Mosquito B.IV 418 Sqn. RCAF TH-U Moonbeam McSwine 1:72

Mosquito B.IV 418 Sqn. RCAF TH-U Moonbeam McSwine 1:72

De Havilland Mosquito FB.VI HJ719/TH-U ‘Moonbeam McSwine’, 1st Lt. James Forrest ‘Lou’ Luma (USAAF) No.418 Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force, Night Intruder missions, Ford Airfield, March 1944.

1:72 scale with stand
October 2021 release - delayed April 2022
CorgiApril2022

Encouraged to join the Royal Canadian Air Force following a chance meeting with a serving RCAF pilot, American James Forrest ‘Lou’ Luma successfully negotiated his pilot training and was posted to fly the de Havilland Mosquito in England, even though he didn’t even know what one looked like at that point. Arriving in England in the summer of 1943, he was assigned to No.418 squadron to fly night intruder missions and was given the luxury of just a single flight observing a flight instructor (from the navigator’s seat), before making his first Mosquito solo. Re-assigned to the USAAF in July 1943, Luma was allowed to remain flying with the RCAF as they didn’t want to break up his successful partnership with friend and navigator since training, Colin Finlayson, a man with whom he would go on to fly thirty operational missions. 

The Mosquito fighter the pair normally flew was quite unusual in that it sported nose artwork, something which was the exception rather than the norm on Royal Air Force fighters. Known as ‘Moonbeam McSwine’, the nose art featured a pipe-smoking, gun-toting Hillbilly girl of the same name, a character from the ‘Li’l Abner’ comic strip which was popular at the time. The pair scored their first victory when shooting down a Messerschmitt Me 410 night fighter near Wunstorf on the night of 21st/22nd January 1944, an aircraft that had shot down a British bomber earlier that same night and had returned to base to refuel and re-arm. On taking off for this second sortie, the Luftwaffe pilot forgot to turn off his lights, making the German fighter relatively easy prey for Luma in his prowling Mosquito intruder.

Corgi presents the Aviation Archive, a range of high quality detailed die-cast model aircraft. Each model aircraft comes complete with an individually numbered certificate of authenticity detailing the significant history of each aircraft. Aviation Archive is a collectable series of aircraft spanning 100 years of military aerial warfare.

The collection includes biplanes, fighters, bombers, transports, jets and helicopters from various theatres of war across the world. Each aircraft comes with a display stand and optional parts enabling the model to be posed either in flight or stationary with the undercarriage down. Most are made in 1:72 scale with exceptions in 1:32, 1:48 and 1:144 scales.

- Pre-painted Diecast Metal Model

- True to Scale
- Professionally painted with attention to detail
- Collectors item: (Not suitable for children under 14)

While we make every effort to maintain our online inventory, If this item is not available to order online, it is likely out of stock. We would be happy to order it in for you, or confirm availability of the item. Please feel free to email us at [email protected] or call 416-674-5959.