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Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
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===P-47 in Allied service=== [[File:Republic P- 47D Thunderbolt ExCC.jpg|thumb|[[Royal Air Force]] Republic Thunderbolt Mark I]] [[File:Avimage18a large.jpg|thumb|Lt. Jorge Paranhos Taborda, Brazilian P-47 pilot during World War II]] [[File: A Brazilian fighter plane damaged by German flak WWII.jpg |thumb| After destroying a German tank, the P-47 piloted by Brazilian Lieutenant Raymundo Canário hit a factory chimney losing the wing tip, but the aircraft remained airworthy and managed to return to base, demonstrating the robustness of the P-47.]] [[File:GAC P-47s of Brazil.jpg|thumb|Brazilian P-47s in World War II carried the ''Senta a Pua!'' squadron badge, along with the [[Brazilian Air Force#mediaviewer/File:Brazilian Air Force WW2 roundel.svg|national insignia of Brazil]] painted over the USAAF's [[United States military aircraft national insignia#American entry into World War II| star and bar]].]] [[File:P-47D Thunderbolt 01097628 058 USAF.jpg|thumb|P-47D "Kathie" with a {{cvt|75|USgal|impgal l|0}} drop tank buzzed the airfield at [[RAF Bodney|Bodney]], England.]] P-47s were operated by several Allied air arms during World War II. The RAF received 240 razorback P-47Ds, which they designated Thunderbolt Mark I, and 590 bubbletop P-47D-25s, designated Thunderbolt Mark IIs. With no need for another high-altitude fighter, the RAF adapted their Thunderbolts for ground attack, a task for which the type was well suited. Once the Thunderbolts were cleared for use in 1944, they were used against the Japanese in [[Burma]] by 16 RAF squadrons of the [[South East Asia Command]] from [[India]]. Operations with army support (operating as "[[Close air support|cab ranks]]" to be called in when needed), attacks on enemy airfields and lines of communication, and escort sorties. They proved devastating in tandem with Spitfires during the Japanese [[Battle of the Sittang Bend|breakout attempt at the Sittang Bend]] in the final months of the war. The Thunderbolts were armed with three {{convert|500|lb|kg|abbr=on}} bombs or, in some cases, British "{{convert|60|lb|kg|abbr=on}}" [[RP-3]] rocket projectiles. Long-range fuel tanks<ref>{{citation |journal=Flight |date=7 December 1944 |title=RAF Thunderbolts |page=600 (photo caption) |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1944/1944%20-%202502.html |access-date=14 March 2013 |archive-date=1 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201220003/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1944/1944%20-%202502.html |url-status=live }}</ref> gave five hours of endurance. Thunderbolts flew escort for RAF Liberators in the bombing of Rangoon. Thunderbolts remained in RAF service until October 1946. Postwar RAF Thunderbolts were used in support of the Dutch attempts to reassert control of [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]]. Those squadrons not disbanded outright after the war re-equipped with British-built aircraft such as the [[Hawker Tempest]].<ref>{{citation |publisher=RAF Museum |url=http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/collections/republic-p-47d-thunderbolt-ii |title=Republic P-47D Thunderbolt II |access-date=2013-03-14 |archive-date=2012-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003002821/http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/collections/republic-p-47d-thunderbolt-ii/ |url-status=live }}</ref> During the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]], the [[1st Fighter Aviation Group|"1º Grupo de Caça da Força Aérea Brasileira" (Brazilian Air Force 1st Fighter Squadron)]] flew a total of 48 P-47Ds in combat (of a total of 67 received, 19 of which were backup aircraft). This unit flew a total of 445 missions from November 1944 to May 1945 over northern Italy and Central Europe, with 15 P-47s lost to German [[flak]] and five pilots being killed in action.<ref name="Dias de Cunha">{{cite web |last1=Dias de Cunha |first1=Rudnei |title=Republic P-47 Thunderbolt |url=http://www.rudnei.cunha.nom.br/FAB/en/p-47.html |website=www.rudnei.cunha.nom.br |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223184843/http://www.rudnei.cunha.nom.br/FAB/en/p-47.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the early 1980s, this unit was awarded the "[[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]]" by the American government in recognition for its achievements in World War II.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sentapua.com.br/Ing/Citacao.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041210213143/http://www.sentapua.com.br/Ing/Citacao.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 December 2004|title=Sinopse e Créditos|date=10 December 2004|accessdate=28 September 2018}}</ref> From March 1945 to the end of the war in the Pacific—as Mexico had declared war on the Axis on May 22, 1942—the Mexican [[Aztec Eagles|Escuadrón Aéreo de Pelea 201]] ([[Escuadrón 201|201st Fighter Squadron]]) operated P-47Ds as part of the U.S. 5th Air Force in the [[Philippines]]. In 791 sorties against Japanese forces, the 201st lost no pilots or aircraft to enemy action.<ref>Velasco, E. Alfonso, Jr. [http://ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2002/12/stuff_eng_velasco_p47.htm "Aztec Eagle – P-47D of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050904232640/http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2002/12/stuff_eng_velasco_p47.htm |date=2005-09-04 }} IPMS Stockholm, 9 January 2006. Retrieved: 14 July 2006.</ref> The [[Free French Air Forces]] received 446 P-47Ds from 1943. These aircraft saw extensive action in France and Germany and again in the 1950s during the [[Algerian War of Independence]]. After World War II, the Italian Air Force (AMI) received 75 P-47D-25s sent to 5˚ ''Stormo'', and 99 to the 51˚. These machines were delivered between 1947 and 1950. However, they were not well liked, as the Italian pilots were used to much lighter aircraft and found the controls too heavy. Nevertheless, the stability, payload, and high speed were appreciated. Most importantly, the P-47 served as an excellent transition platform to heavier jet fighters, including the [[F-84 Thunderjet]], starting in 1953.<ref>Sgarlato 2005.</ref> The type was provided to many Latin American air forces, some of which operated it into the 1960s. Small numbers of P-47s were also provided to China, [[Iran]], [[Turkey]], and [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]].
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