By way of creating a little variety in what I am presenting to this august community I thought this time I would move away from the land based units and share something that I believe to be a globally unique item... and one which I believe has an expansive sense of nostalgia and beauty... the Letov S-328 reconnaissance and light bomber.
The Letov S-328 was an evolution of the experimental S-28 of 1929 and the S-228 of 1931. The S-328 had been designed to Finnish requirements, although in the end the Finns did not accept the type opting instead to take the Dutch Fokker CX. However despite the Finnish withdrawal from production negotiations the Czechoslovakian Ministry of Defence became interested in the type and by 1934 the new biplane had been ordered into production for deployment into the Czech front line reconnaissance squadrons.
The aircraft was powered by a Bristol Pegasus II. M2 sporting a nine cylinder radial engine pumping out 635 hp at sea level and still pushing out 580 hp at 5,000 ft. The S-328 was a sturdy aircraft of all metal internal construction with fabric covering all but the light metal fuselage upper decking.
Armament of the aircraft was normally a pair of fixed forward firing 7.92mm vz.30 machine guns in the wings and a pair of similar machine guns on a Skoda manufactured pintel mount in the rear observation cupola. Racks could also be attached below the wings and beneath the main fuselage for the transportation and delivery of up to 1,000 lb of bombs.
The maximum speed that could be achieved by this aircraft ranged from 174 mph at 5,900 ft to 158 mph at 16,400 ft, an altitude that it could reach in 17 minutes. The service ceiling was 23,620 ft and with the standard load of fuel could achieve an optimal range of around 435 miles, although with tanks this could push out to around 795 miles.
The Czechoslovakian Air Force had six air regiments in its composition in 1938. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd were Mixed, the 4th was a dedicated fighter regiment whilst the 5th and 6th were dedicated bomber regiments. Only the 3rd Regiment, named the 'General Rotislav Stefanik Regiment' was stationed in Slovakia at the time of the declaration of independence, with its headquarters situated in Piestany. On the formation of the Slovak state it was immediately subordinated to the Slovak Ministry of Defence.
In March 1939 Groups I, II and IV included squadrons equipped with the Letov S-328, although interestingly despite its deployment as a light bomber all of the squadrons in the initial composition are listed as Observation Squadrons.
The Slovak Air Force inherited over 300 aircraft of varying and dubious quality when it declared independence and of these 73 were Letov S-328's in the front line squadrons (although a further 101 were held in the Replacement Group founded in March 1939 to replace losses in the front line squadrons and to train new pilots).
Whilst the Slovak Air Force looked relatively impressive on paper the truth was somewhat more sobering. A high percentage of the Air Force pilots and technical ground crew were Czech and after the 1938 demobilisation and subsequent declaration of independence of the Slovak state were largely forced to return home to the protectorate. Of all of the aircraft retained by the Slovaks only the Avia B-534 still had any practical combat value with all other aircraft already obsolete, including the large numbers of S-328's in their inventory.
The new Slovak Air Force had its first blooding in March 1939 almost as soon as they had declared independence when the Hungarians occupied Transcarpathian Ruthenia on 16 March. The Hungarians decided to take advantage of the prevailing chaos in Slovakia and penetrate their perceived ancestral lands in Eastern Slovakia. Slovak units put up a brave but desperate defence under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel August Malar, reorganising themselves on the fly.
They were assisted in the defence of Eastern Slovakia by the Slovak Air Force that immediately committed the 20 Avia B-534's of the 45th and 49th Fighter Squadrons and the 20 Letov S-328's of the 12th and 13th Observation Squadrons to the fray.
As these squadrons were only able to muster around 6 pilots each in March they were bolstered by the temporary assignment of pilots from the 15th Observation Squadron from Zilin as well as pilots and machines from the 37th, 38th and 39th Fighter Squadrons stationed in Piestany.
The Hungarian army and air force were an extremely professional and well trained force and when faced with the disorganised chaos that was the Slovak armed forces the results could be predicted.
Reconnaissance sorties were begun on 23 March. On this first day the Slovaks lost two of their Avias to the proficient and accurate Hungarian anti aircraft defences, several others also sustained damage.
24 March saw heavy activity all along the short front line resulting in heavy losses for the Slovaks. On this day the opponents were the Magyar Kiralyi Honved Legiero (Royal Hungarian Home Defence Air Force) Fiat 32 fighters from the 1/1 'Ijasz' (Archer) Group from Uzhorod. Through seventeen sorties the Slovaks lost one S-328 and three Avia B-534's with several more being damaged, three of the pilots being killed in action. In the afternoon nine Fiats jumped on a bombing sortie of three Letov S-328's protected by a further three Avia B-534's. In the course of this combat the three Avia's were shot down along with one of the Letovs with one more being forced to make an emergency landing... the Hungarians were unscathed.
