That's all for this month, 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.
We hope everyone is staying safe and taking care in these troubled times, which are hopefully coming to an end soon for everyone.
We recently received into stock some Dauntless, Helldiver and Lightning aircraft, these all sold out on pre-order. However if anyone is interested in another version please let us know and we can make another batch of these iconic aircraft, which would ready just in time for Christmas hopefully! The wonderful figures shown are from the JJD/K&C range but sadly are not available with any of these models and are shown for scale comparison purposes only.
Originally developed as a commercial airliner, the SM.79 Sparviero (Sparrowhawk) became one of the most formidable weapons of Italy’s air force, the Regia Aeronautica, during World War II. The original 1936 prototype was based on three 610-hp Piaggio radial engines and could accommodate eight passengers. With war clouds looming, the airplane was converted into a medium bomber. The cockpit cabin was extended with a bulging top fuselage position that gave the bomber its nickname, Gobbo Maledetto (hunchback), and five machine guns were mounted in various fuselage positions. Finally the plane was retrofitted with an offset rack under the fuselage so that it could carry a 450mm Whitehead torpedo. Further retrofit work was conducted during the war, enabling the aircraft to carry two torpedoes.
The military version of the SM.79 was a large, low-wing trimotor of metal and plywood construction. Its Piaggio engines, generating approximately 1,000 hp each, gave it a top speed of almost 300 mph. In 1943 the torpedo bomber’s Piaggios were swapped for new Alfa Romeo 128 engines, and its ventral gondola was removed, further improving performance.
When carrying a torpedo, the SM.79 had a top speed of only about 200 mph and was thus vulnerable to being shot down by enemy fighters. Nevertheless, Allied naval units feared the Sparvieri. The torpedo bombers generally attacked at dawn or dusk to make a low and unobserved approach toward the target. During the first year of the war, the Italian torpedo bombers attacked individually, but by 1942 several planes flying at a comparatively close range would attack together. A flight of five SM.79s, escorted by Macchi C.200 fighters, would press home an attack by launching up to 10 torpedoes at their targets. Often the flight commander would lead the attack by targeting the largest enemy naval vessel, while the remaining members of the unit would target both navy and merchant ships.
The Sparviero saw its greatest successes in 1940-42, it was first deployed on the night of August 15 1940, when a team of five SM.79s raided British ships stationed at the port of Alexandria, Egypt. Due to the Sparviero’s limited endurance (five hours) and the pilots’ inexperience in ranging and firing torpedoes, that first mission ended in failure. Nevertheless the pilots had gained valuable experience and would shortly thereafter score their first hits.
On the night of September 17, Captain Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia and another pilot carried out an attack against British ships that were besieging the Italian fortress of Bardia. As the two SM.79s began their descent toward the enemy ships, they were illuminated by a full moon and the British naval crews opened up with a hellish machine gun and artillery fire. The Italians managed to avoid the enemy shots and continued their descent. They released their torpedoes from approximately 700 metres out, striking HMS Kent. The blast killed 32 crewmen and damage to the 9,850-ton heavy cruiser was so severe that it was placed out of service for more than a year.
This TG model was one flown by the same Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia above and is considered one of the most famous Italian pilots of World War II. By 1942 Buscaglia had already obtained the Silver Medal of Military Valour five times, and the German Iron Cross second class. In April he was selected to command the new 132nd Torpedo Group, subsequently sinking several ships in the Mediterranean. On the 12th of August that year, together with the German ace Hans-Joachim Marseille, he was received in Rome by Benito Mussolini, who promoted him to Major. Buscaglia was later shot down by the Allies and taken prisoner, when Italy switched sides he joined the new Italian Air Force but was killed in 1944 whilst learning to fly a new Martin Baltimore - without an instructor!
Our 1/32 scale wooden model is priced at $1100 plus shipping with 3 in stock. This particular model is painted in tortoiseshell camouflage with grey frontage, making it harder to spot during a head on attack when coming in over the sea. Its a unique scheme not often seen which we are proud to present to you for our latest version of this superb aircraft.
The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was developed using the engine, transmission and rotor system of the Bell UH-1 Iroquois. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake.
By June 1967, the first AH-1G HueyCobras had been delivered. Originally designated as UH-1H, the "A" for attack designation was soon adopted and when the improved UH-1D became the UH-1H, the HueyCobra became the AH-1G. The AH-1 was initially considered a variant of the H-1 line, resulting in the G series letter.
