A Soviet Air Force Ilyushin Il-2M in flight

The Ilyushin Il-2 is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The word shturmovík, the generic Russian term for a ground-attack aircraft, became a synecdoche for the Il-2 in English sources, where it is commonly rendered Shturmovik, Stormovik and Sturmovik.

To Il-2 pilots, the aircraft was known by the diminutive “Ilyusha”. To the soldiers on the ground, it was called the “Hunchback”, the “Flying Tank” or the “Flying Infantryman”. Its postwar NATO reporting name was Bark.

During the war, 36,183 units of the Il-2 were produced, and in combination with its successor, the Ilyushin Il-10, a total of 42,330 were built, making it the single most produced military aircraft design in aviation history, as well as one of the most produced piloted aircraft in history along with the American postwar civilian Cessna 172 and the German then-contemporary Messerschmitt Bf 109.

The Il-2 played a crucial role on the Eastern Front. When factories fell behind on deliveries, Joseph Stalin told the factory managers that the Il-2s were “as essential to the Red Army as air and bread.”

Design and development

Origins

The idea for a Soviet armoured ground-attack aircraft dates to the early 1930s, when Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich designed TSh-1 and TSh-2 armoured biplanes. However, Soviet engines at the time lacked the power needed to provide the heavy aircraft with good performance. The Il-2 was designed by Sergey Ilyushin and his team at the Central Design Bureau in 1938. TsKB-55 was a two-seat aircraft with an armoured shell weighing 700 kg (1,500 lb), protecting crew, engine, radiators, and the fuel tank. Standing loaded, the Ilyushin weighed more than 4,700 kg (10,400 lb), making the armoured shell about 15% of the aircraft’s gross weight. Uniquely for a World War II attack aircraft, and similarly to the forward fuselage design of the World War I-era Imperial German Junkers J.I armoured, all-metal biplane, the Il-2’s armor was designed as a load-bearing part of the Ilyushin’s monocoque structure, thus saving considerable weight. The prototype TsKB-55, which first flew on 2nd October 1939, won the government competition against the Sukhoi Su-6 and received the VVS designation BSh-2 (the BSh stood for “Bronirovani Shturmovik” or armoured ground attack). The prototypes – TsKB-55 and TskB-57 – were built at Moscow plant #39, at that time the Ilyushin design bureau’s base.

Il-2 in Museum of the Polish Army in Warsaw.

The BSh-2 was overweight and underpowered, with the original Mikulin AM-35 1,022 kW (1,371 hp) engine designed to give its greatest power outputs at high altitude. Because of this it was redesigned as the TsKB-57, a lighter single-seat design, with the more powerful 1,254 kW (1,682 hp) Mikulin AM-38 engine, a development of the AM-35 optimised for low level operation. The TsKB-57 first flew on 12th October 1940. The production aircraft passed State Acceptance Trials in March 1941, and was redesignated Il-2 in April. Deliveries to operational units commenced in May 1941.

The 23 mm (0.91 in) armament of Il-2 was subject to a competition. One of the first 1940 photographs of the Il-2 show it equipped with two MP-6 23 mm autocannons developed by Yakov Taubin at OKB-16. The MP-6 gun weighed 70 kg (150 lb) and developed an initial muzzle velocity of 900 m/s (3,000 ft/s). It operated on the short recoil principle and had a rate of fire of about 600 rpm. (The development of the MP-6 gun can be traced back to 1937. The initial version was tested in the spring of 1940 on a Bf 110 bought from Germany, because there was no suitable Soviet aircraft on which to mount it. In the summer of 1940 it was tested on the Pashinin I-21.) Factory trials of the MP-6 gun on the Il-2 were conducted in August 1940. In the early Il-2 prototypes, these guns were fed by 81-round clips. In flight, these clips sometimes became dislodged because of their large surface, which caused them to experience significant aerodynamic pressure. Competitive tests were conducted in the spring of 1941 between the MP-6 gun modified to belt-fed and the newly developed, gas-operated Volkov-Yartsev VYa-23, which had otherwise rather similar characteristics. The VYa-23 was declared the winner at this trial. Subsequently, in May 1941, development of the MP-6 gun was terminated and Taubin was arrested and summarily executed in October that year.

Technical description

The Il-2 is a single-engine, propeller-driven, low-wing monoplane of mixed construction with a crew of two (one in early versions), specially designed for assault operations. Its most notable feature was the inclusion of armour in an airframe load-bearing scheme. Armour plates replaced the frame and paneling throughout the nacelle and middle part of the fuselage, and an armoured hull made of riveted homogeneous armour steel AB-1 (AB-2) secured the aircraft’s engine, cockpit, water and oil radiators, and fuel tanks.

Production

In early 1941, the Il-2 was ordered into production at four factories, and was eventually produced in greater numbers than any other military aircraft in aviation history, but by the time Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22nd June 1941, only State Aviation Factory 18 at Voronezh and Factory 381 at Leningrad had commenced production, with 249 having been built by the time of the German attack.

Production early in the war was slow because after the German invasion the aircraft factories near Moscow and other major cities in western Russia had to be moved east of the Ural Mountains. Ilyushin and his engineers had time to reconsider production methods, and two months after the move Il-2s were again being produced. The tempo was not to Premier Stalin’s liking, however, and he issued the following telegram to Shenkman and Tretyakov:

You have let down our country and our Red Army. You have the nerve not to manufacture IL-2s until now. Our Red Army now needs IL-2 aircraft like the air it breathes, like the bread it eats. Shenkman produces one IL-2 a day and Tretyakov builds one or two MiG-3s daily. It is a mockery of our country and the Red Army. I ask you not to try the government’s patience, and demand that you manufacture more ILs. This is my final warning. — Stalin

As a result, “the production of Shturmoviks rapidly gained speed. Stalin’s notion of the Il-2 being ‘like bread’ to the Red Army took hold in Ilyushin’s aircraft plants and the army soon had their Shturmoviks available in quantity.”

Operational history

Initial use and operational confusion

The first use in action of the Il-2 was with the 4th ShAP (Ground Attack Regiment) over the Berezina River days after German invasion began. The aircraft was so new that the pilots had no training in flight characteristics or tactics, and the ground crew no training in servicing or re-arming. The training received enabled the pilots only to take-off and land; none of the pilots had fired the armament, let alone learned tactics. There were 249 Il-2s available on 22nd June 1941. In the first three days, 4th ShAP had lost 10 Il-2s to enemy action, a further 19 were lost to other causes, and 20 pilots were killed. By 10th July, 4th ShAP was down to 10 aircraft from a strength of 65.

