Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series
HA7743BP-51D Mustang Capt. Abner M. Aust, Jr. 457th FS, 506th FG, 7th AF, Iwo Jima, 1945 Without pilot signature plate
General Background
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 Aircraft
Abner Aust Jr. joined the 457th FS/ 506th FG as a P-51 pilot in October 1944. In March 1945 Aust’s unit deployed to Tinian followed by Iwo Jima where he was credited with five aerial victories and three more ground aircraft during enemy airfield strafing. Abner Aust became the last U.S. Ace of WWII when he scored his fourth and fifth victories on August 10, 1945. In 1963 Aust was promoted to Colonel and served as Command of the 33rd FW in Florida, 31st FW Vietnam and 3rd Tactical FW South Korea.
Hobby Master HA7743B, Douglas A-1H Skyraider 412, VA-176, USS Intrepid, 1
The main difference between the D variant and the K variant was the use of the Aeroproducts propeller on the K instead of the Hamilton Standard propeller that was unavailable around the time of these P-51s being produced. However some K’s will be seen with Hamilton Standard because of field changes.
Hamilton Standard Prop – 11 ft 2 ins, 4 blades, some were cuffed and some weren’t and had
square tipped blades (paddle blade)
Aeroproducts propeller – 11 ft , 4 blades
Total K built – 1,500
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.
