Hobby Master 1/72 German Stuka Ju-87 D3 Sidi Haneish LG13 Nov 1942 Captured Stuka (HA0135)

Hobby Master 1/72 German Stuka Ju-87 D3 Sidi Haneish LG13 Nov 1942 Captured Stuka (HA0135) | Antics Online

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Hobby Master 1/72 German Stuka Ju-87 D3 Sidi Haneish LG13 Nov 1942 Captured Stuka (HA0135)
Limited Edition with a certificate - only 1200 pieces True 1/72 scale Professionally painted unique scheme Great attention to detail All markings are Tampoed (pad applied) Option to display the model on a stand that is provided or on the landing gear Canopy opens Extremely heavy metal with a minimum of plastic Highly collectable

HA0135 Ju-87 D3 captured Stuka Sidi Haneish North Africa Late July 1942 eighteen Jeeps with SAS members began their initial attacks on LGs ( British term - Landing Grounds) landing strips. There were a string of these strips around Sidi Haneish 70 miles from El Alamein. During these attacks hundreds of German planes were destroyed but some were captured with little or no damage. The 601 Squadron became the owners of an Italian Air Force Stuka 'D' from LG 13 and added RAF markings as well as the squadron code 'UF'. They used it from November 1942 until February 1943. Because of the slow development of new attack aircraft Germany decided to improve what they already had, the Ju-87. The new and improved version was much more streamlined with an increase of power, so in 1942 all this gave birth to the Dora (D version) with a 1,400 hp Jumo 211 J or P engine. The large and less than aerodynamic cooling radiator was removed from under the engine cowling and replaced with two radiators, one under each wing. A much smaller and less obtrusive oil cooler took the place of the old radiator under the engine cowling. Even a new VS11 propeller with paddle blades was installed which further enhanced the Dora's performance. They also improved on other features to make the new model more aerodynamic. Previous versions had a canopy that was pretty much the same shape and width along its entire length. The 'D' version now had the slimmer greenhouse canopy that tapered from the pilot portion back. This tapering wasn't a real big hit with the rear gunners as it meant more cramped spaces for them. There is no question that the new 'D' version was going to be the main Stuka so the Luftwaffe had a large number of versions built or planned. With over 5,000 Stukas built by the end of 1944 the Dora was the dominant one being produced during the latter part of WWII, more than 1500 D-3s were produced. Some more improvements saw the rear gun go from a single drum fed MG15 to a new twin belt fed MG81. The D-3 version was the first version to be completely designed for a close support role. Since the plane would be facing more ground fire the armor for the engine and crew was increased. The landing gear was strengthened and spats were reduced in size making them a much better shape but quite often were removed in the field as they would fill with mud whenever the Stuka had to use a wet dirt strip to operate from and their removal didn't effect the performance that much. Even with the Stuka's improved landing gear it was prone to collapse when operated from a rough runways. One of the most notable features of the earlier Ju-87s was removed, the sirens. Even though the D-3 was a ground attack version it kept its dive brakes. The tailfin was enlarged, bomb releases were made more symmetrical and the load was increased to 1800 kg from 1100 kg and one of the new bombs that could be carried was the 1400 kg armor piercing one that could be carried on the center line rack. Some D-3 were converted to G-1 tank killers, some were even converted to D-4 torpedo bombers that never did get used so they were converted back to D-3s. One of the oddest conversions was when they experimented with personnel pods. The pods were mounted on top of the wing, one per wing, each carrying two people. This was going to be used to drop agents for clandestine operations, in theory the Stuka would go into a shallow dive and deploy parachutes that would carry the cargo to a safe landing. As you can imagine the entire proposal was rather questionable and after a few test flights with just the pods it was determined that this was not the answer and the Ju-87 were converted back to the regular D-3. Some D-3s were even outfitted as D-7 and D-8 for night attack missions

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