Westland Lysander Mk. III by Dora Wings

1/72 scale
Kit No. 72024
Cost: $35.00
Decals: Four versions, all UK-based – 309 Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron; 754 Naval Air Squadron; 276 and 277 Squadron, both on air-sea rescue duties
Comments: Engraved panel lines, paint masks, detailed engine and cockpit with internal cage assembly, multi-part greenhouse canopy, photo-etch details, separately molded flaps, ailerons and rudder; option for up to 12 anti-personnel bombs; option for covered or uncovered spats

History

The Westland Lysander was a short take off and landing (STOL) aircraft employed in the forward observer/artillery spotter/army cooperation role in the opening stages of World War II in Europe. Once withdrawn from daylight operations when its limitations were revealed under combat conditions, it went on to the role for which it would become best known: Providing air support for what would subsequently be called covert operations in both Occupied Europe and the Far East. It first flew on June 15, 1936 and was very likely a key reason for the subsequent development of a STOL requirement by the world’s major air forces. Entering service with the Royal Air Force in June 1938, its design was significantly influenced by the German Henschel Hs 126, a similar aircraft in the Luftwaffe inventory.

The Lysander was fully operational with No. 16 (Army Co-operation) Squadron at the time of the Munich Crisis in September 1938, and began the RAF’s process of phasing out its then-designated artillery spotter aircraft, the Hawker Hector bi-plane. By the time war broke out a year later, the Lysander was in service with seven squadrons, six of which deployed to France in the first months of the war (Nos. 2, 4, 13, 26, 613 and 614). When hostilities in the West began in earnest in May 1940 with Germany’s invasion of France and the Low Countries, Lysanders began reconnaissance and artillery spotting operations, with Nos. 2 and 4 Squadrons re-deploying to Belgium.

On occasion, Lysanders gave a surprisingly good account of themselves when pitted against state-of-the-art German fighters. In one action, a group of Lysanders was attacked by six Messerschmitt Bf 110s over Belgium, and the rear gunner of one of them, L.A.C. Gillham, shot down one of the 110’s before his pilot was able to escape at treetop height. In the coming weeks, Lysanders were frequently set upon by Bf 109’s, particularly when unescorted by their own fighters. While not fast, they were highly manueverable; if they were lucky, they would escape with mere battle damage. But between May 10 and May 23, 1940, nine crews and 11 aircraft were lost to enemy action. On the 25th still more were caught on the ground in a strafing attack at Clairmarais and destroyed.

By the time of the Dunkirk evacuation, the Lysander squadrons had been decimated, having virtually no serviceable aircraft. Often their crews flew against intimidating odds, being called upon to air drop supplies without fighter escort to British or French troops, or provide ground support with their loads of 40 lb. bombs, all in skies increasingly dominated by the Luftwaffe. They inflicted damage along the way; on May 22 Flying Officer Dodge shot down a Henschel Hs 126 with his forward machine guns, while his rear gunner downed a Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. But this was the exception. Of 174 aircraft deployed to France, 88 were lost in air combat and 30 more destroyed on the ground by the time the French capitulated.

After Dunkirk, contemplating a loss rate of 63 percent, the RAF had little choice but to withdraw the Lysander from front line service — at least for daytime operations. The Lysander would go on to its greatest fame as the aircraft of choice for Special Operations Executive (SOE), a covert auxiliary of (and competitor to) the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), charged by Winston Churchill with covert operations in the Occupied Countries and a mandate to “set Europe ablaze.” Soon, on a regular basis, Lysanders of No. 138 Squadron (Special Duties), painted matt black, inserted agents and their weapons, ammunition, explosives and other supplies, and withdrew shot-down airmen. Sometimes they withdrew people wanted by the Gestapo, or brought Resistance leaders back to London for briefings. Lysanders would later be used by both the British Commandos and the American Office of Strategic Services on similar operations in Europe and the Far East.

