BLOCKADE RUNNER
Massimo Santarossa finds out if Special Hobby’s newly tooled 1/72 Short Sunderland Mk.V sinks or swims.
Opposing forces dubbed the Sunderland the ‘flying porcupine’ because of its formidable defensive armament – illustrated by a single aircraft shooting down three out of eight attacking Junkers Ju 88s. Throughout the war the Sunderland played a vital role in patrolling the Atlantic and in the destruction of the U-boat menace. Post war, this remarkable aircraft continued to serve, and was utilised in the Berlin Airlift, Korean War and the terrorist uprising in Malaya. After a 21-year career, the Sunderland ‘bowed out’ of RAF service in 1959.