Photograph: Republic P-47D Mustang (45-49192) by Paul Cremin on 27 June 2026 at the Shuttleworth Festival of Flight Air Show, taken with a Canon EOS 7D Mk II and a Canon 100–400mm zoom lens, f8, 1/200 sec, ISO 100.
Republic P-47D-40-RA Thunderbolt (Serial Number 45-49192, civil registration G-THUN), affectionately known on the European airshow circuit as "Nellie B", is owned by Fighter Aviation Engineering. It is one of the very few airworthy Thunderbolts left in the world and it represents the pinnacle of WWII heavy single-engine fighter design.
This aircraft was built in early 1945 at the Republic Aviation factory in Evansville, Indiana. Delivered late in World War II, it did not see combat but served with the USAAF Air Training Command and Air Materiel Command, later being stored at Tinker Air Force Base.
In 1953, under the U.S. Military Assistance Program, the aircraft was sold to the Peruvian Air Force for just $1. It operated as a front-line fighter and trainer in Peru until its retirement in 1967. Famed warbird collector Ed Jurist recovered the airframe back to the United States in 1969.
After passing through the hands of legendary collector David Tallichet and the Yesterday's Air Force network, the fighter suffered a severe crash during a ferry flight in Texas in 1980. Legendary warbird pilot and restorer Steve Hinton and his team at Fighter Rebuilders meticulously rebuilt the aircraft. It returned to the skies in 1985.
The aircraft was shipped across the Atlantic in January 1986 after being acquired by The Fighter Collection based at the Imperial War Museum Duxford. For two decades, it became a flagship attraction on the European airshow circuit. During this time, it wore the famous silver, red, and yellow checkered livery of "No Guts No Glory", representing the personal aircraft of Lt. Ben Mayo of the 78th Fighter Group.
In 2006, it was sold to US-based collector Tom Duffy, with the Thunderbolt returning to the USA. It was registered as N147PF and operated out of Millville Airport, New Jersey, appearing at American air events for over a decade.
In 2018, the aircraft was purchased by UK-based Fighter Aviation Engineering Ltd and flown back to England. Reassembled by Air Leasing, it was repainted into the distinct WWII 9th Air Force camouflage scheme of the 492nd Fighter Squadron, 48th Fighter Group, complete with D-Day invasion stripes.
Originally painted simply as "Nellie", subsequent historical research uncovered genuine wartime photos of the original aircraft, prompting owners to adjust the nose art to its fully authentic moniker, "Nellie B", in 2019.
The heavy fighter remains fully airworthy and is operated under the Ultimate Warbird Flights banner, based out of its historic home at Duxford.
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