Mike – Page 8 – Witness and Memory- A Memoir and Models of History

P-40K Warhawk ‘CBI Campaign’ 1:48 Hasegawa kit

The P40-K was the last variant of the famous Warhawk. I have always liked the look of the Warhawk and this model in particular for the colourful scheme. The Warhawk was the aircraft of ‘Flying Tigers fame, a volunteer group who flew in China against the Japanese. They carried the distinctive shark teeth pattern on their noses. I am sure you have all seen the movie ‘Flying Tigers’ starring John Wayne!

Although the P-40 Warhawk has had something of a bad press, it was actually the third most produced fighter of the USAAF after the P-51 and P-47 with over 13,000 being built, all at the Curtiss-Wright Corporation’s main factory in Buffalo, New York state. It had its flaws but it would not have been produced in such large numbers or lasted so long had it not been a basically successful design.

P-40 Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) gave the plane, and after June 1941, the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) adopted the name for all models, making it the official name in the U.S. for all P-40s.

Since WW2, the conventional wisdom has been the P-40 was something of a mediocre indeed inferior fighter but it was, by far, the best and most capable fighter the United States had when WWII began.

The P-40 was designed as a pursuit and close air support aircraft and performed well at low to medium altitudes.

The P-40s lack of a two-speed supercharger made it inferior to Luftwaffe fighters such as the Me Bf 109 or the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in high-altitude combat and it was rarely used in operations in North-West Europe.

However, between 1941 and 1944, the P-40 played a critical role with Allied Air Forces in three major theatres: North Africa, South-West Pacific and China. It also played a significant role in the Middle East, South-East Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska and Italy.

The P-40s performance at high altitudes was not as important in those theatres, where it served as an air superiority fighter, bomber escort and fighter-bomber.

The P-40 was not a long-range, high-altitude escort fighter. In that role, it was totally outclassed by the P-51 Mustang which essentially won the European air war for the USA. But that was an entirely different mission and when WWII began, no one knew bombers would need escort fighters.The kill ratios attained by the P-40 against the Japanese and the Germans were very respectable. The P-40 was the backbone of the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army till 1941, and continued supporting operations till VJ Day. As far as air fighting is concerned, the Allies would have been in a far inferior situation without the P-40.

A nice view of the distinctive bulbous nose. On the ground, the steep nose would hinder the pilot’s view ahead so a ground crewman would sit on the wing to direct the pilot. P-40s were frequently lost on the ground due to the poor visibility and relatively narrow landing gear track.

This is an old kit in my collection and I recently restored it with a more weather beaten appearance. The trick with weathering is ‘less is more’. The three black streaks on the leading edge of wings are from the .50 cal machine guns, three on each wing.

Unfortunately,the large central drop tank is missing, must have lost it over China!

USAAF and Chinese P-40 pilots performed well in the China, Burma, India theatre against such Japanese types as the Ki-43, Ki-44 ‘Tojo’ and the Zero. The P-40 remained in use in the CBI theatre until 1944 and was reportedly preferred over the P-51 Mustangs by some pilots flying in China. The American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) were integrated into the USAAF as the 23rd Fighter Group in June, 1942. The unit continued to fly newer model P-40s until the end of the war, achieving a high kill-to-loss ratio.

The British Commonwealth and Soviet Air Forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the original P-40, P-40B and P-40C, while the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants.

Soviet-Finnish War diorama. Part 2. The ‘White Death’, ‘Белая Смерть’. Finnish Army Assault Gun BT-42.

Finnish commandos on skis with white camouflage uniforms moving through the forests. A Finnish BT-42 assault gun in support. Figures by MiniArt of Ukraine. The BT-42 was only initially deployed in February 1943 during the so-called ‘Continuation War’, what the Finns called their war against the Soviet Union after June 22, 1941 so strictly should not appear here.

Cutting through Soviet lines of communications through the dense birch-wood forests, the Finnish troops were invisible but everywhere and called the ‘White Death’ ‘Белая Смерть’ by the Soviets.

Rather proud of my Finnish Reindeer so I thought he deserved a closer look! You wouldn’t believe the variety of furs and patterns these animals possess and,no, in case you are wondering, I didn’t go to Lapland and nick him from Santa! During the campaign, temperatures could drop to 40-below-zero. Masses of Soviet soldiers simply froze to death.

