04/2025

Dear readers, today's EMD once again brings you an interesting look at the past and present, as well as a little from the world of plastic modelling. Especially for modelers, there is also a 10% discount on Eduard products, available at www.eduard.com. If you are not a modeller and read our magazine for other reasons, you will surely find a friend who will appreciate the discount.

• Strana 1

  • CURRENT AFFAIRS: Mirage 2000

  • WORLD NAVAL FORCES: Current Chinese Navy

  • BISKAY ACES -

  Stories of two Luftwaffe experts from the battle of Atlantic

  • USS Block Island CVE-21, part one

  • MODEL & STORY: LEOPOLD ANSLINGER AND HIS FOKKER IN GALICIA

  • WARNING SHOTS – APRIL 2025

  • HISTORICAL REFLECTION: ICEBERG IN THE PACIFIC

  44

  APRIL

  2025

  BY INFO EDUARD MAGAZINE

• Strana 2

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

• Strana 3

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  3

  CONTENT

  4 Editorial

  Word by the Editor-in-Chief

  7 CurrentAairs

  Mirage 2000 – The New Defender

  of Ukrainian Skies

  10 WORLD NAVAL FORCES

  Current Chinese Navy

  18 EsanadBiskají

  Stories of two Luwae experts from

  the bale of Atlanc

  35 USSBlockIsland

  CVE-21, part one

  Part one

  51 Model&story

  Leopold Anslinger and His Fokker

  in Galicia

  63 WarningShots

  Exploring the Plasc Modelling

  Universe and Beyond

  69 HistoricalReecon

  Iceberg in the Pacic

  78 Debrieng

  by Vladimír Šulc

  7

  18

  35

  52

  70

• Strana 4

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  EDITORIAL

  4

  Dear Friends,

  Sing down to write an editorial the

  night before the planned publicaon of

  the EMD that it goes into may seem like

  a bit of a gamble, but it also leaves very

  lile me for the subsequent processes

  that the text must go through before it

  reaches the pages of the magazine, such

  as proofreading, the relevant translaons,

  and pung into a publishable format.

  Some may also consider this ming

  a manifestaon of cowardly capitulaon or

  procrasnaon. On the other hand, it also

  demands a certain sincerity, to lay down

  the words just a few hours before they

  reach you, their audience, and to be more

  up-to-date to a certain extent. I will not

  use that ‘up-to-date’ escape clause that

  much and will not write about my feelings

  about what happened somewhere else in

  the world, although it weighs heavily on

  my soul. But we all know that and I see

  no point in burdening you with it on the

  pages of the EMD.

  I would only ask you not to forget the

  words of the English poet John Donne,

  which were made famous by Ernest

  Hemingway when he used them in the

  introducon to his book For Whom the

  Bell Tolls… because

  ‘

  No man is an island,

  enre of itself; every man is a piece of the

  connent, a part of the main. If a clod be

  washed away by the sea, Europe is the less,

  as well as if a promontory were, as well as

  if a manor of thy friend‘s or of thine own

  were: any man‘s death diminishes me,

  because I am involved in mankind, and

  therefore never send to know for whom

  the bells tolls; it tolls for thee’.

  The words of the poet from the turn of the

  16th and 17th centuries have not become

  dulled in the slightest. On the contrary,

  they seem increasingly relevant to me.

  The truth, however, is that they are probably

  as relevant as ever. Strong truths need to

  be remembered. Just like the underlying

  history. And its connecon to the present.

  And that is one of the aspects of the wide

  range of what our EMD brings you. This

  me, there is denitely not enough of it.

  So let‘s get started.

  The musings that follow immediately

  aer this editorial are from our colleague,

  our Slovak commentator on the current

  air war over Ukraine, Miroslav Barič. You

  can read his series of arcles on this topic

  regularly in our monthly regular magazine

  newsleer. Unfortunately, it has now

  grown to some 38 volumes. We really

  consider the fact that the French Mirage

  2000 ghters have joined the ghng over

  Ukraine to be important news. You can

  read what Miroslav Barič thinks about it

  in his latest update.

  The two historical arcles in this issue

  form a kind of Atlanc theme, and not

  being blind to such a themac coincidence,

  we included both arcles in the same

  issue intenonally. They complement

  each other perfectly. Both authors will

  tell you in their own way that the Bale of

  the Atlanc did not take place only on the

  surface of the vast ocean waters between

  Europe and North America, and of course,

  below it, but also in the air above the high

  seas and coastal areas. However, each is

  from a dierent perspecve. While the

  Brish author Chris Goss looks at this topic

  through the fates of two great Luwae

  experts who, as pilots of heavy long-range

  Luwae ghters, protected the access

  of German submarines to the Bay of

  Biscay, while the second author, Vladimir

  Sulc, deals with the issue through the

  eyes of the Brish and American convoys

  connecng Great Britain and the United

  States, primarily through the lens of the

  escort aircra carrier USS Block Island.

• Strana 5

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  We will also stay with the waters of the

  world‘s oceans for the arcle by Petr

  Uzsak, analyzing the current state of the

  naval forces of the People‘s Republic of

  China. The discussion indirectly follows

  on from his previous analysis of the naval

  forces of Japan, and opens the door to

  similar arcles in subsequent issues.

