Soviet Motor Gunboats of WWII Book Review

Soviet Motor Gunboats of World War II: The Red Army’s ‘river tanks’ from Stalingrad to Berlin

By Przemyslaw Budzbon

Osprey New Vanguard 324

Softcover, 48 pages, bibliography, and index

Published by Osprey Publications, November 2023

Language: English

ISBN: 978-1-47285-721-7

Dimensions: 7.3 x 9.7 x 0.2 inches

Vast areas of the Soviet steppe were open and undeveloped during much of the twentieth century, and many remain so today. What roads are there are unpaved, and rail lines are rare. Adding to that, the spring thaw turns everything into a vast sea of mud – the “Rasputitsa” literally means “season of bad roads”. Given those conditions river navigation often become the most reliable means of transportation, and it is only natural that this is exploited militarily in times of conflict.

To this end the Soviet Union produced a number of riverine gunboats during the Great Patriotic War. These were manufactured with several variations in hull designs, engines, and armament. They were relatively small, around 80 feet (25 meters) in length and 25 – 45 tons displacements which enabled them to be transported by rail. Engines were repurposed (and often rebuilt) aircraft engines. Armament was a variety of T-28 and T-34 tank turrets, Katyuska rockets, machine guns (in turrets or deck-mounted), and even 3” naval guns in open mounts when tank turrets were in short supply. The use of gun and rocket systems in common service with the Red Army led to standardization of both ammunition supply and maintenance procedures. In many ways these vessels were regarded and utilized as floating tanks.

These are very interesting and unusual vessels, unfortunately not well documented or known in the West. Author Przemyslaw Budzbon has put together a captivating introduction to the topic, unfortunately brief due to the limitations of the format of the Osprey New Vanguard series. What is there are the details of each variation of the Bronekater, from early pre-war designs through the last vessels used during the Cold War. Emphasis is on the most common wartime Type 1124 and 1125 boats. These are well-illustrated in photographs, color plates, and 3-D renders made specifically for this volume. A fascinating topic, and one which I would like to see more of, both in print and in scale. Recommended for all fans of small combatants or of Soviet equipment, especially if you’re interested in something relatively obscure.

Piper L-4 Grasshopper Walk Around Part II

Photographs taken at the Lone Star Flight Museum, Houston, Texas by Don Gilman

Women Warriors 353

Capt Brittany “Blitz” Trimble F-16 Pilot

Staff Sgt. Paige Mitchell, 61st Fighter Squadron F-35 Lightning II crew chief

WAVES Aviation Mechanic Barbara Stroud, NAS Jacksonville

Airman Samantha Allred, 39th Security Forces Squadron, peers down the barrel of a M240B machine gun while working patrol on the flight line, Mar. 9, 2009, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Benjamin Wilson, 39th Air Base Wing public affairs)

USAF Minnesota AFR LT Alicia Makoutz C-130 Pilot

USAF Capt. Victoria Snow, HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter pilot assigned to the 33rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron (180313-F-OH871-1009)

WAAF radar operator Denise Miley, May 1945 (IWM)

ww409e_Great Britain — **United Kingdom**

ww409g_DanishF16_LineBonde — **Danish F-16 pilot Line Bonde**

ww411_USANG — **South Carolina ANG F-16**

ww412_RoyalNorwegianNavy_ThompsonSMG — **Royal Norwegian Navy sailors train with Thompson SMG**

ww209 — **Romania, sign on the building reads “Honor is Your Motto”**

ww211 — **Ukrainian with Druganov sniper rifle**

ww212KaySummersby — **ATS Major Kay Summersby, General Eisenhower’s driver and assistant**

ww012nancy_love_and_betty_gillies — **Nancy Love and Betty Gillies, founders of the WASPs**

To see more Women Warriors, click on the tags below:

IBG Models M13/40 Build in 1/72 Scale

This is the 2023 IBG kit of the Fiat M13/40, the vehicle you most likely think of when you hear “Italian tank”. The M13/40 has been well represented in kit form over the years but this kit has the potential to be the new king of the hill.

The kit is not overly complex but there are a number of minute parts so you’ll need some care and a good set of tweezers to get this one together. The molding is outstanding with sharp details and no flash.

My favorite part of this kit is the tracks. The tracks are molded as a single continuous run with several additional components molded in, one then adds details of the running gear to complete the assembly. IMHO this is the optimum way to engineer tracks in the One True Scale provided the prototype’s design will facilitate it.

The hull builds up quickly, but the instructions are a little vague as to just how the three pieces of the upper hull are meant to go together and I didn’t get mine to fit just right.

