Hobby Master 1:48 Air Power Series Diecast Model

Republic Aviation P-47D Thunderbolt – No. 34, 100th FS, 332nd FG “Tuskegee Airmen”, USAAF, Italy, 1944

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

The USAAF 332nd Fighter Group was established in February 1942 at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama. They had to overcome racial prejudice and delay after delay before they were finally allowed to enter World War II. At the end of 1943 the 100th FS was sent to Italy and assigned to the 15th AF. On April 25, 1944 they received their first six P-47 Thunderbolts handed down from the 325th FG. They painted the tails red to cover the old markings from the 325th FG. The Red Tails, “Tuskegee Airmen” altered history in several ways.

The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a fighter aircraft operated by the United States 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 inch (12.7mm) 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.


Hobby Master offers a wide selection of quality, pre-assembled, diecast model airplanes. Each model is crafted to a high level of accuracy using specifications of the original aircraft. They are constructed with precision-made diecast metal and some plastic components.

This model of a P-47D Thunderbolt features: