The Longest Day 1191 BRITISH WWII FIGHTER 1:48 SCALE PLASTIC KIT

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1 The Longest ay 1191 BRITISH WWII FIGHTER 1:8 SCALE PLASTIC KIT intro In September 191, a hitherto unknown German radial engine fighter appeared in the west European sky. The new airplane was superior to British fighters, most distressingly to the Spitfire Mk.V. The German design was soon recognized as the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A. The losses suffered by the RAF over western Europe rose rapidly and the crisis was serious enough that the RAF ceased the majority of daytime operations in November, 191. The next attempt to resume these types of sorties was made in March 192. Loss rates remained unacceptably high and the RAF was forces to stop ops once again. All this was thanks to the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A. The first response to the new German weapon was the Spitfire Mk.VIII, but the design changes were so complex that initiating timely production was not possible. In June, 192, a German pilot landed by mistake on a British airfield delivering a completely intact Fw 190 fighter into RAF hands. Comparative trials between the Focke-Wulf and Spitfire Mk.V began almost immediatelly. These mock encounters confirmed the situation over the front the chances of a British fighter surviving an encounter with the Fw 190 were slim. The only British fighter aircraft deemed suitable to oppose them were the Spitfire Mk. VII and VIII powered by the Merlin 61 engine. As mentioned above these were some time away of being ready for series production. But there was another way of getting a powerful fighter quickly - by mating the Merlin 61, with its two-stage supercharger, with the fuselage of the Spitfire Mk.Vc. Two Mk.Vc airframes, AB196 and AB197, were selected for this purpose and were strengthened with modified longerons to accommodate the more powerful and heavier engine. The example was finished on February 26 and the second on March 27, 192. Flight trials were succesful and the order for series production was issued almost immediately. Series production began in June 192 and the first Mk.IXs found their way to No. 6 Squadron in July. Performance improved significantly in comparison to the Mk.V. A top speed of 09 mph at 28,000 feet was higher by 0mph, and the service ceiling rose from 36,200 to 3,000 feet. The Mk.IX could climb at,000 feet per minute. The RAF finally had a fighter aircraft capable of opposing the Fw 190 A. Three main versions of the Mk IX were produced. The F.IX was powered by the Merlin 61 and was the only version on the assembly line in early 193. The next version was the LF Mk.IX powered by the Merlin 66. This engine was designed to do its best at low altitudes. The third version, manufactired along with the LF, was the high-altitude HF Mk.IX with the Merlin 70. The majority of Mk.IXs manufactured were equipped with the so-called 'C' wing. Four 20mm cannon or two 20mm cannon and four.303 machine guns could be installed in the wings. From 19, the strengthened 'E' wing was produced. Four.303 machine guns were replaced with two.50 heavy machine guns. Bomb racks for 250lb bombs were fitted under each wing typically. The Mk.IX became the second most numerous version of the Spitfire with a total of 5653 examples being built. The Mk.IX began to replace the Mk.V from June, 192. Thanks to the new fighter, the RAF was ready to fight against the Luftwaffe over occupied Europe. Spitfire Mk.IXs served with the RAF to the end of war. In the postwar era, foreign air forces flew this version as well. Czechoslovak, Norwegian, anish, and Canadian air forces operated numbers of Mk.IXs and they were not alone. Spitfires would find themselves in combat again. Czechoslovakia sold its Spitfire Mk.IXs to Israel in 198 and these aircraft formed the backbone of the newly born Israeli air force in the fight against their Arab neighbours. úvodem V září 191 se na evropské obloze objevil dosud neznámý německý stíhací letoun poháněný hvězdicovým motorem. Nová stíhačka měla nad britskými, zejména Spitfirem Mk.V, zřetelnou převahu. V německé konstrukci byl záhy rozpoznán Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A. Ztráty RAF nad západní Evropou začaly rychle narůstat až to té míry, že britské letectvo muselo v listopadu 191 zastavit většinu denních operací nad evropským kontinentem. Pokus o spuštění tohoto typu bojových letů byl uskutečněn v březnu 192. Počty ztrát však byly opět neúnosné, což opět vedlo k jejich zastavení. Vše díky Focke-Wulfům Fw 190 A. Prvním pokusem o odpověď na novou německou zbraň se stal Spitfire Mk.VIII, avšak komplexní přístup ke změnám konstrukce letounu způsobil, že nebylo možné jej dostat do sériové výroby v dostatečně blízkém časovém horizontu. V červnu 192 přistál jeden z německých pilotů omylem na britském letišti a předal tak do britských rukou nepoškozený Fw 190 A. Srovnávací zkoušky Focke-Wulfu a Spitfiru Mk.V začaly téměř neprodleně. Cvičné souboje plně potvrdily situaci na frontě šance britské stíhačky přestát setkání s Fw 190 bez úhony nebyly vysoké. Jediné britské stíhačky schopné postavit se plnohodnotně německému typy byly Spitfiry Mk.VII a Mk.VIII poháněné motorem Merlin 61. Jak však bylo poznamenáno výše, nedalo se čekat, že v dohledné době dospějí do fáze sériové výroby. Byla zde však ještě jedna cesta, jak získat dostatečně výkonnou stíhačku zabudovat Merlin 61 s dvoustupňovým kompresorem do základního draku Spitfiru Mk.V. Pro tento experiment byly vyčleněny dva draky, AB196 a AB197. Prošly zpevněním, aby mohl být zastavěn výkonnější a těžší motor. První z nich byl dokončen 26. února, druhý pak 27. března 192. Letové testy proběhly natolik úspěšně, že byla objednána sériová výroba. Ta se plně rozběhla v červnu 192 a první Mk.IX se u bojové jednotky, No. 6 Squadrony, objevily v červenci. V porovnání s Mk.V se výkony znatelně zvýšily. Maximální rychlost byla v stopách vyšší o 0 mph, operační dostup se zvýšil z na stop. Mk.IX mohl stoupat rychlostí 000 stop za minutu. RAF tedy konečně dostalo stíhačku, kterou mohlo směle postavit proti Fw 190 A. Vyráběny byly tři hlavní verze Mk.IX. Verze F Mk.IX byla poháněna motorem Merlin 61 a z montážní linky sjížděla až do počátku roku 193. Na ni navázaly LF Mk.IX poháněná motorem Merlin 66 a určená k operacím v nižších výškách, a HF Mk.IX s motorem Merlin 70 konstruovaným naopak pro výškové lety. Většina Mk.IX byla vyrobena s křídlem typu C. V něm mohla být instalována výzbroj složená ze čtyř kanonů ráže 20 mm nebo ze dvou kanonů ráže 20 mm a čtyř kulometů ráže 0,303 palce. V roce 19 se objevilo zpevněné křídlo typu E. Čtveřice kulometů byla nahrazena dvojicí kulometů ráže 0.50 palce. Pod každou polovinou křídla byly standardně namontovány závěsníky pro 250lb pumy. Verze Mk.IX se stala druhou nejpočetnější verzí Spitfiru s 5653 vyrobenými kusy. Mk.IX začaly nahrazovat Mk.V v červnu 192. íky nové stíhačce byla RAF opět schopná bojovat proti Luftwaffe nad okupovanou Evropou. Ve své výzbroji si typ ponechala až do konce války. Po ukončení bojů se verze dostala i do výzbroje dalších letectev. Československé, norské, dánské, kanadské a další letectva používala desítky Mk.IX. Spitfiry Mk.IX se však do bojů dostaly i v této době. Československo prodalo své Spitfiry v roce 198 do Izraele, kde se v bojích s arabskými sousedy staly páteřním typem nově vznikajících izraelských vzdušných sil. E Spitfire Mk.IXc, MH819, No. 310 Squadron, Appledram Air Base, Mid June, 19 FOR COMPLETE PROFILE PLEASE REFER KOMPLETNÍ KAMUFLÁŽNÍ SCHÉMA NALEZNETE NA NAV1

