'Flight' from BenF: 1/300 Battle of Britain Aircraft

Bag the Hun 2 has been becoming vary popular at the local club, and so my choice for this bonus round was a no brainer. I'd painted up a section of Spitfires and Hurricane, along with a schwarm each of Me110s and 109s, but in order to get some decent games in I needed some larger forces. We're also looking at doing a campaign based around the battle of Britain, so I just had to paint up a few more spits and hurris, along with some dastardly hun bombers to shoot down.

These are all Scotia Grendel 1/300 scale, and paint up rather well. Decals are a mix of the lovely but sadly now all-but-unobtainable Dom's Decals, along with equally excellent I-94 offerings. 

First off, a flight of six Spitfire Mk.Is. The Spitfire needs no introduction, but it really is a beautiful aircraft, with its racing pedigree clearly seen in the sleek lines. I've painted one section with the sky stripe and prop spinner seen on Mk.I Spits from November '40. This will enable me to play some of the 'flying circus' sweep missions across the channel in '41. These Spits are marked up with the 'PR' of No.609 (West Riding) Squadron, where fighter ace John Dundas served and was shot down and killed whilst in battle with Helmut Wick of Jagdegeschwader 2. During this air battle, which took place over the Isle of Wight, Wick was also shot down and killed. My German component is painted up as from JG2.

Next, a flight of six Hurricane Mk.Is. More workmanlike than it's thoroughbred cousin, the Hurricane actually bagged far more Huns during the battle of Britain, and more squadrons were equipped with the Hurricane. These are marked up for No.87 Squadron, which served in France during the Phoney War and the Battle of France as well as the Battle of Britain. The lads without the RAF sky stripe and spinner can serve alongside my small French Armée de l'Air force for Phoney War battles as well as in Battle of Britain games.

Finally for the RAF, here is a section of Boulton-Paul Defiants. Armed with an automatic turret, these were originally designed as a 'bomber destroyer'. There combat performance left much to be desired, however some pilots were successful despite the shortcomings of the aircraft, and the Defiant had some success as a nightfighter. These are from No.264 Squadron. 

Now, onto the Luftwaffe. First off, a kette of three Dornier Do.17-Zs from Kampfgeschwader 77. The Dornier was known as the flying pencil because of it's slim design. Like all of the Luftwaffe's bombers in 1940 it was a twin engined medium design, and it was not designed for sustained strategic or operational bombing campaigns, and suffered heavily at the hands of the RAF. That said, the many variants of the Dornier Do.17 soldiered on througout the war serving in many different roles. For these, i've tried to paint an approximation of the KG shield emblem on the side of the fuselage.

Next up, a kette of Junkers Ju-88A1s. These medium bombers were perhaps the most successful of those used by the Luftwaffe in 1940. With a good top speed and decent defensive armament, they served in many roles throughout the war, and I'm particularly taken with some of the nightfighter configurations, which featured the schrage musik upwards firing 20mm cannons. These, however, are simply bog standard A1 bombers from Kampfgeschwader 51. Again, I tried to paint an approximation of the KG emblem. 

Finally, a kette of four Junkers Ju-87D Stukas. The Stuka is perhaps the most recognisable Luftwaffe aircraft from the '39-40 period, with its gull winged design and terrifying siren. One thing I particularly thought Nolan's recent Dunkirk film got right was the noise and fear that these aircraft caused. Nonetheless, they were easy meat for the RAF fighters, and many Stukas were lost during the early 'Kanalkampf' stages of the Battle of Britain. These are from Stukageschwader 2 'Immelmann', and as with the other bombers, i've tried to paint the 'griffin rampant' unit symbol on the fuselage.

A group shot to finish up this entry, so that is a grand total of twenty five aircraft ready to battle it out over the skies of Britain and France in the summer and autumn of 1940. There will be more 1/300 aircraft coming over the course of the challenge, as besides the ubiquitous Heinkel He-111 and a rew more Messerschmitt Me-109Es I've got some FAA and Coastal Command goodies, including a ginormous Sunderland flying boat.