Expression of Community Support: The Spirit of Madison
by Doug Simon, Madison Historical Society
Throughout the United States during World War II, it was not at all unusual for communities to offer expressions of support for the war effort and Madison was no exception. Fundraising campaigns to purchase tanks, trucks, and jeeps were popular choices. But Madison chose a war plane. Led by a fifteen-man Committee to “Buy-A-Bomber”, the borough launched a war bond campaign on December 1, 1942, to raise a sufficient amount of money to pay for the cost of a brand new Republic P-47D Thunderbolt named The Spirit of Madison, New Jersey. Madisonians had a choice of three series of bonds in amounts varying from $25 to $10,000. The target was $75,000. In fact, borough citizens raised $120,000 in bond sales.
During the war, more P-47s were produced than any other American fighter. It was initially designed as a point defense fighter. It served as a primary escort for the B-17s and B-24s of the Eighth Air Force. Later with some modifications it achieved notability as one of the most devastating fighter-bombers used in Europe by the Army Air Forces between D-Day and VE-Day.
The two “fathers” of the P-47 were Alexander P. de Seversky, a pilot in the Imperial Russian Naval Air Service during World War One and Alexander Karvelli, a Georgian émigré who became Republic Aircraft’s lead designer. Severesky came to the U.S. in 1918 as assistant naval attaché in the Russian naval aviation mission. As Russia was in the throes of revolution, Seversky offered his services to the American war department. Perhaps the most important decision of his career was hiring Alexander Karveli who grew up in Tbilisi, Georgia and moved to Paris before World War One to study aeronautical engineering.
The Spirit of Madison, New Jersey did not get off to a terribly auspicious start. Assigned to the 328th Fighter Squadron at Mitchel Field in Hempstead, Long Island, it crash landed on April 10th during a mock dogfight. The name Spirit of Madison, New Jersey, was then assigned to a new P-47-D assigned to the 375th Fighter Squadron at Langly Field, Hampton, Virginia. The plane ditched on July 16th, 1943 after engine failure. A third Spirit of Madison, New Jersey was assigned to the 523rd Fighter Squadron of 12th Air Force, Saint-Dizier, France.
We know little about the specific combat history of the Spirit of Madison, New Jersey in Europe. We do know that the 523rd Fighter-Bomber Squadron engaged enemy forces as a tactical fighter squadron during the Italian Campaign. It supported ground forces in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France and the drive northwards through Lyon. What we do know is that the “Spirit” was destroyed on the 18th of March 1945 on take-off at Saint-Dizier.
A large sharp photograph of the Spirit of Madison, New Jersey can be found on the second floor of Madison’s Borough Hall, The Hartley Dodge Memorial, along with a marvelous collection of additional historical photographs displayed throughout the building.