New tactics

Tactics improved as Soviet aircrews became used to the Il-2’s strengths. Instead of a low horizontal straight approach at 50 metres (160 ft) altitude, the target was usually kept to the pilot’s left and a turn and shallow dive of 30 degrees was used, using an echeloned assault by four to twelve aircraft at a time. Although the Il-2’s RS-82 and RS-132 rockets could destroy armored vehicles with one hit, they were so inaccurate that experienced Il-2 pilots mainly used the cannon. Another potent weapon of the Il-2 were high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) shaped charge bomblets named protivotankovaya aviabomba (PTAB, “anti-tank aviation bomb”). They were designated PTAB-2.5-1.5, as they had a total weight of 2.5 kg (5.5 lb), and an explosive charge of 1.5 kg (3.3 lb). Up to 192 were carried in four external dispensers (cluster bombs) or up to 220 in the inner wing panels’ internal ventral weapon bays. The charge could easily penetrate the relatively thin upper armour of all heavy German tanks. PTABs were first used on a large scale in the Battle of Kursk.

The Il-2 was thereafter deployed widely on the Eastern Front. The aircraft could fly in low light conditions and carried weapons able to defeat the thick armour of the Panther and Tiger I tanks.

Effectiveness as attack aircraft

The true capabilities of the Il-2 are difficult to determine from existing documentary evidence. W. Liss in Aircraft profile 88: Ilyushin Il-2 mentions an engagement during the Battle of Kursk on 7th July 1943, in which 70 tanks from the German 9th Panzer Division were claimed to be destroyed by Ilyushin Il-2s in just 20 minutes. In another report of the action on the same day, a Soviet staff publication states that:

Ground forces highly valued the work of aviation on the battlefield. In a number of instances enemy attacks were thwarted thanks to our air operations. Thus on 7th July enemy tank attacks were disrupted in the Kashara region (13th Army). Here our assault aircraft delivered three powerful attacks in groups of 20–30, which resulted in the destruction and disabling of 34 tanks. The enemy was forced to halt further attacks and to withdraw the remnants of his force north of Kashara. — Glantz and Orenstein 1999 

In the Battle of Kursk (Operation Citadel), General V. Ryazanov became a master in the use of attack aircraft en masse, developing and improving the tactics of Il-2 operations in co-ordination with infantry, artillery and armored troops. Il-2s at Kursk used the “circle of death” tactic: up to eight Shturmoviks formed a defensive circle, each plane protecting the one ahead with its forward machine guns, while individual Il-2s took turns leaving the circle, attacking a target, and rejoining the circle. Ryazanov was later awarded the Gold Star of Hero of Soviet Union twice, and the 1st Assault Aviation Corps under his command became the first unit to be awarded the honorific title of Guards. In 1943, one loss corresponded to 26 Shturmovik sorties. About half of those lost were shot down by fighters, the rest falling to anti-aircraft fire.

Other studies of the fighting at Kursk suggest that very few of German armour losses were caused by the IL-2 or any other Soviet aircraft. In fact, total German tank losses in Operation Citadel amounted to 323 totally destroyed, the vast majority to anti-tank guns and armoured fighting vehicles. In addition it is difficult to find any first-hand accounts by German panzer crews on the Eastern Front describing anything more than the occasional loss to direct air attack. The vast majority, around 95–98%, of tank losses were due to enemy anti-tank guns, tanks, mines, artillery, and infantry assault, or simply abandoned as operational losses (such as mechanical breakdown or running out of fuel), which mostly happened during the last eleven months of the war.

During the Battle of Kursk, VVS Il-2s claimed the destruction of no less than 270 tanks (and 2,000 men) in a period of just two hours against the 3rd Panzer Division. On 1st July, however, the 3rd Panzer Division’s 6th Panzer Regiment had just 90 tanks, 180 less than claimed as destroyed. On 11th July (well after the battle), the 3rd Panzer Division still had 41 operational tanks. The 3rd Panzer Division continued fighting throughout July, mostly with 48th Panzer Corps. It did not record any extraordinary losses to air attack throughout this period. As with the other panzer divisions at Kursk, the large majority of the 3rd Panzer Division’s tank losses were due to dug-in Soviet anti-tank guns and tanks.

Perhaps the most extraordinary claim by the VVS’s Il-2s is that, over a period of four hours, they destroyed 240 tanks and in the process virtually wiped out the 17th Panzer Division. On 1 July, the 17th Panzer Division had only one tank battalion (the II./Pz Rgt 39), with 67 tanks, 173 less than claimed destroyed by the VVS. The 17th Panzer Division was not even in the main attack sector, but further south with the 1st Panzer Army’s 24th Panzer Corps. The 17th Panzer did not register any abnormal losses due to aircraft in the summer of 1943, and retreated westwards with Army Group South later in the year, still intact.

The main problem with the Il-2 was the inaccuracy of its attacks. Towards the end of war, the Soviets were able to concentrate large numbers of Shturmoviks to support their main offensives. The effect, however, was often more psychological than actual physical destruction of targets, particularly against dug-in and armoured targets. In the 9th June offensive in the Karelian Isthmus in Finland, the Finnish anti-aircraft forces were far too few in number to counter the armadas of Pe-2 and Il-2, but they quickly found that the Il-2 attacks generally missed their marks widely, particularly with bombs. While some attacks against large unprotected targets such as horse and truck convoys and railyards had devastating results, attacks against dug-in point targets were usually ineffective. The frequent duels between dug-in 20 and 40 mm AA guns and Il-2 attackers never resulted in the complete destruction of the gun, while many Il-2s were brought down in these attacks.

