When it came to WWII ground attack aircraft, the P-47 was probably the best one for the job. It had several things going for it. First of all, it was very ruggedly built. It also had a great air-cooled engine. This combination made for a plane that could take a lot of damage and still return. Stories of cylinders being completely shot away and the plane still returning were not uncommon at all. To add to this, it was a potent fighter as well, with eight .50 cals that could cause a lot of damage to whatever it hit.  So rugged was the T-bolt, that it was still used in ground attack by the French in Algeria as late as 1960. 

For modelers, it was decorated with some very cool nose art and some very splashy color schemes, especially after VE day. The P-47 went on to serve in several ANG units after the war, but like the Hellcat, it was quickly disposed of; a few going to foreign countries. By the time the Korean War was upon us, the P-47 was almost completely out of the inventory.

Fortunately for all of us, there are lots of pictures of the plane and so we can hold the memories of them in plastic if nothing else.

This sheet has all the needed markings and data for all three subjects. They are all for European theater bubble-top P-47Ds. They all seem to have the additional fin fillet, but Superscale drawings are to be considered suspect. Only photographic evidence should be used as the final determining factor.

First aircraft is from the 410th FS/373 FG. Flown by Lt. T. Ambrose, this one has several kills to its credit. The OD antiglare shield has a thin red stripe along it. The stripe is not included in the sheet.

Next is a 509FS/405 FG Jug called 'Big Ass Bird II'. This one is quite colorful with a large red nose swoosh and multicolored tail stripes.

Finally, we have 'Look, No Hands' from the 513 FS/405 FG. This one is also trimmed in red on the nose and the canopy. It has a nice nose art on the cowl, though it isn't as lewd as many of us would prefer!

A very nice sheet for the Jug.

Review copy courtesy of me and my wallet.

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