In an era when fighter aircraft were as small, sleek, light and maneuverable, as their designers could ensure. In the midst of Spitfires, Messerschmitts and Mustangs. There was one World War II fighter that was huge Snub-nosed and cumbersome looking. Roughly twice the weight of its contemporaries. It was called "the jug" because stood on its nose, it looked like a milk jug. The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a late starter in the war. It's designed being influenced by events already happening in Europe, with the air battles over Poland and France. Despite the late entry into the inventory. It was to be built in greater numbers than any other American fighter before or since. It was fast, dependable. could take Major damage and survive. and packed heavy and effective fire. power. The P-47 derived from a series of planes. produced by the Seversky Aircraft Corporation under the direction of two Russian. émigrè Alexander. Seversky and Alexander Kartveli. By the time the P-47 flew the company was the Republic. Aircraft Corporation. And Seversky had left. But the plane's origins go back to 1931. Alexander Seversky came to the United States already a pilot and already an aviation enthusiast. His father had been the first private owner pilot of an airplane in Imperial Russia and Alexander had flown in the First World War. in the Imperial Air Force with. Distinction. He came to the USA in 1917 on a Naval Air mission and stayed on after the revolution at home, working for the Army Air Force. He set up an aviation company in 1922. On the proceeds of engineering patents he'd sold to the US government and in 1931 set up the Seversky Aircraft Corporation. After Kartveli. joined the company, His basic configuration around the radial air cool engine soon developed into planes that dominated the Bendix Trophy races. In the mid 30's. With Jackie Cochran as one of the consistently winning Seversky. Pilots helping to create media interest the company. became quite justifiably well known. The virtues of the Seversky Planes were their long range and relatively high cruising speed. Flat out they were among the fastest American planes of their day. And in 1937, when most Army and Navy Pursuit planes were. Stretched at two hundred mph, Jackie. Cochran caused a sensation with a speed of. three hundrend and four mph. Set while breaking a record at the National Air Show. By 1938 Seversky Planes had won three Bendix Trophies in a Row. Following an accident, Seversky himself gave up active participation in the races. To lay to rest worries in the government that his company would fold if he were to be killed. The government Interest was not surprising. The Army had bought their first Seversky planes in 1935, the basic trainer, The BT-8. Developed from Seversky's two Seat XBT. More relevant to the P- 47's development was the SEV-1XP. Which was the basis of Seversky's first. sale of Pursuit Aircraft, the P-35. Five. First US. fighter to have retractable wheels, the P-35. while a step forward for US. Fighters was. Outclassed by the. developments in the German and British air Forces. Being underpowered and hence too slow. Though it did have Good maneuverability and range, it was soon overtaken and the company given contracts to develop the concept. Into the supercharged YP-43, which itself. Went into production only as a stopgap measure to keep the production line together while redesigns of first, The P-44. Which was never built. And then the P47s went on. Neither P-35. nor P-43 were effective fighters by the time they were deployed. Like the P-43, the P-44 was to have been built around a turbo supercharged radial engine. And would have been about the size of most of the fighters of its time. But like the earlier two designs, It was light on both protective armor and fire Power. Kartveli and his team were racing to catch up to the rest of the world. And designs were now commenced for a new plan that was given the number P-47. To be worked around a large liquid cooled engine with plans being submitted to the Airboard in August 1939. A fortnight later, Hitler's. posturing around Poland suddenly turned savagely into war, and the American designers were confronted with stunning evidence of how inadequate their current thinking was. The war That Hitler and his generals were Equipped and ready to fight was a new, technologically advanced lightning war. Much of the army was horse drawn and Outdated, but the attacking fists of the German Panzers. with the Luftwaffe's total dominance and ruthless exploitation in the air, Crushed the Polish defenses quickly. While the US had its own very good strategic bombers like the B- 17, they were obviously still lagging far behind in fighter aircraft. In all the fighter roles. Faced with news of the Nazi bombing strikes on cities and towns and opening campaigns of the war, the US