Hobby Master 1:48 Air Power Series Diecast Model

Republic Aviation P-47M Thunderbolt – Major George Bostwick, 63rd FS, 56th FG, 8th AF, USAAF, Boxted Airfield, Essex, England, 1945

1:48 Scale.  Length: 9".  Wingspan: 10.2”

Major George Eugene Bostwick was assigned two P-47s during his tour with the 62rd FS, 56th FG, 8th AF, stationed at Boxted Airfield, Essex, England. Both of the P-47s were named “Ugly Duckling” but this name was never painted on his aircraft. Bostwick scored eight aerial victories between June 7, 1944 and April 7, 1945. On March 25, 1945 Bostwick downed an Me 262 and damaged another on April 7, 1945. Along with his eight aerial victories Bostwick is credited with two aerial damaged and six ground victories.

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. First flown on May 6, 1941, the first production P-47 was delivered in May 1942. The Thunderbolt was very effective as a short-to-medium range escort fighter and, as a fighter-bomber, proved especially suited at ground attack. The aircrafts eight .50 cal. (12.7mm) machine guns could inflict severe damage on lightly armored targets. In the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry up to 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.


Hobby Master is a manufacturer of high quality, pre-built, diecast models. Each model is crafted with meticulous attention to detail, using specifications of the original aircraft or vehicle. They are made with die-cast metal and some plastic components.

This model of a P-47 Thunderbolt features: