P-47 Thunderbolt Fighter (2024)

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe P-47 Thunderbolt fighters were designed by two Georgian immigrants to the United States, Alexander de Seversky and Alexander Kartveli. The first prototype was reviewed by the United States Army Air Corps in Jun 1940, and an order was placed in Sep 1940. The design was nearly all-metal, and contained advanced features such as self-sealing fuel tanks, air conditioned co*ckpits, and large turbochargers to supplement the Pratt and Whitney engines. Although the resulting fighters were rugged, the features meant they were to be large fighters weighing in at 4,490 kilograms even before armaments were installed. In fact, they were the heaviest single-engine fighter in operation across all countries during the WW2 era. The size and weight also meant they required long runways in order to take off and land, as well as their relative ineffectiveness in their originally intended role of high altitude interceptors. The first time US Army Air Force 365th Fighter Group's Second Lieutenant Paul L. Van Cleef saw his fighter, his first impression was "Wow!!! That's BIG! Does it fly?"

ww2dbaseAfter working out many initial problems, P-47 Thunderbolt fighters were sent to the United Kingdom in late 1942 to join the Eighth Air Force, where their first main missions included bomber escort and ground sweeping operations. P-47 Thunderbolt fighters also served in the Pacific, performing escort missions out of Australia by 1943. By 1944, they were present in all operational theaters involving the United States Army Air Force except the US Territory of Alaska. Later in the war, they gradually took on the role of fighter-bombers in Europe, sweeping German ground targets with their eight machine guns and optional bombs or rockets. By the end of the war, they were among USAAF's most-used fighter-bombers, having destroyed thousands of tanks, locomotives, trucks, and parked aircraft. Maintenance crews liked them for their reliable construction and ease of maintenance in the field. Since they were not effective as interceptors, that role was largely taken over by other models such as the P-51 Mustang fighters. The Soviets also operated 203 P-47 Thunderbolt fighters, though they were relegated to rear areas for defense duties.

ww2dbaseAlthough crash-landing capabilities, if one could describe it that way, would never be a primary feature during development, P-47 Thunderbolt fighters were known for it when it was absolutely necessary. "A lot of people said it landed better on its belly than it did on wheels", said Mac McWhorter of US Army Air Force 365th Fighter Group; "It was an ideal belly-landing plane." First Lieutenant Neal E. Worley of the same unit was forced to do the same as well, and he reported that the heavy radial engine acted as a battering ram of sorts, knocking down trees and bushes in the path of a crashing P-47 Thunderbolt fighter. "There isn't a P-47 pilot alive who wouldn't elect to belly one in rather than bail out", he said.

ww2dbaseDuring the P-47 design's production life, a total of 15,683 examples were built.

ww2dbaseSources:
Robert Dorr, Fighting Hitler's Jets
Robert Dorr and Thomas D. Jones, Hell Hawks!
Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Jan 2009

P-47 Thunderbolt Timeline

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