Another fighter in 1/32 scale is finished: IAR-81 from Special Hobby.
A "Short Run-Antispeedmodelling-Kit" ...... not suitable for beginners, but also no witchcraft for experienced modellers.
The IAR 80 was a Romanian World War II low-wing monoplane, all-metal monocoque fighter and ground-attack aircraft. When it first flew, in 1939, it was comparable to contemporary designs being deployed by the airforces of the most advanced military powers. Production problems and lack of available armament delayed entry of the IAR 80 into service until 1941. It remained in frontline use until May 1945.
The final stage in the IAR 80's wartime history was the 81C. This version changed the guns once again, this time to the Mauser MG 151/20 which was replacing the MG FF/M in German service and had just been released for Romanian use. The order for the 81C was placed in May 1942, predating the second order of the 81As.
The first order for 100 airframes was delivered, like all of the prior updates to the 81 series, with the centerline bomb rack removed to be used as fighters. An additional order for 35 was placed in February 1943, and then another 15 in January 1944. These aircraft were primarily to replace losses in earlier models, while production of the Bf 109G ramped up.
My IAR-81C shows the "White 329", flown by Adj.Av. Victor Petric of Esc.61/Vt./Gr.6Vt, Popesti-Leoderni, May 1944.
On May 31. the 329 got hits into its port wing and flaps during a dogfight with USAAF fighters. However Victor Petric managed to bring his wounded bird back to base.
Cheers......
Stefan
[imghttps://picload.org/image/dgigigla/dsc_0019.jpg[/img]