Most adult Finnish males were hardy, physically fit, excellent skiers, hunters and woodsmen. They made natural soldiers and knew how to use the terrain of frozen bogs, swamps, lakes and forests to excellent effect.

The Finns used small units in so-called ‘motti’ tactics to harass the Red Army, sever its supply lines and cut it up into small pockets which they would then proceed to destroy.

In anticipation of a quick victory, the Soviets started the conflict wearing summer uniforms and to disastrous effect. The Germans were to repeat the same mistake when they invaded the Soviet Union in June, 1941.

The Winter War, as it is called in Finland, which lasted for 105 days, saw some of the most bloody and intense battles of the Second World War.

The basic cause of the conflict was the struggle for spheres of influence between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact of 23 August 1939.

Stalin was also anxious about the security of the ancient capital of Leningrad, formerly St Petersburg, second city of the USSR, a huge industrial centre and the country’s greatest seaport which lay only 20 miles from the Finnish border and in range of its guns.

After the Finnish government did not agree to territorial concessions, the Soviet Union invaded the country without declaration of war on 30th November 1939 and the conflict lasted until March 12, 1940 when the Finns signed a harsh peace in Moscow.

Although the Red Army emerged triumphant, it had incurred staggering losses and its reputation dealt incalculable harm.

The Soviet losses were 126, 000 killed and missing, 246,000 wounded and shell-shocked.

‘Loss of men did not worry Stalin either then or later: it never has worried the Russians. The real damage, as Stalin must have been aware, was the blow to the credibility of the Red Army as a military force. The German General Staff made a careful study of the Russian tactics in the Winter War and concluded its report with the verdict: ‘The Soviet “mass” is no match for an army and superior leadership.’ For once, Hitler was prepared to accept the views of the General Staff: it coincided with his belief that no Slav fighting force could stand up to the racially superior Germans. Nothing did more to convince him in 1941 that he was justified in gambling on defeating the Russians in a single campaign than their performance against the Finns.’ From Alan Bullock, Hitler and Stalin, Parallel Lives, p 721-22, 1998.

During the Soviet-German war, 1941-1945, the Finns fought on the side of the Axis. In Russian speaking sources the war is referred to as the Soviet-Finnish front of the Great Patriotic war while in Finnish historiography it is known as the ‘Continuation War’ the aim of which was the return of the territories lost during the Winter War and the seizure of extra Soviet territory up to the borders of the ‘Three Isthmuses’ i.e. Belomor, Karelian and Olonets.

BT-42 Assault Gun

During the WWII, the Finnish Army utilized captured Soviet tanks as their significant armament. Among these was the BT-42 assault gun which the Finnish Army created by pairing the hull from a captured Russian BT-7 Model 1937 light tank with a British 114 mm howitzer and a redesigned BT-7’s large boxy turret. 18 units were produced from 1943 to 1944 and they were deployed to the Svir River region to attack the Russian bastion. In June 1944 during the Battle of Vyborg, BT-42s saw fierce combat against advancing Russian forces. From Tamiya website.

Model based on actual example Parola Museum, Finland

This particular version of the BT-42 was used from the end of the Continuation War until 1951.

Moving up to the front in depths of winter

In August 1945, the national marking were changed to the White and Blue roundels seen here on the turret. I chose this version simply because I like the colour of the markings!

A captured Soviet Gaz lorry is bringing up the rear

Soviet-Finnish War Diorama. Storming the Mannerheim Line.

T-26 in action again with a T-26 OT flame-thrower version behind

Barbed-wire entanglements were no defence against Soviet armour! The impregnable so-called Mannerheim line, 88 miles of fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus, was largely a myth of Soviet propaganda.

I added a few wires to the flame-throwing tube and drilled out the end so it could be shown in action.

