Eduard 1/48 Adlerangriff Experten Decals
By Jacob Russell
This exciting decal sheet is for Eduard's Messerschmitt Bf109E-4 kit. It covers 6 colorful yellow nosed planes from German aces who participated in Unternehmen Adlerangriff ("Operation Eagle Attack"), the Luftwaffe's 1940 campaign to destroy the RAF (Royal Air Force). The aircraft are as follows:
1) Bf109E-4/N, Werknummer 5819, Obstlt. Adolf Galland, CO of JG 26, Audembert, France, December 1940. Galland's E-4 had a telescopic gunsight and an RLM 02 Grey and RLM 71 Dark Green camouflage pattern over RLM 65 Light Blue. The nose and rudder were RLM 04 Yellow and the fuselage sides had a light RLM 02/71 mottle.
2) "Black 1," Bf109E-4/B, Wnr. 2030, Hptm. Herbert Ihlefeld, CO of I.(J)/LG 2, Calais-Marck, France, Autumn 1940. This colorful fighter/bomber had RLM 02/71/65 camouflage with a dense 02/71 mottle. The wing upper surfaces had a medium density mottle of RLM 71 over the 02 and RLM 02 over the 71.
3) Bf109E-4, Wnr. 5344, Maj. Helmut Wick, CO of JG 2, Beaumont-le-Roger, France, November 1940. This plane had an armored windscreen was painted RLM 02/71/65 with a dense sponge-applied 02/71 mottle. Its earlier fuselage markings were over-painted with RLM 02. Kill markings were superimposed on top of the RLM 04 yellow rudder.
4) "White 13", Wnr. 1432, Oblt. Walter Oesau, CO of 7./JG 51, St. Omer-Nord, France, August 1940. This plane had a white spinner and RLM 02/71/65 camouflage. The top of the rudder was RLM 04 yellow with a swath of RLM 23 Red with kill markings superimposed on top of it.
5) Bf109E-4, Wnr. 2804, Maj. Werner Mรถlders, CO of JG 51, Pihen, France, October 1940. This plane was painted RLM 02/71/65 with an RLM 04 Yellow upper and lower wing tips, horizontal stabilizers and rudder. The fuselage sides had a loose RLM 02/71 mottle and the spinner and back plate were 1/3rd white and 2/3rds RLM 70 Dark Green.
6) "Black 1," Bf109E-4, Wnr. 5344, Maj. Helmut Wick, CO of JG 2, Brest, France, November 1940. Wick's plane is here depicted earlier in its service career with double chevron markings. It was still painted RLM 02/71/65 with a very dense sponge-applied 02/71 mottle. Kill markings were superimposed on top of the rudder and only the lower rudder was RLM 04 Yellow.
The decals are up to Eduard's customary standards. They are crisply printed, fully legible, in register and have excellent color.
The Messerschmitt Bf109E is one of my favorite Luftwaffe fighters so I'm always excited to find more colorful decal options for it. If you're looking for something different in a Bf109E-4 camouflage scheme you'll find 6 of them on this great decal sheet. I recommend this sheet and I would like to thank Eduard for the review sample.
References
1) Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adlertag
2) Messerschmitt Bf109E, the Blitzkrieg Fighter, by Marek J. Murawski and Jakub Plewka, Kagero Publications, 2013