P-47 THUNDERBOLT | WWII Fighter Aircraft, Nicknamed the "Jug" | Upscaled Documentary

The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American aerospace company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. Its primary armament was eight .50-caliber machine guns, and in the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry 5-inch rockets or a bomb load of 2,500 lb (1,100 kg). When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to 8 tons, making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war.
The Thunderbolt was effective as a short-to medium-range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat and ground attack in both the European and Pacific theaters. The P-47 was designed around the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 18-cylinder radial engine, which also powered two U.S. Navy/U.S. Marine Corps fighters, the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair. An advanced turbosupercharger system ensured the aircraft's eventual dominance at high altitude, while also influencing its size and design.
The P-47 was one of the main United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters of World War II, and also served with other Allied air forces, including those of France, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. Mexican and Brazilian squadrons fighting alongside the USAAF also flew the P-47.
The armored cockpit was relatively roomy and comfortable and the bubble canopy introduced on the P-47D offered good visibility. Nicknamed the "Jug" owing to its appearance if stood on its nose, the P-47 was noted for its firepower, as well as its ability to resist battle damage and remain airworthy. A present-day U.S. ground-attack aircraft, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, takes its name from the P-47.
By the end of 1942, P-47Cs were sent to England for combat operations. The initial Thunderbolt flyers, 56th Fighter Group, was sent overseas to join the 8th Air Force. As the P-47 Thunderbolt worked up to operational status, it gained a nickname: "Jug" (because its profile was similar to that of a common milk jug of the time). Two fighter groups (FGs) already stationed in England began introducing the Jugs in January 1943 - the Spitfire-flying 4th Fighter Group, a unit built around a core of experienced American pilots who had flown in the RAF Eagle Squadrons prior to the US entry in the war; and the 78th Fighter Group, formerly flying P-38 Lightnings.
P-47 pilot Lt Col Francis S. "Gabby" Gabreski, 56th Fighter Group, leading ace of the 8th Air Force
Beginning in January 1943, Thunderbolt fighters were sent to the joint Army Air Forces - civilian Millville Airport in Millville, New Jersey, to train civilian and military pilots.
The first P-47 combat mission took place 10 March 1943 when the 4th FG took their aircraft on a fighter sweep over France. The mission was a failure due to radio malfunctions. All P-47s were refitted with British radios, and missions resumed 8 April. The first P-47 air combat took place 15 April with Major Don Blakeslee of the 4th FG scoring the Thunderbolt's first air victory (against a Focke-Wulf Fw 190).
General characteristics
* Crew: 1
* Length: 36 ft 1.75 in (11.0173 m)
* Wingspan: 40 ft 9+5⁄16 in (12.429 m)
* Height: 14 ft 8+1⁄16 in (4.472 m)
* Airfoil: Seversky S-3
* Empty weight: 10,000 lb (4,536 kg)
* Max takeoff weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg)
* Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-59 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 2,000 hp (1,500 kW)
* Propellers: 4-bladed Curtiss Electric C542S constant-speed propeller, 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m) diameter
Performance
* Maximum speed: 426 mph (686 km/h, 370 kn) at 30,000 ft (9,100 m)
* Range: 1,030 mi (1,660 km, 900 nmi)
* Service ceiling: 42,000 ft (13,000 m)
Armament
* Eight .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns (3400 rounds)
* Up to 2,500 lb (1,100 kg) of bombs
* Ten 5 in (127 mm) HVAR unguided rockets
#p47 #thunderbolt #aircraft

[@Dronescapes]

Click the link to watch more aircraft, heroes and their stories, missions: kzbin.info/aero/PLBI4gRjPKfnNx3Mp4xzYTtVARDWEr6nrT

[@OdeeOz]

What a fantastic update, and presentation of my favorite fighter from WW2. Rivaled only by the P-38... In the Pacific. 🤠👍👍& 10⭐

[@BenjaminForbes-mq5pr]

U😅

[@charleselsey8241]

My dad worked on these in the Pacific. I am proud to say he was in the first group to make CMSGT. He was a Charter Chief. RIP Dad.

[@oceannavagator]

My Dad was a B17 pilot and said that when the P47's were overhead he felt the safest. He loved the P47 and kept a picture of one on his office wall along with a B17,G.

[@Dronescapes]

👍👍👍♥️🇺🇸

[@scroungasworkshop4663]

What a brilliant documentary with plenty of footage. A lot of channels prefer to just play the same clips over and over but I really enjoyed seeing what it was like from every angle including how hard it was for the ground crews. Every bomb and every bullet manually loaded. Planes waiting in line to take off or flying back from a mission, it’s all good to watch. It helps to make us realise that for every plane there are probably two dozen people involved, mission planners, air controllers, pilots and mechanics, armourers, refuelers, cooks and quartermasters, medics and priests there are so many people involved behind the scenes with getting the planes in the air and most of it isn’t very glamorous. One thing I would like to see is more about the layout of the plane, a lot of people don’t realise how stuffed full the P47 was because most of the turbo / supercharger is located behind and under the pilot and just what a massive piece of machinery it is. Now I’ve subbed I’ve have a huge back catalogue to go through. Lucky me😂😂😂 Cheers Stuart 🇦🇺 ps is your narrator an Aussie?

[@HighlanderNorth1]

☑️ Yeah, I'm accustomed to watching historical videos from channels that constantly air stock footage of vehicles and planes that have little or no relevance to the actual subject matter of the video. ^Its so common that when I first started watching this, I fully expected to be deluged with footage of M4 Sherman tanks, Russian naval vessels, and Finnish infantry soldiers fighting in the winter war, all while the narrator talked about the development process of the P-47! 😁

[@secretsquirrel6308]

At certain times the narration sounded like AI. Some of the pronunciations were insufferable, such as 'inventories' early in the video. Then there were a few places in the script which can be perceived as misleading. One example is around the 13:40 mark that aircraft arrived only after a field was made 'safe'. Actually, in the island jumping campaign, few fields were secured from enemy attack by mostly ground forces. Other than that mild critique, I thought this a well put together video full of information. I appreciate the full history including how Republic came to be.