The OT -26 or Flame thrower tank was based on the T-26 chassis. The Russians also called them ‘chemical tanks’

**Химический танк ХТ-26 (ОТ-26**) Now I know where the inspiration for the Daleks came from!

Soviet T-26 Light Tank. Т-26 — Советский лёгкий танк. Zvezda 1:35 scale

Along with the BT tank, the T-26 formed the basis of the Soviet tank park before the start of WW2 and during its initial period. The T-26 was popular at one time but the weak armour and its low speed made it easy prey for the enemy, and quite often there was no radio in the tank. By 1938, it was virtually obsolete.

Forwards, for the Motherland! T-26 in winter camouflage in action in Finland in 1940. I think my artwork is getting better!

I found a few discrepancies in the instructions, par for the course with these early Zvezda kits. Still, it’s cheap and cheerful and a fairly accurate depiction. Unbelievably, the machine gun part was missing so I had to fashion one from a piece of plastic rod which I found in the spares box. How could they make a mistake like that especially considering it’s a Russian tank! Unforgivable!

The tracks and running gear went together surprisingly well. The whitewash and snow effects helped hide some nasty ejector pin marks on the bogies!

The T-26 is a very small tank but I think it looks kind of cute! It weighed between 8-11 tons and had a 45 mm gun. It was comparable at least to a German Pz Kpfw II.

As the model was so light, I added some pieces of lead inside the hull to give it a more realistic feel of weight and also to keep the bottom tracks to lie flat.

The T-26 was the most numerous tank of the Red and Finnish Armies by the start of the Great Patriotic War in 1941 and also of the Spanish Republic during the Spanish civil war. During the 1930s and 1940s, it was second in terms of numbers after the T-34. It was constructed on the basis of the British Vickers Mark ME or ‘6-ton tank’ and was taken into service in the USSR in 1931 (source: Russian Wikipedia).

Captured T-26s. The caption reads: “Captured Russian tanks stand where the Finns halted them on January 7, 1940. The Red Army’s 44th Division enriched Finland’s arsenal with 43 tanks and 46 field guns-too cumbersome for use in the forest”. From Battles for Scandinavia by John R. Elting. Time Life Books 1981. The Finns used the captured T-26 themselves and even until after the war.

In all, 281 T-26s were sent to Spain from 1936-1938. It was also used against the Japanese at Khalkin-Gol, and in the Soviet campaign against Poland in 1939.

Many were captured by the Germans during Barbarossa and used as ‘trophy’ tanks and called the Panzerkampfwagen 737.

Other users were:

Finland, as mentioned. 126 tanks, several dozen of which were only decommissioned in 1961!

Turkey-64 single turret and 2 two-turret versions.

Afghanistan- 2 of the first two-turret version.

Romania- captured 30 T-26s although only one is known to have been used.

Chinese (nationalist)- 82 T-26B model.

Slovakia-2 tanks one of which was displayed at the Exhibition of captured weapons in Bratislava.

Hungary- one model 1938 T-26.

Spanish Republican T-26 on streets of Madrid

Cold War Museum, Lithuania. Nuclear Missile Silo Complex. Музей холодной войны в Жемайтии

In 2015 I travelled with my good Lithuanian friend Saulius to his native country. During my trip I had the unique opportunity to visit one of the most interesting and unusual places that I have ever encountered, the top secret Plokštinė underground missile base of the Soviet Union which now hosts the Cold War Museum. For someone with a lifelong fascination with Russian and Soviet military affairs, it was simply too good an opportunity to miss!

I hope my photos will convey something of the eerie atmosphere of the place and its thought-provoking effect.

Naturally enough, being a former secret missile base, it is not situated on the crossroads of tourist routes but far from prying human eyes a few kilometres from the main road in the sparsely populated Plokštinė forest near Plateliai lake, Samogitia district.

Each R-12 missile (NATO code-named SS-4 Sandal) based here had a megaton class thermonuclear warhead with the standard charge of 2.3 megatons. It could also be used to fire explosives or chemical weapons.

The R-12 rocket provided the Soviet Union with the capability to attack targets at medium ranges and constituted the bulk of the Soviet offensive missile threat to Western Europe. The four missiles alone here would probably have had enough destructive power to obliterate the whole British population with enough to spare. Just as well we were oblivious at the time.

Incidentally, it was the deployment of the R-12 missiles in Cuba which caused the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

Soviet military style concrete approach to the complex

No, it’s not a UFO!The base from a distance. But the really interesting part is what is under one of those white cupolas!

