High and Fast: The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

[@-DeScruff]

Always had a soft spot for this aircraft as my grandmother was a Rosie the riveter, and the P-47 was what she built. She recently passed away, but she always had stories about working in Republic and singing God bless America on VJ Day.

[@surg9029]

When I was a child, I always wondered why the airport runway in my hometown had a chain link fence across the end of it, and why it continued across a road into what was the whirlpool factory. Turns out the factory was a P-47 plant that turned out 6670 of the planes or 43% of the total built. Women army pilots flew them down the runway to their bases. I still miss the sound of big radial engines overhead, jets just aren’t the same. The town also built 167 LSTs, more than any other shipyard. And it produced over 3 billion .45 rounds, or 96% of the total produced in the war. Looking back maybe my hometown of Evansville Indiana wasn’t so bad after all.

[@robertmaybeth3434]

only if you have a low scorecard for good places to live

[@charlessmalling9903]

I recently moved to Evansville. I love it here. Fishing and hunting and beautiful vistas. Sure beats concrete towers and crowded masses

[@juliusdream2683]

Yea but it’s still a Long Island plane more we’re built at republic then anywhere else also the wildcat hellcat and avengers were built on Long Island Grumman I grew up near there remember the tomcats as.a kid breaking the sound barrier all the time.

[@wyattwilliams2457]

They built 6 liberty ships in my local shipyard

[@phil20_20]

I grew up in California and every afternoom was filled with the sound of those radials. It was an inseperable part of childhood.

[@nathannewman3968]

My grandfather was a mechanic in the 50th Fighter Group, 313th Fighter Squadron. He fixed and maintained the P-47s for the pilots. When I was 16 I went on a cross country road trip with him and my grandmother so he could attend his Fighter Group reunion. I got to meet and speak with a bunch of his old vet buddies (pilots, officers, etc ). It was an amazing opportunity.

[@Rickinvegas]

Cherish those memories and pass them on!! 🇺🇸👍

[@flintgrind]

My dad flew thunderbolts in the 50th Fighter Group. 21st squadron.

[@TwinTalon01]

How unbelievably cool. You’re very very lucky.

[@ricardoviana271]

Brazil flew the P-47 with the"Senta a Pua" fighter squadron over Italy, performing successfully in ground attack roles such as Air Interdiction and close air support. The Brazilian Air Force museum still maintains an air worthy model.

[@63DW89A]

@Ricardo Viana That is a wonderful piece of information about the Brazilian P47 still maintained in airworthy condition! Thanks for letting everyone know. Every Ally made important contributions, and it is nice to hear from all.

[@ricardoviana271]

@@63DW89A here is a video with great audio to hear the engine sound. We don't fly it to not risk an accident, but the engine is put to work from time to time. kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5y0goNrmNSbfZo

[@randallyoung8297]

That was the 1st Brazilian Fighter Squadron, which was a sister squadron to my grandfather's in the 350th Fighter Group. The Group was made up of the 345th "Devilhawks" Fighter Squadron, 346th Fighter Squadron, 347th "Screaming Red Asses" Fighter Squadron, and 1st Brazilian Fighter Squadron. My Grandpop always spoke highly of the Brazilian pilots and crews!

[@blindbob2539]

Check out Raynundo Canario losing half his starboard wing and being fired upon by spitfires and landing safely back at base. Hell of a pilot! Hell of a plane!

[@jacktattis]

Wow and the Danes. Free French, Canadians , Belgians, Poles, Czechs, Greeks, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Indians, Norwegians, US Eagle Sqn. flew the Hurricanes and Spitfires

[@Tedinator01]

My dad was a P-47 Crew Chief during the war and would constantly sing the praises of that aircraft.

[@randallyoung8297]

The photo shown at 6:24 shows four Jugs from the 350th Fighter Group. My grandfather, SGT Roland Stayton, served in that group's 345th Fighter Squadron. The lightning bolt on the tail and the checkerboard ring on the engine cowling were their signature. He had all kinds of stories about those planes making it back from ground attack missions over North Africa and Italy with damage that would've doomed a lesser airplane. Thanks for this video, Simon & co!

[@davidplowman6149]

The pictures really show why they called it the Jug. It looks like they popped a miniature cockpit with the miniature pilot on its top. I also love the old jokes like pilots used to run about the fuselage to avoid enemy fire.

[@The1trueJester]

The same 354th that was the first squadron to get A-10s? They were stationed at Myrtle Beach AFB, my hone town.

[@randallyoung8297]

@@The1trueJester Probably a different squadron. After the war, the 345th was deactivated and later reactivated as a part of the Pennsylvania Air Guard. I think the squadron these days, under it's current designation, is an aerial refueling unit. But I love the thought that another squadron with a similar designator was the first to get the P-47's descendant!

[@The1trueJester]

@@randallyoung8297 you may be right, we had the 354th TFW here and in the war I know they flew mustangs. I was wondering if they may have transitioned from thunderbolts

[@The1trueJester]

@@randallyoung8297 I just reread what you wrote, we are talki g two different squadrons. 345th and 354th 😅

[@ElenarMT]

FUCKING HELL, THAT INTRODUCTION TO THAT PLANE WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING I'VE HEARD IN AGES. WHAT BEAUTIFUL POETRY, I SWEAR IT WAS PROBABLY MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN MY BABY'S FIRST LAUGH. Well done to whomever wrote it, and to the wonderful Simon for how he delivered it

[@Activated_Complex]

My favorite old warbird. Seeing it up close in person, you realize how little the photos do it justice. Greg’s Airplanes and Automobiles has a fantastic multi-part series on it. Looking at the performance and mechanics in great and well-resarched detail. So give that channel a look if you’re a fan of the P-47, of aviation, of engines, or all three.

[@geodkyt]

Jugs were *legendary* for their ability to survive damage - it's the reason the A-10 was officially named "Thunderbolt II". Jugs routinely managed to come back, still under power, with entire cylinders smashed beyond function. My two favorite photos of Jug battle damage are: 1. One plane that got "a little low" during a strafing attack - all four blades of the propellor were bent back 90° about ⅘ of the way out ("Lieutenant, you know you're not supposed to be doing *grazing fire* from a fighter, right?"), because the pilot managed to hit the ground with his propeller disk... and still flew back to base and landed. The scrape marks on the lower cowling when he slid along the ground are clear... (Just as cool as the Mustang pilot who reported his engine was running hot after a strafing run... and the crew chief dug a mass of turf and topsoil out of the oil cooler air scoop from.where that kid scraped the ground like he was landscaping.) 2. A Jug flying straight, normal, and neither on fire nor spewing fuel, with the outboard ¼ of one wing *missing* due to enemy fire. (Note, the P-47 wasn't unique in this regard - there's a nearly identical in-flight picture of a US Navy torpedo bomber with even more of one wing missing.) P-47s, sitting on their landing gear after a safe landing, with mechanics literally sticking their head and shoulders into (or even through) flak holes aren't terribly uncommon, either. That airplane was just a *beast* . I mean, if you gave, "Hulk SMASH!" an airworthiness certificate and ordnance, it would be a P-47 Thunderbolt.

[@c1ph3rpunk]

And can be assembled with nothing but a few hand tools kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKDUnqZqds2HgKM

[@teddy.d174]

Thunderbolt II…..the most underwhelming and yawn-inducing name, ever given to an attack aircraft. I understand the historical aspect of certain names, however the Air Force needs to get a lot better at naming their aircraft. Lightning II = 🥱 Raider = 👍🏼

[@brianmichaelseymour6913]

@@teddy.d174 Why do you think anyone associated with the plane calls it the Warthog instead? Thunderbolt II is just official for the respect, but the plane has built a legend all its own.

