16 http://www.aeroplanemonthly.com AEROPLANE JULY 2018The 492nd Fighter Squadron’s P-47s fl ew from
numerous bases in newly liberated Europe,
supporting the advance of Allied forcesNews July 2018
R
epublic P-47D
Thunderbolt
45-49192/G-THUN,
now owned by Fighter
Aviation Engineering, took to
UK skies again on 4 May from
Sywell aerodrome near
Wellingborough,
Northamptonshire. Pete Kynsey
was at the controls. Having
arrived back in Britain during
April following its acquisition
from the Millville Army Air Field
Museum in New Jersey, the
‘Jug’ — which thus becomes
the sole airworthy example of
the type in Europe — was
prepared for fl ight by Richard
Grace and his team at Sywell-
based Air Leasing.
As previously reported,
G-THUN has been fi nished inthe markings of the 48th
Fighter Group’s 492nd Fighter
Squadron, part of the 9th Air
Force. It sports the code letters
F4-J and the name Nellie. The
48th FG arrived in Britain
during March 1944, being
stationed at Ibsley, Hampshire.
Its Thunderbolts were
extremely active during the
D-Day period that June,
undertaking air-to-ground
missions, as well as in the
course of the liberation of the
Netherlands in September.They fl ew from numerous bases
in newly liberated Europe,
supporting the advance of
Allied forces. Two citations
awarded by the Belgian
government for the 48th’s
activities over the Low
Countries and a Distinguished
Unit Citation refl ected the
extent of its efforts.
Today, the 492nd FS is
stationed at RAF Lakenheath,
Suffolk, as one of three fl ying
squadrons within the 48th
Fighter Wing — successor toP-47 returns to UK skies
492nd FS-marked Thunderbolt stars at Lakenheath heritage event
the wartime 48th FG — and
fl ies the multi-role F-15E Strike
Eagle. On May Bank Holiday
Monday, 7 May, the 492nd
staged a heritage and
fundraising event at
Lakenheath with the P-47 as its
centrepiece. Apart from
illustrating an important part of
the unit’s history to its current
personnel, the occasionStu Goldspink taxies on arrival in P-47D G-THUN for the heritage
event at Lakenheath on 7 May, with F-15E Strike Eagles of the resident
492nd and 494th Fighter Squadrons (with blue and red fi n stripes
respectively) on the fl ightline alongside. The ‘Jug’ now wears the
wartime markings of the 492nd. GLENN STANLEY/COAP16-17_AM_NewsSpecial_July18_cc C.indd 16 04/06/2018 10: