The Kawasaki Ki-100 was a fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese in World War II. It combined excellent power and manoeuvrability, and although its high-altitude performance against USAAF Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers was limited by the lack of an efficient supercharger, it performed better than most other IJAAF fighters.
Operational missions began in March 1945. From the first engagements, the Ki-100 performed well against the B-29 and showed itself to be equally effective against U.S. Navy carrier fighters. A new variant, the Ki-100-Ib, was produced during the last weeks of the war in time to equip five sentai for home defence duties.
The Ki-100 made its combat debut on the night of 9 March 1945 and suffered its first loss on 7 April 1945, when a Ki-100 flown by Master Sergeant Yasuo Hiema of the 18th Sentai was shot down by a B-29 after "attacking the formation again and again". Allied aircrews soon realised that they were facing a formidable new fighter Although far fewer Ki-100s were available than the Ki-84s, it was considered one of the most important fighters in the inventory. However, during interception of the high-flying B-29s (the B-29 raids soon became low-level missions) the new Japanese fighters struggled as the Ha-112-II engine's performance decreased at high altitudes. The most effective way to attack the Superfortress was by making very dangerous head-on attacks, with the fighter hanging its approach path as it neared the bomber. A failure while attempting this was deadly, because of the concentration of defensive fire from the bombers.
Please note that this plane comes with a FREE MAT006 which is the Japanese carrier variant.
Our 1/30 scale variant is painted in late war defence of Japan colour scheme and is one of only 2 models available.
Priced at $550 plus a $100 shipping charge to exotic locations like Australia and the USA.
That's all for this month for our aircraft, we sincerely hope you enjoy the pictures and would love to hear from you if any of these magnificent models appeal to you. They are all now on our website www.tomgunn.co.uk and can be paid for upfront or over an extended monthly period. All Gunn Club members qualify for a 10% discount on the website listed price, joining is free so well worth registering.
The Arado Ar 234 Blitz (English: lightning) was the world's first operational jet-powered bomber, built by the German Arado company in the closing stages of World War II.
Produced in limited numbers, it was used almost entirely in the reconnaissance role, but in its few uses as a bomber it proved to be nearly impossible to intercept. It was the last Luftwaffe aircraft to fly over the UK during the war, in April 1945.
In late 1940, the Reich Air Ministry (RLM) offered a tender for a jet-powered high-speed reconnaissance aircraft with a range of 2,156 km (1,340 miles). Arado was the only company to respond, offering their E.370 project, led by Professor Walter Blume. This was a high-wing conventional-looking design with a Junkers Jumo 004 engine under each wing.
Arado estimated a maximum speed of 780 km/h (480 mph) at 6,000 m (20,000 ft), an operating altitude of 11,000 m (36,000 ft) and a range of 1,995 km (1,240 mi). The range was short of the RLM request, but they liked the design and ordered two prototypes as the Ar 234. These were largely complete before the end of 1941, but the Jumo 004 engines were not ready, and would not be ready until February 1943. When they did arrive they were considered unreliable by Junkers for in-flight use and were cleared for static and taxi tests only. Flight-qualified engines were finally delivered, and the Ar 234 V1 made its first flight on 30 July 1943 at Rheine Airfield (presently Rheine-Bentlage Air Base)
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By September, four prototypes were flying. The second prototype, Arado Ar 234 V2, crashed on 2 October 1943 at Rheine near Münster after suffering a fire in its port wing, failure of both engines and various instrumentation failures. The aircraft dived into the ground from 1,200 m (3,900 ft), killing pilot Flugkapitän Selle. The eight prototype aircraft were fitted with the original arrangement of trolley-and-skid landing gear, intended for the planned operational, but never-produced Ar 234A version.
The first Ar 234 combat mission, a reconnaissance flight over the Allied beachhead in Normandy, took place August 2, 1944. With a maximum speed of 735 kilometers (459 miles) per hour, the Blitz easily eluded Allied piston-engine fighters. Whilst less famous than the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter, the Ar 234s that reached Luftwaffe units provided excellent service, especially as reconnaissance aircraft.
Our 1/30 scale Ar 234 B-2 served with bomber unit KG 76 from December 1944 until May 1945, when British forces captured it in Norway. It comes in a typical late war green and brown camouflage scheme typical of Luftwaffe aircraft of that period. We have 4 aircraft available priced at $699 plus a $150 shipping charge to locations like the USA and Australia. The Arado comes with free aircraft mat as per the attached pictures.
The North American B-25 Mitchell was a medium WW2 bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honour of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theatre of World War II and after the war ended, many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants nearly 10,000 B-25s were built. These included a few limited models such as the F-10 reconnaissance aircraft, the AT-24 crew trainers, and the United States Marine Corps' PBJ-1 patrol bomber.
One of the most famous missions undertaken by the B-25 was the Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid (Saturday 18 April 1942). This was an air raid by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu during World War II. It was the first air operation to strike the Japanese archipelago. It demonstrated that the Japanese mainland was vulnerable to American air attack, it served as retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbour and provided an important boost to American morale. The raid was planned, led by and named after Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle of the United States Army Air Forces.
Sixteen B-25B Mitchell medium bombers were launched without fighter escort from the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier USS Hornet, deep in the Western Pacific Ocean, each with a crew of five men. The plan called for them to bomb military targets in Japan, and to continue westward to land in China. Landing a medium bomber on the Hornet was impossible, hence the need to land in China.
The bombing raid killed about 50 people, including civilians, and injured 400. Fifteen aircraft reached China, but all crashed while the 16th landed at Vladivostok in the Soviet Union. Of the 80 crew members, 77 initially survived the mission. Eight airmen were captured by the Japanese Army in China; three were later executed. The B-25 that landed in the Soviet Union was confiscated and its crew interned for more than a year before being allowed to "escape" via Soviet-occupied Iran with the help of the NKVD. Fourteen complete crews of five, except for one crewman who was killed in action, returned either to the United States, or to American forces.
We have four 1/30 scale B-25’s available for a price of $1300 plus $200 shipping to exotic places like the USA and Australia.
Aircraft model measures 69.5cm x 55cm. (W x L)
WOW247 Petlyakov Pe-2
The Petlyakov Pe-2 was a Soviet twin-engined dive bomber used during World War II. It was regarded as one of the best front-line medium bomber of the war and it was also successful in the roles of heavy and night fighter (Pe-3 variant) as well as of reconnaissance aircraft. It was similar in many respects to the wooden British de Havilland Mosquito. Pe-2s were manufactured in greater numbers (11,430 built) during the war than any other twin-engined combat aircraft except for the German Junkers Ju 88 and British Vickers Wellington. The Pe-2 was fast, manoeuvrable and durable. Several Communist nations flew the type after the war, when it became known by the NATO reporting name Buck. Six captured Pe-2s were also transferred from the Germans to the Finnish Air Force during the Continuation War, with the serial code PE- and the unofficial nickname Pekka-Eemeli.
The Pe-2 was designed in a prison design bureau (sharashka); Vladimir Petlyakov had been arrested and imprisoned in 1937 for allegedly delaying design work on the Tupolev ANT-42 bomber. In the sharashka, Petlyakov was put in charge of a team to develop a high-altitude fighter escort for the ANT-42 under the designation VI-100. The first of two prototypes flew on December 22, 1939 and was a sophisticated aircraft for its time, featuring a pressurised cabin, all-metal construction, superchargers and many electrically actuated systems. It is said that Petlyakov and his team could see the VI-100 prototype from their prison as it was put through its paces for the crowds watching the annual May Day parade in 1940.
The aircraft did not show its true potential until the end of 1941, after the Soviet Air Force had a chance to regroup after the German onslaught, during the Winter. The Pe-2 quickly proved itself to be a highly capable aircraft, able to elude the Luftwaffe's interceptors and allowing their crews to develop great accuracy with their bombing.
The Pe-2 was not without it’s weaknesses and German pilots soon discovered the limited sighting angles of the ventral gun mounting and its poor reliability. The Ammunition belt of the rear machine-gun often jammed after the first burst of fire when shooting in extreme positions. The navigator and the radio operator were poorly protected. On average, ten Pe-2 gunners were wounded for every pilot, and two or three were killed for the loss of one pilot. Throughout 1942 the design was steadily refined and improved, in direct consultation with pilots who were actually flying them in combat. Improved armour protection and a fifth ShKAS machine-gun was installed and the fuel tanks were also modified.
We have three 1/30 scale Pe-2 bombers available at a price of $850 plus shipping of $149 to places like the USA and Australia. UK and EU will be lower as you live closer to us!
Aircraft model measures 57.5cm x 43 cm. (W x L)
Dear all welcome to our August 2019 Aircraft newsletter featuring some exciting new products. All our hand carved Mahogany aircraft take in the region of 60 hours to manufacture plus many more hours of drying time. Some of the aircraft you see in our newsletters can take 3 years from start of project to completion! For this reason we only make small numbers of each model and every aircraft is a unique piece. For those of you who wish to spread your budget, please note we do accept stage payments where you can spread the cost over several months. If you require further details of any of the aircraft in todays newsletter please email us on welcome@gunnclub.co.uk.
We have added some new display mats to the website and also some one off samples of a new Me-262 and a Henschel 129, these are the vanguard of some new arrivals due in very soon.
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