Editing Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (section)

===US service===
[[File:P-47b.jpg|thumb|P-47B-RE 41-5905 assigned to the 56th FG at Teterboro Airport: Note the windows behind the cockpit and the sliding canopy, an indication that this was an early-production P-47B]]

By the end of 1942, P-47Cs were sent to England for combat operations. The initial Thunderbolt flyers, [[56th Fighter Group]], were sent overseas to join the [[Eighth Air Force|8th Air Force]]. As the P-47 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).{{#tag:ref|Historians argue that the nickname "Jug" was short for "Juggernaut" when aviators began using the longer word as an alternate nickname.<ref>Graff 2007, p. 53.</ref> Another nickname that was used for the Thunderbolt was "T-bolt".<ref>Air Force Association 1998, p. 110.</ref>|group=Note}} Two fighter groups <!-- (FGs) --> already stationed in England began introducing the Jugs in January 1943 - the [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]]-flying [[4th Fighter Group]], a unit built around a core of experienced American pilots who had flown in the RAF [[Eagle Squadron]]s prior to the US entry in the war; and the [[78th Fighter Group]], formerly flying [[Lockheed P-38 Lightning|P-38 Lightning]]s.

[[File:Francis Gabreski color photo in pilot suit.jpg|thumb|P-47 pilot Lt Col [[Francis S. Gabreski|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]]).

By mid-1943, the Jug was also in service with the [[12th Air Force]] in [[Italy]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bernstein |first1=Jonathan |title=P-47 Thunderbolt Units of the Twelfth Air Force |date=2012 |publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] |location=[[Botley, Oxfordshire]] |isbn=9781849086721 |page=8 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-K6CwAAQBAJ&q=Republic+P-47+Thunderbolt&pg=PA2 |access-date=February 10, 2019 |language=en |chapter=1}}</ref> and against the Japanese in the Pacific, with the [[348th Fighter Group]] flying missions out of [[Port Moresby]], New Guinea. By 1944, the Thunderbolt was in combat with the USAAF in all its operational theaters except Alaska.

[[File:P-47 gun harmonization 1945 page 35.jpg|thumb|One of several [[gun harmonization|gun-harmonization]] schemes used on the P-47: This one converged the eight guns into a point at about {{convert|1100|ft|m|abbr=on}} out front.]]

