Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary GB

When and how long is the GB running for?

Welcome aboard Scottrc and Raven728!  

Blacksheep214-the build runs approximately four months, from 13 August to 18 December.  It begins on Eagle Day (when Germans officially began air ops against GB) to 18 December, when Hitler officially abandoned the invasion of Britain.  For those who have Netflix, there's a new documentary on the BoB.  I tried to watch last week, but kept falling asleep.  Not a commentary on the show, was just knackered.

Is that "Battle of Britain: the Real Story"?

Yup, that's the one.

Anyone know of a HE111 kit in 1/72 that is currently available?

Please put me down as I just got the new ROG 1/32 Spit IIa.

I would be interested, however I'm not sure I would have time with all my other commitments.I'll keep watch and let you know later. If I do, it will be something like a 1/144 Jerry bomber (HE 111 or JU88)

I was hoping for a BOB GB. Put me down for TBD.

Steve

scottrc:

Amazon lists some:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=1%2F72+Heinkel+He-111&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3A1%2F72+Heinkel+He-111

I think Airfix's offering is of a type too late for the BoB, but Revell's and some of the Hasegawa's would work.

I would like to enter in these three aircraft from AirFix's BBMF Collection kit.  Avro Lancaster, and two Supermarine Spitfire's.  All three are in 1/72 scale.

I have a 1/72 Special Hobby Avro Anson with some PE, in the stash. My only question would be, it's the one that shot down two 109's and damaged a third, in June 1940. But it probably was still around in August.

I'll crack that out.

GMorrison:

There's a lot of options and opinions floating around about dating the BoB.

The RAF website says it began in "early July" (http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/thebattleofbritain.cfm)

History Channel says it started on 10 July, 1940 (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-battle-of-britain-begins).  Britannica seems to agree (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/79855/Battle-of-Britain).  So does Battle of Britain blog, with the Kanalkampf (http://battleofbritainblog.com/).

The BBC says it started in the "middle" of July (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/battle_of_britain)

And the Battle of Britain website (http://www.battleofbritain1940.net/0021.html) further adds this compilation of opinion:

Richard Townshend Bickers in Battle Diary - Battle of Britain claims that there were four phases. 
Phase 1: Aug 8 - Aug 18. Phase 2: Aug 19 - Sept 5. Phase 3: Sept 6 - Oct 5. Phase 4: Oct 6 - 31.

Norman Franks in Fighter Command Losses also claims there were four phases but with different dates. 
Phase 1: July 10 - Aug 7. Phase 2: Aug 8 - Sept 6. Phase 3: Sept 7 - 30. Phase 4: Oct 1 - Oct 31.

Derek Wood & Derek Dempster in the Narrow Margin claim that there were five phases. 
Phase 1: July 10-Aug 7. Phase 2: Aug 8-23. Phase 3: Aug 24-Sept 6. Phase 4: Sept 7-30. Phase 5: Oct 1-31.

Len Deighton in Fighter-The True Story of The Battle of Britain claims four phases. 
Phase 1: July 10 - Aug 11. Phase 2: Aug 12 - 23. Phase 3: Aug 24 - Sept 6. Phase 4: Sept 7 - 15.

John Ray, Battle of Britain - New Perspectives uses only three phases in his book. 
Phase 1: July 10 - Aug 18. Phase 2: Aug 19 - Sept 7. Phase 3. Sept 7 - Oct 16.

The owner of the above site leans toward starting the BoB as soon as the Battle of France was finished--referencing Churchill's famous remark.  That would put the beginning of the battle into June.

Based on all this, it seems to me that--although the GB might not start till August--it would be OK to build something that may have been flying around in England and over the Channel convoys as early as June, 1940 and continuing through the summer.

My opinion only; I defer to our GB leader of course for the definitive answer about what does and doesn't fit into the GB.

And we can note from above that most British opinion is that the battle ended in September or October, not when Hitler decided to postpone SeaLion indefinitely.

Lots of room for historical opinion, one of the things that keeps history interesting, I think.

Peter's Victories were over the Dunkirk beaches.

I'm cool with any start date, whether it be June or August.  

What was the date of the first recorded "kill" or dogfight?  

In the period after France signed the armistice, Hitler was hoping to avoid a clash with Britain.  He actually respected them at some levels, and as late as July 6th had sent a peace proposal  based on 'partitioning of the world'.  

Records show July 10th as having the first significant raid, when 70 German aircraft bombed South Wales docks.  On  the 16th, Hitler passed Directive no.16, which decided an invasion was necessary, but a softening up of the RAF would be required first.