Concrete dome of one of the four missile silos. It was moved on rails before launch.

History of the base

The site started in the early 1960s with the appearance of military construction workers. Work was conducted secretly, quickly and without the use of heavy equipment but already by 1962 a secret military object appeared at the construction site surrounded by several rows of barbed wire under voltage.

In the late 1970s, the military suddenly disappeared, leaving behind four missile silos and an underground command post. Locals were drawn to the abandoned military base to scavenge for metal and other materials and for thirty years the complex remained neglected until it was taken over by the directorate of the Samogitia or Žemaitija National Park which opened the Cold War Museum.

In the mid-1950s, both Superpowers began developing medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs), which over the next thirty years would form the core of the nuclear forces of both adversarial blocs.

The first Soviet missile of this type was the R-5M missile manufactured by the Space Bureau Korolev which entered service in 1956. At the same time, the Dnepropetrovsk (Ukraine) Design bureau of Yangel was developing the R-12 missile, which came into service a little later, in 1959, but in all respects it was superior to the Korolev missile.

The R-12 became the most numerous ballistic missile in service of the Soviet Union. In total, about 2,300 R-12s of various modifications were produced, and up to 600 missiles simultaneously stood at ready alert.

Initially, it was planned to launch R-12 missiles from ground launchers, but soon the degree of protection of such installations and the long time it took to prepare the missiles for launch were considered unsatisfactory.

Experts saw the solution in the creation of special silo launchers hidden underground. In 1960, the development of a silo launch complex for R-12 missiles, dubbed 8P763 Dvina, began.

The first such complex was a secret facility in the forests of northern Lithuania. On January 31, 1963, the first division of R12-U ballistic missiles took up combat duty here.

The complex consisted of four silo launchers and an underground command post. Each silo had a depth of 30 metres and a diameter of about 5 metres. A steel launch pad and a steel ”glass” with a diameter of 3 metres were installed in it, into which a missile was placed. From above, the silo was covered with a multi-ton concrete dome, which was shifted to the side along rails just before the missile was launched.

The base was built and maintained in complete secrecy which, however, did not prevent the Americans from discovering it in the mid-1960s using satellite photography.

By the end of the 1970s, the stationary launchers of the MRBMs were replaced by the Pioneer RSD-10 mobile complex. Shortly afterwards, in 1978, the base in Plokštinė was closed and abandoned. Over the next decades, looters took whatever they could but the complex of structures remained in fairly good condition which allowed for the opening of the Cold War Museum.

Unfortunately, almost nothing remained of the original equipment of the complex due to the ‘thrifty’ locals. Apparently, the only original exhibit is a twenty-ton electric generator, which it was simply impossible to remove from the underground bunker!

Entrance to the underground complex. The sign in Russian says, ‘Wipe your feet!’, which I thought rather comical for such a doom laden place!

Unfortunately, my photo was blurred so I took this from a Russian website. The first hall of the exposition is devoted to missile technology in general. This is an anti-aircraft missile from the Cuban defence system but has nothing to do with the base.

Listening on audio to the tour guide. Behind me is one of the several mannequins on duty looking rather bored or pensive not sure which!

Peering into an eerily lit silo about 30 metres in depth

Film of missile warhead being lowered into silo.The R-12 is a single-stage rocket with a separable single reentry vehicle.

Types of personal equipment to protect against radiation and biological agents. Early examples of PPE you might say. Sure could do with it now!

Following the same theme, assorted gas masks, some of which were to be used in schools

Planning to concentrate and evacuate the population in event of nuclear war

Film of turning key for missile launch. There is a genuine launch key in the exhibition.

Rather tellingly, the exhibition ends with a film showing effects of a thermo- nuclear blast on a city.

The 20-ton electric generator, the only artefact left by the locals simply because it was literally too heavy to lift! Where is a JCB forklift when you need one!?

The satellite image on show at the Museum on the basis of which the site was discovered by the Americans. The high resolution photo was a great feat for the time.

I suppose the object lesson to take away from this place is that in a nuclear war the whole populations of the warring powers would be hostages.

