05/2025

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.

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  • CURRENT AFFAIRS: The 80th Anniversary of the

  End of the Second World War in Europe

  • WORLD NAVAL FORCES: Modern Finnish Navy

  • HISTORY -

  Just-a-Snappin’

  • USS Block Island CVE-21, part two

  • MODEL & STORY: BF 110C OF HANS-JOACHIM JABS

  • WARNING SHOTS – MAY 2025

  • HISTORICAL REFLECTION: THE MAY UPRISING IN THE CZECH LANDS

  55

  MAY

  2025

  BY INFO EDUARD MAGAZINE

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  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

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  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

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  4 Editorial

  Word by the Editor-in-Chief

  9 CurrentAairs

  The 80th Anniversary of the End

  of the Second World War in Europe

  12 WorldNavalForces

  Modern Finnish Navy

  18 Just-a-Snappin’

  33 USSBlockIsland

    CVE-21,parttwo

  43 Model&story

  Bf 110C of Hans-Joachim Jabs

  62 WarningShots

    ExploringthePlascModelling

  Universe and Beyond

  67 HistoricalReecon

  The May Uprising

  in the Czech Lands

  73 Debrieng

  by Vladimír Šulc

  12

  43

  CONTENT

  9

  33

  67

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  Dear Friends,

  I write this editorial somewhere halfway

  between New Orleans, Louisiana, and

  Dallas, Texas, on my way back from the

  100th Bomb Group Foundaon Reunion,

  which took place between May 14th and

  18th, 2025 in New Orleans on the Gulf

  Coast, in cooperaon with the Naonal

  WWII Museum. The reunion itself was

  a wonderful gathering of long-me

  friends, families of members of the Bloody

  Hundredth of World War II, as well as

  acve members of its descendant unit,

  the 100th Air Refueling Wing USAF. There

  were historians and also the creators of the

  television series Masters of the Air, which

  recently focused on the 100th BG. Thanks

  to this series, many relaves of 100th BG

  veterans who had no idea that this ghtly

  knit family even existed, aended. The

  most important among the approximately

  350 parcipants were, of course, three of

  the surviving veterans of this unit. They

  aracted the most aenon and were

  righully the stars of the meeng.

  There is of course a big dierence from

  my rst 100th BG reunion in 1997, where

  there were about 200 veterans among the

  approximately 600 parcipants... I realized

  too late that I was meeng personalies

  whose names were sll unknown to me

  at the me in some cases and contexts.

  Nevertheless, these opportunies

  brought a lot of invaluable things into

  my life. History needs to be preserved

  and passed on truthfully so that it can be

  an inspiraon and a lesson for us. And

  that is one of the main missions of our

  magazine, along with a liberal sprinkling of

  interesng facts and a healthy coecient

  of entertainment.

  The opening paragraph of this editorial,

  discussing the 100th Bomb Group,

  as well as the company I have spent the

  past few days with, allows me to move on

  to the content of this issue. One of the two

  historical arcles this month is the story of

  one of the most famous B-17Fs aached

  to the 100th BG, the aircra named Just-

  a-Snappin‘, and its crew. Among other

  things, I again met up with the sons of the

  pilot of this aircra, Capt. Evere Blakely,

  and their families. The story of Just-a-

  Snappin’ during the mission to Bremen

  on October 8th, 1943 is an excerpt from

  a book published by the Publishing

  secon of Eduard in cooperaon with

  the 100th BG Foundaon and which had

  its bapsm at the reunion. One of the

  aforemenoned sons of Capt. Evere

  Blakely, Jim, was among several who

  ceremoniously bapzed the book. For

  the ceremony, American High Life beer

  From a lecture on the air bale of 11 September 1944, which was the second most tragic

  mission in the history of the 100th BG, which I aended in New Orleans on the rst day of the

  reunion (photos by Chip and Anna Culpepper).

  EDITORIAL

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  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

  was used, somewhat unusually, instead of

  wine. Not perhaps because it is called the

  ‘champagne of beers’, but mainly because

  of the symbolism brought out by another

  famous B-17F from the 100th BG that was

  named aer this beer, popular as early

  as the 1940s, to which a chapter is also

  dedicated in the book.

  Those of you who purchased the limited

  edion B-17F ‘The Bloody Hundredth

  1943’ and followed the events surrounding

  the kit’s evoluon have probably noced

  a series of my arcles from the special

  edion of the Eduard newsleer. At that

  me, thoughts and desires to publish this

  material as a book were coming together

  5

  On the le – one of the masters above masters and an amazing person – arst Gil Cohen,

  one of the world‘s leading authors in the eld of aviaon art (photo by Curs Wilson).

  With John H. Lucky Luckadoo, whose B-17F Sunny II you can build

  from Eduard kit # 11183.

