources in to existing technologies. Don't forget the 109 was the most heavily produced fighter with around 35,000 built, and the Fw190 at 20k, pretty hefty numbers right there and not a bad effort for a country that was being actively bombed, the Brits only got out 23k Spits and 15k Hurricanes with a few thousand other fighters (Tiffies and Tempests) and the Americans in their safety across the Atlantic pumped out ~16k Thunderbolts, ~16k Mustangs, ~14k P40's and ~10k Lightnings to go along with their 30k bombers (B17's and 24's). I'm not sure how many La's and Yaks the Sovients produced but I'm sure it was a lot, Germany just didn't have the industry to win that air war against 3 massive forces. A few 100 or even a few 1000 more 109's instead of investing in 262's wasn't going to change anything (if such an investment was even possible, the 190 originally used a radial engine largely because Germany couldn't produce enough inline engines to meet the demand for existing aircraft designs).

Once the US was in play, Germany was done. The US out-produced EVERYONE on both sides of the war, combined, and supplied much of the Russian and British equipment. The Russians did have the bodies, and their winter, to beat the fight out of the Germans (and boy did that work!), but I wonder how far the Russians would have made it without the American support.

I haven't looked in great detail at the numbers but my understanding was the US out produced everyone with regards to aircraft (particularly heavy bombers and to a lesser extent fighters) and the Russians out produced everyone with regards to tanks and attack aircraft (with the Sturmovik, they made 36k of the bastards along with a decent chunk of Pe-2's).

The Germans were no slouches in terms of production, they managed to pump out a total of 55k fighters in spite of being bombed to hell and running low on resources. I don't think that's much less than the USA produced in terms of land based fighters (but the US was also pumping out large numbers of heavy bombers and carrier based aircraft for the pacific).

Who knows whether Russia would have been able to keep it up enough to beat the Germans, I'm going to guess yes, between the British and the Russians Germany was largely halted, Kursk was the last offensive they staged on the Eastern Front and the Eastern Front losses both in terms of men and machines was just massive, from memory I think the Russians were putting out about 5 tanks for every 1 German tank. I don't think Germany was doing bad vs Russia in terms of aircraft production, but the German aircraft were split between eastern and western fronts. Of course the US was supplying Britain with stuff as well, I'm not well informed enough to know what magnitude that was compared to total production. It was the British who commissioned the P-51 but in the past I've argued the Spitfire COULD have been developed into a long range fighter but the British weren't interested in it for whatever reason.

Loving the debate folks. All very welcome to carry on. Gives my Soviet factories all the longer to turn out a respectable (if not exactly representative) number of painted aircraft.

I didn't see a B-24 - have you painted one of those?

No Xenomancers, sorry. I was eyeing up a Libby the other day. Fancy a couple of them and a couple of Marauders too. Some day....

I'm currently engaged in churning out my Russians, and still staring at lots of French bare metal and just ordered a bunch more British. So they'll have to wait till after that lot is done.

Soviet Saturday

Welcome back folks. Glad to finally have my collection of Soviet fliers painted and ready to show. I've got the usual mix of common and notable aircraft with a few odd stories along the way. So hold on to your ushanka it's Soviet Saturday.

Not surprisingly I'll kick this off with the ubiquitous Ilyushin Il-2 "Shturmovik" which comrade Stalin once famously stated was "as essential to the Red Army as air and bread."

Such high praise from Uncle Joe is hardly surprising when for every 90 tanks the Germans fielded the massed Ilyusha flights of the red army could claim as many as 270 in a matter of hours.

Apparently it doesn't matter if your plane is over-heavy and woefully inaccurate so long as you can build in excess of 42,000 of them and grossly exaggerate their effectiveness in your post-battle reports.


Another monster of mass production was the Yakovlev Yak, the various models of which (1, 7, 9 & 3) numbered some 37,000 produced.

One of the smallest and most agile fighters of the war the Yak1 was able to hold its own against invading Bf-109's and Fw-190's providing vital cover to allow Soviet attack aircraft like the Il-2 to operate.


The Soviets weren't the only airforce that had women pilots but they were the only one to allow their women pilots to operate as front line combatants. This is the Yak-1 of Lydia Litvyak. Known as 'the White Lily of Stalingrad' in the Soviet press. She had flown 66 combat missions and had 12 victories to her credit before she was shot down in the Battle of Kursk.


First lieutenant Mikhail Baranov, leader of the 183rd Fighter Regiment was a prominent and inspiring ace who became a national hero; his skill and service earning him the Title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin before his death in a test-flight accident. He painted the legend "Death to Fascists" on his plane. Hey Woody Guthrie, Mikhail Baranov called, he wants his guitar back.


And the last (but by no means least) of my Yak-1 aces is Aleksey Alelyukhin whose years of service from 1938-1985 made him one of Russia's most highly decorated Major Generals. Twice awarded the order of Lenin and Twice named a Hero of the Soviet Union he flew this Yak-1 in 1942 as commander of the 1st Squadron of the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment.



Next up in the Soviet hall of fame its a biggie. The Petlyakov Pe-8 was the only four-engine heavy bomber produced by the soviets during the war.

Limited numbers saw use in propaganda bombings and high visibility political trips. There was simply little need for more long ranged heavy bombers when the enemy was right on your doorstep banging your door down but it always looks good to have a bigger plane with a heavier bomb load than the other guy.


What the USSR did need was a fast and versatile light bomber which it found in the Petlyakov Pe-2.

It proved a deadly accurate dive bomber and capable ground attack aircraft with production figures in excess of 11,000 that saw variants produced as reconnaissance platforms, fighter-bombers, light bombers and night fighters making it one of the most ubiquitous and successful twin-engine combat planes of the war.


In addition to the Soviet Air Force the USSR maintained an Anti-Air Defence Force as a separate military branch. It operated in 13 strategic Zones. Their forces consisted of Anti-aircraft guns, searchlights, troops and intercept fighters like the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 seen here in a white winter scheme.

The MiG-3 had a troubled and difficult career. It was a fighter designed for high altitude operations but much of the fighting on the eastern front took place at lower altitudes where its performance suffered badly.

This is the MiG-3 flown by Capt Ivan Zabolotny in defence of the Moscow region, February 1942 which bore the slogan 'For Stalin!' He's another of these hard-nut fighter pilots (like 'the Swede') that was known to ram the enemy when he'd run out of bullets.


Now for something completely weird. The Zveno project conducted in the 1930's was a composite-aircraft experiment consisting of a "Mothership" bomber with smaller fighters mounted either on top or under each wing. It was primarily concerned with defensive formations which proved largely unsuccessful but in August 1941 an offensive formation, the Zveno-SPB, comprising a TB-3 with two I-16 fighter bombers attached was used with some success against ground targets in Romania.

Each of the I-16 fighter bombers carried a pair of 250kg high explosive bombs. (normally an I-16 can only take off with a maximum bomb load of 100kg) and were equipped with a drop fuel tank for the return flight. Inbound they would be fuelled by the TB-3. Using the TB-3 increased the operational range of the I-16 by up to 80%.


Both the TB-3 and the I-16 were older 1930's aircraft which couldn't really stand up to the more modern fighters of the Luftwaffe and the Zveno was especially vulnerable while the three aircraft were combined in the air due to reduced manoeuvrability. Success relied heavily on the element of surprise and the enemy's lack of appropriate air defences being so far out of range of more conventional fighter bombers.

The programme operated five such composites at its peak but was denied any expansion due to significant Soviet Airforce losses elsewhere at the time. In all the Zveno-SPB flew at least 30 combat missions.


And just for good measure, or perhaps propaganda purposes, here's a group shot of my massed Soviet aircraft.

Be inspired fearless comrades! Loathful fascist invaders beware!

Again, gorgeous work!

Agreed. Love the little history lessons as well, especially the CCCP stuff as I know nothing about them what so ever.

Awe man them paintjobs are lush,loving the new soviet planes colors.

Thanks guys. Glad you're enjoying the journey. I'm learning lots about all these planes as I go along too.

I've added a complete list of my whole collection to the top of page one just to give an idea of what's here already. The list will keep growing so you'll see what I'm working on as I update it.
Working on some French planes right now. Lots of nice camo patterns.

Still working away on my French aircraft but in the meantime I'll show you a couple of odd ones I've been working on.

An early French fighter of the 1930's the Dewoitine d.510 that first saw combat with the Chinese Air Force fighting Imperial Japan.

On the 4th November 1939 Captain Shen Tse-Liu flying this D510 over the Lanchou area managed to destroy a Japanese G3M in a head on assault.

As the D.510s came around to attack from behind defensive fire from the Japanese bomber formation damaged Shen's engine forcing him down. He was injured in the crash but soon flew again.

But what's a Japanese G3M? I hear you cry! It's one of these.

The Mitsubishi G3M was a contemporary of the old D.510 being first flown in the Second Sino-Japanese war of from 1937. By the time Pearl Harbour was hit the G3M (allied reporting name "Nell") was considered a bit long in the tooth but was none the less a common sight over the Pacific theatre.

They saw use as long range medium bombers and torpedo bombers until eventually being withdrawn to serve as glider tugs, aircrew and paratroop trainers, and transports for high-ranking officers and VIPs.

Other Sino-Japanese news of the day is that Flying Tiger ace Charles Older now has a fully painted wingman.

P-40 Tomahawk #47 flown by R.T. Smith of the Third Pursuit Squadron — Hell’s Angels. Smith once buzzed Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander, South-East Asia who was giving a pep talk from his jeep on the airfield. The extremely low pass of Smith's P-51 going at over 450mph almost took his hat off.

They no doubt chased down their fair share of G3Ms in their time.


My other two P-40's have been finished in a different scheme altogether.

These are two Curtis P-40 Tomahawks of 112 Squadron who were one of the first units to field the type in July 1941. The P-40 didn't perform well at high altitudes but much of the action in the North African theatre happened closer to the ground so it was still able to tangle with the best the Germans and Italians had to offer.

The 112th adopted the "shark's mouth" motif for their P-40s and it soon became a P-40 standard, famously also adopted by the Flying Tigers in Burma. Although it was first used by some Bf-110 pilots earlier in the war.

That's all for now. As always thanks for visiting the tiny planes gallery.

Hi folks, many thanks for visiting the tiny aircraft gallery once again. I have at last finished painting my collection of French fancies, so without further adieu (I couldn't help myself, sorry) on with the show.

In 1936 in response to Germany's continued remilitarisation France was taking a long hard look at its Airforce and finding that it was long overdue a major update.

Fighters like the Dewoitine D500 and bombers like the Bloch MB210 not long ago considered the very leading edge of modern aviation were already practically obsolete and in need of replacing.

The Dewoitine 510 was still in production at the time. A beautiful little monoplane plane with long, low wings, fixed undercarriage and open cockpit it was clearly an outmoded mount yet a shipment had just been delivered to China where they saw action against Imperial Japan.


The old Bloch MB210 had been an improved design based on the older MB200 and as such had been easily rolled into production to outfit a number of bomber groups. However both were now considered too old and vulnerable and suitable for night bombing only. They were scheduled for replacement by newer and faster bombers as soon as these could be designed, produced and equipped.

The war came sooner than the replacements however and the old Blochs remained in service as reserve units and were occasionally pressed into service. Many French MB210s survived the war intact by dint of rarely seeing action. However the Romanian Airforce operated their MB210s with some success. Some of the even older MB200s were used by Vichy French forces in the Syria-Lebanon campaign where they were eventually destroyed on the ground.

Many private aircraft manufacturers in France were swiftly bought up and nationalised in an effort to meet the needs of National Security. However it proved too little too late as German production outstripped that of its neighbours and by 1940 the Armée de l'Air were still woefully under-equipped to have any real hope of success against the Luftwaffe.

One product of this nationalisation project was the Morane-Saulnier MS.406, designed to replace France's ageing stock of 30's fighter planes. Over 1000 were produced making it one of the most numerous of France's fighter planes.

Although it was a considerably more modern design than the aircraft it replaced it was underpowered, underarmed and critically outperformed by the Luftwaffe's Bf 109E.


Pilot Sgt. Mirolsav Jiroudek, like many airmen escaping the German occupation of their home nation, fled to France to continue his fight against Nazi Germany. He flew with Groupe de Chasse III/1, operating this MS406 during the Battle of France. Upon the fall of France Jiroudek was able to escape to Britain where he flew Hurricanes and later Beaufighters in service with the RAF. He returned to Czechoslovakia in July 1945 and flew for a Czech Air Line until 1950.


At age 18 Pierre Le Gloan joined the Armée de l'Air at the outbreak of the war. He served in the GC III/6 fighter squadron, flying the Morane-Saulnier MS.406 from Chartres in the air defence of Paris. He scored victories against four German bombers in the battle of France. Two Do17 and two He111.

Le Gloan's unit GC III/6 were re-equipped with new Dewoitine D.520 fighters in June of 1940 and moved to the south of France. Le Gloan in his new D520 soon added a number of Italian aircraft to his tally before the Armistice between France and Germany. Le Gloan's unit were sent out to Syria where he scored victories against RAF Hurricanes and Gladiators before being withdrawn back to Algiers.

Following the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942 GC III/6 defected to the Free French. They were equipped with Bell P-39 Airacobras which Le Gloan flew until his death in a landing accident in September 1943.
Pierre Le Gloan had shot down 18 aircraft during his flying career, four German, seven Italian and seven British making him an ace for both sides.


The Dewoitine D.520 was the best modern single engine fighter that France produced, out-performing the MS.406 and able to hold its own against invading German fighters. However due to delays in development, production and delivery (France's aeronautical industry being frightfully ill-equipped for the war) there were nowhere near enough available to defend France. Had more D.520's been ready in time they might have made a much more significant contribution to the war.

They had a great range, good manoeuvrability, powerful weaponry and handled very well. The Italians who received some following the armistice thought them excellent.

This Dewoitine 520 was captured from the Vichy French in Lebanon by Free French airmen flying with the RAF. It was marked with the Cross of Lorraine, the symbol of the Free French Forces led by Charles de Gaul. A fine prize to be sure, to liberate one of your own, however the few D.520's in Free French hands could only be used as advanced trainers as their radios were incompatible with other RAF combat aircraft.


Another product of the Armée de l'Air's desperate modernisation programme was the Lioré et Olivier LeO 45. This medium bomber was originally designed to meet the1936 B4 specification (which itself had shifted a number of times since 1933) With the imminent threat of war looming and continued delays due to engine reliability the LeO 45 was hurried into production despite known teething problems.

The LeO 451 entered service flying recognisance over Germany with Groupe de Bombardement I/31, but by the start of the Second World War this unit had only five LeO 451s and eight practically obsolete Bloch MB200s. (Honestly, is the MB200 not the ugliest plane ever to lift off from the face of the earth?)

In fact by the start of the Battle of France only 54 of the 222 LeO 451s that had been delivered were actually ready for combat. Too few in number and often without fighter escort the LeO 451 was none the less a remarkably fast and very agile bomber and enjoyed some success against Italian forces.

Following the armistice LeO 451s continued to fly under Vichy direction in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign and a number were captured and used by both sides as unit hacks and transports.

And the last two aircraft in my (not entirely comprehensive) French roundup are the Potez 631 and Potez 63.11

The Potez 63 was originally designed to fulfil the role of Fighter Control, bomber escort, interceptor and night fighter. Something in the vein of the German Bf-110 or the Soviet Pe-2, you can see the similarity. Unfortunately so could many French anti-aircraft gunners and "friendly" fliers and often the Potez 631 was mistaken for its German counterpart and attacked by its own.

Due to the French aircraft industry's inability to produce high powered aircraft engines most German bombers were able to outrun the underpowered Potez 361 so it wasn't much use as an interceptor, day or night.