[@teddy.d174]

@@brianmichaelseymour6913 …Yes I know, I’m well versed in aircraft and the industry. My dad was an AF vet and after that, he made a career in jet engine design. The AF has great nicknames for it’s aircraft, however they need to do much better with official names.

[@steveskouson9620]

Yes, they had the "finesse" of a sledgehammer! My High School principal flew one in the European theatre, and the Pacific theatre. He was a "visitor" of Stalag Luft III for a while, after "The Great Escape." He was also a decent guy, and a decent principal. Ralph F Kling. steve

[@Bromopar]

This was always my favorite WWII fighter when I was a kid. Glad to see it getting some much deserved love.

[@rtasvadam1776]

Same here.

[@robertguttman1487]

It is interesting to note that the Soviets received a few Thunderbolts via "Lend-Lease", but that they do not appear to have liked them very much. Apparently the Red Air Force did not consider the P-47 to be as fast or maneuverable as their own Yak-3 and La-5 fighters, nor did they think it was as well armed or armored as their own ground attack aircraft, the Il-2 and Pe-2. As for the Thunderbolt's turbo-supercharger, since the Red Air Force did most of their fighting at low or medium altitudes, and rarely operated at high altitudes, apparently that feature simply did not matter to them very much.

[@thunderbird1921]

Apparently the Soviet Air Force flew and fought differently than Britain or the United States. The P-39, which was felt to be a disappointment by American leaders and airmen, was LOVED by Soviet pilots, some even proclaimed it was the best plane they'd ever flown. Turned out that they were flying them at different altitudes and using alternative tactics when engaging the Luftwaffe. Truly astonishing stuff.

[@travisinthetrunk]

Gabreski didn’t get overwhelmed, he got excited.

[@DanMaccarone]

I knew him towards the end of his life, can confirm. He was the man.

[@DanMaccarone]

Except his name was Francis... But close enough

[@sibire8284]

>

[@thomasbyrne2317]

In 1947, P-47s still in service were redesignated F-47s, the most numerous still in service being the F-47N. Also, at the same time, the U.S. Army Air Force became its own separate service as the United States Air Force, with the new academy being built in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Also, a red stripe was added to both white bars on the U.S. insignia. F-47 "Thunderbolts" would serve in Air National Guard units until about 1953. The last F-51 "Mustang" was retired from an Air National Guard squadron in 1957.

[@daniel_f4050]

The best part about the later paddle bladed props was how much they helped the 47s retain energy in sustained and zoom climbs. There’s even an anecdotal story about how once paddle bladed Ds started showing up in Europe they tested one against a Spitfire Mk.IX. Previously Spitfires had always just walked away from the Thunderbolts with no trouble at all the moment they started to climb. With the paddle blades and water injection the Jug not only caught up to the Spitfire, it pulled away. And the higher they climbed the more pronounced the P-47s advantage became. The P&W R-2800 Double Wasp with turbo-supercharger already completely outclassed the Merlin engines at altitude because of being able to maintain higher manifold pressure thus feeding more oxygen to the engine.

[@stanhathcoat920]

Robert Johnson speaks of pulling quickly away from a Spit during a climb after his Jug was fitted with the 13ft+ paddle bladed crop.

[@toknenengburjegol6430]

True. RSJ in his book, described how he bagged one good German pilot. He described " He steepened the climb, but with the new paddle blades, the jug would not let go. He flipped over and dove. He was one of the very best I've met. But the dive was his mistake"

[@jacktattis]

Sorry nowhere in any Test on WW2 AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE does any model any Model come even close to the MkIX Mike Spick Fighters has the P47D 3120 ft/min and even The P47M never got higher than 4000ft/min if that

[@jacktattis]

Either Johnsons account was taken out of context or something else was out of order because the MkIX was capable of 0ver 5000 ft/min and at one stage with Merlin 66 at 25lbs/boost 5740 ft/min to 5000 ft and 5080 ft /min to 15000ft so an average of 5400ft/min to 15000ft

[@jacktattis]

@@stanhathcoat920 Crap unless it was a Spit V

[@stewpacalypse7104]

The P-47 was easily the largest single engine fighter of WW2. Part of the reason the P-47 is so bulky is because piping below the cockpit directing exhaust to the massive super/turbo charger and for fresh air intake through intercoolers and then more piping for the compressed air back to the engine in front. Without all that the engine wouldn't have had any power at high altitude. Google a section drawing of the P-47 and you'll see what I mean.

[@Busrayne]

The top 10 Thunderbolt aces all survived the war. That says a _lot._

[@tgmccoy1556]

There's a great book "Thunderbolt!" By Martin Cadin. Good read. Oh Alexander Karteveli the designer of the T-Bolt also designed the A-10. We owe a lot to Russian emigrant Air craft designers Karteveli, Sikorsky, and De Seversky, who started the company that became Republic.

[@dukecraig2402]

Karteveli wasn't in on designing the A10, Pierre Sprey formed a design research team called the Attack Experimental (AX) Design Program, they laid down the specifications needed for a dedicated ground attack aircraft, six companies submitted designs, Northrop and Republic Fairchild were contracted to build prototypes of their designs, the Y9 (Northrop) and Y10 (Republic Fairchild) were both built and had a fly off resulting in the Y10 winning the competition. Karteveli was long retired and out of the loop by the time of the designer's working on the Y10, he actually died in 1974 which was before the program and competition happened.

[@tgmccoy1556]

@@dukecraig2402 thanks I read years ago He had some input.

[@dukecraig2402]

@@tgmccoy1556 Also the book Thunderbolt! is really Robert S Johnson's book, but he wasn't a writer so he had to have that guy assist him in writing it because he was. As good as Johnson's book is if you want to read one even better get Hell Hawks! The Untold Story of the American Fliers Who Savaged Hitler's Wermacht. It's about the 365th Fighter Group of the 9th Air Force, they're the guys who pioneered the tactics used for ground support most of which are still used today, there's plenty of stories in it about P47's coming back all shot up in a condition that no other plane could fly in, sections of telephone poles embeded in the leading edges of wings, cylinders shot off, it's a great book and I managed to get an autographed copy signed by the authors from Thriftbooks for only $4. (I also got a first edition of Johnson's book Thunderbolt! for only $3 from them).

[@tgmccoy1556]

@@dukecraig2402 I'll look for Hell Hawks.

[@dukecraig2402]

@@tgmccoy1556 Thriftbooks, they have it cheap and it's hardback to, only like $4 or $5, like I said it's even better than Johnson's book. His book is great and I suppose you need the first few chapters of his life as a kid and his entering the military and his training to get a feel for what he went through but Hell Hawks starts out with 4 Thunderbolts screaming across the English Channel heading to France to hit a V1 launch site days before D-day, I mean it just gets right to the point and then gets even better from there, immediately after reading it I started reading a book written by a guy who was a Marine sniper and his time in Vietnam, half way through it I put it down and started reading Hell Hawks again from the beginning, it's that good.

[@iamnotpaulavery]

There is one story of a pilot in a P-47 that was in a dogfight with a German pilot. The German pilot managed to damage the P-47's engine, but the plane kept going, albeit at a much slower speed. The German pilot literally emptied all of his guns on the Jug and sped up alongside the Jug and looked at the pilot in amazement and rocked his plane left to right as a sign of respect and turned back home. When the P-47 pilot finally made his way back home and got off of the Jug, he started counting the bullet holes in his plane, but stopped at 200 because there were so many that it would have been pointless to continue! These things were built like tanks, as was its successor - the A-10 Thunderbolt, AKA "The Warthog"!!

