1:72 P-47 Thunderbolt

A heavy fighter in the attack role

The Thunderbolt was created as a high-altitude fighter, but it played out its best-known chapter low over the ground. Its robust radial engine took hits that would have put a liquid-cooled power plant out of action, and eight machine guns in the wings could shoot a locomotive and a truck column to pieces. The group whose machines the sheet covers did exactly this work after the Normandy landings during the advance eastward.

Two machines with the code A7

Both variants belong to the same fighter squadron, which announced itself on the fuselage with the pair of characters A7. The first machine is a D form from the production series that carried the individual letter W and a name referring to a girl from a well-known song, supplemented by an ordinal marking in the sense of third in line. The second aircraft with the letter B belonged to the commander and its name can be loosely translated as a nicely cunning young lady.

What to watch out for during the build

• both sets of markings belong to machines with a bubble canopy
• the fuselage code, the individual letter and the serial number are included
• the size of the lettering matches models in 1:72 scale
• attack machines tended to be worn, so count on pronounced weathering

The late series of Thunderbolts differ from the early ones not only in the canopy but also in the fuselage spine, which was lowered. On a model it is therefore good to check whether the kit matches the bubble version, otherwise the lettering on the spine will not sit as it is seen in period photographs. Do not forget the white identification stripes either, which the machines carried on the wings and the fuselage after the landings.