Oxford Aviation 1:72 RAF Bell Aircobra 601 County of London Squadron Duxford 1940
AD4131
Description
Oxford Aviation 1:72 RAF Bell Airacobra RAF Duxford
The Bell P-39 was one of the principal American fighter aircraft when the United States entered the Second World War. Designed and manufactured by Bell Aircraft, it took its first flight in April 1938 ad entered service in 1941. During its period of production between 1940 and 1944, just over 9500 were built and were used not only by the USAAF but also the Royal Air Force and the Soviet Air Force. The P-39 was an all-metal, low-wing, single-engine fighter with a tricycle undercarriage and was one of the first production fighters designated as a 'weapons system'.
No. 601 (County of London) Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force based in London. It was formed at RAF Northolt on 14th October when a group of wealth young British aristocrats, all amateur aviators, decided to form the unit after a meeting at White's Club in London. As a result, the unit was nicknamed the Millionaires' Squadron and even the Millionaires' Mob! Their battle honours include notably the Battle of Britain and the first Americans to fly in the Second World War were members of this Squadron. The Squadron became a day fighter unit in 1940 but as casualties mounted, replacement personnel were drafted in from all walks of life and the unit became as cosmopolitan as any other.
No. 601 Squadron RAF was the only British unit to use the Airacobra operationally and received the first two examples in August 1941 which they armed with two-nosed mounted 0.50 inch machine guns an four 0.303 Browning machine guns in the wings However, the aircraft proved disappointing with an inadequate rate of climb and performance at altitude. After using four P-39s to attack enemy barges in the autumn of 1941, the aircraft's shortcomings were confirmed and only 80 of the original 200 ordered were retained by the Squadron, the rest being either sold on to the Soviet Air Force or demoted to training duties.
The subject of Oxfors's 1:72 scale model as flown out of RAF Duxford in 1941, is the P-39 decorated with Squadron code UF on the fuselage, which served the unit between September 1939 and April 1942. Complete in the grey/green camouflage colour scheme with mid grey underwings, both upper and lower surfaces feature the RAF roundel. Note the 601 Squadron's winged sword insignia and AH585 lettering on the tail fin, as well as the pale yellow tail band. The four detailed gun barrels positioned at the front of both wings are black as is the cannon muzzle on the front of the nose cone.
Despite its shortcomings in real-life, the P-39 was one of the most successful fixed-wing aircraft manufactured by Bell.
Delivery
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Returns
In accordance with your statutory rights as a consumer, claims for refunds, replacements or repairs will be offered, provided proof of purchase is produced, as applicable if goods are found to:
- Not be of satisfactory quality
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The cost of returning goods under the rights above will be borne by us if any of these situations is found to apply. No refunds can be made until the goods have been returned and assessed.
Goods returned to us as faulty which are found not to be faulty will incur a handling charge and return postage costs.
In addition, under the Distance Selling Regulations 2000, when you buy goods over the internet (or other distance medium) you have the right to cancel your contract at any time up to 7 working days after the receipt. You must notify us of your intention to cancel the contract under these provisions, within the cancellation period and preferably in writing. You must take reasonable care of the goods whilst in your possession, and they must be returned promptly and as far as is practicable in their original condition and packaging. You are entitled to remove the goods from their packaging for reasonable examination but you may be liable for any loss of value resulting from any damage or alteration to the goods or packaging caused whilst in your possession.
Goods supplied in kit form must be returned with all component bags unopened. If the kit has been started or any of the component bags have been opened we are unable to make a refund as we can not check that all parts are present.
The cost of returning goods under these provisions is to be borne by you and we strongly advise you to return goods valued at under £39.00 (The Post Office's standard compensation) by Recorded Delivery and retain the proof of posting. For higher value items we advise that you insure the goods for their full value during return transit.
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We will have a claim against our Couriers for any items they damage in transit to you and therefore we request that you keep all packaging with the goods in order to ensure such a claim is not invalidated. The Courier will require a signature on delivery, and the package should be examined for signs of external damage at that point and the Courier advised on the delivery sheet. Items despatched by Courier should arrive within 4 days. All claims for non delivery of Courier despatched parcels must be notified promptly so the Courier can investigate. You will normally be sent a tracking number for courier delivered items.
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