Manufacturer: Airfix
Scale: 1/72
Additional parts: none
Model build: Sep-Oct 2015
Luftwaffe Aichi D3A
Airfix
1//72
1//72
Wings of the Rising Sun
Made with Suno
A Fleeting Gleam
Made with Suno
The Eagle and the Rising Sun
The summer air shimmered over the French coast, thick with anticipation. Lieutenant Schmidt meticulously checked the controls of his Aichi D3A Val, the unfamiliar Japanese dive bomber replacing his trusty Stuka for the upcoming operation. Whispers swirled around the squadron, murmurs of "Valkyrie" and "Adlertag," code names for the audacious plan to cripple Britain's radar defenses.
Schmidt yearned for the familiar, lumbering dive of the Ju 87, but the Val promised speed – an edge desperately needed against the nimble Hurricanes and Spitfires. He glanced across the tarmac, spotting the sleek lines of the Mitsubishi A6M Zeros, another testament to the unlikely alliance forged between Germany and Japan.
The roar of engines shattered the tense silence. As the Vals and Zeros took off, Schmidt felt a surge of excitement. They were a motley crew, a mix of German and Japanese pilots flying borrowed planes, a testament to the desperation gnawing at the Luftwaffe's high command.
The mission was a whirlwind. They barreled towards the English coast, the Vals diving towards their designated radar stations. Schmidt unleashed his payload, watching the bombs plummet with a detached efficiency. But the euphoria was short-lived. The radio crackled with reports of heavy flak and relentless British fighters. Damage reports flooded in, and by the time they retreated, the sense of victory had evaporated.
The following weeks were a blur of relentless attacks. Coastal shipping fell prey to the Vals' concentrated firepower, but the cost was high. Each sortie chipped away at their dwindling numbers. The RAF, alerted by the faster, unfamiliar aircraft, launched relentless assaults. Schmidt found himself dodging tracers, the fragility of the Val a constant gnawing fear.
One afternoon, returning from a mission, he saw only a handful of Vals remain, their once-proud formation a mere shadow. Dejection settled upon the squadron. "The Valkyrie has faltered," someone muttered, the words heavy with defeat.
Adlertag had failed. The vaunted Val, despite its speed, couldn't match the Stuka's resilience or the sheer number of aircraft the Luftwaffe could muster. The remaining Vals were relegated to the fringes of the war, a footnote in a desperate gamble that ultimately cost both nations dearly.
Years later, Schmidt, grounded due to injuries, watched a lone Val land on the deck of the Graf Zeppelin, a stark reminder of a summer filled with ambition and a partnership that ultimately succumbed to the harsh realities of war.
Jerry's Surprise
The early morning mist clung stubbornly to the cliffs of Dover, obscuring the horizon in an ethereal veil. Squadron Leader Evans squinted through the windscreen of his Spitfire, his finger hovering over the trigger. Radar had picked up a curious blip on their screens – a formation unlike anything they'd encountered before.
"Looks like Jerry's brought some new toys to the party, lads," he announced over the radio, his voice laced with grim curiosity. The distinctive whine of engines cut through the air, growing louder as the formation materialized from the mist – a gaggle of sleek, stubby aircraft unlike any Messerschmitt or Heinkel they'd seen before.
Evans recognized the telltale signs of a dive bomber – the extended landing gear, the underbelly primed for a payload. But these weren't the lumbering Stukas they were used to. These were faster, more agile, a new wrinkle in the ever-changing game of aerial warfare.
"Form up, chaps! We don't know what these things are capable of, but we're not letting them get through to our boys on the ground!" Evans barked into the microphone, his voice betraying a steely resolve.
The Spitfires surged forward, their Merlin engines roaring in defiance. The unfamiliar aircraft, later identified as "Aichi Vals" by intelligence, peeled off into a diving attack, their forms blurring as they plummeted towards the ground. Evans threw his Spitfire into a tight turn, the g-forces pressing him into his seat as he chased after the lead Val.
The air crackled with the staccato bark of machine guns. The Val, lighter and faster than the Stuka, proved to be a more nimble opponent. Evans banked sharply, his tracers stitching a fiery line across the sky as he tried to find his target.
Suddenly, another Spitfire, flown by the young and eager Sergeant Thompson, rocketed past him, diving in a daring head-on attack. The Val pilot, caught off guard, swerved wildly, his dive faltering. Thompson seized the opportunity, unleashing a burst of fire that sent the Val spiraling into the sea below, a plume of smoke marking its fiery demise.
