P-36C, 1941 Pearl Harbor, Philip Rasmussen (1:48)

The 27th Fighter Squadron "Fighting Eagles" is the oldest in the US Air Force, formed in 1917. It claims Frank Luke, who was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during WW1. During the 1930's, the 27th Pursuit Squadron was the premier pursuit unit in the Army Air Corps, serving the same sort of role as the modern "Thunderbirds" alongside normal duties. Beginning in 1929, the Cleveland National Air Races had become the most prestigious aviation event in the world, with single-day crowds exceeding 100,000. In 1939, the 27th converted to the P-36, the hottest plane in the American arsenal, and was selected to represent the Army Air Corps at Cleveland. Based at Michigan's Selfridge Field, the squadron focused on preparation and practice for this event. Major Willis Taylor, commanding officer of the 27th, is credited with the idea of painting the squadron's P-36's in a variety of camouflage patterns without national insignia, using the new water-based camouflage paint colors. Crew chiefs were encouraged to use their imaginations devising patterns, and none of the squadron's P-36's used the same scheme, although colors were shared. Colors included sand, dark green, light gray, dark blue, dark olive drab, and neutral gray, most aircraft using three or four colors. Faded or over-exposed color photos of these planes have been published in which light gray looks white and sand appears orange. The significance of the frog emblem on Taylor's left hand wing "bucket" for shell casings is a mystery. At the time, American military aircraft were painted in bright colors and the eighteen camouflaged P-36's created a sensation at Cleveland. Major Taylor was less familiar with the aerial routines, because he had been posted to Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field, Alabama during the summer. During the 1 September 1939 performance, he turned the wrong way at the bottom of a dive over the grandstand, nearly causing a catastrophic collision. But public attention was distracted by the much larger aviation demonstration that the German Luftwaffe staged over Poland earlier that day. The Cleveland Air Races were finished after 1949, when a P-51 stalled and crashed into a nearby house, killing a mother and child-the first non-participant fatalities. The 27th Fighter Squadron was the first to convert to P-38's and served with distinction in the Mediterranean theater during WW2. Recently, the 27th was the first squadron to convert to the F-22.

Frank Dalton-Copyright � 2008 by Carousel 1 -Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

We are happy to offer this Carousel 1 die-cast, 1:48 scale replica of the famous P-36A.

With this model you'll see Carousel 1's dedication to authenticity and detail. The model is 1:48 SCALE and has:

* Model wingspan is 9-1/4"/235mm*Full cockpit detail

*Glazed instruments

*Removable Pilot Figure

*Retractable or Extended Landing Gear

*NO Exposed screws