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"El Rayo" topview, gloss red cowling and black anti-reflective stripe were hand painted, hence had to eye-ball its alignment with a steady hand. Wing aerilons, rudder, flaps crevices highlighted with black black ink drafting pen. As noted, FAV was acronym for Fuerza Aerea Venezolana (Venezuelan Air Force), this format is used by most Central and South American air forces, as shown below: ACIG Central and Latin America Database - www.acig.org/artman/publish/cat_index_11.shtml
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FAM - Fuerza Aerea Mexicana (Mexican AF)
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FAH - Fuerza Aerea Hondurena (Honduran AF)
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FAG - Fuerza Aerea Guatemalteca (Guatemalan AF)
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FAC - Fuerza Aerea Colombiana (Colombian AF)
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FAA - Fuerza Aerea Argentina (Argentinian AF)
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Deviation form this format are Haiti, Brazil, Panama, and Cuba
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FAR - Fuerza Aerea Revolucionaria (Cuba Revolutionary AF)
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Corps d'Aviation d'Haiti (Haitian AF, from previous French influence)
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Forca Aerea Brasileira (Brazilian AF, based on Brazilian-Portuguese)
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Servicio Aereo Nacional (Panama National Air Service, from previous American influence)
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Interestingly, Spain does not use "Fuerza Aerea Espanola" (FAE) title, instead her air force is called "Ejercito del Aire" (Army of the Air). During the  Spanish Civil War 1936-1939, the Republicans (Communist) formed the "Fuerza Aereas de la Republica Espanola" (Republican Spanish Air Force), while the Nationalist (fascists) formed "Aeronautica Militar" (Aeronautical Military). With Nationalist victory by 1939, using a "Fuerza Aerea Espanola" (Spanish Air Force) resembled too close to previous Spanish Communist title, hence it was dropped for "Ejercito del Aire" (Air Army). Spanish Civil War - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_civil_war
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One modern commercial trivia from Spanish Civil War was creation of M&M candy-coated chocolate pieces. Its creator, Forest Mars Sr, served with Spanish Republican forces (at that time, International Communism had a quasi-crusade lure to some 1930s-era American professionals) and noticed soldiers eating chocolate encased in hard candy to prevent its melting. He took the idea back to US and expanded his candy empire. Also note that Communism was a great allure to young American professionals of that era, hence many famed Americans volunteered for frontline service in Spanish conflict via the so-called Lincoln Brigade. Lincoln Brigade - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Brigade
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Inset 1 : PC flight simulator games gives good approximate of plane handling characteristic, armament performance, and combat engagements. Inset shows WW2-era USAAF P-47-D armed with multi-tube anti-tank rockets for European campaign, from game IL-2 Sturmovik. By design, flight simulator games are geared for PC gaming systems and not console gaming platforms (ex. Xbox, Xbox360, PS2, PS3) since the latter does not have sufficient control buttons to mimic major aspects of real-life flight experience. IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles Ace - www.gamespot.com/pc/sim/il2sturmovikfbace/index.html
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Rollover : P-47-D (D model indicated by its bubble canopy hood for 360-degree aerial view) was the largest - most expensive - highest horsepower single-engine US fighter in WW2. Deployed to European theater in 1943, it was nicknamed the "Jug" (for Juggernaut) given its large size. Some US pilots deplored its size given traditional of small seek fighter design of that era (ex. American P-40, German Bf-109, Soviet Mig-3). The "Jug" was originally used for bomber escort, but its combat radius could only protect bomber formations halfway to targets deep inside Germany. With its extensive armor plating, it could withstand hard battle damage to bring the pilot home, that characteristic won over many pilots who otherwise held grave reservations about the plane's over-size. (one joke shared by "Jug" pilots was that when attacked by enemy aircraft, P-47 pilots simply ducked and ran inside the fuselage to escape the bullets) P-47 Thunderbolt - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-47
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Persistent debate continues to this day concerning fighter aircraft size. During 1950s with advent of so-called "push-button warfare" where air-to-air missiles (via infrared or radar lock) was used as main weaponry and close-in aerial dogfights (via cannons and heavy machines) were relegated to secondary weapons usage, fighter plane size was not primary concern since combat engagements could occur a mile away between combatants. Confronting the Unconventional: Innovation and Transformation in Military Affairs - www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB729.pdf
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By 1960s Vietnam War and  micro-management of combat engagements by US Kennedy and Johnson administrations required American pilots to visually identify enemy planes before combat. Via this engagement, larger American twin-engine fighter planes were more readily identified first compared to smaller Soviet-built single-engine fighters, thus giving enemy advantage in positioning and attack initiative. Lessons learnt from Vietnam War was taught to succeeding US fighters pilots from mid-1970s via the so-called "Top Gun" training program. United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_Fighter_Weapons_School
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Inset 2 : Preserved WW2-era P-47-D in modern air show, black-white checkerboard engine cowling indicates WW2 56th Fighter Group nicknamed the "Wolfpack", triple black bands in rear tail is for aerial friendly forces recognition, flat olive-drab stripe is anti-reflective surface (prevent reflections on bare metal skin from blinding pilot). 56th Fighter Group - www.web-birds.com/8th/56/56th.htm
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From WW1-era to WW2-end, US air force was part of the Army, hence called US Army Air Force. 1947 defense reorganization formally recognized 4 distinct branches of military arms as we know of today : Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. United States Army Air Forces - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Air_Forces
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