1/48 Fairey Firefly Mk.IV/V Foreign Service

Special Hobby - 1/48 Fairey Firefly Mk.IV / Mk.V / Mk.VI. Fairey Firefly Mk.4/5/6 "Foreign Service". Fairey Firefly Mk.4/5/6 is the typical representative of British naval fighter concepart Even before World War 2 Royal Navy demanded two-seater long range aircraft for its use. The second crew member was a dead weight that declassified the performances of these aircraft. Firefly Mk.I (we produce a kit of this aircraft under cat. no. SH48127 and we are also preparing another box with Pacific markings under cat. no. SH48131) became the successor to the out powered Fairey Fulmar. Despite the handicap of its design it was able to outfight the enemy fighter aircraft. The development of new and more powerful versions had been started during the war. While Mk.III version was a disappointment both in performances and handling characteristics, Mk.IV version (later re- designated to Mk.4) was accepted for production. The first machines reached the combat units after the war, though. Main purpose of this version was day and nigh fighter role but it should have been also deployed as fighter bomber. Externally same subsequent version served for same purposes and thanks to its internal equipment it was capable of anti-submarine warfare. The need of the anti-submarine warfare led to the development of special version, designated AS.6 (Mk.6). Fireflies were widely used by Royal Navy but were also exported. They were used by aviation sections within Royal Canadian, Australian and Dutch navies. This is the topic of this kit. The kit contains four sprues with grey plastic parts, clear sprue and detailed resin parts. Decals included offer markings for Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Dutch Navy.