Habbaniya May 1941 – Part 1

NARSES2 · June 23, 2015, 06:51:23 AM

I built this to relax whilst struggling with my Invader (which I still am) and it was a nice easy, enjoyable build.

In the late 1930's and early 1940's the rulers of Iraq were becoming increasingly frustrated by British "rule" in Iraq. It wasn't actually British rule as Iraq was a Mandated Territory and as such the British were meant to be giving the Iraqi government a helping hand towards full statehood sometime in the near future. Given the countries oil reserves this "near future" seemed very far away to Baghdad in 1941.

The German government took advantage of this situation and by May 1941 had managed to stir things up sufficiently that the Iraqi Government rebelled against their erstwhile British "protectors". The main actions took place around the airfield of Habbaniya near Baghdad and even with German support it was all over, done and dusted in very short order .

Now up until the late 30's the Iraqi air force had been equipped almost exclusively with British equipment, most of which were hand me downs from RAF service although some aircraft such as the Hawker Nisr's of 1Squadron had been specifically purchased. However with the onset of war clouds the Iraqi's had been allowed to look elsewhere for equipment. One result of this had been the arrival of an Italian sales mission which eventually saw the Breda Ba-65 A80 enter service with 5 Squadron at Rashid. The British did not raise too many eyebrows at this as the Italian's were still being seen as neutral in any future conflict and indeed might still enter on the Allied side. Also Britain was in talks about purchasing Ca 311's and Re 2000's so couldn't say too much.

A slightly more unwelcome approach to Baghdad however was the arrival of the Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. Alongside him during the visit was a delegation from the Red Army A.F. and after they had returned home 12 Polikarpov I-16 Type 18's were shipped to Iraq as a gift from the Soviet people and these replaced the Gladiator Mk I's currently serving with the 2nd Squadron at Kirkut.

One problem with this aircraft however was their camouflage. Now whilst the bright blue under surfaces were perfectly suited to the Iraqi skies the dark green upper surfaces were definitely not. However the solution lay almost immediately to hand, in some cases actually lying around at Rashid airbase, with the Italian ground crews who had been sent to help with the Breda's. Amongst their supplies were copious quantities of Italian camouflage colours as the Breda's had initially been supplied in all over aluminium but were now in the process of being camouflaged. That, therefore is how we get this Italian style camouflage on a Soviet made aircraft sitting in the middle of an Iraqi airfield.

The model is the old Hasegawa kit, mine is dated 1995 but I'm sure it's much older than that, and goes together easily. These old Hasegawa kits are really nice builds and she went together very easily with no problems at all. Very enjoyable. Paints for the main colours are from White Ensign for the Soviet VVS All Blue under surface and Lifecolor for the Giallo Mimetico 16 and Verde Securo Mimetico 39 uppers. Other colours are my usual mix of Humbrol, Xtracrylic and Games Workshop. The transfers came from one of the exceptionally good value for money sheets done by DP Casper. This one is the Rebellion in Iraq and Exporter sheet which apart from the Iraq rebellion covers the conflict in Syria during 1941. All told there are 19 subjects portrayed on this sheet. Including German and Italian aircraft in Iraqi markings as well as RAF, Iraqi and Vichy French aircraft. I really can't recommend these sheets enough.

nighthunter · June 23, 2015, 08:37:49 AM

She looks good, I've always had a slight fondness for the Ishak/Ishachok/Mosca/Rata/Siipiorava.

Captain Canada · June 23, 2015, 09:51:44 AM

Nice one Chris. Looks good in those colours and it would blend right in

The Rat · June 23, 2015, 10:00:18 AM

Nice job on that! have you ever read Hidden Victory, by Air Vice-Marshall A.G. Dudgeon? He was involved in the battle at Habbaniya, and it's a fascinating read. The sort of jerry-rigging and modifications done to the aircraft there, and the dedication of everyone involved, makes it an epic story.

Librarian · June 23, 2015, 11:38:12 AM

A lovely little plane (memories of Johnny Red's duel with Shulga) in a superb scheme

.

"Who's there?"

"Habbaniya"

"Habbaniya who?"

"Habbaniya for ten years" (Spike Milligan)

PR19_Kit · June 23, 2015, 01:04:56 PM

Cracking job there Chris, it REALLY looks the part.