Apparently, the second such place on the territory of the former USSR is located in Pervomaisk in Ukraine which has not been vandalised and has faithfully retained the equipment and launch sites to a high degree of accuracy.

The INF Treaty which came into effect in 1988 eliminated and banned US and former Soviet Union (FSU) ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometres.

Red Arrows at Exeter Airport

Here are a few clips of the Red Arrows at Exeter Airport I took in 2009. Hard to believe now we used to have a fully functioning airport and aircraft both civil and military used to land daily!

The Red Arrows use the airport here as their base when conducting displays during summer tours in the South-West of England at such places as Dawlish, Torquay, Sidmouth, etc

Memories of happier times let’s hope they return one day.

Doing their stuff!

The Arrows at RIAT Fairford when I was there in 2009

Folland Gnat trainer. Small swept-wing aircraft the Red Arrows used before the Hawk. This one was at RNAS Yeovilton.

A Hawk in beautiful black livery also at RNAS Yeovilton

Hawk trainers were a common sight flying from RAF Valley on Anglesey home of No 4 Flying Training School to Exeter Airport.

The Tank Museum. Bovington, Dorset, UK. World’s finest collection of armoured vehicles.

I simply have to mention the Tank Museum as it is not far from me in Dorset and I have visited it several times. It is a must for anyone interested in military vehicles like myself.

Twice yearly now they have a Tank fest in which they roll out the restored Tiger 131. I went along to the one in 2017 but, very sadly, have lost the footage. This is the next best thing, actually it is better as the chap filming could get a lot closer!

The awesome Tiger

A parade of tanks starting with the Easy Eight Sherman used in the film ‘Fury’ and there is also a Valentine.

The sheer width of the tracks is incredible, but they would have had to be that wide to support all that weight. Still, didn’t help them much when they got stuck in the mud in Ukraine as my Father could testify!

The rear of a tank was almost always the most vulnerable part and the Tiger was no exception.

‘For Leningrad. Leningrad women to the front!’

Brad Pitt on Fury, well ok it’s a dummy!

Mighty Thunderbolt. Republic P47-D Thunderbolt ‘Razorback’. Tamiya 1:48

Lt. Frank Klibbe’s ‘Little Chief’ P-47D Thunderbolt, one of the most rugged fighters ever built.

This is my tribute to the mighty American P-47 Thunderbolt which was able to escort high-flying B-17 Flying Fortresses into Germany and proved a match for the Luftwaffe’s FW 190s at 15,000 ft. The P-47 looked similar to the FW-190 from a distance which is why they had distinctive nose (and tail) bands to help Allied aircrew identify them.

Manufactured by the Republic aviation company, the Thunderbolt, or ‘Jug’ to its pilots, was the biggest and most heavily armed single-seat fighter of World War 2.

The massive power and weight of the P-47 design was made possible by the famous Pratt and Whitney 18-cylinder radial R-2800 Double Wasp engine.

Trying to capture the massive frame in close-up is not easy! Not as glamorous or graceful looking as the sleek P-51 Mustang, the portly Thunderbolt was still one of the greatest fighters the United States ever produced and was used by some of their top aces such as Francis ‘Gabby’ Gabreski, the son of Polish immigrants to the USA.

This was a straightforward build out of the box and I don’t have any progress photos for this one. The only tricky part was the Indian Chief’s head with the white band decal. Somehow I managed to ruin it while trying to snuggle it around the cowling and nearly gave myself a heart attack in the process! A quick order to Hannants, my go to online model shop, for an aftermarket replacement set retrieved the situation and I managed second time round which settled the heart flutters.

Decals can be the downfall of a model and I nearly proved the point this time!

There are lots of exotic and colourful marking schemes for American World War 2 fighters which is one of the great joys of modelling them. The nose art was quite often of a young lady in various states of undress which can be an added bonus depending on your inclinations!

Primary armament was the eight .50 calibre machine guns, four of which you can just see protruding out of the port wing.

Along with Spitfires and Lockheed P-38 Lightnings the P-47 initially formed the backbone of the USAAF Eighth Air Force’s escort fighter force, the ‘little friends’ as the American bomber crews called them, but on the longest missions these had to had to turn back practically at the German border, roughly between Cologne and Emden. The P-47 was a thirsty bird and its high rate of fuel consumption meant that early versions were restricted in range.

