Hobby Master: 1/72 Lockheed S-3B Viking “President George Bush” Navy 1 VS-35, USS Abraham Lincoln, 2003 – Diecast Model

In 1974 the Lockheed S-3 Viking entered service with the USN as a twin-engine jet aircraft used for enemy submarine warfare. By the late 1990’s the role shifted to surface warfare providing the carrier battle group with long range surveillance capabilities and aerial refueling. The S-3 was in production from 1974 until 1978 with 186 (187) aircraft completed. Most airframes saw upgrades low pitch sound of the engines earned the S-3 the nickname “Hoover” after the vacuum cleaner.

May 1, 2003 Lockheed S-3B Viking 159387 C/N 394A-3023 from VS-35 “Blue Wolves” on the USS Abraham Lincoln was given the task of flying the President George W. Bush to the USS Abraham Lincoln where he gave his well documented speech “Mission Accomplished”. 159387 was given the title “Navy 1” and crewed by Pilot Commander Skip Lussier the XO for VS-35 and Flight Officer Lieutenant Ryan Phillips. This was the first time a President landed on a carrier. Two months later the aircraft was retired to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola.

Features:

• True 1/72 scale.
• Professionally painted.
• Great attention to detail.
• All markings are Tampoed (pad applied).
• Option to display the model on a stand that is provided.
• Model can be shown with the landing gear in the down or up positions.
• Optional armament provided.
• Canopy can be displayed open or closed.
• Pilot figure included.

Specifics:

• Scale: 1:72
• Aircraft Type: Fixed Wing
• Era: Modern