  EDITORIAL

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  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

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  as well. So we did this by adding addional

  chapters about three B-17Fs important

  to the history of the 100th BG, whose

  markings were not part of the kit’s marking

  opons for whatever reasons. Blakely‘s

  Just-a-Snappin’ is one of them. To avoid

  any quesons - yes, it will also be available

  as a new release for June from the Eduard

  webstore.

  Another historical arcle in this issue is

  a connuaon of the story of the American

  escort aircra carrier USS Block Island.

  In the connuaon of a three-part series,

  Vladimir Sulc presents the story of this

  vessel in the context of the World War II

  bales for supremacy in the Atlanc Ocean.

  For those of you who have not read the

  rst part, we recommend returning to the

  April issue of EMD.

  No less interesng is the discussion on the

  development of camouage paerns used

  on Messerschmi Bf 110 versions C to E

  own by German ace Hans-Joachim Jabs in

  the Model & Story secon. The author of this

  historical piece is Peter Kassak and, similar

  to the story on Just-a-Snappin’, this arcle is

  also based on the recently published book

  on the history of Zerstörergeschwader 76,

  which Peter Kaššák wrote together with

  Marek Žatkovič. The build component of

  this arcle was taken care of by Italian

  modeler Paolo Portuesi and its subject is

  one of Jabs‘ Bf 110Cs.

  In the Current Aairs secon, we will

  stay on the theme of the Second World

  War. The 80th anniversary of the end of

  World War II in Europe also allowed one

  of the last surviving US Army soldiers who

  parcipated in the liberaon of the western

  part of Czechoslovakia to return to the

  places of his bales in Western Bohemia.

  Josef Tropek submied his report on the

  ocassion.

  You can read in Jan Bobek’s arcle about

  the fact that liberaon from German Nazism

  was not enrely simple, straighorward

  or black and white in the rest of Czecho-

  slovakia, something that Czechoslovak

  history books tended to gloss over as they

  needed to suit the communist regime.

  Larry Spencer, nephew of Maj. Gale W. ‘Buc-

  ky’ Cleven, one of the legends of the 100th

  BG and one of the central characters in the

  Masters of the Air series, also came to sign

  copies of Eduard‘s newly published book.

  Larry‘s uncle also features in the book.

  The historical symposium at the reunion, held at the WWII Naonal Museum

  in New Orleans, was dedicated to the issue of prisoners of war.

  EDITORIAL

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  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

  7

  In the column dedicated to current world

  naval forces, Petr Uzsák this me focuses

  on the Finnish Navy, which only recently

  became part of NATO and which, with its

  entry, technology and experience, has

  greatly strengthened the alliance‘s naval

  forces.

  The Warning Shots column is once again

  not to be missed, in which Marian Cihon,

  assisted by Jakub Nademlejnský, brings us

  all that is new for the month of May in the

  modelling world.

  Debrieng once again closes out this issue

  of the EMD with a free thought by Vladimir

  Sulc. And since I don‘t yet know what its

  topic is when I hand this editorial over for

  further processing, I leave it up to you to

  nd out.

  I started wring the editorial in Shreveport,

  Louisiana, connued at Heathrow Airport

  in London, and nished it at home. Such

  is the world today….diverse and full of

  surprises and discoveries. I hope that

  this issue of EMD will be like that for you

  as well.

  Jan Zdiarsky

  One of the personalies represenng the creators of the Masters of the Air series

  at the reunion was its Execuve Producer, the hugely inspiring Kirk Saduski. Pictured

  during the historical symposium on prisoners of war (photo by Rob Paley).

  EDITORIAL

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• The 80th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War in Europe

  Wars, their memories and the celebrations of the victors on the anniversaries of their ends, are not only about dates, but also about the small destinies that collectively make up history. One of them recently took place in West Bohemia. On May 9th, 2025, an event dedicated to World War II veteran Harry W. Humason took place in the Soumarsky Most area. He came to the Czech Republic thanks to the efforts of historian Jiri Kluc, who managed to get in touch with one of the last living American veterans who participated in the liberation of the western part of Czechoslovakia on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of this event. Shortly before this day, Harry Humason took part in the Freedom Festival in Pilsen, West Bohemia.

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

  W a r s , t h e i r m e m o r i e s a n d t h e c e l e b r a  o n s

  of the victors on the anniversaries of their

  ends, are not only about dates, but also

  about the small desnies that collecvely

  make up history. One of them recently

  took place in West Bohemia. On May 9th,

  2025, an event dedicated to World War II

  veteran Harry W. Humason took place in

  the Soumarsky Most area. He came to the

  Czech Republic thanks to the eorts of

  historian Jiri Kluc, who managed to get in

  touch with one of the last living American

  veterans who parcipated in the liberaon

  of the western part of Czechoslovakia on

  the occasion of the 80th anniversary of

  this event. Shortly before this day, Harry

  Humason took par t in the Freedom Fesval

  in Pilsen, West Bohemia.

