Mark I Models MKM144118 1:144 Messerschmitt Me-262B Schwalbe 'Jet Trainer'

Messerschmitt Me-262B Schwalbe 'Jet Trainer' (2in1 = 2 kits in 1 box)(Luftwaffe, CzAF) The Me-262 Schwalbe was a German jet fighter designed by the team led by Willy Messerschmitt. It was one of the most advanced warplanes to see front-line service during WWII. Its protracted development began in 1939, but aerodynamics research work and jet engine development delayed its mass production. The training aircraft based on the Me-262A-series was conceived in August 1943, but its prototype, a Blohm und Voss-converted Me-262 S5 was first flown only in July 1944. In total, some 29 Me-262Bs were modified, with the conversions shared between B&V and DLH, and in fact all two-seaters were adapted from existing Me-262A airframes. Of these, nine aircraft w ere later upgraded to the combat night-fighter variant, the Me-262B-1a/U1. The Me-262B was an all-metal low-wing monoplane, of a streamlined design and with two cockpits in tandem. It was powered by two Jumo 004 turbojets suspended under the wings. It was fitted with a swept-back wing and a tricycle landing gear. It had a long clear-view canopy and was fitted with a non-ejection seats. The original Me-262A's on-board offensive armament was to be deleted, but some B-model aircraft carried two or even four MK 108 cannons in the fuselage nose. A number of Me-262s fell into Allied hands and some were examined in Britain, the USSR and the USA post-war. In Czechoslovakia, three two-seater CS-92s were completed and utilised by the Air Force until 1951. Colour schemes included in the kit: 1) Messerschmitt Me-262 S5/B-1a (V15), Black VI+AJ (W.Nr. 130010), Blohm und Voss, Luftwaffe, Wenzendorf Air Base, Germany, July 1944 2) Messerschmitt Me-262B-1a, White S, B3+SH (W.Nr. 170075), 1./KG(J) 54, Luftwaffe, Giebelstadt Air Base, Germany, November 1944 3) Messerschmitt Me-262B-1a, White Z, B3+ZM (W.Nr. 111643), 4./KG(J) 54, Luftwaffe, Lu...¾ec nad Vltavou airfield, Bohemia-Moravia Protectorate, May 1945 4) Avia CS-92 (modified Me-262B-1), Black KR-35 (c/n 5), 5th Fighter Sq. (5. st�hac� letka), Czechoslovak Air Force (vojenske letectvo CSLA), Mlada Air Base, spring 1951 Two ex-Eduard injection-moulded kits are supplied in this box and each kit contains 38 parts and one clear part (the cockpit canopy). One small fret with photo-etched parts and a comprehensive decal sheet are included.