Egilman

You can read about the whole D-Day air assault from Midnight 00:01 June 6th to 23:59 June 7th (D-Day +1) here: USAF HISTORICAL STUDIES: NO. 97: AIRBORNE OPERATIONS IN WORLD WAR II, EUROPEAN THEATER.... A full text PDF file you can read online. (or download) The Second Glider assaults, the "Keokuck" mission supporting the 101st and the "Elmira" mission supporting the 82nd starts on Page 65.... The whole thing is an excellent read....

THAT'S the stuff!!! My bottle still says Future Acrylic floor polish. (that was several name changes ago) I remember on several online forums where everyone went all crazy when they did the first name change and Johnson's said they were discontinuing the Future line, it was just a product line/name deletion, incorporating Future products into the Pledge product line trying to keep sales up.... Had everyone confused for a while....

That pic is of a Waco Glider brother, (in British service known as the "Hadrian") and yes it could only carry one or the other.. the Airspeed Horsa Mk 1 is twice as large... the USAAF as well as the British used both... Four Horsa's and a Waco (Hadrian) in the same LZ... You can tell the Horsa's from the separated tails, it's how they unloaded vehicles....

The problem with that brother as you are well aware of is building the two sections of aircraft. You need the fuselage section right behind the wing to represent the exit, and a complete tail section which was tossed to one side... the span of the horizontal stabilizer alone would be close to a foot in 1/35th it would have to be on a base at least 18"x 12" at the absolute minimum and probably more like 24"x 24" to do a proper job of it...... I suppose it could be set up as it's own separate shelf in the display case... One of those subjects that would be great, if you had the space to keep it... I do believe that someone produced a paper kit of the Horsa in 1/33rd scale, that would work I suppose.... (building it in plastic using the paper as patterns) I guess Bronco does a 1/35 injection Horsa Mk1 .... (amazon, check the price) Kit Review...

No no no no... not Pledge, the oily greasy furniture polish, Future, the hard shell floor polish.... Jacks picture is Future after they (SC Johnson) renamed it...... (the reason they re-named it? Pledge is supposedly more recognized than Future was and has better customer appreciation) You definitely want the floor product...

We have reality, we have what the mind remembers of reality, and then, most of the fun of modeling comes from trying as best we can at making our remembered reality match actual reality in the chosen mediums available.... You will eventually find that reducer machine brother, it's there, the journey is in figuring out how to get it to work for us as individuals. I know you've got it, I've seen it.....

I salute you sir! you are one brave soul.... I can't even see that stuff anymore..... I looks with trepidation at my TF 18 kits and the PE they are going to entail (1/350th scale) at twice your size...

One fine looking bird brother.... sure looks the part... The shot through the access door is a great one... Thank you for sticking it out...... it is a treat... EG

Thanks Lou, It was a fun build even if a short one... and a bit of a challenge.... Sadly though as the 76th Anniversary of what is depicted is but a week away, it is dedicated to those who took many shots so those who didn't get the shots I was looking for could live...... context is everything.... Thanks goes to all that served.... WE owe them more than anyone can return... EG

Thank you my friend, I tried to get it as close as I think it would have looked, unfortunately there are no pics of this available online. (but I'm sure they exist in someone's photo collection) It's a situation that HAD to have happened, the Horsa Glider loadings were set up that way.... Shame that no one seems to have took a pic... Thank you for following my friend.... EG

Thank you Nick, for a tiny item, it sure gets the modeling level up there it's like 50 parts in a space of 3.5 x 2 inches.... and the gun was 45 parts at least.... It's not a hard pair of kits for an experienced modeler and without RL it would have been done in two days mostly waiting on drying time.... So you're absolutely right... An impressive little kit.... Thank you..

Thanks Ed, I appreciate it....

I agree with Jack also, but would substitute Future for gloss overcoat as the medium to set your decals on... You brush in on "Wet" it dries very thin and quickly (4 times faster than gloss lacquer) and is non reactive to flat lacquer overcoats..... Means you only have to overspray once, that being the final flat/gloss coat depending on your final finish requirements. (some people use Future as the final gloss coat also) Can't have more control than that......

Everyone has their plane, and yours are gorgeous......

Hi Guys, final update before the finish.... Everything is together, decals on, ready for its final flat coat. (must sit overnight to allow everything to completely dry) I decaled her for the 82nd Airborne Division, 319th Field Artillery Battalion, Battery B, Truck 4 with one of four M1A1 75mm Pack Howitzers. Operation ELMIRA, 2100 hours, (two hours before dusk) June 6th 1944. The second glider borne assault reinforcing and supporting the 82nd Airborne troopers around St Mere Eglise.... The hood is still in future that's why it appears a bit greener than the rest of it. I need to add a few items that all these jeeps and guns had as equipment but wasn't in the kit.... Rope looped over the front bumper, various rods and gun parts that would be strapped down to the trail, and maybe a little cargo in the back of the jeep.... When finished I'll do a photo array..... Thank you for the thumbs up and comments while following this little build... EG

I thought it was, and it wasn't the only one that the USAAF allowed to be made. the 1st Motion Picture Unit made over 300 films for the air corps during the fight over Germany... Nara archives 1st Motion Picture Unit Capt. Clark Gable made over a dozen until he was caught sneaking aboard actual, combat flights and he was sent home..... Jimmy Stewart started out making training films till he threatened to quit if they didn't send him to a regular unit... (he flew B-24's and B-17's in actual combat) As a pilot, section leader, squadron commander and wing commander eventually tallying over 50 missions over Germany... He retired as a Brigadier General in the Air Force after assisting in the transfer and introduction of B-47's and yes they made a movie about it also... He flew the B-29 the B-50, the B-36 and the B-47 operationally.... The Airforce has not been shy about getting it's message out there..... at least not in the '40's thru '60's.... That movie does still touch you at points.........