  The next topic, for the May EMD, will be on

  the Finnish navy. Since the original arcle

  with the Japanese theme was prepared

  for inclusion in this issue’s Current Aairs

  column, its emerging series style already

  precludes such a column, and therefore

  we have separated another of the arcles

  from Current Aairs and created a separate

  space for it.

  This is what happens with a new magazine

  that is developing its concept while growing

  and looking for relevance and ways to best

  engage its readers. It was similar with the

  Model & Story column, which premiered

  in the April EMD. We were pleased with

  the posive feedback on this concept, and

  therefore we will denitely connue with

  it. This me we will delve into the Great

  War, the topic is a Fokker E.III and its pilot

  Leopold Anslinger. The model was built by

  Danny Clark and the pilot‘s story is told

  by Jan Bobek. I can already reveal that in

  May it will be the Messerschmi Bf 110D

  of the German ace Hans-Joachim Jabs. The

  arcle is wrien along a Slovak - Italian line,

  as the authors of the historical trease and

  the built model will be our collaborators

  Peter Kassak and Paolo Portuesi.

  Warning Shots with April news from

  the world of plasc modeling by Marian

  Cihon brings the usual dose of interesng

  things cater to the modeler’s need to have

  something new to look forward to.

  Our aforemenoned colleague Jan Bobek

  is the author of another very interesng

  arcle, this me in the Historical Notes

  secon - the topic is the ghng near

  Okinawa in the rst half of 1945.

  Vladimir Sulc‘s reecons in the Debrieng

  secon are denitely worth reading,

  because the regular Eduard newsleer

  editorials, of which he is the author,

  present a certain amount of limitaon on

  what he can do, and this is reced here,

  opening up some freedoms of expression

  not otherwise possible. His reecon on

  how interpretaons of history develop and

  how these interpretaons dance around

  historical truths under the baton of those

  who have the say is very meless.

  To conclude my editorial, I would like to

  point out what, according to our ndings,

  many of you, readers or potenal readers

  of our magazine, seem to be missing.

  We try to make this informaon very

  clear. By purchasing each issue of the

  EMD, either individually or in the form of

  a subscripon, you get the opportunity

  to get a discount at the Eduard webstore,

  and this discount can be combined with

  other discounts, whether during a sales

  event such as various Aerpares, or the

  discount already oered in membership

  in the BFC. And if you are a BFC member

  and an Aerparty sale is taking place at

  the same me, the discount coupon for

  purchasing this magazine will be credited

  to you in a cumulave cascade, in three

  stages. And that is more than worth it. You

  know how they say ‘cannot be combined

  with any other oers? We don’t say that

  here! Don‘t forget that...

  I have already menoned two columns in

  the next issue of EMD. We can also reveal

  the topics of two May arcles in the History

  secon, the rst of which is a connuaon

  of the history of the Bale of the Atlanc

  in connecon with the aircra carrier USS

  Block Island by Vladimir Sulc. The second

  historical arcle is the story of one of the

  iconic B-17Fs from the 100th Bomb Group,

  named ‘Just-a-Snappin’’, and its crew,

  returning from a mission to Bremen on

  October 8th, 1943. This story also included

  one of the main characters in the Masters

  of the Air series, navigator Harry Crosby.

  However, this story itself is only menoned

  in passing in the show, when Crosby and

  his crew are listed as missing back at the

  base. The upcoming arcle will shed much

  more light on the whole story.

  We look forward to your comments and

  suggesons! Happy reading!

  Jan Zdiarsky

  Chief Editor, EMD

  and the Eduard Newsleer

  5

  EDITORIAL

• Strana 6

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  6

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

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• Mirage 2000

  Mirage 2000Mirage 2000

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  Ukraine had placed high hopes in the F-16s,

  although many experts warned early on

  against overly opmisc expectaons. And

  indeed, their deployment has not brought

  any dramac turning point. They arrived

  slowly, in small numbers, giving Russia

  enough me to prepare. The pilot training

  is lon g and c o m p li c ate d by lan gua ge barr i er.

  Having said that, not all is negave – the

  F-16s have certainly been helpful. While

  they didn’t revoluonize the war, they

  have been crucial in defending Ukrainian

  cies from daily Russian aacks. They’ve

  also started to conduct the air-to-ground

  aacks with guided weapons, an important

  role.

  Now, similar support is expected from

  the French Mirage 2000 ghters. French

  President Emmanuel Macron announced

  their delivery on June 6, 2024, although

  speculaon had started earlier and it’s

  likely that pilot training began even before

  the ocial announcement. The jets were

  delivered in early February 2025, own

  in from France by Ukrainian pilots upon

  compleng their training. The rst images

  of the Mirage 2000’s disncve silhouee

  over Ukraine appeared on March 3, 2025,

  and the aircra entered combat on March

  7, intercepng incoming Russian drones

  and cruise missiles.

  The Mirage 20 0 0 brings several advantages

  to the Ukrainian Air Force, but it also comes

  with certain limitaons. The main concern

  is the total number of the airframes to be

  delivered. No ocial gures have been

  conrmed, but the eet is small. A French

  parliamentary budget report previously

  menoned just six aircra. That number

  may have since increased slightly, but

  likely only by a few more. Training and

  language skills are again the obstacles to

  be overcome. Rumors suggest Ukraine

  inially received only three aircra,

  though more deliveries may have followed.

