Tracker's history lesson inspires me to post photographs:
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt ("Jug"):
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/RichardS/RepublicP-47Thunderbolt.jpg)
Republic F-84 Thunderjet:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/RichardS/RepublicF-84Thunderjet.jpg)
Republic F-105 Thunderchief ("Thud")
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/RichardS/RepublicF0105Thunderchief.jpg)
In 1965, Republic was taken over by Fairchild Hiller and ceased to exist as an independent company. It's legacy lives on, however, in the descendant of the P-47 Thunderbolt -- the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II ("Warthog" or simply "Hog"), revered by front-line ground forces today, who are apt to speak of it with hushed reverence for its close air support capabilities:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/RichardS/Fairchild-RepublicA-10ThunbderboltW.jpg)