1:48 Boeing B-17 MkIII 214 Squadron

The Fortress that did not bomb

The pair of machines on this sheet belonged to a unit whose task was not to drop bombs but to jam the enemy's communications. British No. 214 Squadron re-equipped at the beginning of 1944 with American four-engine bombers and joined the formation that accompanied night raids with an electronic screen. On board flew operators with a command of German who broke into the conversation between ground control and the crews of night fighters and confused them with false instructions.

Markings you will not find elsewhere

That is exactly why these Fortresses look different from their American sisters. They carry British national insignia, a dark night finish and conspicuous antenna growths, by which the formation gave itself away at first glance. The KJ designation in the serial number gives away British records, and the code letters on the fuselage the particular machine within the squadron. Both finishes from the sheet therefore make sense only on a model supplemented with the antenna equipment that most kits do not have by themselves.

Recommended procedure

• Under a dark finish, test the shade of the clear coat first on an offcut of sprue.
• Seat the national roundels from the center toward the edge, otherwise a bubble is left under them.
• Measure the code letters against a photograph, as they shifted on the fuselage from machine to machine.
• Glue the antenna masts on only once the decals have dried, not before.

The package contains decals only; there is no model and no accessory parts in it. Anyone who wants something in the collection other than another silver daylight Fortress gets a subject here with a genuinely unusual story.