The heavy armour of the Il-2 also meant that it would typically carry only comparatively light bomb-loads, which together with the poor accuracy of its attacks made it a far less deadly attack aircraft than contemporary Allied fighter-bombers such as the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and Hawker Typhoon. The rocket projectiles especially were not effective, even the larger RS-132 (of which four were carried) having a warhead with only 0.9 kg (2.0 lb) of explosives, which compared poorly with the P-47’s typical load of ten 5 in (13 cm) HVARs, each having 3.4 kg (7.5 lb) of explosives, or the eight to twelve RP-3 rockets on the Hawker Typhoon, each with 5.5 kg (12 lb) of explosives.[citation needed] Likewise, the Shturmovik’s bombs were usually only 50 kg (110 lb), or rarely 100 kg (220 lb), too small to compensate for the typically wide variation from the target point. To compensate for the poor accuracy of the Il-2’s bombsight, in 1943, the Soviet Command decided to use shaped-charge armour-piercing projectiles against enemy armored vehicles, and the PTAB-2.5-1.5 SCAP aircraft bomb was put into production. These small-calibre bombs were loaded directly into the bomb bays and were dropped onto enemy vehicles from altitudes up to 100 metres (330 ft). As each Il-2 could carry up to 192 bombs, a fire carpet 70 metres (230 ft) long and 15 metres (49 ft) wide could cover the enemy tanks, giving a high “kill” probability. Pilots of 291st ShAP were the first to use the PTAB-2.5-1.5 bombs. During one sortie on 5th June 1943, six attack aircraft led by Lt. Col. A. Vitrook destroyed 15 enemy tanks in one attack, and during five days of the enemy advance, the 291st Division claimed to have destroyed or damaged 422 enemy tanks.

Soviet Il-2 planes attacking a German column during the battle of Kursk

“The Flying tank”

Thanks to the heavy armour protection, the Il-2 could take a great deal of punishment and proved difficult for both ground and aircraft fire to shoot down.

A major threat to the Il-2 was German ground fire. In postwar interviews, Il-2 pilots reported 20 mm (0.79 in) and 37 mm (1.5 in) artillery as the primary threat. While the fabled 88 mm (3.5 in) calibre gun was formidable, low-flying Il-2s presented too fast-moving a target for the 88’s relatively low rate of fire, only occasional hits were scored. Similarly, Finnish attempts to counter the Il-2 during the summer of 1944 proved ineffective as a result of the low numbers of 20 and 40 mm (0.79 and 1.57 in) AA in the field army. Heavier 76 mm (3.0 in) guns drawn from homeland defence proved also relatively ineffective and few Il-2s were downed despite attempting different tactics with time-fused fragmentation, contact-fused, and shrapnel ammunition: the heavy guns simply lacked the reaction times to take advantage of the brief firing opportunities presented by the low-altitude Il-2 attacks. Single-barrel 20 mm anti-aircraft guns were also found somewhat inadequate due to limited firepower: one or two shells were often not enough to destroy the Il-2, and unless the Il-2 was attacking the gun itself, thus presenting effectively a stationary target, scoring more hits during a firing opportunity was rare.

The armoured tub, ranging from 5 to 12 mm (0.20 to 0.47 in) thickness and enveloping the engine and the cockpit, could deflect all small arms fire and glancing blows from larger-caliber ammunition. Unfortunately the rear gunners did not have the benefit of all-around armour protection, especially from the rear and to the sides, and suffered about four times the casualties of pilots. Added casualties resulted from the Soviet policy of not returning home with unused ammunition which typically resulted in repeated passes on the target. Soviet troops often requested additional passes even after the aircraft were out of ammunition to exploit the intimidating effect Il-2s had on German ground troops, who gave it the nickname “The Flying Tank”. It was also called “Black Death” by German troops. Luftwaffe pilots called it Zementbomber (Concrete bomber). The Finnish nickname maatalouskone (“agricultural machine” or “tractor”) derived from a word play with maataistelukone (ground attack aircraft, literally “ground combat aircraft” where kone, literally “machine”, in turn is shortened from lentokone, aircraft, literally “flying machine”)

Rear gunner

Heavy losses to enemy fighters forced the reintroduction of a rear gunner; early Il-2s were field modified by cutting a hole in the fuselage behind the cockpit for a gunner sitting on a canvas sling armed with a 12.7 mm (0.50 in) UBT machine gun in an improvised mounting. The semi-turret gun mount allowed the machine gun to be fired at angles of up to 35° upwards, 35° to starboard and 15° to port. Tests showed that maximum speed decreased by between 10 and 20 km/h (6 and 12 mph) and that the two-seater was more difficult to handle because the center of gravity was shifted backwards. At the beginning of March 1942, a production two-seat Il-2 with the new gunner’s cockpit began manufacturer tests. The second cockpit and armament increased all-up weight by 170 kg (370 lb) so the flaps were allowed to be deployed at an angle of 17° to avoid an over-long takeoff run. The new variant had a lengthened fuselage compartment with an extended canopy offering some protection from the elements. Unlike the well-armoured cockpit of the pilot compartment with steel plating up to 12 mm (0.47 in) thick behind, beneath and on both sides as well as up to 65 mm (2.6 in) thick glass sections, the rear gunner was provided with 6 mm (0.24 in) thick armour, effective only against rifle-calibre rounds.

Il-2M cockpit. Museum of Aviation in Belgrade, Serbia

To improve performance, the Mikulin Design Bureau started work on an uprated AM-38 engine. The new engines produced 1,300 kW (1,700 hp) at takeoff and 1,100 kW (1,500 hp) at 750 metres (2,460 ft). They gave an improved takeoff and low-altitude performance. On 30th October 1942, production Il-2s powered by AM38s were used on the Central Front for the first time when they successfully attacked Smolensk airfield occupied by Germans. The Shturmovik rear guns proved to be effective against hostile fighters, and during the service trials alone, gunners shot down seven Bf 109s and repulsed many attacks. In January 1943 two-seat attack aircraft powered by uprated AM-38F engines (Forseerovannyy – uprated) began to arrive at front line units.

Nonetheless, the death rate among the air gunners remained exceptionally high and it was only for late models produced after 1944 that the 13 mm (0.51 in) rear plate of the armour shell was moved rearwards into the (wooden) rear fuselage to allow a gunner to sit behind the fuel tank. The armour did not extend to the rear or below although side armour panels were riveted to the rear armour plate to protect the ammunition tank for the UBT machine gun, providing some measure of protection. The modifications including adding the rear gunner and gun had added weight behind the center of gravity, resulting in “marginal” stability and handling characteristics that were “barely acceptable”. The need to shift the aerodynamic center of the aircraft rearwards due to the weight of the added rear gunner and lengthened cockpit was the reason for the swept back outer wings in later Il-2s.

