Heller 80215 ANF Les Mureaux 117 French Reconnaissance Aircraft — 1/72 Scale Plastic model kit

Manufacturer: Heller, France

Kit number: 80215

EAN/barcode: 3279510802153

Aircraft: ANF Les Mureaux 117

Scale: 1/72

Parts: 52

Finished dimensions: approximately 138 mm long × 211 mm wingspan

Box dimensions: approximately 231 × 125 × 44 mm

Kit type: Injection-moulded plastic

Subject: French inter-war/early-WWII reconnaissance and observation aircraft

Documented release: the current 80215 boxing dates from the modern Heller reissue programme; a Japanese catalogue records its release as 18 February 2015 under Heller item FF0215.
The manufacturer — Heller

Heller is one of France's best-known plastic model manufacturers and has an unusually strong catalogue of French aviation subjects. This includes many aircraft of the 1930s and the Armée de l'Air of 1939–40 that are not as extensively represented by the larger international model companies.

The Mureaux 117 is a particularly good example of this approach. It is not a famous aircraft such as the Spitfire or Bf 109, but it was an important French reconnaissance aircraft and was actually in operational service when France entered the Second World War.

The 80215 has also been around for a considerable time in Heller's catalogue. Heller collector records show the reference in use at least by the early 2010s, and a 2014 modeller's discussion specifically notes that the kit had been reissued.

The subject has consequently become something of a specialist favourite among collectors of French 1930s aviation.
Kit contents

The 80215 contains 52 parts and produces a relatively large model for a single-engine 1/72 aircraft:

Length: approximately 138 mm

Wingspan: approximately 211 mm

Parts: 52

These figures are given in Heller's catalogue and independently in retailer records.

The aircraft has a distinctive parasol-wing configuration, with the wing mounted above the fuselage on supporting struts. Consequently, despite its single engine, the completed model has a fairly substantial visual presence.

The kit provides the basic cockpit/crew areas, external airframe, undercarriage, engine and observation equipment appropriate to the aircraft.
Marking options

The Heller 80215 boxing is documented as providing two versions.

This is useful when assessing an older example because the decal sheet is an important part of the kit's completeness.

Heller's collectors' forum contains multiple build records for this exact kit, and the model has been built representing French aircraft in the 1939–40 period.

One particularly interesting detail is that experienced modellers have identified some accuracy issues with the original kit and have used aftermarket corrections, particularly around the engine cowling and landing-gear arrangement. That does not detract from the kit's collectability, but it is worth knowing if you're assessing it as a modeller's item rather than purely as a collectible.
The real aircraft — ANF Les Mureaux 117

The ANF Les Mureaux 117 was the final major development of a family of French reconnaissance aircraft that began with the Mureaux 110 series.

The family was developed to meet French military requirements for a modern reconnaissance and observation aircraft to replace older types such as the Breguet 19 and eventually the Potez 25.

The aircraft were unusual-looking but technically interesting parasol-wing monoplanes, with the pilot and observer sitting in separate open cockpits.

The Mureaux 117 prototype made its first flight in January 1935.

The aircraft represented the transitional stage of French military aviation during the mid-1930s: it was considerably more modern than the biplanes it replaced, but it was itself rapidly overtaken by faster twin-engined monoplanes.
Design

The Mureaux 117 was an all-metal, single-engine, two-seat reconnaissance aircraft.

Its principal characteristics included:

parasol-mounted wing;

two open tandem cockpits;

fixed undercarriage;

single engine;

metal airframe;

reconnaissance equipment;

optional light-bombing capability.

The parasol wing provided the observer with a relatively unobstructed view, which was particularly valuable for artillery observation and tactical reconnaissance.

The aircraft was therefore designed around its operational job rather than maximum speed.

The type was a member of the Mureaux 110–117 family, with the 117 incorporating improvements over earlier variants.
Development and production

The Mureaux 117 was developed at Ateliers de Construction du Nord de la France et des Mureaux (ANF).

The company had a significant connection with the town of Les Mureaux, west of Paris, which became an important centre of French aircraft production. The history of the town records the establishment and development of aircraft manufacturing there during the inter-war period.

Production figures vary between sources because the Mureaux family included several related variants.

One historical account gives approximately 115 Mureaux 117s produced between 1935 and 1936, while another specialist French aviation source gives a total of approximately 119 aircraft for the type.

The difference is small enough that approximately 115–120 aircraft is a sensible catalogue figure.
The R2/B2 reconnaissance-bomber version

An especially interesting feature of the Mureaux 117 was its ability to perform more than straightforward observation.

Some aircraft were equipped as R2 B2 machines:

R2 = reconnaissance, two crew;

B2 = bomber, two crew.

The aircraft could carry bombs beneath the fuselage and wings. One source gives a potential bomb load of approximately 200 kg, while the more heavily equipped later R2 B2 aircraft could carry up to approximately 400 kg.

However, not every Mureaux 117 was configured as a bomber. One historical account notes that only a relatively small proportion of the aircraft were actually equipped for bombing.

This dual-purpose capability explains why the Mureaux 117 could continue to be useful even as newer reconnaissance aircraft were entering service.
Service with the French Air Force

By the beginning of the Second World War, Mureaux 117s were distributed among French Groupes Aériens d'Observation (GAO) and training establishments.

A specialist French aviation history gives approximately 93 Mureaux 117s in service at the outbreak of war, alongside Mureaux 113 and 115 aircraft.

They were already considered older equipment by 1939.

The French Air Force was in the process of replacing them with much more modern aircraft such as the Potez 63.11, but delays in deliveries meant that Mureaux aircraft remained operational.

A Heller collector's historical summary notes that the Mureaux 117s were distributed among 19 observation groups in September 1939 while those units awaited more modern aircraft.
Battle of France

The Mureaux 117 consequently saw real operational service during the Battle of France in 1940.

Its primary work was:

artillery observation;

tactical reconnaissance;

liaison;

battlefield reporting;

and, for equipped aircraft, light bombing.

The aircraft's open cockpits and relatively modest performance made it highly vulnerable in an environment dominated by modern fighters.

As newer Potez reconnaissance aircraft became available, the Mureaux was progressively relegated to less dangerous duties.

One specialist history records that the first French aircraft lost during the Second World War was actually a Mureaux 115, shot down on 8 September 1939, illustrating the vulnerability of this class of aircraft.
Why the aircraft matters historically

The Mureaux 117 is important because it represents the last generation of French Army observation aircraft immediately before the rapid transition to modern twin-engined reconnaissance aircraft.

It illustrates the difficult position of the French Air Force in 1939–40: the country possessed a large and diverse aircraft industry, but many frontline units were still operating aircraft designed several years earlier while newer designs were entering service.

The Mureaux 117 was therefore not an unsuccessful aircraft in its intended period—it was simply overtaken very quickly by advances in aviation.
Survivors

The Mureaux 117 is an exceptionally rare aircraft today.

Historical accounts indicate that the surviving Mureaux aircraft were ultimately scrapped after the war rather than preserved in museums. One aviation history describes the Mureaux family as having been scrapped soon after the war, leaving no complete original aircraft.

That makes the Heller model particularly interesting for enthusiasts of French aviation: a 1/72 kit is one of the few practical ways to represent this aircraft today.