[@ifga16]

Often, these documentaries will use completely superfluous footage or images. Examples like ships built in the 1950s for WW2 or post war jets.

[@HighlanderNorth1]

@@ifga16 ☑️ Yeah, I'm thinking of doing a historical documentary on high tech military planes like the SR-71, F-35 and the F-22.. So, I'll need to add in lots of relevant video clips to run in the background as I narrate it. 😉👍 Therefore, I think I'll run stock images of the Wright Brothers plane, maybe a few pre-WW1 fighters, and some footage of WW1 era observation balloons. I guess I could throw in some video of hang gliders, and maybe footage of people canoeing down a small river. 😁

[@LuvBorderCollies]

The vintage film has all the earmarks of a 1940s to mid 50s company documentary. That includes the style of speaking which sounds British-like to me. Possible it might be govt funded production done soon after WW2.

[@mrc4912]

'Takes a licking and keeps on ticking' should have been the slogan for this awesome fighter plane. Many flew home with bullet and cannon holes from stem to stern that would have downed an average fighter plane but the pilots were unscathed by their encounters with Me 109s and Fw 190s. And those 8 .50 cal Brownings they carried were often the 'last word' in a high altitude air duel.

[@georgewoods7988]

One of the best documentaries on World War II I’ve ever seen The detail is amazing. A new appreciation for the P 47 has been gained.

[@Dronescapes]

👍👍

[@collin6238]

The B17 flying straight and level with half it's port tailplane shot away crazy

[@patricklipski1662]

The engine sound alone is all that I need to give this plane 2 thumbs up 👍👍

[@Dronescapes]

👍😉

[@spreadeagled5654]

There was an Army Air Force joke. If you want to impress your girlfriend, fly a P-51 Mustang, but if you want to return alive and marry her, fly a P-47 Thunderbolt! 😁

[@boatingexplainedwithcapndr8359]

The Spitfire and Mustang were beloved because they were so sleek and elegant. The Thunderbolt was “bulldog ugly,” but was a tough and effective war machine. Arguably, one of the most effective fighters of the war!

[@texasnutmegger3296]

Best comment I've read on the P-47. "The Spitfire and Hurricane held the line. The P-51 Mustang took the fight to Germany. The P-47 Thunderbolt broke the back of the Luftwaffe."

[@georges.patton4241]

I like that

[@oscargrouch7962]

P-47 pilot Robert S. Johnson describing October 1943 before P-51s flew their first mission in February 1944 "There is no questioning the battle experience or the skill of the German pilots, nor could we find solace in the outstanding performance of the Focke-Wulf FW-190 and Messerschmitt Me-109 fighters. But as we sharpened our own ability to slash and fight, the German aggressiveness so predominant in the early days of battle began noticeably to wane. By no means do I imply that the German pilot was less dangerous an opponent; once battle was committed, however, the enemy fliers no longer were as eager to slug it out with us in a free-for-all. Steadily, we shot down and killed many of there experienced men. At the same time, we gained constantly in experience and in our ability to master battle situations as they erupted. The 56th was well on its way to acquiring a galaxy of aces; indeed the very presence in the sky of our Group forbode ill tidings for the enemy." - Robert S. Johnson in his autobiography ‘Thunderbolt!’ Page 212

[@dukecraig2402]

P47's were escorting bombers over Berlin in the weeks before P51's were, so were P38's, after they finally got the proper type of drop tanks they had the range to take the bombers anywhere they went.

[@kiwidiesel]

@@dukecraig2402 absolutely, I have seen a few interviews regarding the incompetent staffing that'd did not allow for drop tanks to many fighters but I also under that internal fuel,will always dictate planning range and endurance.

[@zTheBigFishz]

P-47's took the brunt of the best fighter pilots the Germans had, basically swept them from the sky. When the P-51 finally arrived the Luftwaffe was significantly diminished.

[@airplayn]

I knew an old Wehrmacht soldier who told me he knew that war was over when he had two P-47s make multiple strafing passes just to get him and one other guy walking across an open field.

[@OdeeOz]

Must have more updated WW2 Aviation History please. This is an absolutely Epic presentation, with the insight into development of the Jug, and Historical Fact narration. 👍👍& 10⭐ Rating from me.

[@Dronescapes]

🙏

[@jameslanning8405]

The "JUG," is one of my favorite planes. A beast to deal with, multirole, aircraft, as good up at altitude as it was on the deck. Heavy, well armored, 8 .50 cals, were standard issue. 3 tons empty, and as much as 7 tons loaded for bear! It was a well made aircraft, right for the time when it was needed. It's only real con, being the range it could fly. But external fuel tanks did improve that as well. It had a huge, multi row radial engine, pumping out some huge HP! I wouldn't attempt to take away anything from the Mustang, Lightening, or any of the Navy aircraft. But the P-47 is till one of my top picks!

[@dukecraig2402]

