The USA was taken completely off-guard by the sudden Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on 7 December 1941. Among the ships sunk on that tragic day was USS Arizona (BB-39), a powerful Pennsylvania-class battleship displacing 30,000 tons. The battleship had been transferred to Hawaii in April 1940 as a deterrent to Japanese territorial expansion. Ironically, Japanese aircraft sank her at anchor with the loss of 1,177 lives. The wreck of USS Arizona still lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor, straddled by a memorial to all those who died in the surprise attack. One of the aircraft types that the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) used to carry out the raid was the Nakajima B5N2 torpedo bomber. Known to the Allies as “Kate”, this Type 97 aircraft achieved some notable successes in the early part of the Pacific War.

As the 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack approaches, Dragon is launching a very practical set consisting of a 1/700 scale USS Arizona model as well as two “Kate” torpedo bombers protagonists. These two elements – battleship and aircraft - can once again meet in a head-on confrontation.