Re: Gone but Not Forgotten
To qualify for The League of Uglyitis Warbirds (“TLUW” for short), a plane must fall out of the ugly tree and hit every branch and twig on the way down. The F-35 and Mig-31 did it with gusto; the Panavia Tornado likewise made a spectacular splat.
That said, the ol’ Tonka is far and away a noble warbird, having done herself proud in the Bosnian and Kosovo Wars, the First and Second Gulf Wars, the Libyan Civil War, and lesser roles in Afghanistan and Yemen. Indeed, British, Italian, and Saudi Tornados made low-level, anti-runway bombing sorties in Iraq with stupendous success.
Panavia Aircraft GmbH, a tri-national consortium consisting of British Aerospace, MBB of West Germany, and Aeritalia of Italy mass-produced the interdictor/strike aircraft, which first flew on 14 August 1974 and was introduced into service in 1979-1980 (did I mention that it comes in an air defense/interceptor variant, too?). Despite considerable wear and service since then, the bird shows little sign of decrepitude, a testament to its brilliant design.
Corgi’s Saudi version (represented below) boasts of fastidiously applied Saudi 'desert' camouflage, exceptional tampos, and impressive ordinance. I found a couple on eBay, but both were “used” and cost a bundle. Keep in mind that somewhere down the road this model will up and vanish. So if you’ve got a hammer, smash your piggy bank, grab some coin, and buy this goodie while it’s still available.
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Dave
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