Before Indonesia's declaration of Independence on August 17th, 1945,
the territory of the present Indonesia was occupied by the Dutch for more than 300 years, known as Netherlands East Indies (NEI), before
defeated by the Japanese during World War II.
The primary reason for the Japanese to enter the war was the resources that available in abundance in NEI, particularly rubber and the
oilfields. When the Japanese invaded, they faced the forces of the Royal
Netherlands East Indian Army (Koninklijke Nederlandse Indische Leger/ KNIL) and Royal Netherlands Navy (Koninklijke Marine/ KM).
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Curtiss Hawk H75
The Curtiss Hawk Model 75, also known as the Curtiss P-36 Hawk, was an American-designed and built fighter of the 1930s and 40s. It was one of
the first of a new generation of combat aircraft-a sleek monoplane design making extensive use of metal in its construction and powered by
a powerful radial engine.
Perhaps best known as the predecessor of the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, the P-36 saw little combat with the USAAF during World War II. It was
nevertheless the fighter used most extensively and successfully by the French Armee de l'air during the Battle of France. The P-36 was also
ordered by the governments of the Netherlands and Norway, but did not arrive in time to see action over either country, before both were
occupied by Nazi Germany. The Hawks ordered by the Netherlands were diverted to the Netherland East Indies (NEI) and later saw action
against Japanese forces.
In October 1939, The Netherlands ordered 24 Hawk 75A-7s for their Oost Indi=EB colonies or the Netherland East Indies (NEI). The fighters were
shipped in 1940 and almost rerouted to the Netherlands when Germany invaded. As the mainland surrendered, the aircraft came to the colonies
where they were used extensively against the Japanese attack.
Most NEI Hawks were assigned to the 1ste JachtVliegAfdeling - VliegtuigGroep IV (1ste JaVA - 1-VlG IV; "1st Fighter Squadron - Flying
Group IV") of the ML-KNIL. These aircraft saw action over Malacca, Sumatra and Java, successfully bombing the railroad and intercepting
bombers and participated in the extensive dogfights over Soerabaja, Java, where USAAF, RAF and ML aircrafts fought Japanese bombers and
fighters together.
The Kit
This 1/72 kit is from Azur/MPM. Typical limited injection kit with no locating pins, vac form canopy (which is yellowish), Cockpit and the
radial engine are resin. The resin antennae, control column and tail landing gear snapped and were either replaced from spares or
scratchbuilt. Plenty of cleaning and adjustments and generous amount of putty. Painted with rattle can. Decal from Flevo Decal depicting a
bare-metal aircraft from ML-KNIL, 1 VL G IV, based on Andir, West Java.
Reference:
Iwan Winarta
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