Saturday 13 June 2015

Hungarian Bf 110 G-4 - 101 Night fighter Squadron




In December 1944 the Hungarians received about a dozen Bf 110 G-4 nightfighters that served with the 101st Nightfighter Squadron. It was planned to establish a second squadron, pilots were trained but never equipped with the aircraft. The 101 was first stationed in western Hungary but due to the advance of the Red Army the unit was soon transferred to Austria where the aircraft were flown out of Wiener Neustadt and Parndorf. From January to March 1945 they made only a few interception missions with little or no successes to report. Around early April 1945 the machines were blown up because of lack of fuel. Afterwards the crews fled from Austria to Germany in order to become US POWs and avoid falling into Russian hands. Reference for this project was the Bernad and Punka "Hungarian Fighter Colours 1930-1945 Vol.2" .

The exact number of Bf 110 G-4's actually put into service by the Hungarians late in the war is the subject of some debate. Some sources quote 12, others 14, while others far fewer aircraft than this.

Bundesarchiv-Militararchiv RL 2 III/647 Stand über Lieferungen Kriegsgerät Ausland Flugzeuge 31.12.1944: Ungarn 12 Bf 110 in November 1944 ausgeliefert für Nachtjagd. ('war materiel deliveries abroad aircraft 31 December 1944; 12 Bf 110s to Hungary for nightfighting in November 1944')

The following from Denes Bernad; "..There were a total of 14 Messerschmitt Bf 110 G-4s in the MKHL, delivered as night fighters during late 1944/early 1945. This, of course, doesn't necessarily mean all of them ended up in active service within the Hungarian night fighter squadron, as some could have been lost en-route, following acceptance, or before being impressed into active duty (e.g, due to bombing or strafing of airfields). The figure is based on German delivery documents.."


 The model is the Revell kit with Cutting Edge decals, Gunze RLM paints. The aerials were EZ-Line, muzzle dampers are parts from the spares box, upper wing markings are masked and painted.

with thanks to Reinhard 'Reini78' for allowing me to show these images of his father's fabulous model build!  Click to view large






More pictures via britmodeller.com here