HOBBY MASTER 1/48 LUFTWAFFE – GERMAN AIR FORCE FOCKE-WULF FW 190/A-4 Double Black Chevron (HA7426)

Up for sale is a brand new 1/72  1/48 LUFTWAFFE – GERMAN AIR FORCE FOCKE-WULF FW 190/A-4 Double Black Chevron, I/JG 2, Oblt. Adolph Dickfeld, Tunisia, (HA7426) by Hobby Master.

In 1937 even though the Bf-109 was considered a very capable fighter the Reichsluftfahrtministeriun (RLM) was concerned that future foreign designs may surpass it so they called for submissions of newer designs. Kurt Tank won the competition with his radical use of an air-cooled radial engine that he dubbed the Fw-190 Würger (Butcher Bird). There were many skeptics who believed this new aircraft would not surpass the performance of the Bf-109. However when the Fw-190 entered combat in the summer of 1941 it already was Germany’s premiere piston-powered WWII fighter.

In early November 1942, the Western Allies launched Operation Torch, the Anglo–American invasion of French North Africa. On 17 November, II. Gruppe of JG 2 was withdrawn from the English Channel Front and ordered to San Pietro Clarenza, Sicily. At the time, the Gruppe was equipped with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-3, some Fw 190 A-2s, and received the A-4 variant in early December. This made II. Gruppe of JG 2 the only Fw 190 equipped fighter unit in the Mediterranean Theater. The Gruppe flew its first missions on 19 November, securing German air and sea transportation to Tunis. That day, elements of II. Gruppe began relocating to Bizerte Airfield.^[4] On 8 January 1943 during an emergency takeoff, Dickfeld crashed his Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-4 (Werknummer 0750—factory number) by running into a bomb crater. The aircraft summersaulted and Dickfeld was injured.

Dickfeld was officially credited with 136 victories claimed in 1072 combat missions. He also claimed a further 15 enemy aircraft unconfirmed. He claimed about 128 victories over the Eastern Front. He claimed one victory flying the Heinkel He 162 Salamander (“Volksjäger”) jet fighter, a P-47 Thunderbolt on 11 April 1945.