P-47 Thunderbolts Role In WWII, The Defeat Of The Reich, Germany, And The Luftwaffe

Рет қаралды 178,105

10 ай бұрын

The story of the last battles in Germany during WWII, before the German capitulation, and the contribution of the P-47 Thunderbolt to defeat the crippled Luftwaffe.
It starts with the aftermath of the Battle of the Bulge.
The video Includes Interviews with WWII veterans and brave P-47 pilots.
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The pilots' first mission was a fighter sweep of the French coast in March 1944 and from then until D-Day that June the ground supported Allied preparations for the invasion of France, taking out German military sites and equipment in northern France. The Group was awarded a DUC for quite a singular action: when supporting infantry in the St. Lo area on 11 July 1944, the pilots discovered a column of enemy tanks as yet unknown to the infantry. Despite coming under intense fire, the Group, as well as striking nearby pillboxes, the intended target of the mission, attacked this column. This put many of the German tanks out of action before they engaged the infantry. The Group carried out armed reconnaissance missions during the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944-January 1945) and escorted bombers during the assault across the Rhine River. The Group's last mission saw them attacking harbors at Kiel and Flensburg on 3 May 1945. The Group remained in Germany after the war and, as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), was part of the occupation force.
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 altitudes, while also influencing its size and design.
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

Пікірлер: 118

@Dronescapes

Click the link to watch more aircraft, heroes, and their stories, and missions ➤

@daviswall3319

Cheers to the maintenance guys on the Jug! My hat is off to you sirs 🍻

@lukycharms9970

I do not understand how this channel doesn’t have more subscribers. These videos are some of the best documentary type videos I’ve ever seen.

@mike4769

They don't make men like this anymore. Greatest generation.

@bogusmogus9551

Fantastic upload. Subscribed and liked.

@richardmontana5864

The P-47 Thunderbolt. The higher it flies,the better it flies!

@stevefranklin9920

Sadly today, too many Americans don't even care about the bravery it took to be in the service knowing things like your life expectancy was only 2-3 missions! But yet these guys did!

@asdf9890

Love your videos, thank you! Perfect for someone who’s currently obsessed with WWII aviation.

@seanmager1168

the P-47 ThunderBolt. A TRULY WONDEROUS AMAZING and MARVELOUS Aerial Weapon. a BRILLIANT Display of American Aerial Warfare and Aerial engineering. Not something all Flashy and Fancy Like and All "Show off" Or "Show-Boating" Like all that Crazy stuff the nazi's tried to build. The P-47 was a SIMPLE and Rugged and also, DAMN DEADLY BEAST of the Sky's. It was like a Flying Tank. The fact that it had 8 Browning M2 50 CAL Machine Gun's, Could Carry some PRETTY BIG Bomb's and also, Could Carry a Good Number of Rocket's, just Made it a KILLER of the luftwaffe. and the Ground force's of the german military, the P-47 also Hurt them PRETTY DAMN Good also. Even if the Rocket's and Bomb's did Not always Kill/Destroy the German Tank's, They could REALLY Scare the crew's and Traumatize Em and make Em abandon their Tank's. Also, the P-47 also could Destroy the Trucks and cars and Horse pulled Carts and Wagons and Train's Carrying fuel and ammo and Spare Part's for the german Tanks. The P-47 ThunderBolt was TRULY a MAJOR Part of CRIPPLING and Destroying the luftwaffe...

@mitchr8481

"It didnt matter if you were a private or a colonel we were all the same." ~The Colonel

@michaelpierson1534

My father-in-law flew this airplane over Normandy!

@djcjr1x1

22:48

@RandallSoong-pp7ih

Thank you!

@asdf9890

9:28

@j.osborne4914

Can only imagine what staffing with 8x 50 cal machine guns did to a road packed with horse drawn carts. I do feel sorry for the poor horses. I wouldnt have liked to have to pull the trigger on that.

@markbrown7103

Are used to have an airplane book. It showed all the airplanes that were captured during World War II. I’ll have to watch the story, but I am not going to right now. I’ll save it for later, but it caught my attention when I seen the thunderbolt all painted and German markings and got my curiosity👍🏼😁😎✈️