  However, we’re unlikely to learn the exact

  number anyme soon due to the classied

  operaon.

  Another challenge is the supply of spare

  parts. The Mirage 2000 is no longer in

  producon and wasn’t as widely deployed

  as the F-16, so there are fewer parts

  stockpiled around the world.

  Despite these limitaons, the Mirage

  2000 has notable strengths. In terms of

  per formance, it doesn’t lag behind the F-16

  Mirage 2000 carrying six AASM Hammer bombs (French Air and Space Force)

  The New Defender

  of Ukrainian Skies

  Lessthanayearaertheirdeliverywasannounced,Ukrainehas

  ociallyreceiveditssecondtypeofWesternghterjet–the

  Mirage2000.We’vetakenalookathowUkrainemightusethem

  andwhatlimitaonstheymayfaceincombatdeployment.

  CURRENT AFFAIRS

  7

• Strana 8

• Strana 9

• Current Chinese Navy

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  WORLD NAVAL FORCES

  10

  Current Chinese NavyCurrent Chinese Navy

  Petr Uzsák

  Shenyang J-15 carrier-based ghter aircra is about to

  land on Chinese aircra carrier Liaoning_(CV-16).

  Photo: Japan Ministry of Defense

• Current Chinese Navy

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  Current Chinese Navy

  11

  China’s naval forces, the People’s

  Liberaon Army Navy (PLAN, 人民海军)

  have undergone signicant development

  over the past two decades and now possess

  formidable capabilies, including an aircra

  carrier eet and nuclear-powered missile

  submarines.

  China has a long marime tradion.

  One need only recall Admiral Zheng He’s

  expedion to East Africa in 1418, when he

  sailed as far as the coast of present-day Kenya,

  decades before Christopher Columbus’s

  renowned voyage to the Americas. It is also

  worth nong that Zheng He’s eet of junks

  was considerably larger and more advanced

  than the famed Santa Maria.

  The People’s Liberaon Army Navy was

  foun d e d in 1 9 49 an d, f o r many yea r s, f o c u s e d

  primarily on coastal defense and related

  operaons. As strategic missile forces and

  other military branches were priorized,

  the navy was relegated to a secondary

  role, largely tasked with coastal operaons,

  including defending against potenal

  Taiwanese landings on the mainland.

  Starng in the 1970s, however, the navy

  began receiving more aenon, which led

  to increased producon and operaonal

  capabilies. This shi helped elevate the

  People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the status

  of a regional marime power. The growing

  ri with the Soviet Union also played a role,

  as the PRC quickly lost access to many Soviet

  industries, especially in shipbuilding.

  The rapid development menoned earlier

  began in the 1990s, when the Navy gradually

  evolved into a Blue Water Navy—capable of

  conducng operaons across open oceans.

  This transformaon was supported by an

  ambious acquision strategy, one of the

  most notable examples being the purchase

  of the stripped Soviet-built aircra carrier

  Varyag from the Ukrainian government,

  which had inherited it following the

  collapse of the Soviet Union. The purchase

  was completed in 1998. Aer undergoing

  signicant rets and upgrades, the vessel

  was commissioned into service in 2012

  as the Liaoning.

  The dissoluon of the Soviet Union also

  allowed Chinese military leadership to

  redirect both human and material resources

  from the country’s northern borders to

  other strategic priories. The seriousness

  of previous tensions with the USSR is

  underscored by the occurrence of several

  border conicts between the two naons.

  China’s navy is headquartered in Beijing

  and is organized geographically into three

  major commands: Northern, Eastern,

  and Southern. These commands oversee

  operaons along China’s coastline and

  n e a r b y i s l a n d s , e a c h m a i n t a i n i n g i t s o w n  e e t .

  Funconally, the navy is further divided into

  surface forces, submarine forces, coastal

  defense units, marine infantry, and naval

  aviaon.

  In terms of overall strength, China currently

  possesses the second most powerful navy

  in the world. A key factor in this assessment

  is the modernity of its equipment, a direct

  result of its rapid and focused development

  in recent years. In terms of eet size,

  the numbers are impressive: nearly 800

  vessels, about half of which are combat

  ships. Among these, the most signicant are

  the two aircra carriers currently in acve

  service, the previously menoned Liaoning

  and Shandong. A third carrier, Fujian, is

  undergoing sea trials, while a fourth unit is

  under construcon. However, unlike their

  American counterparts, all Chinese carriers

  are convenonally powered. Other major

  s u r f a c e ve s s e l s i n c l u d e Ty p e 0 55 Re n h a i - c l a s s

  Shenyang J-15 carrier-based ghter aircra taking o from Chinese aircra carrier

  Liaoning_(CV-16). Photo: Japan Ministry of Defense

  WORLD NAVAL FORCES

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• BISCAY ACES

  HISTORY

  18

  Ju 88C-6s of Stab/ZG 1, Lorient, Winter 1943-44 (via Ehrengardt).