2 ATTENTION UPOZORNĚNÍ ACHTUNG ATTENTION INSTRUCTION SIGNS INSTR. SYMBOLY INSTRUKTION SINNBILEN SYMBOLES OPTIONAL VOLBA BEN OHNOUT OPEN HOLE VYVRTAT OTVOR SYMETRICAL ASSEMBLY SYMETRICKÁ MONTÁŽ REMOVE OŘÍZNOUT REVERSE SIE OTOČIT APPLY EUAR MASK AN PAINT POUŽÍT EUAR MASK NABARVIT PARTS ÍLY TEILE PIECES PLASTIC PARTS A> C> > E> 8280 A 8280 C E F> 8280 F G> 8280 G RP - RESIN PARTS PE - PHOTO ETCHE ETAIL PARTS R9 R50 R51 R52 R53 R5 eduard COLOURS BARVY FARBEN PEINTURE GSi Creos (GUNZE) AQUEOUS Mr. H C YELLOW C H C81 RUSSET H 51 C11 LIGHT GULL GRAY H 52 C12 OLIVE RAB H 77 C137 TIRE BLACK H 90 C7 CLEAR RE H 9 C138 CLEAR GREEN H C WHITE AQUEOUS Mr. H 326 C326 BLUE H 328 C328 BLUE C361 MEIUM SEA GRAY OCEAN GRAY ARK GREEN SKY Mr.METAL MC21 ARK IRON 2