In reviewing Wyler's movie, the "Mom" was next to the top turret....

Sorry, here's the full video if anyone is interested in watching.... William Wyler's "The Memphis Belle"

In 1943, William Wyler did a documentary on the Memphis Belle recording it's 25th mission.... they actually did another B-17 as a movie photo plane and had it escort the Belle through the mission.... Here is a screen cap from that documentary of her taking off on that final mission.... She had the dorsal gun.... (check out that fresh patch on her vertical stabilizer, not quite covered in fresh OD green))

Actually brother, the reversal of feed is written into the TM on the gun.... it was designed that way.... After Browning died, (in 1926) Dr. S.H. Green studied the design problems of the M1921 and the needs of the armed services. Between 1927 and 1932, he came up with a single receiver design that could be turned into seven different types of .50 caliber machine guns by using different jackets, barrels, and other components. The new receiver allowed right or left side feed. In 1933, Colt manufactured several prototype Browning machine guns (including what would be known as the M1921A1 and M1921E2). With support from the Navy, Colt started manufacturing the M2 in 1933. The design changes made the gun more useful to the armed forces (USAAF & US Navy) and hence more efficient a weapon. (allowing for turreted dual or quad mounts and wing mountings for aircraft and multi barrel tub mountings for ships) The US Army was happy to have an excellent man portable heavy machine gun capable of destroying the tanks and armored cars then in existence.... (paraphrased from wiki) I already posted museum pics before showing it, and a couple showing the open navigators gun position during it's tour, they wouldn't open that window without the gun there.... (it was easier to hang the gun out the open window allowing easier movement through the airplane, without the gun there was no need to open the window) in a lot of combat aircraft, they just removed the window altogether in actual operations it was easier than opening and closing it all the time. Either way brother, it is a beautiful build... Coming out nice.... (and yeah kits sometimes just don't get the easy stuff right, and we must remember that the kit is a Revell Germany reboxing and redecaling of the standard B-17F kit) So there will be parts missing and parts there they think shouldn't be used and lots of optional parts. What the heck, it's a great kit cause of that, you can build almost any B-17F version from it, early to late....

Have you decoded how your going to rig it yet? it looks naked without it's cables... {chuckle} ( i know your not finished yet) a suggestion? the canvas top would look more realistic in Field Drab, it's what happened to OD green dyed canvas when it completely dried.... Excellent build on an old classic......

Thanks OC, life interuuptus is trying to rear it's ugly head again but I'm holding it off...... {chuckle}

If you like Ian Toll, you will love John Toland...... Look him up..

Ok put together a few more details as time allowed... Wheels on and body mounted... Some of the finer details added to the engine compartment and rear .... Decided that I will mount the M1919A4 gun and it's pedestal mount... I saw a lot of images of the Jeeps with the 101st on D-Day had the gun and the wire cutter so I will include both..... as far as the gun, it seems like the only pics taken were ones of them loading the thing on gliders, or in C-47's, none of them in actual use..... That's a shame cause for the first employment in europe the AB divisions primary artillery support was this gun..... Makes one think that the AB division didn't have anything other than what they jumped with... which is not correct at all... In fact they all didn't jump many battalions came in on gliders rather than jumping out of airplanes.... We always hear about the pathfinders and parachute infantry regiments, we never hear about the glider infantry regiments which in many cases took twice the casualties than their silk hung brethren... Anyway, almost done. Researched the Artillery rounds that came with the gun, they are M48 HE rounds 5 of them. in WWII in Europe they were delivered in wooden cases, two to a case and they were in protective tubes black in color with a yellow tape seal..... the only time there were shells out and about ws when there was firing going on, other than that they were never removed from their protective tubes..... So there is really no need for exposed shells in the back of the jeep..... although I may still make up a couple of crates and some of the other equipment used with the piece....... I guess the gun was meant for a diorama with a crew manning it... Next up finishing the aft details, mostly grab handles, hood, windshield and weapons... Onwards...

From Wiki..... Because the M2 was designed to operate in many configurations, it can be adapted to feed from the left or right side of the weapon by exchanging the belt-holding pawls, and the front and rear cartridge stops (three-piece set to include link stripper), then reversing the bolt switch. The operator must also convert the top-cover belt feed slide assembly from left to right hand feed as well as the spring and plunger in the feed arm. This will take a well trained individual less than two minutes to perform. The charging assembly may be changed from left to right hand charge. A right hand charging handle spring, lock wire and a little "know-how" are all that are required to accomplish this. The M2 can be battle-ready and easily interchanged if it is preemptively fitted with a retracting slide assembly on both sides of the weapon system. This eliminates the need to have the weapon removed from service to accomplish this task. Also the USAAF aircraft version used in WWII, the lightweight .50 cal AN/M2, fired at 800 to 1200 rpm through a 36" barrel....