P47 of the IXth Air Force at a forward Refuelling & Rearming strip

p47oftheixthairforceataforwardrefuellingrearmingstrip.jpg

This was a scene taken very shortly after D-Day at a forward strip on the beachead as a IXth Airforce P47 is rearmed after a sortie. Behind an early model P47 with a "Razorback" canopy waits its turn. Initially the forward strips were called Refueling & Rearming (RRS) strips before they were designated Advance Landing Groups as units began to move to them semi-permanently.

The first P-47 group to permanently make the move was the 50th Fighter Group on the 24th of June.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_P-47_Thunderbolt