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==Flying the Thunderbolt== ===Aerial warfare=== [[File:P-47-2.jpg|thumb|USAAF P-47D "Razorback" configuration]] Initial response to the P-47 praised its dive speed and high-altitude performance, while criticizing its turning performance and rate of climb (particularly at low to medium altitudes). The turbosupercharger in the P-47 gave the powerplant its maximum power at {{convert|27000|ft|m|abbr=on}}, and in the thin air above {{convert|30000|ft|m|abbr=on}}, the Thunderbolt remained fast and nimble compared to other aircraft.<ref>Bergerud 2000, pp. 269–70.</ref> The P-47 first saw action with the 4th Fighter Group, whose pilots were mainly drawn from the three British [[Eagle Squadrons]], who had previously flown the British Spitfire Mark V, a much smaller and much more slender aircraft. At first, they viewed their new fighter with misgivings. It was huge; the British pilots joked that a Thunderbolt pilot could defend himself from a ''Luftwaffe'' fighter by running around and hiding in the fuselage. Optimized for high-altitude work, the Thunderbolt had {{convert|5|ft}} more wingspan, a quarter more wing area, about four times the fuselage volume, and nearly twice the weight of a Spitfire V.<ref name="Spick 96">Spick 1983, p. 96.</ref><ref name="Caldwell">Caldwell 2007, p. 89.</ref> One Thunderbolt pilot compared it to flying a bathtub around the sky. When his unit (4th Fighter Group) was equipped with Thunderbolts, ace Don Blakeslee said, referring to the P-47's vaunted ability to dive on its prey, "It ought to be able to dive. It certainly can't climb."<ref>Sims, Edward H. ''American Aces of World War II'', London: Macdonald, 1958.</ref> (Blakeslee's early-model P-47C had not been fitted with the new paddle blade propeller). The 4th Fighter Group's commander hated the P-47, and his prejudices filtered down to the group's pilots; the 4th had the fewest kills of any of the first three P-47 squadrons in Europe.<ref name="Caldwell"/> U.S. ace [[James A. Goodson]], who had flown Spitfires with the RAF and flew a P-47 in 1943, at first shared the skepticism of other pilots for their "seven-ton milk bottles", but Goodson learned to appreciate the P-47's potential: <blockquote>There were many U.S. pilots who preferred the P-47 to anything else; they do not agree that the (Fw) 190 held an overall edge against it.<ref name="Sims 160-161">Sims 1980, pp. 160–61.</ref></blockquote> [[File:Thunderbolt II 30 Sqn RAF at Jumchar 1945.jpg|thumb|RAF Thunderbolt Mk.II readying for a sortie over Burma. January 1945]] The P-47's initial success in combat was primarily due to tactics, using rolls (the P-47 had an excellent roll rate) and energy-saving dive and zoom climbs from high altitude to outmaneuver German fighters. Both the Bf 109 and Fw 190 could, like the Spitfire, out-turn and out-climb the early model P-47s at low to medium altitudes, since these early P-47s had mediocre climb performance due to the lack of paddle-blade propellers.<ref>Jordan, C. C. [http://planesandpilotsofww2.webs.com/Fisher.html "Pushing The Envelope With Test Pilot Herb Fisher".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402105803/http://planesandpilotsofww2.webs.com/Fisher.html |date=2015-04-02 }} ''Planes and Pilots of WW2,'' 2000. Retrieved: 22 July 2011.</ref> The arrival of the new Curtiss paddle-blade propeller in early 1944 significantly increased climb rate at lower altitudes and came as a surprise to German pilots, who had resorted to steep climbs to evade pursuit by the P-47.<ref name="Caldwell"/> Some P-47 pilots claimed to have broken the [[sound barrier]] in steep dives, but later research revealed that because of the pressure buildup inside the [[pitot tube]] at high speeds, airspeed readings became unpredictably exaggerated. As P-47s were able to out-dive enemy fighter planes, German pilots gradually learned to avoid diving away. [[Kurt Bühligen]], a high-scoring German fighter ace with 112 victories, recalled: <blockquote>The P-47 was very heavy, too heavy for some maneuvers. We would see it coming from behind, and pull up fast, and the P-47 couldn't follow and we came around and got on its tail in this way.