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Editorial

Dear Friends, welcome to the inaugural issue of an on-line magazine that certainly has no small ambitions. The Eduard Modeller’s Den magazine is just that...a comfortable den for modellers to escape to, where they can enjoy their passion in the comfort of wherever they are. The aim is not to compete with traditional modelling and historical magazines, but to bring a slightly different perspective and, with its content composition, create a mosaic suitable for both readers from the plastic modelling circle and those who are interested in history, museum travel, interviews with interesting personalities and related topics.

Current Affair

Poppies In the Czech Republic, November has long been associated with Veterans Day, symbolized by poppies. Although it is a relatively old tradition, it has found its place in the Czech context only in the last thirty years. The previous, communist, regime glorified the red color in a completely different form (especially in November, which was filled with it), and the poppy flower was not in favor. Today, people contribute to the support of war veterans by purchasing remembrance poppies. For foreign readers, especially those from Commonwealth countries, the adoption of their tradition in the Czech Republic might be surprising. It was our own WWII veterans who introduced us to November 11 and the “poppies” after the fall of communism in 1989, when they returned from the West to a free homeland . The symbol of the poppy began to be used in the Czech Republic in the 1990s. The first official celebration of Veterans Day took place in 2001 at Prague’s Vítkov Hill, and three years later, Veterans Day was defined in legislation as a significant day in the Czech calendar. Since 2014, the poppy has also symbolized the Military Solidarity Fund collection. Our company supports this fund almost every year during Veterans Day celebrations at Náměstí Míru (Peace Square) in Prague by donating proceeds from sales of our plastic kits, posters, and souvenirs.

DOUBLE STRIKE

This article details the Luftwaffe defense against the 8th Air Force combined raid on Schweinfurt and Regensburg on August 17, 1943. Schweinfurt, which contained much of the German ball bearing industry, and Regensburg, the principal production site for Messerschmitt fighters, were two of the top targets on the Allies’ Combined Bomber Offensive list. Both cities were far beyond the range of American escorts, but the 8th Air Force under MGen. Ira Eaker was under pressure from Washington to show immediate results, and the staff of MGen. Fred Anderson’s VIII Bomber Command devised an ambitious plan to bomb both targets on a single day. The three long-range B-24 Groups were still in the Mediterranean theater from the Ploiești raid, so this would have to be an all-B-17 mission. In the final version, the smaller, newer 4th Bomb Wing would take off first and head to Regensburg on the most direct route, escorted as far as the German border by all of the available P-47s. After bombing, it would continue south over the Alps and land in North Africa. The larger, more experienced 1st Bomb Wing would follow fifteen minutes later, bomb Schweinfurt, and return to England; these B-17s would be seen home by the entire escort force, flying its second sortie. It was expected that the novelty and complexity of the combined mission would confuse the German controllers and exhaust their pilots. The greatest flaw in the plan, apart from its dependence on perfect weather and exact timing, arose from the limited range of the bombers of the 1st Bomb Wing, which forced them to take the most direct route to the target and return; this was a near-duplicate of the route to Regensburg as far as Schweinfurt. The German controllers would thus have to deal with three bomber formations flying on the same route on the same day, which would hardly stretch their capabilities. The Reichsluftverteidigung [RLV, Air Defense of the Reich] was slowly increasing in strength. A few fighter units had been brought back from the eastern front and the Mediterranean and after rebuilding, began training to combat American heavy bombers.

Submarines at Manitowoc

The city of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, lies on the west coast of Lake Michigan, some eighty miles north of Milwaukee. The city is bisected by a river of the same name, the Manitowoc River, and off its north bank at the mouth of the river, the Gato Class submarine USS Cobia is docked in front of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.

Flying with the Bloody Hundredth

John H. “Lucky” Luckadoo Interview by Matt Mabe

WARNING SHOTS

Turning Point

This month marks the 82nd anniversary of events that signified a turning point in World War II. Since September 1939, Nazi Germany had been conquering Europe, aiming to reclaim territories lost during World War I and expand further. Germany's war economy depended on access to natural resources, industrial plants, and labor. Adolf Hitler’s personal decisions largely guided the war strategy. Under his leadership, his subordinates, fueled by beliefs in racial superiority, implemented oppression, imprisonment, and the genocide of Jews and other ethnic or social groups. This culminated in unprecedented massacres in Eastern Europe and systematic exterminations in concentration camps.

DEBRIEFING

Dear Friends If you have read this far, you have probably formed a clear opinion as to whether our new online magazine, the Eduard Modeller´s Den, is worth your time, your interest, and ultimately your hard earned money. We will do everything to make it worth your while. Our effort is, and will continue to be, to create a quality periodical with valuable articles, credible and up-to-date information, interesting interviews with interesting people, and also with serious opinions of its contributors.