  Harry rst arrived in Czechoslovakia

  on May 4th, 1945 at 10:30am. It was

  somewhere in the woods a couple of miles

  from the German village of Haidhäuser

  (today Haidmühle) where his Company

  I took up defensive posions. The next

  day at 10:00am the company went on the

  aack and by 3:00 that aernoon had taken

  up new posions, four miles northeast

  of Haidhäuser. Harry and his comrades

  remained in these posions unl May 7th,

  when at 6:30am they le Smolna Pec in

  trucks to the Vlci Jam area (probably the

  village of Houzna). Harry also experienced

  The 80th Anniversary

  of the End of the

  Second World

  War in Europe

  The 80th Anniversary

  of the End of the

  Second World

  War in Europe

  The Return

  of Harry Humason

  9

  Josef Tropek

  Harry Humason standing in front of the Charles Havlat monument. (Photo: Author)

  CURRENTAFFAIRS

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• Modern Finnish Navy

  The Finnish Navy made international headlines late last year when it seized the Cook Islands-registered tanker Eagle S, believed to be part of the so-called Russian shadow fleet. The ship, suspected of damaging underwater data and energy infrastructure, was detained in Finland for two months, and the investigation is still ongoing.

  Modern Modern

  Finnish NavyFinnish Navy

  Petr Uzsák

  Finnish missile boat Pori, the fourth ship of Hamina

  class missile boats, in South Harbor of Helsinki.

  Photo: MKFI

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

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  WORLDNAVALFORCES

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  The Finnish Navy made internaonal

  headlines late last year when it seized

  the Cook Islands-registered tanker Eagle

  S, believed to be part of the so-called

  Russian shadow eet. The ship, suspected

  of damaging underwater data and energy

  infrastructure, was detained in Finland for

  two months, and the invesgaon is sll

  ongoing.

  (Among modellers and historians, most

  aenon is typically focused on the

  Finnish armed forces during World War II),

  specically, the Winter War, the Connuaon

  War, and the Lapland War, as they are known

  in Finnish terminology. Parcularly famous

  are the Finnish ghter aces and the diverse

  range of Finnish armored vehicles. However,

  this text focuses on the capabilies of the

  modern Finnish Navy.

  Due to its geographical locaon along

  the Balc Sea, Finland has tradionally been

  a marime country. In the past, it also had

  access to the Barents Sea to the north,

  a connecon lost aer the Soviet aggression

  of 1939 and the subsequent defeat in the

  Winter War. In the post-war period, Finnish

  policy aimed to maintain a neutral posion

  as a bridge between the two world blocs,

  while allowing considerable Soviet inuence

  over the country’s aairs, a situaon known

  Minelayer Uusimaa leaving the River Clyde, Scotland to take part in exercise Joint Warrior 16-2. Photo: Mark Harkin

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

  Modern Finnish Navy

  13

  WORLDNAVALFORCES

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• JUST-A-SNAPPIN’

  The TV Series Masters of the Air, Episode 5: …Thorpe Abbotts is recovering from the shock of the first days of October 1943 that will soon come to be known as ‘Black Week’. Of the nineteen aircraft that took part in the raid on Bremen on October 8th, 1943, eight did not return. Nine more were damaged, three of them seriously. More than eighty seats in the dining room were left empty. The crews Bill of De Marco with Bucky Cleven, Herbert Nash, William MacDonald, Frank H. Meadows, Arthur Becktoft, Tom Murphy with Alvin Barker, Richard Gormley and Everett Blakely with Jack Kidd did not return … among the lost men were three officers from the unit’s senior command. The mournful mood on the base was overwhelming.

  Just-a-Snappin‘

  Story of a Flying Fortress and her crew

  Jan Zdiarský

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

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  HISTORY

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  HISTORY

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  JUST-A-SNAPPIN’

  B-17F-50-DL 42-3393 LD-Y

  The TV Series Masters of the Air, Episode

  5: …Thorpe Abbos is recovering from the

  shock of the rst days of October 1943 that

  will soon come to be known as ‘Black Week’.

  Of the nineteen aircra that took part in the

  raid on Bremen on October 8th, 1943, eight

  did not return. Nine more were damaged,

  three of them seriously.

  More than eighty seats in the dining room

  were le empty. The crews Bill of De Marco

  with Bucky Cleven, Herbert Nash, William

  MacDonald, Frank H. Meadows, Arthur

  Beckto, Tom Murphy with Alvin Barker,

  Richard Gormley and Evere Blakely with

  Jack Kidd did not return … among the lost

  men were three ocers from the unit’s se-

  nior command. The mournful mood on the

  base was overwhelming.