By late 1943, equipped with drop tanks, the P-47 was able to accompany the B-17s and B-24s to Berlin and back.

The belly of the beast! Showing rockets and drop tank. The drop tank or auxiliary fuel container was a simple American invention which greatly extended fighter-escort range and enabled American and British heavy bombers to fly into the heart of the Third Reich while protected by accompanying fighters using the device.

P-47s also undertook independent fighter sweeps and ground attack missions. In the fighter-bomber ground-attack role, the P-47 could carry five-inch rockets or a bomb load of 2,500 pounds.

The P-47 was by far the heaviest fighter plane, fully loaded its gross weight in the later models reached 21,000 pounds! The Douglas C-47 Cargo plane weighed 26,000 pounds.

Another view from the front showing the massive four-blade propeller.

Starboard view. I usually add the pilot figure if one is included with the kit and posed with the canopy open if possible. I think it adds more interest and besides saves having to make fiddly seat belts which are rarely included! Fighter pilots tended to be younger and more aggressive in temperament than bomber pilots.

That’s better! The ‘Jug’ in all her glory.

The ‘Jug’ or ‘Supercharged Milk Bottle’ needed a long run way for take off and landings hence this outdoor shot! Note the 5 ‘kill’ German Balkan crosses by the cockpit.

The P-47D Razorback also served with the RAF and designated ‘Thunderbolt Mark 1’ while the bubble top P-47D-25s which they received were designated ‘Thunderbolt Mark IIs’. These had the upper rear fuselage flattened and a tear drop canopy placed over the cockpit for improved rearward vision, a feature included on all versions of the P-47 produced after the D-25. This revision reduced the maximum speed of the aircraft somewhat but improved the balance of the design as a fighter aircraft.

Box cover of a 1:72 scale bubble top P-47D in my possession which I hope to make one day!

Soviet Tupolev T-B3 heavy bomber 1/72 scale. Советский бомбардировщик ТБ-3

Alas, my green beauty has long since departed to modeller’s heaven. The pen gives an idea of the size of the model in 1:72 scale.

I built this model of the TB-3 many years ago but it is sadly no longer in my possession. It went into the modelling graveyard in the sky, i.e. my loft, and ended up damaged and then passed away forever. All I have left are these photos two of which I took in my backyard. I had to lie on the ground to get the whole thing in focus a feat I wouldn’t dare these days!

Looking like a giant bird of prey ready for lift off!

I think the main reason I let her go is that I was never entirely satisfied with the finished kit wing, which was a nightmare to assemble.

However, I felt it deserved an honourable mention as it is such an interesting and unusual subject and also an important part of aviation history. After all, it was the world’s first cantilever wing four-engine heavy bomber.

It also ties in with my little I-16 fighter as you will see below.

It bristles with machine guns but very disappointingly there are no crew figures which would really have enhanced the model and added interest.

I have enhanced this photo which shows off the corrugated texture of the wing to better effect.

In the early days of my modelling career, I had a tendency to be carried away by size and this aircraft is a good example of it! The fact that the subject was Soviet and the kit manufactured in Ukraine might also just have pulled at the heartstrings a tad! A case of the heart ruling the head as usual.

Nowadays, I have learned that size is not everything and to make sure I have the requisite display space!

They say that when it came to aircraft design, Stalin was always impressed by two things, speed and size, and the TB-3 certainly fit the bill in regard to the latter.

The kit was manufactured by ICM of Ukraine and as I recall was an absolute pig to build!

It came in a rather flimsy box which didn’t help! I think the Ukrainians must have been conserving cardboard at the time.

To tackle this bizarre Tupolev Titan, looks like a boat with wings stuck on, you almost needed a degree in engineering. The carcass of the beast is chock full of bulkheads, spars and formers. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to fit, the plastic was horrendous, parts were warped, location devices missing and the instructions vague and confusing!

The most frustrating part of the build was trying to get the two wing halves to close on top of the internal spars. In the end there must have been a 5 mm gap at least between them which I was only able to overcome using clamps, packets of super-glue and brute strength!

The wing surfaces were heavily corrugated and made for an interesting feature but also made it virtually impossible to sand and file!

