Riich Models RT72004

Combat Colours 4: Pearl Harbor and beyond- December 1941-May 1942 This title depicts the camouflage and markings of a whole host of types belonging to the nations dragged into a Pacific War following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. As usually a huge amount of well researched information is presented for the modeller and historian. 215 colour profiles. 27 black/white photos.

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Lockheed T-33 Thunderbird colours and markings. With its roots in the successful Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star jet fighter, the Lockheed T-33, popularly known as the T-Bird, became the USAF's standard advanced trainer of the 1950s. Almost 5,700 T-33As were built for the USAF and USN, of which more than 1,000 were transferred to NATO Allies and others to a number of smaller air forces worldwide, and the aircraft were also licence-built in Canada and Japan. The type's operational service spanned well over 40 years, thus reaching an amazing record in longevity. The 'Dozen Set' line of handbooks is aimed especially at scale modellers. Each title describes twelve particular aeroplanes, documented by period photos, and also brings useful detailed shots which can be utilised in finishing the models. The publication has 28 pages, including a total of 49 overall and detailed photographs, 12 pages with colour camouflage schemes and their description. Text in English. A comprehensive decal sheet is added for modellers' convenience. Following aircraft are depicted on each decal sheet: U.S. Air Force (2x), U.S. Navy (1x), U.S. Marine Corps (1x), Royal Canadian Air Force (1x), Canadian Armed Forces (1x), Japanese Ar Self Defence Force (1x), Luftwaffe (1x), Royal Netherlands Air Force (1x), Belgian Air Force (1x), French Air Force (1x) and Spanish Air Force (1x).

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Douglas C-74 Globemaster By Nicholas M. Williams, 104 pages (88 in b&w, 16 in color), 141 b&w photos, 35 color photos, 22 illustrations. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 brought U.S. Army Air Corps strategists to the realization that a new global transport was needed to carry large loads over great distances. The Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, California, also quickly saw this need and design studies were begun immediately on an expanded version of the company's DC-4. The "C-74 Project Group" adopted a design philosophy to produce a "no frills" transport able to accommodate at least two of the Army's T-9 tanks, two 105mm Howitzers, or two angle dozers. Douglas contacted the Air Corps early in 1942 to determine their interest and a letter of intent was issued in March 1942 for procurement of the Model 415A, now designated the C-74. A contract of over $50 million was signed in June 1942 for fifty airplanes. To speed its delivery to operational units, the C-74 was designed to be released without the benefits of an experimental or prototype model, all aircraft being designated as C-74s with design features following conventional "state-of-the-art" practice. Originally, powered by Wright R-3350 engines, a decision was made in March 1943 to switch to the new, mammoth Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major. The first C-74 was rolled out in July 1945 from the Douglas Long Beach factory. At rollout, the C-74 was the largest land-based transport in the world with a wingspan of 173 feet, length of 124 feet, and gross weight of 145,000 pounds. Able to carry 125 passengers, the C-74 was called the Globemaster as its 11,100-gallons of internal fuel gave it a maximum range of over 7,000 miles, enabling it to circumnavigate the world with only two refueling stops. In its final form, the C-74 was a remarkably efficient airplane, using a semi-laminar flow airfoil for its wings with a full-span flap arrangement. The pilots were enclosed by two teardrop-shaped, double-bubble canopies that provided them with a 360-degree view. Douglas had every intention of adapting the C-74 into a civil airliner once hostilities had ended. In 1944 Pan American World Airways ordered 26 examples of the civil version, the DC-7, for a route expansion program into Latin America. However, further development of this DC-7 design increased its gross weight to 162,000 pounds and the unit cost to $1.4 million and Pan American cancelled its order in October 1945, opting for smaller transports. The first C-74, 42-65402, made its maiden flight from Long Beach in September 1945, but with the end of World War II, most of the C-74 production order was cancelled and only 14 Globemasters were built. Unfortunately, during contractor demonstration flights the second Globemaster crashed. The fourth C-74 was subsequently diverted for static tests and its components tested to destruction at Wright Field, Ohio. Beginning in September 1946, the remaining twelve C-74s were flown for the next nine years by the Army Air Forces' Air Transport Command and the U.S. Air Force's Military Air Transport Service. Once in service, the C-74 Globemaster, based first in Memphis, Tennessee, then Morrison Field, West Palm Beach, Florida, finally at Brookley AFB, Mobile, Alabama, set many records for tonnage carried. In November 1949, a C-74 flew the Atlantic to England with a record 103 passengers aboard. One Globemaster set several records during the Berlin Airlift, averaging over 38,000 pounds of cargo and setting a new Airlift Task Force utilization record by flying 20 hours in a 24-hour period. Until one C-74 was converted to the prototype C-124A and the Globemaster II became available, the C-74 was the only Air Force transport capable of carrying outsized cargo. After the C-74's retirement from service in 1955, several were purchased surplus and began flying for a contract air carrier, Aeronaves de Panama, hauling prize cattle from Denmark to the Middle East, horses to Singapore, and ships' parts and vegetables throughout Europe. Unfortunately, after the tragic crash in 1963 of one C-74 in Marseilles, France, the airline suspended operations and its C-74s eventually were scrapped. Today, no examples of this record-setting transport exist. This monograph of the C-74 Globemaster is written by Nick Williams, an award-winning author of over two dozen articles published in the Journal of the American Aviation Historical Society and publications in the U.K. Nick has written two previous books in Steve Ginter's Naval Fighters series as well as his 1999 book published in the U.K., "Aircraft of The Military Air Transport Service 1948-1966". His new book on the C-74 is the result of nearly fifty years of research, containing comments from several of the C-74's engineers as well as former Douglas and Air Force pilots.

