Category: WW2 Era (1939-45)

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Double Sunrise: How Qantas Reopened Australia’s Severed Air Route to Britain in WWII

In his new book Double Sunrise, author Geoff Goodall explores Qantas Empire Airways Indian Ocean wartime services between 1943 and 1946.

The Japanese conquest cut Australia off from Britain in early 1942, leaving the country isolated. From June 1943, Qantas revived the Perth-to-Ceylon route—the world’s longest at the time—creating 27-hour, radio-silent flights that witnessed two sunrises, giving birth to the “Double Sunrise” service; five months later, the route extended to Karachi. In mid-1944, faster Qantas Liberators joined, shortening the Ceylon–Exmouth Gulf leg, followed by the introduction of Qantas Lancastrians in 1945. Despite wartime isolation, the service ran accident-free until a Lancastrian vanished on a final Indian Ocean leg in March 1946, after which operations returned to Singapore routes. Sir Hudson Fysh later called the wartime Indian Ocean service the most fascinating and romantic achievement of Qantas.

The 134 page paperback book is currently available for pre-order with release set for December 15.

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Eduard Releases “Weekend Edition” A6M2-N Rufe

Another new release from Eduard this month is an A6M2-N Rufe Weekend Edition model kit in 1/48 scale.

The A6M2-N Rufe is the naval floatplane variant of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, built by Nakajima for the IJN as a single-seat carrier-based fighter with floats instead of a conventional landing gear. It featured a 14-cylinder radial engine, a 3-blade propeller, and a compact airframe optimized for water takeoffs and landings, typically armed with 7.7 mm machine guns and light cannon in wing roots. Operated mainly in maritime environments, the Rufe was designed to defend sea lanes and airfields near atolls where traditional airstrips were unavailable, and it served in several theaters during World War II.

The kit (84208) includes Eduard plastic parts and decals with marking options for four aircraft.

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Lycoming R-680 Engine For Sale: “Serviceable With Original WW2 Stand”

Please Note: This is an archived post. The information presented here may not be current and the associated listing may no longer be active.

A Lycoming R-680 radial engine has been spotted for sale. The listing states (in part):

…serviceable WWII Lycoming R-680 aircraft 9-cylinder engine. It comes with an original WWII engine stand that has different settings for display or “working on” the engine. It can be flat or at any angle.

The engine is located in Otis Orchards, Washington and is currently available for US $25,000 although offers are also being accepted. Click here to check out the eBay listing, which includes additional photos and details.

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Flying Shuttleworth Aircraft: New Edition of “From Bleriot to Spitfire” Released in US

Recently released in the US is the latest edition of From Bleriot to Spitfire: Flying the Historic Planes of the Shuttleworth Collection by Scott Butler.

The aeroplanes of the Shuttleworth Collection span the first 40 years of aviation from the 1909 Blériot to the late 1940s; these rare and often unique machines are still regularly flown and displayed over the aerodrome at Old Warden in Bedfordshire. This book, written by the Collection’s pilots, past and present, puts the reader in the cockpits of these amazing machines as they fly over the English countryside.

The new edition is 208 pages. It is available in Hardcover and Kindle formats.

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Eduard Releases New ProfiPACK Spitfire Mk.Vb With 7 Marking Options

The new December releases from Eduard includes this ProfiPACK Edition Spitfire Mk.Vb “mid” in 1/48 scale.

The Spitfire Mk.Vb “mid” variant is a transitional production batch of the most numerous Spitfire mark, built around 1941–42. It mounts two 20 mm Hispano cannons and four .303 in Browning machine guns in the B-wing, with options for 90-gallon drop tank or bombs, a three-blade Rotol propeller, standard rounded wingtips, early-mid carburetor intake (sometimes tropicalized), non-armored laminated glass windscreen, and cockpit refinements like adjusted rudder pedals and rear armor plate, distinguishing it from early models by refined details and from late ones by lacking clipped wings or universal cannon bays.

The kit (82157) includes Eduard plastic parts, pre-painted PE parts, painting mask and Eduard decals with marking options for seven aircraft.

