Focke-Achelis Fa 330 "Bachstelze"

During the Second World War the German submarines had a crucial disadvantage: they could only attack goals that were visually spotted before. In the North Atlantic this problem could partially be compensated by long-range reconnaissance aircraft, herd tactics as well as using radio reconnaissance. But for the South Atlantic and the Indian ocean fundamentally different solutions were necessary.

Heinrich Focke tackled the problem in 1942 and designed within the shortest time a small engineless autogyro, which could be transported in two waterproof tubes packed on board of the submarines. Due to its simple construction and its compact dimensions the Focke Achgelis Fa 330 Bachstelze could be assembled and started within seven minutes.

The machine was pulled by a rope behind the submarine, hovering started from approx. 30 km/h and it reached up to 220m height. At this height the pilot had a very good overview to spot enemy ships. Folding and stowing the autogyro took only two minutes. In case of emergency a parachute was available, at which the complete machine could be brought surely downward. The rotor itself could be thrown off, in order to avoid injuries of the pilot during water contact.

Some IX-D2 type submarines were equipped with the transportation tubes, usually attached perpendicularly in the rear part of the tower. Thus the Bachstelze was actually used, mainly in the Indian ocean. The relatively complex handling of the aircraft and the strongly limited alarm diving capability of the submarines during its employment prevented however that the autogyro became standard equipment. Nevertheless about 100 copies of the Bachstelze were built at the factories in Delmenhorst.

The kit of Pavla Models consists of a sprue with 9 parts, a photoetched plate and a small decalsheet. More parts are not necessary in order to produce an accurate and complete replication of the original. The parts, particularly the photo-etched ones, are from outstanding quality, easy to handle and inline with the original. The instruction sheet is a little bit confusing, it shows the complete assembly in only one exploded view.

To assemble the kit you need a lot of patience and calm hands. The kit was built straight from the box. The decals applied without encountering problems.

The model is very small and fragile, I displayed it on a small base so I don't have the touch the model ever again.