Compared with the "Hurricane" and "Spitfire" fighter jets, the P-47 "Thunderbolt" of the American Air Force and Aircraft Company appeared to be bulky and bulky. It was difficult to accept it and was even refused to be used by pilots. However, it didn't take long for many pilots to like it. Although for this reason, once the P-47 was used to prove its advantages, it was welcomed by the troops, and orders continued to "fly" to the military and aircraft companies. Various types of "Thunder" aircraft were continuously transported to the front line and played an important role in the European and Pacific Wars. They became one of the few famous fighter jets that was mass-produced and made repeated military exploits in World War II.
As long as the P-47 "Thunder" aircraft is mentioned, Alexander must be mentioned. AlexanderSeversky and Alexander. Two Russians, Kartveli, and the military and aircraft companies they founded. Sheversky was originally a pilot in Tsarist Russia. He shot down several German planes in World War I and became famous. In 1917, he went to the United States to work on aviation technology matters. He obtained a number of patents in the United States and later became an American citizen. Because he was a pilot and loved aviation, he established an aircraft company named after himself "Seversky" in Farmingdale, New Jersey in 1933. At this moment, another Russian came from Paris - Katveli. He is an aircraft designer, and their similar interests brought them together. First, the two collaborated to design the SEV-3 amphibious aircraft and the P-35 fighter jet. In the autumn of 1939, the two founded the later famous American Aircraft and Aircraft Company on the basis of Shewelsky Aircraft Company. Shewersky became the chairman and Katveli was the chief engineer.
In September 1939, the European War broke out, the fascists were very arrogant, and the Allies were in urgent need of a large number of front-line combat aircraft. In November of the same year, the newly established Aircraft Company was ordered to start developing a new fighter jet. The initial test machine was called XP-47. Later, various plans appeared, called XP-47A, B, etc., and after it was finalized, it was called P-47. The U.S. Army Air Force's requirements for the new aircraft are to achieve high power, strong firepower and heavy armor based on the experience of the European battlefield, and to provide effective air protection for its own penetrating bomber groups. In early 1940, the XP-47A had been designed. The power unit used in this aircraft was the then-popular Ericson V-type liquid-cooled engine. Soon, the U.S. military asked to use Platt instead. Whitney's R-2800 air-cooled engine. The reason is that although the Ericson V-type engine was widely used at the time, it had little development potential; the new R-2800 engine was powerful and equipped with an exhaust gas turbocharger and boosted air manufactured by General Electric Company. Re-cooling device. Modifying a new power unit is not a simple matter of replacement, but involves the redesign of the aircraft structure and even other aspects. The modified aircraft will naturally be very different. The aircraft modified with the R-2800 engine was called the XP-47B, later called the P-47B, and the original XP-47A was immediately eliminated.
On May 6, 1941, the P-47B made its first flight successfully. The test flight proved that the aircraft can hover at a speed of 400 kilometers per hour at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters, and has good high-altitude maneuverability; it also set a maximum level flight speed record of 690 kilometers per hour at an altitude of 8,470 meters. After the test flight, the P-47 was nicknamed "Thunder" and the first production contract was signed. In May 1942, the P-47 was officially mass-produced and delivered to the troops for use in June. From then on, a generation of famous aircraft began to mature and flew to the front line of the world's anti-fascist battlefield. P-47 aircraft continued to be produced until the early 1950s when the production line was closed. After the war, Japan and aircraft companies turned to the development of jet aircraft. They tried to install an axial flow turbojet engine on the P-47 aircraft to make it the first jet fighter in the United States, but they were unsuccessful.
Later, *** and the company successfully developed the "Thunder" series of fighter jets, such as the famous F-84 "Thunderstorm" fighter. *** developed 12 types with a production volume of 7,889 aircraft, making it the most representative The first American early jet fighter; the F-105 "Thunder" fighter, successfully developed in 1955, was used extensively in the Vietnam War. In 1965, Aircraft Company merged with Fairchild Aircraft Company. Since then, Japan and the aircraft company have become history together with the aircraft it developed. On the surface, the P-47 looks relatively bulky, but because it uses a new air-cooled engine, a specialized turbocharging system, engine water injection and other technologies, it not only has strong firepower, but also has relatively high altitude maneuverability and dive performance. The disadvantage is that there are many weapons and less fuel, which affects the aircraft's range and endurance performance. But overall, the P-47 is worthy of being an excellent and successfully designed fighter jet that played an important role in the European battlefield and the Pacific War in World War II.
