Copyright (c) 2005-2010 Roger Dodger Aviation, LLC All rights reserved Items sold by Roger Dodger Aviation, LLC are governed and protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America and international intellectual property agreements |
This media is the work of U.S. military personnel or employees or contractors, made during the
course of their official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the media is in the public
domain.
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug," was the biggest, heaviest, and most
expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was one of the
main United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters of World War II, and also served with other
Allied air forces. The P-47 was effective in air combat but proved especially adept at ground attack.
It had eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded the P-47 could weigh up to
eight tons. A modern-day counterpart in that role, the A-10 Thunderbolt II, takes its name from the P-
47.
Initial response to the P-47 praised its dive speed and high-altitude performance, while criticizing
its turning performance and rate of climb (particularly at low altitudes). Commenting on the P-47's
size, British pilots joked that a Thunderbolt pilot could defend himself from a Luftwaffe fighter by
running around and hiding in the fuselage. Some British assumed the American P-47 nickname
"Jug" was short for "Juggernaut" and began using the longer word as an alternate nickname.
Another nickname that was used for the Thunderbolt was "T-bolt".
The turbosupercharger in the P-47 gave the powerplant its maximum power at 27,000 ft (8,230 m),
and in the thin air above 30,000 ft (9,144 m), the Thunderbolt became comparatively fast and
nimble relative to other aircraft.
The P-47 first saw action with the 4th Fighter Group. The Group’s pilot 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 for high altitude work,
the Thunderbolt had 5 feet (1.5 m) more wingspan, a quarter more wing area, about four times the
fuselage volume and nearly twice the weight of a Spitfire V. One Thunderbolt pilot compared it to
flying a bathtub around the sky. When his unit (4th Fighter Group) was equipped with Thunderbolts,
ace Don Blakeslee 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." (Blakeslee's early-model P-47C had not been fitted with the
new paddle-blade propeller). 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. The U.S. ace Jim Goodson, who had flown Spitfires with the RAF and
flew a P-47 in 1943, 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.”
The P-47's initial success in combat was primarily due to tactics, using rolls (the P-47 had an
excellent roll rate) and energy-saving dive and zoom climbs from high altitude to outmaneuver
German fighters. Both the Me 109 and Fw 190 could, like the Spitfire, out-turn and out-climb the P-
47. But whereas both German fighters could break hard downwards, and leave the Spitfire trailing,]
no German piston-engined plane could out-dive the Thunderbolt. In a bounce, with their rapid
acceleration downhill coupled with the pulverizing effect of eight .50s, these aircraft were deadly.
The Thunderbolt was the fastest-diving American aircraft of the war—it could reach speeds of 550
mph (480 kn, 885 km/h). Major Robert S. "Bob" Johnson described the experience of diving the big
fighter by writing, "the Thunderbolt howled and ran for the earth". Some P-47 pilots claimed to have
broken the sound barrier, but later research revealed that due to the pressure buildup inside the
pitot tube at high speeds, airspeed readings became unpredictably exaggerated. But German
pilots learned soon to avoid diving with a Thunderbolt. Kurt Buehligen, a high-scoring German
fighter ace with 112 victories, recalled:
"The P-47 was very heavy, too heavy for some manoeuvres. We would see it coming from behind,
and pull up fast and the P-47 couldn’t follow and we came around and got on its tail in this way."
The arrival of the new Curtiss paddle-blade propeller significantly increased climb rate at lower
altitudes, and came as a shock to German pilots who had resorted to steep climbs to evade
pursuit by the P-47. Other positive attributes included the P-47's ruggedness; it could sustain a
large amount of damage and still be able to get its pilot back to base. With eight .50 in (12.7 mm)
machine guns, the P-47 did not lack for firepower. German aircraft caught in a well-aimed burst
tended to fly apart from the impact of so many armor-piercing projectiles.
Although 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. 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.
Ground attack role
By 1944, the Thunderbolt was in combat with the USAAF in all its operational theaters. With
increases in fuel capacity as the type was refined, the range of escort missions over Europe
steadily increased until the P-47 was able to accompany bombers in raids all the way into
Germany. On the way back from the raids, pilots shot up ground targets of opportunity, and also
used belly shackles to carry bombs on short-range missions, which led to the realization that the P-
47 could perform a dual-function on escort missions as a fighter-bomber. Even with its
complicated turbosupercharger system, its sturdy airframe and tough radial engine could absorb a
lot of damage and still return home. Some pilots readily chose to belly-land their burning
Thunderbolts rather than risk bailing out; there are instances of P-47s crash-landing after being
shot down, hitting trees and causing impacts severe enough to snap off wings, tail, and engine,
while the pilot escaped with few or no injuries.
