Category: History
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FW 190 – Part Three – The Red Field Queen
That’s like a hangar queen but one they keep out in the open. This FW 190 was captured in Belgium at St. Trond (Sint Truiden ) and started life as White 11 of JG4. It was given a strong red coat of paint, USAAF markings, and a made-up registration number: OO-L as well as a…
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FW 190 – Part One – A Classic Gift
I well remember the 1/4″ scale kits moulded by Monogram in the 1960’s/ They were a must-buy when you encountered them in the hobby shops in Alberta but you needed more money to do so than with Revell or Aurora products. They were either in shorter supply or regarded as better items. They also sometimes…
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The Famous Aircraft Number
Quick – what was the registration number of Louis Bleriot’s plane that flew to England from France? And no prize for saying FROG-1. How about the Spirit Of St Louis? Or the Southern Cross? Bet you can look those up… But what about the 13th bomber in the 394th in 1943? You’ve got a kit…
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Curtiss Model 75 A-4 – Part Five – Jean Tulasne
It must have been difficult for the French Air Force to realise that they were beaten. And beaten before they started. Handicapped by their government’s penurious attitude to developing new aircraft – coupled with the vicious labour infighting that crippled their factories so often – they started WW2 with few planes and fewer good ones.…
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Bristol Mk32 Superfreighter – Part Four – Ferryfield
Also known as Lydd Airport. Still exists in Kent and does a roaring trade in light plane movements. But the Bristol 170 era was the 50’s to the 80’s before roll-on-roll-off ferries at the seaports took the vehicular Channel traffic and the Channel Tunnel took the train passengers. They were flying an amazing number of…
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Bristol Mk32 Superfreighter – Part One – The Prize Of the Weekend
Remember the Newcastle song; never let a chance go by. This was my big chance at the model stash sale. I knew the box instantly in the stack, and the price was very low. I’d the money out before anyone else had the chance to think, and I’m always wise about stash sales – I…
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VVS Tupolev SB2 – Part Four-Red 3
Boy, you have to hand it to the Soviets – they kept their squadron codes close to their chests. Unlike the other air forces that might display this information plus the individual position in a formation, airframe number, and unit number on their fuselages – or the training squadrons that had buzz numbers under the…
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When You Wish Upon A Star
Makes no difference who you areAnyone who shoots at you canKill you dead. The practice of painting stars- red, white, or black – on the sides of tanks is no guarantee against 17 pdr shells or Javelin missiles. Thicker armour and party tricks are a bit better, but the best protection is distance. At 200…
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The Whiff
Of what-if. This topic has been raised before on these pages in a somewhat sardonic fashion, but it can also have a serious side. a. Much of the whiffery revolves around Germany’s Third Reich in the middle to late 1940’s. Lots of unbuilt designs for tanks and aircraftare trotted out and kitted up. Yet few…
The Little World 