1/48 Tamiya P-47D Thunderbolt

One of the Wolf Pack

by Laurent Boildieu

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THE HISTORY 

Lt. Colonel Francis Gabreski ( Co of the 61st fighter squadron from the famous 56th fighter group) flew this P-47D-25 Thunderbolt on July 1944. It was one of the first "bubble top" delivered to the 56th Fighter Group, nicknamed the "Wolf Pack".  On 20 July 1944, because of the excessive sink rate due to to the extra fuel carried, Gabreski  hit the ground and crashed his aircraft, he escaped capture during 5 days, but was later captured. By war's end Gabreski's score stood at 28 victories. Later in Korea he shot down 6 MIGs. Francis Gabreski was perhaps the best pilot of P-47. 

 

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THE MODEL 

I used the Tamiya kit in 1/48th scale. It was built directly from the box except for the Eduard seat belts. I used Aeromaster decals and the camouflage was made with Lifecolor acrylic paints.

Laurent

 

Photos and text © by Laurent Boildieu