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Eduard’s new dual combo Reichsverteidigung (Defense of the Reich) profipack combo set is the newest way for Eduard to show off their new tool Fw-190A and Bf-109G kits. This dual combo is a perfect way to experience the new tooling and as a bonus you get an Eduard print of an fw190 racing away from a pursuing p-51.
The Vietnamese use of the Skyraider during the conflict is much the same as the US. It used the Spad, or Sandy, in close air support and Combat Search and Rescue.
The Tamiya kit has been out for quite some time now and we’ve never really had a wide variety of options to mark it with. Well AOA has fixed that. This is the second sheet designed for the Tamiya Skyraider. These decals will fit any model of the Skyraider with just a little bit of trimming on the fuselage stripes. They are purposely slightly longer to work that way and you may need to trim them to fit.
The Vietnamese operated the AD-6/A-1H Skyraiders alongside their US counterparts. The Spad, or Sandy, was actually developed in the waning hours of WWII. It saw service in Korea and Vietnam. Capable of carrying a variety of ordnance and still having long loiter times the Spad was a vital part of the Air Rescue operations of the US and Vietnamese. Close air support was the name of the game and the Vietnamese were sold Skyraiders and they used them as effectively as their US counterparts.
The Vietnamese deployed the Skyraider in a variety of paint schemes. This first sheet covers the Skyraiders from 1962 all the way up to 1971 with some really colorful schemes.
In the 80s, the U.S. Army began to look for a light tank to replace the M551 Sheridan. Specifically, the Army was looking for an air-deployable tank to support its airborne Divisions and to replace their TOW anti-tank HMMWVs. In 1992, the Army selected United Defense’s vehicle designated XM8-AGS. Six prototypes were made and the M8 began trials. The basic armor package of the M8 is made of welded aluminum alloy, designed for rapid deployment and was capable of being airdropped from a C-130. There were 2 additional levels of modular armor planned for the vehicle depending on the threat level of the operating environment. Each additional level obviously increased the weight of the AFV, which decreased it’s “air mobility”, but still kept it light enough that at its maximum armor protection, up to 5 could be delivered via air landing on a C-5 Galaxy.
The Grumman Avenger (TBF) was first used at the Battle of Midway. It was a carrier based torpedo bomber, but was also used as a light bomber, carrying one 2,000 pound bomb or 4x 500 pound bombs. The Avenger was the heaviest US single engine aircraft of WW 2, weighing in at 400 pounds more than the P-47.
In 1943 Grumman began phasing out Avenger production in favor of Hellcats. Production was taken over by Eastern Aircraft, a division of General Motors. The designation for these aircraft was TBM. There were 4,600 TBMs produced, but most of the aircraft used in WW2 were TBFs.
In June of 1943, George HW Bush, the future president of the US was shot down over Chichi Jima, parachuting from the TBF and landing in the Pacific Ocean. He was rescued by the submarine Finback, and later received the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Avengers were also part of the operations which sank the Japanese battleships Musashi and Yamato.
