Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA7201 Grumman F9F-2 Panther, “Paper Doll” VF-781, USS Bon Homme Richard

1/48 scale pre-finished Die-cast metal with a minimum of plastic. Professionally painted. All markings pad applied for superb results. Cockpit slides open. Comes with display stand. Landing gear is fully retractable and can be displayed up or down. Wings can fold and unfold. Extremely sought after by collectors.

CV/CVA 31 USS Bon Homme Richard, affectionately known as Bonnie Dick was an Essex Class Aircraft Carrier launched Apr. 1944 commissioned Nov 1944. She saw action in WWII where she earned 18 Battle Stars, Korea and was the first ship to deploy 6 times to Vietnam as well as being the first Ace aircraft carrier there. Stricken for disposal in September 1989, sold for scrap in 1992. On July 11 1992 there was one last farewell when former crew and others were allowed to tour the run-down hulk prior to it going to the cutting torch.

The F9F Panther entered service in 1949. It was the first Grumman jet fighter, first Carrier-Borne Navy jet fighter in combat, first USN jet to shoot down an enemy airplane, first jet aircraft used by the Blue Angels. A total of 1,382 F9Fs were made. VF-781 was the first squadron to volunteer for combat in Korea and were 100% volunteers earning them the name “Pacemakers”. The F9F flew 78,000 sorties with VF-781 flying 2,721 of them without a single loss of life. The Panther was removed from front-line service in 1956.

Specification for the Grumman F9F-2 Panther:

Engine: 1 X Pratt & Whitney J42-P-6/P-8 turbojet Rated at - 5,000 lb.s.t. for takeoff dry 5,950 lb.s.t. for takeoff with water injection Performance: Maximum speed - 575 mph at sea level, 545 mph at 22,000 feet, 529 mph at 3,500 feet Cruising speed - 487 mph Landing speed - 105 mph Initial climb rate - 5,140 feet per minute Service ceiling - 44,600 feet Normal range - 1,353 miles Dimensions: Wingspan - 38 feet 0 inches Length - 37 feet 5 3/8 inches Height - 11 feet 4 inches Wing area - 250 square feet.

Weights: Empty - 9,303 pounds Combat - 14,235 pounds Gross - 16,450 pounds Take-off - 19,494 pounds maximum Internal fuel capacity: 923 US gallons Armament: 4 X 20-mm cannon. Under-wing loads of up to 2,000 pounds of bombs and rockets could be carried on eight under-wing racks.

THESE PICTURES ARE PRE-PRODUCTION AND ARE NOT THE FINAL PRODUCT