Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

Thunderbolts at War during World War II

Sep 20, 2008 Matthew Pizzolato

The P-47 Thunderbolt was the most versatile and durable of all fighter aircraft and built a combat record that is challenged by very few other planes.

Designed by Alexander Kartveli, the P-47 Thunderbolt rolled off the assembly lines in 1938. The aircraft encompassed a Pratt and Whitney R-1830-19 engine with a two-stage supercharger.

The Thunderbolt’s armament consisted of six .50 caliber machine guns, and it had armor plating to protect the pilot. It reached a top speed of 400 mph at 25,000 feet and carried self-sealing fuel tanks that held 315 gallons of fuel.

During the course of World War II, the Thunderbolt had many uses. Primarily used as a fighter escort, different modes of the P-47 could also perform ground strafing exercises and dive bombing missions while absorbing exorbitant amounts of punishment.

Thunderbolts versus the Luftwaffe

The first Republic P-47-C Thunderbolts arrived in England in December of 1942. The plane’s first missions consisted of fighter sweeps over enemy territory.

The first victory of the Thunderbolt came on April 15th, 1943 by veteran Eagle Squadron pilot Major Donald J.M. Blakeslee. Using the P-47’s diving speed to his advantage, Blakeslee downed a German FW 190.

Seeing action over France and Germany, the Thunderbolt established air superiority by demolishing thousands of tanks, vehicles, railroads and hundreds of German troops on the ground.

Pacific Theater P-47 Thunderbolts

Thunderbolts in the Pacific aided the island-hopping ground force as the Marines moved ever closer to Japan.

Flying at altitudes of 25 to 50 feet, the Thunderbolts were used to drop Napalm tanks against Japanese forces, and at times strafing the enemy from such a low altitude that shells from the Thunderbolt’s .50 caliber machine guns showered the American troops below.

Royal Airforce Thunderbolts

Royal Air Force Pilot Officer A.L. Coombs spoke of the Thunderbolts durability.

“I saw one of our aircraft come home with nine cylinders shot off by flak and another hit a palm tree on a low level run which only resulted in a dented wing.” (Ness, p.135)

Nine RAF units were using P-47 Thunderbolts by the end of 1944.

Other Models of Thunderbolts

Several experimental models of Thunderbolts manufactured during World War II were never put into production. Model XP-47-E was designed with a pressurized cabin. Model XP-47-J, a lightweight version, flew in 1944 and broke the 500 mph mark.

After World War 2, the P-47 was removed from active rolls of the US Army Air Forces. South American countries purchased several planes, and the Chinese Nationalists used them for several years.

Today, very few P-47 Thunderbolts remain in existence. Six Thunderbolts remain in service of the Confederate Air Force located at Harlington, Texas and have been restored with markings of famous World War 2 aces and fighter groups.

Sources:

Ness, William N. P-47 Thunderbolt at War. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1976

<Aviation History> Retrieved on 9/16/08.

<P-47 Thunderbolt> Retrieved on 9/20/08.

The copyright of the article Republic P-47 Thunderbolt in Military History is owned by Matthew Pizzolato. Permission to republish Republic P-47 Thunderbolt in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

P-47 Thunderbolt in Action.

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