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.
The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet was a German interceptor aircraft designed for point-defence and is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have been operational and the first piloted aircraft of any type to exceed 1000 km/h (621 mph) in level flight. Designed by Alexander Lippisch, its performance and aspects of its design were unprecedented. German test pilot Heini Dittmar in early July 1944 reached 1,130 km/h (700 mph), an unofficial flight airspeed record unmatched by turbojet-powered aircraft for almost a decade. This speedy pint-sized rocket interceptor proved dangerous to friend and foe alike and was prone to exploding on landing should any unexpended rocket fuel still be in the tank. The Komet could zoom almost untouched through a formation of high-flying bombers, firing its heavy cannons on each pass. However it's speed was so fast it was often too difficult to focus and aim in time before the Komet had overflown its target.
The sole Luftwaffe unit to become operational with the Me163 was Jagdgeschwader (Fighter Wing) 400. Tasked with protecting the vital Leuna oil refineries near Leipzig, Messerschmitt 163s from this unit first engaged Eighth US Army Air Force B17 Flying Fortresses on 16 August 1944. By the end of the war nine Allied aircraft had been shot down by JG 400.
WOW314 our first Komet is supplied in a two tone green Komet which was flown by Hartmut Ryll a rookie entry into the Luftwaffe. Here is the US transcript of his action against them: On August 16, Ryll so badly shot up a 305th Bomber Group B-17 that although it would struggle back to England, he was credited with a kill. Next he homed in on a lone Fortress of the 91st BG, but the escorting Mustang's from the 359th’s flown by Lt. Col. John B. Murphy cut him off. “I opened fire from about 1,000 feet and held it until I overshot,” Murphy reported. “I scored a few hits on the left side of the fuselage.” Wingman Lieutenant Cyril W. Jones Jr. got in a burst too; “The entire canopy seemed to dissolve on the enemy aircraft…the pilot was surely killed.” As the Komet spiraled down, Murphy turned back inside it, “seeing continuous strikes the full length of the fuselage. Parts began falling off, followed by a big explosion and more parts falling off. I could smell a strange chemical fume in my cockpit as I followed through the smoke from the explosion.” Ryll did not survive like so many young pilots of his era.
WOW315 our grey mottled Komet was flown by StaffelKapitan Otto Bohner an Ace with at least 5 victories mainly against the RAF who flew 16 missions in this aircraft. Bohner was instrumental in the evaluation and early development process for this aircraft, he was fortunate to survive the war. He was interned by US forces and finally released in July 1945.
Both Komets are limited to 5 of each with 1 in stock at present, both are priced at $499 plus postage. A special thank you to Dr Mark Dyer who proved particularly helpful with this project.
The Kawasaki Ki-61 is a Japanese World War II fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service. The Japanese Army designation was "Army Type 3 Fighter". Allied intelligence initially believed Ki-61s were Messerschmitt Bf 109s and later an Italian Macchi C.202, which led to the Allied reporting name of "Tony", assigned by the United States War Department. It was the only mass-produced Japanese fighter of the war to use a liquid-cooled inline V engine and Over 3,000 Ki-61s were produced.
The Ki-61 looked so different than the usual radial-engined Japanese fighters that the Allies at first believed it to be of German or Italian origin, possibly a licence-built Messerschmitt Bf 109. The new Japanese fighter caused some pain and consternation among Allied pilots, particularly when they found out the hard way that they could no longer out dive and escape as they had from lighter Japanese fighters. General George Kenney the Allied air forces commander in the Southwest Pacific, found his Curtiss P-40s completely outclassed, and begged for more Lockheed P-38 Lightnings to counter the threat of the new enemy fighter.
WOW313: Our silver warbird was flown by Mitsuo Oyake Lt Yoshihiro Aoki. A Japanese pilot credited with downing 4 x B-29 Superfortress (one by ramming in mid air) We only have 1 item in stock at present with 4 more to follow next year. Supplied with free figure RS061 from our current range. The pilot figure shown is from King & Country and is shown for scale reference purposes only. Priced at $550 plus postage which includes free RS061 figure.
WOW316: Our green 'Tony' flown by Captain Teruhiko Kobayashi an Ace with over 12 confirmed victories once again mainly against the might B 29 Superfortress. One in stock with 4 more to follow early 2021. Also supplied with free figure RS061B and priced at $550 plus postage.
The Focke Wulf Fw 190 is one of the iconic aircraft of all time and along with the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the backbone of the Luftwaffe fighter force during WW2. Designed by Kurt Tank the Fw 190 entered service in 1941 and quickly proved itself superior to the RAF’s Spitfire MK V in virtually every respect.
The Fw 190 was upgraded throughout its service during WW2 and was liked by its pilots for its ruggedness and ability to land on the rough airstrips, which were often found on the Russian front. Not only was the Fw 190 used as a day fighter but saw service as a night and ground attack fighter and towards the end of the war it was also utilized to carry the Mistel, a radio controlled Junkers Ju 88 packed with explosives which was often used to destroy bridges.
Our warbird is flown by German Luftwaffe World War II fighter ace, Hermann Graf, who served on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. He became the first pilot in aviation history to claim 200 aerial victories. In around 830 combat missions he claimed a total of 212 aerial victories, almost all of which were achieved on the Eastern Front.