The N variant with it's wet wings had as much range as any other fighter. And P47's were escorting bombers over Berlin weeks before P51's were doing it, the truth is P47's in theater during the early unescorted bomber missions could have escorted them if they'd only have been provided with drop tanks, the P47D-15 with the wing pylons that could mount the US made all metal pressurized drop tanks were starting to be delivered to the 56th Fighter Group in April of 1943, that's 5 months before the infamous Black Thursday Schweinfert raid, those aircraft could certainly have escorted the bombers on those missions had they been provided with the proper type of drop tanks, also P38's in Europe at the time could have escorted them, the same variant's of P38's in theater in Europe 4 months earlier had flown the extreme long range mission to kill Admiral Yamamoto in the Pacific, it was longer range than any escort mission in Europe. Contrary to what some people think even P51's couldn't escort bombers without the use of drop tanks, the first thing people want to do is look up the range of P51's on internal fuel then Google the distance from some air field in east Anglia to Berlin and think they could, it's far more complicated then that, flying at the speeds bombers flew at the fighter's guzzled gas, plus bombers never flew straight paths to their targets, for those reasons and several others even with drop tanks P51's had to use the relay system to escort bombers, no fighter even with drop tanks could take off with the bombers and escort them all the way to their targets and back, that's a misconception that most people have, one flight would link up with them over the channel and take them to somewhere near the target, then they'd be relieved by a flight that took off well after they did but would catch up flying at the increased speeds that fighter's got their best mileage at and take them to the target with enough fuel for 15 minutes of combat time, then when the bombers came off the target there'd be yet another flight of fighter's that took off last and would link up with them coming off the target and would escort them home while the 2nd relay would fly back at the speed and altitude that gave them their best range, hat's off to the guy's who figured out the time tables that the different relays took off at to link up with the bombers during the different legs of their mission, that took a lot of math to figure out how to time everything right. And it didn't always work, sometimes the fighter's couldn't find the bombers and the fighter's that were already with them would just have to wave goodbye and throttle up to the cruising speed that'd give them enough range to make it home leaving the bombers to fend for themselves on the way back. Several years ago I was surprised to read that week's before the first P51 escort of bombers into Germany P47's and P38's had actually escorted bombers over Berlin first with P38's being the first of the two to do it, from reading all my life that the P51 came along and "saved the day" I always thought that they were the only fighter's that could, one really screwed up thing about it is the USAAF was using drop tanks on fighter's in the Pacific all along because of the necessity for them due to everything being so spread out in the Pacific, so it's not like they had to learn about them or something, they simply didn't provide them to the fighter's in Europe and even once it became painfully clear that they'd need them there wasn't enough to send to Europe because production had to be ramped up.

[@jerryw6577]

Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles has a 7 part series on the P47 which covers the range issue in detail. Basically, the "bomber mafia" which ran the Army Air Corps (Force) had so much faith in the bombers' ability to self-defend that they decreed in the late '30's that drop tanks were not allowed on pursuit (fighter) aircraft. Development and procurement of drop tanks suffered.

[@jameslanning8405]

@@jerryw6577 I guess at times, obstinance can get you somewhere! lol Having a long range pursuit aircraft that could do it's job without externals was good for 2 reasons. First was not needing the extra fuel, adding that to the fuel reserves. And second, was the aluminum it took to make the drop tanks. Ametal worth it's weight in gold in the aviation industry! Remember those adds, where they had the women going through their kitchens, and sending all their extra pots and pans to the collection point to be recycled for the war effort? And everyone was on rations then. My mother would tell me of having to have coupons to get shoes and other items. One pair of shoes for a year! Coffee, was rationed! Anyway, thanks for the response!

[@johnthomas2485]

There's a reason the A-10 was called Thunderbolt 2

[@jameslanning8405]

@@johnthomas2485 Why? Because they were both built by Republic Aircraft? Actually, the A-10 was developed by Republic, after the company merged with Fairchild. But I suppose that's a moot point.

[@marthakrumboltz2710]

Having seen since the 60s what I thought were most video of P47s, I was captivated by the presentation here. Many clips will be appreciated by watchers of this show. Thanks

[@markvickers3488]

My father was a Hurry, then a Spit pilot. He gave a little ribbing to P - 47s , cause they weren't all out dog fighters. But they were absolutely incredible.

[@Dronescapes]

👍👍👍

[@s.marcus3669]

Au contraire. The Thunderbolt was very much a dogfighter despite it's heavy weight. There are many good books on the Thunderbolt but the best one of them all is probably "Thunderbolt" by Robert S. Johnson...

[@davegeisler7802]

@@s.marcus3669 you bet it was , she was very fast at altitude and highly manuverable

[@davegeisler7802]

Wrong ! , the Jug was badass at high altitude , very fast and agile

[@mjo4981]

Best perspective I've heard regarding the underappreciated attrition on the Luftwaffe by the strategic bombing campaign, leading to air superiority by the Allies and making D-Day possible!

[@tonnywildweasel8138]

I just LOVE the old warbirds. Thanks for sharing this fantastic vid, appreciate it a LOT 👍 Greets from the Netherlands 🌷, T.

[@Dronescapes]

🙏♥️👍

[@bigron26048]

I admire this plane very much, because it was built like a tank, tough,durable and has a lotta firepower. I would imagine a pilot should feel safe and confident flying one in combat.😊

[@briangreenstone170]

Great video. Best one on the P-47 Thunderbolts

[@patrickmccrann991]

Highest scoring Fighter Group in the 8th Air Force, the 56th FG "Wolfpack", flew the Thunderbolt through its entire career and did so at its own request. M and N models had almost as much range as the Mustang.

[@PoochAndBoo]

Not the M model. The N was the Thunderbolt version that was long ranged. The N was basically a D model with upgraded Pratt and Whitney that could put out 2800 hp!

[@dukecraig2402]

@@PoochAndBoo M&N's both used the R2800-57 engine, the N was basically a P47D-40 with "wet wings" and the -57 variant engine. And it's a misnomer that the N was developed specifically for the Pacific, if anything it was actually being designed for Europe. In the Pacific fighter's weren't prohibited from the use of drop tanks like they were at first in Europe, the commander's in Europe may not have been smart enough to understand that prohibiting fighter's from using drop tanks was a problem but the engineers at Republic were, they recognized immediately that fighter ranges were an issue so they went about it themselves to develop wet wings for them as a way to increase their range and not run afoul of the whole drop tank heartburn that the commander's in Europe had, but since the USAAF's wishes came first development of wet wings for the P47 had to take a back seat to some of the P47 variant's that the USAAF wanted developed that never wound up being produced anyways like the inverted V16 Chrysler engine variant, as a result by the time the N variant was fully developed P47's already in use in Europe were finally provided with drop tanks enabling them to go with the bombers anywhere they went anyway, and since victory in Europe was pretty much a forgone conclusion at that point anyways it was deemed that all produced N variant's would be better used in the Pacific with the long ranges that escorts were required to fly. Had Republic not been saddled up with developing variant's that were never produced anyways and the USAAF seen the importance of range earlier the N variant undoubtedly would have had a much lower alpha numeric designation than N, it could very well have had the designation of one of the unproduced variant's like J or maybe even lower, who knows it might have been ready when P47 fuselage's still had the razorback feature.