The P-47 gradually became the USAAF's best fighter-bomber, normally carrying 500 lb (227 kg)
bombs, M8 4.5 in (115 mm) or 5 in (127 mm) High velocity aircraft rockets (HVARs, or Holy Moses).
From the invasion of Europe on 6 June, 1944 to VE day on 7 May, 1945, the Thunderbolt units
claimed destroyed: 86,000 railroad cars, 9,000 locomotives, 6,000 armoured fighting vehicles, and
68,000 trucks.
The Thunderbolt's eight .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns could inflict heavy damage on lightly
armored targets. In a ground attack role, the armor-piercing (AP), armor-piercing incendiary (API),
and armor-piercing incendiary tracer (APIT) ammunition proved useful in penetrating thin-skinned
and lightly armored German vehicles and exploding their fuel tanks, as well as occasionally
damaging some types of enemy armored fighting vehicles (AFVs). The dreaded cry of Achtung!
Jabos! (fighter-bombers) regularly erupted from German armored columns as the P-47 flights got
to work. While the AP projectiles from the .50 in machine guns could not penetrate the front, side,
or turret armor of enemy tanks, it sometimes penetrated the engine grilles and exhaust system of
the German Pzkpf Mk IV or Pzkpf V (Panther), disabling the vehicle. The .50 in guns were ineffective
against heavy German tanks such as the Tiger I, and the Tiger II, which required the use of 500 lb
bombs, 4.5 in (115 mm) or 5 in (127 mm) rockets.
For heavily-armored targets, P-47 pilots frequently carried two 500 lb (227 kg) bombs, using skip
bombing techniques for difficult targets (skipping bombs into railroad tunnels to destroy hidden
enemy locomotives or tanks was a favorite tactic); Tunnel-busting became a fine art. When pilots
spotted a train entering a tunnel, they skipped bombs into both ends to seal the train inside, then
bombed the tunnel itself. Near Canisy, France, a locomotive was shredded until it looked like a
steel broom. A near miss was sufficient to knock a tank on its side, blow off a track or turret, or
cause serious damage to tracks, suspension, and turret mechanisms, frequently causing the
vehicle to be abandoned by its crew. The adoption of the triple-tube rocket launcher with M8 high-
explosive 4.5 in (110 mm) rockets (with an explosive force similar to a 105 mm artillery shell),
significantly increased the P-47's ground attack capability. Late in the war, the P-47 was retrofitted
with more powerful 5 in (130 mm) HVAR rockets.
course of their official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the media is in the public
domain.
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug," was the biggest, heaviest, and most
expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was one of the
main United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters of World War II, and also served with other
Allied air forces. The P-47 was effective in air combat but proved especially adept at ground attack.
It had eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded the P-47 could weigh up to
eight tons. A modern-day counterpart in that role, the A-10 Thunderbolt II, takes its name from the P-
47.
Initial response to the P-47 praised its dive speed and high-altitude performance, while criticizing
its turning performance and rate of climb (particularly at low altitudes). Commenting on the P-47's
size, British pilots joked that a Thunderbolt pilot could defend himself from a Luftwaffe fighter by
running around and hiding in the fuselage. Some British assumed the American P-47 nickname
"Jug" was short for "Juggernaut" and began using the longer word as an alternate nickname.
Another nickname that was used for the Thunderbolt was "T-bolt".
The turbosupercharger in the P-47 gave the powerplant its maximum power at 27,000 ft (8,230 m),
and in the thin air above 30,000 ft (9,144 m), the Thunderbolt became comparatively fast and
nimble relative to other aircraft.
The P-47 first saw action with the 4th Fighter Group. The Group’s pilot 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 for high altitude work,
the Thunderbolt had 5 feet (1.5 m) more wingspan, a quarter more wing area, about four times the
fuselage volume and nearly twice the weight of a Spitfire V. One Thunderbolt pilot compared it to
flying a bathtub around the sky. When his unit (4th Fighter Group) was equipped with Thunderbolts,
ace Don Blakeslee 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." (Blakeslee's early-model P-47C had not been fitted with the
new paddle-blade propeller). 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. The U.S. ace Jim Goodson, who had flown Spitfires with the RAF and
flew a P-47 in 1943, 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.”
The P-47's initial success in combat was primarily due to tactics, using rolls (the P-47 had an
excellent roll rate) and energy-saving dive and zoom climbs from high altitude to outmaneuver
German fighters. Both the Me 109 and Fw 190 could, like the Spitfire, out-turn and out-climb the P-
47. But whereas both German fighters could break hard downwards, and leave the Spitfire trailing,]
no German piston-engined plane could out-dive the Thunderbolt. In a bounce, with their rapid
acceleration downhill coupled with the pulverizing effect of eight .50s, these aircraft were deadly.
