The Republic Thunderbolt was designed by Alexander Kartveli for the Republic Aviation Corporation. The Thunderbolt flew for the first time on 6th May, 1941. Over the next few years 15,634 were purchased by the United States Air Force and the Royal Air Force.

It had a maximum speed of 433 mph (697 km) and had a range of 550 miles (885 km). It was 36 ft 1 in (11 m) long with a wingspan of 40 ft 9 in (12.42 m). The aircraft was armed with 2 machine-guns and could carry 300 lb (136 kg) of bombs. Curtiss P-36C was produced by Curtiss-Wright Corporation in 1938. It had a maximum speed of 311 mph (500 km) and had a range of 825 miles (1,320 km). It was 28 ft 6 in (8.68 m) long with a wingspan of 37 ft 4 in (11.38 m). The aircraft was armed with 2 machine-guns.

The United States Air Force placed a large order and 177 were delivered in 1938. However, once the Second World War started the Curtiss P-36C was considered out of date and only four were still in service at Pearl Harbor.