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Aircraft my Father Fixed Part 5 - Thunderbolt II 5 Sqn 1944


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Planes My Father Fixed - Part 5

5 Sqn Burma Oct 1944-Jan 1945

Thunderbolt II


In the autumn of 1944, the Hurricane IIc and IId aircraft were replaced by Thunderbolt I and II - othewise known as the P-47D Razorback and Bubbletop. 5 Sqn and 123 Sqn converted to the type together at Yelahanka in sothern India and it was intended that 5 Sqn would be equipped with Thunderbolt Isand 123 Sqn would have Thunderbolt IIs, but both squadrons left with a mixture. 5 Sqn retained its Thunderbolt IIs until January 1945 when they were swapped for Thunderbolt Is from 258 Sqn.

Here we see a Thunderbolt II of 5 Sqn on a muddy airfield at Nazir in what is now Bangladesh in early December 1944.

This is the Tamiya kit with aftermarket undercarriage legs, wheels and cannon barrels. Decals are from the spares box. At this time, 5 Sqn were not using their "OQ" squadron code on their aircraft, just the individual aircraft letter. I used some artistic licence as I coudl find no information about specific Thunderbolt II serials for 5 Sqn, but this serial is authentic for the aircraft shipped to the RAF in India at this time.

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... and here it is...

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and here is the cockpit

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I've built his kit myself, also in RAF markings, its a great kit and you've done it justice..

Really nice finish and the base sets it off really well...

All round - excellent job!

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The camo colours are my own "faded" mix of the Tamiya RAF Green (XF-81) and Dark Earth to represent the sun faded camo colours that would have been seen in Burma/India.

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Very nice indeed.

One thing I would say is I went to a talk by one of the pilots of these and he did say that they wore really heavy boots for flying in case they had to bail out in the jungle. He said this played havoc with the paint where they used to get in and out of the aircraft.

Julien

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The camo colours are my own "faded" mix of the Tamiya RAF Green (XF-81) and Dark Earth to represent the sun faded camo colours that would have been seen in Burma/India.

Thanks for the info, and congrats on a great model.

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  • 2 months later...

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