3 C F1 F28 C F2 F7 C H 51 C11 LIGHT GULL GRAY F19 F1 C F26 F27 C F25 F35 F56 F3 C F0 F5 PE26 F5 F35 F0 F18 F6 H C81 RUSSET F6 F31 F3 F65 C PE27 F16 F61 F17 F60 F7 not very often used H C81 RUSSET 3

4 C F32 PE11 PE PE8 C F32 F6 PE12 PE22 PE21 PE10 F38 PE9 PE6 OPTIONAL: ECAL F66 A9 A F16 PE3 PE1 PE2 PE15 F23 PE19 PE3 - MARKING F3 C A9 C F A C C F62 A F29 F30 F1

5 FOR CLOSE CANOPY E9 E1 F1 F15 G58 - MARKING G56-1 mm - 1 mm G58 E1 F A C B C E9 G6 B F2 C F6 G57 G55 G57 - MARKING E9 C F39 G76 C MARKING 5

6 G6 G68 G70 - MARKING G15 G16 G70 G19 G7 G20 G67 G69 - MARKING G MARKING C MARKING C2 2 G72 - MARKING G17 G62 G71 G61 G71 - MARKING G59 G60 G71 G18 MARKING - 1 mm MARKING - 1 mm 6

7 E2, E3 - MARKING E2 F79 G12 G E G10 G10 G9 G5 E7 G G12 G5 G3 E3 E8 F7 G11 G G11 G9 MC21 ARK IRON E F80 F73 F12 GLUE PARTS F52 & F53 ONE BY ONE F53 F8 F52 7

8 E5 E6 PE2 PE23 G27 G29 G1 G1 G8 G13 G28 G30 F36 G1 G7 8 F11 F72 F71 F10 C137 H 9 CLEAR GREEN C7 H 90 CLEAR RE

9 G6 G6 G6 G6 G37 G37 G39 G38 G38 G36 G39 G36 PE16 H 77 C137 TIRE BLACK G - MARKING G G3 G9 G22 G35 G50 G9 G G3 G - MARKING G50 G35 H 77 C137 TIRE BLACK MARKING PE7 G5 G5? PE7, G5 - G26 G5 G21 REMOVE FOR UNERCARRIAGE LOWERE REMOVE FOR UNERCARRIAGE LOWERE PE7 G5 G25 G53 MARKING PE16 G5? PE7, G53 - A2 9

10 F8 H 77 C137 TIRE BLACK F9 H 77 C137 TIRE BLACK F55 F57 A1 A8 F21 A12 A5 E G66 F A11 A1 A8 A5 PE17 C G65 G63 A8 F5 A12 F51 F F37 G0, G7 - MARKING G1 F70 G7 G0 PE20 PE13 PE13 G73 E G0 10 G73 G7 G0, G7 - MARKING G1

11 RP52 H 52 C12 OLIVE RAB A1 H RP53 PE18 RP50 F68 RP9 RP5 PE25 H 52 C12 OLIVE RAB RP51 F22 2 pcs. F50 F67 MARKING H 52 C12 OLIVE RAB F69 F22 F20 F5 F MARKING H 52 C12 OLIVE RAB F63 PE5 2 pcs. F5 F F63 PE1-0,3 mm 11

