Rafale M - Centenary of Fleet 11F - 1:72 Scale Model

Comes with a sheet of decals and a set of instructions. You can use the decals to customise the model, choosing from five liveries that were applied by Fleet 11F to commemorate its centenary. The right fin is already fixed; all you have to do is choose the left fin and the registration. These five liveries were applied to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fleet 11F in 2019. Fleet 11F is the oldest fighter squadron in the French Naval Aviation Force. The heir to the aviation unit known in 1919 as AC1 Squadron, the Fleet adopted its winged seahorse insignia during the late 1920s. It went under a number of names before officially becoming Fleet 11F in 1953. It has used 19 different aircraft types, ranging from the Seafire to the Rafale Marine via the Aquilon and Super Étendard. Fleet 11F has seen two world wars, the Indochina War and the Algerian War. It has thus tested the courage and self-sacrifice of its naval aviators in the course of many battles. It has conducted thousands of operations from five aircraft carriers: the Béarn, Arromanches, Foch, Clemenceau and Charles-de-Gaulle. Following the retirement of the Super-Étendard in 2011, the “furious” 11F became the second fighter unit to switch to an all-Rafale Marine fleet. Design created by R. Jultier and produced and applied by CreatemThe Rafale omnirole combat aircraft is produced in different versions for the French Air Force and Navy. The two versions are 95% identical. Operational on France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, the Rafale M is the only foreign combat aircraft that can fly sorties from US aircraft carriers using their catapults and stopping systems. With an external payload of 9,500kg, the Rafale M regularly carries out quick reaction alerts (QRA), air defence and air sovereignty missions and projection missions and is deployed overseas for long-range strikes, air support for ground forces and reconnaissance missions, as well as pilot training and qualification sorties. In service since 2004, the aircraft has proved itself in combat for the French Navy since 2007. For more detailed information about the Rafale, visit the official Dassault Aviation website at https://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/defense/rafale/