Cornered tiger: Polish Fw190A-8/U16

[comrade harps]

Fw190A-8/U16, 316 Squadron, Polish Air Force, Kutno, April 1945


Following the Separate Peace of August, 1944, the Polish Government in Exile flew from London to Warsaw and immediately announced that they would join with the new non-Nazi German government in defending Poland from The Red Army. In a speech given in early October, Polish Prime Minister Stanisław Mikołajczyk urged his people to "fight like a cornered tiger" in defence of their nation against the Reds.

The Separate Peace saw those Poles serving alongside the Western Allies quickly demobilised. Although disarmed, they were transported to Poland by ship, rail and air and the British and Americans provided non-lethal aide, including food, medicines and fuel. All Polish military equipment came from Germany, which, freed from the menace of Allied bombing and itself sustained by Western logistical support, increased its output of arms during the last quarter of 1944.


The re-formed Polish Air Force's fighter squadrons received their first aircraft in late October with the delivery of the Fw190A-8. Various models were acquired, the most numerous being the  Fieseler built Fw190A-8/U16. This fighter-bomber version standardised on the bubble canopy and enlarged head armour support strut of the D and F series. As German fighter jets took over the air-superiority role, piston engine fighters like the Polish '190s increasing undertook ground attack work.


This Fw190A-8/U16 was photographed in service with 316 Squadron at Kutno, Poland, in April 1945. According to the photographer's note book, it was seen prior to an armed reconnaissance mission over Red Army held territory to the west of Warsaw. At the time, battles raged in and around the Polish capital as Germans and Poles fought to tighten their grip on the Reds who held the city. History would record that after the Red Army took Warsaw in the autumn of 1944, the Germans and Poles were able to stabilise the front and launch a counter-attack, encircling the city during a spring offensive. Defeated and pushed back, the Red Army was unable to re-take Warsaw until the spring of 1946.


The tiger motif that appears on this aircraft was inspired by Polish Prime Minister Mikołajczyk's "cornered tiger" quote of 1944. In December, 1944, the order for aircraft on the Eastern Front to have yellow theatre bands was rescinded and many Polish Air Force units re-styled these bands as tiger camouflage. The blue on the nose, tail and individual aircraft letter represented the 316th's squadron colour. The red and white spinner was a widely adopted expression of Polish nationalism.

[NARSES2]

Nice 

Who's kit and what scale ?

[tc2324]

The model and back story are fantastic. 

Anymore builds in the pipework that relate to this `What if` era?

[dumaniac]

Comrade - love the tiger strips - nice

[Taiidantomcat]

The colors on the cowl and spinner are great and of course I  love the Tiger stripes, even the big camo blotches on the Fuselage sides look good! Great variety, Great model 

[comrade harps]

I'm glad that folks like this. I found it a joy to build. The tiger stripes came about during painting and I love the idea of putting high contrast features on an otherwise dull camo.

The kit is the 1/72nd Hasegawa Fw190F-8, whioch comes with the A-8 wing armament. I got the one with Hungarian markings. It's a really nice kit. The only fit probably was the nose cowling ring, which is a little too wide and forces the cowling underside to split.

I'm currently working on an alt. WW2 thing. The Hungarian decals will go on a Morane Saulnier MS 406, aka MAGAV licence built Heja. There's also a Reggiane Re.2000 Falco in the wings that'll be in Finnish markings and a Finnish Myrsky that will be a Fokker D.XXII fighter, captured and test flown in Luftwaffe colours in 1940.

I'm about to start a Bf109-K2 in non-Nazi Luftwaffe markings mid-1945 and I'll do something similar with a non-Nazi Luft '46 Ta-183. I got a He-219B-1 for Fathers Day and might make that a developmental night attack platform of some sort.

I've also recently built an I.A.R. 801 in Italian colours for the Eastern Front and adapted a Fiat CR.42 as a Finnish built monoplane in a Lutwaffe winter night harassment scheme. Then there's a Yugoslavian Brewster Buffalo (which nearly caused an argument at the club table with a JMN at this year's Model Expo in Melbourne) and the fake Mitsubishi Ki-47. I'll post those photos and stories soon.

[sotoolslinger]

Very very nifty piece of work right there. Gorgeous paintjob.