Luedemann 1/72 resin Oeffag/Mickl H (A11) Austro-Hungarian flying boat fighter
By Grzegorz Mazurowski
The Plane
For all those who like unusual, but operationally used airplanes, I have something special: an Austro-Hungarian WWI flying boat fighter – built in one example only – which was used extensively on the Adriatic Sea by Austria's highest scoring naval ace, Gottfried Freiherr von Banfield.
The plane was designed and built especially for the ace by Josef Mickl at the Oeffag factory in Wiener-Neustadt. Known under various designations, as Oeffag/Mickl H, as "A11" (Navy number) or simply as "Blue Bird" or "Blue Wonder", this was Banfield's favourite warhorse from March, 1917, until the end of hostilities in September, 1918. It was used day and night, as a successful fighter and as an attack airplane against Italian motor boats. The airplane was used in two different paint schemes: first in CDL/varnished wood scheme with the "A11" number in white, and later, at personal Banfield' s request, it was painted entirely in medium blue with a black "A11" on the cockpit sides.
The Kit
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