Pilot Reunited with Tail Fin of Thunderbolt

摘要

A piece of history arrived in Abilene, Texas in mid-January when the tail fin of a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt shot down over France on January 29, 1944 was returned to its former pilot. Last November, aviation historian Michael John Fuller bought the fin at an auction in Germany. It carried the serial number 275417 which identified it as belonging to a P-47D of the 361st Fighter Group, which was brought down by flak and belly landed near Dunkirk. It had taken off from Bottisham in Cambridgeshire, escorting bombers heading for Frankfurt. Pilot 2nd Lt Charles B Screws evaded capture and with the help of the French Resistance crossed the Pyrenees into Spain. Mr Fuller traced its former pilot, who was delighted to see it again and decided to present it to the Texas Air Museum in Slaton for permanent public display.