Models Related to Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941

Ed Davis · 2023-12-07T01:17:35Z

Sometimes I am not sure which section to use for a post, so please excuse me if I should have done this somewhere else. This Thursday marks the 82nd anniversary of the December 7, 1941 attack at Pearl Harbor and nearby airfields in Hawaii. As is well known, very few American planes were able to take off and engage Japanese aircraft. I have diecast models of two of them in 1/48 scale, a P-40 flown by George Welch and a P-36 flown by Phillip Rasmussen. Both were made by Carousel 1 and purchased about 15 years ago. George Welch and another P-40 pilot Ken Taylor are the two best known, racing in a car to the Haleiwa airfield, where their planes were parked. Phillip Rasmussen is best known for not taking time to get properly dressed and took off in his pajamas. The first three photos show the models. The background is a photo I took at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum. The P-40 picture may look familiar, since it was used for a hobbyDB article earlier this year about my 10 favorite models. The fourth photo was taken at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. It shows a recreation of Phillip Rasmussen getting into his P-36 during the attack. Enjoy the pictures and remember the brave men who took to the skies that day.