May 2019 Warbird Release (1 Viewer)

[Gunn Miniatures]

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.
Next months figures will hopefully be quite early on in the month and will feature some beautifully dressed Napoleonic Russians, more Japanese and SS for WW2 and the Dodge Jeep recently displayed at the London show.

Best wishes The Gunn Team

 

[Gunn Miniatures]

WOW241 Junkers Ju 52 'Hospital' Variant

The Junkers Ju52 was the main transport aircraft of the Luftwaffe during WW2, this 1/30 scale hand carved Mahogany model comes in a Luftwaffe two tone green camouflage scheme with Red Cross markings and full cockpit interior, we only have two available worldwide! Please note due to the difficulty in making these models there will be no more Ju 52 available once current stock sells out. This model measures 40cm in length and has a 90cm wingspan. We will supply a free figure of SS061 'The Last Supper as per the photos with this aircraft.
Price for this model is $1500 which will vary depending on your location.

 

[Gunn Miniatures]

WOW221 Yakolev Fighter 'Winter'

We also have a second variant of the same aircraft flown by the same Soviet Ace but this time in a dramatic winter colour scheme. Once again priced at $499 plus shipping and limited to 5 in number worldwide and once again a free display mat is supplied with this model.

 

[Gunn Miniatures]

 

[Gunn Miniatures]

WOW222 Yak Fighter

The Yakovlev Yak-3 was a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft. Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by pilots and ground crew alike. It was one of the smallest and lightest major combat fighters fielded by any combatant during the war. Its high power-to-weight ratio gave it excellent performance. It proved a formidable dogfighter. Marcel Albert, World War II French ace, who flew the Yak in USSR with the Normandie-Niémen Group, considered it a superior aircraft when compared to the P-51D Mustang and the Supermarine Spitfire. After the war ended, it was flown by the Yugoslav and Polish Air Forces.


Lighter and smaller than Yak-9 but powered by the same engine, the Yak-3 was a forgiving, easy-to-handle aircraft loved by both novice and experienced pilots and ground crew as well. It was robust, easy to maintain, and a highly successful dog-fighter. It was used mostly as a tactical fighter, flying low over battlefields and engaging in dogfights below 4 km (13,000 ft). The new aircraft began to reach front line units during summer 1944. Yak-3 service tests were conducted by 91st IAP of the 2nd Air Army, commanded by Lt Colonel Kovalyov, in June–July 1944. The regiment had the task of gaining air superiority. During 431 sorties, 20 Luftwaffe fighters and three Junkers Ju 87s were shot down while Soviet losses amounted to two Yak-3s shot down. A large dogfight developed on 16 June 1944, when 18 Yak-3s clashed with 24 German aircraft. Soviet Yak-3 fighters shot down 15 German aircraft for the loss of one Yak destroyed and one damaged. The following day, Luftwaffe activity over that section of the front had virtually ceased. On 17 July 1944, eight Yaks attacked a formation of sixty German aircraft, including escorting fighters. In the ensuing dogfight, the Luftwaffe lost three Ju 87s and four Bf 109Gs, for no loss. The Luftwaffe issued an order to "avoid combat below five thousand metres with Yakovlev fighters lacking an oil cooler intake beneath the nose!" Luftwaffe fighters in combat with the Yak-3 tried to use surprise tactics, attacking from above and out of the sun.



Our 1/30 scale model of the Yak is one flown by Ace Maj. Sergey Sergeyevich Shchirov as it would have appeared in the Spring of 1945. Limited to 5 in number worldwide and priced at $499 plus postage, comes with free mat to display your model on as per the pictures.

 

[Gunn Miniatures]

WOW198 Seafire

The Royal Navy took delivery of Seafires during WW2 with various improvements and upgrades undertaken during its career with the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). Our latest Seafire the Mk III had manually-folding wings, with small folding tips enabling it to fit in the hangars of Royal Navy aircraft carriers; the engine was the Merlin 55, with the Merlin 55M in the L.III also giving better low-level performance. The III and the L III served side by side on carriers to give a greater spread of defensive cover, with the L.III intended particularly in the Eastern fleets as a counter to the very low level kamikaze attacks.

The British Pacific Fleet was established in November 1944, initially with three aircraft carriers (though three more would join later); its purpose was to serve alongside the U S Navy in the Central Pacific, working toward the assault on the Japanese homeland. In its initial form the forty Seafires of 887 and 894 Naval Air Squadrons formed more than a quarter of its air strength, tasked with the air defence of the fleet; heavier fighters, Hellcats and Corsairs, were to be used with their longer range for more directly offensive sorties.

The fleet sailed from Sydney on 10 March, 1945, becoming Task Force 57; it took part in Operation Iceberg, the invasion of Okinawa.
From 13 to 15 August the carrier groups air wing attacked targets in the Tokyo area; at 0400 on the 15th August the carrier’s Fireflies launched a Ramrod sweep, followed by Avengers and escorted by eight Seafires from 887 and 894 RNAS.

During the mission a dozen Zeros dived from three o’clock high, passing the Seafires and heading for the Avengers, managing to shoot down Sub Lt. Fred Hockley in his Seafire during their pass. Hockley bailed out and was captured by the Japanese on the ground below. 'Spud' Murphy an experience FAA Ace managed to destroy two of the Zeros during this encounter making these some of the last aerial kills of WW2.

As a footnote to this last WW2 mission by the Royal Navy FAA, the captured Hockley who was only 22 years old, was then secretly executed by his Japanese captors on the night of 15th August, despite the Japanese soldiers knowing that the Emperor had already ordered the surrender of Japan earlier that day. Hockleys fate came to light during interrogation by British forces after the war. The two Japanese officers responsible for the war crime were executed in Hong Kong by hanging in 1947.
Hockley was the last Royal Navy casualty of WW2, one of many needless deaths during WW2 but this one particularly pointless and rather sad.

Our 1/30 scale Seafire NN212 is the one flown by Naval Ace 'Spud' Murphy during that last mission of WW2 and is priced at $499 plus shipping, also included is RAF005 Pilot figure as per the pictures below.

 

[Gunn Miniatures]

Dear all welcome to our May 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 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.

 

[wayne556517]

The JU is a beauty