Here is the hull with the detail parts added and the turret assembled. The turret hatches can be posed open but I lacked a suitable figure. The machine gun was not always seen fitted to the M13/40 but this is a beautifully molded piece so I will add it after painting.

Here I have replaced the grab bar on the hatch with wire and put a swipe of Perfect Plastic Putty into the seam at the hull by the driver’s position. There is a small PE fret which has the boarding steps which hung over the tracks on the sides which I will save for the end of construction.

I sprayed the model with thinned RLM Sand Yellow straight out of the bottle and then added thin layers mixed with 50% white to the center of the panels to modulate the tone. Easier to see in person than in the photo but I was pleased with the effect.

Here is the model after painting the detail parts and tracks. The model was then shot with Future to gloss it up in preparation for decals and weathering. The white recognition marking on the turret top is a decal, it snugged down really well with a little Solvaset.

The finished model when all was done. I gave it a thin black wash to make the details pop, then added some silver and dark brown wear to appropriate areas. I mixed in a few drops of light tan to the flat coat to simulate dust and bring the finish together. This was a fun build and I’m happy with how it turned out, a great little pallet cleanser!

Picture of the Week 106

A beautiful illustration of the immense proportions of the USAF C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft, one of the largest aircraft in service anywhere in the world. The design first flew on 30JUN68. It has a wingspan of 222.75 feet (67.9 meters) and a maximum take off weight of 840,000 pounds (381,018 kg). Yes, there are 1/72 scale kits available from Anigrand and Titan as well as vacuforms, but with a scale wingspan of slightly over 37 inches extra display space will be needed!

Dornier Do 26 Flying Boat Part IV

When the Second World War began the Do 26s were impressed into Luftwaffe service as transports. Their civilian call letters were replaced with Luftwaffe codes – “P5” indicates the unit, in this case Kdo.d. Transportflieger Chief Norwegen. The first letter aft of the Balkenkreuze is the individual aircraft designation. These were assigned in the order of production A through F, so P5+AH is the former Do 26V1 “Seeadler”.

The Dorniers were repainted in the standard Luftwaffe maritime camouflage of RLM 72/73 splinter on the upper surfaces over RLM 65 lowers. The RLM 72/73 were dark greens with a subtle blue tint, they were very close in hue and the color separation is often difficult to see in black and white photos.

This is a useful series of photos taken of Gebirgsjäger (mountain troops) loading aboard a Do 26 during the Norwegian Campaign. As a miliary transport the Do 26 could carry two tons of cargo or eighteen personnel.

Same scene, slightly different angle. It is possible these are men of 3/Gebirgsjäger Regiment (GJR) 138 loading at Trondheim on 08MAY40.

Three branches of the Werhmacht represented in the same photo. A Kriegsmarine rating from the boat crew on the far left, a Gebirgsjäger Officer at the door supervising the loading of his men and their equipment, and a Luftwaffe pilot stands to the right.

A Dornier moored to a buoy in calm waters. P5+BH was shot down on 08MAY40 by Blackburn Skuas of 803 NAS from HMAS Ark Royal near the Narvik area. On 28MAY40 P5+AH and P5+CH were caught on the water at Rombaksfjord by three Hurricanes of 46 Squadron which sunk them as they were unloading field guns. Therefore, the first three Do 26s all met their fate during the Norwegian Campaign.

The standard method of boarding is demonstrated by the crew of Do 26V4, P5+DH. Obviously ferry service utilizing a proper boat would be preferred to rubber rafts, but these men are making do.

A chilly winter scene of the crew hauling rubber rafts up onto the fuselage, presumably these would be deflated and stowed inside.

P5+EH moored to a pier somewhere in Norway, 1940. Flying boats provide ample opportunities for the diorama maker, and these Do 26 photos are no exception! P5+EH was lost with her crew on 16NOV40 during a night launch from the catapult ship Friesenland in Brest, France.

Not the best photo quality, but an interesting subject. During the war the Germans maintained a series of weather stations in Greenland. After the British discovered on of these stations in 1943 P5+FH was assigned to “Operation Holzauge” to evacuate the men before they could be captured. All 22 men and their sledge dogs were rescued. Here the aircraft is seen with temporary white camo over her splinter scheme. Modelers should note her armament had been removed at this time.

Part I here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2025/12/24/dornier-do-26-flying-boat-part-i/

Italeri SM.79 Sparviero in 1/72 Scale

This is the Italeri Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero “Sparrowhawk”, built as a torpedo bomber of 281° Squadron, 132° Gruppo Autonoma Aerosiluranti. The unit was based at Gadurra Airfield on Rhodes, Greece, during 1941. The unit was commanded by Major Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia.