Flying Tigers https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk Diecast Model Specialists - Model Aeroplanes Thu, 15 Jun 2023 16:45:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2.17 Louis E. Curdes , Hobbymaster and Panzerkampf Latest Model Announcements and Photo Updates. https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2023/louis-e-curdes-hobbymaster-and-panzerkampf-latest-model-announcements-and-photo-updates/ https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2023/louis-e-curdes-hobbymaster-and-panzerkampf-latest-model-announcements-and-photo-updates/#respond Thu, 15 Jun 2023 15:50:22 +0000 https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/?p=98203   Louis Edward “Lou” Curdes (2nd November 1919 – 5th February 1995) was an American flying ace of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II who held the unusual distinction of scoring an official air-to-air kill against another American Aircraft. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross twice and a Purple Heart. […]

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Captain Louis E. Curdes sitting in his P-51 fighter “Bad Angel” – Philippines, 1945.

 

Louis Edward “Lou” Curdes (2nd November 1919 – 5th February 1995) was an American flying ace of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II who held the unusual distinction of scoring an official air-to-air kill against another American Aircraft. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross twice and a Purple Heart. He flew a North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft with the nickname “Bad Angel”.

Curdes was one of only three American pilots to shoot down aircraft belonging to the German, the Italian and Japanese air forces. He was also involved in an incident where he intentionally shot down an American cargo plane. In total, Curdes shot down seven German Messerschmitt Bf 109s, an Italian Macchi C.202 fighter, a Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-46 reconnaissance aircraft and an American Douglas C-47 Skytrain.

Early life

Louis Edward Curdes was born on 2nd November 1919, to Esther (nee Kover) and Walter Curdes. He grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and graduated from North Side High School in 1938. Walter Curdes had an interest in aviation and would take his son to air races, which inspired Louis to take interest in aviation as well. He later enrolled at Purdue University, but after three years of study, he dropped out and joined the military on 6 December 1941, the day before the Attack on Pearl Harbor.

Curdes spent the next 12 months in Santa Ana, California training on a few different aircraft including the Stearman PT-13, North American T-6 Texan, and the Curtiss P-36 Hawk. At the time, few cadets got to experience the high performance P-36 Hawk. He then joined the Army Reserve on 12th March 1942 and later became a 2nd Lieutenant, graduating from Flying School on 3rd December 1942, at Luke Field, Arizona at the age of 23 and was posted to the Mediterranean theater.

World War II

North Africa and Italy

Curdes joined the 329th Fighter Group, a unit of the United States Army Air Forces but was transferred to the 82d Fighter Group, 95th Fighter Squadron, where he saw action in North Africa, Sardinia and Italy, flying a Lockheed P-38 Lightning. On 29th April 1943, he shot down three German Messerschmitt Bf 109 aircraft and damaged a fourth near Cape Bon, in Tunisia. 19th May, he shot down two more Bf 109s near Villacidro, Sardinia. In less than a month of combat, Curdes became a flying ace.

The Distinguished Flying Cross medal

 

On 24th June, he shot down an Italian Macchi C.202 over Sardinia and then damaged a German Bf 109 on 30th July over Pratica di Mare, Italy. In August, he was awarded his first Distinguished Flying Cross.

Distinguished Flying Cross citation

Place and date: North African Theater of operations, 29th April 1943
General Orders: Headquarters, Northwest African Air Forces, General Orders No. 128 (June 30th, 1943)

Citation: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2nd, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) Louis Edward Curdes (ASN: 0-733836), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as pilot of a P-38 type aircraft of the 95th Fighter Squadron, 82d Fighter Group, FIFTEENTH Air Force in the North African Theater of Operations. On 29th April 1943, on a skip-bombing mission in the Sicilian Straits, Lieutenant Curdes’ formation was attacked by twelve enemy fighters. Despite the fact that he had been unable to release his bomb, Lieutenant Curdes turned to attack, destroying one ME-109 and damaging another. Sighting two ME-109’s attacking a crippled P-38, he unhesitatingly attacked and destroyed both of them, and escorted the damaged aircraft to friendly territory. His consistent gallantry and devotion to duty have reflected great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.

