1/25 Don Garlits Swap Rat XXX Dragster Plastic Model Kit (AANH7152)

1/490 Scale. Measures 16.75 inches long. Comes with decals for the entire Baltimore Class of Heavy Cruisers. A flag sheet is included along with detailed instructions. The model features movable guns, rotating turrets, 2 scout planes with catapults and crane, and a display stand. This model is appropriate for skill level 2.

The USS Pittsburgh has a special place in naval history. Only part of her story lies in her battle scars and decorations, including two Battle Stars, the Navy Occupation Service Medal, and the China Service Medal for meritorious peacetime service. In 1945, the quick retort of her guns covered the ground troops during the assault and occupation of Iwo Jima. She rescued 34 men from the flaming USS Franklin after it was hit by two 500 lb bombs and saved the crippled carrier while fighting off enemy planes. Within the month, she was at Okinawa resisting heavy air raids. Here, two of her scout planes located missing men in the heaving waters and daringly plucked them out under enemy fire.

But the USS Pittsburgh's greatest adventure and claim to fame occurred when a typhoon at sea launched "the longest ship in the world." At 6:00 in the evening on June 4th, 1945, the winds became gusty, and throughout the night, the barometer crept ominously down. By early morning, the Pittsburgh was battling 100 foot waves in a screaming wind. Suddenly, near the bow, the deck buckled, and the entire bow shot upward, ripping completely off. The crew masterfully maneuvered the ship backward to prevent the stern from being rammed by the dislodged bow, which was tossing freely in the water. For seven hours, the crew labored against the pounding sea to shore the gaping forward bulkhead. Incredibly, without a single man lost, the Pittsburgh arrived in Guam as a ship without a bow. A false bow was later fitted before she sailed back to the United States for permanent repair. The original bow of the cruiser was later towed to Guam. Admiral William Halsey dubbed it "a suburb of Pittsburgh," and to this day, the USS Pittsburgh is referred to as "the Longest Ship in the World," with hundreds of miles between her bow and stern.