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Dornier Do 217

Revell/Monogram Pro Modeler kit
1/48 Scale
Start Build Date: 08/5/2002
Finished: 09/03/2002, 30 days to complete
143 Pieces


Colors:

All paint were Testors Acryl: Standard Luftwaffe maritime schema for operations over water The colors were Grun RLM72/Grun RLM73 over Lichtblau RLM76, Schawarzgaru RLM 66 interior, and some Grau RLM02.
Model master sealer after decals.


Dornier Do. 217E-5
II./KG100, Bay of Biscay, August, 1943


The Do 217E-Ss, which your ProModeler kit represents, were modified from late production Do 217E-4s to carry the Henschel Hs 293A stand-off missile. This was one of the earliest examples of a "smart" or guided weapon, and it was designed for use in the anti-shipping role. It allowed the aircraft to attack a ship while remaining beyond the range of the vessel's anti-aircraft guns. An ETC 2000/XII carrier was fitted under each wing, and although two missiles could be carried, only one was normally loaded for operational missions. An external fuel tank was usually installed under the other wing. Using command guidance, the missile was controlled by the bombardier who operated a Knuppel joystick controller as he visually observed the weapon while it flew to its target. A Telefunken FuG 203b Kehl III transmitter was fitted in the aircraft, and it was linked to a FuG 230b Strassburg receiver inside the missile. A heating system was added inside the aircraft's wings to keep the temper- ature inside the missile within operating limits. The first unit to use the Do 217E-5 and the Henschel Hs 293A in combat was II/KG 100, and the first missions were flown on August 25, 1943, when Allied destroyers were attacked in the Bay of Biscay. The decal sheet in this kit has markings for two aircraft from this unit.



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