Hobby Master 1:48 Air Power Series Diecast Model

Republic Aviation P-47D Thunderbolt – 42-25512 "Penrod and Sam", Captain Robert Johnson, 62nd FS, 56th FG, USAAF, RAF Boxted, April 1944

1:48 Scale.  Length: 9".  Wingspan: 10.25”


Limited production of approximately 600 models worldwide

Robert Johnson ended World War II with 27 victories while flying P-47s. Johnson scored his first victory in June 1943 and was promoted to Captain on March 15, 1944. Johnson was assigned a total of four P-47 Thunderbolts, three with the 61st FS, where he scored 25 victories and P-47D 42-25512 “Penrod and Sam” with the 62nd FS. The name came from Sgt. J. C. Penrod who was Crew Chief & Samuel was Johnson's middle name. On May 8 1944 Johnson scored victories 26 and 27 breaking Eddie Rickenbacker’s World War I record of 26.

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: