Hobby Master HA1708 1:72 P-39Q Airacobra

Hobby Master HA1708 1:72 P-39Q Airacobra, 71st TRS, 82nd TRG SWPA, Lt. Col. William Shomo, 1944.

The Q version of the P-39 was the one most produced with 4,905 being built. The
Soviets received the bulk of the “Q”s where it was used mostly for low altitude air to air
and ground attacks. The fact that the “Q” was equipped with a .50 caliber gun pod under each wing was exactly what they needed. In the Pacific the US military realized the P-39 was best used in ground attacks like the Soviets so the Airacobra pilots became quite proficient at strafing Japanese airfields and supply bases.

William A. Shomo was sent to the Pacific Theater in June 1944 with the 82nd Tactical
Reconnaissance Squadron and was assigned a P-39 he called Snooks and then Snooks
II. Snooks was the pet nickname he had for his wife. Shomo became an ace while flying
a P-51 and was the recipient of Distinguished Flying Cross and five Air Medals as well
as the Congressional Medal of Honor. He received these awards for shooting down 7
Japanese aircraft in one mission. Shomo went on to fight in Korea and became a jet pilot.