This auction is for the Airfix Dogfight Doubles kit of the Ilyushin Il-2m3 Stormovik and Focke-Wulf Fw-190D-13, Pattern # (kit #) D364F, kit in 1/72 scale.
There are no decals with this kit.
I recently acquired a number of model kits that had been damaged in a basement waterpipe leak. The owner was just going to chuck them, but I took them off his hands. The boxes display staining of varying degrees, ranging from hardly noticeable to significant. The good news is that most are complete; most instruction sheets are unblemished – all are readable. Perfect for the builder at a major discount. Collector? Pass them by. Builder? Snap them up before they’re gone. Classic kits at a major discount.
Once a model has completed its initial market run, the parent company is faced with the challenge of how to continue receiving a return on its investment. This typically takes the form of reissuing the kit with new boxart and decals after a period of time. Another option is to combine one or more kits into a multi-kit format, enabling a continuing return on all the kits. Airfix went this route beginning in 1967 by combining two kits into a single box under the marketing slogan "Dogfight Doubles." The concept was a success and was expanded and reissued for over 50 years. This auction is for one of the original releases in this format, including the Ilyushin Il-2m3 Stormovik and the Focke-Wulf Fw-190D.
The Ilyushin Il-2m3 Stormovik was a ground-attack aircraft produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The Il-2 was never given an official name and 'shturmovik' is the generic Russian word meaning ground attack aircraft. The word also appears in Western sources as Stormovik and Sturmovik, neither of which give correct pronunciation in English. With 36,183 units of the Il-2 produced during the war, and in combination with its successor, the Ilyushin Il-10, a total of 42,330 were built, making it the single most produced military aircraft design in aviation history, as well as one of the most produced piloted aircraft in history along with the American postwar civilian Cessna 172 and the Soviet Union's own then-contemporary Polikarpov Po-2 Kukuruznik multipurpose biplane. To Il-2 pilots, the aircraft was simply the diminutive "Ilyusha". To the soldiers on the ground, it was the "Hunchback", the "Flying Tank" or the "Flying Infantryman.” Production early in the war was slow because after the German invasion the aircraft factories near Moscow and other major cities in western Russia had to be moved east of the Ural Mountains. Ilyushin and his engineers had time to reconsider production methods, and two months after the move Il-2s were again being produced. Tactics improved as Soviet aircrews became used to the Il-2's strengths. Instead of a low horizontal straight approach at 50 meters altitude, the target was usually kept to the pilot's left and a turn and shallow dive of 30 degrees was used, using an echeloned assault by four to twelve aircraft at a time. Although the Il-2's RS-82 and RS-132 rockets could destroy armored vehicles with a single hit, they were so inaccurate that experienced Il-2 pilots mainly used the cannon. Another potent weapon of the Il-2s was the PTAB shaped charge bomblets "anti-tank aviation bomb.” They were designated PTAB-2.5-1.5, as they had a total weight of 5.5 lb, and an explosive charge of 3.3 lb. Up to 192 were carried in four external dispensers (cluster bombs) or up to 220 in the inner wing panels' internal ventral weapon bays. The HEAT charge could easily penetrate the relatively thin upper armor of all heavy German tanks. PTABs were first used on a large scale in the Battle of Kursk. Thanks to heavy armor protection, the Il-2 could take a great deal of punishment and proved difficult for both ground and aircraft fire to shoot down.
The Fw-190D-13 (nicknamed the Dora; or Long-Nose Dora, "Langnasen-Dora") was intended to improve on the high-altitude performance of the A-series enough to make it useful against the American heavy bombers of the era. In the event, the D series was rarely used against the heavy-bomber raids, as the circumstances of the war in late 1944 meant that fighter-versus-fighter combat and ground attack missions took priority. A total of 1,805 D-9s were produced. Production started in August 1944. With the D version, the power plant was changed from the radial engine of earlier models to a 12-cylinder inverted-V liquid-cooled engine. The Jumo 213A generated 1,726 hp, and could produce 2,071 hp of emergency power with MW 50 injection, improving performance to 426 mph at 21,700 ft. In order to fit the new engine in the Fw-190 fuselage while maintaining proper balance, both the nose and the tail of the aircraft were lengthened, adding nearly 5 ft to the fuselage, bringing the overall length to 33.438 ft versus the 29.9 ft of the late war A-9 series. The lengthened tail required a straight-sided bay, 12 in long, spliced in forward of the rear angled joint and tail assembly of the fuselage. To further aid balance, the pilot's oxygen bottles were moved aft and located in the new bay. This gave the rear fuselage a "stretched" appearance. The fighter lacked the higher rate of roll of its close coupled radial-engined predecessor. However, it was faster, with a maximum speed of 422 mph at 21,650 ft. Its 2,240 horsepower with methanol-water injection (MW 50) gave it an excellent acceleration in combat situations. It also climbed and dived more rapidly than the Fw-190A, and so proved well suited to the dive-and-zoom ambush tactics favored by the Schlageter fighter wing's pilots from November 1944 onward, when the wing converted to the Fw-190D. Many of the early models were not equipped with methanol tanks for the MW 50 boost system, which was in very short supply in any event. At low altitude, the top speed and acceleration of these examples were inferior to those of Allied fighters. As it was used in the anti-fighter role, armament in the "D" was generally lighter compared to that of the earlier aircraft; usually the outer wing cannon were omitted so that the armament consisted of two 13mm cowling-mounted MG 131s, with 400 rounds per gun, and two wing root mounted 20mm MG 151/20E cannon with 250 rounds per gun; all four weapons were synchronized to fire through the propeller arc. The wings of the D-9 still had the electrical circuits and attachment points for the underwing BR 21 rocket propelled mortar, although none appeared to have used these operationally. While inferior to the A-series in roll rate, the "D" was superior in turn rate, climb, dive and horizontal speed. The Dora still featured the same wing as the A-8, however, and was capable of carrying outer wing cannon as well, as demonstrated by the D-11 variant, with a three-stage supercharger and four wing cannon (two MG 151s and two MK 108s).
For those fluent in Airfix-speak, this is a Series 3 kit, issued in a Type 3c box. The box is in good shape with vibrant color on the boxtop. The boxart features the timeless work of Roy Cross, the greatest of all the Airfix artists. Roy just recently turned 100 years old. Sadly, he passed away the very next day. Minimal edge wear is evident. There is some staining on the edge and side panels, and upper left corner of the boxtop. Instructions are in excellent shape. There are no decals in this kit.
USA Bidders only. Buyer pays shipping and handling of $10.95 for priority mail shipping and delivery confirmation. All sales are final – if you have an issue you wish to discuss, please contact me.
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