Through the course of the Hungarian border conflict the Slovaks had lost of a total of nine Avia B-534's and four Letov S-328's with seven aircrew killed in action and one taken prisoner.
In the invasion of Poland in 1939 the Slovakian state gave permission for the German Luftwaffe to use its airbases and whilst committing its own 51,000 strong Army Corps to the invasion only committed three squadrons to the invasion. The 39th and 45th fighter squadrons were detailed to provide support to German Stuka and Do-17 bomber squadrons. The 16th Observation Squadron conducted light bombing missions, made a general nuisance of itself to the Poles by dropping leaflets all over the place and conducted liaison duties between the Army Corps and Slovakia.
Due to losses due to various reasons including significant desertions and defections by the end of 1939 it became necessary to reorganise the Air Force squadrons again. Due to the shortage of Slovak pilots of the original five fighter squadrons only three were able to be formed by the amalgamation of the others, the 11th, 12th and 13th whilst of the original seven Observation Squadrons after amalgamation only three could achieve full strength and these were the 1st in Zilina, the 2nd in Spisska Nova and the 3rd in Nitra, all equipped with the Letov S-328.
On 1 May 1941 these three Observation Squadrons were all united into the 1st Observation Group stationed at Spisska Nova. By 1943 the three squdron structure had been maintained although the 1st Squadron had surrendered its Letovs in favour of Nazi supplied Fw 189 A-2's subsequently renamed the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron.
On 1 April 1943 the 41st Bomber Squadron was formed as a part of the planned 3rd Bomber Group, drawing on the pilots being trained in the Slovak Flying School and were trained from August 1943 on He-111 aircraft on the Saki Airfield in the Crimea, although two of the crews were actually trained in Germany.
In autumn of 1943 the squadron was transferred to Poprad where it was equipped with old and worn out Letov S-328's. At this time the Slovaks still had 41 of these machines left of which 33 were airworthy.
When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 the Slovaks were the first of Germany's allies to cross the Soviet border to assist. They did so with the soldiers of the elite Mobile Brigade and Field Corps. When in August 35,000 men were demobilised to assist with the harvest at home the Mobile Brigade was expanded into a Mobile Division whilst the Field Corps was downgraded to a Security Division. Air Force units were sent into the Soviet Union to support the ground units.
The 1st Observation Group was sent consisting of all three squadrons, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Squadrons with their 30 Letov S-328's. Initially they flew from their airbases in Eastern Slovakia but as the troops pushed deeper into the Soviet Union the squadrons started redeploying to Forward Air Bases into the Ukraine.
The aircraft of the Observation Group carried out repeated bombing sorties against Soviet Columns, along with reconnaissance flights and the habitual liaison duties that was expected of them. According to the reports of the General Staff during the first four months of the invasion the Observation Group conducted 73 reconnaissance flights, 7 bombing and 5 attack sorties. 702 flights above their own territory and 664 flights during advances through Soviet terrain for a total of 1,320 flight hours and 264,000 km covered.
Despite the fact that the Letovs were considered successful in the ground attack role during this period it must be stated that they were attacking in the face of very weak opposition, and despite this losses started to mount with spare parts proving problematic to source. Because of these factors by 25 July the 2nd Squadron was forced to return to Slovakia with the 3rd Squadron following on 18 August leaving only the 1st Squadron in the field. To replace losses, aircraft from the returning squadrons were handed over to the 1st Squadron so that the Observation Group was still able to support the Mobile Division in its drive on Kiev.
Though some of their actions were considered very successful the 1st Observation Squadron had to be pulled back to Slovakia as by this time the squadron strength had been whittled down to only three serviceable Letovs. Most of these losses had been sustained by Flak and general wear and tear of machine parts although it wasn't unheard of for the Flak to be originating with German and on one occasion Slovakian anti aircraft defence units.
In the summer of 1942 the Slovak Air Force again returned to the Russian Front with two squadrons. The 1st Observation Squadron with only six Letov S-328's and the 11th Fighter Squadron with twelve Avia B-534's. By this time the Slovaks and Germans prudently decided not to deploy either into front line service but instead deployed them in support of the Security Division in its anti partisan duties. The 1st Squadron remained in the field until October 1942 when it was finally retired from the field and returned to Slovakia.
This was almost the end of the serviceable life of the Letov's but in 1944 as the Red Bear approached Eastern Slovakia a newly formed Air Arms Group was formed with the 2nd Observation Squadron being equipped with twelve Letovs with a further three held in the central reserve. These aircraft saw no combat against the Soviet Union as at this time the Slovak Uprising kicked off, amongst the usual chaos that the Slovaks had a propensity for.
