Development of the P-2 prototype began towards the end of 1943, and the model took to the air for the first time on 27th April 1945. The P-2 was then tested by the air force and series production was requested. The first prototype is on display today at the Pilatus factory site.

In the following years, a total of 54 aircraft were produced, all of which were delivered to the Swiss Air Force. After their retirement in 1981, many of them found their way into the warbird scene. In numerous films, the aircraft played the role of a fighter plane from the Second World War, mostly in the livery of the German Luftwaffe. Its most famous appearance was in Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989.