MPD's 1/72 Lend Lease Aircraft in the USSR
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
This latest sheet from MPD provides eleven options for Lend Lease aircraft in the Soviet Union. There are five P-40s, five Spitfires, and a single P-51, all in a variety of camouflage schemes. Starting with the P-40s, there is a mixed bag here, ranging from a P-40B on through to a P-40N. The P-40B was flown by Lt. A. S. Khobystov of the 20 GIAP in Murmansk, April 1942. It is finished in a white temporary camouflage over light blue, coded white 58. A small string of stars is on the fuselage. Next up is the P-40E, flown by Major Pokryshev of the 154 IAP in Leningrad during the summer of 1942. This plane is finished in gray and dark green over light blue, with a white 50 on the fuselage sides and a scoreboard showing fifteen kills. Third in the P-40 line is a P-40M of an unknown unit. This plane is finished in two shades of green over light blue and is numbered yellow 47. What makes this one unique is the sharkmouth, not a common sight on Soviet P-40s. The P-40N is an interesting one as well, finished in overall light green over light blue. Coded white 8, this plane also has the phrase "За Сафронова!" (For Safronova) in white on the fuselage, and a black inverted spade superimposed on a white anchor on the tail. This plane was from the 2 GIAP in 1943. The final P-40 is a converted example from an unknown type. The rear deck behind the canopy has been cut back to resemble that of the P-40N. It's camouflaged in light green and dark green over light blue, with a white rudder and coded yellow 34.
For the Spitfires, there is a pair of Mk. Vbs, a pair of Mk. IXes and a single Mk. IX UTI. One of the Mk. Vbs has been converted into a PR. IV and is finished in overall dark green over sky with a fuselage code of white 01. The second Mk. Vb is camouflaged in RAF colors consisting of dark green and gray over sky. This plane flew with the 57 GIAP at Kuban in 1943 and features an emblem on the tail and a very high number, white 538. Moving to the Mk. IXs, the first one, flying with the 26 GIAP out of Leningrad in 1944-45, is finished in standard RAF camouflage of dark green and gray over sky. The rudder and vertical fin are white, as is the spinner. This plane also carries the same emblem as white 538, although this plane wears it right behind the canopy. The code of white 78 is behind the emblem on the fuselage. The second example, also from the 36 GIAP at Leningrad in 1945, is the plane flown by Lt. Col. V. A. Matsiyevich and is finished in overall light green on the upper surfaces and sky on the lower surfaces. Like the previous example, the tail and rudder is white, with a blue 2 on the rudder. A large white lightning bolt runs down the length of the fuselage. Finally, the Spitfire Mk. IX UTI, also of the 26 GIAP, is finished in dark green over sky. No other markings are carried other than the standard red stars.
The final option on this sheet is a Mustang Mk. I, finished in dark green and gray over sky. Red stars and the former RAF serial are the only other markings worn by this plane. Like all the other options on this sheet, this one provides a full set of stars, allowing every single one of these options to be built, without having to raid the spares box for extra stars. The registration is spot on and the colors dense and opaque. If you want to build some interesting VVS aircraft, this is a great sheet to get.
