US ARMY AIR FORCE "LT. PHILIP RASMUSSEN" 46TH PURSUIT SQDN.  P-36A HAWK

Expected to Arrive August 2008

AirCraft by CAROUSEL 1
Carousel 1® proudly introduces their newest line of high-quality, historically accurate, die-cast models. These detailed 1:48 scale models pay tribute to aviation's colorful history and the pilots who helped shape today's world. As with all Carousel 1® products no detail has been overlooked, including the innovative packaging.  All of their aircraft models arrive in a custom and collectible box that can also be used to display these handsome models. 

INFO:   United States Army Air Force 46th Pursuit Squadron, 15th Pursuit Group, Wheeler Field, Hawaii 7 December 1941
PILOT:    Lt. Philip RASMUSSEN  (3 victories)
SCALE:    1:48
SIZE:   0.0  INCHES

Item Number: CARO_6121                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Price:  $69.95

Quantity to Order:

HISTORICAL NOTE:
Hawaii was an idyllic spot for military service prior to the Japanese sneak attack at Pearl Harbor.  Pilots and enlisted men worked half days because the Army Air Force lacked the funds to train extensively.  As the Japanese threat became evident, aircraft were parked wingtip-to-wingtip to make sabotage more difficult.  The commander of Wheeler Field requested permission to disperse the aircraft, but this was denied because there were not enough soldiers to guard 100 scattered aircraft.  On Saturday 6 December 1941, Lt. Philip Rasmussen, a buddy, and their dates enjoyed a day of swimming and an evening in Honolulu at Trader Vic’s before the men returned to base.  At seven am on Sunday 7 December, Rasmussen stood gazing out on the field, when the first wave of Japanese aircraft bombed Wheeler Field.  He  put on shoes and a web belt with a .45 automatic pistol over his pajamas and joined a group of soldiers and pilots struggling to arm and fuel four obsolescent P-36’s that had been overlooked by the attacking Japanese because the P-36’s were parked away from the front-line P-40’s.  Squadron Commander Lt. Lewis Sanders, and lieutenants Gordon Sterling, John Thacker, and Rasmussen took off downwind through the smoke caused by burning American aircraft and equipment.   The four Americans climbed to 9,000 feet and encountered a formation of Japanese aircraft.  A dogfight began, with the P-36’s outnumbered and out-flown by faster Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zeroes.  Rasmussen downed one Mitsubishi, but another sprayed him with machine gun and cannon.  He tumbled several thousand feet before regaining some control.  Sanders escorted him back to Wheeler, where Rasmussen made an emergency landing.  Sanders also shot down a Japanese plane, before he and Sterling were attacked by Mitsubishis, and Sterling was lost.  Rasmussen joined other pilots mounting a Combat Air Patrol, because an invasion was believed imminent.  The four Wheeler Field P-36’s were among fourteen Army Air Force fighters who defended their country against hundreds of attacking Japanese aircraft on 7 December 1941.  Hundreds of bullet holes were counted in Rasmussen’s P-36, and it was scrapped.  Later in the war, Rasmussen was promoted to Major and shot down an Kawasaki Oscar in December 1943 and another Mitsubishi Zero in May 1945.  He and Sanders flew combat together with the 318th Fighter Group, flying P-47’s from Ie Shima over the Japanese home islands until the Japanese surrender.   Rasmussen retired from the Air Force in 1965.