1:48 AT-2/APN-2 Rebecca/Eureka Late version transponding radar for P-61B/C,B-24,B-25,B-29 etc

The antenna that got the crew to the right field

The Rebecca and Eureka pair of devices made up one of the cleverest Allied navigation tricks of the war. The airborne part sent out an interrogation, a small portable beacon on the ground answered it, and the instrument in the cockpit showed the bearing and the distance to the place that had replied. A crew could therefore find a drop zone, a rendezvous point or its own airfield even at night and over country with nothing to steer by.

What the set adds to a model

The package covers the late form of the airborne antenna and is listed as an accessory for the night fighter Black Widow in the B and C versions, and further for the four-engine Liberator, the twin-engine Mitchell and the Superfortress. It is exactly these small tubular spikes on the nose and the sides of the fuselage that tend to be either coarsely molded or missing altogether on kits, and yet they change the silhouette of a machine more than one would expect.

Fitting

The parts are small, so have tweezers ready and work over a tray with a raised edge. Wash the castings in warm soapy water before gluing and let them dry thoroughly, otherwise the paint will not hold on them. Use cyanoacrylate glue applied with the tip of a wire to attach them, as ordinary cement for plastic will not help here. Check the position of the antennas against a period photograph of the machine, as the mounting point differed between production batches. On night machines with a dark underside, the tubular spikes only show if their edges are picked out carefully in a lighter tone.