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Aircraft History Built by Republic at the Indiana Division of Republic Aviation in Evansville, IN. Constructor Number 272. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as P-47D-2-RA Thunderbolt serial number 42-22521. Disassembled and shipped overseas to the Pacific and reassembled. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF). This P-47 was stripped of usable parts and buried in a pit at Finschafen Airfield. Wreckage During 2002, this aircraft was reportedly dug up by an Australian group known as '75 Squadron' (no association with the RAAF or 75 Squadron) while the group was recovering aircraft scrap from Finschafen Airfield. This aircraft was transported to Lae where it was loaded into a container and shipped to Australia. Unloaded at Melbourne, this and other wreckage was transported by road on city streets during Melbourne morning rush hour traffic and identified as P-38s and P-47s by many drivers. Containered with P-38J "Jandina III" 42-103988 and (possibly) P-38F 42-12652 and three Thunderbolts: this aircraft plus P-47D 42-75284 and P-47D 42-8074. Shipped to Westpac Restorations in Rialto, California. During 2003-2004, this wreckage was stored at their facility during 2003-2004. At the time, details on this aircraft were unknown due to non-disclosure agreement with the owner/client Paul Allen / Flying Heritage Collection. Current whereabouts today are unknown, likely moved to Paul Allen / Flying Heritage Collection in Arlington, WA. References Aeroplane Monthly "Buried Thunderbolts to Fly Again" May 2004 Warbirds International "Out of the Pit" by Michael O'Leary May 2004 Thanks to Kenneth D. Wilson for constructor number Contribute
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