P-51D Mustang 1949 PLAAF (China) HA7730 Hobby Master scale 1:48

Hobby Master, Air Power Series, Highly detailed P-51D Mustang 1949 PLAAF 1st Squadron PLAAF 1949 HA7730 Hobby Master scale 1:48 P-51D Mustang PLAAF 1949 1:48 Scale Item: HA7730 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. The PLAAF (People’s Liberation Army Air Force) P-51D #3032 of the 1st Squadron was captured from the Chinese Nationalist Air Force in 1949 when the Nationalist government was forced to flee to Formosa, now Taiwan. The Nationalist Air Force had received 3 squadrons of P-51s in 1946 but left 39 behind during their retreat and the PLAAF made good use of them. The PLAAF was officially established November 11th, 1949. A P-51 with PRC national markings and #3032 was placed on display in the China Aviation Museum, Xiaotanzhanzen, Beijing. 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