Cyber Monday Special  Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA7747 North American P-51D Mustang "Bad Angel" flown by Lt. Louis E. Curdes, 4th FS, 3rd ACG, Laoag, 1945. 1/48 Scale Diecast Model, Size: 9.25" Wingspan & 8" Long, Optional Up & Down Landing Gear, Armaments & Display Stand Are Included.

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a design team headed by James Kindelberger of North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission. Primary Role: Fighter.

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.

On February 10, 1945 four P-51s with Louis Curdes’ “Bad Angel” and Schmidtke along with LaCroix and Scalley, were returning from an escort mission. LaCroix and Scalley flew over a small Japanese airstrip and began to attack but LaCroix was shot down and landed in the ocean and survived. Curdes circled the down pilot when he spotted a C-47 heading for the same island and fate. To keep that from happening Curdes shot the C-47 down. It landed on the water and all passengers survived. Curdes later married a nurse that was on the C-47.