<ref name="Sims 134-135">Sims 1980, pp. 134–35.</ref> </blockquote> Other positive attributes included the P-47's ruggedness; its radial piston engine had a high tolerance for damage compared to liquid-cooled engines, while its large size meant it could sustain a large amount of damage and still be able to get its pilot back to base.{{#tag:ref|[[Quentin C. Aanenson]] documented his experiences flying the Thunderbolt on [[D-Day]] and subsequently in the [[European Theater]] in his documentary, ''A Fighter Pilot's Story'' (also released as ''Dogfight''.).|group=Note}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hallion |first1=Richard |title=D-Day 1944 – Air Power Over The Normandy Beaches And Beyond |date=August 15, 2014 |publisher=[[Pickle Partners Publishing]] |isbn= 978-1-78289887-0 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7SBwCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT4 |access-date=February 10, 2019 |language= en}}</ref> With eight .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, the P-47 carried more firepower than other single-engined American fighters. P-47 pilots claimed 20 ''Luftwaffe'' [[Messerschmitt Me 262]] jet fighters and four [[Arado Ar 234]] jet bombers in aerial combat. ===Ground attack role=== [[File:Republic P-47D-40-RE in flight firing rockets.jpg|thumb|Republic P-47D-40-RE 44–90386 in flight firing rockets]] The P-47 proved to be a formidable fighter-bomber due to its good armament, heavy bomb load, and ability to survive enemy fire. The P-47's survivability was due in part to its radial piston engine, which unlike comparable liquid-cooled engines, had a high tolerance for damage.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hallion |first1=Richard |title=D-Day 1944 – Air Power Over The Normandy Beaches And Beyond |date=August 15, 2014 |publisher=[[Pickle Partners Publishing]] |isbn= 978-1-78289887-0 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7SBwCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT4 |access-date=February 10, 2019 |language= en}}</ref> The Thunderbolt's eight .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns were capable against lightly armored targets, although less so than cannon-armed aircraft of the day. In a ground-attack role, the [[Armor-piercing shot and shell|armor-piercing]], armor-piercing incendiary, and armor-piercing incendiary tracer ammunition proved useful in penetrating thin-skinned and lightly armored German vehicles and causing their fuel tanks to explode, as well as occasionally damaging some types of enemy armored fighting vehicles (AFVs).<ref name="Barnes p. 432">Barnes 1989, p. 432.</ref> P-47 pilots frequently carried two {{convert|500|lb|kg|abbr=on}} bombs, using [[skip bombing]] techniques for difficult targets (skipping bombs into railroad tunnels to destroy hidden enemy trains was a favorite tactic).<ref name= "Achtung">"Achtung! Jabos! The Story of the IX TAC." ''Stars & Stripes'', U.S. Army, 1944.</ref> The adoption of the triple-tube M10 rocket launcher<ref>[http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/TM/pdfs/TM9-395.pdf Page 4 illustration of M10 triple-tube launcher], iBiblio.</ref> with M8 high-explosive {{convert |4.5|in|mm|adj=on|abbr=on}} rockets (each with an explosive force similar to a [[M101 howitzer|105 mm artillery]] shell)—much as the RAF's [[Hawker Typhoon]] gained when first fitted with its own two quartets of underwing RP-3 rockets for the same purposes—significantly increased the P-47's ground attack capability.<ref>Dunn, Carle E. (LTC). [http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/aviation/docs/gunsagogo.html "Army Aviation and Firepower".] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081223234821/http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/aviation/docs/gunsagogo.html |date= 2008-12-23}} Army, May 2000. Retrieved 21 November 2009.</ref> Late in the war, the P-47 was retrofitted with more powerful {{convert|5|in|mm|adj=on|abbr=on}} [[High Velocity Aircraft Rocket|HVAR rockets]].
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