[@Dave5843-d9m]

Before the P47 most fighters were built to intercept incoming bombers. Result was short range fast turns and high climb rate. P47 was built for bomber escort where zoom attacks were the best tactic.

[@peacemakerdan4818]

Thanks for doing this subject on the P47 Thunderbolt. I'm a big airplane enthusiast and the P47 is a firm favourite of mine. Please do more on planes both vintage and modern. It would be great so keep up the great work.

[@scottinohio701]

VERY, VERY WELL DONE!!!!!!! You dispelled most of the internet MYTHS!!!!! The JUG was the fighter of the century!!!!!!

[@jacktattis]

No it was NOT

[@tm5123]

ITs so nice to see that the P-47 is slowly gaining more recognition as time goes on, in the public eye.

[@yosemite-e2v]

There's an episode of Dogfights where a P-47 piloted by Ken Dahlberg engaged a BF 109, and the 109 pilot took the fight vertical. I think this would have been a good tactic for a 109 against an earlier war P-47, but this was a late war P-47 with more power and the paddle blade propeller, and Dahlberg finally got into firing position and shot him down. It's likely that the German pilot had been successful with this tactic against earlier P-47s, so the improved model's ability to keep up with the 109 in a climb came as a nasty shock to him.

[@toknenengburjegol6430]

@John Minor That's how he bagged a German experten. The german climb, but Johnson kept up with him, snapping out burst. Frustrated, the Jerry dove. Well, not one prop german plane could outdive a jug.

[@jacktattis]

@John Minor Garbage 470 WAS A P47M No P47D ever approached that speed Go to WW2 Aircraft Performance It is all there.

[@jacktattis]

@@davegeisler7802 Show where, and when, Plane Number , Date

[@jacktattis]

@@toknenengburjegol6430 I think you blokes do not realise that AFDU Duxford had tested the 3 planes and the P47 came off worse in the dive 0.71 T/M Their summary " the P47 is very fast into the dive but reaches its Limiting Dive Speed very quickly and they gave it 544mph ILDS Bf109 and Fw190 0.75 Tactical Mach P47 0.71/0.72 and the results were even worse for the P47 July 44 at Wright Field 500mph ILDS AFDU had machmeters Wright Field Maths Bf109 and Fw 190 575 mph or T/M 0.75

[@kryolis]

Same mistakes jap aces made against Hellcats when they thought they fought Wildcats. They learned it the hard way.

[@mbryson2899]

Beautifully researched, scripted, and presented...bravo! When I was eight I read "Thunderbolt!," a memoir by Robert S. Johnson (a T-bolt ace) and the ubuquitous Martin Caidin. That book sparked an interest in WWII for me, and inspired me to build quite a few P-47 models. I've seen all manner of warbirds at airshows and museums but regrettably never (yet) a P-47. (BTW, "Jug" was short for juggernaut according to many sources; nothing could stop it.)

[@dukecraig2402]

Try reading Hell Hawks! The Untold Story of the American Fliers Who Savaged Hitler's Wermacht. It's even better than Johnson's book Thunderbolt!

[@maxredd6207]

I used to work at the Lone Star Flight Museum back when it was in Galveston. Without question my favorite plane in the museum was Tarheel Hal, their P-47D. I'm pretty sure she still flies at airshows all around the country, and does the heritage flights with the USAF, so hopefully you'll get to see her one day! Simply a magnificent airplane.

[@Kitkat-986]

The brits called it the Jug which was short for Juggernaunaut. The Americans called it a Jug because it looked like a jug.

[@dukecraig2402]

@@Kitkat-986 The fact is nobody knows for sure why anyone started calling them Jug's, it's been nothing but speculation over the years who started calling it that and why, no one will ever no for sure the answer to that, it's something that's spun off into the universe and we'll never know.

[@fooman2108]

David Johnson (number 1 USAAF ace in Europe) crash landed his jug on an and RAF grass field (the tail wheel had been shot away (just the rim left)) leaving a rut more than a hundred yards long in the grass. The RAF warrant officer in charge of the field races to the smoking Thunderbolt (one cylinder had been shot away), when he gets there he finds Johnson with his head THROUGH the ammunition box on the port wing (it had the bottom blown out of it), and pushing stalks of corn from in between the gun barrels! Johnson got FOUR that day.... When asked how many times the jug had been his Johnson replied that he had quit counting when he reached a hundred holes ON ONE SIDE! He was one of 'Hub' Hubert Zemke's Wolfpack (56th fighter group). P.S. legend (with some factual probability) says that the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound was a Thunderbolt IN A DIVE!!! P.P.S. Col. Francis 'Gabby' Gabreski (also amongst the top scorers in jugs in WWII) came back and flew jugs in Korea (for a little while) before becoming an ace again in jets....

[@scottinohio701]

Gabby had a couple more kill than Robert Johnson NOT David LOL

[@naowaratyooktanun2068]

The P-47 was designed around its engine and the engine's turbo supercharger system. Quite involved and took up a lot of weight but produced around 2,000 hp and could make much of that at high altitude. With eight .50 caliber machine guns, the firepower was ridiculous. It was classic brute force horsepower and firepower.

[@sadwingsraging3044]

Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles KZbin channel has the best information on the P-47 on the Tube. If you are ADD don't bother but if you want to know all about the elegant beauty under that beast skin Greg is the man.

[@michaelmoorrees3585]

Yes, he has a whole series of several videos, just on this one plane.

[@WarblesOnALot]

G'day, Yay Team ! My thoughts exactly, precisely, and even prezactly...(!). Greg's Airplanes And Automobiles is for Enthusiastic Techno-Nerds with Aspbergerish tendancies...; whereas Sigh...man here is tailormade to appeal to the single-issue 30-second Soundbyte/ClickBait Crowd suffering from ADHD. DimdamdumSighMan herein even failed to recognise that the "Jug." appellation for the P-47 was the abbreviation of "JUGERNAUT"...! But, y'know, why would a Refugee Suburban City-bred Pommie camping in AmeriKa be expected to know Big Words, or to get facts straight ? Such is life, Have a good one... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !

[@CFarnwide]

Those are great videos. In fact, I just came hear after watching part 7 of Gregs P-47 series.

[@sadwingsraging3044]

@@CFarnwide before watching Greg's P-47 series I "knew" all the stats the old bird racked up. KDR, range, firepower, altitude, reliability, hell just the sheer beating she could take and still get home. Knew all of that but his videos explained the beauty under the skin of the beast.

[@CFarnwide]

@@sadwingsraging3044 she was a tough old bird that’s for sure! 😎

[@SMichaelDeHart]

My father (lost him in 06' at 88yo) was a combat veteran who served in the South Pacific campaign on Tinian, Saipan and Iwo Jima. He was a P-47 Thunderbolt flightline mechanic/engineer in the US Army Air Corp. Serving in the 20th AAF, 7th AAC, 414th Fighter/Bomber Grp, 413th F/B Sqdn. The three Squadrons of the 414th (consisting of 2 P-47 sqdns and 1 P-51 sqdn.) were the first on Iwo in mid March 45', after the USMC secured the airfields. They provided close air support to the Marines while finishing off the Japanese on the island and ran B-29 Bomber fighter support as they bombed the main Japanese Islands. His unit, the 413th F/B Sqdn, received 2 unit Bronze Stars. Dad said they always called then Jugs or Jugheads.