Louis E. Curdes

Capture and escape

On 27th August 1943, Curdes was trying to help a teammate who was under attack by multiple German aircraft when he was shot down over Salerno, Italy. Before he was shot down, he managed to take out two Bf 109s which would be his last two victories in Europe. He was forced to land on a beach south of Salerno due to combat damage to his aircraft and a shortage of fuel. Not long after landing, he was captured by Italian soldiers who treated him well and even refused German attempts to transfer him over to them. Curdes briefly escaped when he and 4 other Americans stole a Red cross boat in Salerno, but they were captured again by the Italians and Curdes was then sent to a prison camp near Rome.

When Curdes was shot down, he may have been the 63rd victory of Luftwaffe Experte Oberleutnant Franz Schieß of 8./JG 53.

A few days later, the Italians signed an Armistice with the Allies. In response to this, Germany invaded its former ally. Many prison guards left their positions and one guard even let prisoners go before the Germans could take control of the POW camp. Over the next eight months, Curdes and some other escaped prisoners traveled through the mountains of Central Italy. Local civilians and resistance fighters aided the group by giving them handguns and supplies.

On 27th May 1944, Curdes was near the Battle of Monte Cassino and was able to make it through Allied lines. He was then questioned by the British who verified his identity. Curdes then taught survival and escape methods to Allied aircrews for a couple weeks before being repatriated to the US. He was welcomed in Fort Wayne as a hero and given a parade. Later Curdes requested a return to active duty, but because of the Geneva Conventions and Curdes being a former escaped POW, he was unable to fly in the European theatre again so he joined the 4th Fighter Squadron and the 3rd Air Commando Group in the Pacific in August 1944, flying the P-51 Mustang.

Curdes joined the Army Air Corps in 1942 at the age of 22 to fly planes against the Nazis. By 1943, he was a hotshot lieutenant scoring three kills against Nazi Messerschmitt Bf-109s, in his P-38 Lighting. That was ten days into his first assignment. Within the next month, he notched up two more kills, earning fighter “ace” status.

Pacific Campaign and shooting down an American aircraft

By November 1944, parts of the Philippines were again under US control. His unit, the 3rd Air Commando Group, had the task of bombing Japanese bases and providing support to ground troops. They also raided Japanese facilities along the coast of China and the island of Taiwan, providing escort duties to Allied ships, dropping supplies from the air, delivering mail, and evacuating the wounded.

On 7th February 1945, Curdes flew a P-51 about 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Taiwan, where he shot down a Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-46-II reconnaissance aircraft and by doing so, he had now shot down aircraft from all of the three major Axis powers.

On 10th February, Curdes, now a lieutenant, formed a squadron of four aircraft that departed from Mangaldan Airfield in the Philippines. Their objective was to investigate if the Japanese were using a temporary airstrip on the southern tip of Taiwan. No airfield could be found and Curdes returned to the Philippines. Flying over the island of Batan, the squadron split; Curdes and Lieutenant Schmidtke headed north, while Lieutenants Scalley and La Croix headed south. Scalley and La Croix located a small Japanese airfield and attacked it and also called for reinforcement, Curdes and Schmidtke headed south to join them.

During the attack on the airfield, La Croix was shot down and made an emergency landing in the sea. As the squadron circled, Curdes could see that his companion had survived, and remained in the area to guide a rescue plane and protect the downed pilot. While covering La Croix, Curdes noticed a larger plane preparing to land at the Batan airfield. He flew to investigate and found the aircraft to be a Douglas C-47 transport with markings of the 39th Airlift Squadron of the 317th Troop Carrier Group.[4] Curdes tried to make contact by radio but was not successful. He maneuvered his P-51 in front of the plane several times trying to get the C-47 to alter course, but the C-47 maintained its course.