[@davegeisler7802]

The hot rodded P47M Model was tweaked by the Crew Chiefs , with wastegate modifications to increase the boost of the big GE Turbo , 100/150 octane fuel and 72 hg of Manifold Pressure the M could acheive between 480-490 mph . She was badass !! 🇺🇸👍

[@scottinohio701]

THE N model had MORE range than the mustang!!!!!!!!! When finally given drop tanks ALL the other variants were equal in range to the 51!!!!! THE RANGE THING WAS A MYTH PERPETUATED BY THE BOMBER MAFIA!!!!!!!

[@dukecraig2402]

@@scottinohio701 Kinda, although the P51 never used them in Europe and only the unit flying off of Iwo Jima in the Pacific did the use of the 300 gallon drop tanks on them appears to have given them more range than the P47N's in the Pacific that were the primary users of the 300 gallon tanks. But there's several things that negate the issue anyways, even if coupled with the 300 gallon drop tanks gave the P51D more range than the P47N it doesn't matter because the P47N's were going anywhere the B29's were going anyways, so unless they planned on flying escort missions from the factory P51's having more range was a mute point. Another thing is all the records indicate that B29's didn't need escorts, the difference in loss rates between escorted and unescorted B29 missions was negligible, the B29's kill to loss ratio of 11.9 to 1 was actually better than the P51's record of 11 to 1, it was actually deadlier to enemy fighter's than it's escorts were, that's because between the speed and altitude that it flew at coupled with it's computer augmented defensive gun sights meant that enemy fighter's were clawing for air and could barely maneuver at that altitude making them clay pigeons for the gunners in a B29 with their highly advanced defensive guns.

[@johnhopkins6260]

P-47 was a foundational cornerstone of USAF Tactical Air Command; From former 27670 - Air Weapons Controller Tech - 407L Mobile Tactical Radar, 601TCW... The A-10 Warthog continues a proud tradition (F-15E Strike Eagle, is also noteworthy) "Forward Air Controllers" (Vietnam era - airborne: FAC/0-1 L19/OV-10, Ground: ASRT/ROMAD)... now commonly referred to as TACP/JTAC.

[@PaulMcCartGuitarTracks]

Well done, the best historical video I’ve seen this year.

[@Dronescapes]

👍🙏

[@susanbutler2498]

Magnificent Fighter & Doco!

[@Dronescapes]

Indeed!

[@johngetty3839]

Fabulous film and info. Excellent video on my favorite WW2 airplane.

[@hawlikd]

8 50 Cals . . . What fire power!

[@joserdiazalmodovar1898]

Wow insane ¡ never seen this footage ¡ the shortest carrier takeoffs ive ever seen ¡ insane ¡

[@dukecraig2402]

If you look you can see raw fuel blowing out of what's the true exhaust on them, where you see blue oil smoke blow out up front just below the cowling on each side during start up of a P47 isn't really the exhaust it's the wastegate dumps, the real exhaust is on the belly behind the pilot which is directly underneath the turbo. Typically the turbo doesn't even come into play until around 7,000 ft which is where the air starts to get thin enough that the engine's centrifugal supercharger can no longer provide maximum boost, at that point the wastegate dump valve's start to close diverting exhaust to the turbo to spin it so it can provide pressurized air to the engine's supercharger effectively keeping it operating with the same inlet pressure it has at lower altitudes, the higher it goes and the thinner the air gets the more the wastegate dump valve's close diverting more and more exhaust to the turbo spinning it faster and faster as per the engine's superchargers needs, the only time at lower altitudes that the turbo would be being driven by engine exhaust is when the pilot has the engine in War Emergency Power (WEP) with water injection, also known as overboost. Those P47's taking off from that carrier are literally at sea level where the air is at it's thickest, exhaust coming out of the true exhaust underneath the turbo on them instead of it all coming out of the wastegate dumps up by the cowling flaps is an indication that the pilot has the engine in WEP with the water injection engaged, on that variant that's probably good for 2,300 HP.

[@keithbelair6203]

My uncle flew a P47 out of Duxford, England from 1943-1945 flying bomber escort. Luckily he came home fine.

[@Dronescapes]

👍👍🙏

[@amievil3697]

My fav wwii plane! What a beast!! My pops loved the P38

[@rburns9730]

My favorite Cat story is of the Arkansas Traveler and her commander Nathan G. Gordon. The best source for the story can be found on "Pacific Wrecks". The short version is he landed repeatedly in 15' seas (in between the waves) to rescue downed bomber pilots. This was done within gun range of Kaveing harbor the bombers target. The last landing was within 600 yards of the beach. One of the few Medals of Honor awarded for saving lives.

[@rburns9730]

I thought I posted this in the PBY comment section? 🤣

[@iowa61]

Almost certainly the most successful mult-role fighter of the war. And the later “N” model was something else. Vastly increased range made it the choice for bomber escort in the Pacific.

[@iowa61]

@@jacktattis Sorry but your claim makes no sense whatsoever. The Spitfire was a beautiful and very successful fighter. It was nowhere near being a multi-role aircraft.

[@colindavies3713]

Have you not heard of the mosquito ?

[@iowa61]

@@colindavies3713 Mosquito is a great aircraft. A legend. Not the equivalent of the Thunderbolt multirole. By the end of the war the Thunderbolt was truly doing it all. Fighter bomber. Longest range escort in the Pacific. Pure fighter.

[@johnfriend240]

Lots of footage I've never seen before!

[@oceanhome2023]

Especially their use in the Pacific !!

[@stevek8829]

Great presentation. The video, voice not overly dramatic or loud and no add in noisy muzak. Oh, and no giant watermark on other peoples' original work. Thanks!