  BISCAY ACES

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  ChrisGoss

• BISCAY ACES

  19

  HISTORY

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  BISCAY ACES

  ALBRECHT

  Albrecht Bellstedt was born in Bremen on

  18 February 1922. He then joined the Lu-

  wae in November 1939. He was trained

  as a non-commissioned technician, joining

  the Messerschmi 110 unit I Gruppe/Zer-

  störergeschwader 76 at Jever in northern

  Germany in April 1940. Aer three months,

  he joined Lukriegschule 5 and then in

  April 1941, began ying training at Flugze-

  ugführerschule (C) 4 at Sproau. In Octo-

  ber 1941, he started his blind ying trai-

  ning and in January 1942, he was selected

  to be a heavy ghter pilot, rst joining

  III./Zerstörerschule 2 and then in January

  1943 II./Schlachtgeschwader 101 before

  nally joining 14./KG 40 at Bordeaux-Mé-

  rignac on 15 February 1943.

  INTO COMBAT

  V./KG 40 was commanded by Hptm Alfred

  Hemm while 14./KG 40 was commanded by

  Oblt Kurt Necesany who had recently taken

  command following the death in combat of

  Hptm Hans William Reicke on 30 January

  1943. The purpose of V./KG 40 was to in-

  tercept Allied aircra aempng to aack

  U-boats operang into and out of French

  Atlanc ports, to intercept Allied aircra

  transing the Bay of Biscay, to escort

  U-boats and larger and more vulnerable

  Luwae marime reconnaissance aircra

  and general reconnaissance for Flieger-

  führer Atlanc, the HQ which commanded

  Luwae air assets over the Bay of Biscay

  and the Atlanc.

  Albrecht ew his rst operaonal ight,

  an armed reconnaissance, on 28 February

  1943 but it was not unl his h ight that

  he rst encountered the RAF.

  On 10 April 1943, Albrecht and another

  Ju 88 had taken o to escort the Italian

  blockade breaker Himalaya together with

  an escort of thee destroyers and ve tor-

  pedo boats. Flt Sgt James Hoather ying a

  Halifax of 58 Sqn had taken o from RAF St

  Eval in Cornwall to locate the same blocka-

  de breaker. At 1852hrs, the Halifax repor-

  ted being aacked by two Ju 88s receiving

  slight damage but claiming to have proba-

  bly destroyed one of his aackers and da-

  maging another. Albrecht reported aac-

  king the Halifax four mes and his ghter

  was hit 11 mes but no German aircra

  were lost or badly damaged. James Hoather

  would be awarded the Disnguished Flying

  Medal for this acon only to be shot down

  and killed by V./KG 40 on 9 May 1943.

  Albrecht did not have to wait long for his

  rst success as on 17 April 1943, he repor-

  ted shoong down a Whitley. This was from

  10 Operaonal Training Unit (OTU) own by

  Sgt Leonard Smith and Fg O Colin Thwai-

  tes; there were no survivors from the six

  WiththeairwarovertheeasternAtlancescalangbytheendof

  1941,itwasobvioustotheLuwaethatsomeformoflong-range-

  ghtercoverwasneeded.Nosoluonimmediatelysprangtomindbut

  earlyin1942,thelatestversionoftheJu88C-6wascomingothepro-

  duconline.Withincreasedoensiveanddefensivearmament,on23

  June1942,theLuwaepromisedfourJu88C-6stoprotectU-boats

  enteringandleavingtheBayofBiscay.Threedayslater,fourJu88C-6s

  freshfromtheproduconlinewereallocatedandwouldbebasedat

  Bordeaux-Mérignac,theunitiniallybeingdesignatedZerst.St./Küsten-

  iegergruppe106(Zerst.St./Kü.Fl.Gr.106)orZerst.St./KG6subordina-

  tetotheFw200unitIII./KG40.On2July1942,itwasthenannounced

  thesefouraircrawouldbeincreasedbyanother24.V.Gruppe/Kam-

  pfgeschwader40(V./KG40)wastheresultandoverthenexttwoyears,

  anumberofaceswouldemerge.Thesearethestoriesoftwoofthem.

  A very young Lt Albrecht Bellstedt.

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• USS Block Island CVE-21

  HISTORY

  35

  USS BLOCK ISLAND CVE-21

  part one

  VladimírŠulc

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  This artwork by Piotr Forkaszewicz depicts an aack by aircra from the USS Block Island on the U-220 and U-256 submarines

  in the early hours of 28 October 1943.This painng resembles the cover image of the Eduard 1/48 scale FM-1 Wildcat plasc kit.

  Unlike the kit artwork, however, this painng depicts the aack on the submarines as it unfolded.

• USS Block Island CVE-21

  36

  HISTORY

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  USS BLOCK ISLAND CVE-21

  At 8:45 GMT on the morning of October 28,

  1943, a patrol Grumman TBF-1C Avenger

  took o from the deck of the escort carrier

  USS Block Island, piloted by Lieutenant

  Franklin M. Murray, accompanied by an

  FM-1 Wildcat ghter own by Ensign Gerald

  L. Handshuh. At 9:05, about 40 naucal

  miles from the carrier, Murray spoed

  two surfaced submarines at a distance of

  approximately 20 miles. (The USS Block

  Island‘s logbook states the distance as

  63 miles from the ship.) Avenger’s radio

  operator, William D. Painter, reported the

  contact to the carrier, and the crews of

  both aircra prepared for an aack.

