North American Harvard Mk II RAF No.1340 Flight, Kenya 1/72 Scale HA1514

Hobby Master 1:72 Air Power Series HA1514

North American Harvard Mk II Diecast Model

RAF No.1340 Flight, Kenya, 1955

From 1952 to 1960 there was an uprising in Kenya trying to obtain independence from British colonialism. This group was referred to as Mau Mau and one term for the conflict is the Mau Mau Uprising. 1340 Flight was considered an anti Mau Mau flight responsible for bombing and machine-gunning Mau Mau and their hideouts in the densely wooded and difficult country. 1340 Flight was equipped with 12 Harvard II of which 4 were normally kept in reserve and 2 were usually being worked on. This left 6 aircraft that were flown by 8 pilots. During one September the 1340 Flight carried out 504 sorties dropping 3,974 bombs and 187,240 rounds of ammunition fired and all this was completed in 532 operational hours. While the Harvards were used they flew some 3,900 sorties. The uprising itself wasn't a military success for the Mau Mau but it did play a large part in Kenya achieving independence in 1963.