Air-to-air combat

Owing to a shortage of fighters, in 1941–1942, Il-2s were occasionally used as fighters. While outclassed by dedicated fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190, in dogfights, the Il-2 could take on other Luftwaffe aircraft with some success. German front line units equipped with the Henschel Hs 126 suffered most of all from the ravages of Il-2s. Il-2 pilots also often attacked close formations of Junkers Ju 87s, as the 7.92 mm (0.312 in) machine guns of the Ju 87 Stukas were ineffective against the heavily armoured Shturmoviks. In the winter of 1941–1942, Il-2s were used against Luftwaffe transport aircraft, and became the most dangerous opponent of the Junkers Ju 52/3m. Pilots of 33rd GvShAP were the most successful in these operations. Other successful units were those in 1942–1943 operating near Stalingrad. Their targets were not only Ju 52s but also Heinkel He 111 and Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor bombers, delivering supplies to the besieged German troops.

While the Il-2 was a deadly air-to-ground weapon, and even a fairly effective interceptor against slow bombers and transport aircraft, heavy losses resulted from its vulnerability to fighter attack. Losses were very high, the highest of all types of Soviet aircraft, though given the numbers in service this is only to be expected. Shturmovik losses (including Il-10 type), in 1941–1945, were of 10,762 aircraft (533 in 1941, 1,676 in 1942, 3,515 in 1943, 3,347 in 1944 and 1,691 in 1945). The main defensive tactic was to fly low and reduce power as the fighter closed in. This could make the fighter overshoot and fly into the Il-2’s firing zone.

During the Battle in Karelian Isthmus, Vyborg Offensive in summer 1944, Finnish 24th and 34th Fighter Squadrons and Luftwaffe II./JG 54 took a toll on Soviet Il-2 squadrons. In just 30 days (10th June – 9th July) Finnish and German fighter pilots shot down 111 and 53 Il-2s respectively.

Notable aircrew

Senior Lieutenant Anna Yegorova piloted 243 Il-2 missions and was decorated three times. One of these awards was the Gold Star of Hero of the Soviet Union that she had received “posthumously” in late 1944, since she was presumed dead after being shot down. She survived imprisonment in a German POW camp.

Guards Junior Lieutenant Ivan Drachenko, another Il-2 pilot, was one of only four men who was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and who was also a Full Cavalier of the Order of Glory as a recipient of each of the Order of Glory’s three classes. Despite having lost his right eye as a result of injuries sustained in a combat mission on August 14th, 1943, he returned to flying status and continued to fly combat sorties until war’s end.

Recipient of the “Hero of the Soviet Union”, T. Kuznetsov, survived the crash of his Il-2 in 1942 when shot down returning from a reconnaissance mission. Kuznetsov escaped from the wreck and hid nearby. To his surprise, a German Bf 109 fighter landed near the crash site and the pilot began to investigate the wrecked Il-2, possibly to look for souvenirs. Thinking quickly, Kuznetsov ran to the German fighter and used it to fly home, barely avoiding being shot down by Soviet fighters in the process.

Lietenant Colonel Nelson Stepanyan flew an Il-2 and took part in a number of aerial battles and bombing sorties. He was shot down once but returned to Soviet lines. On his final sortie in Liepāja, Latvia on 14th December 1944, his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire, and although wounded, he flew his airplane into a German warship. Soviet sources assert that Stepanyan flew no fewer than 239 combat sorties, sank 53 ships, thirteen of which he did alone, destroyed 80 tanks, 600 armored vehicles, and 27 aircraft.

The cosmonaut Georgy Beregovoy flew the Ilyushin in 185 sorties, and was awarded the “Hero of the Soviet Union” in 1944. Later, he became the earliest-born cosmonaut and the only cosmonaut to be awarded a “Hero of the Soviet Union” for an earlier achievement that was not related to space travel.

Il-2m with the NS-37 cannon in conformal gun pods beneath the wings

Variants

The early two-seater prototype proved to be too heavy for the limited power of the early Mikulin AM-35 engine. A redesigned single-seat version was soon developed and saw combat, particularly in the early phase of the war in the Soviet Union. While the Il-2 proved to be a deadly air-to-ground weapon, heavy losses were caused by its vulnerability to fighter attack. Consequently, in February 1942, the two-seat design was revived. The Il-2M, with a rear gunner under the stretched canopy, entered service in September 1942 with the surviving single-seaters eventually modified to this standard. Later changes included an upgrade from 20 mm (0.79 in) to 23 or 37 mm (0.91 or 1.46 in) cannons, aerodynamic improvements, use of wooden outer wing panels instead of metal and increased fuel capacity. In 1943, the Il-2 Type 3 or Il-2m3 came out with redesigned “arrow-wings” that possessed leading edges that were swept back 15 degrees on the outer panels, and nearly straight trailing edges, resulting in a wing planform somewhat like the AT-6 trainer. Performance and handling were much improved from the resulting shift of the Il-2’s aerodynamic center rearwards with the revised “arrow wing” planform to correct the earlier problem, and this became the most common version of the Il-2. A radial engine powered variant of the Il-2 with the Shvetsov ASh-82 engine was proposed in 1942 to remedy projected shortages in the Mikulin inline engines. However, the Shvetsov ASh-82 was also used in the new Lavochkin La-5 fighter which effectively secured all available engines to the Lavochkin bureau. The radial engine Sukhoi Su-2 ground attack aircraft was produced in small quantities, but was generally considered unsuitable due to inadequate performance and lack of defensive armament.

Il-2M at MAKS air show

Panzerkampf 1/72nd scale diecast Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik models available from Flying Tigers.

Check out the Panzerkampf 1/72nd scale diecast Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik models available to pre-order from Flying Tigers. Please click on the model image/ link below of your choice and go straight to the model page to order yours now.

14629LA Panzerkampf  1/72nd scale Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovic White 1 (Legion Series)  RRP £40.00  Flying Tigers only £33.99

14629LB Panzerkampf  1/72nd scale Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovik White 100 (Legion Series)  RRP £40.00  Flying Tigers only £33.99

14629LD Panzerkampf  1/72nd scale Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovik M3 Nelson Stepanyan 57 Shap (Legion Series)  RRP £40.00  Flying Tigers only £33.99

14629LC Panzerkampf 1/72nd scale Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovik M3 Red 8 1941 Winter (Legion Series) RRP £40.00  Flying Tigers only £33.99

New Corgi Aviation Archive model in stock and Updated Photos.

Corgi Aviation Archive 1/72nd scale Douglas C-47A Skytrain 42-100521 ‘Night Fright’ now in stock. Don’t delay order yours today.

Check out the Photo Galleries on the two Corgi Aviation Archive models below.

Flying Tigers will also consolidate your orders to save on postage costs across all brands !