The most useful and therefore most numerous of the variations was the Potez 63.11 which had been developed to serve with the Groupes Aèriens d'Observation (Army co-operation squadrons) as a reconnaissance aircraft.
It had a completely redesigned crew compartment and extensively glazed nose. The pilot's seat was moved higher and further back to accommodate the changes.

A note on colour schemes before we're done. Most of what I've been able to find suggests the Armée de l'Air did not employ any standardisation in camouflage patterning so there was much variation in the blue/grey, green, brown tri-colour scheme.


National cockade roundels typically were placed in the usual 6 locations with the wing roundels being located on the very end of the wing.


Aces wore diagonal stripes and squadron codes and insignia vary a great deal.

The Vichy era saw the addition of a white stripe and outline to the fuselage roundels, and in mid-1941 the introduction of the infamous yellow and red "Slaves' Pyjamas" striping on the tails and engine cowlings.

That's it for my Focus on French fliers. Hope you enjoyed seeing them. As ever I'd love to hear your thoughts and Thanks for looking.

These look phenomenal!

Excellent as always, good info and very pretty pics. How on earth did you manage to do those red yellow and stripes so neatly?

Incredible job and great history lesson too!

Amazing and inspiring work!

Ever do any Finnish AC?

Awesome aircraft! Kinda curious to see you do sci fi stuff as well.

@ingtaer- layer up -white base- inked yellow- red ink stripes on top-corrections/tidy up with white- yellow ink the white bits.

@schoon- not yet but I've mentioned them having success with Buffalos. Actually by all accounts they had much more success with many of the planes they bought than the countries who sold the old clap traps ever had with them. Got plans for more British, Japanese and Italians, (not to mention the obvious gaps in my USAAF) but the Finns could easily get a look in. They were certainly no pushovers.

@ Malika2- Closest things I've got by way of painted sci-fi is maybe these (spoilered as they're not WW2 aircraft)


Thanks everyone for your support and encouragement. Got an exciting batch on the go right now that I can't wait to share. Really a bit special! Watch this space.

Talk about doubling down on 1930s technology, the massive production and use of the Soviet crop duster, the Polikarpov Po-2 is about as retrograde a plan as can be imagined. But it worked a treat.

They were used for just about everything conceivable and often got away with it due to their top speed being about the same as the stall speed of the Luftwaffe fighters ordered to shoot them down.

One of the most famous operators of the Po-2 was the all female 588th Night Bomber Regiment known to their german enemies as the 'Nachthexen' (Night Witches). Their pilots like Yekaterina Ryabova and Nadezhda Popova, (who famously flew eighteen missions in a single night.) were notorious for daring low-altitude night raids on German rear-area positions. With engines throttled off there was little warning to the sleepless nerve wracked enemy below as the bombs fell from the whistling shadows gliding low overhead.

 schoon wrote:
Amazing and inspiring work!

Ever do any Finnish AC?

You've really got me thinking now. Some fascinating stories to be told looking at The Winter War. Hmmmm...

Continuing my theme of four-winged wonders I'll show a few more recent additions to the collection.

These beautiful British bi-planes are all coming from Heroics & Ros (Another very nice selection of 1:300 scale aircraft to choose from. I got those Po-2's and some of my French collection in the same order.)

First up its the RAF's "modern" bi-plane, the Gloster Gladiator.

The Gladiator was developed to replace the obsolescent Gauntlet but did so only for a short time as more modern monoplane fighters like the Hurricane quickly outstripped its performance and replaced it.
None the less Gladiators were pressed into service by the RAF and Fleet Air Arm in France, Malta and the Middle East and Gladiators saw service in many other theatres across the world with various other forces on both sides.

The Hal Far Fighter Flight were formed during the Siege of Malta. A group of Gloster Sea Gladiators formed the air defence of the Island from June 1940 for a number of weeks under bombardment by Italian bombers.

In September 1940 Pilot Officer Roald Dahl (yes, THAT Roald Dahl!) flying this Gloster Gladiator over the Lybian desert made a crash landing and received severe head and back injuries. Although he returned to service with 80 Squadron and had some success flying Hurricanes his injuries from this crash put an end to his flying career and he was invalided back to England. Dahl often expressed the belief that this head injury had produced the change in his personality and creativity that made him one of the world's best loved and most celebrated children's authors.


Next up on our British bi-plane bonanza its Fairey's quintessential Fleet Air Arm icon the Swordfish.

It might have appeared practically obsolete when first introduced in 1936 but this large and rugged biplane had all the right qualities for deck flying operations and torpedo dive bombing.

Affectionately known as the 'Stringbag' for its adaptable multifunctional capabilities the 'can do, will do' Swordfish outlasted all expectation continuing its distinguished service all throughout the war, outlasting even Fairey's replacement the Albacore to become Britain's last serving bi-plane.

Famous for the attack on the Italian Fleet at Taranto in Nov 1940 and the operation to seek and destroy the Bismarck the Swordfish was also instrumental in protecting Allied convoys from German submarines.

Another stalwart of the Fleet Air Arm and of the Air Sea Rescue service is this, the Supermarine Walrus.

The "Shagbat" as it was sometimes called, for its frankly disastrous aesthetics may not have been a looker but to anyone stranded out in the Channel seeing it swoop in to the rescue it was the very vision of beauty.

Originally designed for catapult launch and spotting duties for the Royal Navy the old Shagbat though somewhat unsuitable proved a rugged and able rescue craft. Unable to take off from the water when carrying more than 6 men, there were countless instances of Walrus crews landing to effect a rescue knowing full well they would have to taxi back to shore often for tens of miles in mine infested waters and rough seas.

Hundreds of men were returned safely to shore by the doughty Walrus who would otherwise have perished.

That'll be all for bi-planes for the time being. I've got another order incoming so expect some more WW2 bi-plane action here some time in the hopefully not too distant future.
As ever, thanks for visiting the tiny aircraft gallery.

Check out the OP for an updated list of aircraft in my collection. Having massive fun painting lots of different Regia Aeronautica camouflage schemes! Looking forward to uploading them in the near future, so look out for those.

I eagerly await the next installment of your fantastic work.

Hi folks. Glad to be able to show my first lot of Regia Aeronautica at last.

This little batch are all from Scotia Grendel. Beautiful sculpts as ever from them and a joy to paint up. I hope you enjoy these as much as I have.

Fiat G50 Frechia (arrow/dart)

Italy’s first single-seat, all-metal all-modern monoplane fighter was much celebrated for its excellent manoeuvrability when it first entered service in 1939. Despite its inadequate armament of only two machine guns and its lack of pace and range compared to contemporary rivals it was extensively used by Italian forces throughout the war in many theatres.

Macchi MC200 Saetta (Arrow, or a flash of lightning)

Marginally more capable than the Fiat G50 the first all modern monoplane fighter produced by Macchi was ultimately another under powered and under equipped offering. On top of that the Saetta also had a dangerous tendency to spin out of control resulting in a hurried improvement program which soon saw the development of the C.202 Folgore to replace it. However a shortage of engines for the new fighter saw the old MC200 Saetta continue in production. Over 1000 were produced almost all of which had been lost in service by the armistice of 1943.


Macchi C.202 Folgore (Italian "thunderbolt")
These fast machines were sleek and deadly. A real piece of Italian style in the air.

Unfortunately for the Regia Aeronautica that was about as far as it went. Still with a woefully insufficient compliment of only two nose-mounted machine guns (that were quite prone to jamming) combined with faulty radios and inefficient oxygen systems meant that their pilots rarely had the support needed to push these elegant fliers to success. Still, they were widely regarded as the best fighters the Italians had and were best not underestimated.


This is the C.202 Folgore flown by Captain Franco Lucchini of 84 Squadriglia in North Affica. Lucchini was an experienced fighter pilot having flown CR.32's over Spain, CR.42's in North Africa, C.200's over Malta and then C.202's again back in Africa. An ace of some 26 victories Lucchini was amongst the most celebrated fighters of the Regia Aeronautica. On 5th July 1943 he was engaged in a massive battle in the skies over Sicily where he was shot down and killed fighting B-17s and Spitfires.

Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero (Italian for sparrowhawk)
The true workhorse of the Regia Aeronautica and a terror for Allied shipping in the Mediterranean the SM79 carved out its place in history as one of the fastest medium bombers and deadliest torpedo bombers of the war.

With its three engined design and notable dorsal hump the SM79 is easily recognisable and was well liked by its pilots and crew who nicknamed it il gobbo maledetto ("damned hunchback").

A source of much national pride for its award winning speed and ability it often flew without escort in the Spanish civil war. Their myth of invulnerability ended when the first Sparviero to be shot down fell to a Gladiator over Malta.


Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia flew this SM79 in 1940 as part of the Italian torpedo bomber campaign in the Mediterranean. His successful attacks on HMS Kent, HMS Glasgow and HMS Illustrious amongst many other hapless Allied ships made him one of the most celebrated pilots of the Regia Aeronautica.

Five times awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valor and also the German Iron Cross second class, Buscaglia was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor after his aircraft was shot down in North Africa in November 1943.
Though he was badly wounded and burned in the crash he survived and was taken prisoner. Buscaglia returned to Italy in July 1944 to fly with the Aeronautica Cobelligerante del Sud, but died attempting to take off in a new American-built Martin Baltimore without an instructor.
The 3rd Wing of the current Aeronautica Militare Italiana was named after him.

Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 Pipistrello (Italian: bat)

Basically a militarised 30's airliner the SM.81 Pipistrello had already proved very capable in multiple roles during the war with Ethiopia and the Spanish Civil War.

By the onset of the Second World War despite near obsolescence there were still around 300 SM.81's in service performing various second-line duties. Its wide fuselage provided a large capacity for bomb loads on night bombing raids or for transport of goods and troops during daylight. It was one of the most flexible, reliable and important aircraft of the Regia Aeronautica.


CANT Z.1007 Alcione (Kingfisher)
Originally a land-based version of CANT's record breaking trimotor float plane the Z.506 the Alcione had a disappointing start and required a good few updates and improvements before engines, airframe and armament came together into something of a capable modern medium bomber.

The trimotor design was a common feature of Italian aircraft of World War II, mostly because the Italian aeronautical industry were having a hard time producing an engine that could put out as much power as some contemporary German or British ones. The trimotor design could provide as much power as a german twin engine design but with the added weight of a third engine.

The wooden structure of the Z.1007 would allow the aircraft to float if it was forced to ditch in the sea but it was a nightmare in the extreme climates. Aircraft stationed in North Africa and Russia suffered badly from delamination and cracking which caused extra drag on the otherwise very narrow and streamlined airframe.

That's all of now folks. I have another batch on the go, this time from Heriocs & Ros. Another selection of Italian aviation should be singing your way hopefully soon.
As always folks, many thanks for visiting the gallery and sharing my enthusiasm for tiny planes.

Beautiful stuff as always! Stunned at how well those camo patterns retain their coherence at this scale, simply superb.

Incredible work Crowe. Do you have any advice or tutorials for the Spitfire and BF109 which were used during the Battle of Britain in 1940?

Also, if at all possible, please could you provide dimensions of the BF109's and Spitfires which you own? I've recently picked up Blood Red Skies and I was thinking of substituting the warlord models for these.

Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing more of your airforce.

Thanks ingtaer I'm really super pleased with how they came out myself. The Italians had such a variety of very intricate patterns and colours, its a real playground. Working on another small lot of Italians which hopefully won't be too much longer in the pipeline. I've been distracted though.

Hi FreeFrag.UK Thanks for your comment. I've taken a scale picture for you here.


What we have here are a couple of 109's a Spitfire and a Hurricane. Now the Spitfire here is obviously all wrong for 1940. A Spitfire in 1940 should be painted more like the Hurricane here. Green and brown and in the same pattern. You should be able to find a painting guide online. There must be about a million pictures of Battle of Britain Spitfires to follow. The underside should be a duck-egg blue, I think with no roundels, but check the dates for those. They had them, they took them away, the re-painted them back on... RAF roundels changed regularly. My hurricanes have no underside roundels.

I'd encourage you also to try and make a subtle difference in one or two of your Aircraft for each side to distinguish the better fliers in a game. Yellow noses for German aces is an obvious solution and different squadron codes or codes of famous RAF aces ZP@A for Sailor Malan for instance. Check the Blood Red Skies scenarios and see what makes sense. I just know I that when I painted all my Hurries the same squadron it makes the individual planes very difficult to follow in a game because they're so similar.

Luftwaffe planes have a little more variation though so you can brows examples of Battle of Britain schemes easily enough online. There are tonnes of examples around. Adolf Galland is a big name that you'll see and you have a choice of green or grey splinter camo with options for yellow or white engine cowlings and recognition markings.

Scale-wise you'll see that mine are smaller than the 1:200 scale plastics in the Blood Red Skies box. Mine are 1:300 scale, all pictured are Scotia Grendel miniatures (which I thoroughly recommend) They have a massive selection of aircraft available in 1:300 but they do have a small selection of 1:200 which might suit your BoB requirements fine. 1:200 will be a little easier to paint up nicely too as I'll warn you, Bf-109's are especially tricky to do neatly at 1:300 scale. Its those grey mottled side panels and super tiny balkenkreuz. If you're not planning on an extensive collection I'd go 1:200. Little bit more costly but easier on the eyes.

Hole that's helpful. Let me know how you get on and if you've any more questions I'm happy to help.

Also, as far as a painting tutorial goes, have a look on page 3 at my Flying Tigers Curtis P-40 Tomahawk painting guide, (it's spoilered) painting a 1940 Spitfire shouldn't be a whole lot different. Similar camo pattern but different markings. Same idea technique-wise though.

Hi folks. Sorry for the long wait. (I got a bit distracted there writing and drawing) but I finally have my second batch of Regia Aeronautica to show. This time they're all coming from Heroics & Ros whose excellent selection of 1:300 aircraft has provided some real classics to my collection. So thanks to H&R and on with the post.


Fiat CR.32
Italian ace Mario D'Agostini 163 Squadriglia in 1940
The Spanish Civil War was for the Italians (as for the Germans and Russians) a proving ground for the tactics of their Air Forces and their aircraft designers and many of the lessons learned and the aircraft developed in the 30s were carried on into the Second World War. One such lesson learned by the Regia Aeronautica was courtesy of the Fiat CR.32, a robust and highly manoeuvrable biplane that had dominated the skies over Spain.

Indeed so enduring was the reputation of this doughty little biplane that by June of 1940 when Italy declared war on France and Britain various versions of the old Fiat CR.32 still equipped two thirds of Italy's fighter squadrons.



Fiat CR.42 Falco
Italy remained firmly convinced, due to the success of the CR.32 that the bi-plane would remain the unrivalled king of the sky. And so Fiat set about refining and developing a "modern" version producing the Fiat CR.42 in 1939 the last of the great bi-plane fighters.
Although technically outclassed by faster and more heavily armed modern monoplanes the CR.42 was none the less a dangerous adversary. It soon became known for a rugged and brilliantly manoeuvrable aircraft that which while easily outpaced was better avoided than engaged in a protracted dog-fight.


Mario Visinti was the top scoring bi-plane ace of the Second World War with 16 (some say 20) victories. He was known as a meticulous and even scientific fighter and was a recipient of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals of Military Valour. His success, charm and gallantry made him a legend following his death in 1941. Having landed safely back at his airfield following a successful mission Mario refuelled and took off in search of his wing-man Luigi (I'm not making this up!) who had been forced down by bad weather. The weather got the better of Mario Visinti who crashed on Mount Bizen.

As the bleeding edge of aviation technology fast outstripped the already obsolete CR.42 the inevitable call of the Night Fighter beckoned and so the CR.42 found a valuable role in intercepting night bomers. One such unit was the 377th operating out of Sicily.

