Republic's immense and powerful P-47 Thunderbolt was one of the truly great fighters of World War II. Designed by Alexander Kartveli, the P-47 was to play a major role in World War II and be built in greater numbers than any other U.S. fighter, including the North American P-51.
In combat, the P-47 was an effective air-to-air fighter -- but it was an even more effective air-to-ground weapon. It had great diving speed and a tremendous payload capacity.
The Museum of Flight's P-47D is a "re-imported" aircraft representing just one of the many Thunderbolts that were sent to Latin American countries as part of post-war military assistance programs.
For a number of years, this P-47D was a gate guardian at the La Paz, Bolivia airport. Doug Champlin later acquired the aircraft from Jim Cullen in 1976 and shipped it off to Dick Martin of Carlsbad, California for a complete rebuild. The latter was completed in 1981. The aircraft was restored in the markings of Colonel Robert Baseler's 325th Fighter Group aircraft (famous for their "checker tail" paint scheme).