faced the chilling, though distant, possibility of being unable to repulse such forces with its existing planes. Like the P-47, all the designs going to the US Army. though promising, were based on new liquid cooled engines that were still not working satisfactorily and There was a cautious desire to retain some capability using the tried and tested radial engines. To give spur to Kartveli, there was available a new huge radial with two thousand horsepower and the plane was literally designed around the power plant. And the ducting for the massive turbo supercharger built Into the fuselage. The giant they. created was theoretically, a plane of great speed, 400 miles per hour was the target. And great height with a massive punch from the eight heavy machine guns mounted in its wings. It was called the P-47 B and the first one was produced on May the 6th 1941. Despite teething trouble, it included the loss of planes due to engine failures and due to their tendency to go too fast for their airframe to hang together. Production and development proceeded. Rapidly in parallel. The C model and the D model both appearing by the end of 1942. The plane though dogged by Persistent crashes had easily exceeded some of its targets. And its top speed of four hundred And thirty Miles per hour was welcomed. As was the evident power of its armament. It was accepted as well suited to its express role of cutting off and destroying attacking enemy bombers. However, as the problems were sorted out and the planes began to multiply. Need dictated their deployment for a different role entirely. That of escorting bombers operating from England. Dispersed around England, teams of civilian mechanics and engineers assembled the planes shipped over the Atlantic. Soon in addition to this task they would be carrying out major repairs on battle. damaged planes. The first plane had been unloaded a few days before. Christmas 1942. And as soon as the thunderbolts became available they were rushed through Operational assessments and plans to equip three groups went ahead. There was some skepticism about the big fighter it had been flown against captured German planes. And found to have only one major advantage. Speed. Being outmaneuvered and out accelerated by the Nazi aircraft. Additionally, it did not have sufficient range to escort the bombers all the way to Germany, but despite this, given the absence of any more suitable Weapons. The P47s were sent to battle protecting the bomber raids. The first operational sortie over crowds was flown. On the 8th of April 1940. Three though mechanical failures. Still led to losses of aircraft. The pilots were qdjusting to their new fighters with increasing appreciation of their toughness, speed, and fire power. Using a variety of external fuel tanks to extend their range, the thunderbolts were rapidly assimilated into the combat. And within a short time, tactics were developed to exploit their overall speed advantage. Which saw them earning a good reputation for matching and testing the Messerschmitt and Focke-wulf. Lying in ships To escort the bombers out as far as possible and meet them on their return. The rapidly proliferating Jugs was soon familiar sights to the people of England, and to the pilots of the Luftwaffe. The bombers have been designed to provide one another with mutual support. From masked machine guns, in the mistaken belief that they would be able to ward off attack. On the way to their targets and home again. The need to fight fighters with fighters had not been fully appreciated. And there had been severe bomber losses in the initial phases of the campaign. Even with fighter protection, the big planes were vulnerable and losses continued. However, though it may seem callous the continued campaign was slowly having a major effect. In that the Germans could afford their losses of aircraft and pilots less than the allies could. The longer the campaign went on through Flack and fighters to the factories and infrastructure of Germany, the more the wearing down was to gather momentum. At the time of this raid to Endon in September 19 43. The men flying the Allied planes would not have been aware of this long term effect as much as they were. Aware of the very real and vicious presence of swarms of German attackers. The Germans tactics determined that their fighters would concentrate on attacking the bombers and not engage the escorts, unless it was unavoidable. This suited The high flying thunderbolts. Which could stooge around above the formations of bombers and dive to intercept the attackers once the Thunderbolt had built up Speed in diving onto the Germans, it was little they could do to escape. Tactics they had employed on Spitfires but diving away from attack, simply played into the P47s. hands. And the Nazis burned the hard. way, that there was no way to outrun the Jugs. The