Product Details

Kittyhawk MkIA as flown by Sqn Ldr Mike Judd, 250 Squadron, RAF in the Western Desert, May 1942. The Kittyhawk was the P-40D version of the US Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, used by the British and Commonwealth air forces during WWII campaigns, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. The aircraft was produced as a fighter plane between 1939 and 1944 by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. The Oxford Kittyhawk Mk I is decorated in desert camouflage and represents the aircraft flown by Sqn Ldr Mike Judd, a WWII fighter ace with five victories to his name by the end of the conflict, earning him the DFC, DSO and AFC. He served notably with 238 Sqn. in the Middle East in 1941, flying Hurricanes before taking command of 250 Squadron in April 1942, flying the P-40 Kittyhawk. In May 1942, Mike Judd led an attack on a large formation of Luftwaffe transport aircraft heading for Libya from Crete. He was also escorting a Bristol Beaufighter squadron and between them, they intercepted twelve Junkers 52 troop carriers. He successfully shot down two and his squadron pilots pursued the remainder, with the result that only two Junkers escaped. Our model commemorates this particular episode. Mike Judd died on 22nd August 2010, aged 92.