Yakovlev “Yak – 1b” – the Soviet/ French fighter

"Normandy - Neman" - the name of the Fighter Aviation Regiment of "Fighting France", that fought on the USSR-German front in 1943-1945. The pilots of this unit shot down about 280 and damaged 80 German planes. In November 1944 the regiment was awarded the honorable name "Neman" for its achievements in battles on the territory of Lithuania and in the Neman forcing operation. The first group of French aviators arrived in the Soviet Union from the Rajaka military base throw Iran in early December 1942. The Soviet state provided them with the latest equipment, available at the time. At the airfield near Ivanovo in the difficult conditions of a snowy winter the French pilots, with the help of Soviet instructors, began to familiarize themselves with the combat machines, unknown to them. At that time the squadron had 14 pilots and 58 mechanics. The squadron was commanded by one of the most popular French fighter pilots Major Jean-Louis Tullian, who at that time had already shot down 6 enemy planes during the French campaign. His deputy was Captain Litolf, also a well-known pilot. As for the veterans of the regiment, it is impossible not to mention the "three musketeers" - Albert, Duran and Lefevre, with whom many honorable pages of the history of the "Normandy" regiment are tied. These were true aces, fearless knights of air combat. At the beginning of the spring of 1943 the assimilation of the material part was completed, the squadron received combat fighters "Yak-1" and on March 25 flew to one of the front-line airfields in the vicinity of Kaluga.

From the details in the publication you can assemble the model of the fighter "Yak-1b", which was flown by Alber Diuran in the spring of 1943. It is quite complex, but well designed and richly detailed. Therefore, it is intended only for intermediate and advanced modelers. However, if the modeler does not make the interior of the cabin, makes an opaque cabin cover, intake the landing gear - the airplane in flight - and works under the supervision of a more experienced colleague, then this model will assemble even advanced beginners and modelers with little experience.The details of the cabin cover frames are printed on transparent thin plastic.