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Aichi E13A Type 0 Jake 1. E13A1. Unit/Location: Heavy Cruiser "Tone", Attack on Pearl Harbor, 07.12.1941. Code: Red JI-1. Pilot: Yoishi Takahashi. Historical occasion: 30 minutes prior to the first attacking wave this plane flew to the Lahaina-anchorage at Hawaii to find no American fleet units present. 2. E13A1. Unit/Location: Heavy Cruiser "Chikuma", Attack on Pearl Harbor, 07.12.1941. Code: Red JII-1. Pilot: Akira Ito. Historical occasion: 30 minutes prior to the first attacking wave this plane flew to Pearl Harbor/Hawaii to find the American fleet without the aircraft carriers present. In reporting this, it banked away to the open sea to search for the missing carriers. 3. E13A1. Unit/Location: Heavy Cruiser "Chokai", Battle of Palembang/Invasion of Sumatra, 15.02.1942. Code: Yellow Z-I. Historical occasion: At 09:23 hrs. this plane spotted the ABDA Naval Force first, that was later mauled from the Japanese invasion fleet. 4. E13A1. Unit/Location: Heavy Cruiser "Tone", Battle of Midway, 04.06.1942. Code: Red JI-4. Historical occasion: At 07:28 hrs. this plane discovers the American fleet but the observer does not identify the carriers at the outset which proves fatal in the end for the Japanese. 5. E13A1. Unit/Location: Heavy Cruiser "Chikuma", Battle of Midway, 04.06.1942. Code: Red JII-5. Pilot: Hara Hisashi. Historical occasion: At 10:45 hrs. this plane discovers USS Yorktown and shadows it for 3 hrs. Leading the carrier bombers that attacked and sank the aircraft carrier, it was shot down at 14:09 by VF-6's pilots Warden & Hoyle. 6. E13A1. Unit/Location: Heavy Cruiser "Chikuma", Battle of the Eastern Solomons, 24.08.1942 Code: Red JII-2. Pilot: Kzutoshi Fukujama. Historical occasion: At 14:25 hrs. this plane discovers the American task force to be shot down, but to radio back their successful sightings to the Japanese fleet before. 7. E13A1. Unit/Location: Heavy Cruiser "Nachi", Battle of the Komandorski Islands, 26.03.1943. Code: White WI-3. Historical occasion: This plane carried out artillery spotting duties during the action. The crew flew on to Attu/Aleutians in the end, crashed at landing but survived to return to Japan via submarine. 8. E13A1. Unit/Location: Heavy Cruiser "Maya", Battle of the Philippine Sea, 20.06.44. Code: Red EII-I. Historical occasion: At 16:35 hrs. this plane spotted a group of the U.S. Task Force 58. 9. E13A1. Unit/Location: Hybrid Carrier-Cruiser "Mogami", Battle of Leyte Gulf, 20.10.44 . Code: Yellow 380-02. Historical occasion: Launched at 06:50 hrs. this could have been the plane that informed the Japanese forces first in detail about the overall strength of the U.S. invasion forces in the Philippines. 10. E13A1b. Unit/Location: Saeki Kokutai, 5th Floating Chyrsanthemum-Operation, 04.05.45. Code: White ??-32. Historical occasion: This plane carried a special electronic magnetic device air-surface-radar to detect submarines & mines. It covered this "Kamikaze"-operation on American warships off Okinawa. 11. E13A1. Unit/Location: Sakigake Tai, 5th Floating Chyrsanthemum-Operation, 04.05.45. Code: White KiTa-50. Pilot: Sub-lieutenant Shikata Historical occasion: Carrying a 250kg bomb, this plane took part in this "Kamikaze"-operation on American warships off Okinawa. It never returned. 12. E13A1. Unit/Location: Sakigake Tai, 5th Floating Chyrsanthemum-Operation, 04.05.45. Code: White KiTa-51. Pilot: NCO Eiji Izuke. Historical occasion: Carrying a 250kg bomb, this plane took part in this "Kamikaze"-operation on American warships off Okinawa to be shot down by F6F-5 Hellcat fighters of VF-9, assigned to aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. 13. E13A1. Unit/Location: Seaplane Tender "Kamikawa Maru", Invasion of Malaya, 07.12.1941. Code: Red ZI-26. Pilot: Eiichi Ogata. Historical occasion: At 08:20 hrs. Ensign Eiichi Ogata was involved in the first dogfight of the Pacific war (more than 16 hrs before Pearl Harbor). In attacking and damaging the radio of 205. RAF SQN PBY Catalina "W8417/F-YW" of the Australian Pilot P.E. Bedell. The PBY could therefore not report the Japanese invasion fleet to Singapore. Around 09:00 hrs the PBY was attacked by five Ki-27 fighters of the 1st Sentai of the JAAF to explode mid-air and to become the very first casualties of the Pacific war.