[@jacktattis]

That is good

[@Seaker24]

I live on Long Island. My brother worked on the Republic A-10 Thunderbolt. I’m so proud of my regions aviation history. Unfortunately the former factory is now a shopping center because, you know, you can never have enough shopping centers.

[@RealSaintB]

The P-47 was the real star of the US air forces in WWII, everyone loves the Mustang for being sexy, but the Thunderbolt was the real workhorse and a true multirole aircraft before they even had the term.

[@steveperreira5850]

Zemke’s Wolfpack, the famous 56 fighter group, identified the strength of the thunderbolt, which was abbreviated as “zoom and boom.“ Thunderbolts could go higher and gaze down on enemy below, then zoom dive and blast away, and then zoom back up for another round. The tactic was highly effective. Later in the war, P 47‘s were so powerful and capable with propeller and engine upgrades that they can be anything at any altitude., except for jets. It is a huge advantage to have an aircraft that can sustain damage and possibly survive, more likely than other aircraft of the same vintage. When we consider that most air to air combat was sneak attack, and that the victim didn’t see the Attacker coming, or saw him too late, a rugged aircraft is a key factor in winning. In the European theater, no aircraft won more consistently in air to air combat. This is because thunderbolt pilots survived attacks that killed adversaries in lesser aircraft. These surviving pilots were learned veterans, and they formed a cadre of more capable, more skilled, wiser fighters. It was that way. By the time the mustangs come along, it’s self a wonderful airplane, the thunderbolts had matched and defeated the most capable Nazi bastard pilots. In late 1943 and early 1944, the Luftwaffe fighter bench was decimated on the Western front buy relentless thunderbolt engagements over their home turf. It was that decisive. Later in the war pilots flying all kinds of allied aircraft racked up easy victories against Poorly trained German replacement pilots. This is a fact.

[@thomasarledge1933]

Great video... My father flew a P-47 in Europe. Denton TX

[@stevethomas760]

A friend's wife is the daughter of Col Buddy Edens. He flew a P-47, somewhere on youtube there is a interview of him worthy of a sideprojects. Incredible story , "I'm no hero, I'm just a survivor".

[@bradcampbell7253]

Oct 43 is when the p47 broke the Luftwaffe. And many 8th Af bombers were lost in the battles. After that the western allies had dominance, but never get caught unawares, the Germans could still draw blood. And hat tip to the RAF--in it to win it from the start.

[@wormyboot]

Fun fact: the machine gun pictured at roughly 5:30 was a Browning M2A1. I don't know exactly when it entered service but it wouldn't have been on these planes. My first deployment (2009) my unit had the old .50 cals. My second deployment (2012) we had the new ones. Got them maybe a year before. Not trying to be a snob or anything. Just offering additional information.

[@rayceeya8659]

That engine was the key. Air cooled and super charged. Liquid cooled engines (like the Marlins on the P-51 and Spitfires) haver a radiator and water system that is vulnerable to enemy fire. The air cooled P-47 would keep flying long after other planes would have given up.

[@dukecraig2402]

All fighter's on everyone's side in WW2 were supercharged, but it was the turbo that was used to feed the engine's supercharger at higher altitudes is what made it such a powerhouse, at cruise power the engine's critical altitude is actually higher than the planes service ceiling, I don't know of any other aircraft of WW2 that can lay claim to that statistic.

[@timengineman2nd714]

@@dukecraig2402 The trouble was that some "desk pilot" in the USAAF decided that all airplanes could only have a SINGLE Stage (engine driven Centrifugal) Supercharger! If more power was needed they could add a Turbocharger... (guess the idiot didn't realize the size of a Turbocharger for a 1,650 or 1,710, or a 2,800 cubic inch engine would be!!). He felt the load on the engine needed to turn the supercharger at the speeds needed would prevent it from having enough power left over to move aircraft at high speed! This is why the Alison engine (in most planes) had such poor high altitude performance! The P-38's needed those twin booms so that there was room for their Turbochargers (which functioned also as a supercharger...). (Ouch, I wonder how much different the war would have been if they could put a two stage (engine driven centrifugal) supercharger on the P-39 & P-40!!) The P-51B onwards somehow got around this by using a Packard built Merlin (V-1650 which was 1649 cubic inch displacement ~27.0 Liters) with a 2 stage, 2 speed supercharger. Perhaps this was because the P-51 started out fulfilling a British (RAF) requirement, although the first ones they got were equipped with the V-1710 Alison engines with a single stage supercharger!)

[@dukecraig2402]

@@timengineman2nd714 No, that's not what happened, after NACA's study the Army dictated that all their aircraft were to be built with the same system that's on the P47, P38, B17 and all their other aircraft from that era, there was no "desk pilot" saying they could add a second stage later if they wanted, the P39 and P40 were both originally supposed to have the same system but the turbo got dropped to expedite their development and rush them into production because all kinds of countries were screaming for aircraft including the US, in the case of the P51 everything about it was originally for the British but production of it and the Merlin engine was seized by the US government after the US entered the war, had the US task NAA with designing the P51 it would have been an entirely different aircraft with a turbo. The Navy having different priorities chose the 2 speed 2 stage supercharger system for all their aircraft, but since they didn't use anything with an Allison they weren't going to pay for that type of supercharger to be developed.

[@timengineman2nd714]

@@dukecraig2402 The P-47 was a modification of the P-43 which only had a Single Stage Centrifugal Supercharger. Which is why it had a higher P# than the P-39 & P-40! It is also why it is "so fat"! And I'm not sure, but you may have meant the NACA (National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics).

[@dukecraig2402]

@@timengineman2nd714 That's what I wrote, NACA. In the mid 30's the government commissioned NACA to do a study on what the best supercharger type was, a single stage with a turbo to feed it above the altitude where the single stage supercharger could no longer provide maximum boost was the winner and what the Army chose, it's the best at all altitudes because you don't have the extra parasitic losses of the engine having to turn a 2nd stage or even the extra gears of a 2 speed single stage. The Navy having different priorities because they operate off of carriers chose the 2 stage 2 speed supercharger, the first aircraft in the world civilian or military to fly with a 2 stage 2 speed supercharger was the F4F-3 Wildcat in 1939, the British purchased some and loved it's high altitude performance and that's when Rolls Royce went to work developing the same type of supercharger for the Merlin, prior to that the RAF was convinced that the Luftwaffe was going to up their game when it comes to altitude and they tried a single stage supercharger that was optimized for high altitude resulting in the Spitfire MK VI, but the problem with that is if you optimize a single stage supercharger for high altitude it suffers from huge power losses at lower altitudes, and since the Germans didn't up the service ceiling on their aircraft only 100 MK VI Spitfire's were produced, later variant's of the F4F lost the 2 stage supercharger because the Navy determined that since only so many 2 stage superchargers could be produced that all further manufacturing of them would go to the F4U and F4F which were just coming into production. To get a good idea how superior the supercharger/turbo configuration is to the 2 stage supercharger just compare the service ceiling and especially the critical altitude rating of the P47 and the F4U, they both use the same basic Pratt&Whitney R2800 engine but the F4U pays for having the 2 stage supercharger in high altitude performance, it's service ceiling and the critical altitude rating on it's engine looks sickly compared to the P47.

[@jakemiller1386]

If you haven’t done one yet, a video about the P-38 Lightning would be cool. Honestly, any WW2/WW1 planes :) love these videos

[@sparky6086]

P-47 Thunderbolt was great. It could have been used for long range w/ drop tanks, but in an effort to conceal previous poor tactics by Air Corps generals, wing tanks weren't used, until they could claim, that unril the P51D Mustang came out, that long range wasn't possible.

