The Little World

The RCAF maintained a presence in Europe all during the Cold War, contributing fighter and reconnaissance units to continental defence. Whether the Sabres would have been all that effective in later years is debatable but by then there were CF 104 Starfighters as well.

The basic colour scheme was that of the British units of the time, though in some cases there was a Canadian flavour to it – unit markings and the maple leaf roundel for one and the persistence of the mid blue underside with day fighter tops.

The model you see is pure Airfix Sabre and differs not a whit from the previous Canadair Sabre that got the airshow markings. I’ve gone with the program and kept the bombs on the pylons – at least this is supported by some internet photos of the time. One can only assume it was for a bombing competition. Or to break up traffic on the Autobahn.

I can only hope for similar tactics here in our locale. Mornings on the freeway would be so much better for a little strafing or dive-bombing.

And for the picky – the upper surface maple leaves are meant to be that way on the roundels. They were adhering to a rule the said the leaf was to be orientated at 90º to the leading edge of the wing and no-one had the good sense or design skill to see that it was a swept wing.