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Originally built in England to be the Russian Freighter Lethington in 1900, the Wakamiya eventually became a seaplane tender that conducted the world's first naval launched air raid in 1914. Niko now offers a waterline kit of this historic military vessel.

1905 the Lethington was captured by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Japanese-Russo war as she was sailing from Cardiff to Vladivostok. From 1907 to 1913 she was operated by the Japanese government as the Wakamiya Maru. In 1913 she was transferred to the Imperial Japanese Navy and began a conversion process for her to become a seaplane tender.

On September 5th, 1914, Wakamiya conducted the world's first naval-launched air raids during the first months of the First World War from Kiaochow Bay off Tsingtao, attacking with her Farman aircraft the Austro-Hungarian cruiser Kaiserin Elisabeth and the German gunboat Jaguar in Qiaozhou Bay.

This Niko Model (No.7092) is comprised of resin and photo etch parts and includes a Farman aircraft.

This item is listed on their site but as of this writing, is not yet available through their typical distributors. When a price becomes available we'll update this article.