Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA8412 P-47D Thunderbolt “Rozzie Geth II” Capt. Frederick Christensen, 62nd FS/56th FG, England 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.

Frederick Christensen Jr. was assigned to the 62nd Squadron/56th FG in December 1942 and was in England by autumn of 1943. His first aerial victory came in November 1943 when he downed an Me-110. On July 7, 1944 Capt. Frederick Christensen and his squadron were returning for an escort mission when they spotted a dozen Ju-52s returning to land. The slow aircraft presented an irresistible target so the 62nd FS pounced on them with Christensen downing six, bringing his final total for WWII to 21.5 victories.

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