Details
FW-190D-9 RED 3 Germany JG-44 1:18 Scale
21st Century Toys Ultimate Soldier Xtreme Detail
The Focke-Wulf Fw-190 is widely regarded as Germany's best fighter aircraft of World War II. Its appearance in the skies over France in early 1941 was a rude shock to the Allies, as it was clearly superior to any other plane. For nearly a year (until the debut of the Spitfire IX), the Fw-190 was the unmatched champion of the air war over Europe. As the war progressed, the Fw-190 was developed into many variants, including a pure fighter, a ground-attack fighter/bomber, and a close-support aircraft. No fewer than 40 different versions were produced, with many different combinations of engines, armament, wings, systems, and roles.
Jagdverband 44, or JV 44 as it was known, was formed in February 1945 by Generalleutnant Adolf Galland and flew the Messerschmitt Me262A-1a. This new unit became known as Galland's Circus and contained sixty one hand-picked pilots. Since the Me262 was known to be vulnerable to attack during takeoff and landing, Galland decided to duplicate what he had seen and have top cover provided for the Me-262 during launch and recovery operations. Focke Wulf Fw190Ds of III./JG 54 provided top cover for Kommando Nowotny (the first Me262 unit) and Galland decided that an airfield protection flight should be formed for JV44. To prevent friendly fire incidents the underside of all JV44 Fw190D-9s were painted red with narrow white stripes making them more visible to antiaircraft batteries and recognizable to the Me262 pilots.
Initially JV44 was based at Munchen-Riem but when it was heavily bombed they moved to Ainring airfield located in the southern German Alps. Ainring was only twelve miles from Berchtesgarten and was used by Hitler and Goering when visiting the Berghof. Built as a civil airfield in 1933 Ainring was a base for the German Institute for Gliding (DFS) and had a wide variety of aircraft ranging from transports to helicopters. American found and shut down Ainring and JV44 in early May 1945.
Offered here is the 1:18 scale 21st Century Toys Ultimate Soldier Xtreme Detail FW-190-9 Luftwaffe Fighter "Red 3" aircraft flown by Hauptman Waldemar Wubke of JV 44. (During WWII, the undersides of the wings and fuselage were painted in bright red stripes to identify it and protect the plane from German anti-aircraft fire. The plane offered here DOES NOT HAVE a red and white striped belly, but the picture is included to show the paint scheme.)
This model is SOLD OUT at the manufacturer and OUT OF PRODUCTION. Both pilot and plane are mint and brand new in an unopened 21st Century box.