P-51D Mustang “Bad Angel” flown by Lt. Louis E. Curdes, 4th FS, 3rd ACG, Laoag, 1945

 

Curdes reasoned that it was better to shoot down the aircraft rather than to allow the crew to be taken prisoners by the Japanese and fired into one of the C-47’s two engines, causing it to fail. The C-47 maintained its course for the Batan airfield, so Curdes disabled the other engine, forcing the pilot to ditch in the sea. The plane successfully ditched without breaking up, and the crew was able to evacuate into a lifeboat. La Croix approached and was brought on board the C-47’s life raft, where he was informed about the situation. The plane had apparently been lost in poor weather and its radio had stopped working. As it was also running out of fuel, the pilot headed directly to the island’s airstrip, unaware that it was under Japanese control.

At this point, poor light and lack of fuel forced Curdes to return to base. The next morning, he accompanied the rescue PBY to pick up the downed C-47 pilot and 11 crew members, including two nurses, all of whom had survived the incident. To Curdes’s surprise, he discovered that one of the nurses was a woman with whom he had had a date the night before the incident (Svetlana Valeria). She and Curdes were married in 1946. General George Kenney awarded Curdes his second Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal for the event. Curdes also received credit for the “Kill” and displayed it on his aircraft.

Curdes later flew the P-38 Lightning again with the 49th Fighter Group at Gabu Airfield in Laoag, Philippines, from where he attacked Japanese positions in northern Luzon and Okinawa until the end of the war.

West Berliners watch a Douglas C-54 Skymaster land at Tempelhof Airport, 1948

After the war

After World War II, In Allen County, Indiana, on the 13th of April 1946, Curdes married Svetlana Valeria Curdes and returned to active duty, this time with the new United States Air Force. He then joined an Air National Guard unit at Baer Field and remained there until 1948. Later he flew Douglas C-54 Skymasters in the Berlin airlift during the opening stages of the Cold War.

He was promoted to major on 1st September 1951, and retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in October 1963. After his retirement, he started a construction company under the name of Curdes Builders Company.

Louis Curdes died on 5th February 1995, at the age of 75, and was buried at Lindenwood Cemetery in Fort Wayne. His widow Valeria died on 10th October 2013, at the age of 87.

A replica of his P-51 “Bad Angel” is currently in the Pima Air Museum in Tucson, Arizona.

A replica of Curdes’ P-51 on display at the Pima Air Museum in Tucson, Arizona

 

Hobbymaster 1/48th scale P-51D Mustang “Bad Angel” flown by Lt. Louis E. Curdes, 4th FS, 3rd ACG, Laoag, 1945

Available to pre-order from Flying Tigers today, check out the Hobbymaster 1/48th scale P-51D Mustang “Bad Angel” flown by Lt. Louis E. Curdes. Please click on the image/ links below to go straight to the model page to order your now.

 

Hobbymaster updated photo gallery.

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

 

Panzerkampf New Model Announcements and Additions to Flying Tigers.

Check out the latest Panzerkampf models that have just been announced and are available to pre-order at Flying Tigers today. If you want any of these models it is always safer to pre-order as quantities are limited.

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 seem them all…

CLICK HERE for Panzerkampf Diecast Aircraft   OR

CLICK HERE for Panzerkampf Diecast Vehicles

 

 

 

Hobbymaster Latest Model Announcements.

Check out the latest Hobbymaster models which are now available to pre-order 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.

 

Thank you for reading this weeks Newsletter.

Richard

Flying Tigers.

The post Louis E. Curdes , Hobbymaster and Panzerkampf Latest Model Announcements and Photo Updates. appeared first on Flying Tigers.

]]> https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2023/louis-e-curdes-hobbymaster-and-panzerkampf-latest-model-announcements-and-photo-updates/feed/ 0 “HALT” Who goes there at Sywell this week? https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2015/halt-who-goes-there-at-sywell-this-week/ https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2015/halt-who-goes-there-at-sywell-this-week/#respond Fri, 19 Jun 2015 13:36:31 +0000 http://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/?p=13329 Sywell entertained two new visitors this week. As many of you will recognize from the photograph above, the first of these visitors was none other than P51-D “Jumpin Jacques” operated by Hanger 11. I don’t know exactly what time she arrived, but when I made my morning trip to the Aviator Hotel reception (to collect […]

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Sywell entertained two new visitors this week. As many of you will recognize from the photograph above, the first of these visitors was none other than P51-D “Jumpin Jacques” operated by Hanger 11.

