"The IAR-80/81" Topic

Not bad for Romanians at WW2.

"The prototype flew for the first time on 12 April 1939. The test pilot was cpt. av. Dumitru Popescu. It was presented to the public at the air show on 20 July and by the end of the year it had finished all the tests. A first order of 50 airplanes was given by the Ministry of the Air and Navy.

The IAR-80 was one of the best fighters in the world in 1939. Here is the report of the Luftwaffe major that tested it in March 1941:

"Take off and landing are very good. It's 20-30 km/h slower than the Bf-109E. The climb to 5,000 meters is equivalent. In a dogfight, the turns are also equivalent, although the long nose reduces the visibility. In a dive it's outclassed by the Bf-109E, because it lacks an automated propeller pitch regulator. It's a fighter adequate to modern needs."

…During the entire war, the IAR-80 (in all its variants) scored 539 confirmed kills, 90 probable and 168 on the ground. About 220 were lost in combat (to fighters and AAA) and in numerous accidents."

From
link

Main page wit more articles about planes used by Romanian Air Force.
worldwar2.ro/arr/?section=61

Are there a miniature model of this plane?
Anybody used them in wargames?.

Thanks in advance for your guidance.

Amicalement
Armand

Hi Armand

The IAR-80 has been one of my favorite fighters since I found a 1/72 scale kit of it in a model shop,one of those old back street treasure caves you tended to find by accident :-P, while on holiday as a teenager. I still have a soft spot for the Romanians going so far as to research and create ADC's for the old Air Force/Dauntless system for the type.

The IAR-80 is available in most scales. 1/72 and above is covered by model kits,in 1/144th scale you can use kits but true North does one

link

I know there was a resin one in 1/200th scale which I think is still available

H&R do a nice one in 1/300th.

The two omissions are 1/100th and 1/600th rather unusual considering TDs coverage of minor air forces.

Keep up the good work and a Happy New Year when it comes.

Fatman

Not a bad aircraft for using a rear end tail section design inspired by the the Polish PZL.24. Robert

Many thanks for your guidance my friend Fatman!.
Robert… I was speculating a loooong thread with info about the plane… (big smile).
Happy new year my friends!.

Amicalement
Armand

LOL. Well the design had alot of aspects of the PZL.24 built into it. The Romanians were influenced by it while designing it .Robert

To add to FatMan's info, Museum Miniatures also have a sleek and beautiful 1/285 model, which I have (unpainted still):

link

(They claim to be 1/300, but their Spits, Fw 190's, Me 109's, and Hurris look almost exactly as big as my Raidens and GHQs.)

—Rolando

Thanks for the info Rolando.
By the way, were you from?

Amicalement
Armand

Armand,

I have a squadron of IAR 80s in Squadron Forward. I posted a mission of them here: platoonforward.blogspot.com
Look under sept 2010.
The picture is of a scotia IAR 80. In my experience Heros and Ros products are hit and miss (sounds like this model is a good one) but Museum miniatures are always good. I like the scotia stuff too.
The Romanians are fun!
Cheers

Joe

Armand, I'm from Puerto Rico :)

—Rolando

Ah!. Beautifull country my friend.

Joe, thanks for your link. I like it very much.

Amicalement
Armand

Ah!. Beautifull country my friend.

Amicalement
Armand

Thank you! It's strange how sometimes you don't enjoy the place where you live as fully as you could.

Are you from France? I visited Paris once. Beautiful country as well. The best thing I learned was how to make café viennois! Certainly more conscious of aesthetics and planning than Puerto Rico!

—Rolando

No my friend, I'm from Argentina.
I had lived in France as in other countries for a while.
You are right about that we don't enjoy our countries enought.

Amicalement
Armand