This TRAM equipped A-
CLUSTER BOMBS The A-
This role was vital during Desert Storm, protecting many Coalition troops' lives and also preventing Scud attacks on civilian personnel (including children) throughout the Gulf (many Scuds were launched against Saudi Arabia) and in the cities of (non beligerant) Israel.
However, it has been established that unexploded cluster bomblets are a major cause
of post-
As a result, more than 100 nations have now agreed to remove cluster bombs from their armouries.
This particular kit is made by Chinese company Lee and bears a very strong resemblance of the Fujimi kit. It is the same kit that you can find in Heller boxes with French markings, although this one came from a bookshop at less than half the Heller price. Link to build page
Grumman's E-
This model represents an aircraft of VAW-
The Hasegawa Crusader is a reasonable model that assembles without drama and looks
good when finished. It really isn't up to modern standards, since panel lines are
discretely raised, whilst cockpit detail and the ejector seat are very basic. The
very prominent intake is also a gaping see-
Having produced one of the most successful naval aircraft of WW2 (the F-
After a remarkably short and successful development period, the Crusader gave excellent service particularly throughout the Cuba Crisis and Vietnam War, then in its reconnaissance role, right into the late 1980s. At 19:3, the Crusader would be credited with the best kill ratio of any American type in the Vietnam War, althogh a total of 170 Crusaders would be lost to other causes, including AA fire during the war.
Despite the variable incidence wing, Crusaders were notoriously dififcult to land
on a carrier -
Crusader and Corsair together
Ling Temco Vought A-
Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam, 1966
Hasegawa's Corsair kit is even older than their Crusader and dates from the period
of collaboration with Frog, whose style it closely matches. Despite a "chunky" feel,
it is well engineered and easy to build, but detail is very sparse, particularly
around the cockpit (a blob-
As combat attrition in Vietnam began to bite, the USN looked to replace A-
Despite lacking the radar, variable incidence wing and afterburner (supersonic flight
was not needed), the Corsair's family resemblance was clear and was mirrored in its
very short development cycle and operational success. Capable of carrying an incredible
bomb load (more than a WW2 Flying Fortress), Corsairs were also adopted by the USAF,
with aircraft of both services seeing combat in Vietnam toward the end of the war
and remaining in front-
Grumman F-
Another e-
The Tomcat was probably the ultimate Fleet Fighter; a key component of NATO's naval
forces throughout the late 70s , 80s and 90s. Tomcats, with their long range air
to air AIM-
Nevertheless, times move on; not only were the Tomcat's systems and airframes becoming
long in the tooth, but the end of the Cold War left it without a realistic role.
The final Tomcat variant attempted to overcome this by giving it a ground attack
capability (the "Bombcat"), but its days were numbered. Iran continues to operate
locally modified F-
The Airfix Phantom is certainly not the best kit 1/72 Phantom kit available, but
it is cheap and colourful ! This one has a Fujimi canopy fitted as its own was missing;
this gives the fuselage a bit more volume, which looks much better in my opinion.
Much to my surprise, it is actually quite a pleasant, well fitting kit and the decals
were very effective; tough, but thin and stretchy -
The Phantom was (and still is) a superlative aircraft in all respects. This early
USN aircraft is marked for an aircraft of VF-
Revell, 1/72, originally Emhar Link to Build Page
In many respects, the US Navy's Fury looks like an F-
One of the few post-
Furies saw little service in the fighter role; like the Scimitar, they were quickly moved to a strike role, including the ability to carry a Mk.12 Nuclear Weapon on their port middle pylon.
Friends & Allies -
An old Frog release of a Hasegawa mould, with minor alterations and after-
Grumman's Intruder was the main USN carrier based attack aircraft for 33 years, from
1963 to 1996. Seeing combat service in Vietnam, Lebanon, Grenada, Libya and the first
Gulf War, it was specifically designed as a low level penetrator, able to carry a
substantial load of conventional or Nuclear weapons at high subsonic speeds in all
weathers. Indeed, the A-
© www.gengriz.co.uk
The Douglas Skyhawk was a remarkable aircraft, bucking the Cold War trend toward
ever larger and more complex designs. Lightweight, small and simple, it was nevertheless
able to carry the same weapons load as a WW2 B-
Although its range was a great deal less than a B-
Skyhawks, or “Scooters” as they were affectionately known, took the brunt of the US Navy and US Marines’ initial efforts in Vietnam, with over 326 lost to combat.
The initial A-
Hasegawa, 1/72 -
The earlier Skyhawks carried a much lower payload, with only two weapons pylons ,
a much shorter nose and a less powerful engine. INTREPID’s A-
Airfix, 1/72 -
The USN and USMC operate a number of Aggressor aircraft for the purposes of Dissimilar
Air Combat training. Between 1985 and 1988, VF-
Italeri, 1/72 -
The Douglas SBD Dauntless was the US Navy’s main dive bomber at the start of WW2. A robust and capable aircraft, it earned its place in the list of key weapons of WW2 and most important naval aircraft of all time by virtue of its performance at the Battle of Midway, where dive bombers from the US carriers Yorktown, Enterprise and Hornet destroyed much of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s carrier fleet, sinking the Japanese carriers Akagi, Hiryu, Soryu and Kaga, thus changing the direction of the Pacific war in one fell swoop.
Casualties were severe on both sides, with nearly 3,500 killed, mostly Japanese. The scale of the Japanese defeat was so severe that it was kept hidden from the Japanese people and all but senior Japanese military staff. Sadly, despite playing a critical role in thebattle and fighting furiously to stay afloat after damage, the USS YORKTOWN was one of those casualties, succumbing to dive bombing and finally to two torpedoes, with the loss of 141 men.
Airfix, 1/72
This is the Italeri T-
The Goshawk entered US Navy & US Marines service in the early 1990s as a replacement
for the T-
