Hobbymaster - 1/48 P-51K IVa CV-P KH-716 RAAF Italy 1945

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.

3 Squadron RAAF began converting from the P-40 to the P-51 Mk.III on November 13, 1944 while in Italy, the first RAAF squadron to use Mustangs. The first P-51K/Mustang IVa KH677 CV-P arrived on November 26, 1944 and assigned to S/Ldr Murray Nash who flew it on December 2, 1944 against a rail yard in Yugoslavia. On December 12, 1944 KH716 arrived becoming S/Ldr Murray Nash’s new aircraft it now wearing CV-P. Nash left for a Fighter Leader course in March 1945 and KH-716 was lost the following month.

Specifications for the North American Aviation P-51D Mustang:

The P-51K was built in Dallas as a variant of the P-51D and equipped with an Aeroproducts propeller instead of the Hamilton Standard propeller. Combat crews routinely replaced the Aeroproducts propeller with the Hamilton Standard propeller.

Tasks – Dive-bomber, bomber-escort, ground-attack, interceptor, photo recon

Number Produced– 1,500 with RAF receiving 594 they named Mustang Mk. IVa

Features:
- 1/48 scale pre-finished
- Size approximately: L 8 x W 9.25 inches
- 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