D-Day Barrage Balloon 1/350 Scale

Most famous from the images of the  landing beaches in the Normandy Invasion, the Type M1 VLA (Very Low Altitude) barrage balloon was nevertheless also used in  Sicily and Italy and later on in the Korean War.  It required as little as 10% of the hydrogen gas used by more conventional balloons and was deployed on everything from massive LSTs to diminutive Willys Jeeps - it could be towed at up to 40 miles per hour.  Two balloons flown in tandem, one above the other, could fly as high as 4, 400ft, nearly as much as as a Low Altitude type.

Goodyear alone built at least 3625 of these Type M1's but the British also built condiderablenumbers.

In 1/350th scale the model measures just 38mm in length and has a 1mm diameter hole in base to take a mounting rod or wire.  The two halves are spued togeter both to help keep the price down and to keep the parts safely together. The contact points for the sprues are within the model and so do spoil the surface.

There is a set of three D Day balloons available HERE  that gives a significant cost saving per balloon.

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