Airfix Henschel Hs 123-1

This 1/72 scale Airfix kit which dates back to the late 1970's is of a Henschel Hs 123-1 single seat dive bomber/ground attack aircraft.

The aircraft pictured was used during the Spanish Civil War by the Condor Legion.

The Condor Legion was a unit composed of "volunteers" from the Luftwaffe and from the German Army which served alongside General Francisco Franco's Nationalists against the Communists between 1936 and 1939.

It gave the Germans an excellent opportunity to test their aircraft and tactics as well as provide their pilots with combat experience before the start of the Second World War.

The Henschel Hs 123-1 first flew in 1935 and remained in service with the Luftwaffe until as late as 1944.

It was active in many theatres during the Second World War including the German attack on Poland in 1939 and the Blitzkrieg of 1940 as well as later in the Balkans and on the Eastern Front.