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Lockheed F-5A

RS Models 1/72 Lockheed F-5A by Joe Reiman

MODEL: Lockheed F-5A

MANUFACTURER: RS Models

SCALE: 1/72

PARTS: 82 (79 grey, 3 clear)

DECAL OPTIONS: 4

HISTORY

A

t the beginning of WWII,

the P-38 Lightning was

the USAAF’s fastest

and highest-flying aircraft, its

performance not eclipsed until

the arrival of the later models of

P-47 and P-51. As such, it was a

logical choice for conversion to the

photo-reconnaissance (PR) role,

where survivability was achieved

by speed and altitude only.

The first fully operationally

capable P-38 was the P-38E, and

it became the basis for the first

Lightning PR variant, the F-4A

(“F” for “Foto” – sic, as “P” for

“Pursuit” was already in use). For

the F-4, all armament was removed

and a new nose section installed,

with 2 vertical downward-

pointing camera windows and

a square window on each side of

the nose for oblique cameras.

The next group of PR Lightnings

was the F-5A, the subject of this

build, followed by the F-5B through

-G conversions. The F-5A was based

on the P-38G and a total of 180

were built. PR Lightnings became

operational in 1942 and served in

all theatres of the war, flying both

pre- and post-strike missions.

Most F-5As were delivered in

the so-called Haze paint scheme,

but some were painted the standard

USAAF olive drab(OD)/gray after

Lockheed complained about the

difficulty of applying Haze per

Air Force specs. The Haze paint

process consisted of spraying a

specially formulated white paint

over a black base coat, resulting

in only the blue of the sky being

reflected, with all other colours

being absorbed, thus making an

airplane extremely difficult to

detect in flight against the blue sky.

Due to the poor durability and

maintainability of Haze in the

field, many F-5s were repainted

in a number of different schemes.

SAMI’s sister publication, Model

Aircraft Monthly, Volume 6, Issue

9, has an outstanding article

on the various Lightning PR

schemes, with colour profiles

of many individual aircraft.

THE KIT

The kit consists of 79 parts

moulded in grey plastic, several

of which are not used on the F-5A,

and 3 clear parts, which include

56 • NOVEMBER 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

KIT REVIEWS

056-65-Reviews-1118.indd 56 12/10/2018 15:58