Corgi Aircraft Newest Arrivals

AH-64 Apache Helicopter by Corgi Showcase Series Toys Item Number: CS90623

As the most famous fighter pilot in the history of military aviation, the name Manfred von Richthofen is familiar to many people and despite the Great War claiming his life more than 100 years ago, the exploits of the Bloody Red Baron continue to be a source of fascination to this day. Originally joining the Luftstreitkr�fte as an aerial observer, his fighting ambitions would lead von Richthofen to be selected for fighter training, where he would later become a legend of the air, being...

Apollo 11 Command Module - 50th Anniversary Responsible for carrying all three astronauts and the Lunar Module into lunar orbit the Apollo Command module played a vital role in the Apollo 11 landings. The Command Module was 11m high and 3.9m wide, and having taken off from Kenedy Space Center Florida on July 16th delivered it�s passengers to their destination in just four days. On their return to Earth the three astronauts had to spend 21 days in quarantine to ensure they hadn�t contracted...

Apollo 11 Lunar Landing Module - 50th Anniversary Known as LM the Lunar Excursion Model LEM Eagle and even Haystack in internal and external communications during early mission planning. The Lunar Module landed on the Moon's surface at 20:47 UTC Coor,dinated Universal Time on the 20th July 1969 with the crew stepping onto the surface around six hours later on the 21st. The module stood at 7.04m high and was 9.4m wide. The LM was incapable of flying through the Earth�s atmosphere and was...

Avro Lancaster by Corgi Showcase Series Toys Item Number: CS90619

Avro Vulcan by Corgi Showcase Series Toys Item Number: CS90617

From the perspective of a Luftwaffe fighter pilot, the sight of hundreds of American Flying Fortresses in formation and heading towards them must have been magnificent and terrifying in equal measure. As the Allies pressed home their increasing aerial supremacy throughout 1944, not only would the Luftwaffe have to contend with a wall of defensive fire from the tightly packed bomber formations, they also knew that their protective fighter cover would be on them both before and after they made...

At a time when Britain and her Commonwealth were enduring their �Darkest Hour�, the nation were in need of inspirational heroes and perhaps nobody answered this call more famously than Douglas Bader. Losing both his legs as a result of a pre-war flying accident, Bader�s determination to re-join the RAF saw him playing a significant role in leading Fighter Command�s defiant resistance against the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain and later taking part in fighter sweeps over Northern...

One of the most crucial elements of the D-Day air campaign was the gathering of detailed reconnaissance photographs of the entire intended invasion area, which included the assessment of previous bombing raid effectiveness and the identification of future targets. In lessons learned during the disastrous Dieppe raid of 1942, military planners knew they had to have the very latest intelligence information in order to prepare for invasion, disrupting enemy communications and destroying defensive...

One of the most significant factors in reducing the effectiveness of Luftwaffe bombing operations during the Second World War was their lack of a capable heavy bomber which could be deployed in large numbers. By comparison, the Allies were almost spoilt for choice and following the introduction of the four engined Short Stirling, Bomber Command's operations took on a new dimension of offensive capability. The second four engined Heavy to enter squadron service was the Handley Page Halifax, an...

As the Royal Air Force prepared to mark their centenary year in some style, there was no doubt that the world famous Red Arrows would have a significant role to play throughout 2018. Coming at the end of an intensive period of winter training, where approximately 150 practice sorties would need to be flown before the team�s display authorisation could be granted, every Airshow event and ceremonial flypast would hope to boast an appearance from the Red Arrows during the RAF�s centenary year....

Hawker Hurricane by Corgi Showcase Series Toys Item Number: CS90620

Undoubtedly one of the most distinctive aircraft of the Second World War, the tri-motor Junkers Ju52 can trace its origins back to a first flight in October 1930 and even though it was obsolete at the start of the conflict, it would go on to see extensive use and be produced throughout the war. From the early days of his political career, Adolf Hitler was one of the first major world figures to use aircraft as his preferred mode of transport and on becoming Chancellor of Germany, he began to...

McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 XT864/007R - No.892 NAS HMS Ark Royal - November 1978 Although the history of British aviation can boast many famous aeroplanes amongst its ranks there can be few that were as visually striking as the mighty Phantom FG.,1s of the Royal Navy which operated from the diminutive deck of HMS Ark Royal. In the seconds prior to launch and whilst connected to the ship�s steam catapult the aircraft�s nose wheel oleo would be extended to its maximum 40 inch position giving...

Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/U2 �White 16� - 1./JG301 - July 1944 The opportunity to capture and evaluate the latest versions of your enemy�s aircraft was of great interest to both Allied and Axis military planners throughout WWII not only in order to ass,es the technology itself but also to develop tactics which would be useful to squadron pilots when meeting the aircraft in combat. Most of these aircraft would come into the possession of their new owners following combat and usually after...

Messerschmitt Bf 110E Stab II./NJG 1 Deelen Holland Spring 1942 The Battle of Britain had proved to be a chastening experience for the Messerschmitt Bf110 heavy fighter units of the Luftwaffe but despite their disappointing performance against the fi,ghters of the RAF Messerschmitt�s fighting twin would go on to perform effectively in other theatres. Seeing extensive service on the Eastern Front North Africa and the Mediterranean the extra range and firepower possessed by the Bf 110 helped it...

P-51D Mustang by Corgi Showcase Series Toys Item Number: CS90627

Although history has dictated that the aerial combat prowess of Manfred von Richthofen ensured he became one of the world�s most famous aviation personalities, the same cannot be said of the leading Allied �Ace of Aces� from the Great War, who has remained largely anonymous to all but the most committed of enthusiasts. Rene Fonck originally shunned the opportunity to become a pilot, preferring instead to share the trenches with his countrymen, as they fought against the Germans. The horrors of...

Supermarine Spitfire XIV RM740 - RAF No.322 Dutch Squadron Deanland - August 1944. The aviation pedigree of the Supermarine Spitfire is second to none. Produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft the Spitfire was in constant productio,n throughout the Second World War with the basic airframe capable of readily accepting upgrades and improvements which maintained the aircraft�s position as one of the most capable single engined fighting aeroplanes of WWII. The combination of the...

Tornado GR-4 by Corgi Showcase Series Toys Item Number: CS90624

Vickers VC-10 RAF by Corgi Showcase Series Toys Item Number: CS90626

The Westland Wessex HC.2 was a licence built turbine powered development of the classic American Sikorski S-58 Helicopter, one of the world�s first truly capable helicopters and one which finally established these aircraft as amongst the most useful for both military and civilian applications. XR500 was one of a batch or 4 HC.2 helicopters delivered in advance of the type�s acceptance into RAF service and was used by the Wessex Intensive Flying Trials Unit at RAF Odiham, in preparation for its...

With its famed short field landing and take-off performance, the distinctive Westland Lysander was in widespread service at the beginning of the Second World War, performing such duties as Army cooperation, artillery spotting, reconnaissance and light bombing missions. The Battle of France was disastrous for Lysander units, proving the vulnerability of the aircraft and its inability to defend itself against fighter attack, however, despite this, large numbers of Lysanders would have been sent...

Westland Seaking Raf Search & Rescue by Corgi Showcase Series Toys Item Number: CS90625