Manufacturer: Special Hobby
Scale: 1/72
Additional parts: none
Model build: Apr-Jun 2019
Luftwaffe Me/Ha 200
Special Hobby
1/72
1/72
Rogue Flight: A Me 200 Story
June 1963, Bavaria, West Germany
Captain Franz Hartmann gripped the control stick of his Me 200, the sleek jet thrumming with life beneath him. It had been eight years since he'd last flown a German warbird, the Luftwaffe insignia a bittersweet reminder on the tail. Now, this new "Messerschmitt" served a different purpose, training the next generation of German pilots. But today, training wasn't on the agenda.
Franz's radio crackled. "Captain, are you there? We've lost contact with Flight Lieutenant Weber. Last reported position - near the border with East Germany."
Franz's blood ran cold. The border. Tensions with the Soviets were at an all-time high. Weber, a hotshot pilot prone to pushing boundaries, could have strayed too close. Or worse, been intercepted.
" scramble a search party," Franz barked into the mic. "Maintain radio silence. We don't want to spook the commies if Weber's captured."
Against regulations, Franz took off alone. The Me 200 sliced through the sky, a blur of silver against the Bavarian blue. Franz scanned the horizon, his heart pounding with every passing second. Then, a glint of sunlight on metal - Weber's Me 200, spiraling down over a dense forest.
Franz swooped in, spotting Weber slumped over the controls. The aircraft sputtered, trailing smoke. Had Weber been hit? Enemy fire or a malfunction? It didn't matter now. Franz needed to get Weber down.
He guided his own Me 200 alongside the crippled aircraft, a risky maneuver. "Weber, can you hear me? Pull up!" he yelled, his voice strained against the roar of the engines.
No response. The forest loomed closer. Thinking fast, Franz nudged his wing against Weber's, a desperate attempt to stabilize the failing jet. It worked, for a moment. But then, with a sickening lurch, the forest floor rushed up to meet Weber's Me 200.
Franz's heart hammered in his chest. Had he failed? But as the dust settled, a figure emerged from the wreckage. Weber, dazed but alive, stumbled towards him. Relief washed over Franz, a wave that almost knocked the wind from his sails.
Suddenly, the radio crackled back to life. "Captain Hartmann, what's your status? You disobeyed orders!"
"Weber's alive," Franz said, his voice hoarse. "But we have a problem. We're on the wrong side of the border."
Silence filled the air, broken only by the rasping breaths of the two pilots. They were in enemy territory, with a crippled aircraft and no backup. The mission had just become a desperate fight for survival, a rogue flight against impossible odds.
For the newly founded Bundesluftwaffe in 1955, various kind of aircraft were needed. One of those was a jet-trainer that could also be used in the role as a light ground attack aircraft. The initially chosen aircraft were American T33, but an additional type was required soon. The favourite was the Fouga CM.170R ,,Magister", but an alternative came up on the horizon.
While many of the high ranking staff personal of the Ministry of defences severed in the WW2 German Luftwaffe, they still had connections to former German aircraft designers.
One of them, Willy Messerschmitt was now working in Spain, where he had designed a light jet trainers / ground attack aircraft, the HA-200.
First flown in 1955, the aircraft had a simply but quite robust design. In early 1961, the Luftwaffe mad comparison tests between the HA-200 and the Fouga Magista and while both aircraft performed almost identical, the HA-200 was chosen as the new jet trainer aircraft for the Luftwaffe.
For political reasons, Germany could not buy Spanish build aircraft n the 1960s, therefore, the aircraft was build by Messerschmitt in the newly constructed aircraft factory in Manching, the planes were now called "Messerschmitt Me 200".
Production run until 1967, a total of 243 aircraft were build that were in service of the Luftwaffe until the late 1970s. While initially used as training aircraft, they planes were more and mre used as light ground attack planes while the training of jet pilots was moved to the USA.
By 1979, all Me-200 were taken out of active service, some of them were sold to North African states like Algeria, a few were sold to private pilots or flight clubs.
The model shows a Me-200 in June 1963.
The model is a 1/72 scale Special Hobby Hispano Aviación HA-200 kit. Build OOB, I only added a different colour scheme. Air brushed with Revell Aqua Colour, decals were taken form the original kit and the spare parts box.
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