I'm sure there must of been some skirmishes prior to the official start date(s).  The RAF had lost 509 fighters (435 pilots) in trying to help out their allies, and needed time to rebuild.  Home defense consisted of 331 Spitfires and Hurricanes, along with about 150 2nd line fighters - Blenheims, Defiants, and Gladiators.         - numbers quoted from Len Deighton's book -

I have read that for several weeks prior to July 10th, the Luftwaffe had already been attacking shipping in the channel.   Also interesting to note that the move to forward airfield was slow, a lot of infrastructure had to be repaired or rebuilt.   Some further reading about actions prior to can be found here:

en.wikipedia.org/.../Kanalkampf

regards,

Jack

I had originally hoped to build my 1/48 Eduard Profipack Bf 110 for this build.  Unfortunately, do to the short run time of this GB and the slow speed at which I build models, I will build something a little simpler.  I picked up a 1/72 Airfix Spitfire for this build.  I've never built an Airfix kit, so this should be fun.  Hopefully I can get a few models finished before the start date.  Anyone familiar with this kit?

Craig

Not familiar, Craig, but I love the box art!

Yup, built a number of these, and am currently doing one for the "Aces" GB.

It goes together pretty well.  With a couple of caveats:

1.  the instrument panel will need to be filed/sanded on the left (port) side of the gunsight, or the fuselage will not close properly around it.  The problem area is mostly around the curve from the top down the side. ( The photo below is the cockpit from the old, old Airfix Spit, on the left; new cockpit on the right.  New mould is much improved!)

2.  The wing to fuselage joint is too tight.  If you glue the top and bottom of the wings together, then try to mate them with the fuselage, the assembly will not quite fit.  The problem seems to be on the right (starboard) wing.  I filed things down on the fuselage wing root to make the assemblies fit together.  On the other hand, the join is so tight, you might not need to use filler.  The photos above and below are not from my current Spitfire;they come from the "Spitfire" GB a couple years ago.

3.  The rear edge of the clear canopy will need to be filed down a little to get it to fit right.  It's just a hair too big.

4.  There are a number of places on the inside of the fuselage, where ejector pin marks need to be filled and sanded.

Here was my finished product.

I love Spitfires. 

If I think of anything else, I can post it.  In the meantime, you can check the "Aces" GB.  Right now I'm at the point of attaching wings to fuselage, but haven't posted photos yet.

Here's a link to the page where I started.

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/163108.aspx?sort=ASC&pi240=9

Thanks for the input CMK.  I checked out your progress in the Aces GB.  Nice!  I'm lookin' forward to the build.

Craig

You're welcome, Craig.  Always glad to promote the cause of the Spitfire.

Hey Craig,  I too built the Airfix 1/72 Spit OOB a few years ago and loved it.  I'll try to post a pic this weekend.  I also have developed a love for the Spitfire, especially the early variants and am leaning on building the Tamiya 1/48 kit.

Scott

Gentlemen,

Apologies for being away.  Welcome aboard Plastic Junkie, model crazy, Dan the man, and Gmorrison.  The front page has been updated.  The start date has been moved back to July 10 to better coincide with the historical record.  The end date will remain the same to give stragglers time to finish.  Dan, you made a unique and totally appropriate choice.  Has Airfix upgraded the BBMF with all new tools?

Starting earlier sounds great to me.

Here is my last Spitfire.  Now maybe I need one in 1/48 scale?

Nice!  An earlier starting date sounds good!  Thanks.

Nice lookin' plane Scott.  Thanks for your input.

I received my Airfix 1/72 Mk Ia in the mail the other day.  First thing I noticed was how small in was.  Gonna have to wear the ole Optivisor the whole time I'm working on this kit.  There is some nice detail though.  Lookin' forward to starting the kit.  Hopefully it will go quick and easy.

Craig

Go ahead and put me down for the new-tool Airfix 1/48 Hawker Hurricane Mk. I. It's in transit and should be here by Wednesday.

-BD-

It's a done deal Brandon, I take it the Stuka went down in flames?  Less than a month to go gents!

Thanks, lewbud. To your question - I plan on completing both the Hurricane and the Stuka. I'll start the Hurricane when I get back from vacation on the 10th, and I don't anticipate it taking too long. Famous last words? Haha.

-BD-

Great work everyone, some excellent builds coming together.  Started work on my AirFix Spitfire, painted the cockpit and the floor Model Master RAF Interior Green.  Then started on the pilot with MM RAF Trainer Yellow.  I put a Tamiya bottle next to them as I size comparison.  Both my Spitfire's and Lancaster are 1/72.

Whoa!  Easy there Big Dan!  This little shindig doesn't start until 10 July.  If you want the Spit to be part of the build, stop where you are and wait until the 10th.   If not, we'll enjoy the build and whatever is started after the 10th will count.  

Brandon, roger that on the Stuka.  There's a reason they call them famous last words.