Classic kits vol.5: Revell 1/144 World War II minikits

Subject: Revell 1/144 scale World War II Minikits

Comments: These series were produced in the early 1970's. The kits were released in several different collections from different Revell manufacturers around the world. These are very simple kits, with a single sprue and very limited decal selection. You can also find these kits under the Revell logo "Squadron 144".

Aircraft walkaround vol.41: Focke Achgelis Fa330 - Updated

Subject: Focke Achgelis Fa330

Location; USAF Museum, Dayton, Ohio, USA, 2014, Deutches Museum, Munich, Germany, 2012.

Comments:The Focke-Achgelis FA 330 Bachstelze (English: Wagtail) was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a gyroglider or rotor kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see farther. Because of their low profile in the water, submarines could not see more than a few miles over the ocean. To solve this, the German admiralty considered a number of different options, including a folding seaplane(Arado Ar 231). In the end, they chose the FA 330, a simple, single-seater, autogyro kite with a three-bladed rotor. The FA 330 could be deployed to the deck of the submarine by two people and was tethered to the U-boat by a 150 m (500 ft) cable. The airflow on the rotors as the boat motored along on the surface would spin them up. The kite would then be deployed behind the U-boat with its observer-pilot aboard, raising him approximately 120 meters above the surface and allowing him to see much farther — about 25 nautical miles (46 km), compared to the 5 nautical miles (9 km) visible from the conning tower of the U-boat. If the U-boat captain were forced to abandon it on the surface, the tether would be released and the FA 330 descend slowly to the water. When not in use, the FA 330 was stowed in two watertight compartments aft of the conning tower. Recovering, dismantling, and stowing the FA 330 took approximately 20 minutes and was a difficult operation. (ref. Wikipedia)

Aircraft walkaround vol.37: Fieseler FI103 "V1" UPDATED

Subject: Fieseler Fi103 V1

Location: Musée de L'Air et de L'Espace, Le Bourget, Paris, France, 2015; Deutches Museum Munich, Germany 2012; Fantasy of Flight Museum, Orlando, Florida, 2013; National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC, 2011 (V2 Loon, american missile).

Comments: The V-1 was developed at Peenemünde Army Research Centre by the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War. During initial development it was known by the codename "Cherry Stone". The first of the so-calledVergeltungswaffen series designed for terror bombing of London, the V-1 was fired from launch sites along the French (Pas-de-Calais) and Dutch coasts. The first V-1 was launched at London on 13 June 1944, one week after (and prompted by) the successful Allied landing in Europe. At its peak, more than one hundred V-1s a day were fired at south-east England, 9,521 in total, decreasing in number as sites were overrun until October 1944, when the last V-1 site in range of Britain was overrun by Allied forces. This caused the remaining V-1s to be directed at the port of Antwerp and other targets in Belgium, with 2,448 V-1s being launched. The attacks stopped when the last site was overrun on 29 March 1945.