Malta's 1000 th
I was wondering for a long time what can be written about such a famous plane as the EP829 and its pilot. Perhaps the most interesting thing was how he differed from Georg Beurling. A completely different personality. This is my third model that tells the history of the fights in Malta, I am glad that I can present here such different personalities of historical figures. John Joseph Lynch Jr. was an American. Due to the fact that the USA did not enter the war until 1941, he joined the RCAF in Canada. Here is a very interesting story, because he trained together with "Mac" McLeod, who we know from the previous story about the defense of Darwin, described here on February 19, 1942. He was Posted to Malta in September 1942 there he joined 249 Squadron becoming a Flight Commander (F / L) early in 1943, he was promoted to S / L in March and was awarded the DFC in June and a Bar the following month. Our hero went down in history as a pilot who shot down a thousand-thousand enemy machine over Malta. It was also his fifth victory, which earned him the title of Ace (not including probable wins, team wins and damage).
Victories Include:
17 April 1942 1/2 x Ju88 Destroyed
19 July 1942 1/2 x Fw190 Destroyed
11 Dec 1942 1 x Me110 Destroyed
1 x Ju52 / 3m Probable
13Dec 1942 1/2 x Ju88 Destroyed
14 Dec 1942 1/3 x Ju88 Destroyed
17 Dec 1942 1/3 x Ju88 Destroyed
1/3 x Ju88 Destroyed
7 Feb 1943 1/2 x Ju52 / 3m Destroyed
7 Apr 1943 1 x Ju88 Destroyed
22 April 1943 2 x Ju52 / 3m Destroyed
25 April 1943 1 x Ca313 Destroyed
28 April 1943 1½ x Ju52 / 3m Destroyed
10 May 1943 1 x Z506b Destroyed
1 x Ju52 / 3m Destroyed
1 x Z506b Destroyed
1 x Me210 Damaged
13 July 1943 1 x Fw190 Destroyed
Various sources describe which planes were shot down differently, but on the day of the victory over 1000, the Lynch probably had 5 kills marked, including one Italian (at least that's how I interpret it in the photo). Movie. which we can find on the internet was filmed later for propaganda purposes and it was not an EP829 machine.
Lynch unfortunetly died 9 Mar. '56 when his F-84 crashed near Naha Air Field.
In the video, you can see that Lynch does not have a first tooth. As far as I found out, he lost it on a forced landing on a damaged machine.
A few words about the model. The Tamiya set is a slightly older product, but in my opinion it is still a very good model. The construction was nice, hassle-free, you might say. The wings fit too tightly, the resulting stresses caused some problems with their assembly (the wings had to be pressed down well and a little liquid putty was used). The details of the model are very decent, maybe a bit less than in the KP set. You can choose from two windbreaks and three fairings depending on the version. However, one of them is clearly less designed and cast without the characteristic glass separating the armored glass from the frame. The main landing gear has a very good geometry, the wheels are made with attention to detail (definitely better than the original Airfix). Probably the biggest advantage of the set is the option of mounting the shortened version of the wings and various types of tropical filters. However, the propeller in the De Havilland version is missing. I dealt with that by purchasing the Quickboost kit and it turned out really well this time. In addition, I used Quickboost aftermarket exhaust pipes. Painting as usual with Mr Color paints. First, I made the desert pattern Middle Stone, Dark Arth, Azure Blue (I hope it was visible in the sun under Extra Dark Sea Grey), and then I put on Extra Dark Sea Gray. The Oil Wash Modeler's World, Weathering Master Set and Weathering Pencils were used for weathering. Aftermarket belts have been added in the cockpit, besides, the interior fittings are practically invisible (despite the details). The final aspect was the radio link. Decals with as usual from the excellent set of DK-Decals. Well, I hope you like the model, although it cannot be denied that this building was with adventures in the final.
Lieutenant Lis will be back soon with another spine-chilling project.
PS.
Forget it, DK Decals provided the aircraft number EP829 exactly as in the photo - letters looks as hand-painted. It looks very realistic.
Congratulations once again, Lt Lis! What a gret model, what a great research, what a fantastic overall result!
Your build thread was, as always, a pleasure to follow, a nice step by step description of the build.
Looking forward to your next project!
Thank You! Thank you for your sincere support during my construction.
Another Marvelous Maltese completion Lis, nice to follow the build.
My dad is almost finished reading his book. I'll be visiting him soon and get his 'thumbs up'.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
@georgeswork It's great that your father also like Spitfires, especially Malta's spitfires 🙂
Great take on a Malta scheme Spitfire, Lis!
Thank You! I'm glad that you like my model 🙂
What an excellent result, Lis @lis
You, once again, did an amazing job to finally present a very nice Spitfire in Malta scheme.
Displayed together with a very nice article.
Your thread was a pleasure to follow as well.
I am glad that you are always a faithful observer of my works. Thank you!
Things get better with age, experience, and resin. The base along with your lawn care has improved too.
Its great to see when a good plan goes down well . Its all good.
Two thumbs up Lis.
Thank You! I hope You will like my next project 🙂
Very nice! Article was a good read as well.
Thank You!