HomeUncategorizedA restored P-47D 'Razorback' flies for first time in 80 years

A restored P-47D ‘Razorback’ flies for first time in 80 years

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For the first time in almost 80 years, a restored Republic P-47D-23RA Thunderbolt flew. The plane is owned by the Dakota Territory Air Museum and has been restored over the last roughly eight years at AirCorps Aviation. After tedious work and approvals from the FAA, pilot Bernie Vasquez took the WWII plane for a 35-minute test flight.

“It is always so special to test fly a warbird, especially a rare one like this P-47 Thunderbolt,” Vasquez told Warbird News. “It flew amazingly. Hats off to the AirCorps Aviation crew. This is the 4th airplane we have test flown from their shop squawk free!”

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This P-47 (42-27609) is the only Republic-built ‘Razorback’ variant of the Thunderbolt in the world. Once the plane has the required number of hours from flight testing, it will make its way to the Dakota Territory Air Museum. This restored plane is headed to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh this year and “Bonnie” will unveil its formal livery.

The restoration brought the dilapidated plane back to life and ready to head back up into the sky. Witnesses, fellow pilots and members of the restoration said everything went perfectly at the inaugural flight post-restoration.

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“It went awesome!” said Eric Truebllood, AirCorps Aviation Senior VP of Sales & Marketning. “There is always a unique feeling when you fly an airplane after a long restoration. We are extremely thankful to Bruce Eames and the Dakota Territory Air Museum for trusting us once again with such an important and rare airframe.”

This is the second P-47 Vasquez has flown recently, having delivered a different model to the Fagen Fighters WWII museum on May 4. Warbirds like this are often restored for display purposes but flying is usually an unachievable goal. Restoring vintage aircraft like these requires specific parts, which are not necessarily accessible or even made anymore. Even if the plane has been restored, due to changes in regulations and certifications, they might not be deemed airworthy or approved to fly.

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AirCorps Aviation specializes in restoring, maintaining and rebuilding vintage WWII aircraft. The company was accepted into GAMA last year and is one of only 120 of the world’s leading manufacturers of general aviation planes and rotorcraft. Restoration services like fabrication, maintenance and parts departments were early additions to the company repertoire, and reverse engineering, library and art have expanded the AirCorps’ capabilities and created buzz among aviation enthusiasts. Along with the Razorback the company has restored and is currently restoring other warbirds.

 AirCorps is restoring a P-51C Thunderbird and a P-51B Shillelagh, and has completed restoration on Miss Kitty III Premier P-51D Mustang, P-51C Lope’s Hope the 3rd, P-51D “Sierra Sue II”, Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita, A6M-2 Zero, a Stearman BU.NO. 3347, a P-51C Red Tail CA, a Harvard Mark IV 405 and a P-51-D Twilight Tear. Four men joined together in 2011 and have since built a business bringing warbirds back to their former glory, like Bonnie.

P 47D 42 27609 at Dobodura circa 1972 credit Charles Darby

Bonnie was the regular mount for William Douglas Dunham, a WWII flying Ace in the 348th FG in New Guinea. Dunham scored 16 aerial victories, making him the second-highest-scoring ace and Bonnie the second-highest P-47 ace in the Pacific Theatre. The plane was abandoned on September 18, 1944 after an accident at Dobodura Airfield in Papua, New Guinea. It was later displayed in front of a house in New Guinea before being recovered and later sold to AirCorps Aviation.