I have uploaded all the WW2 aircraft manuals I have collected over the years, (over 150), and they are listed below grouped as US, UK and German, (plus one Russian…..love the IL2!). When I first start digging WW2 relics it was from old RAF and USAAF bases in the UK. My first love was always […]
via WW2 Aircraft Manuals – Downloadable — Stephen Taylor, WW2 Relic Hunter
The pilot who shot down Frank Sorensen.
https://colinfranksorensen.wordpress.com/2020/03/17/who-shot-down-frank-sorensen/
Bf 109 K-4 of 11. / JG 77, Neuruppin Germany, November 1944, pilot Heinrich Hackler, Fine Molds kit.
Leutnant Heinrich Hackler was one of the stalwarts of JG 77 and had fought with the unit from the beginning of the Russian campaign. While he never enjoyed a spectacular series of victories, he was a steady scorer and had amassed a total of 56 victories (some sources say 67) by the end of 1944. He was killed on 01JAN45 during Operation Baddenplatte, the Luftwaffe’s New Years Day strike against Allied airfields, shot down by ground fire.
Great post… Don’t forget to read the comments also.
One of the better known special missions of World War II was flown by a new bomber type making its combat debut.*
Let’s take a look at the mission and plane.
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I had missed Dave’s posts so much since 2019. I was not getting any more notifications.
The P-38 Lightning would become a major part of the American war effort against the Japanese. It was flown by more aces than any other Army Air Force type in the Pacific. But it is perhaps best known for one mission that pushed the limits of what anyone had considered before.
Let’s take a look at an ambush that made history.
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Down memory lane with Model Airplane Maker
It is spring 2020 and it will certainly be a period of time that will live long within each of us. It is my sincere hope this thing turns a corner soon and we can get back with our regular lives.
One of the many realities during this time is the cancellation or postponement of events. Relevant to this blog: the cancellation of model shows this spring. Some friends of mine were planning on going to HeritageCon this month and I was looking forward to NoreastCon in early May. My usual practice would have been followed: A show report featuring words of appreciation, maybe some inspiration and a ton of pictures of great models.
I can’t do that this time, but what I can do is to take a little trip down memory lane to a time long before ModelAirplaneMaker.com. A ‘looking back’ type of post featuring pictures and some…
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It’s like being there…
Jeff is preserving the forgotten past here.
While the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was arguably one of the most important aircraft designs of the Second World War, even the best designs can be improved. Combat experience against the Luftwaffe over Europe identified several potential improvements suggested by the crews. The job of evaluating those changes was given to Major Robert J. Reed. Reed was sent to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio and given B-17E 41-9112 to experiment on.
Reed replaced much of the B-17E defensive armament with components already in production for the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. The most obvious changes were mounting powered turrets in the nose and tail positions. Jagdwaffe pilots had identified the hand-held nose armament as a weak point in the Fortresses defenses, and the tail position had a very restricted field of fire. The Liberator turrets remedied both these problems at a stroke.
With the nose position now occupied by a turret the…
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I vividly remember making a 1/72 version of the Sturmovik in the 60s.
Source: Scalemates Website
If I remember correctly I even painted it. This week Jeff’s rendition of Tamiya’s 1/72 IL-2 Sturmovik brought again fond memories from the 60s.
https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2020/02/20/tamiya-il-2-sturmovik-in-1-72-scale/
I know I should be controling those fond memories from the 60s since my stash just keeps on growing. I should have refrained also from looking if a 1/48 scale version was available.
Easier said then done..
Fond memories are often just a click away on Amazon.ca.
Easier said then done isn’t?
Having used my 3 gigabyte allowance on WordPress so I am moving on to My Forgotten Hobby III. Now I know I won’t regret what I have bought last week after reading two reviews on The Modeling News which is a blog about modeling…
This one is a review of ICM Ju 88D-1 a reconnaissance version of the Ju 88-4. I can see what I can expect from ICM Ju 88A-14.
https://www.themodellingnews.com/2019/08/dry-fit-review-148th-scale-junkers-ju.html
Excerpt
First introduced in early 1941, the Ju 88D-1 was a dedicated photo-reconnaissance variant based on the Ju 88A-4. The photographic equipment consisted of Rb 70/30 or Rb 50/30 high altitude cameras and Rb 20/30 low altitude cameras in various combinations depending on the mission. Unlike the Ju 88D-2, the D-1 had its cameras mounted in the fuselage immediately behind the rear bomb bay. In operational service, however, only the two starboard camera was carried, while a prepared rivet pattern on the fuselage underside marked the position for an optional third port side camera window. The Ju 88D-1 featured an optional gasoline-fired heater in the camera compartment with an exhaust vent in a streamlined fairing on the fuselage spine. The camera compartment was accessible for servicing through the rear bomb bay. To make way for the new camera ports the FuBL2 Lorenz blind approach radio antenna was also moved further aft. The Ju 88D-1 was able to carry the complete range of bombs or auxiliary fuel tanks available to the Ju 88A-4. The Ju 88D-1 quickly became the most widely used Ju 88 reconnaissance-bomber variant. [source: In Action #85]
This is a review of the Ju 88C-6b.
Excerpt
The Ju 88C was originally intended as a fighter-bomber and heavy fighter by adding fixed, forward-firing guns to the nose while retaining some bomb carrying ability of the A-series bomber. The C-series had a solid metal nose, typically housing one 20 mm MG FF cannon and three 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns. The aircraft retained the ventral Bola gondola under the crew compartment through individual units sometimes removed this to reduce weight and drag to enhance performance. The Ju-88C was later used as a night fighter, and this became its main role
https://www.themodellingnews.com/2018/12/icms-new-kit-preview-sprues-cads-boxart.html#more
Amazon.ca has notified me yesterday that these two model kits are on their way to Canada from Austria…
These two are still being processed by the same vendor…
My Forgotten Hobby III 