Hobby Master 1/48 F4F-4 Wildcat Operation Leader Lt (jg). Dean S Laird USS Ranger Oct 1943

One week after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Dean Laird drove to San Francisco to enlist. He earned his Naval Aviator wings in October 1942. Flying F4F Wildcats from USS Ranger and later F6F Hellcats from USS Essex, he served in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters during World War Two. During Operation Leader in October 1943, Laird shot down a German Ju 88 and He 115 near Norway. He later added victories against Japanese aircraft, finishing the war with 5.75 aerial victories. Laird remains the only US Navy ace credited with air combat victories against both Germany and Japan.