Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA1707 P-39Q C E “Bud” Anderson 357 FG, 363rd FS, Tonopah, California, 1943, “Old Crow”

True 1/72 scale.

Professionally painted.

Great attention to detail.

All markings are Tampoed (pad applied).

Option to display the model on a stand that is provided.

Model can be shown with the landing gear in the down or up positions.

Optional armament provided.

Canopy can be displayed open or closed.

Pilot figure included.

Extremely heavy metal with a minimum of plastic.

Highly collectable.

THESE ARE PRE-PRODUCTION PICTURES NOT THE FINISHED MODEL

In September 1942 Clarence Emil “Bud” Anderson graduated as a pilot. He was assigned to the 328th FG flying the P-39 that he called “Old Crow”. One year later Anderson was transferred to the 363rd FS, 357th FG at Tonopah Nevada. Since they were flying the P- 39 the pilots thought they would be assigned to the Pacific or North Africa. Later in 1943 the 357th shipped out for Europe without their Airacobras and received P-51 Mustangs. Anderson ended WWII with 16.25 victories and over his career was decorated 25 times.

The Bell P-39 was a revolutionary designed aircraft with the engine placed in the middle of the fuselage just behind the cockpit. The propeller shaft ran under the cockpit floor just beneath the pilot’s feet. All this was done to make room for the 37mm M4 canon that fired through the propeller hub. The M4 turned out to have limited ammunition, slow rate of fire and prone to jamming. To add to the poor performance a turbocharger wasn’t provided limiting the aircraft to low level duties.

Specifications / P-39Q Airacobra Manufacturer - Bell Aircraft Role - Fighter Crew - 1 X pilot First flight - April 6, 1938 Introduced into active duty - 1941 Production time span - 1940/May 1944 Number built - 9,584 Dimensions Length - 30 ft 2 in (9.2 m) Wingspan - 34 ft (10.4 m) Height - 12 ft 5 in (3.8 m) Wingarea - 213 ft² (19.8 m²)

Weights Empty - 5,347 lb (2,425 kg) Loaded - 7,379 lb (3,347 kg) Max takeoff - 8,400 lb (3,800 kg)

Performance Engine - 1 X Allison V-1710-85 liquid-cooled V-12, 1,200 hp (895 kw) Maximum speed - 376 mph (605 km/h) Maximum dive speed - 525 mph (845 km/h) Range - 1,098 miles (1,770 km) Service ceiling - 35,000 ft (10,700 m) Rate of climb - 3,750 ft/min (19 m/s) Time to 15,000 ft - 4.5 minutes at 160 mph (260 km/h)

Armament 1 X 37 mm M4 cannon firing through the propeller hub, ROF 140 rpm with 30 rounds of HE ammo.

4 X .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns ROF 750 rpm - one gun in each wing and two guns in the cowl with a ROF of 300 rpm for each.

Ammo - 200 rounds per nose cowl gun, 300 rounds in pods under the wings for each wing gun.

Up to 500 lb (230 kg) of external bombs.

P-39Q-21 used the 4-bladed propeller while the P-39Q-30 reverted to the 3-bladed propeller because the 4-bladed prop worsened directional stability.