Volandia Parco e Museo del Volo Malpensa
(Volandia Park and Museum of Flight)
Milan-Malpensa Airport, Italy
June 2023
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Republic P-47D Thunderbolt (MM4653 coded '51-19' ex 44-89746). The prototype Thunderbolt first flew in May 1941 entering service the following year, eventually 12,956 were constructed. After World War Two, the Italian Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) was devastated and had to be completely rebuilt. The 1947 Paris Peace Treaty imposed strict military limits, but Italy's 1949 entry into NATO encouraged modernisation. Through the U.S. Mutual Defense Assistance Program, Italy received American aircraft, including the P-47 Thunderbolt, P-38 Lightning, and P-51 Mustang to restore its air power.
In March 1951, after serving with the USAFE's 526th Fighter Squadron, 86th Fighter Group at Neubiberg Air Base near Munich, MM4653 was among 82 P-47Ds transferred to the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force) and initially assigned to the 5° Stormo Caccia Bombardieri (5th Fighter-Bomber Wing). In March 1953, it moved to the 22° Fighter-Bomber Squadron of the 51° Fighter-Bomber Wing. Likely the last airworthy P-47 in Italian service at the time of its retirement, it was later used for ground instruction at Pisa University's Engineering School.
By 1973, the airframe was transferred to Lecce-Galatina Air Force Base for restoration for the planned Italian Air Force Museum, with initial work carried out by technicians from the 3° RTA. It remained in storage until 1978, when it was moved to the Museo Storico at Vigna di Valle, where it was displayed for about a decade. In 1995, the Thunderbolt was disassembled and placed in long-term storage at Guidonia AB. By 2010, it had been moved to Museo Volandia near Milan-Malpensa for long-term restoration, which began in 2021. |
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Maurizio Longoni is inspecting the P-47D Thunderbolt in his care. |
Maurizio Longoni is Conservator of the VOLANDIA Flight Museum located at Milano Malpensa International Airport. At his disposal within the museum site is the workshop of AREA (Aeronautical REstoration Association) which undertakes any machining required. He also has many volunteers, some of which are former workers from Caproni, Siai Marchetti, Agusta and Aeromachi living in the Milan area.
In 2019, the Italian Air Force partnered with Museo Volandia to fully restore the aircraft, while the Air Force handled the restoration of its Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine. At Volandia, retired engineers and technicians from Aermacchi and SIAI-Marchetti were to carryout detailed restoration work, including a complete cockpit rebuild with authentic instruments, functional canopy, and control surfaces. Since the aircraft is intended for static display, the focus was to be on accuracy and preservation rather than flight capability.
Now retired and an unpaid volunteer, his passion is for old aircraft and restoring them to museum quality. Interviewed in June 2023 he reported that; "We had to replace or refurbish the whole of the undersides of the aircraft because it had been mistreated over the years as it was lifted and put on the ground with the engine installed making it heavy. Rather than re-fabricate the skin for the undersides we beat out the dents as far as possible.", adding "We wanted to keep the original sections as far as was possible, however three of the larger sections were too badly damaged along with some corrosion so we needed to make those sections from new."
Longoni's specialised expertise is rebuilding instrument panels. When the P-47 arrived the cockpit was empty, he had to find all the missing parts. "I found all the missing parts through a chain of friends that I have built over the last 30 years. I know many people from all around the world. For example, the P-47 gunsight came from the UK, the throttle came from the US, other parts were found in warehouses of the Italian Air Force Museum where most of the instruments were found. The P-47 instruments were more or less standard for the US built aircraft of this period. He admits; "We still do not have every part, missing from the cockpit still is the landing gear control lever, the flap control lever, and parts of the control stick."
I suggested that when the restoration is complete with the cockpit canopy closed, it will not be able to see his fully restored instrument panel. Longoni smiled; "But I know the cockpit will be complete. We are a museum and aircraft in a museum should be as complete as possible inside and outside."
Typically four people are working on the P-47 in the last two years over 6,000 man hours have been accrued. Volandia are funding the repair of the P-47, they get all their money from visitor ticket sales and not any public money from the state or the province.
The restoration was expected to be completed by the end of 2025, with reports confirming an agreement with the Aeronautica Militare that MM4653 will remain on display at Museo Volandia for at least five years before a permanent move to the Museo Storico dell'Aeronautica Militare at Vigna di Valle.
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| Republic P-47D Thunderbolt (MM4653 coded '51-19' ex 44-89746) in the restoration hangar, closed to the public. |