Graf a pre-war football player and glider pilot joined the Luftwaffe and started flight training in 1936. He was initially selected for transport aviation but was subsequently posted to Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) in May 1939. At the outbreak of war he was stationed on the Franco–German border flying uneventful patrols. He was then posted as a flight instructor stationed in Romania as part of a German military mission training Romanian pilots. Graf flew a few ground support missions in the closing days of the German invasion of Crete. Following the start of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Graf claimed his first aerial victory on 4 August 1941. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after 45 victories on 24 January 1942. It was during the second summer of the eastern campaign however that his success rate dramatically increased. By 16 September 1942 his number of victories had increased to 172 for which he was honoured with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. At the time of its presentation to Graf it was Germany's highest military decoration. On 26 September 1942 he shot down his 200th enemy aircraft.
On 28 January 1943 Graf took command of Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost (Fighter Training Group East) based in occupied France. Here newly trained fighter pilots destined for the Eastern Front received their final training from experienced Eastern Front pilots. The main base was at St. Jean d'Angély 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast although Graf spent most of his time at the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport. Graf selected a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5 aircraft for his personal use and lavishly decorated it as can be seen from our aircraft. Graf ended the war with 212 aerial victories.
The price for this model is $550 plus shipping with only 3 samples available, there is no free shipping on warbirds due to their large size.
The Focke-Wulf Project VII Flitzer (“streaker” or “dasher”) was a jet fighter under development in Germany towards the end of World War II and entered service in early 1946.
The design began as Focke-Wulf Project V which had a central fuselage and two booms carrying the rear control surfaces, having great similarity with the de Havilland Vampire. Interestingly the first Vampire's were delivered to the RAF in April 1945 at around the same time as the Luftwaffe first started trialing the Flitzer - who copied who is the question?!
Project V had the air inlets still positioned on either side of the nose, just below the cockpit. The estimated horizontal speed was not satisfactory and in the next development the jet intakes were situated in the wing roots. Further improvements over Project V were a narrower fuselage and a changed pilot’s canopy. In order to improve the rate of climb, a Walter HWK 109-509 hypergolic liquid-propellant rocket was built in to give supplementary thrust. A complete mock-up was built and construction and assembly plans were finished, but the aircraft was not accepted by the Reich Air Ministry until 1946. Once teething problems had been resolved the Flitzer proved to be an admirable aircraft for its time and was well liked by its pilots for its forgiving nature.
Our second and last version Flitzer is in the markings of Adolf Galland one of the greatest aerial aces of all time.
Limited to 3 in number worldwide, this hand carved Mahogany model is priced at $550 plus shipping and is supplied with a free sample of our FJ043 figure.
The Sopwith Dolphin was a late war fighter aircraft employed by the RFC and later the RAF. It entered service in late 1917 and proved to be a formidable fighter which has often been overlooked by aviation enthusiasts and authors.
In early 1917, the Sopwith chief engineer, Herbert Smith, began designing a new fighter powered by the geared 200 hp Hispano-Suiza 8B engine. The resulting Dolphin was a two-bay, single-seat biplane, with the upper wings attached to an open steel frame above the cockpit. To maintain the correct centre of gravity, the lower wings were positioned 13 in (33 cm) forward of the upper wings, creating the Dolphin’s distinctive negative wing stagger.
The pilot sat with his head through the frame, where he had an excellent view. This configuration sometimes caused difficulty for novices, who found it difficult to keep the aircraft pointed at the horizon because the nose was not visible from the cockpit. The cockpit was nevertheless warm and comfortable, in part because water pipes ran alongside the cockpit walls to the two side-mounted radiator blocks.
The Dolphin proved successful and generally popular with pilots. The aircraft was fast, manoeuvrable, and easy to fly, though a sharp stall was noted. In his memoir Sagittarius Rising,Cecil Lewis described a mock dogfight between his S.E.5 and a Dolphin: “The Dolphin had a better performance than I realised. He was up in a climbing turn and on my tail in a flash. I half rolled out of the way, he was still there. I sat in a tight climbing spiral, he sat in a tighter one. I tried to climb above him, he climbed faster. Every dodge I have ever learned I tried on him; but he just sat there on my tail, for all the world as if I had just been towing him behind me.”
The highest-scoring Dolphin unit was No. 87 Squadron, which shot down 89 enemy aircraft. Pilots of No. 79 Squadron shot down 64 enemy aircraft in the eight and a half months that the aircraft was at the front. The top two Dolphin aces served in No. 79 Squadron. Captain Francis Gillett an American, scored 20 victories in the type and Lieutenant Ronald Bannerman, a New Zealander, scored 17 victories. The third-ranking Dolphin ace was Captain Arthur Vigers of 87 Squadron, who attained all 14 of his victories in the same aircraft.
Our new model is one flown by J Pearson an ace with 12 victories.
This 1/30 scale Mahogany model is limited to 5 in number. Also comes with a free sample figure GW085 and is priced at $399 plus shipping.
The Terrain mat shown is from the Thomas Gunn Range, all the other excellent figures and accessories are from John Jenkins designs and are shown for display purposes only.
Dear all welcome to our November 2020 Aircraft newsletter featuring some exciting new products. All our hand carved Mahogany aircraft take in the region of 180 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.
For those of you waiting for other new models we have the following en route to us; PBY Catalina, Helldiver, P-38 Lightnings, F-4 Phantoms, Gloster Meteor and a few other surprises.
Really like the 190 and the unusual Dolphin. The Dolphin is one of the lesser known types but was a very effective aircraft and was heavily armed for it's day. -- Al
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