Sunday, 19 March 2017
Saturday, 18 March 2017
72nd scale Luftwaffe aircraft news -Eduard Kora Fw 190s, Owl decals, new Printscale decals, RS Models Me 309
New Luftwaffe subjects in 72nd scale via Adam Garrett's 72nd scale blog include more Eduard Fw 190s in the Sturm A-8/R2 variant including II.(Sturm)/JG 4 Kommandeur von Kornatzki's 'green 3' and new decal sheets from Owl. Especially interesting are the 2./JG 2 nightfighting Fw 190 subjects as depicted in Erik Mombeeck's most recent 'Luftwaffe Gallery' including ace Lt. Detlef Grossfuss' Fw 190 A-6 'black 13'. Finally some Kora re-boxings of the Fw 190 plastic and a quick look at the new RS Models Me 309 already added to the stash.
The Kora Models kits are 'upgraded' versions of the Eduard plastic with a price tag to match. Probably pass on these. Kora Models web site is here
Recent Printscale.org sheets include Aces of the Condor Legion and Bf 110 night fighter aces featuring some great subjects to add to my collection of black Bf 110s. A reference page of black Bf 110 images can be found here.
Also recently added to the stash is the new RS models Me 309 - two options of the prototype V1 GE+CU are in the box including the enlarged and re-designed empennage of the 'late' variant (November 1943). The Me 309 was conceived as a possible replacement for the Bf 109 powered by the new liquid-cooled DB 603G and featured a nose-wheel patented by Messerschmitt and at the time of the first flight in July 1942 not yet seen on the Me 262 V2. RS Models are also planning a twin fuselage Me 609 box.
And finally, my latest finish, the Academy G-14 (1/72nd) as Hartman's G-6 February 1945, Kommandeur I./JG 53. More on this machine here
Monday, 13 March 2017
Air War Publications eArticle Henschel Hs 123 - the Luftwaffe's first Dive-Bomber
Part One of Morten Jessen's Henschel Hs 123 eArticle is just released and should be required reading for Luftwaffe experts and air-minded enthusiasts alike. Not only was the Henschel Hs 123 virtually the Luftwaffe's last operational biplane in service (aside from a handful of Nachtschlacht machines), it was a stand-out in a very small category of aircraft -dedicated ground attack- that proved crucial in the Luftwaffe's early conduct of the war. Based on a range of primary sources such as factory documents, Flugbücher, interviews and personnel files, this 21-page feature (part one of two) primarily covers the developmental period from 1935 to 1938 of the superb 'eins-zwei-drei' as the little biplane dive-bomber and ground-attack aircraft was known. The Hs 123 would go on to serve in front-line units of the Luftwaffe literally until there were none left - used up by relentless and arduous service and attrition as Lt. Konrad Pingel's account of strafing Russian T-34's at Kursk during July 1943 that opens the article attests.
Author Jessen covers the type's early development and also looks at the type's competitors for the RLM's light dive-bomber specification issued in the early 1930s; for example the Fieseler Fi 98 with its wires and struts and the cumbersome gull-winged Ha 137 with its poor flight characteristics - the Hs 123 had single streamlined struts and gear spats and light alloy skinning. I was fascinated to read that while some prototypes had three bladed propellers, production examples didn't because of the cost of the extra blade! Production orders started to arrive during late 1935, the type being manufactured at Henschel's hard-pressed Schönefeld works in Berlin which was also churning out Junkers bombers. Events though soon pushed the Hs 123 into combat. When civil war broke out in Spain the type was quickly shipped to the Nationalists where the 'Angelito' proved durable and the type's performance in the Condor Legion with the creation of the Hs 123-equipped Stuka Kette 88, led by Lt. Brücker won plaudits, stimulating interest from air forces around the world. In fact the Hs 123 was probably the first dive-bomber to see combat anywhere. Sales representative and company pilot for Henschel during the mid-thirties was WWI Jasta 20 Albatros 'ace' Alexander von Winterfeldt - who accompanied a shipment of Hs 123s to China during 1938. The twelve Chinese Hs 123s carried out bombing attacks on Japanese warships on the Yangtze river while von Winterfeldt would go on to command units of JG 2 and JG 77 during WWII.Indeed the type's early operational service probably carried far greater impact than even it's supporters could have imagined - from its involvement in the Sudeten crisis, its much more active role with the Condor Legion over Spain in 1936 and 1937 to its critical role in the Polish campaign where the machines of II./ (S) LG 2 undertook key ground-attack duties in von Richthofen's Luftflotte 4 contributing hugely to the defeat of Polish General Kutrzeba's counter-attack threatening the northern flank of German Army Group South. The Poles had never experienced such ferocious and sustained bombing and ground attack. Notably one of the Henschel pilots was a future fighter General -Adolf Galland.
