P-47 D-22-RE, Serial No. 42-26063, Nickname : Jean, 9th Air Force, 50th Fighter Group, 81st Fighter Squadron. At the beginning of 1943 the first Thunderbolts arrived on the European battlefield. Their pilots were somewhat skeptical about this brawny aircraft; after all, the P-47 was almost twice as heavy as the fighters previously used by the Americans. On the other hand, this aircraft was superior to all other models in firepower and performance; another advantage was its high bullet resistance. Countless pilots owe their lives to the robust and well thought-out construction. While in the 8th Air Force, the P-47 was mainly used to escort the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-24 Liberator, in the 9th Air Force it fulfilled tactical tasks as a fighter bomber. After the Normandy invasion this air fleet was stationed in France and Belgium. The month of September 1944 was marked by a major Allied offensive, which extended from Aachen via Cologne, Metz and Belfort to the Swiss border. The 3rd US Armoured Division pushed back the German troops, who were fighting with their backs to the wall. The 9th Air Force was supposed to bomb strategically important targets such as bridges and supply depots, while the fighter bombers were to attack the troops and small moving targets. On September 15th, some of the 50th Fighter Group 81st Fighter Squadron P-47 Thunderbolts took off for one of those missions against German ground troops. The squadron flew their first mission from their new base in Lyon, France, that day. Previously, the unit had been stationed in Paris-Orly. Near the Swiss border, a P-47 was attacked by German fighters. In the following air combat the Thunderbolt engine was hit and had to abort the duel. Heavy oil loss, which was caused by a shot off cylinder head, forced the pilot 2nd Lt Gerald V. Conlan to fly towards Switzerland. Oil leakage smeared a large part of the cockpit hood, which made a safe return to Lyon impossible. So the P-47D flew into Switzerland near Schaffhausen. Some eyewitnesses claim to have seen the aircraft trailing a thin plume of smoke . Over Laufen the Thunderbolt was brought in by two Swiss Morane fighters, and as a sign of surrender,the American released the landing gear. At 4.10 pm, the P-47D with retracted landing gear landed on a meadow near Laufen. The fuselage had been severely damaged in the process and the aircraft was subjected to a thorough inspection by the Swiss Air Force. The lack of suitable spare parts made it impossible to restore this exceptional fighter plane to an airworthy condition. The aircraft was therefore scrapped in Switzerland after the war, with the approval of the American government. A few days after the surrender of the German troops, two French Republic P-47D-30-RA Thunderbolt (serial numbers 44-33681 and 44-33686) landed in Basel-Birsfelden on May 25th,1945 at 3.15 pm. The two pilots had lost their way during the overflight from Paris to Strasbourg. They were already able to fly their fighter-bombers to Strasbourg the following day.
