Hobby Master 1/48 HA7750 - P-51D Mustang 335 FS/4 FG, "Captain Ted Lines"

Limited Edition of only 400 Worldwide

Born and raised in Arizona, Ted Lines joined the U.S. Army Air Forces after his graduation from Mesa Union High School. He trained as a fighter pilot, flying P-40 and P-51 aircraft, arriving at Debden, England in April, 1944 as a part of the 335th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group. He was a double ace, credited with ten enemy aircraft destroyed, and tied for third place in aerial victories.

His P-51 Mustang was named "Thunder Bird", in homage to his Arizona heritage. After completing his combat tour, he checked out pilots in their aerobatic capabilities at Luke Field in Glendale, Arizona. Captain Lines died on June 4, 2005 in Gilbert, Arizona , at the age of 84.

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.