ICM 1/48 US B26K Counter Invader Early Attack Aircraft Kit
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Before their appearance in Vietnam, the B-26K Counter Invader strike aircraft managed to fight in another part of the world, the Congo. In the 1960s, this Central African country found itself in a state of civil war. The United States of America supported the government of the Congo against the rebels known as the Simba.
With the support of the CIA, a special aviation unit was formed as part of a clandestine operation codename "Anstalt Wigmo". Political considerations did not allow the use of American pilots and so it was decided to use volunteer crews recruited from other countries for this purpose. The B-26K's were mostly flown by Cuban exile pilots, several of whom also flew B-26s in the Bay of Pigs invasion against the Castro regime. For the most part, they were very successful in the newly upgraded aircraft. These Congo planes were painted in the same green and white gloss scheme as the American planes, but they lacked any American identifying marks at all. Even their serial numbers were abbreviated and shortened. In early 1965, some B-26K aircraft received original markings, which were used as a sign of squadron identification. The new nose art featured a large black bull on a white background, copied from the label of a popular local beer brand, with the name Makasi. The name was translated as “very strong” or “strong as a bull”.