I don’t know exactly what time she arrived, but when I made my morning trip to the Aviator Hotel reception (to collect used newspapers to pack your models), I popped onto the airfield as usual to see if anything interesting had arrived… and there she was, parked neatly next to Sywell’s resident display team The Blades! So, back to the office to grab my camera and to take a few shots for the Sywell Arrivals photo folder.

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“Jumpin Jacques” was originally 44-72035  and is a P-51D-20-NA model built at North American’s Inglewood facility in California on December 21 1944. The aircraft was assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group. This group became very famous as the first all African-American Fighter Group known as “The Tuskegee Airmen” and were referred to as “The Red Tails”. Entering combat with the 15th Air Force in March 1945 and flying to the end of the war she flew on bomber escort and ground attack sweeps over Austria,Germany, and Czechoslovakia. She still carries the scars of battle today with bullet repairs in several places.

The original “Jumpin Jacques” was flown by Lt Jacque E Young of the 3rd Fighter Squadron, 3rd Air Commando Group.

Over many years “Jumpin Jacques” has appeared at lots of air shows in Europe, and has been seen at Duxford’s Flying Legends air show on many occasions. She has never had a major rebuild and is almost original as built in 1944 This makes this a very special and rare P-51 Mustang. She is a very welcome visitor to Sywell.

Sywell 18062015 073

The second visitor arrived a little later on Thursday morning.I first heard the sound of a Merlin engine at my desk, while I was on a call from a customer placing an order. Once the call had finished I popped out again with camera in hand to take a few shots as she landed and took her position on the flight line.

Sywell 18062015 084

This Spitfire was built as a single-seat LFlX fighter at the Castle Bromwich factory in 1944.It was delivered to the Royal Air Force at No.33 Maintenance Unit at Lyneham as PV202 in September 1944 where she was brought up to operational standard.The aircraft finally entered service with 33Sqn. 135 Wing of 2nd Tactical Air Force, based at Merville, Northern France, carrying the codes “5R-Q”.The Squadron supported offensive operations on the Allied push into Europe strafing roads and railways. The aircraft moved to its new base at Maldegem in Belgium before returning to the UK in December 1944.In January 1945 she was issued to 412Sqn. Royal Canadian Air Force operating from Heesch in Holland.The Squadron moved into Germany itself, based at Rheinand Wunsdorf forward operating airfields.After the war in Europe the Squadron returned to Dunsfold in May 1945 and PV202 was flown to 29MU at High Ercall for storage in July 1945.

She is now converted as a “two Seater” Spitfire.  PV202 is currently operated by Duxford based company Historic Flying Limited.

Sywell 18062015 177

NOW TO MODELS AND 3 GREAT FATHER’S DAY OFFERS…

1/48th SCALE HOBBYMASTER SPITFIRE AND MUSTANG  FATHER’S DAY SPECIAL OFFER !

NewsSpit

 

The website has quite a number of 1/48th scale Hobbymaster Merlin Engined Spitfires and 1/48th scale Hobbymaster Griffon Engined Spitfires, and 1/48th scale Hobbymaster P51-D Mustangs at fantastic low prices! Please click on the links here to go straight to the models.

As a special deal this weekend only, buy any model from the Hobbymaster 1/48th scale Spitfires or Mustangs and there will be a reduction of an additional £5.00 on these already low prices! (offer ends midnight Sunday 21st June). Order in the normal way and the £5.00 reduction will be made on credit card payments when the payment is processed. For PayPal payments £5.00 will be reimbursed to your account on dispatch of your model(s).

1/200th SCALE  HOBBYMASTER CIVILIAN FATHER’S DAY SPECIAL OFFER !

HL5010 Douglas DC-6B 'BALAIR Swiss Airline' - Extremely rare in the UK, Only 2 still available!

Flying Tigers still has a great choice of 1/200th scale Airliners on Sale. Please check this out by clicking this link.

