Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA7729B P-51D Mustang 414450, Capt C. E. Bud Anderson 363rd FS, 357th FG, 1944 NOT autographed by Bud Anderson regular release

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 a pilot that can be removed. Comes with display stand. Can be displayed with landing gear up or down.

Later in WWII the Allied bombers were flying deep into Germany but suffered tremendous losses because of the lack of range the fighter escorts had. German fighters would wait beyond the range of the Allied fighters and then attack the vulnerable bombers. Once the P-51 called Mustang by the British had the Allison engine replaced with a British Merlin it possessed the high performance that had been lacking. With drop tanks the P-51 had the range to escort bombers all the way to Berlin and back.

Captain C.E. Bud Anderson served two combat tours with the 363rd FS/357th FG during WWII. The 357th FG was stationed at RAF Leiston, England and Anderson flew a P-51D s/n 44-14450 B6-S (B6 signified the 363rd FS) adorned with his familiar Old Crow nickname. Bud flew 44- 14450 on 66 missions and added 11 ¼ aerial victories to his total. Bud Anderson never had to abort a mission and his aircraft never suffered a hit from enemy aircraft and he returned state side in February 1945 as a Major.

Specifications for the North American Aviation P-51D Mustang Tasks - Dive-bomber, bomber-escort, ground-attack, interceptor, photo recon Number Produced All Variants - 14,819 Dimensions Wing Span - 37 ft (11.27 m) Length - 32 ft 3 in (9.82 m) Height - 13 ft 8 in (4.16 m)

Weight Empty - 7,125 lb (3,232 kg) Gross - 10,100 lb (4,581 kg) Maximum Take-off - 11,600 lb (5,262 kg)

Performance Engine - Packard Merlin two-staged supercharged V-1650-7, 12 cylinder V engine 1,695 hp. Maximum Speed - 437 mph (703 km/h) Ceiling - 41,900 ft (12,771 m) Range - 950 miles (1,529 km) Maximum Range - 2,300 miles (3,701 km)

Armament (6) .50 caliber MG Maximum External Bomb Load - 2,000 lb (907 kg) Or (4) .5 inch rockets.