And while during the intervening period aeronautical development had moved on and Hs 123 production was ended - the Junkers Ju 87 and Henschel's own dedicated tank-busting Hs 129 were the future - the Henschel Hs 123 again performed during the Blitzkrieg in the West.
The scene is thus set for Part Two, which will cover Hs 123 operations during the Second World War in more depth, with the author promising personal accounts from the vets that flew the machine on operations, a 'first' compared to almost all the other publications on the small biplane. In fact the only ones I know of appeared in Marius Emmerling's articles on the Polish campaign in 'Jet & Prop' magazine in Germany. As Ivon Moore writes;
" A miniscule 230 or so were taken into service by the Luftwaffe, a tiny investment from which the Luftwaffe squeezed an extraordinary amount of work over the front lines through the astonishingly long period to at least the spring of 1944. Specific details are thin but the battlefield contributions of the Hs 123 seem to have been out of all proportion to the tiny numbers employed. The Hs 123 is probably the most remarkably cost-effective ground attack aircraft of all time and the story of its longevity is genuinely extraordinary..".
The final section of Morten Jessen's article touches upon another vital role played by the aircraft: its service in various Luftwaffe training schools.
The team at AWP are to be congratulated on coming up with an accurate - and very readable - story. In fact it would appear that the author has taken care to avoid nuts’n’bolts facts in the main text. They are there of course - but mostly in well-presented tables and side bars. This approach serves to heighten 'readability' and interest.
As well as a selection of nice clear photos - most of them new to me and including a number from the collection of Jean-Louis Roba - the article features Claes Sundin artworks. These are accompanied by a short description of the 'A' and 'B' schemes, the two patterns laid down by the RLM for the type- worth the price of admission on their own. Of course with digital articles like these you can really get in close to see the detail.
Like all AWP eArticles you not only get a great read, but new research and a ready-to-print pdf file for your tablet or device. All for less than the cost of a print magazine which would probably only have a handful of pages dealing with Luftwaffe subjects - if any at all. Recommended.
Air War Publications eArticles are available here
Sunday, 12 March 2017
Saturday, 11 March 2017
Ju 88 C-6 von der 14./KG 40 - ebay photo find # 209
A line-up of Ju 88 C-6 machines of 14./KG 40 in their distinctive over-sprayed 76 camo finishes seen in the late spring/early summer of 1943 in the Bordeaux area of south-western France
Ju 88 C-6 "F8+RY" von Flugzeugführer Oblt. Kurt Necesany von der 14./KG 40 Lorient im Mai 1943
some decal options for these unusually camouflaged Ju 88's can be found on the AIMS Ju 88 Fighters sheet reviewed on this blog here
images currently on offer here
This much more colourful edition of the history of V.(Z) /KG 40, 'Bloody Biscay' is published by Lela Presse in their Batailles Aeriennes quarterly series. Entitled 'Wolves over the Atlantic', this French-language 100-page A-4 format soft back monograph features new photographic material, super Thierry Dekker artwork and a fifteen-page 'presentation' of the Junkers Ju 88 C-6 with photos and handbook drawings from the archive of Jean-Louis Roba - all for just 13 euros..
V.(Z)/KG 40 was the Zerstörergruppe or heavy fighter wing of KG 40 and was initially established with a complement of three Staffeln to which a fourth was later added. The unit’s long range fighters were chiefly deployed on U-boot and shipping escort protection sorties over and across the Bay of Biscay, where vessels of all types could potentially come under attack from RAF Coastal Command and US Air Force aircraft.
