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 5% discount on the website listed price, joining is free so well worth registering.
WOW477 Martin B-26G Marauder "Sandra Lee" WOW484 Martin B-26G Marauder “The Old Goat” Please note we only have 1 of each aircraft in stock.
The Martin B-26 Marauder was an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. After entering service the Martin B26 Marauder aircraft gained a reputation as something of a "widowmaker", with early models' prone to a high accident rate during take-off and landings. This was due to the aircraft requiring a high landing approach, 150 mph, and if the aircraft dropped below that speed it had a tendency to stall. However, after further crew training and significant aerodynamics modifications the Marauder ended the Second World War as an aircraft with one of the lowest loss rates for the Allies. In total, 5,288 were manufactured between February 1941 and March 1945, with 522 flown by the Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force. By the end of WW II, the B26 had flown more than 110,000 sorties, dropping 150,000 tons of bombs.
The B-26 entered service with the 8th Air Force in England in early 1943, flying its first missions in May 1943. In the beginning, operations were low level, similar to those flown in North Africa Theatre, but these proved unsuccessful as the anti-aircraft defenses and fighters were much better and more established in the European theatre. The second mission, an unescorted attack on a power station in the Netherlands, resulted in the loss of the entire attacking force of 11 B-26s to anti-aircraft fire and FW190 fighters. Following this, the UK-based B-26 force was switched to medium altitude operations, and transferred to the US Ninth Air Force, set up to support the planned invasion of France in 1944.
Tactics were changed and bombing was from altitudes of 10,000 to 15,000 feet (3,000 to 4,600 m) and with fighter escort, the Marauder proved far more successful, striking against a variety of targets, including bridges and V-1 launching sites in the buildup to D-Day, then moving to France as bases became available. The Marauder, operating from medium altitude came into its own and proved to be a highly accurate aircraft, with the 9th Air Force rating it the most accurate bomber available in the final months of the war. Loss rates were far lower than in the early days, with the B-26 stated by the 9th Air Force as having the lowest loss rate in the European Theatre of Operations at less than 0.5%.
The B-26 flew its last combat missions against the German garrison at the Île d'Oléron on May 1st 1945, with the last units disbanding in early 1946. We are releasing two 1/30 scale Mahogany versions of the Martin B-26G Marauder, WOW477 Martin B-26G Marauder "Sandra Lee" 441st Bomb Squadron, 320th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force. Flown by Lt Norman P. Zierk.
WOW484 Martin B-26G Marauder “The Old Goat” 585th Bomb Squadron, 394th Bomb Group, Cambrai-Niergnies/France, 1944/45. Flown by Captain John C Furnas. The price for each aircraft is $1,200 plus $200 postage.
The figures are not included and are there for diorama and to show scale.
HMS Ark Royal
5C/L9726
Crew: Pilot Sub-Lt. J. W. "Jock" Moffat, Observer T/S-Lt.(A) J. D. "Dusty" Miller, telegraphist/Air Gunner (TAG) LA A. J. Hayman We have 3 in stock
The Swordfish was a three-seater aircraft utilised for a variety of roles by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Nicknamed the ‘Stringbag’ the Swordfish was hopelessly outdated by the time WW2 started in 1939. However, the aircraft enjoyed some notable successes against the Italian fleet at Taranto and the German Battleship Bismarck, in May 1941.
The aircraft we are releasing is the Swordfish flown from HMS Ark Royal by pilot Sub-Lt. J. W. "Jock" Moffat of the Fleet Air Arm. Who is widely credited as being one of the Swordfish Pilots whose torpedo attack crippled the German battleship, the Bismarck. Swordfish from the Ark Royal attacked the Bismarck on May 26th 1941, taking off at 1910, flying against driving rain, low clouds and a Force 9 gale, with failing light, they struck, at times flying in at 20 feet and just 90mph the British torpedo bombers split their attack between Bismarck’s starboard and port beams. The Ark Royal’s strike managed another three hits, one on the stern which caused such damage to the rudder assembly that the Bismarck was essentially unable to maneuver, and could be caught by the chasing Royal Navy capital ships and cruisers.
The Bismarck was sunk the following day, May 27th 1941. Not a single Swordfish was shot down in the attack against the Bismarck. The reason claim some historians is the Bismarck anti-aircraft system may have been ‘too modern’. The operation could have also been a disaster for the Ark Royal squadron, as prior to attacking the Bismarck, earlier in the day the squadron mistakenly attacked HMS Sheffield, only for many of the torpedoes to prove defective.