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Dakotas Unleashed: 46 Group’s D-Day to VE Day Heroics Detailed in New Book

In his newly released book Dakota Squadrons in Action From D-Day to V.E. Day: Airborne, Support and Supply Operations in the Liberation of Europe, author Clive Bennett provides “a microscopic examination of No. 46 Group’s flight operations, day by day, squadron by squadron, often down to crew names and takeoff/landing times.”

RAF Transport Command’s 46 Group, formed in January 1944 and operating Douglas C-47 Dakotas from RAF Broadwell, Blakehill Farm, and Down Ampney, provided critical airborne support, resupply, and casualty evacuation during WWII’s final phase. From D-Day on June 6, 1944, its squadrons delivered troops, paratroopers, and gliders over France, with WAAF ‘Flying Nightingales’ nurses aiding wounded on return flights—though LACW Margaret Campbell died in an October 1944 crash. During Operation Market Garden in September 1944, they conducted daily resupplies, earning Flight Lieutenant David Lord a posthumous Victoria Cross for bravery under flak, and in March 1945’s Operation Varsity, they enabled the war’s last major airborne assault, significantly aiding the defeat of Nazi Germany.

The 304 page title is available in hardcover and Kindle formats.

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ICM to Release New B-26C-45 Marauder Model Kit

ICM is slated to release a new B-26C-45 Marauder model kit in 1/48 scale.

The kit (48328) will reportedly include accurately reproduced geometry and proportions, detailed cockpit and fuselage equipment and decals with three marking options representing aircraft of the 17th and 320th US Bombardment Groups in Europe.

As of this writing, a final release date has not yet been announced, although it will reportedly be available “soon.”

(ICM via Aeroscale)

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Bomber Crew Morale in WW2: New Book Reveals How RAF Airmen Faced Impossible Odds

Soon to be released by Air World and author Peter Croft is Bomber Crew Morale in WW2: How Bomber Command’s Airmen Faced Terrible Odds in the Second World War.

During World War II, 125,000 aircrew served in RAF Bomber Command, and 55,573—about 44%—were killed. Despite these grim odds, crews continued flying nightly missions, showing extraordinary courage and determination. RAF leadership tried to sustain morale through discipline, good equipment, and effective leadership, but much depended on the airmen themselves. Their patriotism, stoicism, and strong camaraderie helped them endure constant danger, from enemy fire to mechanical failures and accidents. Even without combat, simply flying remained a perilous task.

This new release “honors the bravery of Bomber Command’s men—those who survived and those whose lives were cut short—and reflects on their extraordinary courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.”

The 280 page, hardcover book is currently available for pre-order with release slated for January 30.

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First Look: Test Sprues For Arma Hobby’s Me 262 A-1a

Arma Hobby has released the first images of the test sprues for their upcoming new tool Me 262 A-1a in 1/72 scale.

As previously reported, the upcoming release will reportedly be offered in several boxings including the Me 262 A-1a Schwalbe, Me 262 A-1a with Wfr. Gr. 21 (with 3D printed rocket launchers), and Me 262 A-2a Sturmvogel.

The company reports that the kit is very close to completion and the sprues are currently being reviewed before pre-orders begin.

Click below to check out the newly released images.

Continue reading First Look: Test Sprues For Arma Hobby’s Me 262 A-1a

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Full-Scale Spitfire Plans For Sale: “Full Set For Flying Replica”

Please Note: This is an archived post. The information presented here may not be current and the associated listing may no longer be active.

A full set of Spitfire plans has been spotted for sale. The listing states (in part):

This is a full set of plans to build a full size flying Supermarine Spitfire replica aircraft. The plans were designed by Marcel Jurca in France. These are large paper plans, some of which are to be used as direct templates attached to aluminum or wood to cut out parts such as compound curves for wing shape, ribs, fuselage sections, etc. The airplane can be powered by the V-1710 Allison V-12 Engine, or the Merlin V-1650 Engines. The early non-high Altitude Merlins (V-1650-1) are available and much cheaper than the later high altitude versions fitted to aircraft like the P-51D. The plans show how to build a strong wood box spar mated to an Steel tube fuselage. The shape of the airplane is identical to a Spitfire Mk.9 with the famous elliptical wing, identical style landing gear, cowling, etc.

The plan set is located in Suwanee, Georgia and is currently available for US $1,200 although offers are also being accepted. Click here to check out the eBay listing, which includes additional photos and details.

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