CR.42 night pilots were often up there in the dark lacking a reliable radio, any kind of radar equipment and as in the case of Capitano Giorgio Graffer guns that were prone to jamming. The hapless Capitano famously resorted to ramming is target (a British A.W.38 Whitley ) before baling out. The Whitley subsequently crashed into the English Channel on the way home making this the first successful night interception by a CR.42.


Breda Ba.65
This old Spanish Civil War ground attack plane was already a bit long in the tooth by the outbreak of the second World War but some 150 were still in service none the less. This was thanks largely to a number of variously unsuccessful attempts by both Breda and Caproni to produce a suitable replacement, all of which ended in failure, some spectacularly so.

The venerable Ba.65 muddled through, an easy target for British fighters in Northeast Africa and by early 1941 they had mostly all been destroyed.


Imam Ro 57
97• Gr. Autonomo Tuffatori Rome-1943
A fine example of the Italian Aeronautics industry of the era the Imam Ro 57 originally designed in 1939 might have been the long range fighter Italy needed at the time, it looked fast and mean and deadly but it would be four years in the making and by 1943 standards was considered too slow, badly under-equipped and too costly to produce for all it offered.

Produced in limited numbers as both a fighter/interceptor and a ground attack dive bomber it saw very little use and remains a largely forgotten and sadly overlooked little gem, because just look at this thing! (I mean look at a photo of the real thing as this sculpt doesn't quite do it justice) Ah, if looks could kill...


Piaggio P.108 Bombardiere
In a marked departure from the Regia Aeronautica's policy of 3 engined bombers Piaggio looked to the engineering experience of Giovanni Casiraghi whose 4 engine heavy bomber design owed much to his time in the US. (Its a kinda B-17 lookin' thing)

They were very expensive to produce but the numbers crunched in Piaggio's favour as compared to the SM79 (the Regia Aeronautica's bomber workhorse) for the same cost comparable bomb loads could be delivered by fewer P.108's and therefore fewer crewmen would be required.

The P.108 was a very different kind of aircraft than what the Italian pilots were used to and early test flights of P.109 prototypes were fraught with accidents including one that claimed the life of Musolini's own son Bruno Musolini.

Operationally the P.108B had a poor survivability record on bombing raids and saw limited use over Gibraltar, North Africa and Sicily. Before the armistice when the few remaining P.108B's were sabotaged so as not to fall into German hands. The Transport version P.108T saw more success however in Service with the Luftwaffe evacuating encircled German Troops from Russia.


CANT Z.501 Gabbiano a.k.a Mammaiuto "Mamma help me!"
Once a much celebrated sea plane for its record breaking endurance and distance flying in 1934, the Z.501 by 1940 was a bit of a relic. It was however still quite useful for sea rescue and maritime reconnaissance, and submarine hunting at a pinch and was deployed in some numbers all throughout the war.

Unfortunately for its crews though the old Gabbiano had a reputation for being something of a death trap.
The wartime mass-produced hulls didn't tend to hold together very well in rough seas, the engine nacelle might collapse into the cockpit if you landed too hard, the extra weight of machine gun turrets and bombs impeded the aircrafts flight characteristics considerably and resulted in a rescue plane that was very vulnerable to enemy fighters and more likely to require a rescue than to effect one. 'Mamma Help Me' indeed!



The CANT Z.506 Airone (Italian: Heron) was an award winning tri-engined float-plane used for torpedo bombing, reconnaissance and Air Sea Rescue. It was an exceptionally useful and well respected aircraft that was much more rugged and reliable than the older Cant z.501. By the end of the war many Airone's were in service on both sides and some examples continued in post war service on into 1959.

Although in general the CANT z.506 was quite vulnerable to enemy fighters there was one man who you definitely would want in your top turret. Pietro Bonannini, a turret gunner on Cant Z.506B and Fiat RS.14 floatplanes was credited with 8 victories (4x Spitfire’s, 3x Blenheims and 1x Hurricane) and another 2 probables making him the only non-pilot flying ace of the Regia Aeronautica.


And finally...

My whole collection of Regia Aeronautica aircraft.

Well I've had a blast painting these. What an amazing variety of aircraft and camo patterns there were to choose from. Some of these are now some of my favourites of my collection. I really knew next to nothing about the Italians in the skies of WW2 before starting this, so I hope you've enjoyed discovering the Regia Aeronautica with me.

Next on the bench I'll be looking east toward China and also doing a little investigation into the Winter War, some early Finnish and Soviets on the way there too. Watch this space for those and as ever, thanks for visiting the tiny planes gallery.

I love the painting and i love the history.

Very Cool camo patterns on the regia aeronautica planes,still dropping by to check out your new stuff,never disappointed,they look like real planes the paintjobs are that clean. I Look forward to seeing your next batch of planes.

Thanks guys.
Sorry the next batch has been so delayed already. I'm working on some early Chinese Airforce but finding info online in english on specific aces and their planes isn't easy.

Got some winter war Finns for after that too.

Unfortunately though I've been very distracted of late drawing pictures and writing. While I am enjoying that I'm not getting any further on with my tiny planes.

Sorry for the very long wait folks. I didn't do any painting in July so its been a bit of a summer holiday from tiny aircraft but I've finally pulled another set together ready to share.
So first off here's a little teaser. What do all these mid 30s aircraft have in common?

Martin B-10, Curtiss Goshawk, Dewoitine D.510, Tupolev SB, Ilyushin DB-3,

Well done if you guessed, they all saw service with the Chinese Air Force during the Second Sino-Japanese war immediately prior to and leading into WW2.


Kicking things off its this beautiful little mini from H&R, the American built Curtis Goshawk, exported to China as the Hawk II and later with retractable undercarriage as the Hawk III.

These early 30's biplanes equipped the majority of China's fighter squadrons in 1937 and were hard pressed to meet the challenge of Imperial Japan's much faster and more modern Air Force.

2401 was flown by biplane ace Captain Liu Chui-Kang who was squadron Leader of 24th Pursuit Squadron.In a short three month span from August to October 1937 Kang became biplane ace of seven confirmed victories before his untimely death in a crash landing.

Another American built aircraft equipping the CAF's 30th bomber Squadron in 1937, The Martin B-10 (exported as Model 193WC.)
First flown in 1932 the B-10 had been a great leap forward (no pun intended) in 1930's bomber design. All metal construction, fully cowled engines, enclosed cockpit, internal bomb bay, rotating nose turret and retractable undercarriage. An ultra modern medium bomber that could outperform many contemporary pursuit aircraft the B-10 was very much the shape of things to come.

In May 1938 a plan was proposed to bring the war home to the Japanese people by sending Chinese bombers on a mission over Japan for the first time. The CAF's last two (of 9) remaining Martin 139WC bombers were chosen for this special mission but when over Nagasaki, in lieu of bombs they dropped leaflets imploring the Japanese public to put pressure on their leaders to end their aggression and occupation of Chinese territories. No such pressure resulted and the war continued regardless.

From 1938, 18 Chinese D.510s saw action against the Japanese, including the defense of Chengdu and the Chinese wartime capital Chongqing equipping 17th squadron Chinese pilots and 41st French volunteer squadron.

On the 4th November 1939 Captain Shen Tse-Liu flying this D510 over the Lanchou area managed to destroy a Japanese G3M in a head on assault.

As the D.510s came around to attack from behind defensive fire from the Japanese bomber formation damaged Shen's engine forcing him down. He was injured in the crash but soon flew again.

Other European aircraft to see service with the CAF included both Gloster Gladiator and Fiat CR30 biplanes, a model of He-111 that the Luftwaffe had rejected and a few examples of Italy's most versatile SM81 Pipistrello.


Polikarpov I-15
Following a deal with the Soviets in 1937 the Chinese Airforce started receiving deliveries of much needed Russian aircraft and volunteer pilots. Large numbers of I-15 biplane fighters and marginally more modern I-16 monoplane fighters began pouring onto Chinese airfields. More than 250 Soviet pilots 'volunteered' to fly the 255 I-15s supplied to China. By 1939 a total of 347 Polikarpov biplanes had been delivered to the CAF.

The I-15 had proved a tough and capable biplane in the skies over Spain but it soon met its match in some of the newer, faster Japanese monoplanes and the air war over China quickly became a dangerously one sided affair.

Polikarpov I-16
Some 250 I-16 Type 10s were supplied to China. The type 10 had four 7.62 mm (0.30 in) ShKAS machine guns, armour behind the pilot, and had a slightly upgraded engine. Further variants and improvements would follow but by 1939 a Soviet study found that the 1-16 had exhausted its performance potential.
Finally in Dec 1940 to Jan 1941 a last batch of 75 improved I-16 type 17 fighters were delivered. But even with their new 20mm Vickers cannons and additional armour they were no match for the Japanese Zero's and Hyabusas.

My Chinese I-16 is that of Luo Yingde who flew with the 24th squadron in 1940. (And look at my dodgy old Soviet I-16 !!! The less said about that the better really.)

Tupolev SB
Hundreds of Russian Bombers were also supplied to China between 1937 and 1941. An initial delivery of 62 Tupolev SB's was made with combat operations by Soviet forces starting in December 1937 with attacks on Japanese ships on the Yangtze River. A further 60 SBs were delivered in early 1938. In February 1938, to celebrate Soviet Army Day, Soviet SBs carried out a long range attack on Japanese airfields in Taiwan, claiming 40 Japanese aircraft destroyed on the ground. However during the Battle of Wuhan losses were heavy, forcing the Chinese SB units to be temporarily withdrawn from combat.

The Soviet Volunteer units operating the SB over China re-equipped with the Ilyushin DB-3 in 1939, allowing their SBs to be transferred to Chinese units and a further 100 SBs were supplied in 1941.

Ilyushin DB-3
In 1939, thirty DB-3s were supplied to the CAF and they also saw heavy action against Japanese targets in the Wuhan region from their bases in Sichuan, Lanzhou and Chengdu. The DB-3 had arrived too late to see service in Spain but this trial run in the CAF proved it was a very capable long range bomber with much potential. It was however a very complex and time consuming airframe to build and maintain.

The DB-3 would go on to be one of the most useful long range bombers in the Soviet arsenal, eventually dropping the first Soviet bombs on Berlin.


At its peak the Soviet Volunteer Group numbered 3,665 personnel 2,000 of which were pilots some of whom had been sent directly from the Spanish Civil War. Soviet squadrons were withdrawn after the non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Japan in 1941.
and the Chinese turned to the United States, which authorized the creation of the American Volunteer Group the Flying Tigers and their more modern P-40 fighters.


Eventually China's surviving stock of 30's aero-tech would be replaced by further American supplied machines as lend lease kicked in and the USA joined the war in ernest against Imperial Japan.

Good to see you back again and with some more lovely minis!

So I had this little thing. It was an unknown and likely totally inaccurate sculpt of some 30s parasol fighter.






So I did a little research and couldn't pin down what it was supposed to be and so decided I would turn it into the closest thing, a Nakajima Army Type 91.

It was a fiddly business but here's the conversion.
i
Lots of greenstuff went on. Filed and reshape the tail and bulked up the dorsal area and the spinner hub.

Cut a radial engine shape into the front and added a Townend ring-type cowling with some brown paper and some staple wire for wing-bracing struts.


I just left those strange undercarriage struts in place up under the wing to keep the wheels strong but all in all I'm pretty happy with that.

So then I painted it up...

In Chinese Colours!!!

But what's a lovely 30's Japanese fighter like the Nakajima Army Type 91 doing in Chinese livery? (I hear you cry)


Well at one time the Chinese Nationalist Air Force had purchased 12 of these from Japan which then later equipped 32nd Squadron during the Second Sino-Japanese War. This fighter is No.505 out of Kwangsi in 1935.


So there it is. Another obsolescent 30's chuggaboom for my early war Chinese Nationalist Air Force.

Hi folks, back again (at long last) with another international lineup representing the collective variety of one particular national Air Force.

This time we're looking at Fokker DXXI, Gloster Gladiator, Brewster Buffalo, Fiat G50, Messerschmitt bf 109G, Hawker Hurricane, Westland Lysander, Bristol Blenheim, Junkers Ju88. But which country used all of these disparate assortment of both Allied and Axis aircraft?


Well done if you guessed, it's The Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force)

The Winter War (Nov 39-Mar 40)
In November 1939 when the invasion Soviet forces began the most modern fighter the Finns had on hand was the Dutch built Fokker DXXI.

This rugged and capable fighter proved an ideal fit for the Finnish Air Force. As well as being on par with contemporary Soviet aircraft it's strong, fixed undercarriage was particularly well suited for improvised, uneven runways and also conversion to skis for winter use.

As waves of Soviet bombers vectored in over Finnish cities the small contingent of Finnish fighters rose to the challenge often taking on groups of bombers and escorts many times their number.

In January 1940 1st Lt Jorma Sarvanto flying this Fokker DXXI managed a stunning feat of interception shooting down as many as six Soviet DB-3 bombers in only 4 minutes! Sarvanto became the top scoring Finnish ace with a total of 13 victories by the end of the Winter War.


As Finland faced off the Soviet advance help arrived from the Swedish Voluntary Air Force, F 19. Over 250 volunteers and 25 aircraft including 12 Gloster Gladiators answered Finland's call for aid. In two months of aerial combat they acquitted themselves well but lost six planes and five pilots, two of whom were captured and were eventually returned to Sweden.


As the Winter War continued the British Government finally agreed to lend some real support to the embattled Finns. Aircraft already purchased were finally released including 80 Hawker Henley's and a lot of other older machines.

The most modern war planes in Finland's inventory were its 17 Blenheim medium bombers, license built in Finland.

There was however no way that Blenheim production in Finland could keep up with demand and so on the 23rd Feb 1940 twelve British built Blenheims took off from RAF Bicester heading north. They bore Finnish markings and were piloted by RAF volunteers in civilian disguise carrying false passports. (It wouldn't do for Soviet Russia to have British RAF officers as prisoners to bargain with.)

This dangerous and highly clandestine journey took three days flying through Scotland, Norway and Sweden and on to deliver all 12 bombers safely to a frozen airstrip on Lake Juva Finland. The airmen were quietly shuffled back to the British Embassy in Sweden and thence safely back to England.

Many more purchases of aircraft from Britain's inventory were fulfilled including an order of Westland Lysander observation aircraft.

Perhaps most famous as a spy taxi the Lysander's sturdy fixed undercarriage and exceptional short-field performance made it an ideal aircraft for Finnish units operating out of small, improvised airstrips often in snowy frozen conditions.

They were primarily employed as observation aircraft and could be used offensively at a pinch although they were quite vulnerable to enemy fighters.

As well as providing finished aircraft to the embattled Finns the RAF agreed to train Finnish Pilots in their operation.

In Feb 1940 12 Finnish pilots arrived in England for a Hurricane crash-course (they probably didn't call it that) before embarking in their new machines on a nail biting flight in terrible weather over the North Sea.



With the signing of the Moscow peace accord hostilities were suspended but by this time Finland's airforce, thanks to a serious amount of international aircraft shopping was considerably larger than before the outbreak of the war.

The Continuation war. (June 41 - Sep 44)
Amongst the myriad other planes incorporated into the patchwork of the Finnish airforce (including French MS406 and American built P-36 Hawks) was the Italian Fiat G50.

Purchased in 1940 to bolster the Winter war efforts a few managed to arrive in time but it wasn't until the offensive operations of 1941 that they had any significant success.
In a cruel twist all 33 machines shipped to Finland were of open cockpit design which was largely unsuitable in such Arctic climates, and the machines themselves when adapted to colder conditions performed quite poorly.


This sorry looking specimen is FA-21 originally flown by 2nd Lt Kokkonen who ran out of fuel and crashed in July 1940. It was repaired and returned to the skies flown by Lt Hamalainen in 42 but overturned on a forced landing.