The remaining Vals, their initial surprise attack blunted, faltered. The Spitfires, emboldened by Thompson's success, pressed their attack, their superior numbers and experience overwhelming the new German adversaries. One by one, the Vals fell victim to the withering hail of gunfire, their dreams of crippling the British radar defenses evaporating in a cloud of smoke and flame.
As the last Val limped away, trailing black smoke, Evans pulled back, a mixture of relief and exhilaration washing over him. They had faced a new threat, and they had prevailed. The skies above Britain, for now, remained theirs.
Later, as Evans surveyed the wreckage of the fallen Val scattered along the cliffs, a sense of unease settled in his gut. This new weapon, though ultimately unsuccessful, was a stark reminder of the ever-evolving nature of their enemy, and the constant need for vigilance in the face of an ever-changing battlefield.
The Aichi D3A "Val" in Luftwaffe Service
Background
As part of the 1939 German–Japanese aviation cooperation agreement, the Luftwaffe gained access to several Japanese designs for evaluation. Among them was the Aichi D3A “Val”, the Imperial Japanese Navy’s primary dive bomber. With a higher speed and greater range than the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, the Aichi offered intriguing advantages — though at the cost of a lighter bomb load.
By the summer of 1940, following the fall of France, criticism of the Ju 87 grew louder. Luftwaffe commanders feared the Stuka’s obsolescence against modern British fighters. The Oberkommando der Luftwaffe made the unusual decision to acquire Japanese dive bombers for operational trials.
Transfer to Europe
In July 1940, 36 Aichi D3A aircraft, along with an equal number of Mitsubishi A6M Zeros, were ferried from Japan to Germany via the Soviet Union, making stops at Irkutsk and Smolensk. One aircraft was lost in transit, but the remaining 35 Vals arrived intact in France and were quickly integrated into Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 (StG 77).
The Battle of Britain
The Aichi D3A made its combat debut during Adlertag (13 August 1940), targeting the British Chain Home radar stations along the southern coast. While the dive-bombing accuracy impressed Luftwaffe officers, the limited bomb weight and the RAF’s rapid repair of radar sites minimized their effectiveness.
In subsequent weeks, the Vals were redirected to coastal shipping interdiction and precision strikes against RAF airfields. Their longer endurance compared to the Ju 87 allowed them to penetrate deeper into British territory, but RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes proved just as deadly against the Japanese machines.
By early September 1940, attrition had taken a heavy toll: of the 35 aircraft committed, only 11 remained operational. Despite their higher speed, the Vals’ lack of armor and self-sealing fuel tanks made them nearly as vulnerable as the Ju 87.
Later Use in the Mediterranean
The surviving aircraft were redeployed to the Mediterranean theater in 1941, where they flew alongside Stukas in operations over Malta, Crete, and North Africa. There, they enjoyed more success against shipping convoys and lightly defended ports. Luftwaffe crews praised the Val’s rugged dive characteristics, which made it easier to handle than the Ju 87 in steep attacks.
Trials on Graf Zeppelin
Perhaps the most unusual chapter of the Aichi D3A in German service came with its trials aboard the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin in 1942. With its compact size, reliable carrier handling, and folding wings, the Val was better suited for deck operations than the Ju 87T navalized Stuka.
During Baltic trials, the Vals demonstrated smoother carrier landings and shorter take-off runs, making them attractive candidates for the Kriegsmarine’s carrier arm. For a brief period, Luftwaffe planners even considered license production of a “D3A/T” variant in Germany. However, the war situation and shifting priorities prevented this from moving forward.
Legacy
The Luftwaffe’s use of the Aichi D3A was short-lived and limited in scope. While it offered incremental advantages over the Ju 87, it was far from revolutionary. By 1942, German industry had moved to other dive-bomber concepts, and the Japanese aircraft faded quietly from frontline service.
Still, its operational use — from the skies over Britain to the decks of the Graf Zeppelin — remains a fascinating footnote in the history of German–Japanese cooperation during the war.
The model shows a Aichi D3A Val of the Stukkageschwader 77 just before Adlertag.
The Aichi D3A Val is made from an Airfix kit which seemed to use some quite old molds. Made OOB, only the colors and decals are different to the original. Decals were taken form an Italieri Ju 87 and the spare part box.
The model is airbrushed with Revell AquaColor.
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