In 1944 the Soviets were starting to take the offensive. The Wehrmacht was still in Byelorussia and the Ukraine, but after Kursk the Russians had taken back almost half of the territory the Germans had won in 1941-42. The Americans and British had invaded Italy, making things even more difficult for the Axis side.

Another pain in the Germans’ side was the continuing partisan activity in Yugoslavia. And someone at Headquarters decided that the way to neutralize this particular threat was to remove its leader, Josip Broz, known as Marshal Tito.

This book is about the special operation, undertaken by the 500th SS Parachute Batallion, which descended on Drvar in northwestern Bosnia, using glider-borne soldiers and paratroops. While much of the book covers the actual landings and subsequent combat, I have to say that as an aircraft modeler, I was intrigued with the use of the DFS 230 gliders, which were towed by Henschel 126s. Never heard of THAT use for the Henschels!

The Parts:

This product contains 10 white metal parts that replace kit parts A22 and A31 (nose gear components), C12 & C13 (main gear struts), C29 & C30 (main gear support arms), and C4 & C5 (4 parts folding wing support arms). The four white metal parts (they resemble hockey sticks) are used if the F9F will be built with the wings in the folded position. If the wings are in the extended position, these four white metal parts are not used.

Assembly:

Assembly using the SAC white metal parts is straightforward. Treat the SAC parts as though they came with the Trumpeter kit. Use them in the assembly process just as you would use the Trumpeter parts.

Conclusion:

Many Americans are familiar with the X-Planes developed in the USA. You would be hard-pressed to find an aircraft modeler who is not familiar with the X-1, X-3, X-15, and any of the other experimental aircraft developed over the years. Ask those same modelers to describe the HP.115 XP941, the XG900, or the Payen PA-49, and you might be greeted with a blank stare.

In 300 pages this excellent publication makes available much information about the X-Planes of Europe for the first time. The authors, Tony Buttler and Jean-Louis Delezenne, are experts in their chosen fields. Tony Buttler was a metallurgist for 20 years before becoming a freelance aviation historian specializing in the design and development of military aircraft. X-Planes is Buttler’s 16th book and he has also written a large number of articles for aviation magazines.