Again it was repaired and is here seen as flown by 2nd Lt R. Sartiarvi with its green/black Finnish colours fuselage and replacement (original Italian desert camouflage) wings and engine cowling. Black areas were applied in an attempt to match the Finnish pattern but honestly it must've looked rather conspicuous on a snowy air strip. Eventually in April 43 2nd Lt Helin flipped this sucker on landing one last time and FA-21 was finally declared a lost cause. Amazingly all three pilots who crashed this same plane survived.


Brewster Buffalo B-239E
This is the flying beer bottle (the Finns had many more nicknames for these planes) of Capt. Hans Wind whose 39 Buffalo air victories (out of 75) make him the highest scoring Buffalo ace of the war. (Easy when your name is "Wind", right?)

The export version of the US Navy's dumpy old disappointment found something of a niche with the Finns, being better suited to ground based operations over Russia than carrier based operations in the Pacific. It replaced the ageing Fokkers and their various other largely obsolete fighters as Finland's premier modern fighter for the best part of the Continuation War.

One oddity of the Comtinuation War in the air is that with the presence of Hawker Hurricanes already in Finland once lend lease Hurricanes started landing in Russia you then had Hurricanes fighting on both sides on the same front!

No idea if they ever clashed directly. Unlikely as by that stage most Finnish Hurricanes would've been all but clapped out and short on parts. The Soviets hated their own Hurricanes, mostly because they weren't built in Russia.

As Soviet fighter technology developed becoming more and more advanced and foreign machines joined their ranks the Finns' old Brewsters struggled to cope. The FAF turned to their Luftwaffe allies for a replacement in the shape of the Messerschmitt Bf 109G.

The Finns received 159 such aircraft which equipped 4 squadrons from March 1943 and would remain in service with the FAF for over a decade being finally retired in 1954!

For pilots transferring from the old buffalo the difference was palpable. Faster, more aggressive and bang up to date the 109G was a massive upgrade and in the capable hands of experienced pilots like Ilmari Juutilainen it was a deadly hunter.

Ilmari Juutilainen was the highest scoring non-German ace of the war with 94 1/6 confirmed victories. (127 by his own count) 2 1/6 in a Fokker DXXI, 34 in a Brewster B-239E and 58 in the Bf 109G.

Another German addition to the Finnish flight inventory was the ubiquitous Junkers Ju88.

(You're seeing here one of the first and one of the latest paint jobs of my collection, with just over two years of 6mm aircraft painting experience in between. Nice to see I've made some improvement in that time)

The Finns bought two dozen Ju 88's which joined their old Blenheims on bombing raids on the North-Easter front hitting Soviet air bases near Leningrad and the Aerosan base at Petsnajoki.

Later during the Lapland War (Now against the Germans- September to November 1944) they were used for reconnaissance and for bombing German vehicle columns. After the war they served as trainers for a while but were soon scrapped.


That's all for this time. I had a blast reading up on Finland's war(s) It's a very interesting story, lots of twists and turns. It seems both sides had an idea of how to use Finland to suit their own ends while Finland just used any help they could get and did what they had to do. They would fly literally anything they could get into the air and I might have painted up many other examples of types they used including captured Soviet planes.

Painting-wise there was a lot of variation for a lot of different reasons; time-line, weather conditions, country of origin, availability of parts. The RAF Blenheims flown in would've been in RAF colours with Finnish roundels at the time before they were painted up properly in Finland to match the Finnish-built Blenheims. I often have to make choices about planes to paint up and how I'll do them but I always try to represent a range of typical schemes as well as the odd stand-alone example that tells a good story. It's never quite exhaustive though as there's always more to discover in the crazy history of the war.

Hope you've enjoyed the planes and I haven't waffled on too much. Thanks for visiting the gallery and do tell me what you think. I enjoy talking about planes almost as much as painting them.

Nice one mate, great work as usual! Really like the Buffalo especially. And defiantly not too much waffle infact I could stand much more.

Thats such an interesting assortment of planes its amazing that the Finnish procurement service didn't go out of their minds trying to find spares and parts for such a disparate and eclectic collection of airframes. Always admired the Finns for how well they fought in the Talvisota but have never taken the time to read much on the continuation war.

Do you have your next project lined up already?

Great work on a very fun period of history!

Well done.

ingtaer wrote:
Do you have your next project lined up already?

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the history and planes both. Yes the Buffalo in the winter scheme is a particularly striking look. I could see a really nice squadron of those in an eastern front game. That'd be a nice game to paint for.

Yes I have a growing list of projects in mind (don't we all) with one in production already. When I'm not painting planes I'm researching and writing up the post. But if you have any particular interest or ideas I'm apparently very impressionable. Do give me a nudge.

schoon wrote:Great work on a very fun period of history!

Well done.

Thanks Schoon. Glad to have done it justice. And thanks for the suggestion, I really enjoyed the Finnish story and my collection is all the richer for your pointing me in that direction.

Have you done Spanish civil war at all? Could be a fun and varied mix of aircraft if you haven't though thinking back on it I am sure you could pick most of the aircraft out of your current squadrons. Would be interesting just for the history though.

But if you are that impressionable I have a load of sci-fi fighters in about the same size that need painting

I think the postage cost between New Zealand and Ireland might be the prohibiting factor there. Much as I'd enjoy making up fictional history for your sci-fi fighters and painting tiny alien symbols on them.

The word "Finnish" caught my eye Wonderful write-up and paintings of tiny planes! I've had the 1:72 Revell kit of the Brewster Buffalo, with Finnish decals, untouched for years. Really should get to it, I'm just not sure what paints I should use, as I'm not going back to Revell's enamels!

I used citadel foundation Knarloc Green for my Finnish greens with a blast of green ink on top but in some cases I think the green came out too vivid and should be more olive green.

Also I think the general rule is that smaller scale needs lighter colours or it looks too dark. A 1:72 scale kit with Knarloc green might look too pale, especially if you're going for a white snow camo scheme. I don't work at that scale myself so I'm not really the one to ask.

Vallejo Model Colour has a good range of more realistic colours which are intented for historical/military modelling.

 theCrowe wrote:
I often have to make choices about planes to paint up and how I'll do them but I always try to represent a range of typical schemes as well as the odd stand-alone example that tells a good story. It's never quite exhaustive though as there's always more to discover in the crazy history of the war.

If you're looking for a storied Finnish aircraft, have a look at the DC-2 "Hanssin Jukka" http://www.ilmasotakoulunkilta.fi/IlmaSK/ilmaskmma.nsf/sp?Open&cid=ContentE9451

Suomi mainittu, torilla tavataan! ("Finland mentioned, party at the market square", a national meme over here when someone else talks about us )

That's a nice looking patchwork quilt of planes you've got there, have you had the opportunity to fly them in a game yet?

theCrowe wrote:I used citadel foundation Knarloc Green for my Finnish greens with a blast of green ink on top but in some cases I think the green came out too vivid and should be more olive green.

Also I think the general rule is that smaller scale needs lighter colours or it looks too dark. A 1:72 scale kit with Knarloc green might look too pale, especially if you're going for a white snow camo scheme. I don't work at that scale myself so I'm not really the one to ask.

Turaxa wrote:Vallejo Model Colour has a good range of more realistic colours which are intented for historical/military modelling.

Thanks for the tips, I'll keep these in mind and do some research. I currently only have Citadel paints, but buying a couple of bottles from other manufacturers is not totally out of the question.

 Sherrypie wrote:
Suomi mainittu, torilla tavataan! ("Finland mentioned, party at the market square", a national meme over here when someone else talks about us )

That's a nice looking patchwork quilt of planes you've got there, have you had the opportunity to fly them in a game yet?

Thanks for taking a look. Really nice to have an authentic Finnish nod of approval. And do let me know if my research has produced anything inaccurate.

As far as gaming with them goes, the sad answer is no. In fact I so rarely get a chance to game these days I may as well start collecting Red Cross vehicles.

Hi folks, long time no planes! Super glad to be back at long last with this batch all ready to show. This time around I'm not looking at a National Air Force or even a specific front. This time around I'm looking at V.I.P.'s in the air!

In a war where for the first time people could be transported through the skies to almost anywhere in the world the various aircraft that made that possible through either choice or necessity make for an interesting study. Well I think so at least.

NOTE: Some of the planes so used were cutting edge prototypes or specially modified to purpose and wouldn't have had all the turrets and other fixtures of later regular service aircraft. I've chosen not to file these off or dramatically alter window layouts on these miniatures so please forgive such inaccuracies as we go along. So with that said lets look at the planes.

The first V.I.P. I wanted to look at had to be Churchill, who as you can imagine had much cause to travel around the world. I couldn't get miniatures for his earlier flights but I could get one for this.

In August 1942 American pilot Captain Vanderkloot ,the best in the business flew Churchill and his staff in a specially converted Long range B-24 Liberator cargo transporter -AL504 named "Commando". They went first to Cairo to put Monty in charge in North Africa and then on to Moscow to meet with Stalin.

It wasn't exactly a comfortable ride. The bomb bay was sealed shut and the interior fitted with a makeshift cabin of seats and a bed for the main man. The whole thing was painted black (proper stealth technology that) for the overnight flights and any info on the flight plan was strictly top secret.


Churchill's second and last trip on "Commando" was to the 1943 Casablanca Conference. (A little more on what he saw when he got there later)


In May 1943, seeing the need for a permanent (and altogether more suitable, altogether more British) dedicated VIP transport aircraft the air ministry commissioned Avro York C Mark I LV633 for use by King George VI and the Prime Minister. Named "Ascalon" by 24 Squadron's Commanding Officer, LV633 joined the King's Flight, operating from Hendon Middlesex.

In August 1944, with Vanderkroot again at the controls Ascalon bore the travelling PM in some greater amount of comfort this time (he did turn 70 in this year after all) to Algiers, Naples, Moscow, Cairo, Turkey and the Black Sea, cigar in hand all the way there and back, no doubt.

Ascalon also conveyed King George VI on some of his longest Royal flights visiting Tripoli in June 1943 and Naples in July-August 1944.


Douglas VC-54C Skymaster Aka “Sacred Cow” President Roosevelt.

The first purpose-built presidential air transport the forerunner to the modern day "Airforce One" was this Douglas Skymaster, officially the "Flying Whitehouse" but more commonly referred to as "the Sacred Cow", a nod to the high security and special status surrounding the plane.


Presidential luxuries on board included an executive conference room with a large desk and a rectangular bulletproof window. A private presidential privy and a fold down bed concealed behind the sofa. And even a galley kitchen with an electric fridge! A battery-powered wheelchair lift was installed at the rear to allow the President to board the aircraft more easily.

The Sacred Cow represented the very bleeding edge of modernity in the air. When Churchill first encountered the C-54 of the American delegation in Casablanca he was green with envy. (He was still flying Commando!)

Of course he had to have one too, in the interest of maintaining the dignity and prestige of Britain you understand. In November 1944 he got his wish and for the Yalta conference in Feb 45 both Skymasters were parked up side by side at Saki airport and guarded by the Red Army.

But what about Uncle Joe, I hear you cry.

Well he didn't fly so that's that.

Ok only joking, I'll drop another picture of my Soviet Pe-8 (that ain't no bourgeois party wagon)

It is painted up as the aircraft that carried Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov and his delegation from Moscow to London and then to Washington, D.C. and back, for negotiations to open a second front against Nazi Germany (19 May–13 June 1942). The flight crossed German-controlled airspace on the return trip without incident.

Stalin evidently didn't mind sending his underlings on dangerous air journeys. Stalin himself preferred to stay on the ground inside 83tons of armoured rail carriage.


Ok, so on to some Axis VIP's.

Ju52 Lufthansa airliner Immelmann D-2600

This is possibly the most Nazi-lookin' plane in my collection, it's Hitler's own personal ride courtesy of Germany's premier airline Deutsche Lufthansa, who in 1933 gave him this classic three engined Junkers Ju52 by the name of Immelmann II (after WW1 ace Max Immelmann)
As Chancellor of Germany Hitler travelled extensively by air and had his own fleet of aircraft based in Berlin many of them Ju52s.


The Ju52, known as 'Tante Ju' (Aunt Ju) or 'Iron Annie' was a mainstay of the Lufwaffe. A rugged and reliable trimotor medium bomber from the Spanish Civil War the old Ju52 remained in service throughout the Second World War as one of the Luftwaffe's most common transport aircraft for both personnel and cargo as well as mine-sweeping, glider towing and paratroop drops, though it was horribly vulnerable to more modern fighters and anti-aircraft fire. (I didn't file the defensive weapons off as I intend to repaint this miniature some day for another project but Immelmann II was a civilian airliner and so wouldn't have had them) (I might add that Chiang Kai-shek's personal transport was also a Ju52 commandeered from Eurasia Airlines)

Hitler's personal pilot was a man named Hans Baur. Baur had been his pilot during his election campaign and continued to be on into the war. He was given a high ranking SS commission and tasked with building and maintaining Hitlers personal air fleet. In 1939 he suggested an upgrade, switching the old Iron Annie for a shinny new four engines Focke-Wulf FW200C Condor, imaginatively named Immelmann III.

It was kited out with an armoured seat for der Fuhrer and his own automatic parachute. (Which Baur said was never armed) It was faster and had a much longer range than his old ride, unsurprising as the Fw 200 was originally designed as a transatlantic airliner.

The Condor was pressed into military service as a maritime patrol aircraft and fitted out with defensive weapons, radios and radar equipment. All the extra weight was a bit much for the slim sleek airliner and they were fitted with a heavier undercarriage to take the load but the overloaded Condors had a bad tendency to break their backs on heavy landings.

German Foreign Minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop also flew by Condor to Moscow in 1939 to negotiate the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union. That was another civilian marked airliner though (silver and black like the Ju52) and again I intend to re-do this Fw200 as a standard maritime patrol plane, so I didn't file off any weapon turrets that neither Hitler's nor Ribbentrop's rides would have toted.

Mitsubishi G4M 'Betty' Admiral Yamamoto

When U.S. Naval Intelligence intercepted the travel plans of Imperial Japanese Navy Admiral Isokoru Yamamoto the chance to "Get Yamamoto" was too good to miss. He was planning an inspection visit of Japanese bases in the upper Solomon Islands to boost morale but when his plane arrived at Balalae Airfield, on an island near Bougainville a squadron of Army Airforce P-38 Lightning's were ready to pounce.

Having flown a 600 mile approach at wave top level avoiding radar and Japanese controlled airspace the attack had been maticulously planned and executed with exacting navigational skill by the pilots of Squadron 339 who arrived bang on time just as the Admiral's convoy were coming in to land.

Lt. Rex T. Barber peeled off and engaged the first "Betty" taking out an engine and the smoking bomber plunged into the jungle below. 'Operation Vengeance' had beaten astonishing odds to come out a success, Admiral Yamamoto, the architect of the attack on Pearl Harbour was dead. See, this is why Stalin didn't fly!

Well that's world leaders, royals and politicians and the like for a little bit, but I'm not done yet, lets take a look at some royalty of a different sort, Hollywood royalty!

B-17E Flying Fortress "The Duchess" Air gunner Clark Gable

When Hollywood superstar Carole Lombard died in a tragic plane crash following her hugely successful war-bonds drive her husband, Clark Gable was devastated.

To honour her memory Gable enlisted in the airforce graduated OCS receiving a commission as a Second Lieutenant and was immediately given a special assignment by Henry H "Hap" Arnold. Gable would head a film crew, filming in combat with the Eighth Air Force then operating out of England to make a recruitment film about aerial gunners.