  On Murray’s command, the Wildcat

  moved to the le and ahead of the Avenger

  and aacked rst about ten minutes later,

  targeng the closer of the two submarines,

  which all the involved aviators described

  as the smaller one. The Wildcat strafed the

  sub with machine gun re, followed by the

  Avenger aacking with two depth charges.

  The aircra aacked the submarine’s

  starboard side at a 200° angle to its course.

  According to Murray’s report, the two

  depth charges exploded on either side

  of the submarine. During the Wildcat’s

  aack and the Avenger’s bombing run, the

  submarine turned to starboard, and the

  USS Block Island (CVE-21) at sea on 3 February 1944.

  Photo: US Naval History and Heritage Command

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• Leopold Anslinger and His Fokker in Galicia

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  51

  MODEL & STORY

  Model & Story

  Leopold Anslinger and His Fokker in Galicia

  Text: Jan Bobek

  Model built by: Danny Clark

• Leopold Anslinger and His Fokker in Galicia

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  Leopold Anslinger and His Fokker in Galicia

  52

  MODEL & STORY

  TheRoadtotheAirService

  Leopold Anslinger was born on April 13,

  1891, in Freiburg im Breisgau, in the Grand

  Duchy of Baden, as the second son in his

  family. His father was a plumber, so it was not

  surprising that Leopold developed an early

  interest in technical elds. However, rather

  than joining his father‘s business, Leopold

  found work with aircra manufacturer

  Goedecker in Mainz. Aer being taken

  up in the air by one of the factory’s pilots,

  it became clear that Leopold was desned

  to become a pilot himself.

  He persuaded his father to invest

  a substanal amount in his ight training,

  and on October 14, 1913, Leopold Anslinger

  received his pilot‘s cercate (No. 566).

  Before the war, he became a chief factory

  pilot and competed in several air races.

  Thanks to his salary and prize winnings, he

  was able to repay his father much of the

  money that had been invested in his aviaon

  career.

  Following the announcement of

  mobilizaon in early August 1914, Anslinger

  promptly volunteered for military air service.

  He was assigned as a Gefreiter to Flieger-

  Ersatz-Abteilung 3 in Darmstadt. By the end

  of the year, he had been promoted from the

  rank of Unterozier. In early 1915, he was

  posted to the newly formed

  Feld-Flieger-Abteilung 54

  (FFA 54) and promoted to

  Vize-Feldwebel. The unit

  received orders to move

  to Eastern Europe, but it

  wasn’t unl a train journey

  that its members learned

  they would be deployed

  to the Eastern Front in the

  Carpathian Mountains.

  In Combat

  FFA 54 was equipped with

  two-seat reconnaissance

  TheaerialbalesoftheFirstWorldWarinEasternEuroperemainsomewhat

  overshadowedbythestoriesoffamousaviatorslikeManfredFreiherrvon

  Richthofen,RenéFonck,BillyBishop,andMickMannock.Overtheeastern

  frontlines,however,underverydierentgeographicalandlogiscalcondi-

  ons,GermanandAustro-Hungarianairmenengagedinercecombatagainst

  theairforcesofImperialRussiaanditsallies.DuringWorldWarI,theAus-

  tro-HungarianEmpireawardedthepresgiousOrderoftheIronCrown,Third

  ClasswithWardecoraon,toonlythreeGermancombataviators.Twoofthe-

  sehonorswenttoManfredvonRichthofenandOswaldBoelckeinrecognion

  oftheirachievementsontheWesternFront.Thethirdrecipient,however,was

  honoredforhisserviceontheEasternFront:LieutenantLeopoldAnslinger.

  Althoughhisnameisnotwidelyknowntoday,Anslingerachievedthehighest

  numberofaerialvictoriesofanyCentralPowerspilotintheEasternTheater.

  Leopold Anslinger,

  as a member of FFA 54,

  poses in a Sanke studio

  portrait. His tunic already

  displays the Knight’s

  Cross with Swords of

  the Royal House Order

  of Hohenzollern and the

  Austro-Hungarian Order

  of the Iron Crown,

  3rd Class with War

  decoraon.

  Photo: via Greg

  VanWyngarden

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• Warning shots

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  APRIL 2025

  WARNING SHOTS

  63

  EXPLORING THE PLASTIC MODELLING

  UNIVERSE AND BEYOND

  MarianCihoň&Comp.

  Inthismonth’sissueofEduard’sModeler’sDen,we’lltakealookatsomeofthe

  newreleasesthatdon’tquitetintothemainstream—sonoSpiiresthisme.:)

  MS.406 Finnish 1/48

  DoraWings

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• Iceberg in the Pacific

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  69

  JanBobek

  Iceberg in

  the Pacific

  Iceberg in

  the Pacific

  The U.S. Navy aircra carrier USS Hancock (CV-19) are aer being hit by a Kamikaze o Okinawa, 7 April 1945. Japanese airplane struck her ight deck and hit a group of aircra

  while its bomb hit the port catapult, 62 men were killed and a further 71 wounded but the res were put out within half an hour and she was back in acon inside an hour.

