Hobby Master 1:48 HA7747 P-51D Mustang - USAAF 3rd ACG, 4th FS, #44-63272 Bad Angel, Louis Curdes, Laoag, Philippines, 1945 |
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Scale: 1:48 |
Length: 8" |
Width: 9.25" |
Composition: Diecast |
SKU: HM-HA7747 |
Period: World War II |
On February 10, 1945 four P-51s with Louis Curdes' "Bad Angel" and Schmidtke along with LaCroix and Scalley, were returning from an escort mission. LaCroix and Scalley flew over a small Japanese airstrip and began to attack but LaCroix was shot down and landed in the ocean and survived. Curdes circled the down pilot when he spotted a C-47 heading for the same island and fate. To keep that from happening Curdes shot the C-47 down. It landed on the water and all passengers survived. Curdes later married a nurse that was on the C-47.
Designed to meet an RAF requirement for fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, the P-51 Mustang was first flown on October 26th, 1940. This versatile aircraft was capable of escorting bombers on long-range missions, engaging in dogfights, and dropping down to destroy German targets on the ground. At least eight versions of the P-51 were produced, but it was the definitive P-51D that gave the Mustang its classic warbird appearance. Britain and the US both tested the airframe with the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, which gave the aircraft tremendous performance gains. The Truman Senate War Investigating Committee called the Mustang "the most aerodynamically perfect pursuit plane in existence."
Hobby Master's 1:48 scale P-51 Mustang is a well-thought-out, quality product, constructed almost entirely from diecast metal with intelligent use of plastic components. The sliding canopy opens to reveal pad printed flight controls, instrument panel and radio equipment boxes. The all-metal propeller spins freely, and the wing flaps and radiator cowling are also movable. Separately applied metal exhaust stacks have six flanged pipes on each side, and pad printed rivets can be seen on the flaps, engine cowling and rudder. Landing gear and doors are constructed as a complete subassembly for easy configuration. Releases in this series include a variety of wing mounted external fuel tanks and ordnance.
Info: P-51D Mustang - USAAF 3rd ACG, 4th FS, #44-63272 Bad Angel, Louis Curdes, Laoag, Philippines, 1945