These issues were dealt with and a four-blade propeller was added to better take advantage of the engine’s power. Though it exceeded Republic’s expectations and achieved a top speed of 412 mph, the aircraft underwent several teething problems including excessive control loads at high altitude, less than desired maneuverability, and issues with the cloth-covered control surfaces. Working quickly, Republic had the XP-47 prototype ready for its maiden flight on May 6, 1941. Impressed, the USAAC awarded a contract for the XP-47 on September 6, 1940, despite the fact that it weighed twice as much as the Supermarine Spitfire and Messerschmitt Bf 109 then being flown in Europe. and centered on the 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp XR-2800-21, the most powerful engine yet produced in the United States.įeaturing eight machine guns, the XP-47 featured elliptical wings and an efficient, durable turbocharger which was mounted in the fuselage behind the pilot. Presented to the USAAC in June 1940, the new aircraft was a behemoth with an empty weight of 9,900 lbs. Returning to the drawing board, Kartveli radically changed the design and created the XP-47B. A contract was awarded in November 1939, however the USAAC, watching the early months of World War II, soon concluded that the proposed fighter was inferior to current German aircraft.Īs a result, it issued a new set of requirements which included a minimum airspeed of 400 mph, six machine guns, pilot armor, self-sealing fuel tanks, and 315 gallons of fuel. A somewhat disappointing aircraft, Republic continued to work with the design evolving it into the XP-44 Rocket/AP-10.Ī fairly lightweight fighter, the USAAC was intrigued and moved the project forward as the XP-47 and XP-47A. Having changed the company name to Republic Aircraft, Seversky and Kartveli moved forward and applied this technology to the P-43 Lancer. In the late 1930s, the two designers experimented with belly-mounted turbochargers and created the AP-4 demonstrator. ground attack aircraft, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, takes its name from the P-47 Thunderbolt.ĭuring the 1930s, the Seversky Aircraft Company designed several fighters for the US Army Air Corps under the guidance of Alexander de Seversky and Alexander Kartveli. The armored cockpit was roomy inside, comfortable for the pilot, and offered good visibility. The sturdy and rugged aircraft was designed by Alexander de Seversky and Alexander Kartveli, emigres from the Russian Empire. Mexican and Brazilian squadrons fighting alongside the U.S. The P-47 Thunderbolt was one of the main United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters of World War II, and served with other Allied air forces such as France, the UK and the USSR. The P-47 Thunderbolt, based on the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine, was to be very effective as a short-to-medium range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat and when unleashed as a fighter-bomber, proved especially adept at ground attack in both the WW-II European and Pacific Theaters. When fully loaded, the P-47 Thunderbolt weighed up to eight tons, and in the fighter-bomber ground attack roles could carry five inch rockets and or a significant bomb load of 2,500 pounds-over half the weight the famous B-17 bomber could carry on long-range missions. Republic Aviation’s P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the “Jug”, was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. Between December 1942 and March 1944 Curtiss-Wright produced a total of 354 P-47G Thunderbolts which were identical to the Republic-built “razorback” P-47D models. In order to meet expanded wartime production goals for the P-47D Thunderbolt, the New York-based Republic Aviation Company built a second plant in Evansvile, Indiana and also licensed the Curtiss-Wright Company to produce the aeroplane under the P-47G designation. Out of the grand total of 15,660 P-47 Thunderbolts produced for the US Army Air Corps during World War Two, perhaps the least known operational versions were the Curtiss-built P-47Gs.
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