At the end of the year, P-47 "Thunder" fighter jets began to be delivered to the troops. It began to be put into use on the European battlefield in early 1943. Three P-47 fighter groups were deployed in the UK, each group has three squadrons. A squadron is equipped with 25 aircraft. Its main mission is to escort British and American bomber groups. At first, the P-47 fighter group had bad luck, and in the first two months of combat, there were more defeats than victories. When escorting British "Lancaster" bombers, because the "Lancaster" has a long range (2,785 kilometers) and the P-47's range is less than 2,000 kilometers, it often fails to reach the target and returns midway. , leaving "Lancaster" to fight alone.
When escorting American B-17 and B-24 bombers, due to range issues, they had to limit their bombing targets to France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The P-47 had weaknesses in terms of flight distance, but in terms of high-altitude maneuverability and dive performance, the P-47 was very good at the time. Therefore, the pilots of the P-47 fighter jets made full use of these advantages and adopted appropriate tactics to deal with the German fighter jets, which greatly improved the situation of the battle. For example, the 56th Fighter Group led by Lieutenant Colonel Jim always flies high above the bombers when escorting B-17 and B-24 bombers. When they are intercepted by German fighter jets, the P-47 fighter jets It swoops down with lightning speed to "eat" or disperse the enemy. The P-47 also used tactics such as concealed raids and turning attacks, and frequently succeeded in attacking enemy aircraft. Starting from late July 1943, some P-47s of the US military in Europe began to add auxiliary fuel tanks to increase their range, so as to provide full escort for B-17 and other bombers. When the P-47 fighter jets accompanied the B-17 bombers to the skies over Germany for the first time, it caused great shock to the German Air Force. From then on, the Allied bombers no longer went deep alone and were passively beaten. According to statistics, since the P-47 and the P-38 and P-51 fighter jets that later participated in the war provided escort. The battle damage rate of Allied bombers dropped significantly.
By taking full advantage of the P-47's strengths and tactical rivalry, by July 1943, the Allied air passive situation in Europe had been completely reversed. From the end of July to the beginning of November 1943, the P-47 fighter jets of the 5th Group of the US Army alone shot down hundreds of enemy aircraft, which greatly dealt a blow to the arrogance of the German army. On March 4 and 6, 1944, various P-47 and P-51 fighter units continuously covered thousands of bombers in their bombing of Berlin, the capital of Germany, setting off a new era of strategic bombing. During these two days of fighting, they fought fiercely with the Me109, Me110 and Fw190 fighters that came to intercept. They shot down 160 enemy aircraft and only lost more than 30 of their own. Most of the results were P-47s. Obtained. The bombing of Berlin dealt a heavy blow to the German army. No wonder the German Air Force Chief Goering said after the war: "When escort fighters appeared in the sky over Berlin, we felt that the situation was over." The first escort fighter to enter the skies over Berlin was the P-47.
The P-47 not only escorts bombers on the European battlefield, but is also used for ground attacks.
During the Allied counterattack in Europe in 1944, Japan had 19 fighter/bomber groups equipped with "Thunder" fighters. In order to enhance the ground attack capability, some P-47s are equipped with rockets (3 to 4 rocket launch tubes can be installed under each wing), cluster bombs or incendiary bombs in addition to the original airborne weapons. The mission of the P-47 is to cover the Allied armored offensive, attack the enemy's road and railway transportation network, and damage a large number of German transportation vehicles and facilities. By the time of the Normandy landings, the German army was severely depleted. The German fighter jets did not dare to dispatch easily and closed their doors most of the time to avoid fighting. The Allies had firmly controlled the air. P-47 and P-51 fighter units took advantage of the situation and stormed German airports and other military facilities, trying to annihilate enemy aircraft on the ground. In such low-altitude battles, the German ground firepower was extremely fierce, posing a great threat to US aircraft. The advantages of the P-47's solid body and strong survivability were fully demonstrated at this time. Many aircraft were hit and injured, and even returned safely after receiving dozens of bullets. In contrast, another main fighter P51's losses were much greater.