Please click on the images / links below to go to the model of your choice.

AA38211 Corgi Aviation Archive 1/72nd scale Douglas C-47A Skytrain 42-100521 ‘Night Fright’ 79th TCS, 436th TCG, Membury, 5th/6th June 1944  RRP £118.00  Flying Tigers only £97.99  NOW IN STOCK !

AA27112 Corgi Aviation Archive 1/72nd scale Messerschmitt Me109G-6 (Trop), Maggiore Antonio Vizzotto, Regia Aeronautica, 150 Gruppo, Sicily, July 1943.  RRP £60.00  Flying Tigers only £53.99

AA29102 Corgi Aviation Archive 1/72nd scale Supermarine Spitfire MkIXc, GC Colin Gray, Operation Husky July 1943 RRP £60.00  Flying Tigers only £53.99

Hobbymaster updated photo gallery.

Check out the latest photos and images below. Please click on the images or links to go straight to the model page to order.

HA0109 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale MiG-21PFM No. 6173, 927th Fighter Regiment, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 1979  RRP £103.00  Flying Tigers only £77.99

HA4433 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Lockheed F-35A Lightning II Polish Air Force, MSOP 2019 (mock up)  RRP £112.00  Flying Tigers only £84.99

HA4434 Hobbymaster  1/72nd scale Lockheed F-35A Lightning II J-6022, Swiss Air Force  RRP £112.00  Flying Tigers only £84.99

HA5314 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale MiG-23-98 White 36, Russian Air Force (with 4 x R-77 missiles)  RRP £106.00  Flying Tigers only £79.99

HA3576 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale CF-18 Hornet “Demo 2022” 188794, RCAF, 2022  RRP £109.00  Flying Tigers only £81.99

HA4321 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale CAC Sabre Mk.32 A94-983, Australian International Airshow 2011  RRP £82.00  Flying Tigers only £62.99

HA7746 Hobbymaster 1/48th scale P-51D Mustang “Marie” flown by Capt. Freddie Ohr, 2th FS, 52th FG, 1944  RRP £98.00  Flying Tigers only £74.99

HA7748 Hobbymaster  1/48th scale P-51D Mustang “Daddy’s Girl” Major Ray Wetmore, 370th FS, 359th FG, East Wretham, Norfolk, 1945  RRP £108.00  Flying Tigers only £76.99

Hobbymaster models due to arrive middle of next week at Flying Tigers.

These Hobbymaster models are due to arrive around the middle of next week and can be pre-ordered at Flying Tigers today.

Don’t forget NO DEPOSIT necessary with Flying Tigers and if you order with your debit or credit card your payment is not taken until your model is available to dispatch.

Flying Tigers will also consolidate your orders to save on postage costs across all brands !

Please click on the images / links below to go to the model of your choice, or CLICK HERE to see them all.

HA2630 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale AV-8B Harrier II Plus BuNo 165581, VMA-311, USMC, Afghanistan 2013 RRP £102.00  Flying Tigers only £76.99

HA5155 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Boeing EA-18G Growler 168386, VAQ-138 “Yellow Jackets”, US Navy, 2018  RRP £138.00  Flying Tigers only £104.99

HA3366 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale F-5F Tiger II 5272, 46th TFS Aggressor Squadron, ROCAF  RRP £100.00  Flying Tigers only £75.99

HA1335 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale A-10A Thunderbolt II “Mi-8 Killer” 81-0964, 21 FS, 507th ACW, Shaw AFB, December 1991  RRP £116.00  Flying Tigers only £75.99

HA5609 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale MiG-25PDS Foxbat Red 87, 933rd FAR Air Defence of Ukraine, 1995  RRP £136.00  Flying Tigers only £102.99

HA8224 Hobbymaster 1/48th scale F4U-4 Corsair “Medal of Honor” White 205, flown by LTJG Thomas (Lou) Hudner, VF-32, USS Leyte, 4th December 1950  RRP £110.00  Flying Tigers only £82.99

HA8225 Hobbymaster  1/48th scale F4U-4 Corsair White 211, flown by Ensign Jesse L. Brown, VF-32, USS Leyte, 4th Dec 1950  RRP £110.00  Flying Tigers only £82.99

HA5810 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk “Toxic Death” 79-10781, 1991  RRP £130.00  Flying Tigers only £99.99

HA38011 Hobbymaster  1/72nd scale F-16C Fighting Falcon 87-0332, 100th FS, 187th FW, Alabama ANG, 2021  RRP £110.00  Flying Tigers only £82.99

HA6804 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Su-57 Stealth Fighter Red 52, Russian Air Force, 2022 (with 4 x KH-59MK2 missiles)  RRP £146.00  Flying Tigers only £111.99

HA19042 Hobbymaster  1/72nd scale F-4F Phantom II “Norm 81” 38+56, JG 71 “Richthofen”, GAFTIC 86, CFB Goose Bay, Canada, May 1986  RRP £113.00  Flying Tigers only £85.99

HA3574 Hobbymaster  1/72nd scale F/A-18A “RAAF 3 Sqn 100th Anniversary Scheme” A21-27, RAAF Base Williamtown , 2016  RRP £109.00  Flying Tigers only £81.99

HA3613 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale F-106A Delta Dart 0-90062, 84th FIS, 1970s  RRP £116.00  Flying Tigers only £87.99

HA5131 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale F/A-18E Super Hornet 07/165792, VFC-12, US NAVY, NAS Oceana, June 2021  RRP £132.00  Flying Tigers only £99.99

HA5230 Hobbymaster  1/72nd scale Grumman F-14A “Queen of Spades” 162689, VF-41 “Black Aces”, Operation Desert Storm, June 1991  RRP £142.00  Flying Tigers only £107.99

HA3573 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale F/A-18A Hornet “Top Hat” A21-29, 75 Sqn., RAAF, 1990  RRP £109.00  Flying Tigers only £81.99

Thank you for reading this week’s Newsletter.

Richard

Flying Tigers.

The post Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik , Hobbymaster Next Delivery and Corgi & HM Photo Updates. appeared first on Flying Tigers.

Fokker D.VII reproduction at the NMUSAF. The aircraft is painted in the colors of Leutnant Rudolf Stark of Jasta 35b

The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the Luftstreitkräfte, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft. The Armistice ending the war specifically required Germany to surrender all D.VIIs to the Allies. Surviving aircraft saw much service with many countries in the years after World War I.

