Description

Airfix Supermarine Spitfire MKVB & Messerschmitt Bf109E 1:48 Between June 1940 and November 1942, the small but strategically important island of Malta, situated in the Mediterranean Sea, became the most heavily bombed place on earth. This was when first Italian and then German bombers attempted to force the island to surrender. Merchant shipping convoys were also attacked in an attempt to prevent the island from being re-supplied with food and military equipment. Initially, Malta’s only defending fighter aircraft were outdated Gloster Gladiators and then Hawker Hurricanes. But, at the height of the battle, cannon-armed and tropicalized Spitfire Mk.Vbs were used to intercept the German Junkers Ju88 and Ju87 Stuka dive bombers, which were escorted by Messerschmitt Bf109Es. It became a struggle that was in some ways similar to the Battle of Britain. Eventually, at the end of 1942, the war in North Africa had been won by the Allies, so Malta was no longer of such importance to the Axis powers, and the bombing stopped, allowing the starving civil population to be re-supplied by sea.Paint Scheme Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb, No. 229 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Qrendi, Malta, December 1942 Messerschmitt Bf109E-7, aircraft flown by Oberleutnant Joachim Muncheberg, 7./JG26 “Schlageter”, Gela, Sicily, Spring 1941 Contents: 10 x Acrylic Paints 2 x Brushes 2 x Poly Cement Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb: L195 x W232 – Pieces 151 Messerschmitt Bf109E-7: L183 x W205 – Pieces 107 Airfix Gift Sets are ideal for more advanced modellers and include glue, acrylic paints, and brushes.Product Details Scale: 1:48 Number of Parts: 258 Dimensions (mm): Details below Age Suitability: 8+ Brand: Spitfire Department Code: 3631