COL. CHARLES MACDONALD'S "PUTT PUTT MARU" P-38 LIGHTNING
Col. Charles MacDonald's "Putt Putt Maru" P-38 lightning is the first P-38 by producer Pete Moeller! It is a metal die-cast in 1:58 scale that features a 504 piece production. Wing span measures approx. 10 3/4 inches.
Historical Note: Putt Putt Maru was a P-38 flown by America’s 5th leading ace of WW2, Charles MacDonald. But MacDonald’s first taste of combat wasn’t in a P-38. It was in a P-40 Warhawk, when he was stationed at Wheeler Field on the island of Oahu on December 7th, 1941, the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. MacDonald was there the day America was thrust into war. He didn’t down any Japanese planes that day, but he would exact a terrible revenge over the next four years flying this P-38, the Putt Putt Maru. In all he downed 27 planes. For two months in 1944, MacDonald had the honor of flying with none other than Charles A. Lindbergh (“Lucky Lindy”), the first man to solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Lindbergh had flown over from the US to help P-38 pilots learn how to get more range out of their planes as they flew great distances over water in the island-hopping campaign. They quickly became fast friends. MacDonald was actually flying his Putt Putt Maru with Lindbergh on the day Lindbergh shot down a Japanese Zeke in a head-on dogfight. A fact Lindbergh was asked to keep secret until after the war (since he was a civilian and a national treasure). Lt. Colonel MacDonald survived the war and can be seen on a number of excellent aviation documentaries sharing his war-time experiences.
Item Number: AA41000 Price: $99.95