1/48 Fairey Firefly FR Mk.I

Special Hobby - 1/48 Scale Fairey Firefly Fr Mk.I "The Initial British Missions Over Korea" Fairey Firefly Mk.I is a typical example of British naval fighter design. Even before the outbreak of the World War 2, Royal Navy asked for two seater long range aircraft designs. Nevertheless, the second crew member was a burden that deprived the performances of these machines. Firefly replaced its low performance Fairey Fulmar predecessor and even though its design handicap was able to oppose the enemy fighters. Faa begun to receive US naval fighters at the time Firefly was approved for active service. Firefly became the complement of the fighters delivered from Usa and British Seafire fighters onboard Royal Navy aircraft carriers. Firefly fighters were deployed in Atlantic Ocean and also against Japan in Indian and Pacific Oceans. These became the first British aircraft to reach Japanese mainland and even Tokyo during World War 2. Fireflies together with Seafire Mk.47s became the first aircraft to participate in the Korean War. In the very beginning of this conflict British Far East Fleet's Hms Triumph joined US Navy fleet and her Fireflies were immediately deployed in attacks against North Korean Communists' ground targets. Mainly thanks to their four cannons and versatility of the external weapons' storage they proved to be more than well suited for this role. The kit of this version contains four sprues with grey plastic parts, injected clear sprue and resin parts. Decals included offer markings for four machines that operated from Hms Triumph. All of them sport friend or foe black and white Id stripes. Three machines feature typical post war British camouflage; the fourth one is of note due to its wartime camouflage and older type roundels.