Landing in unprepared clearings or meadows at night, the landing ground identified by small torches lit by members of the Resistance, Lysanders helped sustain hope in Occupied Europe and Asia. By 1942 they were equipped with larger fuel tanks (starting with the Mk. IIIa) to allow penetration deeper into France, and their ladders touched up with flourescent paint to allow quicker ingress and egress from the plane. There was constant danger – one on occasion, a Lysander guided to a landing by torches touched down, only to be met by German machine gun fire. The pilot, Squadron Leader Conroy, slammed the throttle open and struggled to get airborne, stemming the blood from a neck wound by clamping his hand over it. Brushing the treetops at the edge of the landing field, he managed to return safely to England.

In the Middle East, Lysanders were able to operate longer in their original roles of artillery spotting and reconnaisance since Axis fighter aircraft were not as readily available. In Palestine, they flew throughout 1940 doing aerial blackout inspections, coastal watch, and general co-operation with the Palestine Police. In North Africa, No. 6 Squadron was deployed to Libya and was ordered to remain in Tobruk when the British retreated from Rommel’s Afrika Korps, providing close air support over the beseiged garrison, which continued to hold out.

During the course of the war, Lysanders were operated by Britain, France, Ireland, Canada, Finland, Egypt, and South Africa, contributing to the ultimate Allied victory primarily by supporting special operations by irregular forces, including espionage and sabotage. But by the war’s end they were a rarity, except in Canada, where relatively large numbers of them persisted until the 1950’s.

The Kit

Dora Wings’ Westland Lysander Mk. III is injection molded in grey plastic and comes in a resealable clear plastic bag on six sprues, one them clear plastic and containing the eight parts that make up the Lysander’s greenhouse canopy. The sixth clear sprue comes in its own clear plastic zip lock bag. This is the first newly tooled Lysander to be offered in 1/72 scale since the old Matchbox kit of the 1970’s, or the Frog kit of the late ’60’s which has been re-issued many times since by AMT, Hasegawa and others, most recently by Ark Models.

The fuselage features both engraved panel lines and stressed fabric effects, reflecting the composite construction of the actual aircraft. The fuselage interior features ribbed details. The engine assembly consists of an engine face, and exhaust collector ring, a three-part cowling, and photo-etch parts for the cooling gills. The pilot’s seat is extremely detailed, an assembly that includes four photo-etch parts; it is part of a larger assembly that forms the entire internal cockpit cage, which includes sidewall details and a pair of .303 machine guns for rear defense.

The greenhouse canopy will have to be glued with care since it comes in five pieces, with two options for the rearmost section. The Lysander’s trademark elongated wings feature separately molded flaps and ailerons, and the spats of the main landing gear can be assembled with or without side wheel covers. For the more intrepid modelers, there are tiny photo-etched bomb brackets which, once assembled with painstaking care, are to be cemented to the winglets attached to the spats, and are capable of accomodating up to a dozen small anti-personnel bombs, should modelers opt to use them.

The kit instructions are well illustrated and include four color plates, each containing three-view illustrations of the four versions of the Lysander for which markings are provided. The back of the instruction sheet contains the painting legend, and calls out colors in the Mr. Hobby, Tamiya, AMMO MIG, Hataka and Life Color lines.

Markings

The kit markings are by Decograph, printed in the Ukraine, and appear to be over very high quality with realistic color, fully in register with no color bleed. They include instrument panel decals and a fair amount of stenciling for those so inclined.  The first set of markings is for an RAF machine of 309 Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron, December 1940, appearing in a paint scheme of Dark Earth and Dark Green over Sky undersides; the second set is for a Royal Navy Lysander assigned to 754 Naval Air Squadron based at RNAS Arbroath, Scotland in September 1941 — this aircraft sports a scheme of Dark Green and Extra Dark Sea Grey over Sky; the third set is for a machine of RAF 276 Squadron, assigned air-sea rescue duties in the southwest of England, 1942, bearing a scheme of Dark Earth and Dark Green over Sky; the final version of markings are for a machine of RAF 277 Squadron, assigned air-sea rescue duties in the southeast of England as of Spring 1942, but bearing a scheme of Dark Green and Extra Dark Sea Grey over Sky.

Conclusion

This is an excellent, modern kit of the Lysander that takes full advantage of today’s technology. Lysander fans will greet this updated offering with delight. Highly recommended

Reference

The Westland Lysander: Profile Publications No. 159; Copyright 1967 Profile Publications Ltd.