Profile Photo
capt. R
44 articles

B 24 J Academy, 31 squadron SAAF during the airlift to Warsaw. August 1944.

July 31, 2024 · in Aviation · · 18 · 389

Actually, it's hard to add anything here, having such excellent material on YT, which I am attaching. These are the memories of pilots during the mission over Warsaw. I am particularly connected with the topic of South African squadrons and for a long time I have been analyzing the composition of squadrons 31 and 34 of the 2nd Heavy Bomber Wing of the SAAF. The 31st Squadron suffered particularly heavy losses during airdrops for the Warsaw Insurgents, while the Red Army was completely inactive (or even hostile, as the Liberators were often shelled from across the Vistula by the Red Army's anti-aircraft artillery). In Warsaw, as well as in many other parts of Poland, there are many monuments dedicated to the heroic crews of the 31st and 34th SAAF squadrons. After that supply containers being dropped on the night of August 13-14, 1944, my B-24 J EW105 "G" was damaged and made an emergency landing at the German-occupied Warsaw Okฤ™cie airport. The crew was captured but survived the war. I highly recommend the film material!
The B-24 Academy/Minicraft model is undoubtedly my favorite, as it is the third one built by this company. The 2024 re-edition is characterized by added painting masks and Cartograf decals (not useful for me). I made the markings of my B-24 j based on ordered decals and sets of letters and numbers for the markings of RAF bombers. I usually used several enriching resin kits, such as Engines, Superchargers, machine gun barrels, and brass machine gun castings in the side stations. For the first time I used the new color OD Mr Color C304 FS34087, a bit lighter in shade than the old OD Mr Color C12. Probably the most important element of the project and diorama was the recreation of RAF drop pods based on 3D prints. This is probably the part I'm most proud of. I invite you to watch the video presentation. Captain R will return...

Reader reactions:
4  Awesome 2 

50 additional images. Click to enlarge.


18 responses

  1. Very nice build. Learned something new as well.

  2. A wonderful build of a great topic, Bernard @lis
    It looks superb on this diorama.
    Thanks for sharing your progress in the work in progress thread.
    Well done.

  3. Awesome diorama and an excellent read!

  4. Well done Lis, @Lis I am a big fan of the B-24 and think you did a great job with this kit. The photographs do a good job of showing off your handiwork too. I also like what I see in the backround. It looks like the town you live in is very nice, a scenic town.

  5. @lis - Fantastic build and truly amazing photography.

  6. Excellent job, capt. R!
    Fantastic result!

  7. Nicely done capt. R.

Leave a Reply