P-47D Thunderbolt P-40C Tomahawk - Arlington Fly In - Saturday Show
2,017 views · Published 10 July 2018 · 7:07 · Indexed 21 October 2026
Channel: Fight to Fly Studio · 2018 · Autos & Vehicles
This P-40C Tomahawk: This airplane was manufactured in the U.S., was then purchased by the British, and nearly immediately given to the Soviet Union in 1941. For almost a year, this airplane flew in combat in the skies over the Karelian Front in Russia, defending Murmansk against invading German forces. Major Ermakov was flying the aircraft on September 27, 1942 when the oil tank was punctured by enemy fire. Ermakov managed to glide the aircraft to a safe belly-landing on a patch of snowy ground near Murmansk. It was abandoned there. The plane was discovered in the early 1990s and recovered. The plane was ultimately rebuilt in Chino, California, and became part of the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in 1999. This P-47D Thunderbolt: This P-47 was manufactured in Evansville, Indiana, and delivered to the Army on June 27, 1945. After stints in the Army and Air Force’s Air National Guard, the Thunderbolt was transferred to Brazil’s air force in the 1950s. In the 1980s the plane was shipped back to the United States. The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum bought the P-47 in 1998. This aircraft is painted in the colors of Seattle native Colonel Ralph C. Jenkins. He commanded the Ninth Air Force’s 510th Fighter Squadron, based initially in England and then France, Belgium, and finally Germany at the end of World War II. Tallahassee Lassie is named after Jenkins’ wife, Tiero, who is from Tallahassee, Florida.
