As Britain prepared to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 2015, an aircraft unveiling at RAF Coningsby captured the imagination of enthusiasts and modellers alike, as one of the RAF’s cutting-edge Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 jets had a smart new paint scheme, which took its inspiration from a famous Fighter Command aircraft from 1940. 

This high-tech multi-role jet aircraft had been painted in a scheme similar to that worn by the Hawker Hurricane Mk.I flown by Flight Lieutenant James Brindley Nicolson on 16th August 1940, the day on which his actions in combat earned him a Victoria Cross - the only VC awarded to a Fighter Command pilot during the entire war. 

Nicolson’s RAF No.249 Squadron Hurricane was on fire after being attacked by a Messerschmitt Bf 109, however, he stayed in the aircraft to press home an attack against a Bf 110 ‘Destroyer’ which passed in front of his stricken fighter, despite flames licking around him. Nicholson later took to his parachute and landed safely, returning to combat flying after a period of treatment and recouperation.

Presenting the usually grey Eurofighter Typhoon in Battle of Britain era camouflage was a masterstroke by the RAF, and throughout the summer display season, she became the most popular aircraft in Royal Air Force inventory. Enthusiasts even referred to her as ‘GINA’, after the code letters carried on the aircraft’s fuselage, and she will always be remembered as one of the RAF’s best looking Typhoon jets. 

You can now build 'GINA' and the aircraft which inspired her look in 1:72 scale, providing you with lots of modelling joy.