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Nakajima A6M2-N "Zero" Part-1 1. A6M2. Unit: ATAIU. Serial: ATAIU-SEA (ex BI-12). ATAIU - Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit. 2. A6M2-N Type 2. Unit: 934th kokutai. Serial: 934-06. Pilot - Chief P/O Matsunagi Etioku - the best Japanese hydro-ace (8 victories). Ambon Island, September 1943. 3. A6M2-N Type 2. Unit: 802nd kokutai. Serial: NI-118. Pilot - 1st Lt.Keizo Yamatsaki. Solomon's Islands, February 1943. 4. A6M2-N Type 2. Unit: 5th kokutai, 5th kantai, Kashima Naval Air Group. Serial: KoShi-103. Kashima AB/Ibagari, 1944. 5. A6M2-N Type 2. Unit: unknown. Serial: Yo-180. Aleutian Islands, 1943-1944. 6. A6M2-N Type 2. Unit: 5th kokutai. Serial: R-106. Kiska, Aleutian Islands, September 1942. 7. A6M2-N Type 2. Unit: 802nd kokutai. Serial: NI-112. Solomon's Islands, 1943. 8. Nakajima A6M2-N Ku-101 of Takuma Ku, Japan in August 1943. This heavily weathered Rufe reveals the original amber- grey factory scheme and in red-oxide primer beneath its very dark green camouflage. 9. Nakajima A6M2-N Sa-104 of the Sasebo Ku previous subject as it was in factory fresh condition when photographed. Unusually for Rufe the prop is dark brown with yellow tip stripes and the spinner is painted dark green. This aircraft carries underwing bomb ravks. 10. Nakajima A6M2-N Serial: R-106 of the 5th Ku at Kiska lsland in the Aleutians, August 1942. This aircraft is in the factory scheme with 'ghosting' around the fuselage. 11. A6M2-N Type 2. Unit: 81st kokutai. Aleutian, 1943.

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Japanese Early Birds Part II (10 x camouflage schemes) Nakajima-Nieuport 83 E.2 c/n 504 (trainer version of Nieuport 10) "J-TIZE", registred to J. Aoshima, about mid-1920s Avro 504L c/n 424 "J-TOWC", registred to E. Munesato of First Aeroplane School, about mid-1920s Avro 504S "R-613", Kasimugaura Kokutai, about mid-1920s Hansa Type (Hansa-Brandenberg W.29) "J-BAFI", registred to Nihon Koku Yuso Kaisha (Japan Air Transport Research Association), late 1920s Hansa Type (Hansa W.29) "Ka-189", Kasimugaura Kokutai, late 1920s Nieuport IV used a taxiing aircraft with clipped wings for primary training Nieuport NG (Japanese army version of Nieuport IV), Japanese attack on Tsingtao, China, 31 October - 7 November 1914 Soptwith Pup c/n 534 (Loire et Olivier built Pup) "J-TALO", unknown owner, about mid-1920s Soptwith Pup c/n 536 "J-TITY", registred to T. Aiba at Nippon Flying School, about mid -1920s Soptwith Pup tested on the flying-off platform on the battleship Yamashiro, early 1920s

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Douglas A-20 HAVOC IN ACTION Doyle. The Douglas A-20 Havoc was a light bomber, attack, and intruder aircraft of World War II. Used by the American Army Air Forces, nearly one-third of the aircraft served with the Soviet military, while many other A-20s fought with the RAF. Taking its first operational shape on the eve of the outbreak of the war in Europe, the 7B prototype actually crashed with a French observer aboard, kicking off a scandal in still-isolationist America where military aircraft were not to be exported. U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt pressed for a change in that restrictive rule and the French, impressed by the plane's rugged dependability and maneuverability, proceeded to place orders for 100 of the aircraft, albeit with modifications that resulted in the DB-7 version. Even before shipments began in November 1939, Paris had increased its order by another 170 aircraft. Many of those, however, found their way into the British RAF, which flew them under the nickname Boston, after the fall of France in June 1940. The U.S. Army Air Corps issued its first contracts for the aircraft they called the A-20 and A-20A, in May 1939, these were only delivered during the months from late 1940 through much of 1941. A dozen A-20As had recently arrived in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese surprise attack destroyed two of them on the ground. Modifications of the design continued and it was after the U.S. entry into the war when the A-20C version, produced by Douglas and Boeing, first were accepted. Of the first 515 A-20Cs, 108 were retained by the U.S. Army Air Forces, while 407 were shipped off to the Soviet Union. Numerous versions of the aircraft followed. About half of the A-20G were sent to the Soviet Union, as were many of the A-20H. In fact the Soviet air forces had more A-20s than the USAAF. Illustrated with 192 vintage photographs and detailed line drawings. 80 pages. (now out of print so be quick!)

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