By the time of the uprising only the airfield of Tri Duby was under Slovak control and here there were five Letovs present for use. This was the last hurrah for the Letov S-328 which during the course of the Uprising as a constituent part of the Combined Squadron flew a total of 350 Operational Sorties in the two months that the uprising lasted and achieving one of the last air victories achieved by a biplane when on 7 September, half way through the Uprising when a patrolling S-328 was attacked by a reconnaissance Focke-Wulf Fw 189. The Fw 189 was damaged by the twin vz.30 machine guns controlled by the observer and forced to land in an area still under insurgent control.
At least they finished on a high no matter what their previous combat record was.
So, I suppose the first thing that most people will be wondering is where in hell can they lay their hands on a 1/100 Letov S-328 just like this one. Well, at present ladies; you can't!
I believe that this may currently be the single existing 1/100 example in the world. However it does represent an object lesson in how obsession can lead to extraordinary steps being taken in the quest for 'getting what you want!'
I habitually spend months scouring the interweb to find the bits and pieces that I want in order to put together my weird and whacky playthings and whilst a lot of the time I can claim moderate success where the Slovak air force in 1/100 was concerned I came up with an absolute brick wall.
I had to consider other options. I have no ability to sculpt these aircraft myself as in all truth I wouldnt even know where to start. I had no 3D sculpting skills either so I couldnt rig one up by myself and I also couldnt find any examples in any 3D library that I scoured... this only left me with two options; forget it (not bloody likely) or bring in the hit men!
This I did.
I decided that a small home run business selling a range of rare and/or impossible to get a hold of models was the way forwards in order to recoup some of my losses that this venture would no doubt cause. In line with this idea I struck up a conversation with a producer who I had been keeping an eye on for a while and whose stuff was impressing me. We discussed relative costs of sculpting and production and once we agreed prices and business arrangements I contracted an attached 3D artist to begin work. This one took a while due to other commitments getting in the way BUT when it was finally printed off it made quite the impression. Took a bit of effort to clean up but the results cant be argued with in my opinion.
The painting came next and for the most part I have to say was relatively simple.
The whole aircraft was primed with a standard grey primer from a rattle can and left to dry.
Once dry the plane was airbrushed with a uniform layer of MIG 058 Light Khaki Green.
Once this was dry the most painstaking part of the process needed to be done. 0.5mm wide masking tape strips were applied along the rib lines of the upper wings, fuselage, and tail planes. Once this was done the leading edge of the upper and lower main wings had a thin 2mm wide contour tape strip applied to it.
Once secure the airbrush was used to spray a light covering of MIG 059 Khaki Green over the top of the light khaki green. It is important that you do not spray too heavily in this step as it will leave the contrasts between the two layers two pronounced and will look weird. Use a bit of discretion and leave it at a level where the highlighted areas are left apparent but not overpowering.
Once done and dry the masks can all be removed and you should have quite an effective overall feel to the aircraft.
The next colour to be applied is the Vallejo's 993 Flat Aluminium on the underside of the wings and the fuselage. Due to the fact that this colour is so high key I opted not to waste time with contrasting on an area of the plane that will barely be seen. This paint needs to be treated with care and if it wasn't the fact that it is the perfect colour I would opt to ditch it in favour of another colour as the Vallejo paint just seems to be far too thin to be used with the brush and I didn't want to have to go through the grief of masking everything off again.
The next step was the yellow, for which i did have to mask everything off. I applied the masks leaving clear the areas to be airbrushed and mixed up Vallejo's 953 Flat Yellow highlighted with Vallejo's 915 Deep Yellow with a touch of white.
Again all masks were removed and the fine details were now tackled.
A coat of Varnish was applied and then pin lining was done on all of the fuselage panel lines and aileron and flap joints with AK Interactives Wash for Nato Camo Vehicles.
Once dry the excess was rubbed away just leaving the profiling.
All metal parts were painted with Molten Metal Steel mixed with Vallejo Black. The tires were painted Vallejo Black followed by Lifecolors UA733 Tyre Black as the highlight.
Finally the pilots and propeller blades were painted... although I feel relatively sure you can work out how to do that yourself...
...and so we come to the very last thing that I needed to do for this addition to my Slovak army... the decals.
Now, I am capable of making my own decals BUT the experience that I have had so far has led to decals that are uncomfortably thick and ones that cannot include white unless as an overall substrate to the total image and so one of my Polish friends suggested I approach a gentleman in Poland that both he and his father had used to produce specialist decals.
I thus contracted one Bogdan Zolnierowicz through Facebook to produce for me a decal sheet with enough Slovak aircraft and tank markings to polish off everything that I thought I would need. Along with a couple of sheets of numbers and letters I had enough to produce the exact representation that I wanted and Bogdan's decals were exactly what the doctor ordered.
Incidentally if you want to approach Bogdan for help with decals he says you are all welcome to do so. He may not respond quickly but he will eventually and he is the only one on Facebook with the name.
Another project finished, so on to the next!
Fix bayonets!