Fokker D.VII (OAW) 8909/18

Fokker’s chief designer, Reinhold Platz, had been working on a series of experimental V-series aircraft, since 1916. The aircraft were notable for the use of cantilever wings. Junkers had originated the idea in 1915 with the first all-metal aircraft, the Junkers J 1, nicknamed Blechesel (Sheet Metal Donkey or Tin Donkey). The wings were thick, with a rounded leading edge. The wing shape gave greater lift and more docile stalling behavior than the thin wings commonly in use.

Late in 1917, Fokker built the experimental V 11 biplane, fitted with the standard Mercedes D.IIIa engine. In January 1918, Idflieg held a fighter competition at Adlershof. For the first time, front line pilots participated in the evaluation and selection of new fighters. Fokker submitted the V 11 along with several other prototypes. Manfred von Richthofen flew the V 11 and found it tricky, unpleasant and directionally unstable in a dive. Platz lengthened the rear fuselage by one structural bay and added a triangular fin in front of the rudder. Richthofen tested the modified V 11 and praised it as the best aircraft of the competition. It offered excellent performance from the outdated Mercedes engine, yet was safe and easy to fly. Richthofen’s recommendation virtually decided the competition but he was not alone in recommending it. Fokker immediately received a provisional order for 400 production aircraft, which were named D.VII by Idflieg.

Fokker D.VII (F)

Fokker’s factory was not up to the task of meeting all D.VII production orders and Idflieg directed Albatros and AEG to build the D.VII under license, though AEG did not ultimately produce any aircraft. Because the Fokker factory did not use detailed plans as part of its production process, Fokker simply sent a D.VII airframe for Albatros to copy. Albatros paid Fokker a five percent royalty for every D.VII they built under license. Albatros Flugzeugwerke and its subsidiary, Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (OAW), built the D.VII at factories in Johannisthal [Fokker D.VII (Alb)] and Schneidemühl [Fokker D.VII (OAW)] respectively. Aircraft markings included the type designation and factory suffix, immediately before the individual serial number.

Some parts were not interchangeable between aircraft produced at different factories, even between Albatros and OAW. Each manufacturer tended to differ in nose paint styles. OAW produced examples were delivered with distinctive mauve and green splotches on the cowling. All D.VIIs were produced with either the five-color Fünffarbiger or less often, the four-color Vierfarbiger lozenge camouflage covering, except for early Fokker-produced D.VIIs, which had a streaked green fuselage. Factory camouflage finishes were often overpainted with colorful paint schemes or insignia for the Jasta or for a pilot.

In September 1918, eight D.VIIs were delivered to Bulgaria. Late in 1918, the Austro-Hungarian company Magyar Általános Gépgyár (MÁG, Hungarian General Machine Company) commenced licensed production of the D.VII with Austro-Daimler engines. Production continued after the end of the war, with as many as 50 aircraft completed.

Fokker D.VII looping

Many sources erroneously state that the D.VII was equipped with the 120 kW (160 hp) Mercedes D.III engine. The Germans used D.III as a generic term to describe later versions of that engine. The earliest production D.VIIs were equipped with 170–180 hp Mercedes D.IIIa. Production quickly switched to the intended standard engine, the higher-compression 134 kW (180–200 hp) Mercedes D.IIIaü. It appears that some early production D.VIIs delivered with the Mercedes D.IIIa were later re-engined with the D.IIIaü.

By mid-1918, some D.VIIs received the “overcompressed” 138 kW (185 hp) BMW IIIa, the first product of the BMW firm. The BMW IIIa followed the SOHC, straight-six configuration of the Mercedes D.III but incorporated several improvements. Increased displacement, higher compression and an altitude-adjusting carburettor produced a marked increase in speed and climb rate at high altitude. Because the BMW IIIa was overcompressed, using full throttle at altitudes below 2,000 m (6,600 ft) risked premature detonation in the cylinders and damage to the engine. At low altitudes, full throttle could produce up to 179 kW (240 hp) for a short time. Fokker-built aircraft with the new BMW engine were called D.VII(F), the suffix “F” standing for Max Friz, the engine designer.

BMW-engined aircraft entered service with Jasta 11 in late June 1918. Pilots clamored for the D.VII(F), of which about 750 were built. Production of the BMW IIIa was limited and the D.VII continued to be produced with the 134 kW (180 hp) Mercedes D.IIIaü until the end of the war.

D.VIIs flew with different propeller designs from different manufacturers. Despite the variations there is no indication these propellers gave disparate performance. Axial, Wolff, Wotan, and Heine propellers have been noted.

Hermann Göring, commander of Jagdgeschwader 1, Jasta 11 1918 beside his Fokker D.VII 5125/18. He holds a walking stick previously owned by Manfred von Richthofen

The D.VII entered squadron service with Jasta 10 in early May 1918. When the Fokker D.VII appeared on the Western Front in April 1918, Allied pilots at first underestimated the new fighter because of its squarish, ungainly appearance but quickly revised their view. The type quickly proved to have many important advantages over the Albatros and Pfalz scouts. Unlike the Albatros scouts, the D.VII could dive without any fear of structural failure. The D.VII was also noted for its high manoeuvrability and ability to climb at high angles of attack, its remarkably docile stall and reluctance to spin. It could literally “hang on its prop” without stalling for brief periods of time, spraying enemy aircraft from below with machine gun fire. These handling characteristics contrasted with contemporary scouts such as the Camel and SPAD, which stalled sharply and spun vigorously.

Several aircraft suffered rib failures and fabric shedding on the upper wing. Heat from the engine sometimes ignited phosphorus ammunition until cooling vents were installed in the engine cowling and fuel tanks sometimes broke at the seams. Aircraft built by the Fokker factory at Schwerin were noted for their lower standard of workmanship and materials. Despite faults, the D.VII proved to be a remarkably successful design, leading to the familiar aphorism that it could turn a mediocre pilot into a good one and a good pilot into an ace.

Richthofen died days before the D.VII began to reach the Jagdstaffeln and never flew it in combat. Other pilots, including Erich Löwenhardt and Hermann Göring, quickly racked up victories and generally lauded the design. Aircraft availability was limited at first but by July there were 407 in service. Larger numbers became available by August, when D.VIIs achieved 565 victories. The D.VII eventually equipped 46 Jagdstaffeln. When the war ended in November, 775 D.VII aircraft were in service.

