Auxiliary cruiser seaplanes

[English Electric]

Hi all,

Does anyone know what type of seaplane the German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis carried on her cruise?

I've heard that both Arado 196s or Heinkel 114s were used but am not certain. Having just finished an excellent book about Atlantis (and her captain Rogge) I'd be very interested in trying to model her aircraft.

If an Arado 196 was used, what kit would be most suitable in 1/72 - Airfix or Heller? If a Heinkel 114 was used what kits are available for this aircraft in 1/72 as I'm not aware of any...

Finally, what modifications would be needed to make a suitable representation? Given the technical ability of Ship 16s crew I would have thought some local modification had been undertaken, although the only one I'm aware of is the addition of a grab hook (wire?) used to rip off ships' wireless aerials before they transmitted the RRRR signal.

Many thanks in advance

Chris

[timbo33]

According to these sites the Atlantis carried two He 114B Floatplanes:

Link

Another link

HTH

Tim

[The wooksta V2.0]

I *think* Mach 2 may have released an Heinkel He 114 at some stage but if they did, then you're in for a lot of work!

http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php...%5B%5D=code+asc

According to this search, Planet have released two kits in resin but at over a tenner more than Mach 2's kit. You pays yer money and takes yer choice - at least the Planet kit should fit together with fewer problems!

[timbo33]

Or there's this - looks like a vac Form?

item on eBay

How's your Polish??

Also linky to Wings Palette - Colour Schemes - not sure any are appropriate for your needs but may give you some ideas?

Edited February 6, 2009 by timbo33

[English Electric]

Hi Guys

Many thanks for all of the gen' - typical that it's the obscurer aircraft with the pricy kits! Should prove an interesting build though...

Chris

[tango98]

Hi Chris,

Probably the best site on the net about Atlantis is: http://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/atlantis.html

As related in the ships history timeline on the site, she was first equipped with He 114 floatplanes which were later replaced by three Arado Ar 196 floatplanes.

Both the Heinkels and Arados would have belonged to the Bordfliegerstaffel 196 which provided the on-board aircraft to the ships of the Kriegsmarine. Camouflage for both aircraft types would have been the maritime greens 72 and 73 in a splinter pattern on the upper surfaces with under surfaces finished in 65 blue.

Somewhere in my files I have the codes for her aircraft so will have a poke around and see if I can dig them out for you.

HTH

Cheers

Dave

[English Electric]

Or there's this - looks like a vac Form?

item on eBay

How's your Polish??

I'd better brush-up! It's actually a quite unusual resin kit, so I've snapped it up - I'm not worried about the decals side of things, it should be easy enough to get replacements. Many thanks for that - I balked when I saw the price of the Planet models at Hannants, but that's £10 less and looks very nice!

Dave - the site you've given is brilliant, great stuff - if you do find the codes let me know, that would be most helpful!

Thanks again,

Chris