[@joed.1547]

Didn't know they were able to stow below deck on the little carriers. Great video.

[@patfromamboy]

The carriers were built in Vancouver, Washington. My aunt and uncle helped to build them.

[@mitreswell]

Truly America's finest hour!

[@bake547]

I didn't know P-47 were deployed to the pacific. Very impressive

[@jiyushugi1085]

Great pics! That one dude around 8:00 pulled the gear up a little early.

[@alexchainey.]

That is a War Fighter! What a beast!

[@jameshathaway5117]

I always thought the guys at Republic stood around looking at bomber engines saying to themselves "that would make for a mean fighter!"

[@stephenbettinger1696]

It amazes me how many historians get the term 'Jug' wrong. It didn't "look like a milk jug". The DAMN THING WAS HUGE, you could fit a P-51 INSIDE its dementions, it could take and give one hell of a beating and it was fast. It was a Juggernaut! [AKA: The Jug] Dad loved flying it. Especially in close air support missions.

[@gregj831]

That thing had 50 calibers in each wing! That's some serious firepower.

[@thomasmackey9300]

Eight all total 4 in each wing plus could carry close to 2k rounds of .50 caliber and plenty of other ordnance. Best video on the P-47 been watching the movie Eagle Squadron since late 50's.

[@ralphshelley9586]

Saw one in a hangar in Farmingdale. Govenor George Oaticki was speaking! Big aircraft!

[@moss8448]

what most forget is how much that war changed the world

[@saintgeorge9569]

I took my then 3 1/2 year old son to see a display of WW2 fighters at the old Santa Monica Airport Museum. He spent much of the afternoon on my shoulders, but at one point I put him down to rest and he made an immediate bee line towards a mighty green P-47, and ducking under the cordon ran straight towards the nose. Before I could catch up to him he stumbled, smacking his head against the lowest prop blade positioned vertically a couple feet above the tarmac. Fortunately it was a glancing blow, however it did draw a little blood from the approximately 1" cut right in the middle of his forehead. A little antibiotic creme and a band-aid later and he was good to go. Fast forward 25 years, if you look real hard you can still see the very slight remnant of his battle scar, a reminder that he may well be the last person ever to be attacked by a P-47 Thunderbolt.

[@warpedbeyondhelp]

Great video. Outstanding narration. Quality material. LOSE THE MUSIC. It detracts from the majesty of the footage.

[@Dronescapes]

Noted!

[@charleslindsay3201]

good video of the history of the p-47.they didn't really give it credit as a tank buster though.that's what i remember about it.

[@charleslindsay3201]

@@jacktattis there was a documentary years ago called the story of a fighter pilot .he flew a p-47 and took out a german tank that was pounding the infantry.i assume he used a bomb.

[@mutingp]

Nahh saying p47 is tank buster is a disrespect to the p47 Its more like a multi role fighter Please for the love of God don't fucking compare it the Plane that I shall not name

[@saucerguy3]

I'm an avid RC plane designer and builder, and am currently creating a new set of plans for a 40" wingspan version of one, using some old small free flight plans for a starting point to design around. I like to build simple chuck glider versions before committing to the design to test any natural tendencies the air-frame shows. This one happens to be one of those rare, upper echelon in the design world along stability and the wide wing cord gives it more surface area then other war birds, allowing it the widest range in speed to performance. They really knew what they were doing when they designed this.

[@Dronescapes]

👍👍😎

[@icewaterslim7260]

You can use the Jug's flaps as combat flaps though they weren't designed for that and can turn inside contemporary Me 109s at low altitude. The slotted flaps of the Me 109 aren't really suitable for that. Once you hit the high altitudes that second stage turbocharger gave the Jug a whole new comparative maneuverability. Unlike Lockheed, the design approach of Republic towards inter-cooling the turbo from the outset, was to stick with what was known to work. And the Jugs definitely worked at altitude while the P38s were developing a reputation as troublesome for green pilots and unreliable at the altitude required for escorting the bombing missions. But range is an asset. if you can't make it to the fight deep inside the continent then you aren't going to factor. I believe the P47N variant was a bit rangier but the P51 with the Merlin mechanical second stage supercharger was comparatively cheap to manufacture and pilot friendly with the range needed from the outset. But If I were there then and had a choice I'd prefer my chances in the tough jug at any altitude.

[@icewaterslim7260]

@@johnfairchild3421 The P47N was the Pinnacle of development meant for high altitude B29 escort in the Pacific. It was rangier, lighter and faster than European theater variants.P47Ns produced a maximum speed of 397 mph at 10,000 feet, 448 mph at at 25,000 feet, and 460 mph at 30,000 feet. The P51H was tested at 471 mph at 22000 ft with an over-driven blower but was never operational during the war. Republic, unlike Lockheed stuck to what was known to have worked in the way of Turbocharger inter cooling and so was less problematic than the P38 at altitude, as was the P51 with the mechanical second stage supercharger on the Merlin. But that Turbocharged second stage on the P&W was the one with the slight advantage over the Mustang at altitudes of 30000 to 40000 feet.. A marginal difference but the N variant had it at 30000 ft.and over. At 20000 ft the Nakajima Ki 84 tested at 430 mph, matching them both, with a single stage supercharged radial of 2187 cu in to the Jug's 2865 cu and as tested by the Allied Technical Air Intelligence Units (TAIU) and with it's customary water methanol injection as used operationally. Shortage of skilled labor, raw materials .and adequately trained pilots rendered most Ki 84s as not to the quality nor adequately exploited however as the one we captured in Manila in the summer of '44.For instance the first one we tested had good case hardened alloy protective armor., But by the end of the war it appears that since the shortage of alloy producing raw materials would have made the metallurgy to a lower standard, they would often forego protective armor rather than weigh the aircraft down with inadequate steel plate..At least that was evident in the later example we captured and tested.