Fokker D.VII of Jasta 66

The Allies confiscated large numbers of D.VII aircraft after the Armistice. The United States Army and Navy evaluated 142 captured examples. Several of these aircraft were re-engined with American-built Liberty L-6 motors, very similar in appearance to the D.VII’s original German power plants. France, Great Britain and Canada also received numbers of war prizes.

Other countries used the D.VII operationally. The Polish deployed approximately 50 aircraft during the Polish-Soviet War, using them mainly for ground attack missions.The Hungarian Soviet Republic used a number of D.VIIs, both built by MAG and ex-German aircraft in the Hungarian-Romanian War of 1919.

The Dutch, Swiss, and Belgian air forces also operated the D.VII. The aircraft proved so popular that Fokker completed and sold a large number of D.VII airframes that he had smuggled into the Netherlands after the Armistice. As late as 1929, the Alfred Comte company manufactured eight new D.VII airframes under license for the Swiss Fliegertruppe.

Fokker D.VII displayed at the Royal Air Force Museum

Many modern D.VII reproductions have been built. Most flyable examples are powered by Ranger or Gipsy Queen inverted-six cylinder inline engines. These engines, especially the Ranger units, must be turned upright to produce the correct thrust line, thus requiring a new oiling system. A few flying reproductions, such as the one at New York State’s Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, are equipped with original Mercedes D.IIIa engines.

Fokker D.VII preserved at the Deutsches Museum in Oberschleißheim

Corgi Aviation Archive new model arrival.

The following Fokker D.VII model has arrived at Flying Tigers this week. Pre-ordered models are shortly on their way to you.. Please click on the photo of the model photo below to go straight to the model page to order direct from stock.

AA38906 Corgi Aviation Archive 1/48th scale Fokker D.VII (OAW) 4649/18 ‘Seven Swabians’ Wilhelm Scheutzel, Jasta 65, September 1918  RRP £55.00  Flying Tigers only £49.49.

Hobbymaster new model arrivals today.

The following Hobbymaster new model releases have arrived at Flying Tigers today. Pre-ordered models will be on their way to you shortly. If you haven’t ordered yet, get in quick as remaining stock is small ! Please click on the photo of the model of your choice to go straight to the model page to order direct from stock.

BRAND NEW TOOLING !  HA8901 Hobbymaster  1/48th scale Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat White 2, VMF-223, USMC, Guadalcanal, September 1942 RRP £70.00  Flying Tigers only £52.99

HA3863 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Lockheed Martin F-16C Block 52 1615, Iraqi Air Force, 2015  RRP £72.00  Flying Tigers only £54.99

HA3864 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Lockheed Martin F-16D Block 52 1601, Iraqi Air Force, 2014  RRP £76.00  Flying Tigers only £56.99

HA5219 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Grumman F-14A Tomcat 160406, VF-84 “Jolly Rogers”, US Navy, 1986  RRP £122.00  Flying Tigers only £92.99

HA5308 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale MiG-23MS Flogger 4012, No. 39 Squadron, Iraqi Air Force, 1981  RRP £82.00  Flying Tigers only £61.99

HA5402 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Northrop T-38A 67-14833, 49th FW, Holloman AFB, 2011  RRP £54.00  Flying Tigers only £44.99

HA5406 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Northrop T-38A 68-8150, 49th FW, Holloman AFB, 2005  RRP £54.00  Flying Tigers only £44.99

HA6003 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Su-27 Flanker Flanker B B388, Paris le Bourget, 1989  RRP £113.00  Flying Tigers only £86.99

HA6004 Hobbymaster  1/72nd scale Su-27SK Flanker B TS-2701, 11th Squadron, Indonesian Air Force, 2003  RRP £113.00  Flying Tigers only £86.99

HA6005 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Su-27SK Flanker B TS-2702, 11th Squadron, Indonesian Air Force, 2003  RRP £114.00  Flying Tigers only £86.99

HA8108 Hobbymaster 1/48th scale Boeing PT-17 Stearman 4BFTS (British Flight Training School), Mesa, early 1940s  RRP £74.00  Flying Tigers only £54.99

HA8110 Hobbymaster 1/48th scale Boeing PT-17 Stearman 215977, Chinese Air Force, 1942  RRP £74.00  Flying Tigers only £54.99

Hobbymaster Photo Gallery Updates

I have updated the photo gallery on Hobbymaster’s latest Boeing AH-64D Longbow model announcements. Please click on the image below to go straight to the model page of your choice. By the way the British Army Air Corps version is selling very fast… so get your order in quick if you haven’t done so already !

HH1203 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale AH-64D Longbow ZJ171, British Army Air Corps, Cosford Airshow 2013  RRP £84.00  Flying Tigers only £62.99

HH1202 Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Boeing AH-64D Longbow (Late Variant) 05-7011, 1st Attack Recon. Bttn., 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st ID, US Army, Camp Speicher, Tikrit, Iraq 2010  RRP £88.00  Flying Tigers only £65.99

HH1204 Hobbymaster 1/48th scale AH-64D Longbow 2067, 120th Sqn., RSAF, 2016  RRP £96.00  Flyiong Tigers only £71.99

Black Friday Sale !

Black Friday is here again ! Loads of models included in the Sale so grab yourself some bargains. I have split the Sale into FOUR sections so it is easier to shop for the models you want. Some of the models have very limited stocks, so first come …first served.

Please click on the images below to go to the Sale Section of your choice.

Black Friday Sale – Military      Aircraft

Black Friday Sale – Helicopters

Black Friday Sale- Civilian Aircraft

Black Friday Sale – Vehicles & Diorama

All marked prices on models in the Vehicle and Diorama section are now further reduced by 25 %, including existing Sale Price models, until Monday 26th November 2016 at 1.00 p.m GMT. Order in the normal way and the extra discount will be applied when your model is dispatched.

Black Friday Weekend Offer closes on Monday 26th November at 1.00 p.m. GMT.  Limited stock availability. Normal Terms and conditions apply, see website for details.

Thank you for reading this week’s Newsletter.

Richard.

Flying Tigers.

The post BLACK FRIDAY WEEKEND DEALS ! Fokker D.VII, Hobbymaster and Corgi Arrivals and Updated Photo Gallery. appeared first on Flying Tigers.

The New Corgi 2016 1st Half Catalogue has launched this week, as many of you have already noticed. I have added all the latest Corgi Aviation Archive models to the Flying Tigers Website. Thank you to all of those that have already started to order your Pre-Order models!
You can access the latest models by clicking on the Future Corgi Models link highlighted here.

