Curtiss Tomahawk IIB, AK402, P/O Neville Duke, RAF No.112 Squadron





Limited Edition
Product Information
FREE UK Delivery when you spend over £30.
Please allow up to 3 working days for UK delivery following the day you placed your order.
* Club membership packages do not count towards free delivery thresholds
Europe - 3-5 days
Rest of World - 5-10 days
We also offer FREE delivery to selected international destinations
Description
Curtiss Tomahawk IIB, AK402, P/O Neville Duke, RAF No.112 Squadron, Fort Maddelena, November 1941
The Curtiss P-40 series of fighters may not be regarded amongst the most successful of WWII, but as Europe fell to the advancing Wehrmacht and Britain and her Commonwealth fought to stem the German tide, it is difficult to think of a more important aircraft on both sides of the Atlantic. A capable and well-built fighter, the Curtiss P-40 was easy to maintain and operate and relatively cheap to produce – crucially, it was in full scale production by the time WWII began. Despite the fact that the Curtiss P-40 was one of the most advanced American fighters in service at the outbreak of WWII, it would be the Royal Air Force that gave the aircraft its combat introduction. Early RAF Tomahawks (the British name for the P-40B) were not deemed suitable for fighter operations against the Luftwaffe and were initially used in Army cooperation and reconnaissance roles, operating from bases in the UK. The RAF made a number of suggestions to Curtiss following their experiences with these early machines and a number of improvements were incorporated into the next aircraft deliveries. This resulted in the Desert Air Force receiving Tomahawks in 1941 as replacements for their Hurricanes and being hurled into battle against Axis air forces.
It was also in the desert that the RAF Tomahawks became some of the most famous aircraft of the entire war, as No.112 Squadron pilots painted sinister looking sharks teeth and eyes behind the propellers of their P-40s, giving the aircraft an extremely aggressive appearance. The profile of these early RAF Tomahawks really does resemble that of a shark, a fact that was fully exploited by the pilots of the Desert Air Force. Impressed by magazine pictures of these RAF flying sharks, the famous American Volunteer Group ‘Flying Tigers’ soon added sharks teeth designs to their own P-40s as they battled Japanese aircraft in the skies above China.
This particular Curtiss Tomahawk was the mount of famous RAF pilot Neville Duke, who was posted to No.112 Squadron in North Africa following a successful spell as Wing Commander ‘Sailor’ Malan’s wingman at Biggin Hill. Used to flying the Spitfire Mk.V, Duke initially found the Tomahawk to be something of a disappointment in combat and was shot down twice during his first few weeks in the desert. Flying Tomahawk IIB AK402, he was shot down on 30th November 1941 by high scoring JG27 ace Otto Schulz, but managed to crash land his aircraft and return to his Squadron. He soon got to grips with the desert air war and started to score victories of his own – by the end of the war, Duke became the highest scoring Allied ace in the Mediterranean Theatre, with 27 victories to his name. We also went on to become a celebrated test pilot and holder of the world air speed record.

The Aviation Archive
A range of high quality detailed die-cast model aircraft. Each model comes complete with an individually numbered certificate of authenticity detailing the significant history of each aircraft. View the full range
Safety Notice
A detailed die-cast scale model for adult collector. Not Suitable for children under 14 years.
Technical Specification & Detail
-
Detailed Crew Figure(s)
-
Optional Undercarriage Down
-
Rotatable Propellers
Dimensions | 22 x 7.5 x 22 |
Scale | 1:72 |
Limited Edition | Yes |
Limited Edition Size | 1,500 |
Wingspan | 157mm |
Age Suitability | 14+ |
Customer Reviews
Review Guidelines
Review Guidelines
To write a great review:
- Focus on the item itself. Why do you like it or dislike it?
- Avoid mentioning any personal information (email address, telephone numbers) and time-sensitive material.
- Just be honest! You're an expert on this item. Share your experience with others. We will never reject a review just because it's negative.
We will reject reviews that contain:
- Customer service issues. Please contact Customer Services instead if you have experienced a specific issue that needs to be addressed.
- Any mention of competitors.
- General issues or discussion. Your review is on this specific item and what you think of it, it's not a place for debate and discussion on wider subject matters.
- Clear signs that you don't own the item.
- Profanities, distasteful language, promotional material and/or external links. This applies to nicknames too.
What happens next?
- We'll check your review and approve it as soon as possible. Should it not be possible for us to approve your review for the website, it'll appear (with a message from our team) in your Account area.
- Other visitors can leave replies to your review and mark if they felt it was helpful.
Review Guidelines
To write a great review:
- Focus on the item itself. Why do you like it or dislike it?
- Avoid mentioning any personal information (email address, telephone numbers) and time-sensitive material.
- Just be honest! You're an expert on this item. Share your experience with others. We will never reject a review just because it's negative.
We will reject reviews that contain:
- Customer service issues. Please contact Customer Services instead if you have experienced a specific issue that needs to be addressed.
- Any mention of competitors.
- General issues or discussion. Your review is on this specific item and what you think of it, it's not a place for debate and discussion on wider subject matters.
- Clear signs that you don't own the item.
- Profanities, distasteful language, promotional material and/or external links. This applies to nicknames too.
What happens next?
- We'll check your review and approve it as soon as possible. Should it not be possible for us to approve your review for the website, it'll appear (with a message from our team) in your Account area.
- Other visitors can leave replies to your review and mark if they felt it was helpful.
Write a review
Average rating based on 2 reviews
You need to sign in or register to write a review.
Sign in or registerDesert CurtissTomahawk IIB
I am very pleased overall with the shark mouthed Tomahawk. Its a nice addition to my limited desert range of aircraft. QC seems very good with my plane and the detail is excellent. Only thing irritating is the clumsy cradle that comes with it! But the plane itself is a five star rendition. Keep it up Corgi :)
Sorry, you can not vote for this review. Please log in
Tomahawk
The plane its self is fantastic I absolutely love the shark face and desert camouflage really stands out. However as with the Warhawk it has a cradle stand witch draws your attention away from the plan and doesn't really feel stable, again i think it would be better if they use the stands that clip inside the planes.
Sorry, you can not vote for this review. Please log in