It was October 11, 1943, and Colonel
Neel E. Kearby and three of his men were attacking the Japanese
base at Wewak in the Pacific. But the situation went quickly wrong when about
40 Japanese Army fighters showed up to defend the base. The four men were heavily outnumbered,
but Kearby considered the odds were even. Each of the four Republic P47 Thunderbolts
they were piloting was armed with a powerful machine-gun battery of eight
.50-caliber Browning MGs with a combined fire rate of 100 rounds per second.
Without hesitating, the four US aircraft joined the fray and began firing at the enemy’s
formation with devastating consequences. The P47s were well on their way to
becoming the unstoppable Juggernauts… Destiny Calls Alexander Kartveli was born in 1896 to
a wealthy family in Tiflis, Georgia, which was part of the declining Russian Empire of
the Tsars. He was always fascinated by aircraft and enrolled in a military school when he was
just 10 years old to become a sailor or a pilot. Kartveli got his chance to become a pilot in
World War 1 and saw action at the frontlines of the Eastern Front from 1915 to 1916. His
proficiency then earned him an invitation to join several Russian pilots on a trip to the
United States, where they would study aeronautics. The Russian Revolution broke
out when they were in the US, and Kartveli was incapable of returning to
his country, now the capital of Communism. However, the seasoned airman was eventually hired
by Curtiss Aeroplane, where he served as a test pilot and aeronautical engineer. He was then
promoted to Major in the Army Air Corps Reserve. In the early 1930s, the US Army Air Corps sought
to replace the Seversky P335, developed by another immigrant, Russian aviator Alexander P. Seversky.
Kartveli, now working for Republic Aviation, submitted the AP4 and AP10 designs, and variations
of the P43 Lancer. After several modifications, the Army Air Corps accepted the design and
codenamed it XP47, with testing beginning in 1940. Impressive Jugs The P47 Thunderbolt had a wingspan of 41.9 feet, a length of 36.2 feet, a height of 14.7 feet,
and an overall wing area of 299 square feet. If empty, it weighed 9,950 pounds, and its
maximum take-off weight was 17,500 pounds. The aircraft was powered by one Pratt &
Whitney R-2800-59 Double Wasp 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine that
produced over 2,500 horsepower to drive a four-bladed propeller unit at the nose.
Its maximum registered speed was 433 miles per hour, while its approximate range was
about 445 miles at normal speeds. In addition, its service ceiling was almost 41,000 feet, and
the rate of climb was 3,200 feet per minute. Besides its clipped wings, it appeared as
though the P47 had no distinctive features, which made it stand out. It also had a standard
cockpit with good visibility, a taildragger undercarriage, and standard performance.
Nevertheless, its true power came from its armament, which was genuinely
destructive for a fighter aircraft. Lethal Machine-Gun Battery The aircraft’s standard armament comprised
eight .50-caliber Browning M2 air-cooled heavy machine guns, while four MGs were placed
in each wing in a staggered arrangement. This allowed feeding from side-by-side ammunition
boxes with over 350 rounds for each Browning M2. Notably, the eight high-caliber machine guns made
the P47 one of the few American aircraft to carry almost twice the firepower of a fighter.
This combined rate of fire and damage made the Thunderbolt an extremely lethal opponent
against hostile air, sea, and ground targets. In mere seconds, the P47 could pour more than
200 rounds of ammunition into a target, making its machine-gun battery a force to be reckoned
with. Its combined rate of fire was something never seen before with this type of aircraft.
A few bursts were more than enough to ravage a hostile airfield and other infrastructures such
as barracks, ammunition, and supply deposits. And when it came to engaging other enemy aircraft
in dogfights, a single precise burst of a P47 Thunderbolt could take the target down, especially
Japanese aircraft that lacked proper armor. The same happened when the Thunderbolt engaged
enemy bombers. Its machine-gun battery could quickly dispatch a German or Japanese
bomber mere seconds after making contact. Too Heavy! Despite its impressive firepower, the
eight machine guns had one disadvantage: they were too heavy. This made the
P47 considerably weightier than other American single-engine fighters. It
is said that Kartveli himself said: (QUOTE): “It will be a dinosaur, but it
will be a dinosaur with good proportions." Moreover, as if that was not enough firepower for
one aircraft, the inclusion of a 20-millimeter cannon was considered at some point but ditched
after considering the aircraft’s weight. This model gave the aircraft a top speed
of just 50 miles per hour, which made it useless for dogfights or bombing missions.