''Luftwaffe'' ace [[Heinrich Bär|Heinz Bär]] said that the P-47 "could absorb an astounding amount of lead [from shooting at it] and had to be handled very carefully".<ref name="rymaszewski199407">{{Cite magazine
 |last=Rymaszewski
 |first=Michael
 |date=July 1994
 |title=Playing Your Aces
 |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=120
 |magazine=Computer Gaming World
 |pages=101–105
 |access-date=2017-11-16
 |archive-date=2019-10-02
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002210239/http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=120
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref> Although the [[North American P-51 Mustang]] replaced the P-47 in the long-range escort role in Europe, the Thunderbolt still ended the war with an aerial kill ratio of 4.6:1<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.si.edu/object/republic-p-47d-30-ra-thunderbolt%3Anasm_A19600306000#:~:text=Thunderbolts%20were%20lost%20at%20the,air%2Dto%2Dair%20combat. | title=Republic P-47D-30-RA Thunderbolt }}</ref> in over 746,000 sorties of all types, at the cost of 3,499 P-47s to all causes in combat.<ref>[http://www.museumofflight.org/Collection/Aircraft.asp?RecordKey=0D778AE9-8768-421A-A133-68393123B13A "Republic P-47D Thunderbolt".] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070324052854/http://www.museumofflight.org/Collection/Aircraft.asp?RecordKey=0D778AE9-8768-421A-A133-68393123B13A |date=2007-03-24 }} Museum of Flight. Retrieved: 12 July 2006.</ref> By the end of the war, the 56th FG was the only 8th Air Force unit still flying the P-47, by preference, instead of the P-51. The unit claimed 677-1/2 air victories and 311 ground kills, at the cost of 128 aircraft.<ref>[http://usaaf.com/8thaf/fighter/56fg.HTM "8th Air Force 56th FG."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060612043838/http://www.usaaf.com/8thaf/fighter/56fg.HTM |date=2006-06-12 }} ''U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II,'' 18 June 2004. Retrieved: 14 July 2006.</ref> [[Lieutenant Colonel]] [[Francis S. Gabreski]] scored 28 victories,<ref>[http://www.au.af.mil/au/goe/eaglebios/88bios/gabres88.htm "Francis S. 'Gabby' Gabreski".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080523101516/http://www.au.af.mil/au/goe/eaglebios/88bios/gabres88.htm |date=2008-05-23 }} USAF Air University, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, 17 April 2006. Retrieved: 14 July 2006.</ref> [[Captain (OF-2)|Captain]] [[Robert S. Johnson]] scored 27 aerial victories (with one unconfirmed probable kill leading to some giving his tally as 28),<ref>Rose, Scott. [http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/URG/johnson.html "Robert S. Johnson".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060922134028/http://warbirdsresourcegroup.org/URG/johnson.html |date=2006-09-22 }} Warbirds Resource Group, 11 June 2006. Retrieved: 14 July 2006.</ref> and 56th FG Commanding Officer [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] [[Hubert Zemke]] scored 17.75 kills.{{#tag:ref|Zemke flew a P-38 for three of his kills.<ref>[http://www.acepilots.com/usaaf_zemke.html "Col. Hubert 'Hub' Zemke."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917053527/http://acepilots.com/usaaf_zemke.html |date=2010-09-17 }} Acepilots.com, 29 July 2003. Retrieved: 14 July 2006.</ref>|group=Note}} Despite being the sole remaining P-47 group in the 8th Air Force, the 56th FG remained its top-scoring group in aerial victories throughout the war.

With increases in fuel capacity as the type was refined, the range of escort missions over Europe steadily increased until the P-47 was able to accompany bombers in raids all the way into Germany. On the way back from the raids, pilots shot up ground targets of opportunity, and also used belly shackles to carry bombs on short-range missions, which led to the realization that the P-47 could perform a dual function on escort missions as a [[fighter-bomber]]. Even with its complicated turbosupercharger system, its sturdy airframe and tough radial engine could absorb significant damage and still return home.

The P-47 gradually became the USAAF's primary fighter-bomber; by late 1943, early versions of the P-47D carried {{convert|500|lb|kg|abbr=on}} bombs underneath their bellies, midproduction versions of the P-47D could carry {{convert|1000|lb|kg|abbr=on}} bombs and [[M8 (rocket)|M8 4.5&nbsp;in (115&nbsp;mm)]] rockets under their wings or from the last version of the P-47D in 1944, {{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on}} [[High Velocity Aircraft Rocket]]s (HVARs, also known as "Holy Moses"). From D-Day until VE day, Thunderbolt pilots claimed to have destroyed 86,000 [[railroad car]]s, 9,000 [[locomotive]]s, 6,000 [[Armoured fighting vehicle|armored fighting vehicles]], and 68,000 trucks.<ref name="trucks">[https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/republic-p-47d-30-ra-thunderbolt "Republic P-47D-30-RA Thunderbolt (Long Description)."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220094211/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/republic-p-47d-30-ra-thunderbolt |date=2017-02-20 }} ''Smithsonian [[National Air and Space Museum]]''. Retrieved: 19 February 2017.</ref> During [[Operation Cobra]], in the vicinity of [[Roncey]], on 29 July, early in the US break out, the 405th Fighter Group hit a German column trapped between Roncey and St-Denis-le-Vetu by elements of the US 2nd and 3rd Armoured Divisions. The group attacked this column from 3.10pm to 9.40pm. Ground investigations found 66 tanks, 204 vehicles and 11 guns destroyed in this attack. .<ref>{{Cite web|title=405th Fighter Group (USAAF)|url=http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/USAAF/405th_Fighter_Group.html|access-date=2022-02-07|website=www.historyofwar.org}}</ref>