[@marckyle5895]

The Bomber Mafia was dead set on proving they could go it alone.

[@5777Whatup]

@@marckyle5895 lol so did göring and his luftwaffe! Lol the Air Force’s just thought they had it eh?

[@dukecraig2402]

Yep, and contrary to popular belief the P51 wasn't the first fighter to escort bombers over Berlin, that honor goes to the P38's and P47's, they were both escorting bombers over Berlin weeks before the P51 was used for escort missions, nor was it the fighter that achieved air supremacy over mainland Europe, that honor also goes to the P38 and P47, by the time the P51 came along P38's and P47's had swept the skies clear over Europe and the Luftwaffe no longer roamed the air at will, at that point they only took off to answer to incoming bombers. And another misnomer is it being stated that Hermann Goering's quote about when he knew they'd lost was when "He saw P51's over Berlin" his actual quote was he knew it was over when "He saw FIGHTER'S over Berlin", not the P51 specifically. The only real advantage that the P51 had over the P47 was it was a lot cheaper to produce, using less fuel was also an advantage somewhat because that meant you could fuel up more fighter's but the reality is the USAAF never really ran low on fuel, it just wasn't an issue. The P51 was a great plane but it wasn't the "save the day" war winning machine it's always been credited for, if there is one that would be the P47 Thunderbolt, it took the fight to the Luftwaffe and by the time the 56th Fighter Group in their P47's got done with the Luftwaffe they'd been decimated, the 56th killed most of the hot shot high scoring German aces and tore a path through the Luftwaffe that they never recovered from.

[@geodkyt]

USAAF brass in 8th AF and Washington did the same with the P-38. See, the maximum range possible with a P-38 wasn't two of the largest drop tanks (and all the way through the 1930s, the Bomber Mafia managed to prevent the installation of drop tank fittings on USAAF fighters) - that combination of 2x 300 gallon tanks created enough drag it negatively affected range. The most efficient drop tank configuration was one large (300 gallon) and one smaller (150 gallon) drop tank - which the USAAF in the Pacific used to routinely conduct missions with a combat radius of 950 nautical miles (1900 nmi round trip, with 15 minutes of combat against nimble Japanese fighters that didn't need external fuel as they were close to home base)... a P-51D with external fuel had a max range of 1650 nmi, with *no* combat in the middle...

[@dukecraig2402]

@@geodkyt Even before the war the Bomber Mafia that ran what was the Air Corps at the time dictated that fighter's were to have no provisions for drop tanks, after the US entered the war they allowed the fighter's to be made with the shackles that could hold drop tanks but early on forbid their use while on escort missions, the first P47 variant that could mount drop tanks was the C-2, that means that every P47 in theater at the time could have escorted the bombers all the way on the Schweinfert/Regensburg missions, even worse, at the time of those missions the 56th Fighter Group was already flying the P47D-15, they already had them for several months before those raids, it had the pylons capable of mounting the US made all metal pressurized drop tanks, it was that configuration and using the relay system that P47's were escorting bombers over Berlin before the P51 was. The single and only reason those bombers went unescorted is because the Bomber Mafia was trying to prove their concept that the bombers didn't need escorts. Early on Republic saw that the Bomber Mafia was wrong in their thinking and quickly went to work on a wet wing design for the P47, but after the Bomber Mafia relented and started allowing the fighter's to use drop tanks Republic was saddled with developing variant's that never got pressed into service anyways that slowed down the work on the wet wing, by the time it was ready victory in Europe was a foregone conclusion so it was decided to send the wet wing P47N to the Pacific, contrary to what a lot of aviation writer's have said through the years it wasn't specifically designed for the Pacific it actually was originally being developed for Europe, had it's development not been slowed it undoubtedly would have had a lower alphabetic variant designation than N, possibly F or G, who knows?

[@Doc_Paradox]

There is a famous P-47 story of Robert S. Johnson. He was escorting bombers when we was jumped and sent flaming into the ground. He tried to bail but the canopy was jammed but it was then he realized the fire was out so he leveled the plane and began the trip home. It was then he noticed a Fw-190 on his 6. His plane was battered terribly and he had shrapnel wounds all across his body so he couldn't put up much of a fight anymore. He remembers hunching down behind the armored plate situated behind his seat as the German opened up. After a few bursts the German pulled up alongside him and shook his head then went back to firing. He would repeat this 2 more times. The last time he pulled along side Robert the German waved and flew away. He didn't know it but that German was a famous Ace Egon Mayer who had 102 kills. And he wasn't showing mercy he had legitimately ran out of ammo! Johnson made it home and landed safely. As he started counting holes he gave up at 200. Without moving past the cockpit to look at the rest of the plane.

[@johnhickman106]

I remember reading that story about 30 years ago. I don’t remember the name of the book but it was a serious of stories from fighter pilots.

[@TheSaturnV]

@@johnhickman106 It may have been in a collection, but the story is also in the book, "THUNDERBOLT!" by the pilot, Robert S. Johnson. It's a terrific read, highly recommend. When the P47 first arrived in England, RAF pilots told the yanks they were as good as dead in that behemoth. One of the best tales in the book is how Johnson met a Spitfire over the channel and they immediately went into mock combat. Using the superior roll rate, Johnson was on the Spitfire's tale in a matter of moments. One last tidbit: When Robert S. Johnson was sent home, he was on a scoring pace that would have surpassed Erich Hartmann. It was never to be since the US rotated their pilots home to train others.

[@johnhickman106]

@@TheSaturnV I'll check it out, I appreciate the info. I live in the UK (I'm a Yank), and love the history, especially that of the airwar during WW2. Cheers

[@angelonunez8555]

Air war historians have found no evidence that Mayer was the pilot of the FW-190 that tormented Johnson. His unit was actually based quite far from the scene of the day's combat. It is known, however, that Mayer himself was KIA by a P-47 pilot on March 2, 1944, from either the 355th FG or the 365th FG. It was at the time of his death that he had 102 claims, not on June 26th, 1943, the day when Johnson was nearly shot down.

[@deafsmith1006]

@@TheSaturnV 28 kills.... I dunno if he would have surpassed Hartmann... or even just Bong.

[@littlerougue]

you had me at 8 .50's the 3k horse radial is just icing on the cake

[@donkeyboy585]

My favorite WW2 fighter. A musclecar with wings. By the time the Mustang got the Merlin and stepped up as the premier fighter a lot of the best German pilots were already dead at the hands of P47s

[@geodkyt]

Yeah, the P-47 almost equalled the Mustang kill ratio... and did so while US fighter tactics were still lousy and the Allies were far from air superiority. By the time the Mustangs could take over bomber escorts, the fighter situation was far better for the Allies and better fighter tactics had been written in the blood of the earlier pilots.

[@dukecraig2402]

@@geodkyt Actually the P47 and the P38 are the fighter's responsible for air superiority over Europe, the fact is by the time the P51 came along those two had already swept the skies clear of the Luftwaffe and pushed their bases on the French coast inland, the Luftwaffe no longer roamed the skies at will and were only taking off to answer to incoming bombers, it was the P47 that shot down the majority of the hot shot German aces who had those high kill number's from flying on the Eastern front so by the time the P51 came along it was fighting mostly poorly trained German replacement pilots some of which had as little as 10 hours experience in the planes they were fighting in, also at the time the P51's became operational and the P47's mostly started doing ground attack is when General Doolittle took over the 8th Air Force and cut the fighter's lose to chase after the German fighter's, which is a controversial decision even to this day because where P51 pilots started racking up kills the Bomber losses climbed back up to because the fighter's didn't stay there to protect them. It's been a false narrative for years that the P51 achieved air superiority over Europe, it's the P47 that actually did that, it's also always been a false narrative that the P51 was the first fighter that could escort the bombers deep into Germany, the fact is both P38's and P47's were escorting bombers over Berlin before the P51 was. And Hermann Goering didn't say "I knew the war was lost when I saw Mustang's over Berlin", what he actually said was "I knew the war was lost when I saw FIGHTER'S over Berlin", and the first one's he saw were P38's and P47's.