Strategic bombing offensive continued through 1943. and 1944. with very little let up. And as the campaign proceeded and tactics were adjusted back and forth, the tide continued to surely Run out on the Nazis. Their losses of Planes were bad enough but their losses of pilots were unsustainable. Their aces were going. The veterans of Spain, Poland, France and Russia. were thinned out by each successive demand. In addition, the planes that have been all powerful had been vested. first by the Spitfires and Hurricanes of the British and then by the newer American types. Worse, they were not being replaced by better planes. The constant revising of the ME- 109 saw its effectiveness tumble as its weight rose. And the FW- 192 started to show signs of having out stayed its Era. The Germans had the knowledge to have rested control with jet fighters, but through Hitler's mistrust and a generalized lack of foresight, the fighter potential of planes like the ME- 262 was to be overlooked until it was too late for them to swing the balance back to the Germans. So 1943 and 1944 4. Saw the Luftwaffe decline to the point where far from having absolute air superiority throughout Europe, the Germans could not even control the skies over their own homeland. Losses in the bomber fleets were at times very heavy. The theoretical assumptions of the commanders that things were worse for the enemy, can't have been much comfort for the B-17. The mass raids on the German cities left the. Luftwaffe with no option but to oppose the bombers with all the weapons at their disposal. While the pounding of the Reich went on devastating the cities and making the continuance of war production increasingly difficult the German Air Force. Had to continue to suffer losses but it Could not make good. Given that many of the P-47s were leaving their bombing support missions with ammunition of plenty still on board. It was but a small lateral thought to employ that firepower to good effect on the way home. From a relatively Ad hoc beginning, this soon became official policy. And the shifts of fighters were slightly shortened to ensure a small margin of remaining fuel for these strafing runs. The railways and airfields. of the Germans Came in for special attention. The Luftwaffe found itself being Destroyed on the ground. And the P-47 found itself increasingly regarded as a ground attack weapon. The air war in the Pacific had rapidly adjusted. from the initially stunning Japanese successes. And the US recognizing the importance of air superiority. And with its enormous material advantage Pushed a string of. Airfields across the Japanese Empire, Aimed at Japan herself. From these bases, secured by the Japanese inability to compete with the quality and Quantity of American planes. America's economic power translated itself into a military force that was unstoppable. The great distances involved in almost every mission meant that the Jugs were not ideally suited to the arena, and the longer range of the P-38 and later the P-51 saw them preferred. However, many thunderbolts were to see action in the area and played important roles in some campaigns. Once again they gravitated to the ground attack role and with devastating effect. Teamed with the lightnings they supplied precision tactical support in the intense ground fighting that characterized the island hopping campaign that was closing in upon Japan. The ground crews had liked the Thunderbolts from the start. They were dependable and rugged and tolerant of difficult conditions. Their servicing had been thoughtfully considered by the designers. And every effort had been made to simplify matters. Though they had their own critical nuances and bad habits. These affected the pilots rather than the crews and Compared to many other Marks, the mechanics rated them very highly. It was in the Pacific that they were to embark on one of their most celebrated missions. Their involvement in the Battle of the Marianas. In late May 19 44. at Bellows Field Oahu, P-47s of the. 318th, fighter group were preparing for the coming invasion after a ceremonial inspection and last minute maintenance. The planes were flown the Short distance to Ford Island at Pearl Harbor where they could be landed beside the Docks. From the airstrip they were wheeled up to the side of waiting ships and then swung aboard. The ships were two of The Bay class of Jeep carrier, the USS Manila Bay and USS Natoma Bay. The three squadrons of. Thunderbolts were quietly loaded and stowed. Oh. Elsewhere in the harbor the first convoy of the invasion fleet was ready and along with the assault troops, the ships took on board the 804th Aviation Engineers Battalion And the equipment Needed to construct an airstrip. As soon as a. site could be captured and made safe. Also traveling on that first convoy was a contingent of P-47 ground crew from th