Hoosier Spirit II

Indiana State Aircraft

RepublicP-47ThunderboltAircraft.jpg

Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt, official state aircraft of Indiana.

Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt; official state aircraft of Indiana.  Photo by cclark395/Flickr (Noncommercial Use Permitted with Attribution).

Official State Aircraft of Indiana

Indiana designated the Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt as the official state aircraft in 2015. All State Aircraft - Military Symbols

Commonly known as the "Indiana Warbird," the Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt was produced in Evansville, Indiana, from 1942 to 1945.  This snub-nosed aircraft was a huge, cumbersome-looking WWII fighter. Though nearly twice the weight of its relatively sleek contemporaries (such as Spitfires and Mustangs), the P-47 Thunderbolt was built in greater numbers than any other fighter aircraft (before or since) because it was fast, dependable, could take major damage and survive, and packed effective firepower.

In 2021, the statute was amended to designate the Hoosier Spirit II, one of 6,242 aircraft built at the plant. The Hoosier Spirit II is displayed at the Evansville Wartime Museum.

Indiana

Images

WWII P-47 Thunderbolts; 345th Fighter Squadron, 350th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force.  Photo by United States Army Air Forces/Wikipedia (public domain image).

WWII fighter squadron flying P-47 Thunderbolts

Videos

Restored WWII Republic P-47 Thunderbolt "Razorback" Fighter Flight Demo !