Docking in and lowering the anchor, the RAF Rescue Launch is back in action within the Airfix range.

Ranked at skill level 3, the 1:72 scale RAF Rescue Launch makes a comeback to the Airfix range in Vintage Classic form. With the tooling created in 1978 and the iconic pack illustration on the box front created by Geoff Hunt, capturing the busy scenes telling its own story. Overall, the kit contains a total of 155 parts including a display stand, and once built, the kit measures an overall length of 266mm and a width of 70mm.

During the Second World War, the danger of losing large numbers of aircrew forced to ditch in the seas around the British Isles was very real, resulting in the creation of the Royal Air Force Sea Rescue Service, operating under the motto ‘The sea shall not have them’.

Using vessels designed by the British Powerboat Company and utilising racing boat technology, this service was all about speed, with the Type Two 63ft HSL ‘Whaleback’ being arguably their most distinctive craft.

Powered by three 24ltr Napier Sea Lion engines, these boats must have sounded magnificent and it’s no wonder they were known as the ‘Spitfires of the sea’.

Kit #A05281V RAF Rescue Launch is available from Airfix now - Price: £24.99

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