P-47D "Razorback"
Anna Louise

Academy’s 1/72 scale P-47D "Razorback" is a fabulous kit. Everything fits seamlessly with beautiful detail. You can tell, I loved building it!

I’ve completed my build in the colours of the 9th Air Force’s 325514:A8-P ‘Anna Lousie’ as flown by Lt. Rainbow of 391 Fighter Squadron, 366 Fighter Group, when based at Laon, France, in late 1944.

I love the research that accompanies all my builds and this one was no exception. In the first half of 1944 the P-47 units spent much of their time on bomber escort duties, in support of the 8th Air Force. In the run-up to D-Day they turned increasingly to their intended ground attack role, carrying two 1000 lb bombs to destroy the coastal batteries, leaving the Mustang to perform the bomber escort role. On D-Day the P-47s of the 9th Air Force were concentrated along the south coast, from where they flew regular patrols over the Normandy beaches, attacking German defensive positions.

The day prior to D-Day invasion stripes were added to the wing and fuselage surfaces. Two to three weeks after D-Day the stripes were removed on all upper surfaces, retaining those on the undersurfaces of the wings and fuselage. As operations continued through 1944 and into 1945 these stripes were gradually eliminated, and many new, replacement aircraft were put into service without them. The stripes did not completely disappear, however, and 366th Fighter Group was one that retained the recognition stripes on the undersurfaces of the fuselage, on almost all of its planes, until the end of the war. Although Academy did not include these in their decals or instructions, I just had to add them. This certainly took some careful masking around the national markings and letters!