Gable's fifth and final combat mission flown out of RAF Polebrooke was aboard "The Duchess" leading the 351st in a raid on the Nantes port area in France in September 1943. Gable manned the nose gun during the raid where despite a lot of damage from enemy fighters and flack all the bombers managed to return to England. Gable and his film crew returned to Hollywood and completed the production of "Combat America" as a tribute to the airforce who by that time had plenty of gunners already.


and Gable wasn't the only Hollywood star to swap the big screen for a big plane.


B-24D Liberator (Jimmy Stewart) Nine Yanks and a Jerk

Jimmy Stewart, although a big name in the movies was already an accomplished commercial pilot when the war began. His family having a proud military heritage, naturally Stewart's first instinct was to sigh up with the USAAF.

Hap Arnold wanted to keep the movie star stateside as a training instructor to be available for public appearances and recruitment drives but Stewart was keen to avoid that particular dead end and wanted to serve in a real combat role. He eventually got his chance and shipped out to command 445th Bombardment Group in action over Germany.

This B-24 Liberator "Nine Yanks and a Jerk" (if you don't know why that's funny I'll explain when you're old enough) was one of those flown by Commander Stewart leading 703rd BS. He would fly 20 credited combat sorties and many more uncredited as his distinguished career saw him progress from private to colonel in only four years with numerous medals. His airforce service continued long after the Second World War ended retiring as a Brigadier General in 1968.

Now, on to those perhaps more strategically important people.

BOAC Mosquito

When you absolutely positively have to evacuate the world's leading Nuclear-Physicist out of Stockholm there's really only one option. Enter B.O.A.C. whose private airline ran all sorts of commercial and occasionally clandestine flights into Britain out of neutral Sweden.

Niels Bohr was stowed aboard this modified B.O.A.C. Mosquito in an improvised cabin in the bomb bay where a single passenger could lie prone for the duration of the flight over the North Sea.

Bohr was provided with an Oxygen mask but when pilot Gilbert Rae and radio operator James Payne couldn't get a response from him they surmised that Bohr had passed out from lack of Oxygen and so dropped to a lower altitude. When asked about his flight Bohr said he'd slept like a baby. Bohr joined the Manhattan Project and as they say, the rest is history.

Westland Lysander pilot Peter Vaughan-Fowler

That was sneaking the VIP out but what about getting one in? Well, when you've got a special agent who needs to get into enemy occupied France in the dead of night the man you want on the job is the undisputed king of the midnight Spy-Taxi run, Peter Vaughn-Fowler.
The Westland Lysander was originally intended as a STOL (Short Take Off & Landing) capable supply mule for the army but during early operations in France it was found to be far too slow and vulnerable to enemy fighters to operate anywhere near the front lines in that role. It was however the perfect plane for insertion and extraction of special agents behind enemy lines at night, a spy taxi.

Flying at treetop level with a map on his lap and only the moonlit shadows to navigate by Vaughn-Fowler could put his Lysander down on a field that most other pilots would consider not much bigger than a postage stamp.
This kind of risky solo flying mission required needle-in-a-haystack navigation skills, some serious piloting chops and nerves of steel. Not only was a huge proportion of the mission flown over enemy lines but every mission was flying right into the teeth of the potentially lethal world of espionage and resistance movements where the standing order was execution for anyone caught in the act or suspected of spying.


If however your deep extraction just happens to include a deposed dictator in a mountaintop hotel your best bet (along with some fairly shady political dealing) might be this nippy little number. The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch.

The "daring rescue" of Benito Mussolini was made possible by the extreme STOL characteristics of the Feiseler Storch. With some serious hydraulic suspension the lanky landing gear took on about 350ft of boulder strewn Gran Sasso mountainside which was all it required to set down, collect Il ex-Duce and whisk him away.

Plenty of footage of the raid was shot for posterity, and the Axis newsreels of course. In fact that was about all that was shot, as the whole thing was a done deal before the armed paratroopers even arrived and ordered the Italian guards to surrender. Still, it's one thing to make a shady political deal and quite another to put together the skills, resources and specialist aircraft to pull it off.


Well that's all for now folks. What a mission that was! Took a bit longer than anticipated but I had a blast researching and painting this lot. Hope you all enjoyed them and do chime in with your thoughts, but for now as always, thanks for visiting the gallery.

Good stuff as always, nice to see you back. Surprised at the lack of Stalin jr.

I reckon any Soviet fighter on a wonky stand can be Stalin Jr.

Hi folks. Long time no planes. Sorry for the long break, I got very distracted with ground based things, (gasp!) bounce over to my 6mm WW2 Red Cross round up if you want to see those.

Carrying on the theme though I've got some Air Ambulance and rescue planes for you all this time around.


Not too many, just the five this time around, as I'm still not quite done with my ground based ideas yet. So anyway, on with the aircraft!

He 59- German Seenotdienst Air Sea Rescue service.

Seenotdienst Air Sea Rescue planes like these and many other types were operating in the North Sea and over the channel and many airmen of both sides had been saved from certain drowning by their efforts.


Unfortunately however it turned out they weren't just rescuing downed airmen. They were also noting the location of Allied naval convoys. This was considered an illegal activity while flying under the protection of the Red Cross and Churchill was having none of it. So he ordered they be engaged and shot down as active combatants regardless of their markings (a somewhat controversial order) and despite the fact that Britain did not operate her own Air Sea Rescue at the time.


The Seenotdienst were rolled up into the Luftwaffe and soon dropped their Red Cross and civilian markings but none the less continued to operate in the roll of Air Sea Rescue throughout the war.

Across the world air ambulance services were operated by dedicated units ferrying wounded men back from the front lines.

The Bristol Bombay was an ageing troop transport, turned light bomber, that had served admirably in the Middle East until the availability of Wellingtons allowed the old Bombays to be used in a more suitable role. They went from bombing duties with 216sqd RAF to transport and air ambulance duties with the No.1 Air Ambulance Unit, RAAF in Feb 1943 serving in the Tunisia campaign.


1AAU continued to provide vital support to infantry forces during the invasion of Sicily and on into Italy. As newer and more reliable types came online with the RAF and USAAF the 1AAU with their venerable Bombays were disbanded flying their last air evacuation in November of 1943.

Piper Cub HE-1 US Navy air ambulance evacuation.
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The Piper Cub was a perfect little civilian two seater used across the American military services as a transport and recon platform, designated the L-4 Grasshopper.


It was the US Navy however who commissioned this variant, the HE-1, (later AE-1) a dedicated air ambulance with a hinged upper rear fuselage to allow the loading of a single wounded passenger on a stretcher.


These aircraft were located at small remote Naval Auxiliary Air Stations which were often some distance from major medical facilities. The development and introduction of helicopters for air evacuation made small ambulance planes like these all but obsolete.

Another Air Sea Rescue plane, this time I'm looking to the coast of Spain.

Like many officially neutral nations Spain operated patrols over its airspace and coastlines. In the summer of 1944 twelve Dornier 24T flying boats (Dutch-built machines originally serving with the Luftwaffe) were delivered to Spain on the understanding that they would be used to rescue downed airmen off the Spanish coasts.


Do-24s like these were also used by the Seenotdienst Air Sea Rescue service. According to Dornier's records the Do 24 was credited with the rescue of some 12,000 people over the course of its service, which with the Spanish airforce lasted until 1967.


And last of my air ambulance and rescue set is the Douglas C-47 Dakota.

Not all aircraft carrying wounded had the benefit of Red Cross markings. (Indeed not all those that were so marked received the courtesy that the law required) In the earliest days of the Normandy landings the first airfields secured allowed these transports to land carrying vital ammunition, food and supplies to the allied armies in France but the return leg to England was an air evacuation of the wounded.

As the Dakotas were carrying war supplies to the front they could not be marked with the Red Cross so the return to England though laden with wounded was entirely at their own risk if under the cover of allied fighters.


Well that's all for now. Still working on a couple more 6m ground based bits and bobs (nothing normal I assure you) but I'll be back with more aircraft in the future and as ever you'll see them on here. Thanks for visiting the gallery and do let me know what you think.

Hi folks, thanks for visiting the gallery again. This time around I've been looking at anything that floats. That's right folks Float Planes and Flying Boats are the order of the day. And since I've gathered up quite a collection I'm breaking them up starting with all the Allies this time. And the Axis ones will follow next time. So on with the show.


Short Sunderland DD867 2-G, of No. 423 Squadron RCAF.
Always important to cheer on the home team, and what could be better than this Northern Irish local legend. Built in Belfast and based at Castle Archdale, County Fermanagh. The Short Sunderland had to be the one to kick things off this time around.

The good Canadian lads of No. 423 would fly these big four engined patrol boats out of Lough Erne on long-range patrol/reconnaissance and submarine hunting missions over the Atlantic. For such a task it could be equipped equipped with bombs, aerial mines or depth charges and toted up to sixteen defensive machine guns, which earned it the nickname Das Fliegendes Stachelschwein ("The Flying Porcupine"). Very catchy.

Sunderlands flew with many other allied air forces across the world and played an important part in the Mediterranean theatre in the evacuation of Crete and the reconnaissance of the Italian fleet at Taranto.

And of course the Canadians provided more than manpower to the air war.

The Noorduyn Norseman was a Canadian-built bush plane. Designed to be fitted with floats, skis or wheels it was a versatile little utility craft.

The RCAF used them for radio and navigational training as part of the Commonwealth Air Training Programme as well as for general utility and patrol in the remote and arctic conditions the Norseman was designed for. Orders were also furnished for the RAF and the USAAF and the Norseman saw service anywhere that a rugged and dependable bush plane was needed from Alaska to the UK.

It was aboard one such UK based Norseman (though not one equipped with floats) that Major Glenn Miller, director of the famous United States Army Air Forces Band disappeared crossing the English Channel. He was on his way to Paris to prepare for a big Christmas show. It is suspected that an iced up carburettor may have caused the crash. TIGHAR (The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery) have taken an interest in the incident and have been investigating the case since January 2019.

And here's both along with the RAF Walrus being the only other commonwealth flying boat in my collection. Nice bit of variety there.

On to the Americans then.

Vought OS2U Kingfisher
The US Navy's own modest little observation floatplane the Kingfisher could be catapult launched from a battleship or cruiser and used to spot for naval gunnery or to rescue men in the water. It wasn't fast and it wasn't well armed making it easy prey for any opportunistic Japanese fighter that happened upon one. Nevertheless Kingfisher pilots and radio men put it all on the line to get the job done.

One such pilot was Lt. John Burns of the Observation Squadron (VO) 6 from the battleship North Carolina (BB 55) who together with his Radioman Aubrey J. Gill was flying in support of an American air raid on the Japanese port on the Island of Truk, 1st May 1944. Reports of downed airmen in the bay saw them dare a rescue under fire while the attack continued overhead.

As more American airmen splashed down the little Kingfisher taxied around the bay from life raft to life raft eventually collecting up seven stranded men. With the aircraft heavily overloaded and the men carefully balanced along the wings they were struggling to remain afloat never mind any hope of getting airborne.

None the less Burns resolved to taxi the craft out of the bay and into deeper waters where after a pretty hairy five hour wait with the waves beating the little plane apart all nine men were picked up by the American Submarine Tang . With the rescued Zoomies safely below deck the Tang's gunners sank the Kingfisher (they couldn't leave it for the enemy to recover) before the Tang continued her patrol.


Grumman J2F Duck
One of the unsung heroes of the American war effort. Maybe not as modern, fast or glamorous as some of the other planes in the US Armed forces inventory but Grumman's old single engine amphibious bi-plane was the definitive utility plane.

It first flew in the early 30s but by the time The War was on it was a mainstay workhorse of the US Navy, Marine Corps and Coast guard, with dedicated versions produced for each. It could do mapping and Photo reconnaissance, scouting and observation, anti-submarine patrol and Air Sea Rescue. Ducks transported the wounded and the VIPs alike, towed targets and dropped bombs and depth charges.

As Grumman switched production to other more important projects the old Ducks muddled through in service all throughout the war and beyond all over the world and in as many different roles as could be found. Some remained airborne as late as the mid 50s.



Martin PBM Mariner
An often overlooked hero of the Pacific this big bruiser of a Patrol Bomber became one of the most commonly used flying boats of the US Navy. The Mariner had a much bigger capacity and a longer operational range than the (more glamorous and more celebrated) PBY Catalina which it replaced squadron by squadron as soon as numbers could be built.
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Trouble was, and it seems obvious looking at this thing, that it was a four-engine sized airframe with only two engines albeit two massive Wright R-2600 radials. Successive versions were upgraded and up-powered time and again but often additional radar and landing gear would offset the improvements leaving them woefully underpowered and accident prone.

Fully laden and fully fuelled for a 2,000 mile maritime patrol these ungainly whales required a huge length of water to get their hulls into the air. So much so that later versions would require rocket or jet assisted take off.


And here's all the Americans together joined by my PBY Catalina. Another nice selection of very individual designs in use by US forces.


Conwing L-16 Seaduck
The once iconic Conwing L-16 was, by 1938 a bit long in the tooth but some veteran pilots still swore by them and maintained these highly versatile cargo and transport seaplanes despite the appearance of faster and more specialised aircraft on the market.

The Seaduck was owned by a commercial freight company called "Higher for Hire" operating out of Cape Suzette on the coast of Usland. Her veteran pilot Baloo the Bear (call-sign Papa Bear) and navigator, a young former pirate called Kit Cloudkicker operated a particularly hazardous route often at risk of air pirates and raiders. But the trusty old Seaduck was a rugged and capable machine that never let them down.


Never quite sure where to put a French aircraft when it's an Allies/Axis split so seeing as I've got two floating Frenchies I'm throwing one in here and the other in with the Axis later.

The Latécoère 298 was designed for the French Navy for maritime patrol and torpedoing German Submarines. In the early months of the war, the Phoney War they did plenty of patrolling but didn't manage to sink anything.

It wasn't until May 1940 when equipped for dive bombing against the invading armoured columns that the Navy's Laté 298's had much more success. In fact their losses on such missions were fewer than those of French squadrons equipped with other types.

The Laté 298 was one of France's more successful designs. Weather captured by the Luftwaffe, flying under Vichy colours or defecting to the Allies in North Africa thy were a welcome addition to any squadron they equipped.

So that's the Allies new additions. Adding to my old Supermarine Walruss and Consolidated PBY Catalina (still a firm favourite) it's a fairly wide overview of some of the water-based machines in use by the Allies throughout the war.


And of course the Seaduck is really from the Disney Saturday morning cartoon Talespin! But you all knew that, right?

Lovely collection, I can practically hear the propellers humming.

When I was in Trinidad I learned about the flying boats the US Navy had there for sub hunting (the German U Boat war in the Caribbean has to be the most obscure theater of war). Can't remember what they flew though.

Amazingly lovely work as always. This batch brings back some nostalgia for me.

 theCrowe wrote:


Short Sunderland DD867 2-G, of No. 423 Squadron RCAF.
Always important to cheer on the home team, and what could be better than this Northern Irish local legend. Built in Belfast and based at Castle Archdale, County Fermanagh. The Short Sunderland had to be the one to kick things off this time around.

There was a TV show in the 80s, and I can never remember the name of it. Along with this seaplane, it had a one-eyed dog as the characters. Since I can't remember the names, I've never been able to look it up.

 theCrowe wrote:

Conwing L-16 Seaduck
The once iconic Conwing L-16 was, by 1938 a bit long in the tooth but some veteran pilots still swore by them and maintained these highly versatile cargo and transport seaplanes despite the appearance of faster and more specialised aircraft on the market.

The Seaduck was owned by a commercial freight company called "Higher for Hire" operating out of Cape Suzette on the coast of Usland. Her veteran pilot Baloo the Bear (call-sign Papa Bear) and navigator, a young former pirate called Kit Cloudkicker operated a particularly hazardous route often at risk of air pirates and raiders. But the trusty old Seaduck was a rugged and capable machine that never let them down.

