Corgi Aviation Archive Collector Series AA37709
Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a Diecast Model
RAF No.40 Sqn , D3511, Roderic Stanley Dallas, Bruay Aerodrome, France, May 1918 | |
| 1:48 Scale | | Length | | Width |
|---|
| Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a | | 5.25" | | 6.75" |
Trading the rural tranquillity of Esk, Queensland for the savage airborne battles above the Western Front, Roderic Stanley Dallas worked in a mine in order to earn money to finance passage to England and dreams of becoming an airman. Accepted for training with the Royal Naval Air Service in 1915, Dallas excelled in both the classroom and in the air and on gaining his pilot's licence, he was posted to No.1 Squadron RNAS, initially flying the Sopwith Pup. His first aerial victory came in May 1916 and from that date, his score began to increase rapidly, as he earned a reputation as a fearless dogfighter, but one who did not take unnecessary risks - he also relished the extremely risky low level missions which many of his fellow pilots avoided and suffered several injuries whilst engaged in such sorties.
By the time he was appointed commander of No.40 Squadron RFC in March 1918, Dallas has at least 30 victories to his name and traded his Sopwith fighter for the Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a, an aircraft in which he would go on to score a further nine victories. Unusually, his aircraft was one of a handful of SE5a fighters which were given an experimental camouflage finish, thought to have been trialled on aircraft engaged in ground strafing operations. Australian Great War ace "Stan" Dallas was officially credited with 39 aerial victories, which places him as the second most successful Australian ace of WWI, behind the 47 victories of Robert A Little. Post war research later revealed that due to the fact Dallas had a somewhat casual attitude to claiming victories, his actual total may have exceeded 50 victories, which would have seen him earning the title of "Australia's most successful fighter ace".
A careful student of aerial fighting tactics, Dallas also earned a reputation as something of a prankster, a character trait which was clearly illustrated by an incident which is alleged to have taken place in early May 1918. During a lull in the fighting around Flanders, Dallas "shot up" a German aerodrome in the sector, before dropping a pair of boots on the airfield - the attached message read, "if you are not going to come up and fight, your pilots might need these for their ground work". Circling in the distant mist, he waited until troops came out to inspect the package, before returning to drop a couple of small bombs and to use up the rest of his ammunition. Although the flight was unauthorised, reports of the incident were thought to have caused great amusement amongst the most senior members of Allied military high command.
Designed by H.P.Folland as an easy-to-fly fighter, The Royal Aircraft Factory's S.E.5a bi-plane was first flown in 1917. Together with the Sopwith Camel, the S.E.5 was instrumental in regaining allied air superiority. Both friend and foe recognized the S.E.5 as a formidable fighting machine. It was fast, extremely strong and easy to fly, and was the aircraft of many WWI aces. Later model S.E.5a's had Wolseley Viper 200 hp engines, which ended the engine problems of earlier designs. A Vickers gun was fired through the air screw with synchronizing gear, and a Lewis could be fired over the top wing or directly upwards. © Copyright 2003-2024 The Flying Mule, Inc.
Corgi's 1:48 scale S.E.5a models are a part of their popular WWI series. These models are beautifully detailed, with fine gauge wire used to represent bracing wires between the simulated fabric stretched wings. The cylinder heads of the V-8 Hispano-Suiza engine rise through the cowling and feature separately applied long exhaust pipes on both sides of the fuselage. A finely detailed photo-etched metal gun sight and a telescopic "Aldis" gun sight are mounted in front of a detailed pilot figure. The Lewis machine gun, with its Foster mount, is wonderfully detailed on the top wing. A two or four bladed propeller is mounted in front of the radiator shutters, and there is a gun port for the second, internal gun. The model rests on rolling rubber tires that accurately simulate the gray color that vulcanized natural rubber takes on after prolonged exposure to sunlight.
© Copyright 2003-2024 The Flying Mule, Inc.
The Corgi "Aviation Archive" range presents highly-detailed, ready-made diecast models of military and civilian aircraft. The vast Aviation Archive range has become the standard by which all other diecast airplane ranges are judged. Each Corgi model is based on a specific aircraft from an important historical or modern era of flight, and has been authentically detailed from original documents and archival library material. Famous airplanes and aviators from both military and commercial airline aviation are all honored.
Corgi "Aviation Archive" diecast airplanes feature:
- Diecast metal construction with some plastic components.
- Realistic panel lines, antennas, access panels and surface details.
- Pad printed markings and placards that won't fade or peel like decals.
- Interchangeable extended/retracted landing gear with rotating wheels.
- Poseable presention stand to display the aircraft "in flight".
- Many limited editions with numbered certificate of authenticity.
- Detailed, hand-painted pilot and crew member figures.
- Authentic detachable ordnance loads complete with placards.
- Selected interchangeable features such as speed-brakes, opened canopies and access panels.
- Selected moving parts such as gun turrets, control surfaces and swing-wings.
© Copyright 2003-2024 The Flying Mule, Inc.
