History

Operation Torch (initially called Operation Gymnast) was the British-American invasion of French North Africa, specifically Morocco and Algeria, in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942. Operation Torch was the first Allied amphibious operation of the war

The Allies planned an Anglo-American invasion of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, territory controlled by the Vichy French government. With those nations under Allied control, the Allies could carry out a pincer operation against Axis forces in North Africa. The Vichy French had around 125,000 soldiers in the territories as well as coastal artillery, 210 operational but out-of-date tanks, and about 500 aircraft, half of which were Dewoitine D.520 fighters. In addition there was a strong force of German and Italian military forces available.

Most books covering the P-51 Mustang begin with the design and development phase. It’s not uncommon for the books to mention briefly that Mustangs were sent to England early in the war and the deficiencies they had. The authors explain that soon after, the Rolls Royce Merlin replaced the original Allison engine. Generally, from this point forward, the authors describe what a great fighter the P-51 was – and rightfully so, but the original Allison-powered aircraft is all but ignored.

Author Martyn Chorlton doesn’t take that path in his new book, Allison-Engined P-51 Mustang. He describes what a great airplane this was in operations other than those of the high-altitude fighter – e.g., dive-bombing, low-level reconnaissance, and ground-attack.

Most modelers prefer that the camouflage and markings on their models be historically accurate, but we rely on someone else to do the grunt research work. Before I went to Vietnam, I was already a modeler and IPMS member. I had a WWII modeler friend and mentor, Joe Lynch, who advised me to take lots of photos of anything I might want to build a model of when I came home. He said there was no way I’d remember serial numbers and exact colors and so on, and he was right. Luckily, just before coming home, I remembered, bought a camera, and took photos from every angle of the helicopter I flew in the most. I didn’t get to take many other photos, as I got the camera too late into my tour. I don’t think it mattered as I didn’t really have many photo ops since my eye was supposed to be looking thru a gunsight, not a camera lens. At this point, I was “getting short” – I only had a couple months left to my tour.

The July/August 2012 issue of WINDSOCK Worldwide continues to demonstrate why the periodical can be relied upon to deliver accurate reference material for model builders interested in World War I aviation. The cover features a Ronny Barr profile of SE5a F8983 of No. 85 Squadron, RAF in 1918 and a photo of Lance Krieg's 1/48 Roden RAF SE5a to hint at what’s inside. Before getting to the main articles, the issue kicks off with an extended Reader’s Gallery that features three outstanding models: a 1:4 scale AMC DH1, a 1:5 scale Bristol Boxkite and a 1/32 scale Fokker F.I. Next up is the FRONTLINE NEWS column, followed by LOGBOOK ENTRIES that presents reviews of five new WWI books/journals. Following that, Lance Krieg continues his ‘Modelling Master Class’ with Chapter Seven: Armament, Pt.

For those unfamiliar with Model Art Modeling Magazine, it is a Japanese-produced modeling magazine that is released monthly. Along with the monthly releases, the company also releases several special issues. These special issues cover a multitude of subjects from IJN submarine depot ships to F1 race cars to airbrushing, as a few examples. The text is primarily in Japanese with some English subtitles but the photography is phenomenal.

The main article in the November issue is a continuation of articles from the September issue on heavy and medium IJN aircraft carriers. In the current issue, they cover IJN light carriers. Each of the carriers is represented by a 1/700th scale model kit. The carriers are the Hosho, Ryujo, Shoho, Zuiho, Ryuho, Chitose, Chiyoda, Taiyo, Unyo, Chuyo, Shinyo and the Kaiyo.