I loved Tale Spin, even if I was a little too old to be its target audience. Jungle Book is one of my favorite Disney movies, though, and bringing those characters along with Don Carnage's pirates in to play was always a joy.

@Charistoph, you might be thinking of Tales of the Gold Monkey.

Tales of the Gold Monkey looks like a lot of fun. But before my time maybe or it was never shown in the UK. I've never heard of it before anyway though I'm sure I'd enjoy it. Looks like they used a Gruman Goose though. I looked for one of those but neither Scotia nor H&R do them.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
@Charistoph, you might be thinking of Tales of the Gold Monkey.

That is it, sir! Thank you so much! I loved it at the time, but unless one knows the name, one can't track it down without running in to it.

I took some WIP shots of the process of making the Seaduck because it was a bit of a faff and involved a bit more cutting and filing and greenstuffing than I had originally imagined. Not complaining, I love it really.

So I started out with a Fairchild C-119 Packet from Scotia Grendel. I got 2 of them so I could use one for the Seaduck and add the other one to my WW2 planes collection. But then there was a problem. The C-119 isn't a Packet at all (that's a C-82) but a post-war era Flying Boxcar! The C-119 also saw some success in Vietnam as a ground support gunship. But obviously I couldn't have that (I could, let's be real here it would've been fine and I know, I can have a fictional Disney Seaduck in my WW2 planes but not a 1947 version of a late war obscurity?) but I wanted the proper 1945 WW2 era Fairchild C-82 Packet. So I got to work retrofitting the Flying Boxcar back to the earlier model.


The C-82 had the cockpit up high and further back. So that meant a lot of filing and a good bit of greenstuff remodelling on the front end. The nose is a bit on the long side I think but it's close enough.


And then the tail end got a bit of a retrofit too adding back the outboard fins and removing some dorsal reinforcements.


Until here we have it at last. A proper crap-like-it-used-to-be Fairchild C-82 Packet.

The Fairchild C-82 Packet was a late war cargo and troop transport rushed into production in 1945 in anticipation of the airlift requirements for the invasion of Japan. In the end only a handful were built and in service when the surrender of Japan was achieved making them a little surplus to requirements. They were also used for paratroop training and as glider tugs and had various civilian cargo and transport operators.

But as expected with a big airframe rushed into production in wartime conditions the old Packet had plenty of problems including poor forward visibility from the cockpit, underpowered engines which when fully loaded could not maintain a level flight if one engine failed, as well as numerable deficiencies in the air frame all of which was addressed in the C-119 redesign which ultimately produced a much more effective aircraft.

So confusion from SG aside the C-119 was none the less a perfectly suitable airframe to form the basis for my Seaduck.

So first off I got the saw out and chopped the wings off the engine nacelles and mounted them a little lower down.

I also began a seemingly endless task of filing the front of the fuselage down to something resembling the right shape and size.

Once the wings were back on and the whole lots secured and smoothed out with plenty of greenstuff I got to work on the underside. That required a full flying boat hull modification and more greenstuff on wire armatures for floats under the wings.

Then finally it was a greenstuff job on the top side, all around the cockpit and the wide flat nose with big headlights (really Disney?) and a rope point too.

Then the tail got the same treatment as the C-82 though really it should've had a more rounded tail fin but I was losing the plot by now and just decided enough was enough. It was time to slap a big yellow paint job on it.


So there it is. Pretty happy with the end result on both of these although the Seaduck is maybe a bit bigger than a 1:300 scale Seaduck should be. Doesn't matter though, it's not like I'm about to start modelling a little Don Karnage and the Sky Pirates to match... Unless...

Back once again with my latest collection of 1:300 offerings. This time as promised it's flying boats and floatplanes of the Axis.

I have a few of these in my collection already which you may already have seen.


Here we have the German aircraft Arado 196, Dornier Do 24, Heinkel He 59 and the Italians, CANT Z506 Airone and CANT Z.501 Gabbiano. Details for all those will be back in previous posts.

So of course we're obviously short a good few Japanese ones there so unsurprisingly the vast majority of this new batch of Axis float planes and flying boats are of course Japanese.


So let's get into these. The first of my Japanese seaplanes is the Kawanishi H6K Type 97 (allied codename"Mavis")

When I first saw a picture of this flying boat I just knew I had to have one and was delighted to find one in the always excellent Scotia Grendel Collectair range.

A great big high wing flying boat in a similar vein to the German Do 24, but scaled up to a four engine design for maximum Pacific patrol range. A crew of 9 could take this baby out on a 24hr patrol covering over 2500 nautical miles of range. They served all throughout the war as front line bombers, transports and reconnaissance patrol planes.


As allied fighters began to get the better of the old Mavis its front line duties were taken over by a newer and more modern design, the Kawanishi H8K known to the allies as "Emily"

Emily was a big girl, another great four engined flying boat, this time more like the Short Sunderland, and as with the Sunderland enemy fighters had a healthy respect for its defensive capabilities. The Emily is often consider the very best of the big maritime patrol planes of the era.

On 4 March 1942, two Emily flying boats each carrying four 250Kg bombs conducted the longest ever two-plane bombing mission ever flown to date. Departing from the Marshal Islands they flew a round trip of over 7000km in an attempt to conduct reconnaissance over Pear Harbour and disrupt ongoing salvage and clean up operations following the infamous raid of Dec 7th.

They were ultimately unsuccessful in their navigation, their bombs falling well off the mark and causing no casualties. They did however highlight the need for increased defences. A second attempt a week later resulted in one Emily being intercepted and shot down by Brewster Buffaloes near Midway Atoll.

Sticking with Imperial Japan but looking to the smaller end of the spectrum I've got the Nakajima A6M2-N (Navy Type 2 Interceptor/Fighter-Bomber) Allied codename "Rufe".

The concept was something of a rarity in that no other nation opted for a dedicated floatplane fighter/interceptor, but it's hardly surprising given the realities of prosecuting a war in the Pacific.

Based on the Mitsubishi A6M Zero the floatplane version had a large central float with outboard stabilisers under each wing. They were mainly used in a defensive interceptor role protecting remote island bases but also saw action with seaplane carriers in the Indian Ocean acting as fighter-bombers and short reconnaissance support for amphibious landings.

As allied fighter cover increased throughout the Pacific campaign the Rufe, encumbered with the extra drag of its floats just couldn't stand the pace and those that weren't destroyed outright fell back to the defence of the home islands.


This is the Aichi E13A, code named "Jake" the most numerous of Japan's long-range reconnaissance seaplanes.

The Jake was the Imperial Japanese Navy's multi purpose workhorse used for all kinds of transport, sea rescue, scouting ahead of the fleet, general spotting and occasional combat duties.

They operated off seaplane tenders and battleships as well as island bases. They weren't particularly well armed with only a single defensive machine gun however some carried air-to-surface radar and had a downward pointing 20mm cannon to attack American PT boats. They could also carry bombs or depth charges and so were quite capable of ruining your day of encountered at sea.

Another small Japanese floatplane next. This is the Yokosuka E14Y (allied codename "Glen").

The Glen was designed to be carried aboard an I-15 series submarine. Once within range of they were assembled and catapult launched to be flown over enemy territory on photo reconnaissance. With the photos in the can the little float plane would come down beside the submarine, be winched aboard and stowed away or simply abandoned and sunk with the crew and valuable photos safely on board the submarine.


This "Glen" was flown by Nobuo Fujita who was the only enemy airman to bomb the US mainland. On September 9, 1942 Fujita dropped incendiary bombs over southern Oregon in an attempt to start forest fires. It wasn't a very effective attempt and the local fire brigade dealt with it quickly.

Later in life Fujita was invited to return to the little town of Brookings Oregon where he received a warm welcome. He planted a tree at the site where he had bombed and raised money for a library that now displays his family's 400 year old katana. He was made an honorary citizen of Brookings shortly before his death in 1998.

And the last of my Japanese floatplanes is the Aichi M6A Seiran attack floatplane.

This was an upscaled and altogether more lethal submarine launched concept along the same lines as the Glen, but intended to operate from the much larger I-400 class submarines. Their original mission was to conduct aerial attacks against the United States.

The story of the design and operation of the Seiran tracks the course of the war for the Japanese quite well. Initially designed with a fixed float undercarriage these attack planes would be able to land beside their submarine carriers once their mission was complete to be re-stowed aboard. However as defences mounted around their intended targets it was deemed prudent that the pilots should have the option to jettison the floats if they encountered enemy fighters, their unhampered performance helping their chances of reaching and bombing their target.
In fact, they soon concluded, why launch with floats at all if they would only be a hinderance? They would of course have to ditch in the sea on their return to the submarine but the pilots could be recovered. The aircraft would be sacrificed for the sake of the mission.

Soon however the situation became desperate and the pilots noted the modifications now taking place on their machines. Now, not only were the floats detached but the bombs were to be permanently fixed in place. Evidently the top brass estimated their best chance of achieving mission success was by sacrificing both man and machine. In the end however their training was for naught as the Japanese surrender came before the submarine launched aerial attack could go ahead. The Seirans were decommissioned, launched into the sea unassembled, before the three huge I-400 submarines were surrendered to the US Navy.

Next up its a classic of German seaplane design the tri-motor Blohm & Voss Bv 138 Seedrache.

Not content with a cool name like SeaDragon the Germans always known for their comedy wit named it "die fliegende Holzschuh"
(The Flying Cog) because of the shape of the hull.

The Seedrache was Germany's primary maritime reconnaissance and patrol seaplane with 297 built. It was an unconventional design to say the least but as it turned out a very versatile one. It was big enough to carry up to ten passengers, very handy for sea rescue, but that weight capacity could also be used for bombs, depth charges or for anti-shipping patrols. Or for radar equipment to hunt in conjunction with submarine groups. Some were also fitted with degaussing rings for mine sweeping. (Like this one- that's what the big loop is.)

The man behind the design was evidently quite the unconventional thinker. But of course not everyone appreciated his particular taste in aeronautical design. A British journal by the name of Aeroplane printed this piece of poetic criticism beside a picture of a Bv 138.
Richard Vogt, that original man,

Turns out aeroplanes uglier than
Most any other designer can.
Here is shown on Baltic Sea
A typical Vogt monstrosity—
The One-Three-Eight by B. & V.


I'd have to say I heartily disagree, but haters gonna hate.


And a final entry bring up the rear it's a big French boat in Vichy striped pyjamas.

The Bréguet 521 Bizerte was a big Tri-motor flying boat developed for the French Navy and initially deployed with five squadrons for all manner of long range maritime reconnaissance and submarine hunting. They sported five defensive machine guns including one in a tail gunner's position and could carry a bomb load of up to 300kg.

It continued in service under Vichy control with a dozen serving in the Mediterranean. They were useful and well designed machines and Luftwaffe also used some to supply Seenotdienst sea rescue units off the French Atlantic coast.

This miniature it has to be said was a bit of a nightmare to build. Its mostly made of wire and glue and in honesty the whole front end was a bit off and took some green stuff modification to bring it into shape. Not that I'm criticising the excellent sculpting and quality of the product, I'm honestly very impressed with the skill and workmanship and the huge range on offer. Some minis just take a bit more work than others and this was certainly one of those.

So that's it for the Axis floaty boaty planes. Here's a big shot of the whole lot all together.

It's been lots of fun taking to the maritime skies with both sides. There have been some excellent planes available at this scale to allow me to explore the subject quite expansively.

I'm going to take a break from 1:300 planes for a while. Got lots more still to do but I'll wait for the enthusiasm to resurface after a bit of something else for a while. Do let me know what you think as always, and thanks for visiting the gallery.

Wow, thanks for the great models and the even better history lesson!

You're very welcome as ever. Not sure where to take this next. I'm taking some time out from planes doing a bit more classic 28mm stuff but hopefully it'll not be too long getting the bug for these again. Still plenty of planes to paint and amazing stories to tell.

Bit of a necro/thread crash, but this is such a great resource I think it fits here best. This is the master template issued to manufacturers by the Ministry of Production for camouflage for all British WW2 aircraft - if you're painting tiny weeny scale planes, this covers you for everything from an Avro Anson to a Vickers Vildebeeste!

Later in life Fujita was invited to return to the little town of Brookings Oregon where he received a warm welcome. He planted a tree at the site where he had bombed and raised money for a library that now displays his family's 400 year old katana. He was made an honorary citizen of Brookings shortly before his death in 1998.

One of my favorite stories from the war.

eddieazrael wrote:Bit of a necro/thread crash, but this is such a great resource I think it fits here best. This is the master template issued to manufacturers by the Ministry of Production for camouflage for all British WW2 aircraft - if you're painting tiny weeny scale planes, this covers you for everything from an Avro Anson to a Vickers Vildebeeste!

Thanks ed, what a fantastic resource! And thanks for the necrobump.

Kid_Kyoto wrote:

Later in life Fujita was invited to return to the little town of Brookings Oregon where he received a warm welcome. He planted a tree at the site where he had bombed and raised money for a library that now displays his family's 400 year old katana. He was made an honorary citizen of Brookings shortly before his death in 1998.

One of my favorite stories from the war.

Yeah, it's a great story. I love discovering these great human stories through hobby interests.

Sadly no more planes yet. I've discovered a love of sculpting little furry critters for burrows and badgers. But now I'm moving house so that project in on hold now too. Plenty more planes still to paint some day when the notion strikes or situation best suits. Got some RAF heroes, Poles and PR planes lined up. (Read: in storage awaiting a move!)

This thread is amazing - incredibly modelled and painted aircraft, with a wonderful bonus history lesson for each. Bravo!

Back once again after a huge two + years hiatus. And bringing us back to the tiny planes big history scene it’s the round of the eye in the sky, often unarmed but never unimportant… It’s Aerial Reconnaissance planes.

We’ve met a few of these already in our previous mentions.


We’ve seen Imperial Japan’s little submarine-carried “Glens” and France’s Potez 63.11 of the Aèriens d'Observation, as well as numerous other planes like Mosquitos and P-38s whose contributions as photo reconnaissance platforms were every bit as vital to success as their bombing or attack roles.

But we’re here for the newly painted planes in the collection.


So let’s look at some of these new additions and as ever enjoy some great stories from the history of WW2 along the way.


Ki-46-High speed long range photo reconnaissance - Allied code name “Dinah”


In 1939 Imperial Japanese top brass ordered a fast reconnaissance platform with long range endurance of 6 hours. The Ki-46 was the result and at the time could outpace the fastest Japanese fighters but as faster American fighters like the P-38 came online it had to be upgraded supercharged and redesigned in an effort to keep up.


Earlier designs had one defensive machine gun which was soon eliminated to save weight and increase speed. When you’re faster than your pursuer you don’t stay around to fight over the photos you’ve just taken.


British planes in Burma had a hard time countering these fast, high altitude planes through there were some occasional interceptions. One notable example was by P-38 fighter ace Major Dick Bong over the coast of Papua New Guinea in late 1942.


Ju 86 P- Luftwaffe -High Altitude Photo Reconnaissance -Eastern front.


Many PR aircraft weren’t so straight forward in their genesis. The German Ju 86 began life as an airliner (though that’s maybe a somewhat dubious claim when the Nazi war machine was being prepared in the civilian sector with the “honestly that’s not bomb capacity that’s for mail bags” school of design.


Early field testing with the Condor Legion in the Spanish civil war proved the Ju 86 wasn’t the medium bomber they’d hoped for, the He 111 winning out on that front.
The Ju 86 was converted to transport duties but failed badly at that too and any survivors were relegated to training roles.