And now for some history of this brute.

“The 1930s was a period of rapid development of aviation in the USSR. Air parades, films about hero pilots, the opening of air schools throughout the country, the establishment of new records for altitude, speed and flight range – aviation had become a real cult for the young Land of Soviets. The heavy bomber TB-3 (or as it was also called ANT-6) is a real symbol of that era. Not a single air parade could do without this giant and there are many records on the TB-3 account, this plane landed on drifting ice floes and participated in the war in Spain”. (From MilitaryArms. RU)

Despite its ungainly looks, when Tupolev’s heavy four-engined bomber ANT-6, later designated TB-3, first appeared it was considered the pinnacle of aviation design- very hard to believe now! Many of the technical solutions employed during its construction would determine the development of heavy aviation for decades to come.

The prototype ANT-6 made its first test flight in December 1930.

The total number of TB-3s manufactured was 818 with a number of modifications taking place during the mass production period.

Its overload version could carry up to 5 tons of bombs with the flight range exceeding 3,000 km. The defensive armament of the first models was 5 DA machine guns mounted at different points. The crew consisted of from 6 to 11 men depending on the version.

Note the really weird looking bicycle-like undercarriage! The engines and propellers also don’t look powerful enough for the size of the air frame.

As you can see from this photo, the crew were left completely exposed to the elements in their open cockpits which was quite natural for the time. Still, it must have got rather cold travelling at 100 mph at 15,000 ft! Apparently the crews would smear animal fat over their exposed flesh. Lovely! I am sure vodka would have helped, too.

The TB-3 became the basis of the Soviet bomber fleet during the 1930s with two powerful aviation groups organised around it based in the European part of the USSR and the other in the Far East. In the largest military exercises in the Kiev and Belorussian Military districts, the TB-3s were used in the roles of bombers and transports.

I found the following on a Russian website which I simply had to quote:

“The TB-3 took part for the first time in military operations in the summer and autumn of 1937. They acted against the “internal enemy” – the Basmachi in the Pamirs. To support the operations of border guards and units of the Red Army, 30 R-5 and three TB-3 were then involved. The latter transported people and goods to hard-to-reach areas”. (airpages.ru).

Now I never knew that! Sorry but obscure facts like that really grab me. The militant Bashmachi movement was a protracted uprising by Muslim peoples against Russian and Soviet rule in the 1920s and 1930s in Central Asia. You can stop groaning now (or yawning).

It could even drop off paratroopers who would literally slide off the wing. Rather them than me!

Could carry light tanks such as the amphibious T-38. The nose of the aircraft under the machine-gun turret was glazed. Looks like a patio window but it must have been rather a nice view!

By 1939, the TB-3 was obsolete but it saw action in the Winter War against the Finns and a few took part in fighting against the Japanese at Lake Khasan and Khalkin Gol. It was used extensively during the Great Patriotic War for transporting troops and frequently as a night bomber due to its vulnerability, i.e slow speed and weak defences.

Talk about versatile! The TB-3 acting as the mother ship to an I-16, like something you would expect out of an early science fiction novel or film!

Believe it or not, the bomber could also act as a kind of aircraft carrier or mother ship for between two and five fighters. This was the so-called Zveno (‘Chain’) or parasite plane project developed in the USSR in the 1930s. In the definitive SPB version, under the wings of the bomber, two I-16 fighters could be fixed.

In 1941, two TB-3 carrier fighters made several raids on the Romanian oil fields at Ploesti. They not only destroyed the oil pipeline, but also hit a strategically important bridge.

I believe this particular kit is no longer in production although you can still find it on e-bay and specialist model sites at ridiculous prices. It would be really lovely for another manufacturer to take up the challenge again of releasing a model of the TB-3. I really can’t see Airfix accepting but perhaps Zvezda of Russia!? You never know, I might then be persuaded to have another go but only if there are no wing spars!

WARNING! The following long footage is ONLY for dedicated Soviet aircraft fanatics. But the background music is nice.

Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero Fighter. Tamiya 1 32 scale.