  Photo: U.S. Navy Naonal Museum of Naval Aviaon

  HISTORICAL REFLECTION

• Iceberg in the Pacific

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  Iceberg in the Pacic

  70

  This April marks the 80th anniversary of

  the nal weeks of ghng on European soil,

  a period that, for many regions, was the

  most dicult and dangerous phase of the

  war. The bale for Berlin was at its peak,

  the Ruhr Pocket was being fought over,

  and Allied forces were advancing towards

  Hamburg. Fighng was also underway

  in Bavaria, Austria, and the occupied

  territories of the Czech lands and Slovakia.

  In early April, the bale for Königsberg

  took place, and unl the German surrender,

  the Wehrmacht maintained control over

  the Courland Pocket in the Balc region.

  In southern Europe, Operaon Grapeshot,

  the nal Allied oensive, was driving the

  collapse of Axis forces in northern Italy.

  While Red Army units in April 1945 suered

  losses esmated at ten mes those of the

  Western Allies on the European connent,

  the situaon was markedly more dicult

  for the Americans in the Pacic. On April

  1, 1945, American forces, supported by

  Allied units, began landing on Okinawa,

  an island covering more than 1,100 square

  kilometres.

  The capture of Okinawa was seen by

  American planners as essenal for securing

  air bases within striking distance of the

  Japanese home islands and as a staging

  ground for Operaon Downfall, the

  planned invasion of Japan.

  Operaon Iceberg, which rivalled the

  scale of the Normandy landings, became

  the bloodiest bale of the Pacic War.

  The Japanese defenders accurately

  ancipated the Americans’ plans and

  chose to forfy posions inland rather

  than confront them during the landings.

  In the opening days of the operaon,

  The aircra carrier HMS Formidable (R67) on re aer being struck

  by a Kamikaze on May 4, 1945. Photo: IWM

  Marine Corporal Earl

  Bruni (le) and

  Private Genare Nuzzi

  share a foxhole and

  a couple of ponchos

  on Okinawa with

  a war orphan.

  Photo: NARA

  HISTORICAL REFLECTION

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• Debriefing

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  HISTORY WILL FIGURE IT OUT

  In his novel 11/22/63, Stephen King

  came up with the idea that history does

  not want to be changed. 11/22/63 is

  a science con novel that deals with

  the possibility of a changed history,

  in this case by the main character

  prevenng the assassinaon of John

  F. Kennedy. The novel was also made

  into a television series, and both the

  book and the series are great works.

  I sat down to watch the series to

  relax aer a hard day because the

  topic of the Dallas assassinaon has

  interested me, and also because the

  series was recommended to me by

  my wife, who knows me well and has

  a prey good idea of what I might

  enjoy. I started watching the series

  with a certain sullenness of an expert

  who already knows everything about

  the topic and has been to Dealey

  Plaza three mes and is denitely not

  going to be fooled by some piece of

  con. Checking it out just to conrm

  the validity of avoiding it altogether,

  I was immersed up to my ears in this

  very well wrien and lmed story

  from the get go. For Christmas, I got

  the book from someone, and it got

  me, too, because there is always

  more in a book and they tend to

  present the plot more thoroughly

  and comprehensively than a movie.

  I will not spoil the plot of the novel or

  the series for you. What is important

  for my text today is that the author

  concludes that, in addion to the fact

  that history resists being changed,

  the best thing a person possessing

  the theorecal ability to change it

  is to leave it as it is and not change

  anything. Because forcibly changing

  history, even if successful despite all

  the dicules involved, will sll not

  result in anything good.

  Real history has a harder me.

  In reality, no one can change it, but

  it is full of personalies who, more

  or less successfully, try to change

  the interpretaon of history and its

  percepon by the public. Literary

  men, historians, policians, men and

  women of famous names and high

  social status have been trying hard for

  centuries to change the interpretaon

  of history in their own image. They

  DEBRIEFING

  78

• Debriefing

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 4 - APRIL 2025

  are not alone in this; ideological and

  naonalisc interpretaons are the work

  of philosophical, arsc and religious

  movements, schools, churches and

  polical pares. Interpretaons of history

  are marked by naonalism, because all

  naons and their representaves have an

  irresisble urge to see themselves as the

  embodiment of virtue and the surrounding

  naons as the embodiment of evil. Naons,

  internally divided by belonging to dierent

  religious and polical movements, work

  hard and persistently to create their naonal

  legends and stereotypes, leading to all sorts

  of animosies, disputes, wars, destrucon

  and misfortune. Behind everything stand

  naonal interests supported by false

  interpretaons of history, potenally

  yielding the greatest misfortune and ruin

  not only of Europe. Aer the two World

  Wars and other disasters of the tweneth

  century, Europe learned from its mistakes

  and did much to prevent the repeang of

  them. Unfortunately, as is oen the case

  in history, the achieved prosperity and

  comfort surprisingly lead to discomfort

  and dissasfacon, and subsequently

  again to pressures to accept the only

  correct interpretaon of history. However,

  this encounters resistance and distaste,

  behind which new potenal unrest and

  disputes are on the horizon. Behind the

  threshing oors lurks a civilizaon that

  is a champion in falsifying and bending

  history, an empire of lies, with centuries of

  experience in suppressing human dignity

  and civil liberes in the name of state

  power and false naonal pride. But we

  must believe that in the face of danger

  from the East and betrayal from the West,

  Europe will rise up, abandon the curse of

  pey naonal interests and false historical

  taboos, and that its peoples will nd

  a path to unity, determinaon, and faith in

  preserving their freedom, the rule of law,

  and ulmately their wealth.