One variant that saw some success however was this Ju 86P- with longer wings and a pressurised cabin no guns and a crew of two these aircraft could reach an altitude of 49,000 ft where they were largely safe from enemy fighters.

This example is a paint scheme used when flying over Russia in July 1942. They operated successfully in both the photo reconnaissance and nuisance bombing role for some years over Britain, Russia and North Africa while Allied engineers developed high altitude interceptors to try to deal with them.


AR 707 of 431 Flight -Martin Maryland- Flight Officer Adrian Warburton


Once it was said that the RAF’s most valuable pilot was not some hotshot fighter ace or even the leader of a crack bomber squadron, but this guy, photo reconnaissance pilot Adrian Warburton. Based primarily in Malta during some of the hairiest times for the Mediterranean campaign this fearless and resourceful pilot would do absolutely anything to get the job done.


Early in his time at Malta Warburton flew this captured French Martin Maryland (an American plane sold to the French captured by the British and sent to Malta!) which, although designed as a light bomber, in the hands of the right pilot became an invaluable tool for aerial reconnaissance.


Warburton became something of a Malta legend through his unconventional and often highly aggressive methods. His planned photographic sweep of Taranto Harbour on 11 November 1040 was hampered by bad weather but unwilling to call it a bust he instead opted to fly in at mast-top level, ordering his crew to take notes with pencil and paper on the distribution of Italian ships, completing two passed the second (unsurprisingly) under heavy flack, in order to secure the vital intelligence needed for the subsequent raid.


So effective and indeed famous did his efforts become that he was even used as cover for other intelligence assets in the field in order to keep them secret.
“How did we come by these extremely close and detailed photographs of enemy installations? Do we have a man on the ground behind enemy lines?”
“Oh no old chap, it was our man Warby in his PR plane.” *Wink wink* *actually just plausible enough to be almost true*


B-17 E - Old 666 - The Eager Beavers- 43rd Bomb Group -New Guinea 1943


On the 16 June 1943 pilot Captain Jay Zeamer's aircrew “The Eager Beavers” flew a solo photo recon mission in B-17 #41-2666, known as “Old 666” to map the west coast of Bougainville Island in support of an invasion planned for later in the year.
The mission would earn pilot Cap Jay Zeamer and 2nd Lt. Joseph Sarnoski each a Medal of Honour (Sarnoski posthumously) and all other members of the aircrew the Distinguished Service Cross.



Having turned down the request to also photograph Buka Airdrome to the North of the Island they arrived on the west coast too early for light conditions to be any good for photos and so Zeamer and his crew decided to go kick the hornets nest and do the Buka Airdrome recon job anyway.


While the cameras rolled the newly arrived Zeros at Buka Airdrome scrambled into the air. But the crew of Old 666 were more than ready for them, having stripped the old B-17 of every scrap of dead weight they’d fitted no fewer than nineteen .50calibre machine guns! (A standard load out could be more like 13 .30 cals)


With the Buka Zeros climbing to meet them (mapping altitude at 25,000 feet) Zeamer had to fly the western coast line straight and level for 22 minutes to allow the cameras to record terrain. During this time the enemy planes made a series of attacks, their 20mm cannon shells wrecking terrible damage on the nose of Old 666 leaving both pilot Zeamer and bombardier Sarnoski badly injured as well as navigator, 1st Lt. Ruby Johnston and Sgt. Johnny Able in the top gun turret. The B-17’s nose was left in tatters the hydraulics were shot and the oxygen system was in flames.
But Zeamer held his course and once the vital shots were in the can it was time to drop to a breathable altitude and beat it for home. The dogfight continued with the crew of Old 666 giving as good as they got surviving an estimated 40 minutes before the remaining Japanese fighters, low on fuel turned back to base.


The crew nursed the battered plane back to a hairy no-flaps landing at Dobodura on the eastern coast of Papua, NewGuinea securing the vital reconnaissance and importantly ensuring no other aircrew would have to take another stab at it.


Focke Wulf Fw 189 and Blohm & Voss Bv 141


Next up it’s a story of two planes. 1937, the German Ministry of Aviation issued a specification for a new three-man, single-engine short-range reconnaissance aircraft. Arado and Focke-Wulf received official invitations to design for this contract but Dr Richard Vogt of Blohm & Voss crashed the party with a spectacularly unconventional design of his own. (But wait that’s three, well Arado’s Ar 198 was a conventional high-wing monoplane that fit the brief however, it was disappointingly underpowered but perhaps more significantly it was boring! So, like the Reichsluftfahrtministerium I’m leaving it out.)
On with interesting designs!



First up we have to talk about the weirdest silhouette to ever appear on a Friend or Foe identification chart, Blohm & Voss’ Bv 141.


You’d be forgiven for thinking that the engineering of powered aircraft was a rather symmetrical affair but Dr Vogt knew otherwise and, throwing his book of aeronautical conventions out the window he came up with this instead.


This three-man, one engine, greenhouse with wings followed the brief pretty well but it needed some creative refinement and a bigger engine to convince the top-Brass that “unconventional” didn’t always mean totally nuts.
In the end supply of the aircraft’s BMW 801 engine was a sticking point as they couldn’t be spared from Fw 190 production (oh really Focke-Wulf? Scared of a little healthy competition are we?) and perhaps unsurprisingly the contract went to the Fw 189 Uhu instead, (Nice try Dr Vogt, you’ll have to find some other way to bankroll the Nazi war machine with your private funds.) but not before production numbers were into double figures with an order of twenty of this strange new bird being placed ensuring that Allied plane-spotters knew for sure that if you saw this thing in the sky it shouldn’t be there.

So what of the Fw 189 Uhu?


It didn’t fit the spec, with its twin-engine design but it performed admirably and maybe more importantly looked like an airplane.

Not content with their sneaky tactics in securing the reccon plane contract Focke-Wulf entered their own flying greenhouse into the RLM tender for a Ground-Attack plane too. Unsurprisingly, plexiglass not offering much protection from ground fire the contract went elsewhere. (Interestingly the Henschel Hs 129 that won that contract used the same twin Argus As 410 engines as the Fw 189. I guess they didn’t get to pull that same trick twice.)


Not that it put much of a dampener on things for Fw, with over eight hundred Uhu’s produced they supplied the short range eye-in-the-sky needs of Germany and its allies, providing aerial reconnaissance for the airforces of Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania.

Piper L-4 Grasshopper - "Bazooka Charlie"
Lt. Col. Charles Carpenter was a United States Army observation pilot assigned an L-4 Grasshopper for artillery spotter role and reconnaissance missions in France 1944.

Not content to do the spotting and let the artillery do the shooting he hooked up three bazookas under each wing and delighted in shooting up German armoured cars and tanks. (He was officially credited with destroying 6 German tanks)


He noticed a marked increase in the amount of ground fire directed toward his Piper Cub as his reputation grew among the enemy armoured brigades. He took that to mean his Bazookas were causing them some concern, as they never used to bother spotter planes much before that.


Rosie The Rocketer as his aircraft was affectionately known was preserved in the Austrian Aviation Museum and is now on public display restored back to its WW2 appearance at the Collings Foundation's American Heritage Museum Massachusetts.

PR Spitfire - 16 Squadron -Low cloud-level reconnaissance -1944


One of the most successful PR platforms developed by the RAF was a modified Spitfire.
Removing all armament and fitting additional fuel tanks the Spitfire became a quick and nimble camera platform that could reach as far as Berlin if need be.


These nifty spies in the skies could operate at high medium or low altitudes and could be equipped with a variety of cameras depending on the types of images required including an oblique mounted camera on the port side for low level images such as the famous picture of the Würzburg radar at Bruneval or of the Tirpitz moored in Aasfjord, Norway.


This is a Spitfire of 16 Squadron, painted a very pale pink/white for low, cloud level reconnaissance. On 18 Sep 44 Wing Commander G.F.H. WEBB from HQ 34 Wing was flying Spitfire PL834 of 16 Squadron and captured the famous Aerial reconnaissance photo of the Armhem Road Bridge, showing signs of the British defence on the northern ramp and wrecked German vehicles from the previous day's fighting.


The photos could be an invaluable resource, however as the planning and execution of Market Garden might suggest you can take all the photos you want but it’s what you do with them that counts.

I cannot exalt this thread enough times.

Not just a gorgeous modelling showcase but a history lesson with every post.

This time you drilled down into some individual crews and that's amazing. A lot of courage in those stories.

Cheers Kid_K. It’s good to know I’m not just yelling into the void about stuff that happened 80 years ago.

Just about ready to drop my next post. Keep ‘em peeled for more folks.

Polish Airforce in WW2 - Part One.

This time we’re looking at some firsts. The first aerial combat of the war, the first aircraft shot down, the first Allied Ace pilot and the first bombing strike on German home territory. It can only be the first armed invasion of the war. Yes that’s right, like the Luftwaffe in September 1939 we’re turning our sights on the Polish Air Force.

Now I had heard, and perhaps you did too that the vast majority of the Polish Airforce was caught flat footed and destroyed on the ground as the Luftwaffe’s bombers made their lightning advance into Poland. Contrary to the Nazi propaganda the Polish Airforce had in fact dispersed a significant amount of its combat aircraft to secondary airfields and the remaining aircraft destroyed by German bombers on the old airfields were mostly trainers.

So what had the Polish Airforce got at their disposal? Lets look at these late 30’s lovelies.


PZL P.11, PZL.23B Karas, and PZL.37 Los

Now you would be forgiven for thinking the Polish airforce had been well behind the times fielding this lot against the German war machine but let’s not be too hasty.



In the mid 30s the Polish Air ministry could read the writing on the wall and were already shifting from French designed aircraft to those designed and built by their own Zygmunt Pulawski. First the PZL P.7 and soon after the upgraded and improved PZL P.11 introduced in 1934.



It was an advanced fighter for its time with its all-metal construction, four 7.7 mm machine guns, and gull-winged design. In fact the new “Polish Wing” drew considerable international attention and enjoyed some export success.



This however came at a time when advancements in aircraft design were moving forward at a blistering pace and by 1939 the PZLP.11 although rugged and dependable was already horribly obsolete.



Facing off against the more numerous, more modern and already battle-tested pilots and machines of the Luftwaffe it can hardly be a surprise that a PZL P.11 was the first casualty of the air war when Capt. Mieczyslaw Medwecki’s fighter was shot down while scrambling from the airfield to challenge dive-bombing Stukas on the 1st of September 1939.



However, shortly after this his wingman 2nd Lieutenant Wladek Gnys managed a brilliant solo victory over a pair of Dornier Do-17E bombers of III./KG 77 and thus gained the distinction of obtaining the first two confirmed victories over the Luftwaffe in World War II.



The following day, nine P-11s of 142 Squadron, led by Major Lesnievski, intercepted two formations of Dornier Do 217 following the River Vistula. Attacking head on, the Polish pilots managed to shoot down seven twin-engined bombers, two of them credited to Skalski. By 16 September Skalski reached Flying Ace status, claiming a total of six German aircraft and making him the first Allied air ace of the Second World War.



PZL.23 Karaś
The experience of the Polish-Soviet War 1919-1921 had led the Polish Air Ministry to place a very high emphasis on Aerial Reconnaissance. (They must have read my last post!) As early as 1931 development of this ultra-modern, all-metal construction, cantilevered wing, enclosed cockpit, light bomber and observation aircraft began to take form.



In fact as the drawing board got over-cluttered with so much expectation the poor Karaś was some 5 years in the design and production and only in late 1936 were they rolling out the first production batch. These were to equip the Polish Line Squadrons as their new main light bomber and reconnaissance mount replacing the older French-built fleet. However yet again, in only three short years they were already approaching obsolescence.



None the less, though slower and less manoeuvrable than they might have hoped for the Polish Bomber Escadrilles used their PZL.23s to good effect against the invading columns of German armoured vehicles, delivering upon them an estimated 70 tonnes of explosives though not without heavy losses.


On 2 September 1939, a single PZL.23B of the 21st Escadrille was responsible for the bombing of a German factory in Ohlau, the first bombing raid to be conducted against a target within the Third Reich.

But the Polish Air ministry hadn’t been resting on its laurels holding these old planes would see them through another decade, they had another bomber in development, one that was displayed in Paris in November 1938 that generated huge international interest as one of the most advanced aircraft of its kind.



The PZL.37 Los ("Moose")
These bombers were designed by Poland’s own Jerzy Dąbrowski and when the first prototype flew in 1936 it was among the world's more advanced medium bombers, compared to say the French Bloch MB 210 introduced to active duty in the same year. When the first 10 production aircraft were produced in 1938 they were shown off in Paris and generated huge international interest. It could carry a heavier bomb load than the British Vickers Wellington, and thanks to its wide-spaced heavy duty undercarriage it was able to operate from rough grass airfields (although not with a full bomb load) which as it turned out proved essential.



At the outbreak of the war only 90 were in service with another 30 on the production line. But as they had only recently been introduced many were still in training units or still to be fully equipped for the long-range deployment.

The Polish bomber squadrons had some success in slowing the advance of the German armoured columns however this was not what the role these bombers were designed for, and with the typical 30s defensive compliment of only 3 machine guns they were easy prey for Luftwaffe interceptors.



After two weeks of fighting and heavy losses less than thirty PZL.37s survived to be evacuated to Romania where they remained for the rest of the war being used by the Romanian airforce on behalf of both the Axis and then the Allies as the Romanian situation developed.


FRANCE

After the fall of Poland, the Polish Air Force started to regroup in France but the only complete unit created before the German attack on France was 145 Fighter Squadron which became known as the 'Warsaw Group'. They were given Caudron C.714 light fighters, the only unit in France operating the C.714 at the time.



Perhaps this was because the Caudron C.714 had proved an absolute lemon, considered only really fit for an advanced trainer or perhaps to equip a reserve unit. However let’s not forget that Germany wasn’t the only potential enemy that France might have had to contend with. Had Franco sent the Spanish Air Force into France or had the Poles been pitted against the Italian Regia Aeronautica their Caudrons might have been able to handle their retrograde CR.42 or I-16 fighters. Against the Luftwaffe however 145 Squadron reported the C.714 was horribly underpowered and faired very badly against the Bf 109E.



On 25 May, only a week after it was introduced, French Minister of War ordered all C.714s to be withdrawn from active service. However as he didn’t provide the Polish pilots with anything else to fly they refused the order and battled on regardless.



In early June some of the pilots were detached from the squadron and pressed into a newly formed fighter unit created to defend the seat of the Polish Government in Exile in Angers. For this task the unit was re-equipped with Bloch MB.152 fighters.



The Bloch MB.152 had been the loser in the French Air Ministry’s 1934 competition for a new fighter. (That went to the MS-406) but the French were desperate for anything that could fly and the type showed just enough promise to warrant a production order.



The MB.152 turned out to be a good stable gun platform and was a rugged and dependable machine. It could really take a beating and still fly which was just as well because the MB.152 also lacked pace and manoeuvrability and was sadly overmatched even by the oft-derided Bf 110.



In fact due to its numerous shortcomings all French units equipped with this type suffered heavy losses in the Battle of France and by the third week had to be pulled back from the front to reform.



The air figures for the Battle of France indicate that despite this retrograde equipment the Polish Air Force accounted for 53 allied victories for a loss of 44 machines and 13 pilots. But considering that there were plenty of perfectly serviceable MS-406 fighters already available in reserve, it is strange that French authorities obliged the highly skilled and committed Poles of 145 Squadron to make do with the Caudron and the Bloch.



But as the German war machine pressed inexorably forward and the French air groups ran out of secondary airfields to fall back to the Polish Air Force soon realised that it was time to evacuate once again to the next Allied front, to continue their long war as best they could.

Next time we’ll follow the Polish Air Force over the Channel to the shores of old Blighty and we’ll see how they found life in the RAF and what a legacy they forged in the Battle of Britain and beyond.

