P47
Thunderbolt
In the entire history of military aviation, there has never been an airplane that could match the P-47 Thunderbolt for ruggedness and dependability. The pilots who flew it into combat called it "The Unbreakable" and "The plane that can do anything." They were not far from wrong.
P-47's often came back from combat shot full of holes, their wings and control surfaces in tatters. On one occasion a Thunderbolt pilot, Lieutenant Chetwood, hit a steel pole after strafing a train over Occupied France. The collision sliced four feet off one of his wings--yet he was able to fly back safely to his base in England.
Specifications:
Republic P-47D-25-RE Thunderbolt
Dimensions:
Wing span: 40 ft. 9.25 in (12.43 m)
Length: 36 ft. 1.25 in. (11.01 m)
Height: 14 ft 2 in (4.32 m)
Weights:
Empty: 10,700 lb. (4,858 kg)
Operational: 19,400 lb (8,807 kg)
Performance:
Maximum Speed: 428 mph (689 km/h)
Service Ceiling: 42,000 ft. (12,810 m)
Range: 925 miles (1,488 km)
Powerplant:
One Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp , XR-2800-21 eighteen-cylinder two-row radial engine developing 2,000 h.p. for take-off and 2,300 h.p. at 31,000 ft. with turbo-supercharging.
Armament:
Six or eight 0.5-in. wing-mounted Browning machine-guns with 267 or 425 rounds per gun and up to 2,500 lb. of bombs or ten 5-in. HVAR missiles.
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