Carousel 1 AirCraft 6102
Curtiss P-40B Warhawk Diecast Model
USAAC 15th PG, 47th PS, "White 160", George Welch, Haleiwa Field, Pearl Harbor, HI, December 7th 1941

1:48 Scale		Length		Width
Curtiss P-40B Warhawk		8.25"		9.25"

Considering that the adventures of Lieutenants George Welch and Ken Taylor and have been featured in two major movies (Tora! Tora! Tora! and Pearl Harbor), it is not surprising that there is more legend than truth surrounding their heroism at Pearl Harbor. Welch left Purdue after two years to enlist in the Army Air Corps as a pilot candidate in 1939. In February, 1941, he was assigned to the 47th fighter Squadron, 15th Pursuit Group at Wheeler Field, Oahu, in the Hawaiian Islands. On the night before December 7, 1941, Welch and his friend and squadron mate, Lt. Ken Taylor, partied almost until dawn, then retired to Bachelor Officers' Quarters at Wheeler Field. Their P-40's had been deployed to Haleiwa Field, a grass strip on the north coast of Oahu, for gunnery training. They were awakened by the sound of exploding bombs and gunfire announcing the Japanese attack. Dressing quickly, they raced outside to Taylor's car, pausing long enough to warn Haleiwa Field to have their planes gassed, armed, and warmed up. It was 16 miles from Wheeler to Haleiwa, but Taylor drove it in 15 minutes despite being strafed by a Japanese dive bomber as they left Wheeler field. Haleiwa was so small the Japanese had overlooked it in their planning, so Welch and Taylor were able to become airborne without being attacked. In less than a minute they encountered a group of Japanese dive bombers, and Welch shot one down before his P-40 was hit by enemy fire. Welch paused to determine that his plane was not seriously damaged, and returned to the fight in time to see Taylor flame another dive bomber. Welch then knocked down another Japanese dive bomber and saw a second victim of Taylor's crash on the beach. Low on fuel and out of ammunition, they headed to Wheeler Field. They stayed in the cockpit while their planes were serviced, then began to take off just as the Japanese second wave attacked. Taylor was wounded in the arm but ignored it. Welch shot down the Zero that strafed Taylor, then splashed another dive bomber into the sea. They landed to re- fuel and re-arm a second time. By their third takeoff, all the Japanese attackers had departed. Welch was officially credited with four victories and Taylor two. Both were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Welch shot down another twelve Japanese aircraft flying P-39's and P-38's later in the war. Top USAAF General Hap Arnold called on Welch to resign his commission and become a test pilot for North American Aviation. He flew the XF-86 Sabre and was sent to Korea to teach USAF pilots how to use their Sabres more effectively against Russian MiG-15's. Welch was testing an early production F-100A Super Sabre to its limits when the plane went out of control and killed him, on October 12,1954.

Curtiss P-40B Warhawk

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Carousel 1 AirCraft

The Carousel 1 "AirCraft" range presents highly-detailed, ready-made diecast models of military aircraft. Carousel 1 have an excellent reputation for producing superbly accurate diecast models of racing cars and their "AirCraft" range is worthy of the same praise. Aircraft in the Carousel 1 AirCraft range are carefully researched and reproduced with a level of detail that is unmatched by most other manufacturers in this scale.

Carousel 1 "AirCraft" 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 metal landing gear with rotating wheels and rubber tires.
• Extremely detailed cockpit interiors with glazed instruments.
• Detailed removable pilot figures.
• Spinning metal propellers.
• Accurately detailed underside with concealed screwheads.