[@geodkyt]

@@dukecraig2402 That is a long restating of what I said. The P-51 inherited an air combat environment that had already been shaped by the P-47 and P-38, and like a politician taking office just as their predecessor's plans come to fruition a d then claiming credit for the success of those plans, the P-51 entered an environment where the air war had clearly turned.

[@63DW89A]

I think the P47 Thunderbolt's enormous contribution in WW2 is overlooked too, but unfortunately the historic record doesn't support your statement that the "best German pilots were killed by the P47 prior to the P51's arrival". Looking at the real record, you have to remember that after several disastrous missions with devastating losses, the 8th Air Force had cancelled Daylight Bombing thru December 1943. At the end of 1943, the Luftwaffe had air superiority over occupied European airspace, and although the RAF / USAAF fighter pilots had tried valiantly for more than a year, the P47, P38 and Spitfire were not able to take air superiority from the Luftwaffe, clearly proven by the horrendous bomber losses of the RAF / USAAF throughout 1943. By FEB 1944, there were sufficient P51B/C's on hand to begin genuine to-the-target-and-back fighter escort that aided bomber survival rates. However, the key to Allied air superiority over occupied European airspace was when new 8th AF commanding General Jimmy Doolittle allowed the P51B/C's to range far ahead of the bombers and hunt the Luftwaffe before the bombers arrived over target. General Adolph Galland, commanding many Luftwaffe fighter groups, has noted in his books and in many interviews that when the P51B/C's began ranging ahead of the bombers to hunt the Luftwaffe fighters, the end of the Luftwaffe as an effective fighting force began due to irreplaceable losses of experienced pilots. The P51B/C had achieved such effective air superiority by May 1944, that the D-Day landings were not contested at all by the Luftwaffe. German soldiers, in bitter humor said, "If you see a dark plane it's British, if you see a shiny plane it's American, if you see NO plane, it's our Luftwaffe". The P51B/C had achieved effective air superiority in only 5 months after arrival. However, the Luftwaffe was still a major threat, and with captured German Airfields in France, the Spitfire, Tempest, P47 and P38 could now effectively join the P51B/C (and P51D's arriving after July, 1944) to utterly destroy the Luftwaffe, and to make movements by the German Army almost impossible by day. The P47 and Tempest in particular created massive destruction among German ground forces, and both aircraft do not get the credit deserved for being a major reason German ground forces almost completely halted any day movement. All these fighters had a major hand in Allied victory, and each should be respected for the precise piece of the puzzle contributed by that particular aircraft. The RAF / USAAF pilots who flew them are genuine heroes in every sense of the word, and we born in the later generations cannot thank them enough.

[@dukecraig2402]

@@63DW89A Well you're wrong about that, the P47 was the main USAAF fighter being used in the first weeks of 1944 when the Luftwaffe's back was broken, even before then the Luftwaffe's bases on the coast had been pushed inland, Hermann Goering's pet fighter group the Abbeyville Boys had been pushed out of the French coastal town of Abbeyville and moved inland at the hands of the USAAF's 56th Fighter Group, Robert Johnson of the 56th had made his fifth kill, the one that made him an ace, shooting down a German that had over 200 kills that was a veteran of the Eastern front, that's just a typical story of the 56th and their achievements. Their story and the P47's has always been in the shadows at the hands of the Generals who ran the USAAF as a result of them having the Press Corps portray the P51 as the savior of the day for sending those bombers unescorted on those early raids when the fact is had they allowed the P47's in theater at the time to use drop tanks they could have escorted the bombers all the way to their targets. The narrative that the P51 achieved air superiority over Europe and that they were the first one's that could escort bombers on deep penetration missions was nothing more than them covering their asses so they wouldn't wind up getting drug in front of a Congressional inquiry, for years aviation writer's just kept repeating the narrative but the latest generation of writer's that have taken the time to actually look at the records are proving otherwise.

[@ridleymain9234]

I’m incredibly happy that you talked about the fact that P-47s escorted to Germany. The myth around the P-51 being the first to do that is so wide spread that it’s been accepted as fact. I’m glad you have talked about the facts and not the prevailing narrative.

[@vk3wl]

Another great video, tnx. Suggestions for new videos: 1: Australian designed and built GAF N22 and N24 Nomad aircraft. 2: Australian Designed A10 Wamira turboprop trainer. Prototype built, never flown due to RAAF interefernce and constantly changing the specifications.

[@ApexPredatorWithSungGlasses]

P-47 along with the Corsair are very highly underrated aircraft. People always clamoring for the P-51 Mustang as the best; whereas it ALL was these three fighters the best during WWII.

[@anaetachandler8357]

Top five US fighters no order 1) F4U Corsair 2) F6F Hellcat 3) P-47 Thunderbolt 4) P-38 Lightning 5) P-51 Mustang

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Best American ones, sure. Best overall? No, close, but no.

[@jacktattis]

@@anaetachandler8357 No not even close

[@blindbob2539]

with the addition of water/methanol injection the P-47 had an additional 15% power on demand for dogfighting. with it's huge elliptical wings it could turn tightly at low speeds like the spitfire whereas a 109 or 190 would stall . range was it's drawback. but it was the perfect ground attack fighter bomber

[@ignitionfrn2223]

2:25 - Chapter 1 - Developement 6:05 - Chapter 2 - Tactics & missions 9:35 - Chapter 3 - The jet threat 11:25 - Chapter 4 - Post war

[@pjny21]

This was a really great summary of the timing and development of the Jug.

[@dubyacwh7978]

Great video and it’s easy to see why the A10 was christened the Thunderbolt II

[@michaelwiebers9656]

Simon, I didn't know you were such an accomplished poet. You waxed so beautifully about Gabie's P-47 with the propeller tearing up huge gobs of air... :) With all the You Tube videos about WWII aviation I have not found a satisfying one about the in-fighting and politics of authorizing or circle filing of experimental aircraft ,i.e. a whole1/2 hour zeroing in on that aspect. I'm probably the only person interested in this, but it's a thought.

[@lyleslaton3086]

Please do a Side projects on the M2 .50 cal machine gun. There was a saying during the war" Give em the whole 9 yards". This refers to the amount of ammo the planes carried. An ammo box of.50 cal held 105 rounds, about a yard, 3 feet for those who didn't go to the moon. Thus each gun held 945 rounds, times 8=7560. A bad day for anyone receiving a P-47s attention.

[@B-and-O-Operator-Fairmont]

While the Corsair is my all-time fan favorite, the Thunderbolt is a very close second. Thanks for producing this, Simon.

[@patrickwentz8413]

P 47s also operated in the Pacific with the US and in India and Burma with the British. Great plane.

[@jacktattis]

Not many with the Brits

[@torpedo8384]

The P&W R-2800 Double Wasp deserves it’s own video!