The Thunderbolt was the fastest-diving American aircraft of the war—it could reach speeds of 550
mph (480 kn, 885 km/h). Major Robert S. "Bob" Johnson described the experience of diving the big
fighter by writing, "the Thunderbolt howled and ran for the earth". Some P-47 pilots claimed to have
broken the sound barrier, but later research revealed that due to the pressure buildup inside the
pitot tube at high speeds, airspeed readings became unpredictably exaggerated. But German
pilots learned soon to avoid diving with a Thunderbolt. Kurt Buehligen, a high-scoring German
fighter ace with 112 victories, recalled:
"The P-47 was very heavy, too heavy for some manoeuvres. We would see it coming from behind,
and pull up fast and the P-47 couldn’t follow and we came around and got on its tail in this way."
The arrival of the new Curtiss paddle-blade propeller significantly increased climb rate at lower
altitudes, and came as a shock to German pilots who had resorted to steep climbs to evade
pursuit by the P-47. Other positive attributes included the P-47's ruggedness; it could sustain a
large amount of damage and still be able to get its pilot back to base. With eight .50 in (12.7 mm)
machine guns, the P-47 did not lack for firepower. German aircraft caught in a well-aimed burst
tended to fly apart from the impact of so many armor-piercing projectiles.
Although 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. 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.
Ground attack role
By 1944, the Thunderbolt was in combat with the USAAF in all its operational theaters. With
increases in fuel capacity as the type was refined, the range of escort missions over Europe
steadily increased until the P-47 was able to accompany bombers in raids all the way into
Germany. On the way back from the raids, pilots shot up ground targets of opportunity, and also
used belly shackles to carry bombs on short-range missions, which led to the realization that the P-
47 could perform a dual-function on escort missions as a fighter-bomber. Even with its
complicated turbosupercharger system, its sturdy airframe and tough radial engine could absorb a
lot of damage and still return home. Some pilots readily chose to belly-land their burning
Thunderbolts rather than risk bailing out; there are instances of P-47s crash-landing after being
shot down, hitting trees and causing impacts severe enough to snap off wings, tail, and engine,
while the pilot escaped with few or no injuries.
The P-47 gradually became the USAAF's best fighter-bomber, normally carrying 500 lb (227 kg)
bombs, M8 4.5 in (115 mm) or 5 in (127 mm) High velocity aircraft rockets (HVARs, or Holy Moses).
From the invasion of Europe on 6 June, 1944 to VE day on 7 May, 1945, the Thunderbolt units
claimed destroyed: 86,000 railroad cars, 9,000 locomotives, 6,000 armoured fighting vehicles, and
68,000 trucks.
The Thunderbolt's eight .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns could inflict heavy damage on lightly
armored targets. In a ground attack role, the armor-piercing (AP), armor-piercing incendiary (API),
and armor-piercing incendiary tracer (APIT) ammunition proved useful in penetrating thin-skinned
and lightly armored German vehicles and exploding their fuel tanks, as well as occasionally
damaging some types of enemy armored fighting vehicles (AFVs). The dreaded cry of Achtung!
Jabos! (fighter-bombers) regularly erupted from German armored columns as the P-47 flights got
to work. While the AP projectiles from the .50 in machine guns could not penetrate the front, side,
or turret armor of enemy tanks, it sometimes penetrated the engine grilles and exhaust system of
the German Pzkpf Mk IV or Pzkpf V (Panther), disabling the vehicle. The .50 in guns were ineffective
against heavy German tanks such as the Tiger I, and the Tiger II, which required the use of 500 lb
bombs, 4.5 in (115 mm) or 5 in (127 mm) rockets.
For heavily-armored targets, P-47 pilots frequently carried two 500 lb (227 kg) bombs, using skip
bombing techniques for difficult targets (skipping bombs into railroad tunnels to destroy hidden
enemy locomotives or tanks was a favorite tactic); Tunnel-busting became a fine art. When pilots
spotted a train entering a tunnel, they skipped bombs into both ends to seal the train inside, then
bombed the tunnel itself. Near Canisy, France, a locomotive was shredded until it looked like a
steel broom. A near miss was sufficient to knock a tank on its side, blow off a track or turret, or
cause serious damage to tracks, suspension, and turret mechanisms, frequently causing the
vehicle to be abandoned by its crew. The adoption of the triple-tube rocket launcher with M8 high-
explosive 4.5 in (110 mm) rockets (with an explosive force similar to a 105 mm artillery shell),
significantly increased the P-47's ground attack capability. Late in the war, the P-47 was retrofitted
with more powerful 5 in (130 mm) HVAR rockets.
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
