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With the Model Builders
February 1942 Flying Aces

Flying Aces February 1942 - Airplanes and Rockets

These pages from vintage modeling magazines like Flying Aces, Air Trails, American Modeler, American Aircraft Modeler, Young Men, Flying Models, Model Airplane News, R/C Modeler, captured the era. All copyrights acknowledged.

February 1942 was just a couple months into the USA's official involvement in World War II. We had been informally assisting Europe against Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy, and China against Japan's Hirohito, a couple years prior to the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, upon which the U.S. declared war on Japan. Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. a couple days later. We were suddenly in the game big time. Only because Hitler and the Soviet Union's Stalin couldn't agree on how to share rule of a conquered Earth were we spared warring against what would have been an overwhelmingly formidable force. Flying Aces magazine provided a lot of coverage of the U.S. Army Air Force's (USAAF) efforts during the war, in large part to motivate young men to fight for God and country. Many aircraft modelers participated in the war effort outside of military service by building models of both Allied and Axis airplanes, ships, and land vehicles. Shown here are Douglas DC-4 models being used to plan deployment and base configurations. Note also Mr. Carl Goldberg's appearance at the featured contest.

With the Model Builders

Frank Mesa and one of the smallest ships entered in the recent Skyscrapers contest. Atom-powered, span 36", it flies very fast.

Cecil Winik, of New York, built this unique radio-controlled pusher gas model. The entire ship can be dismantled in a few minutes.

One of the few established private model airports in the country is located in Baltimore, Md. Note anemometer, vane, and windsock.


When the Germans invaded Crete with transports carrying paratroopers, their success in capturing the Island lay in the large numbers of troop ships available. So now the United States is building up its own fleet of big Douglases. Photos left and right give you an idea what it would look like. Models are Douglas DC-4's.