A formation flight of Ju 88 C-6 machines of 14./KG 40 seen in the late spring/early summer of 1943 over south western France. The aircraft in the shot are "F8+OY" and "F8+LY". A number of the Staffel’s aircraft typically wore this light camo finish.
Above; Oblt. Kurt Necesany and his crew flew 14./KG 40’s 500th Feindflug or combat sortie on 21 May 1943 and were duly feted on their return home to Lorient by their Staffel comrades in front of their Ju 88 C-6 "F8+RY". They were presented with flowers and a sign reading: "Congratulations on the 500th combat flight"..
Of the unit's other leading pilots, Lt. Knud Gmelin of 13./KG 40 brought down an RAF B-24 Liberator on 3 September 1943. On 18 September 1943 the Rotte of Oblt. Dieter Meister and Lt. Knud Gmelin of 13./KG 40 encountered a Horsa cargo glider under tow by a Halifax.Both pilots lined up firing passes on the four-engine machine which promptly cast off the glider. The Halifax came under heavy fire from Lt.Gmelin, but managed to escape. Oblt. Meister finished off the Horsa glider.The nose armament of the Ju 88 C Zerstörer (eg "F8+MX" of 13./KG 40 in early 1943 in Bordeaux-Merignac) typically comprised three MG 17 7,9 mm in the upper nose and a single MG 15 7,9 mm mounted in the lower nose.
Bf 109 F-4 'black 9' of Josef Poehs from 5./JG 54, Russland - ebay photo find #208
Pöhs was a JG 54 Ritterkreuzträger who flew the Me 163 Komet in JG 400.
PÖHS, Josef (Joachim?) (“Joschi”). (DOB: 14.03.12 in Altkettenhof near Wien). (R, DKG). 1934 joined the Austrian Luftstreitkräfte and served on the aerobatic team. 1938 trf to the Luftwaffe and posted to JG 138. 09.39 in I./JG 76. 04.40 Lt., in 5./JG 54. 08.40 in 4./JG 54. (via De Zeng Luftwaffe officer career summaries)
Pöhs claimed two Russian SB-2 twin-engine bombers shot down on 22 June 1941, the opening day of Operation Barbarossa, to record his 10th and 11th victories. On 13 July, Pöhs claimed two Russian DB-3 twin-engine bombers shot down to record his 19th and 20th victories. Leutnant Pöhs was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 6 August 1941 for 28 victories achieved in 225 missions. On 11 August, he shot down three enemy aircraft (29-31). He recorded his 40th victory on 7 September so the photo above dates from August 1941. In September 1941 he transferred to the Erg.Gr./JG 54 as an instructor and in February 1942 he transferred to the Erg.JGr. Ost before moving to the E.Stelle Rechlin in June 1942.
Oblt Pöhs was killed on 30 December †30.12.43 Oblt., Erprobungskdo. 16 – in a crash at Bad Zwischenahn when the undercarriage dolly of Me 163 A V8 "CD + IM" (W.Nr. 163 000 0005) bounced higher than normal following release and struck the underside of the aircraft rupturing a T-Stoff fuel line thus prompting an installed safety device to shut down the engine. In attempting to return to Bad Zwischenahn one of the wings clipped the tower of the radio ground station antenna causing the aircraft to cartwheel into the ground where it exploded. He was credited with c.300 combat missions and 43 Luftsiege (air victories).
Friday, 10 March 2017
Fw 190 vs. B-17 - Sturmstaffel Fw 190 A-6 - Piotr Forkasiewicz
Seriously good artwork cover illustration from forthcoming issue of Aérojournal on the Sturmstaffel..digital artist is Piotr Forkasiewicz
the article- which will have a hard job living up to the quality of the artwork -covers the period October 43-May 44 ie the Sturmstaffel
via the Aérojournal FB page
More on the Sturmstaffel on this blog;
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/gerd-vivrouxs-fw-190-6-white-2.html
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/pauke-pauke-iv-jg-3-and-sturmstaffel-1.html
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/focke-wulf-190-6-sturmjager-white-4.html
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