As a special deal this weekend only there will be a BUY TWO OR MORE MODELS FROM THIS RANGE, AND GET THE LOWEST PRICED MODEL AT HALF PRICE on these already low prices! (offer ends midnight Sunday 21st June). Order in the normal way and the reduction on the lowest priced model on the order will be made on credit card payments when the payment is processed by our office. For PayPal payments the reduction will be applied and reimbursed to your account on the dispatch of your models.

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1/72 SCALE  VEHICLE SALE SECTION ( HOBBYMASTER AND OXFORD DIECAST )  FATHER’S DAY SPECIAL OFFER !

Please visit the Sale Military Vehicles section by clicking this link.

As a special deal this weekend only there will be a BUY THREE OR MORE MODELS FROM THIS RANGE, AND GET THE LOWEST PRICED MODEL ABSOLUTELY FREE ! (offer ends midnight Sunday 21st June). Order in the normal way and the FREE MODEL will be applied to the lowest priced model on the order. This reduction will be made on credit card payments when the payment is processed by our office. For PayPal payments the reduction will be applied and reimbursed to your account on the dispatch of your models.

Lastly New Hobbymaster Pre-orders added to the site.

I have added ( and will continue to add over the weekend ) new Hobbymaster models for Pre-Order.

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Please continue to check the site for additions. HA4701  North American RA-5C Vigilante 156624, RVAH-6, USS Kitty Hawk,1971 and  HA4801 E-2C+ Hawkeye 2000 VAW-123 “Screwtops”, USS Enterprise Atlantic Ocean, Oct 2005 have both been heavily Pre-ordered.

HA4801-2_edited-1

Please order early to avoid disappointment.

Once again thank you for taking time to read this Newsletter.

Richard.

Flying Tigers.

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]]> https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2015/halt-who-goes-there-at-sywell-this-week/feed/ 0 All the latest model releases at Flying Tigers https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2013/all-the-latest-model-releases-at-flying-tigers-2/ https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2013/all-the-latest-model-releases-at-flying-tigers-2/#respond Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:35:57 +0000 http://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/?p=888 All the latest model releases are available at Flying Tigers, including this magnificent Avro Lancaster B.1 (Special) from Corgi.  This Lancaster centurion was credited as being the machine which finally destroyed the mighty German battleship Tirpitz.

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All the latest model releases are available at Flying Tigers, including this magnificent Avro Lancaster B.1 (Special) from Corgi.  This Lancaster centurion was credited as being the machine which finally destroyed the mighty German battleship Tirpitz.

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]]> https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2013/all-the-latest-model-releases-at-flying-tigers-2/feed/ 0 Marvellous Mustangs https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2012/marvellous-mustangs/ https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2012/marvellous-mustangs/#respond Thu, 25 Oct 2012 20:25:46 +0000 http://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/?p=622 The magnificent North American P-51D Mustang is an absolute aviation classic – The Cadillac of the sky!  The Mustang continues to thrill Airshow audiences to this day and our new Mustang section pays homage to this fantastic aeroplane.

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The magnificent North American P-51D Mustang is an absolute aviation classic – The Cadillac of the sky!  The Mustang continues to thrill Airshow audiences to this day and our new Mustang section pays homage to this fantastic aeroplane.

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]]> https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2012/marvellous-mustangs/feed/ 0 Future Diecast Model releases at Flying Tigers https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2012/future-diecast-model-releases-at-flying-tigers/ https://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2012/future-diecast-model-releases-at-flying-tigers/#respond Tue, 25 Sep 2012 15:07:31 +0000 http://www.flying-tigers.co.uk/?p=593 All the new models available for pre-order from Flying Tigers.  Of great interest this month is the magnificent future Hobbymaster release of the famous North American P-51D Mustang ‘Big Beautiful Doll’ in 1/48th Scale from Hobbymaster.

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All the new models available for pre-order from Flying Tigers.  Of great interest this month is the magnificent future Hobbymaster release of the famous North American P-51D Mustang ‘Big Beautiful Doll’ in 1/48th Scale from Hobbymaster.

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