[@icewaterslim7260]

@@jacktattis For a "bad plane" they did more to break the Luftwaffe into undertrained green pilots than any other and their fighter group records show that. An aircraft is as good as the pilot's ability to use it to it's strengths and his ability to see ahead to avoid it's weaknesses. . And as I pointed out if a skilled pilot that knows his aircraft should get into a low speed turn fight with a 109 he can get 10 or even 20 degrees of those flaps down and out turn a 109 at low airspeed providing he's well practiced in stall recovery so he knows those limits. He won't out turn a 109 by much but he's got the better flaps for that. Otherwise, a good P47 pilot will be very conscious of maintaining energy and will likely avoid taking the bait to go vertical after a 109 that leaves the range of his .50s. Even P 51 escort pilots in Europe didn't really get into turn fights that often on that mission. If you're escorting high altitude bombers you're going to be even higher so that when your adversary approaches his targeted bomber formation you'll dive and hit him on a run providing no adversary is above you. You won't create a furball in crowded airspace and certainly not if you're range of the Bomber gunner's 50s. You'd usually keep energy and come back around in P51s or P47s.

[@khankrum1]

I did not know that" Jeep" Carriers used catapult. This is KZbin at its best. I have not used TV in years, this is far better.

[@patfromamboy]

They had to like all carriers because they were shorter. My Uncle helped to build 50 Casablanca class carriers in 2 years in Vancouver, Washington. It was a small city and it impresses me that they could do it.

[@Tonetwisters]

Could very well be the best of all the great WWII aircraft this country produced. Saw a video where 6-8 of these things completely destroyed a German troop train, all the way down to the tracks, and that included the train's engine!

[@phillipwasson2980]

Absolutely superb!👌

[@michaelrtreat]

Great footage!

[@arthurblundell6128]

one of my schoolteachers was a Lancaster pilot - he said they joked evasive action in a Thunderbolt was for the pilot to get out an dance around on the wing !

[@paulm749]

8:16 That P-47 appears to be retracting its landing gear before it was fully airborne. Yikes!

[@mikehagmaier3949]

Yep - that was some serious hot doggin’ right there!

[@streamofconsciousness5826]

31:17 what is that a 40 foot runway, and only doing it once over water, that is a jolt. They all made it, you can see the engine was just strong enough on the 31:40 shot, just hovering at stall speed. There is a some great and new to me footage in this.

[@newdefsys]

Republic went from the P-47 Thunderbolt to the Mach 2.1 F-105 Thunderchief in just 14 years.

[@dewboy13]

Love the Jug!

[@paulbrennan3996]

The RAF had the Typhoon that was used on low level ground attack train and Tank busting mission's and they had there friends in the P47 that where used in low level ground attack missions the two best plane's in world 🌍 war 2 for doing low level ground attack in tandem both effective and air crews had respect for both aeroplanes 🙏👏 respect to both P47 could take a Fare amount of punishment and still fly

[@earlworley-bd6zy]

Didn't know P-47's could take off from an air craft carrier?,Super cool!

[@Dronescapes]

They took off from it (as pictured in the cover), but they landed on land.

[@melvinjohnson2074]

Best AAF fighter of the war.

[@michaelsimpson7431]

What a great documentary

[@Dronescapes]

👍❤️

[@terrywallace5181]

Thanks. I had not heard about the P-47js involvement in the Marinnass (sp?) offensive.

[@Fiftyx60]

Excellent documentary. Thanks for sharing it.

[@Dronescapes]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kenlinden9621]

Amazing... watching those Jugs get catapulted off the carriers...

[@oceanhome2023]

Yes never saw that and these non carrier pilots did flawlessly !

[@kenlinden9621]

@@oceanhome2023 Uh, taking off is the easy part... they didn't have to land on it...

[@jameswebb4593]

The best Fighter Bomber of WW2 , packed a punch and could take one . The Mustang and Spitfire suffered severe losses in the ground attack role . American Airforce leaders made a big mistake delegating the P-47 to the scrap heap , after the war . When the Korean War broke out the USN had far better aircraft to fight the enemy , then the AF . The main USAF single seater's the F-80 Shooting Star and the P-51 Mustang were found wanting. Two thirds of F-80 production were lost in Korea , shot down by ground fire . Some units were re-equipped with Mustangs , which suffered a similar fate. The South African Airforce purchased 94 Mustangs , 74 being lost for the death of 33 pilots.Eventually the Americans took pity upon them and supplied F-84 Sabres.

[@AnthonyEvelyn]

My favourite WW2 fighter, tough big fast and hits hard with 8 .50 cal MGs plus bombs and rockets. Should have had a stellar Korean War record too, but for some reason the F-47N model was not deployed and the F-51D Mustang were sent instead. The F-47N would have performed better in Korea for the USAF in ground support role, just like the Corsair.

[@marthakrumboltz2710]

So many were scrapped after the war, though many were still used by natl.guard units. No doubt they would have been an excellent choice given the conditions and amount of ground fire experienced.

[@dukecraig2402]

@@marthakrumboltz2710 It's a common misconception that the bulk of P47's were scrapped at the end of the war, people believe that because of them not being used in Korea but the fact is while the Korean War was going on thousands of P47's were in Europe specifically Germany serving with active duty units and sitting in depot, at the end of WW2 commander's in Europe wanted P47's to counter the upcoming Soviet threat. The movie Decision Before Dawn which is set in the closing days of WW2 and was filmed in Manheim Germany in 1951 has P47's (F47's by that time) in it that were provided by the USAF for filming, in it they conduct a ground attack mission. I myself used to believe that the majority of them were scrapped after the war until just last year when I read the number of them that had been retained for service in Europe, it makes sense that the Generals who depended on it so much during the war to support their troops wanted them kept in Europe after the war in case they were needed for the same thing against a possible Soviet invasion.

[@iowa61]

It’s an infamous decision that made no objective sense. Perhaps the feeling was that there were more P-51Ds around, lessening supply.issues (they didn’t use P-51Hs in Korea either. The P-47 in any model was clearly a superior ground attack plane to the P-51.

[@cowboybob7093]

Taiwan used them against Mao's forces. South and Central American countries also became some post-war destinations. The other replies here about stationing them in Europe as a guard against Stalin make sense.

