1/48 P-47D-30RA THUNDERBOLT ADVANCED KIT - Miniart

1/48 P-47D-30RA Thunderbolt Advanced Kit Miniart no. 48029 / ASK cat.no. 133-48029

Plastic kit for assembling, included plastic sprues, detailed photoetched parts, decals for three versions, built guide.

- 509th Fighter Squadron 405th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force, Germany, May 1945.

- 379th Fighter Squadron 362nd Fighter Group 9th Air Force. Germany Spring 1945, Pilot Col. Joseph L Laughlin.

- 366th Fighter Squadron 358th Fighter Group Orange Tails 9th Air Force, Spring 1945, Pilot: Lt. Ike Davis.

The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was an American fighter aircraft, in its day it became the largest and heaviest single-seat, single-engine piston-powered fighter, and this remains true today. During the war, it became one of the three symbols of the US Air Force (along with the Lockheed P-38 Lightning and the North American P-51 Mustang). It was nicknamed the "Jug" - both for the typical fuselage profile that resembled a milk jug, and also derived as an abbreviation of the word Juggernaut - obsolete. The word was also used as an abbreviation for the English spelling of the word Jagannath - a colossus - after its robust construction, which could withstand heavy combat and power loads.

Its basic armament, consisting of eight 12.7 mm machine guns, made the Thunderbolt the best armed American fighter on the European battlefield. Because of its rugged design and engine power, the Thunderbolt was well suited for use against ground-based and well-protected targets such as the bunkers and artillery emplacements of the Atlantic Wall or the armored vehicles and tanks of the Wehrmacht. For such attacks, the P-47 had unguided missiles suspended under the fuselage on guide rails or in tubes resembling the bazookas of US Army ground troops. Further, 250-pound bombs also suspended under the Thunderbolt's wings could be used to destroy concrete shelters. Because of its shorter range than the P-51 Mustang, the P-47 Thunderbolt was gradually withdrawn from the 8th Air Army units that escorted the bombers over Germany, with few exceptions, and new machines were delivered to the USAAF's 9th (Tactical) Air Army, which bore the brunt of the missions ensuring the smooth conduct of the invasion of France in June 1944.
In 1942, mass production began and by April 1943 the machines were appearing over Europe; their numbers continued to increase. The aircraft were improved over time, especially their range. In the P-47D version, the pilot's rearward vision was improved by the introduction of a drop-shaped cockpit canopy. The P-47D version produced the most units, over 12,500. The N version had larger wings for range, and was deployed in the Pacific Theater.