nimrod54 Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 These are two recent finishes for the Battle of Britain 80th Anniversary Group Build. I wanted to find a suitable subject(s) that had a link to NW England, and discovered that this action had taken place over the Liverpool area. This is my attempt in to represent two of the combatants involved in that action. The Bromborough Dock Incident The events took place after the height, but still within the timeframe, of the Battle of Britain on the 8th October 1940. That day the crew of a Ju.88 A-1, M7 + DK of 2/KGr.806 took off from their base in France heading for Liverpool, the target was industrial sites involved in production of military equipment. The German pilot had the benefit of cloud cover so was able to avoid fighter aircraft over southern England as he made his way over Droitwich, and on towards his target, arriving in the Merseyside area around 4:00pm. The station commander at Speke was in the Ops Room, where the incoming raid was being plotted. Recently posted to Speke, 312 (Czech) Squadron kept a section of three aircraft at readiness, with a second section of three kept at 30mins readiness. The station commander gave the order for the three Hurricanes of Yellow section to scramble and patrol the Hoylake area. The section consisted of Yellow 1 - Flight Lieutenant DE. Gillam, Yellow 2 - Pilot Officer A Vasatko, and Yellow 3 - Sergeant J Stehlik. They took off at 4:10pm. The AA Battery at Ince (No.289, 93rd Regiment, RA) had been alerted to the approach of an enemy aircraft, and the guns were manned, loaded and ready for action. The Ju.88 approached from the Helsby direction, flew over the gun site, and was headed northwest. The guns were brought to bear on the Ju.88 but the Gun Control Officer hesitated to engage the target because of the risk to friendly fighters in the area. However, probably due to excitement, No.1 gun had opened up with their 4.5 gun. As the three Hurricanes roared into view the GCO gave the order to cease fire. During the firefight, which lasted just over 5mins, the starboard engine of the Ju.88 sustained heavy damage in a hail of bullets, which also killed the observer/second pilot Leutnant H Schlegel. The pilot jettisoned two of the bombs into the River Mersey in an effort to lighten the load and maintain height. All three Hurricanes were involved in attacking the Ju.88 and all sustained damage from heavy and accurate returning fire. The pilot of the Ju.88 attempted to keep his aircraft in the air, but the damage was too bad and the aircraft was seen by witnesses on the ground as it was gliding past Bromborough Church towards Bromborough Dock with smoke billowing from its engines. The Ju.88 crashed landed on open ground at Bromborough Dock with its undercarriage retracted and two bombs in their racks. It slid along its belly and came to a stop on the open ground, slewing round to port. The time was 4:15pm. The port engine had been ripped from its mounting and one of the remaining bombs, torn away from its rack, was lying nearby. The victorious Hurricane pilots landed back at Speke, completing what would possibly be the fastest shooting down of an enemy aircraft: about 12mins from take-off to touch-down. No 312 (Czech) Squadron had only become operational in late September 1940, and this was their first kill. Hawker Hurricane Mk.1, L1807, DUoB No 312 (Czech) Sqn, Sergeant Josef Stehlik Speke, 8th October 1940 Airfix 1/72 by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Junkers Ju.88 A-1 2./KGr.806 MK + D7 Caen, France, 8th October 1940 Revell 1/72 by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Much of the opening text is a plagiarised version of a detailed account given in this online booklet of the Bromborough Dock Ju.88 Incident. For those interested in reading more, there are details of the crash site, personal accounts and witness statements, along with Pilot Officer Alois Vasatko's combat report included in the link given above. In the very near future I plan to build the other two aircraft of 312 Squadron Yellow Section that were in the action that day. 34 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swralph Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 Very nice pair of models. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 Nicely done with both of those, John. A very interesting story behind them as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 Good models and an interesting background! Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigbeale Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 Beautifully done!!! 👏👏👏 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wulfman Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 Very nice builds and very interesting story ! Wulfman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 Great job on both, I have both the Revell A1 and A4 boxing and they look excellent in the boxes, your depiction wants me to get on with them! Davey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted November 5, 2020 Author Share Posted November 5, 2020 @swralph @Vinnie @Spitfire31 @Brigbeale @Wulfman Thanks for your kind comments guys, and I am pleased that you found the background info interesting. John 4 hours ago, DaveyGair said: Great job on both, I have both the Revell A1 and A4 boxing and they look excellent in the boxes, your depiction wants me to get on with them! Davey I don't have the A4 boxing Davey, but really enjoyed putting the A1 together. The only addition to the box contents was a set of seatbelts. I did find the cockpit a bit fiddly, but with constant checks of the parts fit before committing to glue, it went together pretty well. The canopies are an excellent fit and were painted off the model before I fitted them. I would suggest that the guns are fixed in place prior to fitting the canopies, I fitted them after I had glued the canopies in position and had to make some minor adjustments to stop them fouling other areas. Hope that this helps a little when you get around to starting your build. John 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 Hi John, good to see your fabulous builds in RFI! I have already said it, but I will say it again: both your builds are scrumptious! Congrats mate! JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Koktavý Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Hello, I like those dual builds with a story 👍 👏 Please where can I find the decals for Ju-88 M7+DK of Kgr. 806 ?? I was not sucessfull. The Hurricane DUoB is available by AML decals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 A great pair of build's John,very nice indeed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 2 hours ago, David Koktavý said: Hello, I like those dual builds with a story 👍 👏 Please where can I find the decals for Ju-88 M7+DK of Kgr. 806 ?? I was not sucessfull. The Hurricane DUoB is available by AML decals. Hi David, The decals for the codes on the Ju 88 came from Fantasy Printshop and I have provided a link to their site below. Fantasy Printshop Luftwaffe Codes The emblem for 2/KGr.806 was provided by a fellow Britmodeller. I scaled them to fit the model and printed them off on white decal paper. I had to carefully cut around the image and touch in any white edges with colours matching the surrounding areas. I have a Powerpoint file containing the scaled images if it is of use to you. The Hurricanes decals are from AML Decals and they also produce a set for P/O Alois Vasatko's aircraft, which I plan to use as part of my plan to build the other two Hurricanes of Yellow Section, though Flt.Lt. D Gillam's aircraft identity markings will have to be sourced elsewhere. Cheers John 1 hour ago, stevej60 said: A great pair of build's John,very nice indeed. Thanks a lot Steve, glad that you like them buddy. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Koktavý Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 John, thank you for answer. I will do it in the same way, therefore I would appreciate if you send me the KGr. 806 insignia if possible. I will print it to decal sheet as well. The rest of the marking I will make by cutting masks I think. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 Very nice set and interesting story behind. AFAIR right in time of BoB Polish Squadron introduced small national insignia (chessboard) on their RAF airplanes - on engines or close to cockpit. There must be some formal approval of RAF of this custom I think. Apparently it was not a common practice since the 312 Sqq. machine did not have miniature of Czech insignia yet in October. Later they have. Regards J-W 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sky Keg Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Outstanding presentation John. The beautifully completed Hurricane and Ju-88 were complimented very nicely with the well research back story behind the subjects. The photography is equally superb. There`s a lot to like about this entire subject. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted November 11, 2020 Author Share Posted November 11, 2020 Many thanks for your complimentary response Mike. I am pleased that you have enjoyed my attempt to represent two of the aircraft involved in a small part of the action played out during the Battle of Britain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Wonderful 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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