Corgi Aviation Archive Series Diecast Model

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt - "Bonnie", Major William Dunham, 460th FS, 348th FG, USAAF, Leyte, 1944

1:72 Scale.  Length: 6".  Wingspan: 6.75"


Limited Edition

This was undoubtedly the most colorful P-47 Thunderbolt of the the 460th Fighter Group. Major Bill Dunham flew "Bonnie" for much of the Philippines campaign. Dunham claimed five victories in two missions on December 7 and 14, 1944.

The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a single-seat fighter aircraft used by the U.S. and allied air forces during World War II. It was one of the largest, heaviest, most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single piston engine. The P-47B was first flown on May 6, 1941 with the first production aircraft being delivered in May 1942. The Thunderbolt was very effective as a short-to-medium range escort fighter and as a fighter-bomber proved especially adept at ground attack. The aircrafts eight .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns could inflict severe damage on lightly armored targets. In the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry ten five-inch rockets or a bomb load of up to 2,500 pounds.

The first P-47 combat mission took place on March 10, 1943 when the 4th FG took their aircraft on a fighter sweep over France. By 1944, the P-47 Thunderbolt was in service with the USAAF in all of its operational theaters, except Alaska. Although the P-51 Mustang eventually replaced the P-47 in the long-range escort role in Europe, the P-47 still ended the war with 3752 air-to-air victories claimed in over 746,000 sorties. A total of 15,678 P-47s of all types were built, the last being a P-47N, which rolled off the Republic Aviation production line in October 1945. The P-47 Thunderbolt served with the U.S. Army Air Force (U.S. Air Force after 1947) until 1949 and the Air National Guard until 1953.


The Corgi Aviation Archive features a wide selection of high quality, ready-made, diecast model airplanes. Each model is crafted with meticulous attention to detail, using specifications of the original aircraft. Corgi models are built with diecast metal and some plastic components.

This model of a P-47 Thunderbolt by Corgi features: