The German invasion of The Netherlands was part of “Fall Gelb”, the Nazi German invasion of the Low Countries and France during World War II.
The invasion of the Netherlands saw some of the earliest mass paratroop drops to occupy tactical points and assist the advance of ground troops.
The Luftwaffe used paratroopers in the capture of several airfields in the vicinity of Rotterdam and Den Haag, helping to quickly overrun the country and immobilize enemy forces.
After the devastating bombing of Rotterdam by the Luftwaffe on 14 May, the Germans threatened to bomb other Dutch cities if the Dutch forces refused to surrender.
The General Staff knew it could not stop the bombers and ordered the Royal Netherlands Army to cease hostilities.
The main battle lasted from 10 to 14 May 1940, with the surrender of the main Dutch forces, but Dutch troops in the province of Zeeland continued to resist the Wehrmacht until 17 May, when Germany completed its occupation of the whole country.
The last occupied parts of the Netherlands were liberated in 1945.
Lt. Wolfgang Ludewig was one of the III./JG26 pilots whose mission during the first day of the invasion of The Netherlands was to provide a clear sky for the Ju 52 paratrooping operations.
After his Bf 109 was hit by ground fire, he performed an emergency landing near Den Haag and was taken POW, to be released after the armistice.
During WWI he was credited with one aerial victory, surviving the war with the rank of Hauptmann commanding 2./JG 1, equipped with He 162s.
This is the 2021 E-1 Weekend Edition of the very nice Emil family series of kits that Eduard has been treating us from 2012.
By all means excellent kits, they are offered in various editions (styrene only or with extras) promising to satisfy a wide variety of modelers.
The specific kit was an Easter gift from my good friend
@johnb and should you wish to read the full build review, you might do so by visiting my beloved site Modelingmadness:
https://modelingmadness.com/review/axis/luft/109/e/pene1.htm
Happy Modelling!
Thanks a lot for creating such a beautiful Emil out of this gift, Spiros @fiveten
It was a pleasure to hand over this kit to you.
I'm glad you chose this early camouflage scheme, it suites the Emil really nice.
Nice writing about the invasion of the Low Countries as well.
Thank you so much, my friend @johnb! What a gift!
Looks good, Spiros...well done!
Thanks my friend @gwskat!
Great 109 Spiros! I always appreciate the background history's involved with that models as well. Beautiful work as usual. 👍
Thanks so much, my friend @curtisshawk!
Wonderful build! And all these additional info, such an unexpected bonus! Thank you and congrats!
Thank you so much, my friend @george72!
Like i already said, Spiros @fiveten, your canopies are immaculate 🙂 lovely weathering too!
Thanks a lot, my friend @fxrob!
Spiros, that is a great looking BF-109E. You did a marvelous job with that paint scheme! (@fiveten)
Thank you very much, my friend @jdtruby!
Great looking Emil Spiros! @fiveten
Thanks a lot, my friend @beauslx!
Nice work @fiveten.
Thanks my friend @tcinla!
I always like early iterations and it's great to see you applying your considerable skills to one. An excellent model.
Christopher
Thank you very much, my friend @christopher!
🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
This one has the word ... HISTORY as one observes it.
Very nice work and painting Spiros.
Thanks kindly, my friend @de4ever!
Looks awesome, Spiros (@fiveten). It was fun following along on this build. It came out great.
Thanks so much, my friend @gblair! Thanks for following along!
Turned out very nice, Spiros, good history lesson as well, all thanks to your friend @johnb.
Thank you kindly, my friend @chinesegeorge!
That's a fine looking early Emil, Spiros!
Thanks so much, my friend @chasbunch!
Great build Spiros!
Thank you kindly, my friend @blackmopane!
Beautifully built Emil. Good idea to briefly describe the history and learn a little more.
Thanks a lot, my friend @milantesar!
@fiveten - Fantastic build Spiros! I like the format of the history interspersed with the photos. Very nice!
Thanks a lot, my friend @brithebuilder!
Nice work on the ME-109E Spiros (@fiveten). . It seems that more later marks are built so it's nice to see an earlier version occasionally.
Thanks so much, my friend @clipper!
Really nice finish on this Spiros and a really nice right up , where did he end up as a POW ?
Thanks my friend @neil-foster! Ludewig's POW time was too short: according to Donald Caldwell's JG26: Top guns of the Luftwaffe, he returned to his unit on May 18.
Very nice 109 Sprios! Well done.
Thanks a lot, my friend @gkittinger!