Hobby Master Archive

The Spitfire Mk.II was an improvement over the late production Mk.I’s because it had the new Merlin XII engine. The new engine provided an extra 120 hp and could be equipped with either the Rotol or de Havilland propellers. Out of the 920 Mk.II’s built 750 were Mk.IIa’s armed with eight .303 Browning machine guns. The Mk.II was phased out in 1941 by the Mk.V.

After escaping from Czechoslovakia Tomas (A.K.A. Adolphe) Vybiral joined the French Air Force. Here he is credited with 7 victories while flying a Curtiss Hawk 75 during the Battle of France. He left France for England and joined No. 312 Squadron known as the “Czech” Squadron. At first he flew Hurricanes and then his aircraft became a Spitfire Mk.IIa P8081 named “Garfield Weston IV”. Garfield Weston was a Canadian philanthropist who became the head of the Weston Food Group as well as a member of the British Parliament. Among his many financial gifts he donated £100,000 to the Spitfire Fund. Vybiral later commanded 312 Squadron. The 312 Squadron was disbanded in 1946.

Vybiral’s actual first name is Tomas, not Adolphe. According to a Czech historian the problem began when the Czech pilots first flew with the French Air Force in WWII. Apparently the name was altered when it was being translated into French and after the war English speaking writers started using the name the way it was translated in French. Unfortunately this has led to years of using the wrong name for Tomas Vybiral. The name Tomas and not Adolphe has always been used correctly within his home country and the rest of the world didn’t pick up on it, myself included. Hopefully after all these years Tomas will start to get the recognition he deserves. The historian also mentioned that Tomas was not alone, this happened to numerous Czech pilots that flew in the French Air Force in early WWII. Thanks to Mr. Roman Scherks from www.modelyletadel.cz and Radim Kočandrle who took the time to bring this to my attention and for their efforts by consulting with Czech historians for the correct facts.

Specifications for the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IIa Entered Service - August 1940 with 611 Squadron Performance Power Plant - 1 x Rolls-Royce Merlin XII, 1,175 hp (Mk.IIb - 1,300 hp) Maximum Speed - 370 mph (595 km/h) Maximum Range - 395 miles (636 km) Service Ceiling - 32,800 ft (9,997 m) Time 20,000 ft - 7 minutes Dimensions Length - 29.8 ft (9.1 m) Height - 11.48 ft (3.5 m) Wingspan - 36.75 ft (11.2 m)

Armament Mk.IIa - 8 x Browning .303 machine guns Mk.IIb - 4 x machine guns + 2 x 20mm cannons

1/48 scale pre-finished. Die-cast metal with a minimum of plastic. Professionally painted. All markings pad applied for superb results. Canopy slides open. Comes with a pilot that can be removed. Comes with display stand. Landing gear is fully retractable and can be displayed up or down. Propeller is metal. Extremely sought after by collectors.

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA7806 Spitfire Mk. II ‘P8081’ GARFIELD WESTON IV Flt. Lt. Tomas (A.K.A. Adolphe) Vybiral No. 312 ‘Czech’ Sqn., Ayr, Nov 1941