1/700 Dragon USS Hornet CV12 Aircraft Carrier 1945

Features:
- Accurately shaped and patterned CV-12 flight deck
- Flight-deck elevators can be posed in either raised or lowered positions
- Different types of radar provided – including YE homing beacon, SK-2 radar, SK radar SP radar and Mk37 director
- New radar arrangement on superstructure
- Armament arrangement on flight deck has accurately arrangement
- Finely detailed one-piece superstructure
- Super-detailed anti-aircraft guns including 5-inch 38-caliber single open mount, quadruple 40mm Bofors and single 20mm Oerlikon
- Slide-molded 5-inch twin turrets
- Deck-edge elevator can be positioned up or down
- Plastic and photo-etched options for safety net
- Hangar deck with interior detail
- Option of either waterline version or full-hull version with display stand
- 1:700 photo-etched deck crew included
- Detailed aircraft comprising SB2C Dauntless, F6F Hellcat and TBF Avenger are conveniently constructed in transparent plastic
The USS Hornet (CV-12), an Essex-class aircraft carrier, was commissioned in November 1943. It actually began life as the USS Kearsarge, but was renamed Hornet after its namesake (CV-8) was lost in 1942. This aircraft carrier served with distinction in the Pacific campaign of WWII, as well as the Vietnam War, before the large vessel was decommissioned in 1970. The U.S. Navy carrier was involved in such famous WWII battles as the occupation of the Marshall Islands, New Guinea, Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, Tinian, Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima, Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf and Okinawa, with its embarked aircraft wreaking havoc on enemy forces. It served at the forefront of the U.S. Navy fleet, and was engaged in combat for 16 continuous months. Although attacked by air 59 times, it was never hit. Furthermore, its complement of fighters succeeded in destroying a staggering figure of 1410 Japanese aircraft!
While the U.S.S. Hornet is today preserved in Alameda, California, as a National Historic Landmark, modelers can now get their hands on their very own version of this famous carrier. Dragon has launched a new 1/700 scale kit of the U.S.S. Hornet as it appeared in 1945 during extended actions in the Pacific. This means it has the appropriate new radar array on the superstructure, plus the correct selection of armaments such as the deck-mounted 5-inch twin turrets. The kit is high on accuracy and detail, with the designers resorting widely to multimedia materials and slide-molded parts. As with previous Essex-class kits, this model comes with both waterline and full-hull versions. Its all-important complement of fighters is made in transparent plastic for greater ease of painting and realism. Dragon has given the U.S.S. Hornet a new lease of life, and modelers will enjoy the pivotal appearance of this famous aircraft carrier!