  And then suddenly came the news that

  brightened that despair a lile. Blakely

  and Kidd are alive, and so is Crosby… they

  crash-landed somewhere on the coast of

  England! They are beaten up, but alive!

  Thus begins, or rather ends, the story of the

  Flying Fortress named Just-a-Snappin’…

  B-17F s/n 42-3393 of the 418th Bomb

  Squadron was one of those not originally

  part of the 100th Bomb Group. ‘393’ ar-

  rived at Thorpe Abbos someme in ear-

  ly July as part of a replacement for aircra

  lost during the unit’s rst month of opera-

  ons. During this period, it ew nine mis-

  sions, losing sixty men and six B-17s. It is

  not known for certain whether ‘393’ was

  immediately assigned to Evere Blakely’s

  crew or if others inially ew her. What is

  certain is that a large poron of the four-

  teen missions she ew are associated with

  Lt. Evere E. Blakely and his crew. Of these,

  there are two memorable missions that

  have made this aircra one of the legends

  of the 100th BG.

  Regensburg

  The rst was the mission to Regensburg,

  where Just-a-Snappin’ led the 100th BG to

  its desnaon and then on to North Africa.

  At the controls were Lt. Evere E. Blakely

  as pilot and Maj. John B. ‘Jack’ Kidd, only

  twenty-three years old, as Commanding Pi-

  lot, the formaon Commander.

  Just-a-Snappin’ was one of the lucky

  B-17s to survive the mission to Regensburg.

  Blakely’s crew had already become the lead

  crew and therefore oen ew with the

  Commanding Pilots – for example, on July

  24th,1943 – Trondheim (Col. ‘Chick’ Hard-

  ing), July 25th, 1943 – Warenmunde (Maj.

  John ‘Bucky’ Egan), August 12th, 1943 –

  Wesseling/Bonn (again Col. Harding) and

  August 17th, 1943 – Regensburg (Maj. Jack

  Kidd) …

  At that me, Just-a-Snappin’ was Blakely’s

  regular aircra and therefore oen ew at

  ‘Just-a-Snappin’ in leading posion. Heading into north Africa, Regensburg mission,

  17 August 1943.

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

  Just-a-Snappin’

  19

  HISTORY

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• USS Block Island CVE-21 Part 2

  Although the entry of the United States into the war was a decisive moment in its development—a strategic turning point—it did not immediately manifest at the tactical level. At the time of entering the war, the U.S. Navy had little direct experience with modern naval warfare or anti-submarine warfare, but it could have drawn on the extensive experience of the British. However, it did not. Admiral King, commander of the U.S. Navy, under whose direct authority fell both the protection of shipping in American coastal waters and anti-submarine operations, ignored British recommendations, such as implementing a convoy system for merchant ships sailing in American coastal waters. There was also no consistent coastal blackout, which made it easier for enemy submarines to launch nighttime attacks on ships.

  USS BLOCK ISLAND CVE-21

  part TWO

  VladimírŠulc

  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.

  33

  HISTORY

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

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  HISTORY

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

  USS BLOCK ISLAND CVE-21

  AmericaatWar

  Although the entry of the United States

  into the war was a decisive moment in

  its development—a strategic turning

  point—it did not immediately manifest at

  the taccal level. At the me of entering

  the war, the U.S. Navy had lile direct

  experience with modern naval warfare or

  an-submarine warfare, but it could have

  drawn on the extensive experience of the

  Brish. However, it did not. Admiral King,

  commander of the U.S. Navy, under whose

  direct authority fell both the protecon of

  shipping in American coastal waters and

  an-submarine operaons, ignored Brish

  recommendaons, such as implemenng

  a convoy system for merchant ships sailing

  in American coastal waters. There was

  also no consistent coastal blackout, which

  made it easier for enemy submarines to

  launch nighme aacks on ships.

  Crucial coordinaon between the Air

  Force and Navy in an-submarine warfare

  was lacking, and there were not enough

  resources available for convoy protecon.

  Destroyers that were available were

  concentrated on protecng military

  transports. Smaller ships that had proven

  highly eecve for the Brish, such

  as River-class frigates or Black Swan-

  class an-submarine trawlers, were not

  available to the Americans at all.

  Perhaps the biggest issue was the

  absence of a unied doctrine for an-

  submarine warfare and shipping control.

