‘Meat Chopper’ under restoration 

The Georgia Wing of the Commemorative Air Force announced that Republic P-47N Thunderbolt to-be restored N844WA arrived at their Peachtree City (GA) facilities on 1 August 2022.

The P-47 used to fly as N47TB in the colours of ’44-88211’ ‘Lil Meaties’ / ‘Meat Chopper’ with code ‘146’. This was the wartime ‘jug’ as was flown by Lt. Oscar Perdomo in Le Shima in August 1945.

The CAF owned fighter was severely damaged when it was engulfed in flames as the result of an engine fire during take-off on 21 March 2002.

For a long period the CAF kept the remains of the P-47 in storage, but in 2015 the plans for a restoration were initiated. At that time the registration of the Thunderbolt was changed from N47TB into N844WA.

According to the FAA the former identity of the machine is officially USAAF 44-89136, although there is some dispute on this, as some sources mention 44-89436. The Commemorative Air Force sticks to the official entry in the FAA register.

In the USAAF Republic P-47N 44-89136 was flown by the Puerto Rico ANG but passed on to the Nicaraguan Air Force in June 1954. The Nicaraguans lend the plane to the Guatemalan Air Force in which it served as 0658, but it was later returned and became GN-71.

In February 1963 the plane was bought by an American, Lloyd P. Nolen, and became one of the first fighters in what would become the CAF (then Confederate Air Force) It was registered as N478C, later N47TB, and flown from Harlingen(TX).

The Thunderbolt survived two crashes: the first on 29 April 1971 and the second (as mentioned above) on 21 March 2002. It is now arising again, like a Phoenix from (this time literally) the ashes!

Photos: Commemorative Air Force