Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA8409 P-47D Thunderbolt 419698, French GCII/5 ‘Lafayette’, Amberieu, France 1944

1/48 scale pre-finished Die-cast metal with a minimum of plastic. Professionally painted. All markings pad applied for superb results. Cockpit slides open. Comes with a pilot that can be removed. Comes with display stand. Can be displayed with landing gear up or down.

The Republic Aviation P-47 “Thunderbolt” entered service in May 1942 with the introduction of the P-47B. It had a “Razorback”, a high dorsal spine behind the side-ways opening canopy that reduced visibility. As improvements were made a “D” variant was produced with 12,602 being manufactured. The British developed a sliding bubble canopy for their Typhoon and this was adopted by the USAAF starting with the P-47D-5. With its ability to survive enemy fire along with impressive armament and bomb load the P-47 excelled at ground attack roles.

In December 1943 GC II/5 Lafayette was one of the first French units to receive the P-47D before moving to Corsica from North Africa in May 1944. They were attached to the U.S. 57th FG as a fighter-bomber unit. After the success of “Operation Dragoon” the French units moved back to France with GC II/5 Lafayette arriving at Amberieu on September 7, 1944. The USAAF delivered 446 P-47s to the Free French Air Force that equipped 7 Groupes de Chasse (GC). Many of the P-47s were later transferred to Algeria.

Republic Aviation P-47D specifications Number Produced - 12,602 most numerous variant Crew - 1 Dimensions Length - 36 ft. 1 in. (11 m) Wingspan - 40 ft. 9 in. (12.42 m) Height - 14 ft. 8 in. (4.47 m)

Performance Engine - 1 x Pratt & Whitney R-2800-59 twin-row radial, 2,535 hp (1,890 kW) Maximum Speed - 433 mph @ 30,000 ft (697 km/h @ 9,145 m) Service Ceiling - 43,000 ft. (13,100 m) Rate Of Climb - 3,120 ft/min (15.9 m/s) Range - 800 mi. combat, 1,800 mi. ferry (1,290 km combat / 2,900 km ferry)

Armament 8 x .50 in. (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns w/ 3,400 rounds Maximum 2,500 lbs (1,134 kg) of bombs 10 x 5 in. (127 mm) unguided rockets