[@iowa61]

@@jacktattis OK. Several fighters were superior dogfights to the Thunderbolt at low altitudes. The P-47 was still the top multirole fighter of WWII. Bar none.

[@johnthomas2485]

Some of them were made in my hometown, Evansville, Indiana. I had family that helped build them. So called "Strategic Bombing" had very little effect on German war production. The ball bearing plant in Schweinfurt never stopped production and was actually still producing when I was stationed there in early 90's. If the bomber fleet had been requied to support tactical needs, the war probably would have been shortened.

[@Dronescapes]

👍👍

[@bobbertee5945]

Yeah many were made right here at the now Republic Airport, which was were the old Republic factories were that built them, Long Island, some of the old hangers are still here too….

[@gailwatson4927]

My dad flew this plane WWII.

[@thomasharroun8068]

The U.S. sent about 200 P-47s to the Soviet Union. With its high service ceiling above 30,000 feet, the P-47 outperformed most fighters operating on the Eastern front. The Russians engineers disassembled and studied the P-47 to examine its construction. The Russians did not use the P-47 for low altitude ground attack

[@danraymond1253]

there is no record of the Soviets ever even using the P-47s at all. They didn't like its design philosophy, and they really didn't have a major need for it. It's very likely that the Soviet P-47's never saw combat of any kind.

[@dukecraig2402]

@@danraymond1253 Right, there was virtually no high altitude aerial combat in Russia, that's why they loved the P39, even though it lost it's turbo to speed up development time and get it into production it didn't need high altitude performance in the east because there was no high altitude aerial action, it's maneuverability at lower altitudes made it ideal for the Russian's needs, the fact is in the hands of the Russian's in the east where everything was low altitude it shot down more aircraft than any other US fighter anywhere flown by anyone in WW2.

[@danraymond1253]

@@dukecraig2402 I agree with everything you said except I find it hard to believe the P-39 shot down more enemy fighters in Russian hands than any other U.S. fighter in any air force. I've never heard this before and find it doubtful. I understand they had great success with the P-39/P-63, but I would never have thought they shot down more planes than the F6F Hellcat or the P-51 Mustang. Could you provide a source that states that?

[@dukecraig2402]

@@danraymond1253 It's true, look it up, P39's shot down more aircraft than any other US made fighter of the war, but it was Russian pilots who flew them. It's not an option of mine it's a fact, once again look it up and you'll find it's the truth.

[@pcbondart]

31:30 . . . did not realize aircraft carriers had catapults at that time . . .

[@chrisharris4975]

Strange the bubble canopy versions of the P47 came so late. The P51 Mustang had an enclosed cockpit much like the P-47 but after a stint gained the bubble cockpit increasing vision and 360 degree view.

[@DavidFMayerPhD]

P-47 had a LONGER range than the competition IF equipped with external tanks. For reasons of logistical ineptitude, USA could not supply sufficient external tanks to the planes on the line. Alternatively, there was plenty of space and lifting power for added internal tanks, but this was not done. All in all, the P-47 was the BEST fighter that USA fielded in WW2.

[@jwilliamson196]

extremely great video all new to me. excellent narration Great Job.

[@scottinohio701]

Seven of the top ten American aces in the ETO were jug pilots,including the top 2!!!! This was done early in the war against the top German aces. Most of the top German aces hadd been killed by the time Mustangs entered the war!!!!!!

[@Dronescapes]

👍

[@clarkbowen9882]

Great job on this video. Thank you.

[@Dronescapes]

Glad you liked it!

[@stephenmeier4658]

Yeah it is over 35 years old dude

[@charlesrousseau6837]

A great copy nonetheless.

[@jeffreymcdonald8267]

The P-47 was America's Typhoon. Question : what is better 8 .50 caliber guns or 4 20mm cannon. As the standard armament.

[@e.r.a.a.7426]

Nice

[@sammyd1382]

great stuff. one of my best favorit plane of all time.

[@Dronescapes]

Indeed it is!

[@Richard-or5yg]

Facts! 100%

[@Bearthedancingman]

Apparently, (please dont quote me on this, I could be wrong). the P-47 could have been escorting bombers to Germany by using larger wing mounted drop tanks that already existed and were being used by P-40s and P-38s. However, the guy in charge of the US Air Force in Europe was also a major investor in the P-51. And AFTER successful tests proved the P-47 could carry 3 drop tanks, (the normal belly tank plus two wing tanks), giving it plenty of range to escort bombers to Germany, he declared that P-47s were NOT to use the wing drop tanks. And thus prohibited the P-47 from being allowed to escort bombers the entire trip. Because if the P-47 could have been doing the whole escort, the P-51 would likely have been canceled. In short, a greedy Bastard KNOWINGLY sent airmen to die to protect his wallet. Nothing new, especially during WW2, but its still sad.

[@dfedko]

Great video well done and very interesting

[@Dronescapes]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@daleburrell6273]

...MY FAVORITE P-47 IS THE "HUN HUNTER" (NUMBER 40)

[@icewaterslim7260]

I think my favorite name for a Jug was an 8th AAF P47D named "Fatty Patty". It just has poetry about it ya know..

[@ravenjason13]

Great planes doc!

[@bret9741]

In Korea the officers and troops on the ground who had fought in WW2 begged the generals to send over every P-47 they could pull from the reserves units and even buy back those sold to South America. The P-51 was not sufficient in the CAS roll. The real hero aircraft of Korea was the F-4U and A-1 Sky Raider. Sadly, the top Generals liked the “sexy mustang” and sent large numbers into the reserve units and also long term storage. The P-47’s were cut up and scrapped almost immediately after the war.