Quote from: The Rat on June 23, 2015, 10:00:18 AM
Nice job on that! have you ever read Hidden Victory, by Air Vice-Marshall A.G. Dudgeon? He was involved in the battle at Habbaniya, and it's a fascinating read. The sort of jerry-rigging and modifications done to the aircraft there, and the dedication of everyone involved, makes it an epic story.

My Dad was there at the time, having flown in from Fayid and got 'marooned' when the siege started. Because of his time on Audaxes before the War they 'impressed' him into 4FTS for the duration! He told me that they'd built a complete Valentia from parts that were either lying around or salvaged from damaged airframes, and after the siege was lifted the hierarchy in the Middle East Air Force tore them off a strip for 'operating aircraft not approved by the Air Ministry'.

dadlamassu · June 23, 2015, 03:05:39 PM

Nice idea.

There is my guide to the campaign available from Caliver Books http://www.caliverbooks.com/bookview.php?4e41c8d61391de06c58934f687a46b34&id=22375

You may buy it and make me happy!

The Rat · June 23, 2015, 05:58:54 PM

Quote from: PR19_Kit on June 23, 2015, 01:04:56 PM
Cracking job there Chris, it REALLY looks the part.

Quote from: The Rat on June 23, 2015, 10:00:18 AM
Nice job on that! have you ever read Hidden Victory, by Air Vice-Marshall A.G. Dudgeon? He was involved in the battle at Habbaniya, and it's a fascinating read. The sort of jerry-rigging and modifications done to the aircraft there, and the dedication of everyone involved, makes it an epic story.

My Dad was there at the time, having flown in from Fayid and got 'marooned' when the siege started. Because of his time on Audaxes before the War they 'impressed' him into 4FTS for the duration! He told me that they'd built a complete Valentia from parts that were either lying around or salvaged from damaged airframes, and after the siege was lifted the hierarchy in the Middle East Air Force tore them off a strip for 'operating aircraft not approved by the Air Ministry'.

Bureaucrats, gotta love 'em!

zenrat · June 24, 2015, 03:15:01 AM

Nice build. I've got a soft spot for the older Hasegawa kits although they don't all go together easilly.

NARSES2 · June 24, 2015, 06:38:19 AM

Quote from: The Rat on June 23, 2015, 10:00:18 AM
Nice job on that! have you ever read Hidden Victory, by Air Vice-Marshall A.G. Dudgeon? He was involved in the battle at Habbaniya, and it's a fascinating read. The sort of jerry-rigging and modifications done to the aircraft there, and the dedication of everyone involved, makes it an epic story.

Yup, it's in the library

I'm building Part II of this build at the moment. It will be an RAF trainer that has had some bomb racks fitted to use in the emergency

Thanks for your comments gents

Tophe · June 24, 2015, 07:19:47 AM

Good! (or wrong, but nicely made)

KiwiZac · June 24, 2015, 02:47:09 PM

Great model and backstory! The I-16 looks excellent in those colours.

I was lucky enough to see I-16s fly at airshows about four times. What a machine! The noise alone is something else, like a flying Harley-Davidson.

McGreig · June 25, 2015, 12:52:55 PM

Quote from: NARSES2 on June 23, 2015, 06:51:23 AM
The model is the old Hasegawa kit, mine is dated 1995 but I'm sure it's much older than that

No, 1995 is the original release date. Hasegawa released a small series of WW-II fighters round about then - Yak-3, MC-202, D-520, MS-406 come to mind - which went together well but didn't have the level of detail that they'd included in their Zeros and Fw-190s. I'm a big fan of the Hasegawa kit. The wing chord is a bit too narrow but the appearance can be improved by blunting the wing tips (OK so that leaves the span slightly short - - - ).

As for the model itself - What have you done to our Heroic Defender of Soviet Skies??? Blasphemer!! Heretic!! Why can you never find the number for the KGB when you need it ??!!!

(Actually, I'm just jealous that I didn't think of this first. Brilliant idea, and I have a feeling that, if we put this in the Soviet SIG display, most people would just assume that it was real

)

NARSES2 · June 26, 2015, 06:51:14 AM

Thanks for answering the age question mate

I just assumed given it's simplicity it had to be older.

Agree with you that the kits in this range are really nice kits. I've got most of them and intend to get a couple more next time I'm at the the same show as Mr Models. Which will be the next show I'm at