The price for this aircraft is $999 plus $100 shipping.
Figures are for illustration purposes and are not included in the price.
WOW486 P47 Thunderbolt "Bonnie" Please be aware we only have 2 in stock.
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II era fighter aircraft produced by the United States between 1941 and 1945. Its primary armament was eight 0.50-calibre machine guns and in the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry five-inch rockets or a bomb load of 2,500 pounds (1,103 kg). When fully loaded the P-47 weighed up to eight tons making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war. The Thunderbolt was effective as a short-to-medium range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat and ground attack in both the World War II European and Pacific theatres. The P-47 was one of the main United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters of World War II, and the armoured cockpit was relatively roomy and comfortable, offering good visibility. A modern-day U.S. ground-attack aircraft, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, takes its name from the P-47.
Our P-47D was flown by; 16 victory Ace Major William ‘Bill’ Durham.
William “Bill” Dunham completed his “Advanced” flying school at Luke AAF Base in Arizona, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, on December 12, 1941, just 5 days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was then stationed at Dale Mabry Army Airfield in Tallahassee Florida, flying with the 53rd Fighter Group, for the next 9 months. Whilst with the 53rd, he also flew in the Panama Canal Zone, until he was assigned as a test pilot with the 1st Fighter Command in New York.
In November 1942, he was reassigned to the 342nd Fighter Squadron, which was deployed to Australia in February 1943, and then to New Guinea later that year. He served as Operations Officer and later Commander of the 342nd. July 1944 “Bill” Dunham became the Commander of the 460th Fighter Squadron, while in New Guinea. In January 1945, he was sent back to the US to attend “Gunnery School” believe it or not… He graduated from the Gunnery School in May of 1945, where he promptly returned to the 348th and became the Deputy Commander, a position that he held until the end of the War.
“Bill” Dunham remained in the Army Air Force, (until it became the U.S. Air Force), eventually attaining the rank of Brigadier General during the Vietnam War. He retired after having a notable career and received numerous Decorations for his combat service.
This is definitely a large fighter aircraft, hence the price, we do know you will not be disappointed.
The price for this aircraft is $750 plus $100 shipping.
The figures and accessories are shown for scale comparison purposes only and are not included.
The Meridionali (formally IMAM) Ro. 37 “Lince” [Lynx] design and production began in 1934. The Ro. 37 was a biplane with unequal-span wings and of mixed construction including wood and metal, a fixed tail wheel and wheel spats. It was crewed by two and was intended as a two-seat fighter/reconnaissance aircraft. Ro.37bis were armed with 2 fixed forward-firing 7.7mm machine guns and a flexible rearward firing 7.7mm machine gun and could carry a bomb load of 397 pounds.The “Lince” entered into service in 1935 and its first deployment was in Spain in 1936 with the Air Legion and was used extensively by the Regia Aeronautica during the invasion of Abyssinia between 10/35 and 5/36, and the occupation of that country until 1941. During WW II, it was the standard armed reconnaissance aircraft used by the Italian Army, remaining in active service up until June 1943. The “Lince” was also exported and sold to Afghanistan, Austria, Ecuador, Hungary, Spain and Uruguay. The aircraft was produced until 1939 with a total of 569 (237 + 332bis) produced.
If you look carefully you can see the lower observation windows in the fuselage have been painstakingly carved out to ensure authenticity, with an overall camouflage pattern second to none.
The price for this beautifully painted 1/30 scale aircraft is $850 plus $100 shipping. We have 3 of these aircraft in stock.
Figures shown are for illustration purposes and are not included in the price.
Dear all, welcome to our October 2023 Aircraft newsletter featuring our latest warbirds.
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.
A big thank you to Mark Dyer with his assistance and others who cannot be named in their research and development of these models, it really has been invaluable and we could not do it without you.
All our aircraft now come with their own stands and can be displayed in flying mode if required.
Some fantastic releases this month! I really like the Swordfish and the Lince is unique and very beautiful! My favorites, though, are the B-26s and glad to say I’ve got one on the way
Hate to double post, but I received the B-26 today and it’s a beautiful model! The K&C USAAF figures are the perfect pairing. My pictures don’t convey the full beauty of the model as lighting kind of stinks where I’ve got the plane displayed in my spare bedroom. Still, the B-26 is yet another fantastic aircraft model from Thomas Gunn
Thank you Jason! The B-26 does look better in real life than in my pics! Where I’ve got it displayed in my guest bedroom, the lighting isn’t so great. The model would fit on the desk I frequently use for most of my other photos…
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