  Responsibility for these tasks was divided

  among three commands: the Atlanc

  Fleet, responsible for operaons in

  the Atlanc; the North Atlanc Coastal

  Froner, responsible for protecng the

  U.S. east coast from the Canadian border

  to the coast of North Carolina (reorganized

  in February into the Eastern Sea Froner),

  which covered coastal waters from

  Jacksonville, Florida, north to the border

  of Canadian territorial waters; and the

  Gulf Sea Froner, responsible for the Gulf

  of Mexico. Due to the lack of a unied

  doctrine, each command had to develop

  its own combat deployment methods.

  This did not change unl May 1943, when

  these three commands were brought

  under the newly formed U.S. Tenth Fleet.

  SecondHappyTime:

  OperaonPaukenschlag

  The German U-boat force responded

  much more swily to the new situaon.

  Although only ve out of twenty

  operaonal Type IX submarines—capable

  of reaching the U.S. East Coast without

  refueling—were fully combat-ready in

  December 1941, Admiral Dönitz sent them

  from Lorient on December 18 as part of

  Operaon Paukenschlag (translated into

  English as Drumbeat). The Germans acted

  quickly and eecvely, albeit without

  thorough navigaonal and operaonal

  preparaon—but aggressively.

  For instance, Kapitänleutnant Reinhard

  Hardegen, commander of U-123, set o

  toward Long Island armed with two tourist

  guides, one of which contained a fold-

  out map of the New York harbor. Thanks

  to American unpreparedness and poor

  coordinaon, he achieved above-average

  results.

  Brish naval intelligence (Y-Service),

  under Rodger Winn, was aware of the

  U-boat departures and tracked their route.

  They informed both the Canadian Navy

  and Admiral King. The U.S. Combined

  Operaons and Intelligence Center, led

  by Rear Admiral Edwin T. Layton, passed

  the informaon to the Eastern Sea

  Froner Command, but its response was

  surprisingly vague. In the morning of

  January 14, U-123 successfully torpedoed

  the Norwegian tanker Normess (9,500

  GRT) within sight of Long Island, but no

  warships were dispatched to the aack

  area. The following night, Hardegen

  torpedoed the Brish tanker Coimbra

  (6,700 GRT) near Sandy Hook and then

  connued south along the New Jersey

  coast.

  At the same me, 13 destroyers were

  anchored in New York Harbor, but none

  were deployed, and cargo ships connued

  sailing alone along a brightly lit coast

  with navigaon lights on—perfect targets

  for German submarines. These U-boats

  operated in shallow coastal waters,

  where they would have had lile chance

  to escape if depth charges were used

  against them. From January 12, 1942

  (when the Canadian steamer Cyclops was

  sunk) to January 21 (when the submarines

  returned to Lorient), the U-boats sank

  27 ships totaling 156,939 GRT. The most

  successful was U-123, which sank seven

  ships totaling 46,744 GRT, followed by

  U-130 under Captain Ernst Kals with six

  ships, and U-66 under Robert-Richard

  Zapp with ve ships. Heinrich Bleichrodt

  (U-109) sank four ships, and Ulrich

  Folkers, a future Knight’s Cross recipient,

  sank one ship (West Ivis, 6,666 GRT) on

  his rst patrol with U-125, which earned

  him strong cricism from Admiral Dönitz.

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• Bf 110C of Hans-Joachim Jabs

  Wednesday, 11 September 1940. Three large raids in the southeast, including London. Portsmouth and Southampton attacked. The Luftwaffe bombers´ escorts continued relentlessly through the Channel and over England. After reconnaissance flights at lunchtime, Luftflotte 2 put up three big raids, and Luftflotte 3 attacked Southampton.

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

  43

  MODEL&STORY

  Bf 110C of Hans-Joachim Jabs

  Emergency landing of the Gruppenkommandeur

  or insight on planes used by Hans-Joachim Jabs in 1940-41

  Text: Peter Kaššák and Marek Žatkovič

  Model built by: Paolo Portuesi

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  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

  Bf 110C of Hans-Joachim Jabs

  44

  MODEL&STORY

  Wednesday, 11 September 1940. Three

  large raids in the southeast, including

  London. Portsmouth and Southampton

  aacked. The Luwae bombers´ escorts

  connued relentlessly through the Channel

  and over England. Aer reconnaissance

  ights at lunchme, Luoe 2 put up

  three big raids, and Luoe 3 aacked

  Southampton. At 14:45, formaons began

  building up over Calais and Ostend and

  aimed for London. At 15:45, another wave

  came in over Folkestone and was shortly

  followed by a third. Bombs fell on the City,

  the docks, Islington and Paddington, and

  others on Biggin Hill, Kenley, Brooklands,

  and Hornchurch. Simultaneously, two raids

  from Seine Bay and Cherbourg had linked

  up over Selsey Bill and, despite harrying

  ghters, dropped bombs on Southampton

  and Portsmouth.

