Vingtor Decals VTH48-153 1:48 RAF Norwegian Campaign 1940 - Gloster Gladiator Mk.II & Hawker Hurricane Mk.I

Vingtor Decals VTH48-153 1:48 RAF Norwegian Campaign 1940 - Gloster Gladiator Mk.II & Hawker Hurricane Mk.I

RAF Norwegian Campaign 1940 - Gloster Gladiator Mk.II & Hawker Hurricane Mk.I

https://vingtor.net/downloads/VD_48-153.pdf

Gloster Gladiator Mk.II, N5628/HE-B. 263 Sqn., Lake Lesjaskog, April 1940.
Gloster Gladiator Mk.II, N5508/HE-F. 263 Sqn., Bardufoss, May 1940. Hawker Hurricane Mk.I, P2652/PO-T. 56 Sqn., Bardufoss, May 1940.

The RAF 1940 Norwegian Campaign
In April 1940, Royal Air Force deployed No. 263 Squadron to Norway to provide fighter cover for Allied operations. Operating their Gloster Gladiator Mk.IIs from the frozen Lake Lesjaskog in the southern part of the country, most aircraft froze their wheels to the ice during the first night and were unable to take off, becoming were easy targets for German bombers. The following day the 5 remain- ing serviceable Gladiators moved to a new landing ground at Setnesmoen near ...ndalsnes, from where they made a few more sorties until destroyed by their pilots due to lack of fuel. The personnel then returned to Britain.
After being resupplied with new aircraft, 263 Squadron returned to Norway two weeks later, this time accompanied by No. 46 Squad- ron with their Hawker Hurricane Mk.Is. Operating from Bardufoss in Northern Norway, the British fighters were now much more suc- cessful. After ten days the two squadrons evacuated and flew their remaining aircraft onto the carrier HMS Glorious. On the way back to Scapa Flow, Glorious, escorted by two destroyers, was intercepted and sunk by the battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau 200 miles of the Norwegian coast just north of the Arctic Circle. Out of a total of over 1500 men only 41 survived.
Gloster Gladiator
All Gladiators that served in Southern Norway had the two-bladed wooden propellor. Of the aircraft that were sent to Norrthern Norway there was a mix of two-bladed and three-bladed propellors. All aircraft seem to have had the early non-armoured windshield.
Gladiator models
Roden has made a very nice series of 1/48 scale kits of the Gladiator. Another option is the I Love Kit (from the Trumpeter and Hobby Boss group)
Hawker Hurricane
The Hurricanes in Norway in 1940 were a combination of Hawker built and Gloster built aircraft. The Hawker built L-series on this decal sheet had fabric wings and early type antennae post. They had retrofitted external windshield armour plate and seat armour plate. They had dull coloured roundels. The Gloster built P-series had metal wings, late style antennae post and internal windshield armour plate. They had bright pre-war roundel colours on fuselage and wing upper sides applied by Gloster, while lower wing surfaces and fin flashes were all applied after delivery from the production line and were in the dull colours. All aircraft seem to have the de Havilland propeller.
Hurricane models
Arma Hobby makes several very nice Hurricane models, but at the time of writing they hare not released the MkI in 1/48 scale. Thus the new (2015) Airfix kit is probably the best. This has the metal wing. The only fabric wing kit was released by Classic Airframes and has been out of production for a long time. There was also a not very good conversion set by MDC
Decal application
The decals have a very thin carrier film and need to be handled with care. Individual decals should be cut out and soaked for a few seconds in lukewarm water. Slide the decal from the paper over to the model's surface without wrinkling. Avoid moving the decal excessively to avoid tearing the film and washing off the adhesive. The carrier film might at first seem rigid and difficult to lay down over complex surfaces, but using decal solutions like Micro Set and Micro Sol will make them snuggle down over detail and make them look painted on when completely dry. For best results, decals should always be applied to a gloss surface.
Thanks
The decals for both Gladiator and Hurricane are based on research done by Bengt Stangvik.