Fighter group. They sailed From Hawaii to the Marshall Islands where the invasion fleets were assembled. Back at Pearl Harbor the last of the fighters was carefully loaded as the second invasion convoy prepared for departure. The invasion of the Marianas was a major step. forward for the allies. From Saipan, Tinian or Guam they would be in a position to strike next at Okinawa or Formosa, bypassing the Philippines. and neutralizing the large Japanese Garrisons. There more immediately they would be able to effectively complete the blockade of Japan. Cutting her off from her vital supplies of war materials. Particularly rubber and oil, the Marianas was clearly going to be a campaign that the Japanese could not sidestep. The stakes were too high To lose the Marianas would leave even the Japanese unable to deny at home or abroad that they were beaten. It would be evident from that point on that the only factors would Be time and fanaticism. The eventual outcome would not be in doubt. On the morning of the 15th of June, the first Marines hit the beaches of Saipan. As with other campaigns, the important islands were the three with airstrips. Saipan, Tinian and Guam. With thirty two thousand Japanese troops on. Saipan. It had the largest Garrison and the decision was made to attack there first. By nightfall on the 15th 20,000 American Troops were ashore within a perimeter of fiercely determined Japanese resistance, a bloody process of inching. forward followed. At the beaches, the flood of men and machines was speeded up and then most of the convoy was withdrawn to a safe distance. As the Japanese Fleet tried to intervene, over the horizon from the battle on the island, the two aircraft carrier fleets were edging into range of one another. On the 19th the naval battle commenced and the Japanese Fleet was grounds down and its most telling defeat of the war. By the almost Insolent force of Admiral Spruences fifth fleet. The most powerful fleet in the World. Meanwhile, the invading troops at Saipan pushed relentlessly on ashore. Fighting a fierce and sustained Battle with the Japanese Troops. Dug in on the hills of the island On the 17th The US forces Captured Aslito Airfield and by the 18th the Japanese had been pushed far enough back for the engineers to be moved in to commence reconstruction. The scene of destruction at the airfield was testimony to its battering over the previous few weeks. The carrier born bombers and fighters of the fleet had attacked it constantly. And then it had been bitterly contested in the ground fighting. Littering the airfield with the wrecks of Japanese planes they had by the 20th lost 450 aircraft in the course of the campaign, with most of their crews. It was a loss their air Power would not recover from in the rest of the War. The engineers dug in, still in danger of Japanese attack and sniper fire, and then proceeded to recreate an airfield out of the rubble. On the 22nd, seven days after the first troops went ashore, the runway was ready. And the two transport carriers stood too 60 Miles out to sea. to launch the thunderbolts Ashore. Needless to say, Kartveli had not Resigned his big Brute of the fighter with the confinements of the carrier in time. However, there was no intention of landing them back on Board. They were loaded off of the catapult and shot off One every two minutes. Yet All planes were catapulted successfully and they flew into their new base which had been renamed Isley Field. As they circled to land They could see the smoke of battle raging along the hills only a few miles. away. No sooner had they landed than they were in action. The first planes ashore had carried out several successful strikes before nightfall. That day. The four heavy half inch machine guns were mounted in the outer wing beyond the housing for the undercarriage. The arrangement of the four ammunition belt feeds to the breeches. required the staggered positioning of the guns. As with most of the plane's layout, the armament installation was practical, strongly onstructed, and simple To access and service. The thunderbolts, increasingly potent external tactical stores, were also simple to load. The rocket installations had at first been inefficiently designed and there had been difficulties with their accuracy. But these problems have been quickly overcome with realization of the potential of the combination. of fighter and rocket. Though not much of A dive bomber due to the problem of its tendency to gather too much speed the Thunderbolt had a good lifting ability and could deliver two 500 pound bombs with considerable accuracy in low high speed passes. Saipan was the scene for the thunderbolts to be the first planes to use a new weapon in Combat. Napalm. Using external fuel tanks as containers, napalm bombs were constructed on the planes. The mixture of napalm and gasoline was pumped