Click on the picture of model below to view it in detail.

My Dad was a pilot, from the age of 14 in 1936 until he settled down in the early 1960s.
For more in-depth details, and my research into the real aircraft modeled below,
please check out my expanded section on Dad's Planes.

Republic P-47D-20-RA Thunderbolt "Big Squaw."
Though assigned to the 333rd Fighter Squadron of the 318th Fighter Group, Dad flew Big Squaw from Saipan with the 19th Fighter Squadron of the 318th Fighter Group. Facts are unclear, but it's possibly because his 333rd plane became unavailable.
Missions were strikes and ground support to Guam and Tinian in the Marianas Islands.

Republic P-47N Thunderbolt "Icky and Me."
For the last month of the war, Dad flew Icky with the 333rd Squadron of the 318th on Very Long Range (VLR) attack missions from Ie Shima to the main islands of Japan itself. Official records credit him with four such long range missions to Japan, in addition to 12 combat air patrols.

1939 Piper J3 Cub
In the 1950s and early 60s, Dad ran a 2-man aerial photo business using this little blue Cub.
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