  Formaons of He 111s from KG 1 and KG 26

  were heading for London. The defense of

  the bombers on the route to distant targets

  was again entrusted to Bf 110s. This me,

  the II. and III./ZG 76 reinforced by parts of

  ZG 26. The Bf 109s were not absent.

  According to the logbook entries, the

  III. Gruppe ew a mission to Portland

  between 12:05 and 14:00 and got into

  a clash with Spiires. One Spiire was

  noted to be shot down by an unknown

  pilot. Stab ZG 76 was airborne at 15:45, and

  Geschwaderkommodore Oberstleutnant

  Walter Grabmann parcipated in his usual

  Bf 110 “M8+XE”.

  It was a black day for the Royal Air Force.

  Some Brish troops were late in geng

  o the ground, others were aacking the

  German echelons in an uncoordinated way.

  Crews of the Bf 110s took advantage of the

  altude and managed to hit and drive o

  some of the aacking ghters. The II./ZG 76

  destroyed two Hurricanes and three Spiires.

  Once again, Max´s and Moritz´s guns came

  into play. Oblt. Herget destroyed his twelh

  opponent by downing one Hurricane. Oblt.

  Jabs claimed the destrucon of a Spiire

  twenty minutes later. It was his seventeenth

  victory, and for the war year of 1940, it was

  his last success too.

  The II./ZG 76 also experienced harsh

  moments and lost one Messerschmi

  Bf 110. It belonged to Stab II./ZG 76 and

  was piloted by Gruppenkommandeur Hptm.

  Erich Groth himself. His Bf 110 was damaged

  over London when its engines were hit.

  The plane began to slow down, ying only

  on one engine. Other airmen of II. Gruppe

  repelled the RAF ghters’ aacks and

  allowed their commander to escape over

  the English Channel. The situaon was

  geng worse, and the plane was losing

  its altude and speed. It didn´t take

  long, and the second engine stopped.

  The experienced former Luhansa pilot

  managed the situaon well. With the

  damaged Bf 110 C-4 W.Nr. 3285 “M8+KC”,

  his crew managed to glide towards the

  coast. Hptm. Groth was an excellent

  pilot. He guessed that he cannot make

  it over the coast and turned his Bf 110

  around and glided along the coast, nally

  landing the crippled aircra in the shallow

  waters of one of the beaches. His men

  were watching him soon waving with the

  aircra´s wings. From the cold waters of

  the sea, the crew waded ashore.

  Iconic ight picture of Bf 110 “M8+EP“ of 6./ZG 76 from the Bale of Britain period. Flights

  of this aircra are documented in the Flugbuch of Uz. Paul Wenke in the second half of

  September 1940. Some indicaons point to the use of this aircra by Fw. Wilhelm Egger of

  the 6. Stael as well.

  Erich Groth was born in 1907. Since Februa-

  ry 1934, he served as Schütze. At the begi-

  nning of 1935 became Oberleutnant and

  on 1.4.1936 was promoted to Hauptmann.

  On 8 November 1938, he was appointed Sta-

  elkapitän 2./JG 231, and on 1 May 1939, Gro-

  th became Staelkapitän of 2./ZG 2. Shortly

  aer the outbreak of WWII, on 22 Septem-

  ber 1939, aer the renaming of 2./ZG 2 to

  2./JGr 102, he remained in the funcon and

  led the Stael. As Staelkapitän ew during

  the occupaon of the Sudetes, Czechoslova-

  kia, and during the Polish campaign.

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• Warning shots - May 2025

  After the last month’s influx of the odd-ball releases, the manufacturers have returned to the good old mainstream items. Right before the Shizuoka fair, they’ve mostly offered the reboxes of existing model kits. So let’s take a look at them.

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

  MAY 2025

  WARNINGSHOTS

  62

  EXPLORING THE PLASTIC MODELLING

  UNIVERSE AND BEYOND

  MarianCihoň&Comp.

  Aerthelastmonth’sinuxoftheodd-ballreleases,themanufacturershavereturnedtothegoodold

  mainstreamitems.RightbeforetheShizuokafair,they’vemostlyoeredthereboxesofexisngmodelkits.

  Solet’stakealookatthem.

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  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

  May releases 2025

  AermacchiMB-326KImpala,

  1/72,LFModels

  LF Models is a small company from the

  Czech Republic with a fairly diverse port-

  folio of the short run injecon-molded

  and resin kits. The Italian trainer and light

  combat aircra MB-326 was recently an-

  nounced in a two-seater version, and now

  a single-seater variant – the MB-326K – is

  joining the line-up. True to the tradions

  of a beer-loving country, the manufacturer

  is also releasing a plethora of accessories

  for the Impala separately – an ejecon seat,

  various types of armament, two types of

  cannon pods, a photo reconnaissance pod,

  and even an access ladder. The oer will

  also include canopy masks and camou-

  age paern masks. Both the kits and the

  accessories are available from the manu-

  facturer’s website.

