Republic P-47D Thunderbolt “Razorback” TMY-61086

Description

In May 1941, before the U.S. actively entered World War II, a prototype of the Republic P47 Thunderbolt made its first flight. It was hard to imagine how revolutionary and successful this aircraft, of which 15,683 units were developed, would prove to be.
The version reproduced in this Tamiya model is the P47-D, deployed in April 1943, was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-59 radial engine developing a power of 2,300 hp. Numerous sub-versions of the P-47D were produced, the earliest of which became known as the “Razorback”. It was armed with 8 12.7 mm machine guns (4 on each wing) and in its fighter-bomber version it could carry 3 bombs for a total of 770 kg or 6 rockets (635 kg).
The P47-D was used as an escort fighter for the B-17 and B-24 bombers, due to its wide range of action, which did not reduce its speed or maneuverability in combat. Later the P-47 would also be used as a fighter-bomber.