IBG Models IAR 81 C 'Great Air Battles of 1944' box-art depicting IAR- 81 C no. 320 flown by Slt. Av. Mircea Dumitrescu, commander of Escadrilla 61 downing a 15 AF P-38 on 10 June 1944.
The most 'prestigious' achievement of the Industria Aeronautica Romana works during WWII was the IAR 80 fighter of which 450 examples were constructed at a monthly rate of around 10-13 aircraft during the period 1940-43. Construction numbers would have been higher but for shortages of machine guns, gun sights etc. During testing the prototype exceeded 500 km/h at 4000 m altitude. The main armament comprised four Belgian Browning FN (7.62) machine guns. The fighter was powered by the (license-built Gnome Rhone) 1025 hp IAR 14K engine.
Design work which had started in 1937 was to a certain extent based on Polish expertise - Romanian engineers Grosu and Cosereanu conceived the IAR 80 around the modified and strengthened rear fuselage and tail section of a Polish PZL P.24E fighter while the wings were based on the Italian SM 79 reduced in size by 50%; authors Roba and Craciunoiu in 'Romanian Aeronautics' conclude that " the IAR 80 was an outstanding achievement, perhaps the best example of how to do a job with limited resources.." The machine underwent continuous improvement, resulting in a number of different versions - the first significant variant was the IAR 80 B featuring a lengthened fuselage starting with aircraft No. 201 (by 70 mm in front of the firewall) and extended wing span of 11 metres starting with aircraft No. 212.The IAR 81 was an improved fighter-bomber variant, featuring the long nose and wings and bomb racks under the fuselage and wings, while the 80/81 C were heavy fighters equipped with two 20 mm MG FF or MG 151/20 cannon and Browning machine guns. With 150 airframes the IAR 81 C was the most numerous of all versions. The longer fuselage, wide-span wings and engine cowling air filter also made this variant probably the most distinctive of the IAR 80/81 series.
The box art of IBG Models kit number 72570 "IAR 81 C- Great Air Battles of 1944" features IAR- 81 C no. 320 flown by Slt. Av. Mircea Dumitrescu, commander of Escadrilla 61. Dumitrescu claimed two P-38s on the 10 June 1944 raid (see below). His machine features the unofficial Esc. 61 Disney 'Bambi' emblem on the beautiful box-top artwork. Pilot and fighter were captured on film by a PK Berichter in a photo 'reportage' that can be seen in the ECPA-D archive. (sample images below - click on the images to view full-screen)
Following the disastrous 'Tidal Wave' mission on 1 August 1943, the Allied air offensive against the Ploesti oilfields and refineries only got underway again in the spring of 1944, this time from airfields around Foggia, Italy. The raid on 10 June 1944 was notable for being flown not by heavy bombers but by more than 75 P-38s from the 1st and 82nd Fighter groups - the 82nd FG machines being fitted with 300 gallon drop tanks and a 1000 kg bomb. Intercepted at low altitude over the oilfields, Bf 109s from III./JG 77 and I./JG 53 dove on the P-38 fighter-bombers with the 39 1st FG P-38 escorts late on the scene. The usual smoke-screens had not been deployed by the defenders, so 15th AF planners achieved the element of surprise they had hoped for. And in the ensuing combats Lt. Herbert B. Hatch claimed five IAR 80s - mistaking the Romanian fighters for 'FW-190s'. But he was the only 71st FS pilot to return to Italy that day! The 82nd FG lost 8 and the 1st FG a further 14 P-38s. For the loss of four machines the IAR 81s of Grupul 6 claimed 23 P-38s. Needless to say the 15th AF did not repeat their 'Lightning' attack of 10 June..