Still, that did not stop the Thunderbolt from carrying up to 2,500 pounds of bombload to
decimate German and Japanese ground objectives. The P47 could also carry ten unguided HVAR rockets
for use against sea and ground targets, and drop tanks could be exchanged for M2 ammunition
boxes placed along the fuselage or hardpoints. Thunderbolt Variants
There were numerous variants of the P47, with the first one being the B-Model, which had
an engine of 2,000 horsepower and was delivered to the British and the USAAF in 1943. Over 160
were produced before being relegated as trainers with the introduction of improved variants.
The C-Model had a more powerful engine and minor modifications to the fuselage, which
was lengthened by eight inches to house an external fuel tank for long-range operations
over German- and Japanese-controlled skies. However, the D-Model was the most
widely produced version of the P47. The aircraft’s engine had War Emergency Power
or water injection to increase efficiency, and the landing gear tires were improved for rough
landings. The controls were also simplified for the pilot, and more hardpoints were added to
carry ten HVAR rockets or three drop tanks. The P47 Hotrod variant was a unique version
specifically designed for an interceptor role. Its objective was to quickly chase and take
down the devastating German Vengeance V1 rockets. This model had a top speed of 473 miles per
hour and was able to take down some German Arado Ar 234 jet bombers and Me 262 jet fighters.
The P47N became the last Thunderbolt model. Its wings were lengthened to 18 inches, and
the wingtips were clipped to increase the effectiveness of rolling maneuvers.
Over 1800 N-models were produced, and they only served in the Pacific, where
they excelled in combat and bombing operations. Several experimental models also gained attention.
One of them was the XP47E, which was based on the B-Model and featured a pressurized cockpit.
Another was the XP47F, which was used to experiment with laminar-flow wings and was lost
during a fatal accident in October of 1943. And then there was the XP47H, which was
fitted with Chrysler engines, and the P47J, which was an attempt to reduce the weight of
the Thunderbolt while increasing engine power. American Aces The first P47s arrived in Europe at the end of
1942. American pilots began to use it months later, with the first combat encounter taking
place over the skies of France in March of 1943. Its potent arsenal was put to the test
after the P47 began engaging both German and Japanese aircraft on different fronts.
By the time the war ended, the P47s had flown more than 740,000 sorties and claimed
over 3,700 hits at the cost of 3,500 losses. There were several American aces that reached
legendary status aboard the Thunderbolt. Captain Robert S. Johnson took down 27 enemy
aircraft aboard different variants of the P47 while flying over the Netherlands,
Belgium, and other major European cities for bombing and escort missions.
Another American ace was Lieutenant Colonel Francis S. Gabreski, who claimed 28 enemy
aircraft while fighting on the Western Front. As commander of the 61st Fighter Squadron,
Gabreski flew over the skies of France and Germany, taking down several FW 190s and Bf 109s
during escort missions with B17 Flying Fortresses. Another remarkable pilot was Colonel Hubert
Zemke, who commanded the 56th Fighter Group, known as Zemke's Wolf Pack because
of their fearlessness in battle. Although Zemke was not initially
convinced of the P47’s performance, he exploited its strengths to make it
an excellent platform for all his men. Zemke claimed 18 aircraft shootdowns
and excelled so much at his job that he was relieved of his unit to serve with
General Curtis E. LeMay in Washington. Foreign Use The P47 has been used by the British Royal Air
Force since 1942, and its different models were employed across all of Europe, the Pacific, and
during the Southeast Asia campaign to defend India and other territories from the Japanese.
Also, the Free French Air Forces that were not part of the Vichy Regime were given over 440
P47Ds to fight the German occupation of France. During the Italian Campaign of 1943,
the Brazilian Expeditionary Force flew some 50 P47Ds that were used by the
Brazilian Air Force 1st Fighter Squadron. Their P47s flew over 440 sorties and earned
a Presidential Unit Citation in the 1980s. The same happened with the famous Mexican 201st
Fighter Squadron at the Pacific Theater. The brave Mexican pilots flew P47Ds as part of
the US 5th Air Force in the Philippines, performing over 780 sorties without losing
a single aircraft against the Japanese. Another partner of the US, the Soviet Union, also
received numerous P47Ds that were used to defend Soviet cities from German bombing missions.
And when the war ended, surplus P47s were sold to the Chinese Nationalist Air Force
to fight against the Communist forces, while others were used by the French
during the Algerian War of Independence. Decades later, the legacy of the P47
Thunderbolt was resurrected when the US Air Force issued a requirement for a
dedicated close air support or CAS aircraft. This warplane would eventually become
Fairchild Republic’s A-10 Thunderbolt II. Thank you for watching our video! Please
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