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Republic P-47G Thunderbolt "Snafu"
Out of 15,660 P-47 Thunderbolts produced for the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII, perhaps the least known operational variants were the Curtiss-built P-47G’s. To meet expanded wartime production goals for the P-47D Thunderbolt, the New York-based Republic Aviation Company built a 2nd plant in Evansville, Indiana.
It also licensed the Curtiss-Wright Company to produce the airplane under the P-47G designation. Between December 1942 and March 1944, Curtiss-Wright made 354 P-47G Thunderbolts, identical to the Republic-built "Razorback" P-47D models. The P-47G was powered by a 2,300hp P&W R-2800 18-cylinder radial air-cooled engine and could reach a top speed of 433mph at an altitude of 30,000ft. The aircraft had a service ceiling of 40,000ft and a maximum climb rate of 2,750 ft/min.
The Thunderbolts' empty weight was 9,000 lbs, their average loaded weight was 13,500 kg, and their maximum weight was 15,000 lbs. The Thunderbolt was one of the heaviest single-engined fighters of WWII. It had a wingspan of 41ft., a length of 36ft., and a height of nearly 15ft.
This P-47G-15-CU, BuNo 42-25234, was contracted for in the 1942 fiscal year budget and spent most of her military career as a fighter trainer in the western part of the U.S. After the war, this Thunderbolt was used as an instructional airframe at Grand Central Airport in Glendale. In 1952, Ed Maloney obtained the aircraft and stored it at his home to eventually display it in his projected air museum.
The Thunderbolt was finally reassembled at the Air Museum’s Ontario International Airport, California base in 1963. It took part in several West Coast airshows until it was damaged in a forced landing at NAS Point Mugu, California, in 1971. Maloney then stored the damaged aircraft until 1980, when it was restored to static display condition at the Museum’s new location in Chino, CA. Although the primary goal was to get the Thunderbolt back into flying condition, the lack of a suitable replacement engine delayed that until 1985.
With the prospect of a new engine becoming imminent, Steve Hinton’s Fighter Rebuilders crew, together with museum volunteer workers, began bringing the Thunderbolt up to flying condition again in early 1985. In May, they finally took delivery of a custom-built R-2800 engine from John Sandberg’s JRS Enterprises, a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company specializing in engine overhauls for warbirds. The engine is fitted with a Hamilton Standard propeller, which is reportedly more reliable than the aircraft’s original Curtiss Electric unit and for which spare parts are more readily available.
For increased reliability, Hinton’s crew replaced TBM Avenger wheels and multiple disc brakes with the Thunderbolt’s original shoe brakes and installed modern radio equipment. The aircraft’s starboard wing, badly damaged in the forced landing at Point Mugu, was replaced with one from a postwar South American P-47D as part of a spare parts deal. A jump seat was added behind the pilot’s seat to accommodate a passenger.
Over the years, this aircraft has appeared in many different color schemes. During the war, it carried the standard Army Air Corps olive and grey camouflage scheme, which was changed to a yellow and black finish when the aircraft was at Grand Central. In 1963, the Thunderbolt was painted in overall olive (not accurate) and carried the markings of the P-47D that 56th Fighter Group ace Bud Mahurin used.
In 1968, the aircraft was repainted in olive and grey camouflage and carried the markings of 42-26387 "Miss Behave," a 78th Fighter Group P-47 in World War II. The Thunderbolt was restored to a natural metal finish in 1980 to eventually add the markings of Penrod and Sam, the last operational P-47D, which ace Robert S. Johnson flew with the 56th Fighter Group.
Republic P-47G Thunderbolt "Snafu"
Out of 15,660 P-47 Thunderbolts produced for the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII, perhaps the least known operational variants were the Curtiss-built P-47G’s. To meet expanded wartime production goals for the P-47D Thunderbolt, the New York-based Republic Aviation Company built a 2nd plant in Evansville, Indiana.
It also licensed the Curtiss-Wright Company to produce the airplane under the P-47G designation. Between December 1942 and March 1944, Curtiss-Wright made 354 P-47G Thunderbolts, identical to the Republic-built "Razorback" P-47D models. The P-47G was powered by a 2,300hp P&W R-2800 18-cylinder radial air-cooled engine and could reach a top speed of 433mph at an altitude of 30,000ft. The aircraft had a service ceiling of 40,000ft and a maximum climb rate of 2,750 ft/min.
The Thunderbolts' empty weight was 9,000 lbs, their average loaded weight was 13,500 kg, and their maximum weight was 15,000 lbs. The Thunderbolt was one of the heaviest single-engined fighters of WWII. It had a wingspan of 41ft., a length of 36ft., and a height of nearly 15ft.
This P-47G-15-CU, BuNo 42-25234, was contracted for in the 1942 fiscal year budget and spent most of her military career as a fighter trainer in the western part of the U.S. After the war, this Thunderbolt was used as an instructional airframe at Grand Central Airport in Glendale. In 1952, Ed Maloney obtained the aircraft and stored it at his home to eventually display it in his projected air museum.
The Thunderbolt was finally reassembled at the Air Museum’s Ontario International Airport, California base in 1963. It took part in several West Coast airshows until it was damaged in a forced landing at NAS Point Mugu, California, in 1971. Maloney then stored the damaged aircraft until 1980, when it was restored to static display condition at the Museum’s new location in Chino, CA. Although the primary goal was to get the Thunderbolt back into flying condition, the lack of a suitable replacement engine delayed that until 1985.
With the prospect of a new engine becoming imminent, Steve Hinton’s Fighter Rebuilders crew, together with museum volunteer workers, began bringing the Thunderbolt up to flying condition again in early 1985. In May, they finally took delivery of a custom-built R-2800 engine from John Sandberg’s JRS Enterprises, a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company specializing in engine overhauls for warbirds. The engine is fitted with a Hamilton Standard propeller, which is reportedly more reliable than the aircraft’s original Curtiss Electric unit and for which spare parts are more readily available.
For increased reliability, Hinton’s crew replaced TBM Avenger wheels and multiple disc brakes with the Thunderbolt’s original shoe brakes and installed modern radio equipment. The aircraft’s starboard wing, badly damaged in the forced landing at Point Mugu, was replaced with one from a postwar South American P-47D as part of a spare parts deal. A jump seat was added behind the pilot’s seat to accommodate a passenger.
Over the years, this aircraft has appeared in many different color schemes. During the war, it carried the standard Army Air Corps olive and grey camouflage scheme, which was changed to a yellow and black finish when the aircraft was at Grand Central. In 1963, the Thunderbolt was painted in overall olive (not accurate) and carried the markings of the P-47D that 56th Fighter Group ace Bud Mahurin used.
In 1968, the aircraft was repainted in olive and grey camouflage and carried the markings of 42-26387 "Miss Behave," a 78th Fighter Group P-47 in World War II. The Thunderbolt was restored to a natural metal finish in 1980 to eventually add the markings of Penrod and Sam, the last operational P-47D, which ace Robert S. Johnson flew with the 56th Fighter Group.