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Focke-Wulf Ta 154A-4/U2 by Cees Knol
The Ta 154 was operational with the Luftwaffe before the end of World War Two. NJGr 10 had several Moskitos for service evaluation and I./NJG3 at Stade was the recipient of several Ta 154s late in 1944. Early in 1945 three more Ta 154s were passed to I./NJG 3 with the express assignment of taking them into combat. One of the planes was attached to the headquarters staff of III./NJG3. Additional documentation that the Ta 154 was employed in the night fighter role is found in a British document: "On 6th May 1945 a crashed Ta 154 was examined at RW 474615. This aircraft was reported to have come down about 1800hrs on 30th April 1945 according to a Yugoslav worker who acted as a guide to the scene of the crash. The machine had made a fair belly landing but the tail had broken off. No trace of the crew was found and their fate is unknown". After the landing the machine was thoroughly looted by the local German civilians. This particular aircraft was fitted out as a night fighter with FuG 218 vertical radar antenna on the wings, being camouflaged light blue overall with gray mottled upper surfaces. The operational markings were D5+HD the factory markings (call sign) KU+SU and the serial number 320008. The report reveals that the horizontal stabilizer was all metal, and that detachable upward-angled wing tips had been fitted. It was suggested that this modification might have been made to offset a lack of lateral stability, because the wing itself had zero dihedral.
I converted the Ta 154A-0 Revell kit to the Ta 154 A-4/U2 with werknummer 320008 and registration D5+HD. This aircraft entered service on 22nd February 1945 with the Stab. III./NJG 3 night fighter squadron in Agathenburg near Stade. There is some confusion about the models engine nacelles. I build the plane with the Junkers Jumo 211 and with the normal engine nacelles. There was also a model with long engine nacelles but I believe this was designed for the Junkers Jumo 213.. If this is not correct, please let me know. The pane has also up-angled wingtips, split flaps like the normal Fw190, short ailerons and the vertical radar antennas of the FuG 218 Neptun on the wing.
Building the Moskito plane I ad the following modifications to the kit: - Wings with upward angled wing tips - Split flaps in the wing like the Fw190 - Shorter ailerons due to the upward-angled wingtips - Cooling flaps on the engine nacelles open - Special flame damper for the engine exhaust - Junkers VS 9 prop (Padel Blade) - Close of one gun-port - Cockpit boarding stair - Tyres made flat and bulged. Extra details I ad on the kit are: - Open Gun-bay with one MK108 30mm on each side - Junkers Jumo 211 engine with open hatches - Radar antenna for the 218 Neptun on the wing - Seatbelts and extra cockpit details.
I used Xtra Color paints to finish the model. The camouflage scheme represented is typical for the night fighter Moskito. Sometimes the undersurface was temporarily painted black when the plane was called to perform ground- attack operations. I sprayed an overall coat of RLM 76 Light Blue followed by heavy mottles of RLM 75 Gray-Violet. The spinners were always RLM 70 Black Green and the wooden prop blades RLM 71 Dark Green.
The base is made from wood with plaster for the parking and the side with grass. The figures are from Preiser. The purpose of the figures with my plane is to show the scale related to the pilot and mechanics.
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Model, Text and Images Copyright © 2000 by Cees
Knol
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