[@DreAmeoba1]

Having played a number of WW2 aerial combat simulator games, (War Thunder, Il 2 Sturmovik, etc, that all try to be as realistic, as possible,) my favorite fighter plane, is the p47 Thunderbolt……(with the infamous Focke Wulf, & Hurricane MK 2, as close seconds)…

[@devilmaycare2809]

Excellent video, thank you very much. I would really like to see a breakdown of the British Tempest from WW2 as you mentioned the capability of the P-47 as a fighter turned tank buster.

[@infledermaus]

Thanks! My favorite WWII fighter!

[@mikeletourneau3189]

Great video. As far as a suggestion, the Douglas A/B 26 Invader is the most unsung amazing airplane of three wars starting with WWII

[@jeffashley5512]

One of my favorite fighters along with the F4U Consair, F6F Hellcat and P51 Mustang which I saw at a local airshow and was an amazing machine.

[@steveb6103]

Three of your 4 top fighters had the same motor. The R2800 and the Hellcat was not much smaller. I have a picture of one of my dad's Hellcats with 3 cylinders smashed off by flak damage over Truk. The plane was so badly damaged it was pushed overboard shortly after the picture was taken!

[@timothymercer3526]

Always a pleasure to listen to your show

[@spacepeanut8993]

The Lockheed P-3 Orion would make an excellent topic!

[@maroccomo]

My great uncle flew one on the Pacific side of the war. Use to tell me stories about dowing a Japanese fighter while doing escort missions over Okinawa and the main islands of Japan. He eventually got damaged enough over Japan that lead him to ditching over the ocean. After the war he became an instructor pilot until his license was pulled at the age of 90.

[@thomashogan9196]

"If you want to impress your girl, fly a P-51. If you want to come home to your girl, fly a P-47."

[@RoscoesRiffs]

Terrific video about this flying sledgehammer. I read about one returning to base with a telephone pole in its wing.

[@JustinCase-ey4ok]

I would love to see you do a video on the A-10. I saw others had mentioned why it also was named the Thunderbolt as well. Their history is truly interesting, the main cannon would be worthy of a video all its own honestly.

[@eottoe2001]

TY. Didn't know they were so fast and powerful. We usually think of Spitfires, P-51, and P-38 only.

[@ronjon7942]

The model in the wind tunnel at 4:15 is a V12 water cooled design, not an R2800 radial. It is, however, a P-47 - but an XP-47A, which was dropped and never pursued. The P-47 we know and love started w the P-47B designation. I think. Nice picture, tho. And great poetry at the beginning.

[@davidmayes2948]

Always Glad to see a new video on a P-47! Awesome job and keep up the good work!

[@geraldscott4302]

The P-47 was big, heavy, powerful and fast. It was built like a tank and could survive a lot of damage. It also had formidable armament. But what it didn't have was maneuverability. And on a fighter, the guns are bolted in place, so the pilot has to aim the entire plane at the target and hold it there. Not an easy thing to do even with the best handling fighters.

[@hamishkay3010]

I love these big American WW2 Warbirds especially the P51 Mustang and the P47 Thunderbolt

[@kenhelmers2603]

Great video! I luv these old warbirds :)

[@georgewilliams8448]

Thank you for another informative and interesting video.

[@darrenpritchard8911]

You mentioned the Catalina, that would make a great side project

[@SD457500]

Do a video on the P-51! How it was designed in record time from the ground up (NA-73), the significance of the Merlin engine, and how significant its impact was in WWII.

[@donkeyboy585]

The engine that saved the world

[@anaetachandler8357]

@@donkeyboy585 and also the mustang. It was not until the merlin did it get the power etc it needed. The Allison equipped ones were redesignated A-36 Apache and were used for close ground support

[@dukecraig2402]

@@anaetachandler8357 The Merlin was never a "more powerful" engine than the Allison, you only have to look at the specifications of the P38 to see that, the problem was it didn't have a high altitude supercharger designed for the engine if it was removed from the P38 which used a turbo for a 2nd stage for high altitude, when the turbo is taken away the engine was only left with a single stage single speed supercharger which is only good for producing maximum boost at lower altitude, this was only because no one had ever paid Allison to develop any other type of supercharger since at that point the only aircraft that had it was the P38, the P39 and P40 both were also originally supposed to have the turbo to feed the Allison's single stage supercharger for high altitude performance but with both of them the turbo was dropped to shorten their development time so they could be rushed into production because everyone was screaming for aircraft. The single stage supercharger with a turbo for high altitude performance is the configuration that was used by all USAAF aircraft of WW2, the P47, B17, B24, B25, B29 all had that supercharging system and is why they all had a higher critical altitude rating on their engine's and a higher service ceiling then their contemporaries from other countries. By the end of the war a 2 stage 2 speed supercharger had been developed for the Allison for use in the production version of the Twin Mustang, it produced 2,250 HP at WEP, a comparable late war Merlin running on the same octane fuel only makes 2,050 HP. And the high altitude 2 speed 2 stage supercharger version of the Merlin wasn't even fielded before mid 1942, prior to that putting a Merlin in the P51 wouldn't have given any performance gains, even the early Packard built Merlin's only had a single stage supercharger, the fact is if all things are equal like supercharger types and fuel octane levels the Allison is always more powerful than the Merlin, it's just that after mid 1942 the Merlin finally got a high altitude supercharger system on it, which the Allison already had for years with it's turbo but if you take the turbo away like was done when the P51 was designed you're left with the engine's mechanically driven single stage supercharger which only produces maximum boost at lower altitude. The myth that the Merlin was more powerful than the Allison is basically just a fairytale that's been an easy sell to people who don't understand the difference supercharger systems and how altitude affects them, the story has always been based on the P51 story which is oversimplified and completely ignores supercharger types and the timelines of their developments.

[@anaetachandler8357]

@@dukecraig2402 thanks for the details and clarification.

[@dukecraig2402]

@@anaetachandler8357 The fact is the US led everyone else by several years when it comes to high altitude military aircraft. In the mid 30's NACA (the forerunner of NASA) did a study at the behest of the US military to determine what the best type of supercharging system is for the best performance at all altitudes. The US Army chose to have all their aircraft designed around the single stage supercharger/turbo configuration, this system makes the most power at all altitudes and is especially superior at the highest altitudes, the way it works is the engine's bolted on mechanically driven single stage supercharger provides all the boost the engine can handle up to around 10,000 ft, from there down the turbo doesn't do anything, exhaust gasses don't go through it instead they're diverted out of wastegate dumps, at around 10,000 ft the wastegate valve's start closing directing exhaust to the turbo which starts spinning up and providing compressed air to the engine's single stage supercharger, essentially making the engine feel like it's at lower altitude, the higher the aircraft would climb the more the wastegate's closed diverting more and more exhaust to the turbo spinning it faster and faster to compensate for the ever thinning air, the reason this system works best is because each stage of a mechanically driven supercharger leeches about 250 HP of the engine driving it, where a turbo is a waste energy recovery system, a 2 stage 2 speed supercharger drags about 500 HP off of the engine driving the 2 stages. The downside to the turbo system is aircraft take longer to develop, they're more expensive, and the ductwork needed for the turbo takes up space. The US Navy chose the 2 stage 2 speed supercharger system for it's aircraft having different priorities than the Army did since they operated off of carriers, their first aircraft to use a 2 stage supercharger and the first aircraft in the world to fly with a 2 stage 2 speed supercharger was the F4F-3 in 1939, the British bought F4F-3's from Grumman and were very happy with it's high altitude performance from it's 2 stage supercharger, it was after that the RAF task Rolls Royce with development of a 2 stage 2 speed supercharger for the Merlin engine, up to that point RAF aircraft like the Spitfire only had single stage superchargers and were only really good for maximum performance at medium altitude, all the Spitfire's in the Battle of Britain were like that, it wasn't until mid 1942 when the Merlin was available with a 2 stage supercharger that the MK IX variant of the Spitfire made it a high altitude fighter, that's the same time the the 2 stage Merlin was also fitted to the P51, it's not like before that the Spitfire or even just the Merlin engine itself was any good at high altitude. The way a 2 stage 2 speed supercharger works is as the aircraft gets up around 10,000 ft or so and the supercharger can no longer provide maximum boost to the engine the pilot would have to pull the throttle back about ⅓rd and shift the supercharger into it's high speed, he'd have to pull the throttle back first to keep from over boosting the engine, then as the aircraft would gain altitude he would keep pushing the throttle forward a little more at a time to keep maximum boost at the engine, the problems though are that you lose an additional 250 HP driving the 2nd stage and eventually even a 2 stage supercharger gains enough altitude to where it can't provide maximum boost, so does the turbo system eventually but that happens at a much higher altitude with it than a 2 stage supercharger. The benefits of a 2 stage supercharger is that they're simpler, cheaper, aircraft development time is faster and existing aircraft with single stage superchargers can easily be converted to a 2 stage system like was done to both the Spitfire and P51 starting in mid 42. To see the difference in performance between the two systems look at the power ratings and service ceilings of the P47 Thunderbolt and the F4U Corsair, both use the same basic Pratt&Whitney R2800 engine but the P47 uses the single stage supercharger/turbo configuration and the F4U uses the 2 stage 2 speed supercharger on it's engine, the P47 as a result has a higher HP rating, a higher critical altitude rating (the highest altitude that it's engine can make maximum power) and a higher service ceiling than an F4U. It's a lot to take in but there you have it, that's the crash course on the basics of how the different supercharger systems worked on WW2 aircraft.