  History comes to terms with all this.

  It resists change, it resists lies and

  distorons. Its weapon is me, its method

  paence and knowledge. In the merciless

  ow of me, all formerly powerful lies

  weaken and wither, crumble, and the truth,

  so oen mocked and despised, triumphs. It

  just takes a damn long` me, and its victory

  is never perfect, just as democracy and the

  rule of law are never perfect. But one can

  live well, even if a lile dissased, with

  such imperfecon. In normal mes, history

  ows lazily and slowly. It rarely shis to

  a higher gear and runs at a crazy pace.

  The higher the speed, the more misfortunes

  and horrors. Let us try to keep history calm

  and owing slowly, and let us not therefore

  elect an old man to lead us, longing for

  the old, weathered and false chimera of

  a great and proud history. Let us then let our

  paence and knowledge work in the service

  of history, thus prevenng its alteraon and

  distoron.

  Vladimír Šulc

  DEBRIEFING

  79

  Dealey Plaza, Dallas, TX

• Strana 80

• Editorial

  Dear Friends,

   

  Sitting down to write an editorial the night before the planned publication of the EMD that it goes into may seem like a bit of a gamble, but it also leaves very little time for the subsequent processes that the text must go through before it reaches the pages of the magazine, such as proofreading, the relevant translations, and putting into a publishable format. Some may also consider this timing a manifestation of cowardly capitulation or procrastination. On the other hand, it also demands a certain sincerity, to lay down the words just a few hours before they reach you, their audience, and to be more up-to-date to a certain extent. I will not use that ‘up-to-date’ escape clause that much and will not write about my feelings about what happened somewhere else in the world, although it weighs heavily on my soul. But we all know that and I see no point in burdening you with it on the pages of the EMD.

  I would only ask you not to forget the words of the English poet John Donne, which were made famous by Ernest Hemingway when he used them in the introduction to his book For Whom the Bell Tolls… because ‘No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee’.

  The words of the poet from the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries have not become dulled in the slightest. On the contrary, they seem increasingly relevant to me. The truth, however, is that they are probably as relevant as ever. Strong truths need to be remembered. Just like the underlying history. And its connection to the present. And that is one of the aspects of the wide range of what our EMD brings you. This time, there is definitely not enough of it. So let's get started.

  The musings that follow immediately after this editorial are from our colleague, our Slovak commentator on the current air war over Ukraine, Miroslav Barič. You can read his series of articles on this topic regularly in our monthly regular magazine newsletter. Unfortunately, it has now grown to some 38 volumes. We really consider the fact that the French Mirage 2000 fighters have joined the fighting over Ukraine to be important news. You can read what Miroslav Barič thinks about it in his latest update.

  The two historical articles in this issue form a kind of Atlantic theme, and not being blind to such a thematic coincidence, we included both articles in the same issue intentionally. They complement each other perfectly. Both authors will tell you in their own way that the Battle of the Atlantic did not take place only on the surface of the vast ocean waters between Europe and North America, and of course, below it, but also in the air above the high seas and coastal areas. However, each is from a different perspective. While the British author Chris Goss looks at this topic through the fates of two great Luftwaffe experts who, as pilots of heavy long-range Luftwaffe fighters, protected the access of German submarines to the Bay of Biscay, while the second author, Vladimir Sulc, deals with the issue through the eyes of the British and American convoys connecting Great Britain and the United States, primarily through the lens of the escort aircraft carrier USS Block Island.

  We will also stay with the waters of the world's oceans for the article by Petr Uzsak, analyzing the current state of the naval forces of the People's Republic of China. The discussion indirectly follows on from his previous analysis of the naval forces of Japan, and opens the door to similar articles in subsequent issues. The next topic, for the May EMD, will be on the Finnish navy. Since the original article with the Japanese theme was prepared for inclusion in this issue’s Current Affairs column, its emerging series style already precludes such a column, and therefore we have separated another of the articles from Current Affairs and created a separate space for it.

  This is what happens with a new magazine that is developing its concept while growing and looking for relevance and ways to best engage its readers. It was similar with the Model & Story column, which premiered in the April EMD. We were pleased with the positive feedback on this concept, and therefore we will definitely continue with it. This time we will delve into the Great War, the topic is a Fokker E.III and its pilot Leopold Anslinger. The model was built by Danny Clark and the pilot's story is told by Jan Bobek. I can already reveal that in May it will be the Messerschmitt Bf 110D of the German ace Hans-Joachim Jabs. The article is written along a Slovak - Italian line, as the authors of the historical treatise and the built model will be our collaborators Peter Kassak and Paolo Portuesi.

  Warning Shots with April news from the world of plastic modeling by Marian Cihon brings the usual dose of interesting things cater to the modeler’s need to have something new to look forward to. Our aforementioned colleague Jan Bobek is the author of another very interesting article, this time in the Historical Notes section - the topic is the fighting near Okinawa in the first half of 1945.

  Vladimir Sulc's reflections in the Debriefing section are definitely worth reading, because the regular Eduard newsletter editorials, of which he is the author, present a certain amount of limitation on what he can do, and this is rectified here, opening up some freedoms of expression not otherwise possible. His reflection on how interpretations of history develop and how these interpretations dance around historical truths under the baton of those who have the say is very timeless.