I have also shown the models below. Please click on the images or the links underneath and it will take you straight to the model on the website.

Some of the models are already proving to be very popular, so if there is a particular one or two that you would like to add to your collection, please place your order without delay.

Remember… Flying Tigers does not charge you for your model until it actually comes into stock to be dispatched (unless you pay by PayPal which is beyond our control). Flying Tigers also does NOT charge a deposit to hold your order…it is all done on trust.

If you would like to buy more than one model , and would like to save on shipping costs, Flying Tigers consolidates your orders /models into one shipment and sends them to you in one parcel.

You can order through the website  24/7, by email to sales@flying-tigers.co.uk  or please call us on 01604 499034  Monday to Friday 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Outside business hours please leave a message on our answer machine and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

 1/72nd scale AA32315 BAC Lightning F.6, XP770/D, RAF No.56 Squadron ‘Firebirds’, RAF Wattisham 1975   RRP £60.00  Flying Tigers only £53.99

1/72nd scale AA36012 BAE Hawk RAF Red Arrows RRP £29.99 Flying Tigers only £26.99

1/72nd scale AA39007 Westland Lynx HAS 3 (ICE), XZ238/434 assigned to HMS Endurance, 2002   RRP £55.00 Flying Tigers only £49.49

1/72nd scale AA35414 SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1a, XZ356/EP ‘Mary Rose’ RAF No.6 Squadron, Operation Granby, 1991    RRP £55.00 Flying Tigers only £49.49

1/72nd scale AA39806 PANAVIA Tornado GR.1, ZA447/EA ‘MiG Eater’ RAF No.15 Squadron, Operation Granby, 1991   RRP £70.00 Flying Tigers only £62.99

1/72nd scale AA34112 Blackburn Buccaneer, XW533/A ‘Miss Jolly Roger’, RAF No.237 OCU, Operation Granby, 1991   RRP £60.00 Flying Tigers only £53.99

1/72nd scale AA27702 North American F-51D Mustang™, 44-12943/FF-943 ‘Was that too fast?’ 18th Fighter Bomber Group, USAF, Chinhae Airfield, South Korea, 1951   RRP £45.00 Flying Tigers only £39.99

1/72nd scale AA35710 Messerschmitt Me262A-1a, ‘Red 7’ Plt. Ofz. Franz Gapp, 8./KG6, Podersam, Saaz, May 1945   RRP £45.00 Flying Tigers only £39.99

1/72nd scale AA34316 Focke-Wulf Fw 190F-8, ‘Black 3’ Feldwebel Eugen Lorcher, II./SG2, 5 Staffel, Aufthausen, 8th May 1945, Fiancée Rescue Flight   RRP £45.00 Flying tigers only £39.99

1/72nd scale AA37208 Handley Page Halifax B.VII, PN230/EQ-V ‘Vicky The Vicious Virgin’, RAF No.408 ‘Goose’ Squadron, No.6 (RCAF) Group, Linton-on-Ouse, 1945  RRP £110.00 Flying Tigers only £98.99

1/72nd scale AA32624 Avro Lancaster B.III, ED888/PM-M2 ‘Mike Squared’, RAF No.103 Squadron, Elsham Wolds, Lincolnshire, Late 1944   RRP £135.00 Flying Tigers only £121.49

1/72nd scale AA27106 Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2, Oberleutnant Günther Rall, Staffelkapitan 8./JG52, Gostanovka, Russia, August 1942   RRP £45.00 Flying Tigers only £39.991/72nd scale AA27703 North American Mustang Mk.IV, KH790/WHC Werner Christie, No. 150 Wing, RAF Hunsdon, Spring 1945   RRP £45.00 Flying Tigers only £39.99

Corgi AA36613 Lockheed P-38J Lightning, 44-23590 ‘Scrapiron IV’ Capt. L E Blumer, 393rd FS/367th FG, France 1944   RRP £65.00  Flying Tigers only £58.49

1/72nd scale AA36908 Junkers Ju52, 4U+NH 2/KGzbV1 Operation Merkur, Crete 1941   RRP £105.00 Flying Tigers only £94.49

1/72nd scale AA27604 Hawker Hurricane Mk.I V7795 Plt. Off W Vale, RAF No.80 Squadron, Maleme, Crete 1941   RRP £45.00 Flying Tigers only £39.99

1/72nd scale AA27603 Hawker Hurricane Mk.I V7357/SD-F, Sgt. J.H ‘Ginger’ Lacey, RAF No.501 Squadron, Gravesend, September 1940   RRP £25.00 Flying Tigers only £22.49

1/72nd AA39211 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I R6800/LZ-N, Sqn. Ldr. Rupert ‘Lucky’ Leigh, RAF No.66 Squadron, Gravesend, September 1940   RRP £25.00  Flying Tigers £22.49

1/72nd scale AA37707 Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a, C1149/W ‘Schweinhund’, Capt. Duncan Grinnell-Milne, No.56 Squadron RFC, November 1918

Flying Tigers Website News

Just a couple of quick updates.

A very large delivery of Hobbymaster models has landed at Sywell this week. I am, and will be very busy packing these over the next few days to get your models out for delivery before Christmas. One or two of you have asked that I delay sending their models out until after Christmas or even to wait until after the New Year, because of holidays or visiting family or friends of the Christmas/ New Year break. I am very happy to do this…please email or call me to give me your instructions.

Last days for posting/ shipping for Christmas Eve Delivery.(U.K. only)

The last day Flying Tigers can accept orders for Christmas Eve delivery is Tuesday 22nd December.

We will be dispatching models on Wednesday the 23rd December but cannot guarantee delivery on Christmas Eve. In all instances please remember that Flying Tigers sends parcels out by Royal Mail and Parcelforce with a”signed for” service, so if there is no-one at the delivery address to sign for the parcel, the goods may end up at your local post office for collection.

Extra Newsletter this weekend

I will be sending out an extra Newsletter to you this weekend to update you with all the new Hobbymaster arrivals and additions to the website including the latest “Deals of the Week”, so if you get another email from me, it is not a duplicate of this one… it is a different one altogether!

Once again thank you for taking time to read this week’s Newletter.

Richard

Flying Tigers.

The post New Corgi 2016 1st Half Catalogue Launch ! appeared first on Flying Tigers.

The post All the latest model aviation releases at Flying Tigers appeared first on Flying Tigers.