Witty Sky Guardians (Series 2) WTW72020-08A
Lockheed P-38J Lightning Diecast Model
USAAF 49th FG, #42-103993 "Marge", Richard Bong, New Guinea, 1942, Polished Metal Finish | Limited Edition
380
Pieces Worldwide |
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| 1:72 Scale | | Length | | Width |
|---|
| Lockheed P-38J Lightning | | 6.25" | | 8.75" |
In May 1941 Richard Bong enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps where one of his flight instructors was Barry Goldwater, the unsuccessful 1964 presidential candidate against Lyndon Johnson. Lieutenant Bong received his wings and commission in January 1942 and in October he was flying combat missions in the Southwest Pacific Theater. Flying Lockheed P-38s with the 49th Fighter Group, he scored his first "kills" in late December. By April of 1944, Captain Bong has shot down 27 aircraft, surpassing Eddie Rickenbacker's American record of 26 credited victories during World War I. After extended leave in the U.S. Major Bong returned to New Guinea in September 1944 and continued flying during the Philippine campaign. There he ran his string to 40 victories in December 1944, the same month he received the Medal of Honor. Bong's Medal of Honor citation stated that he flew combat missions despite his status as an "instructor". In fact, he was the P-38 standardization officer for 5th Fighter Command, thee being no position for instructors in a war zone. His rank of major would have qualified him for a squadron but he always flew as a flight (four plane) or element (two plane) leader. On September 24, 2002, which would have been Dick Bong's 82nd birthday, the Richard I. Bong WWII Heritage Center opened to the public in Superior, Wisconsin. The converted aircraft hangar contains a museum, a film screening room, and his fully restored famous P-38 Lightning, "Marge", named after his eventual wife. The work on the aircraft, begun in 1994 and coordinated by volunteers from the Duluth, Minnesota Air National Guard, required more than 16,000 hours of labor.
Designed to meet a USAAC requirement for a high-performance fighter, the P-38 Lightning was first flown on January 27th, 1939. The easily recognizable P-38 had twin-booms, twin turbo-supercharged engines, a central pod for the pilot, contra-rotating propellers and tricycle landing gear. Its roles included dive bombing, level bombing, ground strafing and photo reconnaissance. When equipped with drop tanks it was also flown as a long-range escort fighter. The Lightning's armament was clustered in the nose of the plane, which gave the pilot a direct line of site to the target and also gave the weapons a "buzz saw" effect that was useful for strafing. © Copyright 2003-2024 The Flying Mule, Inc.
Witty's 1:72 scale P-38 Lightning is a high quality model in a low price range. Witty has created this model with a mix of plastic and metal parts, with all-metal wings, tail booms and fuselage, and a plastic horizontal stabilizer. Special attention has been paid to the supercharger detail on the turbine and bearing cooling duct and on the supercharger cooling and side mounted ram air intakes. Details such as the mass balance weights, crew access ladder, pitot tube, nose-mounted antenna and engine water supply lines—visible inside each wheel well—are separately applied. Other details include engine radiators, and radio equipment located in the rear bay.
© Copyright 2003-2014 The Flying Mule, Inc.
The Witty "Wings" range presents detailed, ready-made diecast models of military aircraft. Witty have earned a reputation for producing high-quality models that can be displayed right out of the box.
Witty "Wings" (Series 2) diecast airplanes feature:
- Diecast metal construction with some plastic components.
- Realistic panel lines, antennas, access panels and surface details.
- Pad printed markings and placards that won't fade or peel like decals.
- Interchangeable extended/retracted landing gear with rotating wheels.
- Authentic detachable ordnance loads complete with placards.
- Selected moving parts such as canopies, control surfaces and swing-wings.
- Detailed, hand-painted pilot and crew member figures.
- Many limited editions with numbered certificate of authenticity.
© Copyright 2003-2024 The Flying Mule, Inc.
