Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
The P-47 Thunderbolt, which was also known as the “Jug,” was the biggest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine.[2]
The P-47 Thunderbolt was one of the main United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters of World War II, and served with other Allied air forces. It was effective in air combat but proved especially good at ground attack.The plane had eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded the P-47 could weigh up to eight tons. Today’s A-10 Thunderbolt II, takes its name from the P-47.
Role Fighter-bomber
Manufacturer Republic Aviation
Designed by Alexander de Seversky
Alexander Kartveli
First flight 6 May 1941
Introduction 1942
Retired 1966, Peruvian Air Force
Primary users United States Army Air Forces
United States Air Force
Number built 15,686
Unit cost US$85,000 in 1945[1] Variants Republic XP-72
Designed by Alexander de Seversky
Alexander Kartveli
First flight 6 May 1941
Introduction 1942
Retired 1966, Peruvian Air Force
Primary users United States Army Air Forces
United States Air Force
Number built 15,686
Unit cost US$85,000 in 1945[1]
The P-47 first saw action with the 4th Fighter Group. The Group’s pilots were mainly drawn from the three British Eagle Squadrons who had previously flown the British Supermarine Spitfire Mark V. They viewed their new fighter with misgivings, at first. It was huge. Optimized as it was for high altitude work, the Thunderbolt had a quarter more wing area, five feet (1.5 m) more wingspan, nearly twice the weight of a Spitfire V, and about four times the fuselage volume and. One Thunderbolt pilot compared it to flying a bathtub around the sky.
When ace Don Blakeslee’s unit (4th Fighter Group) was equipped with Thunderbolts, he said referring to the P-47′s vaunted ability to dive on its prey, “It ought to be able to dive. It certainly can’t climb.” The 4th Fighter Group’s commander hated the plane, and his prejudices filtered down to the group’s pilots; the 4th had the fewest kills of any of the first three P-47 squadrons in Europe.[14]
The U.S. ace Jim Goodson, who had flown Spitfires with the RAF, at first shared the scepticism of other pilots for their “seven-ton milk-bottles”. But Goodson learned to appreciate the P-47’s potential: “There were many U.S. pilots who preferred the P-47 to anything else: they do not agree that the (Fw) 190 held an overall edge against it.”
While the P-51 Mustang replaced the P-47 in the long-range escort role in Europe, the Thunderbolt still ended the war with 3,752 air-to-air kills claimed in over 746,000 sorties of all types, at the cost of 3,499 P-47s to all causes in combat.
In Europe in the critical first three months of 1944, when the German aircraft industry and Berlin were heavily attacked, the P-47 shot down more German fighters than did the P-51 (570 out of 873), and shot down approximately 900 of the 1,983 claimed during the first six months of 1944. In Europe, Thunderbolts flew more sorties (423,435) than P-51s, P-38s and P-40s combined.
By the end of the war, the 56th FG was the only 8th Air Force unit still flying the P-47, by preference, instead of the P-51. The unit claimed 665.5 air victories and 311 ground kills, at the cost of 128 aircraft.[23] Lieutenant Colonel Francis S. Gabreski scored 31 victories,including three ground kills, Captain Bob Johnson scored 27 (with one unconfirmed probable kill leading to some giving his tally as 28),and 56th FG Commanding Officer Colonel Hubert Zemke scored 17.75 kills. Despite being the sole remaining P-47 group in the 8th Air Force, the 56th FG remained its top-scoring group in aerial victories throughout the war.
In the Pacific, Colonel Neel E. Kearby of the Fifth Air Force destroyed 22 Japanese aircraft and was awarded the Medal of Honor for an action in which he downed six enemy fighters on a single mission. He was shot down and killed over Biak in March 1944.
Specifications (P-47D Thunderbolt)
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 36 ft 1 in (11.00 m)
- Wingspan: 40 ft 9 in (12.42 m)
- Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)
- Wing area: 300 ft² (27.87 m²)
- Empty weight: 10,000 lb (4,536 kg)
- Loaded weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-59 twin-row radial engine, 2,535 hp (1,890 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 433 mph at 30,000 ft (697 km/h at 9,145 m)
- Range: 800 mi combat, 1,800 mi ferry (1,290 km / 2,900 km)
- Service ceiling: 43,000 ft (13,100 m)
- Rate of climb: 3,120 ft/min (15.9 m/s)
- Wing loading: 58.3 lb/ft² (284.8 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.14 hp/lb (238 W/kg)
Armament
- 8 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns
- Up to 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) of bombs
- 10 × 5 in (130 mm) unguided rockets
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