[@HuGenitals]

The air victory numbers for some of these aces are literally entire squadrons in today's money

[@danielkennedy1524]

Another excellent history lesson Mr. Whistler! thank you sir! Keep them coming!

[@tommack9395]

The P-47 gave the allies the air-superiority over the they needed prior to D-Day. The Luftwaffe as basically unseen on D-Day because begining six months prior to the landing the U.S. air-corp changed their strategic policy, Before that fighters were ordered to solely protect the bomber groups and stay with them, but as the plans for the invasion began to appear, they were ordered leave bomber to pursue and take out every enemy aircraft and ground force which came into their view.

[@martindice5424]

Love The Jug! How about a show about the Beaufighter? Like the P.47 it wasn’t pretty. But it was a statement of intent. I love it.

[@dukecraig2402]

Typhoon, that's my favorite RAF fighter of the war, like the P47 it was big and nasty.

[@waynekrisell8421]

I love the way they say AL. U. MIN. IUM. We all here in Arkinsaw know it's reely purnownsed lou meum, Loumeum full, loumeum pipes, flat shete loumeum .

[@delliardo583]

The P-51D was the Nimble Angel of the skies, and the P-47 was the beast of a Seraph raining holy fire down upon fascism!

[@johnforsyth7987]

Thank you for the informative video. How about doing a similar video on the German FW-190 aircraft. It was also used for a wide variety of missions types just as the P-47 was.

[@magnificus8581]

Awesome! A review of my favorite plane by Simon!

[@fantabuloussnuffaluffagus]

Should have a look at the information on "Greg's airplanes and automobiles" He does several deep dives into the P-47. I think it might be his favorite as well.

[@garymcaleer6112]

Good post, Simon. You covered in less than 15 minutes what others take an hour. And Happy Guy Fawkes Day. Without those days we wouldn't be here today.

[@juliusdream2683]

My favorite fighter of WW2 . Hard hitting fast and tough..

[@edwardmckinsey995]

Even though I was a Helo guy for 20+ in the Navy, and even though today's fighters are AMAZING in there abilities, there is just Something about planes of that era that I love, and man was she a Tank in the sky! Love these kinds of videos, keep them coming Simon...🎶🧑‍🎤🎸🎶

[@jb6027]

Simon finally said "aircraft" instead of "aircrafts". Well done you! Great video.

[@owenshebbeare2999]

He doesn't write the scripts. Blame the American scriptwriters and editors. Americans aren't great with the English language.

[@nickw7619]

Do a video on John basilone.. ww2 hero from my hometown. He was an absolute beast

[@oldgamerdufe2595]

Please do vids on the ME/BF 109, the FW 190 Dora and Emil. And other WWII planes.

[@Arcvde]

Props to your script writer. 40 seconds in and I wouldn’t turn this video off if my house was on fire.

[@igostupidfast3]

Dang he covered pretty much everything except the water injection to temporarily add even more power

[@dhawthorne1634]

Even with modern anti-aircraft defenses, these planes could probably be pretty effective. They are small enough to be a tough target with modern guided weapons and a manually fired weapon could really only hope to hit it with shrapnel and flak, which they were specifically designed to withstand.

[@chroniclesofnowhere1269]

Gabreski was such a nice old man, when I met him. He was much shorter than I had imagined but was so sharp and had the same face from his cockpit shots.

[@fireforger9192]

An underrated aircraft, good to hear their story v interesting

[@timcope6685]

Simon , how about a in-depth look at the A26 Invader with its 12 .50cals in the nose! Although designated as a bomber, its ground attack capabilities were nothing to sneeze at!

[@charlesfaure1189]

The most effective way to shoot down opposing fighter airctaft was to dive on the unsuspecting enemy (preferably from the sun) and shoot him before he knew he was in danger (and thus not maneuvering.) The P-47 was perfect for this kind of work. Getting into turning fights was a good way to get killed regardless of what you were flying.

[@timothycook2917]

Not to be a knit-picker (although I enjoy being that) but @ 0:11 I highly doubt any B-17C's were used over Germany (in fact: none where) Fun fact: A single-engine P-47 could carry half the ordnance weight of a B-17 that had four engines

[@anaetachandler8357]

Correct they were E,F, and G models as far as B-17. Perhaps he got the c designation was referring to B-24

[@ricoardito]

I believe this is incorrect. It could carry half the TYPICAL ordinance carried by a B17 but not half of what the B17 was capable of (14,000 pounds). This is my only source but he utilizes primary sources that I find convincing. And I'm also referring Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles. It's a deep dive, particularly for KZbin. It's awesome! kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnq0m2Wnm9WLick&ab_channel=Greg%27sAirplanesandAutomobiles

[@anaetachandler8357]

@@ricoardito yes you would be correct. Ie the p 47 could carry 250 and 500 lb bombs but only a couple per wing.

[@anaetachandler8357]

@@ricoardito and yes the p47 series on greg's is the 💣

[@specialingu]

its a much bigger engine, bombers typically had 1000hp ish engines, the jug had 2800ish ? thats partly why the late war fighters could carry large loads, phat engines :)

[@cutl00senc]

Hey Simon! Great video! How about a video about the LST landing craft of ww2?

[@rg20322]

Gabreski is a legend!

[@1992AC]

This shouldn’t be a side project video… It should be a mega project! Common Simon!

[@niravdarmesh5278]

"Get into all about it". I love it!!!

[@rikijett310]

Great video as always!!!

[@phillipcowan1444]

Although back in the day the "jug" was derided for it's looks I always thought it had a peculiar beauty all it's own, especially the D model.

[@charlessmalling9903]

I recently got the chance to see a P47 up close at the local museum. It is a VERY large airplane. Maybe a 3rd bigger than a P51. Who doesn't like the looks of an elliptical wing?

[@davegeisler7802]

P47M ❤️🤩🏁