This thread is formidably impressive. Modelling and painting at such a scale, and with such skill, has blown my mind. The history and humour included in your story telling us the icing on the cake, do awesome to see these models! Brilliant stuff!

Ah the Luftwaffe, the Washington Generals of the History Channel - Homer Simpson

In the mid 30s the Polish Air ministry could read the writing on the wall and were already shifting from French designed aircraft to those designed and built by their own Zygmunt Pulawski.

This is interesting to hear about the 1930s. I know that for India developing ingenious planes and other weapons systems is a priority as is buying from several countries. The Indian Air Force is probably the only place you'll see American, EU and Russian planes all flying together.

The reason is fear of sanctions in case of a war with Pakistan or even worse, China. They figure if the Americans cut them off they'll be able to buy from Russia or Europe. I imagine the Ukraine War has only raised those fears to a new level.

Was that Poland's fear in 1934?

Took me a while to catch up after nearly a year absence from dakka, still loving your stuff Crowe! Know absolutely nothing about the Polish Air Force serving outside the UK so that was especially fascinating. Keep up the good work!

Ragsta wrote:This thread is formidably impressive. Modelling and painting at such a scale, and with such skill, has blown my mind. The history and humour included in your story telling us the icing on the cake, do awesome to see these models! Brilliant stuff!

Thanks Ragsta. Very kind of you to say. Apologies for the long wait but Poland part II is… still not quite ready. Turns out there’s a lot more to be said for the Poles than “Showed up in the nick of time and flew Hirricanes to help win the Battle of Britain.”

Kid_Kyoto wrote:Ah the Luftwaffe, the Washington Generals of the History Channel - Homer Simpson

In the mid 30s the Polish Air ministry could read the writing on the wall and were already shifting from French designed aircraft to those designed and built by their own Zygmunt Pulawski.

This is interesting to hear about the 1930s. I know that for India developing ingenious planes and other weapons systems is a priority as is buying from several countries. The Indian Air Force is probably the only place you'll see American, EU and Russian planes all flying together.

The reason is fear of sanctions in case of a war with Pakistan or even worse, China. They figure if the Americans cut them off they'll be able to buy from Russia or Europe. I imagine the Ukraine War has only raised those fears to a new level.

Was that Poland's fear in 1934?

Yes I’d say so. They were certainly looking over their shoulder at Russia too and had obviously elected not to source their aviation hardware from next door. But neither could they guarantee a reliable supply of parts out of France with Germany in between them. The other part of the equation is, as we saw in Finland, when you buy your planes in you get all the old tat on the market that nobody wants. It’s all retrograde gear, and the best stuff is always kept by the nation that designed and built it.

ingtaer wrote:Took me a while to catch up after nearly a year absence from dakka, still loving your stuff Crowe! Know absolutely nothing about the Polish Air Force serving outside the UK so that was especially fascinating. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for catching up. Lots of fascinating history still to come. It seems that this particular mine of aviation history is a rich seam indeed. Thanks for the encouragement, I’ll certainly keep on going.

Keep an eye out for more soon. I’ve only 4 more planes to finish for this next lot and they’re each of them well under way already.

Polish Airforce in Exile- part 2 “Repeat please!”

As the situation in France began to deteriorate a large part of the Polish Air Force contingent withdrew to the UK. However, the RAF Air Staff were not willing to accept the independence and sovereignty of Polish forces. Now this wasn’t just an attitude of superiority and disparagement on the part of the RAF, (by many accounts that existed too) but there were refugees, exiled armed forces and government officials from many nations all looking to the UK to provide them the tools and resources to take the fight back home and the Polish exiles and their Air Force were not the only ones.

And so systems of regulations were put in place to maintain RAF command over the whole. Foreign pilots, no matter how highly experienced would all begin at the lowest flying rank of “Pilot Officer” and had to wait in training centres, learning English command procedures and language (such as “Repeat Please.”), even while the RAF suffered heavy losses due to lack of experienced pilots.

The first Polish squadrons formed were 300 and 301 bomber squadrons and then 302 and 303 fighter squadrons.


300 and 301 were the first Polish units to be made operational. Initially equipped with, yes you guessed it, another horribly underpowered and all-round unfit for the job aircraft. This time it was the Fairey Battle. Anyone else sensing a theme emerging?



The RAF’s notoriously sub-optimal light-bomber was being hastily shuffled away from front line service but true to form the eager Polish airmen would take anything with wings that would let them drop a bomb on the enemy.


Their early missions included the night bombing of the Operation Sea-lion barges at Boulogne.


Both units were re-equipped with Wellingtons by November 1940 and continued to operate as part of No.1 (Bomber) Group, taking part in the first Thousand-Bomber Raid against Cologne (Operation Millennium), and the second thousand-bomber raid on Essen in May and June 1942.


I threw together a collection of my RAF bombers that would have taken part in these raids (an an Avro York in the back there because from a distance it looked the part)


In actual fact the vast majority of bombers on these raids were twin engined Wellingtons as the numbers of big 4 engined aircraft simply weren’t there yet. So hard-pressed for suitable aircraft to make up the numbers they even brought some old Whitleys back out of retirement just for the occasion!

Actual Poles in Whitleys still to come.

In April 1943 due to losses 301 squadron was disbanded and remaining crews and personnel were consolidated into 300 squadron who were now converting to Avro Lancasters. (I probably should’ve painted up a 300sq Lancaster for this, but sadly I didn’t.)

Some elements of 301 Volunteered for a new effort that would form C Flight of 138 Squadron, an RAF Special Duties Flight operating three Handley Page Halifaxes and three Consolidated Liberators as special transport bombers.



In November 1943 they were deployed to Libya and then on to Italy and became No. 1586 (Polish Special Duties) Flight.



Missions included partisan supply drops and agent insertion often involving seriously long haul flights over occupied Europe and into central Poland in support of the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. For which the Polish C-in-C Kazimierz Sosnkowski named them Obrońców Warszawy (Defenders of Warsaw)


This is HP Halifax no. JP222 (GR-E) which was Damaged by flak during a supply sortie to Warsaw but crashed into the sea when returning to Brindisi with the loss of the whole crew: P/O Molinski, F/Sgt Beer, Sgt Kuhn, Sgt Milewski, Sgt  Martyniuk, Sgt Kozlowski, Sgt Minowski and observer F/Lt Wolf.


No matter what the RAF might have called it, C Flight, or 1586 or whatever, the Polish crews and authorities still referred to it as No. 301 Squadron (Land of Pomerania.) and lobbied the RAF successfully to retain the old GR squadron code from 301 on their aircraft. The RAF eventually gave in renaming the unit as No. 301 Squadron (special duties / Transport Command) in November 1944.

Now let’s take a look at the fighters.

The fighter squadrons, 302 and 303 first saw action in the third phase of the Battle of Britain in late August 1940 flying Hawker Hurricanes and quickly showed themselves to be highly effective. Polish flying skills were well-developed and the pilots were regarded as fearless and sometimes bordering on reckless.

303 Sqd Hurricane V6665 RF-J

Hurricane V6665 flew a total of 19 operational sorties during its short 20 days with 303 Squadron claiming four enemy aircraft destroyed.
Sgt Tadeusz Andruszkow claimed a kill in V6665, but was shot down and killed in the aircraft the next day. He was only 19 years old when he died.



Polish success rates were very high in comparison to less-experienced British Commonwealth pilots. 303 squadron became the most efficient RAF fighter unit at that time, to the point that RAF commanders protested when government censors refused to allow this fact to appear in the press.



303 Squadron is now accepted as being the highest scoring RAF fighter squadron of the Battle of Britain, with the best kills to loss ratio of all RAF units involved in the Battle, despite being in the front line for only 42 days.



Later, further Polish squadrons were created: 304 (bomber, then Coastal Command), 305 (bomber), 306 (fighter), 307 (night fighter), 308 (fighter), 309 (reconnaissance, then fighter), 315 (fighter), 316 (fighter), 317 (fighter), 318 (fighter-reconnaissance) and 663 (air observation/artillery spotting).

In August 1942 No. 309 Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron became the first Polish unit converted to the American-built Mustang Mk1.



The Mustang’s operational range was greatly debated among the 309 pilots. At the time it was considered common knowledge that a Mustang couldn’t be flown from the east coast of Scotland to Norway and back, but Polish pilot and aeronautical engineer F/Lt Janusz Lewkowicz disagreed. He submitted his calculations to the contrary to Group HQ but to no avail.


Not content with being ignored, Lewkowicz in typical Polish style did whatever he felt necessary to prove his point and made an unauthorized flight to Norway on the 28th September, strafing a military installation at Stavanger and returning safely to Scotland at Dunino having covered some 400miles over open water. It was a significant achievement and not so easy to ignore.


For his flight, Lewkowicz was reprimanded for breaking the regulations and at the same time sincerely congratulated by Air Marshall Barratt. As word of the flight got out planners began to quickly reevaluate the capabilities of the Mustang, finding targets as far away as the Dortmund-Ems canal in Germany now within reach.



But the Polish airforce in exile were by no means confined to the defence of the British Isles. In late 1942 Polish Air Force Staff Command requested RAF permission to send a group of specially chosen pilots to the North African theatre of operations to acquire experience in operating as a part of a tactical air force in preparation for future Allied landings on the European continent.



Our old friend and first allied ace of the war Stanisław Skalski was given command and so was born "Cyrk Skalskiego" (Skalski's Circus) the Polish Fighting Team (Polski Zespół Myśliwski) a special flight consisting of fifteen experienced Polish fighter pilot volunteers operating out of Goubrine Airfield in Tunisia as “C Flight” of No. 145 Squadron.


The Polish Fighting Team were equipped with Spitfire Mk IXCs. This is ZX-6 flown by CO Stanisław Skalski himself.

The PFT gained a reputation for combat effectiveness from March to May 1943 destroying 25 enemy aircraft with another 3 probable and 9 damaged. Flying Officer Mieczysław Wyszkowski was the only casualty in the PFT, shot down and taken prisoner.



Following the surrender of the German Army in Africa on 13 May, the PFT was disbanded.



Skalski then became the first Pole to command an RAF squadron when he was appointed commander of No. 601 (County of London) Squadron who he led during the invasion of Sicily and the invasion of Italy also flying the Spitfire.

Skalaski would go on to be appointed commander of No. 133 Polish Fighter Wing in April 1944, then flying the Mustang Mk III.


A brief interlude if you’ll indulge me to mention another group of Eastern-European, often overlooked pilots within the RAF; the Czechoslovak airmen, many of whom were syphoned off from operational duties to take up a transport role, initially with either 24 or 511 Squadron. 511 squadron was based at RAF Lyneham from October 1942. Their role was to carry VIPs and priority freight to the Middle East.

In 1943, the Squadron flew the Prime-Minister, Winston Churchill, to the War Conference in Casablanca.


(We’ve met this plane before in the VIP collection.)


In July 1943 one of 511 sqaudron’s B-24 Liberators flown by Flt/Lt Eduard Prchal (he had earlier flown Hurricanes fighters during the Battle of Britain with 310 Squadron, Beaufighters with 68 Squadron and had also served with 24 Sqn) AL523 crashed on take-off from Gibraltar in July 1943.


On board were the Polish Prime Minister (in exile) General Władysław Sikorski and his entourage. The aircraft dived into the sea and all aboard were killed, with the exception of the pilot Prchal.



The blow to the Polish government in exile was immense and rumours about the incident flew back and forth. However, Prchal was cleared of any wrongdoing or negligence and later returned to and resumed his duties with the RAF.

General Sikorski's death marked a turning point for Polish influence amongst the Anglo-American allies, and in many ways ended any hopes of Poland coming out of the war with any real political independence. No Pole after him would have as much sway with the Allied politicians, and the Allies had no intention of allowing Sikorski's successor, Stanisław Mikołajczyk to threaten the alliance with the Soviets. No Polish representative was invited to attend the conferences at Casablanca or Yalta, and the non-interference stance of Soviet Russia during the Warsaw Uprising really put the final nail in the coffin for the Polish Government in Exile in London who the Soviets totally ignored.

One of the last Polish squadrons formed was fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron No. 318 “City of Gdańsk”



In October 1943, the squadron were dispatched to Palestine and took part in training exercise “Verile” providing the air element for a simulated invasion of Palestine by the Polish II Corps. Shortly after in January 1944 they were also part of the “Tussle” training manoeuvres which were held in Egypt.



During these training exercises their ageing Hurricane IIb’s received special temporary markings. The first were two white stripes painted on the upper left wing surface. The other was a white stripe on the tail where the usual “sky band” would be.



Such temporary markings of black or white stripes in various locations were common practice for flight training manoeuvres, allowing observers to keep track of the aircraft involved especially where other aircraft on patrol or lost aircraft might find their way into the area. The most famous of these temporary markings is of course the D-day invasion stripes. (So let’s have some of those now.)



Our last call before we’re done concerns another lot of Polish Servicemen in exile whose aerial exploits shouldn’t go unmentioned. The 1st (Polish) Independent Parachute Brigade.

They trained at Ringway aerodrome Manchester jumping out of old AW Whitley Bombers.

See, I told you we’d catch up with Poles in Whitleys soon.

“Ringing the bell” was something of an issue with these old aircraft as men jumping down through the hatch in the floor had to be very careful not to crack their heads on the way out.


The 1st (Polish) Independent Parachute Brigade flew into enemy territory in Horsa gliders towed by Albemarles of 297 sqdn on September 18th and 19th 1944 as part of Operation Market Garden


and dropped from C-47s of the 314th and 315th Troop Carrier Groups on 23rd September


earning themselves amongst other accolades an honourable mention in this miniature aviation history blog.

I could talk about AW Albemarles being rubbish bombers and Horsa gliders being little more than plywood tubes with wings but at the end of the day they were the tools required for this very specific job and were available in sufficient numbers when needed.

By the end of the war, around 19,400 Poles were serving in the Polish Air Force in Great Britain and in the RAF. Not to mention the thousands more in service with the other forces.

After the war, in a changed political situation with Soviet Russia pulling the strings of Poland’s new communist Provisional Government of National Unity, Poland’s old Government in Exile in London was largely ignored and brushed under the political rug. So insistent was Uncle Joe in fact that the only Poles invited to march in the Victory parade were Soviet Poles.
Subsequently only a small proportion of the Poles who had flown with or served alongside western forces chose to return to Poland. Those who did often suffered harassment and accusations of being western spies.

Our good friend Stanisław Skalski Golden Cross, Silver Cross, Four times Cross of Valour, Order of Polonia Restituta, Order of the Cross of Grunwald , DSO, DFC & two bars…

First Allied Ace of the war, 501squadron Battle of Britain pilot, Commander of 306, 316 and 317 (Polish) squadrons RAF over Occupied France, commander of the PFT in North Africa (so called "Cyrk Skalskiego"). Who commanded 601 squadron in the invasion of Sicily and of Italy and Commander of No. 133 Polish Fighter Wing, who received officers training at the US Army Command and General Staff Office and went on to command the British Air Forces of Occupation in Germany.

Yeah, THAT guy, was one such returning Polish western exile arrested by communist political police in 1948 under the false charge of espionage. Sentenced to death, he spent three years awaiting execution, after which his sentence was changed to life imprisonment. It wasn’t until the end of Stalinism in Poland in 1956 that Skalaski was released and his character publicly rehabilitated. He was allowed to re-join the airforce where he served in various roles until his retirement in 1972.

And there you have it; The Polish Airforce in Exile.


Turns out there was a whole lot more to it than just those funny fellas in the Battle of Britain movie. But if you’ve had enough and you want me to stop my Polish Chatter, or as they might say,“Zamkniesz się wreszcie?”
My response is “Repeat Please!”