  DornierDo217K-1,1/48,ICM

  The uncrowned king of twin-engine WWII

  aircra kits – ICM – connues releasing kits

  from the Heinkel and Dornier bomber family.

  Aer several variants of the Do-17 and Do-

  215, they are now preparing the Do-217K-1

  with a fully glazed nose secon, designed

  for night bombing missions.

  CapturedHeinkel,1/48,ICM

  ICM didn’t stress too much about naming

  their second new release, calling it simply

  „Captured Heinkel.“ This is a rebox of the

  He-111, but likely includes just one aircra

  – the H-20 variant – which carried German,

  American, and Brish insignia. It’s a perfect

  kit for anyone who has trouble deciding

  what to build.

  MesserschmiMe410A-1

  aA-3Hornisse,1/72,Airx

  The Me 410 is not a brand-new kit – it was

  rst presented at Scale Model World 2023

  in Telford, UK. However, Airx is now retur-

  ning with two reboxes: the rst is a stan-

  dard release of the A-1 version, featuring

  two aircra – one used as a heavy night -

  ghter, the other for training. The second re-

  lease is a limited edion available to Airx

  Club members only. This one also includes

  two camouage schemes, one being a very

  aracve captured aircra in RAF colors.

  As a bonus, this edion comes with goodies

  like a door hanger, a pin, and a keychain.

  63

  WARNINGSHOTS

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• The May Uprising in the Czech Lands

  The end of the war in the occupied Czech lands is most commonly associated by both Czech and foreign readers with the Prague Uprising. In scale and significance, it is comparable to the uprising in Paris. Both uprisings occurred as the front was approaching these capitals, and in both cases, the insurgents rose up against the occupiers in an improvised manner and under highly unfavourable conditions. In Prague's case, however, the front was not yet close enough, so the insurgents and their rural supporters found themselves in a very difficult situation.

  Eduard Modeller‘s Den No. 5 - MAY 2025

  67

  JanBobek

  The May Uprising

  in the Czech Lands

  The May Uprising

  in the Czech Lands

  A view of the insurgent headquarters „Alex“ aer the end of

  the Prague May Uprising in 1945. From le to right: Infantry

  Major Theodor Pokorný; Brigadier General Franšek Slunečko;

  Brigadier General Zdeněk Novák; Reserve First Lieutenant

  and former editor-in-chief of Pestrý týden, publisher Karel

  Neubert; General Sta Lieutenant Colonel Raimund Mrázek.

  TheendofthewarintheoccupiedCzechlandsismost

  commonlyassociatedbybothCzechandforeignreaders

  withthePragueUprising.Inscaleandsignicance,itis

  comparabletotheuprisinginParis.Bothuprisingsoccurred

  asthefrontwasapproachingthesecapitals,andinboth

  cases,theinsurgentsroseupagainsttheoccupiersin

  animprovisedmannerandunderhighlyunfavourable

  condions.InPrague‘scase,however,thefrontwas

  notyetcloseenough,sotheinsurgentsandtheirrural

  supportersfoundthemselvesinaverydicultsituaon.

  HISTORICALREFLECTION

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• Editorial

  Dear Friends,

   

  I write this editorial somewhere halfway between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Dallas, Texas, on my way back from the 100th Bomb Group Foundation Reunion, which took place between May 14th and 18th, 2025 in New Orleans on the Gulf Coast, in cooperation with the National WWII Museum. The reunion itself was a wonderful gathering of long-time friends, families of members of the Bloody Hundredth of World War II, as well as active members of its descendant unit, the 100th Air Refueling Wing USAF. There were historians and also the creators of the television series Masters of the Air, which recently focused on the 100th BG. Thanks to this series, many relatives of 100th BG veterans who had no idea that this tightly knit family even existed, attended. The most important among the approximately 350 participants were, of course, three of the surviving veterans of this unit. They attracted the most attention and were rightfully the stars of the meeting.

  From a lecture on the air battle of 11 September 1944, which was the second most tragic mission in the history of the 100th BG, which I attended in New Orleans on the first day of the reunion (photos by Chip and Anna Culpepper).

  
  

  There is of course a big difference from my first 100th BG reunion in 1997, where there were about 200 veterans among the approximately 600 participants... I realized too late that I was meeting personalities whose names were still unknown to me at the time in some cases and contexts. Nevertheless, these opportunities brought a lot of invaluable things into my life. History needs to be preserved and passed on truthfully so that it can be an inspiration and a lesson for us. And that is one of the main missions of our magazine, along with a liberal sprinkling of interesting facts and a healthy coefficient of entertainment.

