After the Italians were forced out of Libya by combined Anglo/French action in early 1941 King Umberto lead a coup d’état against the Government of Mussolini. Forewarned however by a spy in the King’s entourage this was quite easily foiled. However the excuse it presented enabled Mussolini to strengthen his hold on the Italian government and he stamped his own personal mark even farther on the state and on its armed forces. He even went so far as to modify both the national flag and markings used by the nation’s military.
However he couldn’t do much to change an industrial setup that was geared more towards war in the 30’s then in the 40’s and even more towards colonial war rather than warfare against other major powers. Thus as the war progressed Italy came more and more to rely on equipment provided by their German allies.
Thus by early 1944 Italian forces in the Eastern Mediterranean and on the southern Turkish front were operating more equipment of German then Italian origin. A lot of this was old and second hand of course but some, like the Fw 190 was relatively new. This particular example had been issued to the 15th Stormo Assaulto and was based on the then Italian island of Rhodes. The 15th had exchanged CR 42’s for the Fw 190 and perhaps that explains the rather long working up period they required before they became fully operational in the autumn of 1944. By then Anglo/French forces were well into Southern Turkey and it was decided that the 15th should be used in trying to interdict the coastal traffic that was supporting this advance. Whilst most of the 15th’s aircraft were used in the low level bombing role some of their aircraft were configured for torpedo strike.
Thus here we have an Fw 190 F8/R14 of the 15th Stormo Assaulto, Italian AF based on Rhodes in late 1944/early 1945, just before the island fell. (An action that was to have far reaching consequences on the conduct of the European War). Kit was the Revell one, which to be honest was a little disappointing. Yes it goes together very well but there was a large amount of flash for a kit which was bought when it first came out. Whilst most was not a problem some, especially around the armoured cowl ring was a p.i.a. and affected the fit somewhat. Kit is built straight from the box and I finished it with Xtracrylic RLM 76 undersides and Lifecolor Italian underside grey topsides , reasoning that this would have been an effective camouflage at the altitudes the aircraft would be operating at and given that it would be being used in seas cluttered by small, and not so small islands. Markings are from the ever useful Sky sheets, I think I used bits from the M.C. 200 and CR42 sheets. Overall an enjoyable project despite the flash problem and one that looks quite smart and stylish, as any self-respecting Italian should.