12 A Spitfire Mk.IXc, ML21, No. 126 Squadron RAF, Harrowbeer Air Base, June 6, 19 This Spitfire was delivered to No. 126 Squadron in the middle of May, 19. uring the Normandy landings, the black & white quick indentification stripes were painted on the wings and fuselage. Official documents required 18in wide stripes but this aircraft, as well as others flown by No. 10 Group AGB, wore narrower 9in stripes. The name of the Muscat town in English and Arabic identified this aircraft as having been presented by the Persian Gulf Spitfire Fund. In July, 19 Ioannis 'Johny' Plagis, a fighter ace with 16 confirmed kills to his credit, was appointed CO of No. 126 Squadron. He added his personal marking with the name of his sister Kay on the fuselage left side. At this time, ML21 wore the I bands on the lower side of the wings and fuselage only. On October 12, 19, this Spitfre was damage and Plagis transitioned on to Spitfire NH295, coded 5J E, as a personal mount. He flew NH295 till the squadron was reequipped with Mustangs H ČESKOU VERZI TEXTU NALEZNETE NA H H 1 H H 1 2 H C361 6?3 H H 10 YELLOW SKY 12 H WHITE MEIUM SEA GRAY H C361 OCEAN GRAY ARK GREEN BLACK eduard

13 B Spitfire Mk.IXc, MK92, Flown by F/Sgt Michal Murayda, No. 302 Squadron, Chailey, June, 19 Michal Murayda was a US volunteer, and his parents were Polish. He became a member of Polish No. 302 Squadron and took part in 'Operation Overlord'. MK92 was his personal aircraft during the Normandy landings. The code letter A was painted in white on one of the black I bands. Ground personel chalked this letter on to the fuselage roundel apparently for identification purposes. ČESKOU VERZI TEXTU NALEZNETE NA YELLOW SKY H WHITE MEIUM SEA GRAY H C361 OCEAN GRAY ARK GREEN BLACK eduard 13

14 C Spitfire Mk.IXc, MK892, Flown by F/Lt. C. H. Lazenby, No. 222 Squadron RAF, Normandy, June 10, 19 This aircraft was bellied in by C. H. Lazenby, a member of No. 222 Squadron RAF. Lazenby s Spitfire suffered engine failure on June 10, 19, and he made an emergency landing on one of the Normandy beaches and was taken PoW. The code letters on the fuselage were partially overpaited by Operation Overlord I stripes. The quality of the black & white stripes show how quickly the bands had to be applied. The code letters hidden under the bands were brushed on below the canopy ČESKOU VERZI TEXTU NALEZNETE NA H H H 1 H H H 1 2 H C YELLOW SKY 1 H WHITE MEIUM SEA GRAY H C361 H OCEAN GRAY ARK GREEN BLACK eduard

15 Spitfire LF Mk.IXe, PL12, No. 312 Squadron RAF, June, 19 Czechoslovak pilots flew the Spitfire Mk.IXe for the first time during the Normandy landings. Czechoslovak RAF squadrons were re-armed with low-altitude Merlin 66 Spitfires because these had underwing bomb racks and were more suitable for operations over the Normandy beachhead. The first unit to get the new Spitfires within No. 13 Wing was No. 312 squadron, which received the aircraft on June 11, 19. The E-type wing Spitfires servedwith the wing till July 3, 19 when the F and HF.IXc machines arrived and the LF Mk.IXe were passed on to other units. According to documents, this particular aircraft was transferred to No. 7 squadron on June 21, 19. Photos of PL12 show that the quick identification black & white bands were not fully painted on the fuselage. The black stripes are missing. Note the dark, probably blue, rudder tip H ČESKOU VERZI TEXTU NALEZNETE NA 80% 20% H328 H326 + C328 C326 H H 1 H H H 1 2 H C % 20% H328 H326 + C328 C WHITE H YELLOW H SKY BLUE MEIUM SEA GRAY 80% 20% H328 H326 + C328 C326 C361 H OCEAN GRAY ARK GREEN BLACK eduard 15

16 The Longest ay STENCIL VARIANTS 28? 3 8 2?9? ? ? ? ? Spitfire 500Ib bomb II A.C. I/3 60 /0 RX/TNT 5 8 M.C. 5OOLB ? eduard 16 EUAR M.A Printed in Czech Republic