The first six AH-1s arrived at Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam on 30 August 1967 for combat testing by the U.S. Army Cobra New Equipment Training Team. They made their first combat kill on 4 September, sinking a sampan boat and killing four Viet Cong. The first AH-1 unit, the 334th Assault Helicopter Company became operational on 6 October 1967. Cobras were in use by the Army until the U.S. withdrawal from South Vietnam in 1973. Cobras provided fire support for ground forces, escorted transport helicopters and other roles, including aerial rocket artillery (ARA) battalions in the two Airmobile divisions. They also formed "hunter killer" teams by pairing with OH-6A scout helicopters. A team featured one OH-6 flying slow and low to find enemy forces. If the OH-6 drew fire, the Cobra could strike at the then revealed enemy.
This particular bird is the AH-1G 67-15738 of the 129th AHC, flown by CW2 Ron Paye (aircraft commander), An Son, Vietnam, during the summer of 1972. Our Vietnam war era Cobra is pure 1/30 scale and there are 2 available in stock, priced at $1100 plus shipping.
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1961 with the Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it was also adopted by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force, and by the mid-1960s had become a major part of their air arms.
The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2.2. It can carry more than 18,000 pounds (8,400 kg) of weapons on nine external hardpoints, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and various bombs. The F-4, like other interceptors of its time, was initially designed without an internal cannon. Later models incorporated an M61 Vulcan rotary cannon. Beginning in 1959, it set 15 world records for in-flight performance, including an absolute speed record and an absolute altitude record.
The Marine Corps received its first F-4Bs in June 1962, with the "Black Knights" of VMFA-314 at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California becoming the first operational squadron. Marine Phantoms from VMFA-531 "Gray Ghosts" were assigned to Da Nang airbase on South Vietnam's northeast coast on 10 May 1965 and were initially assigned to provide air defense for the USMC. They soon began close air support missions (CAS) and VMFA-314 'Black Knights', VMFA-232 'Red Devils, VMFA-323 'Death Rattlers' and VMFA-542 'Bengals' soon arrived at the primitive airfield.
In contrast to its previous tradition of making do with whatever aircraft the Navy could spare or didn’t want, the U.S. Marine Corps had as much say as the Navy in the four-year development of the McDonnell F-4H Phantom II. “This does present some unique design requirements,” Marine Lt. Col. Thomas H. Miller told aviation historian Peter E. Davies.“The Navy’s primary concern was for the protection of its ships at sea, while the Marine Corps’ was the protection of its highly mobile forces ashore.” Once it finally entered service, the Phantom proved versatile enough to satisfy both services’ needs and more— during the Vietnam War it unloaded a variety of ordnance, served as a useful highspeed photo reconnaissance plane and did well enough in air-to-air combat to be adopted by the U.S. Air Force as well.
Our bird is one flown by the world famous USMC 'Red Devils' and is in the markings of its commanding officer, Lt. Col Ralph Sorensen, whilst flying this particular bird over Vietnam. Sorensen joined the USMC as a Pte at the age of 19, within 2 years he had been selected for officer training and then graduated onto pilot school, where he flew a variety of aircraft including Panthers, Cougars, Corsairs, Skyhawks and of course this Phantom. He survived his tours of Vietnam and retired after 20 years service with the USMC.
Our 1/32 scale Phantom costs $950 plus shipping with 2 available worldwide whilst stocks last.
Dear all welcome to our March 2021 Aircraft newsletter featuring some exciting new products. All our hand carved Mahogany aircraft take in the region of 250 days to manufacture plus many more hours of drying time. 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 when buying our aircraft, 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 today's newsletter, please email welcome@gunnclub.co.uk and ask for a quote.
All our aircraft now come with their own stands and can be displayed in flying mode if required.
Great mix of aircraft. i think T Gunn must release more aircarft in 2 to 3 months than a any other manufacturer does in a year. I admire their commitment to what be a time consumming and not inconsiderable outlay on designing, manufacturing and releasing new planes at such a rate. I have 8 myself and each is a masterpiece.
Generally a few days after Warbirds, so thinking Friday 12th. Could be quite an expensive release this month for me if TG come through with what is touted.{sm4} , Robin.
Generally a few days after Warbirds, so thinking Friday 12th. Could be quite an expensive release this month for me if TG come through with what is touted.{sm4} , Robin.
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