  To conclude my editorial, I would like to point out what, according to our findings, many of you, readers or potential readers of our magazine, seem to be missing. We try to make this information very clear. By purchasing each issue of the EMD, either individually or in the form of a subscription, you get the opportunity to get a discount at the Eduard webstore, and this discount can be combined with other discounts, whether during a sales event such as various Afterparties, or the discount already offered in membership in the BFC. And if you are a BFC member and an Afterparty sale is taking place at the same time, the discount coupon for purchasing this magazine will be credited to you in a cumulative cascade, in three stages. And that is more than worth it. You know how they say ‘cannot be combined with any other offers? We don’t say that here! Don't forget that... 

  I have already mentioned two columns in the next issue of EMD. We can also reveal the topics of two May articles in the History section, the first of which is a continuation of the history of the Battle of the Atlantic in connection with the aircraft carrier USS Block Island by Vladimir Sulc. The second historical article is the story of one of the iconic B-17Fs from the 100th Bomb Group, named ‘Just-a-Snappin’’, and its crew, returning from a mission to Bremen on October 8th, 1943. This story also included one of the main characters in the Masters of the Air series, navigator Harry Crosby. However, this story itself is only mentioned in passing in the show, when Crosby and his crew are listed as missing back at the base. The upcoming article will shed much more light on the whole story.

   We look forward to your comments and suggestions! Happy reading!

   

  Jan Zdiarsky Chief Editor, EMD and the Eduard Newsletter

• Current Affairs

• World naval forces

• History - Biscay Aces

• History

• Model and Story

• Warning shots

• Historical Reflection

• Debriefing

  History Will Figure it Out

   

  In his novel 11/22/63, Stephen King came up with the idea that history does not want to be changed. 11/22/63 is a science fiction novel that deals with the possibility of a changed history, in this case by the main character preventing the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The novel was also made into a television series, and both the book and the series are great works. I sat down to watch the series to relax after a hard day because the topic of the Dallas assassination has interested me, and also because the series was recommended to me by my wife, who knows me well and has a pretty good idea of what I might enjoy. I started watching the series with a certain sullenness of an expert who already knows everything about the topic and has been to Dealey Plaza three times and is definitely not going to be fooled by some piece of fiction. Checking it out just to confirm the validity of avoiding it altogether, I was immersed up to my ears in this very well written and filmed story from the get go. For Christmas, I got the book from someone, and it got me, too, because there is always more in a book and they tend to present the plot more thoroughly and comprehensively than a movie. I will not spoil the plot of the novel or the series for you. What is important for my text today is that the author concludes that, in addition to the fact that history resists being changed, the best thing a person possessing the theoretical ability to change it is to leave it as it is and not change anything. Because forcibly changing history, even if successful despite all the difficulties involved, will still not result in anything good.

  Real history has a harder time. In reality, no one can change it, but it is full of personalities who, more or less successfully, try to change the interpretation of history and its perception by the public. Literary men, historians, politicians, men and women of famous names and high social status have been trying hard for centuries to change the interpretation of history in their own image. They are not alone in this; ideological and nationalistic interpretations are the work of philosophical, artistic and religious movements, schools, churches and political parties. Interpretations of history are marked by nationalism, because all nations and their representatives have an irresistible urge to see themselves as the embodiment of virtue and the surrounding nations as the embodiment of evil. Nations, internally divided by belonging to different religious and political movements, work hard and persistently to create their national legends and stereotypes, leading to all sorts of animosities, disputes, wars, destruction and misfortune. Behind everything stand national interests supported by false interpretations of history, potentially yielding the greatest misfortune and ruin not only of Europe. After the two World Wars and other disasters of the twentieth century, Europe learned from its mistakes and did much to prevent the repeating of them. Unfortunately, as is often the case in history, the achieved prosperity and comfort surprisingly lead to discomfort and dissatisfaction, and subsequently again to pressures to accept the only correct interpretation of history. However, this encounters resistance and distaste, behind which new potential unrest and disputes are on the horizon. Behind the threshing floors lurks a civilization that is a champion in falsifying and bending history, an empire of lies, with centuries of experience in suppressing human dignity and civil liberties in the name of state power and false national pride. But we must believe that in the face of danger from the East and betrayal from the West, Europe will rise up, abandon the curse of petty national interests and false historical taboos, and that its peoples will find a path to unity, determination, and faith in preserving their freedom, the rule of law, and ultimately their wealth.

   History comes to terms with all this. It resists change, it resists lies and distortions. Its weapon is time, its method patience and knowledge. In the merciless flow of time, all formerly powerful lies weaken and wither, crumble, and the truth, so often mocked and despised, triumphs. It just takes a damn long` time, and its victory is never perfect, just as democracy and the rule of law are never perfect. But one can live well, even if a little dissatisfied, with such imperfection. In normal times, history flows lazily and slowly. It rarely shifts to a higher gear and runs at a crazy pace. The higher the speed, the more misfortunes and horrors. Let us try to keep history calm and flowing slowly, and let us not therefore elect an old man to lead us, longing for the old, weathered and false chimera of a great and proud history. Let us then let our patience and knowledge work in the service of history, thus preventing its alteration and distortion.