[@dukecraig2402]

No, they weren't cut up and scrapped immediately after the war, that misconception is based on the assumption they were due to their lack of use in Korea. The truth is thousands of P47's were in use in Europe with active duty units and in depot there. After the war the very battlefield commander's who loved the P47's ground attack virtues that saved so many of their men wanted as many P47's as they could get to counter a possible Soviet invasion of western Europe, I myself had always thought that the bulk of P47's were scrapped after the war until last year when I saw a list of US WW2 fighter's post war use, many P47's continued to serve with active duty USAAF and later USAF units in Europe specifically Germany. The movie Decision Before Dawn that was filmed in 1951 while the Korean War was going on is set in the last week's of WW2 in Manheim Germany, since Manheim at that point still pretty much looked like it did at the end of the war with bombed out buildings and piles of rubble all over it was selected as the filming location, in it P47's that were flown by active duty US pilots are portrayed as flying ground attack. Not long after reading the article I did about how many P47's actually continued to serve in Europe after the war (it was in the thousands) and how the big brass in Europe didn't want to give them up to be sent to Korea because they wanted them kept in Europe as a deterrent for Soviet aggression I saw the Movie Decision Before Dawn, and then read about it's production and how active duty US pilots flew the P47's (actually called F47's by then) and I started understanding that the narrative that they were scrapped after the war is just a misconception and how it's probably just because people assume they were due to their lack of use in Korea.

[@bret9741]

@@dukecraig2402 could be. I have read several articles over the years saying the P-47’s were scrapped instead of being placed on storage. When I was young you could buy a P-51 or even a P-38 that had been disassembled and crated for relatively quick call up. In the late 60’s and 1970’s you could buy a P-51 for $1500. If I could buy any warbird today, and I’m ex Navy and a retired airline pilot, it would be a P-47. Have you see the documentary “A Fighter Pilot Story”. It followed the combat years of Quentin Aanenson? I can’t find in for sale or rent. I’m going to write the family and see if it’s possible to get a DVD. It should be available on KZbin or another service.

[@markgranger9150]

That makes sense. There were a lot of planes.scraped and sold to the public, and fire fighting business executive.

[@MervandtheMagicTones]

I'm only 4 minutes into this and so far it's great, with some rare footage and such...but I have to note the it's correctly pronounced "Se-VER-sky," not "SER-vesky".

[@gregcollins3404]

Allies had 150 octane gas - far higher than the Germans. Huge advantage more important than any design features. Germans tried to keep up with water and methanol injection but could not match the horsepower race...

[@sampavlick9081]

Are you Greg from Greg’s Airplanes and Automobiles ? I learned about the high octane advantage from him

[@gregcollins3404]

@@sampavlick9081 Not the same Greg! But that's were I learned from too....

[@garyhill2740]

The only reason the P-47 initially lacked range was that the command did not see the need to equip them with drop tanks. Once they did, Thunderbolts went wherever they were needed. The final WW II Thunderbolt model had longer range than any Mustang other than the post war "Twin". I've nothing against the P-51. But it's "legend" usurps the rightful place of other aircraft that did as much or more to break the German air force and win the war. And the idea that the Mustang had to "save the day" is fairy tale. Once the P-47 had drop tanks, and the P-38's had dive flaps, they could both take on the opposition superbly. By the time the Mustang flew in force, the Allies were already winning the air war in Europe. And would have likely won it anyway, Mustang or no. Mustang was a fine airplane though.

[@todd3285]

What a beast !!

[@randyhodder8186]

Best plane of the war!!!

[@williamewing5509]

I have got a movie DVD of Clint Eastwood Jeff Bridges George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis in Thunderbolt And Lightfoot I am dedicating this movie DVD to my old school friends who are both sisters and I hope to see them both again very soon to Chris and Hester from Billyxxx

[@sabrecatsmiladon7380]

This bruiser was one of those Boxing champs that you just couldnt knock out...pound him for 12 rounds and he's still standing! You're gonna have to get a bat....or maybe a cannon?

[@mmouseav8r402]

My favorite fighter.

[@bobdoby1810]

Go HUG !!! Could Take A Ton Of Punishment!! Come Back Without A Couple Of Cylinders, TOUGH !!! Ground Attack Beast !!! .50 Cals , Rockets , And 💣 Bombs !! Bye Bye Tanks, Trains , Hard Targets !!! Hello Berlin!! Just Sayin’ !! B!! 😉😁🤘🏻🇺🇸🔥🧨💥🍀😎

[@garyfinchum3252]

If I had been a pilot in WW2 and had flown one of these great aircraft I would have had "Grebe Ist wichtig" painted on the side just to intimidate the German pilots.

[@boatingexplainedwithcapndr8359]

What does that mean? I was trying to look it up, but couldn’t find it.

[@francouz23]

P47 is undoubtedly the GOAT of the Ally fighters Overshadowed by P51, same as Hurricane is by Spitfire Still, it was the Hurricane, that broke the back of Luftwaffe over Britain And it was the P47 (+P38), that broke the back of Luftwaffe over continental Europe Most versatile and the safest fighter of WW2 Btw. the real Cadillac of the skies = pricey, but plenty space, comfy and built with ultimate craftsmanship

[@davidrudd6550]

Sound effects are interesting. One clip sounded like someone was crunching tin foil near the microphone😂

[@jeffreymcdonald8267]

The Luftwaffe learned real quick, never try to out dive the P-47.

[@markgranger9150]

You dive on the enemy with the sun to your back. Fighter pilot 101.

[@jeffreymcdonald8267]

@@PDZ1122 Dive speed saves lives. The Jug was not a great dog fighter. Dive speed is an advantage when bouncing an enemy formation from above. My reference to the Jug and dive speed has to do with the fact that pilots would dive away to get an enemy off their tail. This was a real bad idea against the P-47. Have a great day, leg.

[@paulstewart6293]

I think about the wee boys, on both sides, who took off knowing that their chances of coming back were less than good. I'm sure the Benzedrine helped them.

[@emzarigelasvhili7368]

Alexsandre Kartveli(kartvelishvili) was from country of Georgia.

[@moss8448]

do appreciate companies staying on the cutting edge what turned it into a turd was costs in obvious money grabs

[@kiniburk]

Something I've never read was for the weight of the P-47 how heavy were the flight controls.