into the tanks and a detonator was fitted. The fighters were an important factor in the rest of the Saipan campaign and the campaigns on Tinian and Guam. The fighting on Saipan went on into the first weeks of July with Japanese losses over twenty six thousand troops. And on the twenty third of that month, The invasion of Tinian's. Commenced. Throughout the Jugs made thousands of the short hops from the airfield to the battlefield and back giving close and decisive support to the ground troops. Though the Japanese on Tinian fought hard, whatever they had, they had no point of success. The Thunderbolts had complete possession of the air and were almost free to do as they pleased. In attacking the beleaguered Garrison. Jump. From the airfield across the narrow strait, the ground crew and off duty pilots were given a rare chance to watch the squadron's. planes at work with guns, rockets, bombs and napalm on the enemy defences. That the battle for the Marianas was a turning point of the war Is testified to by Tojo's. Government's resignation on the 18th of July. It was one of the major Amphibious landings of the Pacific Campaign and the last time the Japanese Fleet could muster an Evicted Fleet Air Arm. It was also a great example of the way that the Jugs were becoming an integral Part of army calculations on the battlefield. This importance was also. Reflected in their use in Europe, in the latter parts of the war particularly by the 9th Air Force. In the planning for the D-Day landings in Normandy, Considerable attention had been given to the need for tactical ground support. planes to be on hand. To disrupt any German attempt to Concentrate force to throw the attackers back into the sea. During the early phases of the invasion There were problems with liaison between ground and air forces. With the establishment of mechanisms for Forward Air Controllers to maintain direct. contact with the patrolling fighter bombers. The P-47s. and other tactical airplanes became one of the allies most Effective and important weapons. In their inexorable progress across France and into Germany as the front moved forward through the second-half of nineteen fourty four and into 1945 air bases close to the action constantly seethed with the activity of the thunderbolts. The deliberate campaign against the Luftwaffe, have continued and coupled with the German losses in the air that gets in the strategic Raids. The ground attacks Ensured that the allies enjoyed Total air supremacy over France and Germany. Even before the troops were back The Thunderbolts themselves were no longer much involved in the strategic campaign. Their limited range had seen them replaced in this role. By the P-5 1 Mustang, which With its coupling to the Rolls Royce designed Merlin engine had become one of the most potent fighters of the war. In addition to their direct support of the troops on the battlefield The tactical role of the P- 47 saw them involved in the massive campaign to disrupt the Nazis transport systems with paralyzing constant attacks on the roads and railways. Delaying the movements of troops and panzers to the front and inflicting heavy casualties on the German reserves. Before they could take up their positions as the Allies overran the German army, the scenes of destruction that greeted them confirmed the effect of the tactical support. The paralysis of the Railway networks in particular was a major triumph. In the German cities, the. effect of the tactical Bombing coming on top of the sustained strategic campaign meant that very large areas were totally destroyed. The advancing armies. drove through scenes of destruction that were unparalleled in Scope. The first World War had seen comparable desolation. But only in the relatively narrow confines of the. battlefields. Here entire countries have been laid waste. Production of. The P-47s. Ended in December 1945. In the four years from the first flight of the plane in 1941. fifteen thousand six hundred and eighty three had been built. The largest ever production run for an American built fighter aircraft. That multitude of thunderbolts Had proved themselves very worthy weapons and particularly in their tactical use had paved the way for many of the theories behind the developments. in post war military aviation. Ironically, given the assessment of them as primarily tactical support planes. the last Thunderbolts the N model was specifically developed as long range Escort fighters. For use with the Raids on Japan by the B29s. After the war, the P-47s like most of the World War II inventory, were overtaken by the rapidly developing jets. And there was no place for them in the frontline of a major Power. the P-4 7 was one of the most successful Fighters of the war. and one of the allies main weapons and There is no doubt That it was one of the truly Outstanding aircraft of all Time.
