We appreciate the support from readers like you at Foxiz. Through your purchases using the links on our site, you empower us with affiliate commissions.
Aaron tries out the pilot’s position under the trial fitted cockpit enclosure. Check out the latest progress report on the Dakota Territory Museum's P-47D Thunderbolt restoration at AirCorps Aviation in Bemidji, MN. (photo by Nic Berlin)
SHARE
WarbirdsNews has just received the January, 2019 report from Chuck Cravens concerning the restoration of the Dakota Territory Air Museum’s P-47D Thunderbolt 42-27609 at AirCorps Aviation in Bemidji, Minnesota. We thought our readers would be very interested to see how the project has progressed since our last article on this important project. So without further ado, here it goes!
Update
The sound of rivet guns hammering away was more constant this month than usual because a large number of skin panels were riveted on permanently. The cockpit enclosure’s first trial fitting was a real milestone as shown in our cover photo.
George cuts a window to shape for the cockpit enclosure. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The rear male canopy jettison fitting is a part
the will soon be used in the cockpit enclosure. (photo by John LaTourelle )
Another angle shows the intricacy of this one small part. (photo by John LaTourelle )
Lance is making bushings for the elevator control rods on the lathe. (photo by John LaTourelle )
This part is the supercharger oil tank access door pan. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The supercharger oil tank access pan as it is being prepared for installation. Interestingly, it is bypassed on P-47s
that had a Christmas tree tank as 42-27609 had. More on this later. (photo by John LaTourelle )
Here, the outer frame for the access door is clecoed on. (photo by John LaTourelle )
Fuselage
One of the unusual features of 42-27609, is that she was equipped with a 5th Air Force modification called a ‘Christmas tree tank’. The name of the tank derived from its shape, of course, and the capacity was 42 gallons. This tank helped to extend the Thunderbolt’s range for long range Pacific Theater operations.
The Christmas tree tank bay with the actual tank inside. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The same oil tank access pan is visible here with skin temporarily fitted. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The supercharger oil tank access pan is in place on the fuselage. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The Christmas tree tank installation occupied the space where the supercharger oil tank was originally placed. Consequently, the supercharger oil tank was moved to a location just behind the new fuel tank. The oil filler connection line between the access pan also interfered with the new Christmas tree tank installation, so it was completely removed. Access to the supercharger oil tank in the new configuration was through the large door at station 197 (visible to the left of the access pan).
The forward right side fuselage framework is shown before the skin fitting process begins on the upper half. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The auxiliary fuel tank is viewed from the bottom in this image. (photo by John LaTourelle )
A closer shot shows the detail of how the auxiliary tank bay is constructed. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The locknuts are part of the mounting hardware for the cockpit vent. (photo by John LaTourelle )
These two circular openings are pass throughs for the radio tuning cables(upper) and the radio wiring harness (lower). (photo by John LaTourelle )
Lord mounts for the intercooler have been installed. (photo by John LaTourelle )
Frame 285, bottom-fuselage shows both its part number and an inspection stamp. (photo by John LaTourelle )
A very similar frame at station 267 has the same inspection stamp. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The intercooler door mounting bracket has its bearing installed. This cast bracket is an original part. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The former at station 267.5 has the elevator control tube bracket bolted in place. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The fuselage stringers have been installed and connected to the back side of the bulkhead with the rollover structure. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The rudder cable pulley bracket (the part with the square inspection stamp) is t mounted on the left rear of the aft cockpit bulkhead. (photo by John LaTourelle )
There is another rudder cable pulley bracket on the right side. The inspection stamp in both cases reads “ bolts torqued”. (photo by John LaTourelle )
Here we have a third pulley bracket, this time in the tailcone. Eventually, it will mount a pulley that carries the tailwheel door cable. (photo by John LaTourelle )
Just above the tail wheel door pulley bracket, is the lift tube structure. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The complex firewall components are all riveted together permanently. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The “bolts torqued” stamps are legible in this shot of the firewall. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The auxiliary tank fuel fill is just below the cockpit floor. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The fuel level sending unit will be installed in the hole visible atop the main fuel tank. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The fuel fill for the main tank is located on the left upper fuselage. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The supercharger oil tank access pan is in place on the fuselage. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The aft pilot’s floor is in place permanently. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The bracket in this image is for the turbo supercharger tachometer generator. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The upper intercooler door pivot bracket still needs to be permanently riveted in this photo. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The plate with the rectangular hole is where the hydraulic access door will be installed. (photo by John LaTourelle )
Much of the upper right
side skin forward fuselage skin has been fitted. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The view from this angle along the right side highlights the length of the fuselage. (photo by John LaTourelle )
Another right side view shows more skin detail. (photo by John LaTourelle )
(The forward right side of the fuselage has most of its skins either clecoed, or permanently riveted on. photo by John LaTourelle )
A forward perspective on the left side of the fuselage also highlights the sheer size of the P-47 fuselage. (photo by John LaTourelle )
Preparations for Wing Assembly
As the work on the fuselage gets nearer and nearer to completion, the guys have been making preparations for work to begin on the wings.
Original wing spars will be useful as patterns. (photo by John LaTourelle )
The wing fixtures take up a lot of space. (photo by John LaTourelle )
Alex works at installing reference plates in the wing fixtures. (photo by John LaTourelle )
Restoration shop manager Ryan gets into the act as the wing fixtures are slightly modified to suit the P-47D-23. (photo by John LaTourelle )
Thunderbolt History, Part 3
The numbers connected to the Thunderbolt’s wartime production and service are staggering. Adding together the 9,087 P-47’s built at Republic’s Farmingdale, New York factory, to the 6,242 examples they built in Evansville, Indiana to the 354 which Curtiss built under license combined for a total production run of 15,683 P-47s, the most for any American-built fighter ever designed. [Ref. Roger Freeman, Thunderbolt, a Documentary History of the Republic P-47, (New York,Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1978), 141.]
P-47s destined for the RAF and the USAAF share the production floor at the Farmingdale Republic factory,
From 1943 through August of 1945, Thunderbolts flew 545,575 sorties, 1,352,810 combat flying hours and consumed 200,504,000 gallons of fuel in the process.
Thunderbolts dropped 132,482 tons of bombs, expended 59,567 rockets, and fired 134,899,415 .50 caliber rounds according to Republic Aviation Corporation and the P-47 Thunderbolt Pilots Association.
P-47 combat losses totaled 824, with only .07% of Thunderbolts not returning from a combat mission, the lowest total for any Allied fighter. [Ref. Cory Graff, P-47 Thunderbolt at War, (St.Paul,Minnesota, Zenith Press, 2007, p 125.]
P-47D-23s on the flight line of the 40th Fighter Squadron, 35th Fighter Group, photo from the Jack Cook collection by permission.
Though not conclusive, our best evidence so far points toward this squadron as the one 42-27609 flew with in 1944. Anyone having information on the 40th FS, or other knowledge pertaining to the squadron service of this P-47 is encouraged to contact us at AirCorps Aviation.
And that’s all for this month. We wish to thank AirCorps Aviation, Chuck Cravens (words) as well as John LaTourelle (images) for making this report possible! We look forwards to bringing more restoration reports on progress with this rare machine in the coming months.
Is the P-47 Thunderbolt your favorite airplane? Make sure to purchase issue #73 of Warbird Digest featuring the beautiful “Dottie Mae”
Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends.
After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups.
Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.