Southern Expo 1/72 Hornchurch vs. Luftwaffe Northern France Forays Decals
By Matt Bittner
The staff of the Southern Expo Model Show, based in the UK at Hornchurch, creates decal sheets to sell at their show every year. 2012's decal sheet is sub-titled "Northern France Forays", and showcases both Hornchurch-based RAF fighters as well as their Luftwaffe opponents. This time the decal sheet is meant for aircraft that flew into Northern France, taking more of the fight to the Luftwaffe.The proceeds for this decal sheet go directly to St. Francis Hospice as The Southern Expo Model Show's charity of choice.
The decal sheet features six RAF fighters – all Spitfires – and four Luftwaffe aircraft, as follows:
- Spitfire Mk.Vb, BM194, "HT.S" flown by Pilot Officer C.E. Hurt of 154 Squadron, RAF base at RAY Fairlop, 30 Jul 1942
- Spitfire Mk.Vb, EN824, "FU.U" flown by Flight Lieutenant John William Yarra of 453 (RAAF) Squadron, RAF based at RAF Southend, 10 Dec 1942
- Spitfire Mk.Vb, MB329, "MT.C" flown by Sergeant Dennis James of 122 "Bombay" Squadron, RAF based at RAF Fairlop, 18 Jul 1942
- Spitfire Mk.Vb, BM308, "BF." Flown by Wing Commander Brendan "Paddy" Finucane, DSO, DFC & 2 bars, 154 Squadron, RAF based at RAF Southend, 15 Jul 1942
- Spitfire Mk.IXc, BS227, "FU.U" flown by Pi9lot Officer J.H. Furguson of 453 (RAAF) Squadron, RAF based at RAF Hornchurch, 27 Jun 1943
- Spitfire Mk.IXc, BS227, "ZD.B" flown by Flight Lieutenant Henry P. Lardner-Burke of 222 "Natal" Squadron, RAF based at RAF Hornchurch, 27 Aug 1943
- Focke Wulf Fw.190A-3, Werk Nummer 530S, "Double Shwarz Chevron" flown by Hauptmann Johannes Seifert of I./JG26, based St Omer-Arques, France, May 1942
- Focke Wulf Fw.190A-4, Werk Nummer 2379, "Schwarz 5 and Bar" flown by Unteroffizer Heinrich Krieg of II./JG26, based Beavuais, France, 27 Aug 1943
- Messerschmitt Bf.109G-6, Werk Nummer 18829, "Gelb 5+I" blown by Feldwebel Edgar Dorre of 9./JG26, based Wevelghem, Belgium, Apr 1943
- Messerschmitt Bf.109G-3, Werk Nummer 16254, "Rot 18" flown by Leutnant Hans Joachim Heinemeier of 11./JG26 based Vendeville, France, 17 Jun 1943
All in all an excellently produced set of decals and if you have any interest in early WW2 British or German aviation, then you definitely want to pick up this set. Not only because of the subjects covered, but also because you're helping out a worthy cause. My thanks to the staff at Southern Expo for allowing me to review this excellent decal release. Contact them through their site if you want to purchase a set.