WOW701 Halberstadt CL-II ‘Red Flame 4’

Description

HALBERSTADT CL-II ‘RED FLAME 4’ 

The Idflieg (Inspektion der Fliegertruppen – “Inspectorate of Flying Troops”) was the bureau of the German Empire that oversaw German military aviation prior to and during World War I. Idflieg identified the airplanes flown by designating whether they were fighters (E for single wing or D for biplanes preceding model number: E.III, D-II etc.), 2-seater unarmed reconnaissance (B), and armed 2 seaters (C). In late 1916 Idflieg decided there was a need for a lighter version of their armed 2-seater airplanes, and designated them as Cl. It was a small and quite cramped aircraft for the crew. Pilot and observer were able to sit in the same cockpit, which made communication between the two very easy. However, due to the cramped conditions, it was hardly possible to take any equipment with you. As a result, many CL.II crews improvised and attached external load carriers around the entire cockpit to carry grenades, flare ammunition or other projectiles such as flying arrows. However, it was most dangerous for the observer when he had to defend himself on the rotating mount. Sometimes he even had to climb onto the seat or bend over the carriage ring to shoot.

The Halberstadt CL.II entered service in mid-1917, and proved extremely successful, its excellent manoeuvrability, rate of climb and excellent field of fire for its armament allowed it to match opposing single-seat fighters.  The design was intended to provide a 2-seater airplane that could provide fighter protection for recon and bombing airplanes. By July of 1917, the Halberstadt Cl.II began to appear on the Western Front. They were grouped into units called Schustas to provide protection flights. Some individual Cl.IIs were assigned to other 2-seater recon or bombing groups to act as fighter escorts. The airplane was easy to fly, provided good visibility and was agile enough to hold its own against Allied fighters. By April, 1918 Idflieg reported that the Schustas preferred the Halberstadt Cl.II to all other types.

The 1/30 scale Halberstadt CL-II we are releasing is from the Royal Bavarian Schusta 26b. Six airplanes assigned to the Schusta, numbered 1 to 6, the number was painted in white on a red fuselage circle. The front of the airplane was decorated in red, ending in a flame-like marking that extended past the rear cockpit.

Some of the planes had the red outlined in white, some didn’t. Some included names of wives or girlfriends placed inside the flames.  The markings on this aircraft are both dramatic and elaborate, we can only imagine just how long the marking took to apply to the full sized aircraft, but we can grasp the intricacy from our experience of putting them on our scaled down aircraft.

We have 5 each of these 1/30 scale models available priced at $750 plus postage.

The figures and accessories shown are for scale comparison purposes only and are not included with the model.