Airacobra

75 years ago

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just in time for the 75th anniversary, I finished building my two models of the Airacobras. The two fighter planes, flown by French pilots, probably collided in the air that Monday due to bad weather and the sharp turn of the Rhein. They crashed in the Irchel and both pilots were killed.
From time to time reports about this accident appear in the newspaper. Inspired by such a report, I have now built these two Bell P-39 Airacobras as models in scale 1:72. After I had gathered all the necessary information, I was able to have the decals drawn and let them print myself. You can find detailed information and photos on my Flickr album.
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two Airacobras from the Irchel

for several weeks I have been looking for any kind of information about the two French planes that crashed on July 16, 1945 on the Irchel. It started with the article „Fliegertod am Irchel" which was published last December in the Tagesanzeiger. When recently biking around the Irchel I remember that interesting story again.
image Rheinknie-Eglisau
If I can find enough information, especially pictures, about the two aircraft, then I’ll build these as models.
In the meantime, enough pieces of that puzzle have come together (telephone calls, e-mails, meetings, research in the Swiss Federal Archives). The two fighters are of the type Bell P-39Q Airacobra and they belonged to the 1ère Escadrille of GC II / 9 Auvergne (I have to learn French again). From the different sources, I know that they have not been identical types. The main distinguishing feature (in the model) are the propellers: 4 blades versus 3 blades.
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