The kit even comes with a Japanese inscription on a metallic plaque seen here in the foreground. This aircraft was part of 653rd Fighter Group (Ohita Prefecture 1944)

Another outstanding model by Tamiya. The second one I have made of their 1/32 range. I would suggest anyone contemplating making one of their 1/32 scale models should have quite a few kits under their belt first and also a good quality airbrush to do them justice. They are not particularly difficult kits to make you just need to take your time, read the instructions very carefully and make sure you follow the assembly sequence. These kits aren’t meant to be rushed! And you really don’t want to b*lls them up as they are very expensive!

The magnificent box top. Inside it is crammed full of goodies including canopy masks. Everything is beautifully packaged and there is even a folding carton for storing or transporting the model. In my opinion, these kits are like the Rolls-Royce of the model world they just exude luxury!

The beautiful cowling. Tried not to overdo the weathering. I just added a few scratches and some exhaust staining. Just visible on the wing above the u/c is a tiny indicator rod made from photo-etch. This device provided the pilot with a visible sign whether the u/c was raised or lowered. Amazing detail!

The legendary Zero is surely one of the most beautiful aircraft of all time. It just looks right from every angle and as the old engineering adage goes, if something looks right, it generally is right!

But the Reisen ( Zero fighter) was to the Japanese more than just a superbly designed aircraft. Like the Spitfire it was a symbol of the Japanese nation and their invincibility in the Pacific war at least in the early stages of the conflict.

The new Zero design incorporated this teardrop-shaped canopy which gave excellent all-around vision. The standing pilot came with the kit and was a nice bonus!

With the instruction booklet come these b/w photos for reference while making the model.

The drop tank which gave the Zero great range. Missions of 1,400 miles were commonplace a feat unheard of by aircraft of other nations at the time. Note the metallic blue of the wheel bays a distinctive feature of Japanese aircraft.

The sleek lines of the Zero. This aircraft was designed to *attack* and in that role it was akin to the German Me-109. All the emphasis was on performance and speed at the expense of protection devices like self-sealing fuel tanks and armour plate. This made it extremely vulnerable to the later generation of American fighters such as the Hellcat.

Although the Zero had already been flying in combat in China some eighteen months prior to Pearl Harbour, it came as a complete surprise to the Americans and British who at the time greatly underestimated the Japanese.

It has been said that Japan’s gamble of starting the Pacific war was based on the premise that the Zero could defeat any fighter the Allies put against them and thus gain air superiority as the prelude to victory.

Jiro Horikoshi. Mitsubishi’s chief design engineer and the genius behind the Zero.

Jiro Horikoshi’s brief for the new carrier-based aircraft was not only to to improve on existing designs but to incorporate all the qualities of a fighter aircraft in one design:

speed
range
climbing power
weaponry
manoeuvrability
endurance

A pretty tall order!

To possess all these qualities would make it simply the best fighter in the world.

In order to achieve this near impossible task it was decided the frame had to be super lightweight and aerodynamic with a powerful 1,000 hp engine.

At Pearl Harbor, Zeros provided air cover and escorted the bombers and strafed airfields.

The Zero dominated the skies in the Philippines, the Indian Ocean and elsewhere.

From early 1940, when the Zero entered service, until late 1942, the Zero enjoyed undisputed mastery of the air.

The Zero was constantly improved and modified during the war and about the same time as the debut of the Model 22, the Americans deployed their latest high speed, heavily armed fighters, the P-38 Lightning and F4U Corsair. But the best known rival of the Zero was the aircraft specially designed to destroy it, the F6F Grumman Hellcat.

The Hellcat came about after a Zero was captured intact after it landed in the Aleutian islands and the Americans were able to learn all its design secrets and improve upon them.

The model 52 was designed to cope with the new American fighters but due to lack of raw materials and production facilities in wartime Japan, modifications concentrated on the aerodynamics.

The folding wing tips were removed and given a more rounded shape.

The Zero Model 52 made its maiden flight in August 1943.

The career of the Zero spanned five years from its debut in China in 1940, fighting over the Solomon Islands and Guadalcanal in autumn 1943, the Mariana Islands, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and finally the Japanese homeland.

Towards the end of the war, the Japanese were severely hampered by lack of fuel and trained pilots and in combat against the technically superior American fighters the Zeros suffered considerable losses.