1:72 Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Saipan and Kharagpur on one sheet

The raids on the Japanese islands were led from two entirely different directions, and this sheet puts them side by side. The machine 42-63466 belonged to the 870th Squadron and operated from Isley Field on Saipan, that is from the Marianas, from where the shortest route to the target led. The crews took off from there over the open sea and headed for the Japanese coast with no stop on the way.

The second aircraft, 42-65276 of the 793rd Squadron of the 468th Group, represents an earlier and far more awkward variant of the same war. Its base was Kharagpur in India and in June 1944 the flights from there went over the Himalayas to forward Chinese airfields, where the machines only then took on fuel. Every combat sortie thus meant several extra transit flights and the bombers in effect carried in their own supplies.

Nose names as the signature of a crew

Both markings carry a name of their own on the nose. Such inscriptions were not official, they arose from the decision of a crew and change with it, which is why they are the best clue for a modeler in dating the particular form of a machine.

In the package you will find printed markings, and plastic and photo-etched parts are not part of it. A large bomber has extensive bare metal areas on which every edge of the carrier film shows. It therefore pays to polish the surface before applying and, once dry, to go over it with a faintly matte clear coat that hides the transition. Settle the bands round the fuselage in sections and from the center toward the ends. The numerals on the fin are large on this type, so plan in advance which side you will do first and let the first side dry thoroughly before you turn the model over.