Editorial

Dear Readers and Friends

Here we are with the sixth issue of our magazine, which with the coming summer could change part of its concept from a modeler's chaise longue to a sun lounge under a huge parasol, a drink in one hand with or without an umbrella... Alan Karlsson always prefers it without, in the shade of a local aero club hangar, or on the doorstep of a summer cottage. We have been evolving this magazine for you for half a year, trying to earn your attention in a positive way with a variety of articles and interesting topics.

The contents of this issue will take us to the sunny south coast of Great Britain in the late summer of 1940, to the cold waves of the Atlantic and to the sweltering airfields in the depths of Russia. And not only that. So let's take a closer look at today's content.

The last mentioned theme of Russian airfields are the topic of an article by Miro Baric. By now, you have certainly heard a lot about Operation Spiderweb. Here you can see a summary of the events along with a sobering assessment of the results of this extraordinary military action. The author of this article also approached the attempt to present things from an unusual perspective when he placed the mentioned operation in a historically longer-term context.

In the first of the history-focused articles, we have an interesting musing by Chris Goss about what happened with a crash during the unfolding war over the Channel, leading to the question of who actually shot down the German ace Rolf Pingel?

The second historical article will conclude the story of the American escort carrier USS Block Island, which participated in the protection of convoys in the Atlantic from May, 1943 to May of the following year, and eventually became the only US Navy aircraft carrier sunk in the Atlantic Ocean. Don't be fooled by the fact that it is the Atlantic. The story of the aforementioned ship consists mainly of the air operations of the units for which the USS Block Island provided support. For those of you who were interested in this series of articles by Vladimir Sulc, I can please you with the behind-the-scenes information that the author wants to add an interesting post script to the given topic.

Jan Bobek's historical column takes us just one month ahead from the sinking of Block Island, to June 1944, when the Soviet Union launched its second offensive against Finland during World War II. Once, at the beginning, it did so as an ally of Nazi Germany (we discussed this in EMD No. 1) and the second time, as an enemy of Germany, in 1944.

In a series of articles about the world's current naval forces, Petr Uzsák will focus this time on Sweden.

For those who find the history too much, they can move on to the present, or rather the near future, in the Warning Shots section - the usual batch of model news for this month, June 2025.

But since we are a historical-model magazine, the two worlds will be brought together again in the Model & Story section. Its theme is the end of October 1944 in Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. One of the Japanese Zeros, deployed in attacks against American vessels, became the model of our Italian friend Paolo Portuesi.

Finally, I would like to add that we would be happy to welcome your feedback, opinions on the articles and the concept of the magazine as a whole. We would be happy if you would contact us at emd@eduard.cz or directly at my personal jan.zdiarsky@eduard.cz.

In the first paragraph of today's editorial, I wrote about deckchairs under an umbrella, or a shady corner of a hangar. Wherever you read your EMD, I wish you a good read and plenty of inspiration. And don't forget to treat yourself to some quiet time for modeling. And one more thing - I can't help but keep repeating myself - don't forget that buying this magazine can also make your purchases at the Eduard e-shop significantly cheaper. EMD is worth it in every way! 😊

Jan Zdiarský