Best WW II Fighter of the European Theater
OF THE EUROPEAN THEATER
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
When I was asked to choose one of the great World War II fighters as “the best,” I thought, “What an ego trip!” To decide, I dug out my dusty flight-report files (which document my evaluations of WW II fighter types) and books in my aviation collection. I test-flew several versions of WW II fighters during the Joint Army/Navy Fighter Conference at NAS Patuxent in October 1944 and also fighters that had been passed between Navy and Air Corps contractors for test-pilot evaluations, from F4U Corsairs to P-38 Lightnings and even a Japanese A6M5 Zero. At the end of the day, however, the P-47 Thunderbolt was the standout.
The 15,683 P-47s produced by three major factories accounted for the largest aircraft production in U.S. fighter-plane history. Seversky’s and Republic’s prewar production lines of the similarly designed and constructed 463 P-35 and P-43 fighters significantly assisted the rapidity of the P-47’s production-rate buildup. Republic delivered one in 1941; 532 in 1942; 4,428 in 1943; 7,065 in 1944; and 3,657 in 1945—for a total of 15,683! Compared with the FW 190, the Thunderbolt was faster above 15,000 feet, and its massive firepower (eight .50-caliber guns) soon began to make an impression on the Luftwaffe. With its 445-mile range, the Thunderbolt made high-altitude fighterescort capability available for U.S. B-17 and B-24 daylight bombing raids. At the end of 1943, there were 10 P-47 Fighter Groups, and by June 1944, 17 were stationed in Britain. Also by the end of 1943, Thunderbolt crews used any remaining fighter-escort ammunition for low-altitude strafing runs. Their success led to the adaptation of the P-47 to its most successful role as an offensive fighter-bomber. By the end of 1944, there were 31 USAAF P-47 Fighter Groups in combat areas. The only theater in which they did not operate was Alaska. In addition, 730 P-47Ds were sent to the RAF, and 446 P-47Ds flew in seven squadrons with the French Air Force. Other P-47Ds were sent to Russia, Brazil, and Mexico for service in all WW II theaters.
The P-47D line was the largest in the Thunderbolt series, and 12,607 were built. Up to the P-47D-15-CU model, the plane was an impressive, eight .50-caliber-gun, high-altitude fighter with a belly rack for a 500-pound bomb or a 75-gallon fuel tank. The P-47D-20RE series, with its “universal” wing and fuselage racks, were fitted for various combinations of up to 2,500 pounds of bombs, two 150-gallon wing tanks, and one 75-gallon ventral tank. The P-47D-25-RE model introduced the bubble canopy that greatly improved a pilot’s combat visibility. P-47D-27-RE fighters added 10 outer-wing stations for 5-inch HVAR rockets, and it was also equipped with the 2,400hp R-2800-59 water-injection engine, which greatly reduced its heavyweight-bomber-escort takeoff distance. It was also equipped with electrically operated dive-recovery brakes, which completely counteracted the compressibility effects that had previously resulted in very steep dives from which many Thunderbolts could not recover. The last model produced was the longer-wingspan, 467mph P-47N; it held 556 gallons of internal fuel and had external tanks that gave it a combat range of slightly more than 2,000 miles for B-29 bomber support.
The only fighter role in which it did not participate was photorecon because the usual camera location (in the aft fuselage) was filled with the massive turbo supercharger and its plumbing. The P-47’s roomy cockpit was well suited to 200-hour war-trained pilots. All of the controls, switches, and instruments were handily located; its flight stabilities were low enough for fighter tactics but sufficient for hands-off, long-range missions. Its docile normal and accelerated stall characteristics did not interfere with aerial gunnery runs, and with its soft landing-gear shock struts, three-point landings were smooth and easy. Managing the early, manual, turbo-supercharger control was initially difficult, but a redesign resulted in such an improvement that control was soon automatic and needed very little pilot attention. In 1943, 28 “kills” ace Capt. Bob Johnson dramatically illustrated the efficacy of the P-47’s armored pilot protection to me. When attacked by FW l90s during a Ramrod mission to Paris, his plane sustained considerable damage. Unable to open his jammed canopy, he was slowly flying home alone over the English Channel with very little fuel when a single FW l90 attacked him three times, firing its entire load into his P-47’s tail (it had four 20mm MG 5l/20E cannon and two 13mm, . 50-caliber MG 131 machine guns). The German pilot then appeared to give up, flew formation for a few moments, waved in awe to Bob, and left. Uninjured, Bob landed his aircraft and ran out of gas just as he taxied off the runway. He was emphatic that he would never have made it home if he had been flying a P-51 Mustang with a vulnerable, liquid-cooled engine. The stories of P-47s returning to base with large tree branches jammed into the wing leading edges and pieces of vehicles exploded during ground attacks embedded in them are legendary. The P-47 withstood terrific damage and safely returned its pilot to base. As further testament to the Thunderbolt’s ability to dish out punishment and take it, all 10 of the top European Thunderbolt aces survived the war. From its first attacks in Europe until V-E Day, the Thunderbolt’s 423,435 sorties in ground-attack operations are claimed to have destroyed 86,000 railway coaches; 9,000 locomotives; 68,000 motor vehicles; and 6,000 armored vehicles. The pilot-compatible Thunderbolt was continually developed, and many were flown in all the major WW II theaters.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The P-47 Thunderbolt flew twice as many sorties, dropped 2,010 percent more bomb tonnage, and destroyed 62 percent of the enemy’s aircraft in the air and 75 percent on the ground; it suffered only 58 percent of the losses (per sortie) of the P-51 Mustang runner-up. The P-47, therefore, earned its nomination as being the best fighter in the ETO.