The
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a
World War II era
fighter aircraft produced by the
United States between 1941–1945. Its primary armament was eight
.50-caliber machine guns, four per wing, and in the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry five-inch rockets or a bomb load of 2,500 pounds, more than half the payload of the
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. When fully loaded the P-47 weighed up to eight tons making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war. The P-47 was designed around the powerful
Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine which was the same engine also used by two very successful U.S. Navy fighters, the
Grumman F6F Hellcat and the
Vought F4U Corsair. The Thunderbolt was very effective as a short-to-medium range escort fighter in high-altitude
air-to-air combat but was also adept at
ground attack in both the
World War II European and
Pacific Theaters.The P-47 was one of the main
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters of
World War II, and served with other
Allied air forces, notably those of France, Britain, and Russia. Mexican and Brazilian squadrons fighting alongside the U.S. were equipped with the P-47.The armored cockpit was roomy inside, comfortable for the pilot, and offered good visibility. A modern-day U.S. ground-attack aircraft, the
Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, takes its name from the P-47