  The opening paragraph of this editorial, discussing the 100th Bomb Group, as well as the company I have spent the past few days with, allows me to move on to the content of this issue. One of the two historical articles this month is the story of one of the most famous B-17Fs attached to the 100th BG, the aircraft named Just-a-Snappin', and its crew. Among other things, I again met up with the sons of the pilot of this aircraft, Capt. Everett Blakely, and their families. The story of Just-a-Snappin’ during the mission to Bremen on October 8th, 1943 is an excerpt from a book published by the Publishing section of Eduard in cooperation with the 100th BG Foundation and which had its baptism at the reunion. One of the aforementioned sons of Capt. Everett Blakely, Jim, was among several who ceremoniously baptized the book. For the ceremony, American High Life beer was used, somewhat unusually, instead of wine. Not perhaps because it is called the ‘champagne of beers’, but mainly because of the symbolism brought out by another famous B-17F from the 100th BG that was named after this beer, popular as early as the 1940s, to which a chapter is also dedicated in the book.

  On the left – one of the masters above masters and an amazing person – artist Gil Cohen, one of the world's leading authors in the field of aviation art (photo by Curtis Wilson).

  With John H. Lucky Luckadoo, whose B-17F Sunny II you can build from Eduard kit # 11183.

  
  

  Those of you who purchased the limited edition B-17F ‘The Bloody Hundredth 1943’ and followed the events surrounding the kit’s evolution have probably noticed a series of my articles from the special edition of the Eduard newsletter. At that time, thoughts and desires to publish this material as a book were coming together as well. So we did this by adding additional chapters about three B-17Fs important to the history of the 100th BG, whose markings were not part of the kit’s marking options for whatever reasons. Blakely's Just-a-Snappin’ is one of them. To avoid any questions - yes, it will also be available as a new release for June from the Eduard webstore.

  Another historical article in this issue is a continuation of the story of the American escort aircraft carrier USS Block Island. In the continuation of a three-part series, Vladimir Sulc presents the story of this vessel in the context of the World War II battles for supremacy in the Atlantic Ocean. For those of you who have not read the first part, we recommend returning to the April issue of EMD.

   Larry Spencer, nephew of Maj. Gale W. ‘Bucky’ Cleven, one of the legends of the 100th BG and one of the central characters in the Masters of the Air series, also came to sign copies of Eduard's newly published book. Larry's uncle also features in the book.

  The historical symposium at the reunion, held at the WWII National Museum in New Orleans, was dedicated to the issue of prisoners of war.

  
  

  No less interesting is the discussion on the development of camouflage patterns used on Messerschmitt Bf 110 versions C to E flown by German ace Hans-Joachim Jabs in the Model & Story section. The author of this historical piece is Peter Kassak and, similar to the story on Just-a-Snappin’, this article is also based on the recently published book on the history of Zerstörergeschwader 76, which Peter Kaššák wrote together with Marek Žatkovič. The build component of this article was taken care of by Italian modeler Paolo Portuesi and its subject is one of Jabs' Bf 110Cs.

  In the Current Affairs section, we will stay on the theme of the Second World War. The 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe also allowed one of the last surviving US Army soldiers who participated in the liberation of the western part of Czechoslovakia to return to the places of his battles in Western Bohemia. Josef Tropek submitted his report on the ocassion.

  You can read in Jan Bobek’s article about the fact that liberation from German Nazism was not entirely simple, straightforward or black and white in the rest of Czechoslovakia, something that Czechoslovak history books tended to gloss over as they needed to suit the communist regime.

  In the column dedicated to current world naval forces, Petr Uzsák this time focuses on the Finnish Navy, which only recently became part of NATO and which, with its entry, technology and experience, has greatly strengthened the alliance's naval forces.

  The Warning Shots column is once again not to be missed, in which Marian Cihon, assisted by Jakub Nademlejnský, brings us all that is new for the month of May in the modelling world.

  Debriefing once again closes out this issue of the EMD with a free thought by Vladimir Sulc. And since I don't yet know what its topic is when I hand this editorial over for further processing, I leave it up to you to find out.

  I started writing the editorial in Shreveport, Louisiana, continued at Heathrow Airport in London, and finished it at home. Such is the world today….diverse and full of surprises and discoveries. I hope that this issue of EMD will be like that for you as well.

   

  Jan Zdiarsky

  One of the personalities representing the creators of the Masters of the Air series at the reunion was its Executive Producer, the hugely inspiring Kirk Saduski. Pictured during the historical symposium on prisoners of war (photo by Rob Paley).

  
  

• Current Affairs

• World Naval Forces

• HISTORY

• USS BLOCK ISLAND CVE-23

• MODEL & STORY

• WARNING SHOTS

• HISTORICAL REFLECTION

• DEBRIEFING