1 by
Dave Bailey, on Flickr
The door of the office flew open, and the wind it generated brought a very brief respite from the Cuban heat. "Vasily, we have a problem. Operation Anadyr has been called off, we must return everything to Russia." Major General Volkov clenched his jaw and stared off into nowhere. After what seemed an eternity, he allowed a smile to appear, and asked "How many aircraft have been assembled and ready for flight?" "Only one, engine tests have been run, pilot training was to start tomorrow." "Then, Pyotr, I suggest we simply go now. What more can we do? We have been planning this for months, our new lives begin today!"
2 by
Dave Bailey, on Flickr
In the White House, an aide approached the President nervously. "Mr President, we have been monitoring the ships leaving Cuba, all missiles are accounted for, but, um, there seems to be one aircraft missing." President Kennedy gave an amused smile, "An Ilyushin 28? What is it we named it, Beagle?" "Yes Sir, a medium range bomber, it could easily strike..." No worries, Fred," the president replied, "All aircraft are accounted for." "Sir?" "Yes, all accounted for, don't worry."
3 by
Dave Bailey, on Flickr
4 by
Dave Bailey, on Flickr
It was another 44 years before the aide, now an old man, found out the answer to the mystery. Two Russian pilots, determined to escape to the west, had flown the missing aircraft to America, where it was taken over by the U.S. Air Force, It was one of the first foreign aircraft to be evaluated by American pilots, and provided much information about Russian construction methods, engine and airframe developments, and control systems. Russia refused to admit that such an incident had occurred, but more than a few personnel lost jobs. A few days after the aircraft had been sent to the Tonopah Test Range, a Martin B-57 Canberra, a comparable but much more capable aircraft than the Beagle, streaked across Cuba at low altitude, and dropped some leaflets. Although unauthorised, the pilots were not disciplined, but were warned not to poke the bear again.
5 by
Dave Bailey, on Flickr
Beagle by
Dave Bailey, on Flickr
The KitThe old Airfix kit, which I picked up at a local shop for a decent price. Definitely showing its age, and some warping was a problem. Worse, it was in the fiddly areas around the nose and tail, meaning lots of gluing, clamping, regluing, more clamping, swearing, drinking, and such. Still experimenting with the AK Silver Paste, don't use this stuff if you value clean fingers. It rubs off easily, but the flat black Tamiya I brushed on first seems to have held it fairly well. Decals are from an Airfix P-80, and went on easily. All canopy and other clear framing was done with a Molotow Chrome pen, could be better but I wanted to get this done.