P47 Thunderbolt a fresh view

[TOMB]

New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks Ct. Has a Chrysler aero engine they built for the P47.

V16 watercooler etc.

Also has a picture of the engine installed and flying.

TOMB

[john fish]

Link to the last of the P-47 youtube series, Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jeV3wuML2s

I've always thought of the Thunderbolt as the Guzziest of warbirds.

[sign216]

Always thought these were cool...the legendary P-38 Lightning!! 

I always liked the P-38, the only fighter that started the war, and also was fighting to end it. 
Amazing longevity. 
Oddly, it did much better in the Pacific theater than the European.

[Rough Edge racing]

 The P38 had the range to escort bombers over Germany but had a lot of issues in the cold high altitude air over Europe. Poor cockpit heating, over cooling engine oil, fuel mixture issues caused detonation and blown engines and pilot inexperience. It was difficult to master and many pilots never did and were sitting ducks....The P38 problems led to the P51 devolopment as a long range escort.
  In warmer air over the Mediterrian and SE Asia, the Lightning  with a good pilot was equal to any Axis fighter...
To me, the P38 Art Deco styling is a very attractive aircraft.

[SteveRivet]

46 liter, 16 cylinder, twin radial, supercharged, heavily armed and armoured, what's not to love about that!

The P51 may have been the Ducati bevel twin of its day while the  P47 was the V7 Sport; rock solid, dependable and cool.

Great analogy.

[ozarquebus]

 More defense of the poor Buffalo:
 The theoretical match up between a ZERO and a BUFFALO still interests me, even if we won't see Joe Lewis fight Royce Gracie, either.
The original design of the Buffalo had much less fuel, no tail hook, no radio as well as a host of other things added to it as it evolved to meet naval specs to the tune of 1000lbs + added drag.
 The zero was built very light and a lot of attention was paid to drag and it was deployed that way without the added weight of many of the things required to meet the US Navy carrier specifications; basically a stripped-down hot-rod.
If you compare the specs of the early model zeros and the original Buffalo specs, they're very similar and pilots reported the Buffalo was extremely maneuverable with a very fast roll and turn.

Granted, the Buffalo could not land on a carrier without breaking the landing gear, but if it had been been made aerodynamically slicker and stripped down a bit, like the Finns did in their field modifications, in the air it would have been competitive to the Zero.
 I think if the Brewster Buffalo was all US NAVY had until the Hellcat appeared (ie: no Wildcat), they could have made it work if wartime development of the design and field mods had continued. Don't forget, the Wildcat was also considered inferior to the Zero, but it did ok.

[ScepticalScotty]

Apart from the P38 the Spitfire also fought from September 1939 to VJ day, and I am sure there are a few others like the Hurricane. And the Walrus. 

[sign216]

Apart from the P38 the Spitfire also fought from September 1939 to VJ day, and I am sure there are a few others like the Hurricane. And the Walrus. 

Ok, ok Scotty,
I mean among American planes.  I think the British industry was over-taxed, and didn't have the capacity to field many more planes, like the Americans could.

I bet the Italians also used the same model planes from beginning to end, but not because they wanted to.  In the beginning, they had some ingenious designs, but then the realities of the conflict overtook them.

[Rough Edge racing]

 There's aways talk about the handling and speed of the fighter planes and which one was top dog....But  pilots seem to say a majority of kills came from jumping the other guy who never saw it coming..So pilot skill of getting in quick, good shooting and zooming away may be most important.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Ed the Rocket Scientist's aunt, lower left..and in the Jug. You can hang the picture either way.. I prefer this one. 

[Two Checks]

Quote from: TOMB on November 29, 2020, 06:05:31 PM

New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks Ct. Has a Chrysler aero engine they built for the P47.

V12 watercooler etc.

Also has a picture of the engine installed and flying.

TOMB

That's a V-16, the engine I referred to earlier.

On the dyno it showed 3000 HP.  It was limited in actual use.

Only six were built.

[sign216]

There's aways talk about the handling and speed of the fighter planes and which one was top dog....But  pilots seem to say a majority of kills came from jumping the other guy who never saw it coming..So pilot skill of getting in quick, good shooting and zooming away may be most important.

Rough,
That's exactly how the Pacific P-38 aces spoke: flying high, scouting for Japanese planes beneath, then diving in, unloading the guns, and breaking away.

Of course some of those flyers could really make the P-38s perform, too.

[lucky phil]

Classic Aussie laconic wit, seeing the size of the P-47.

"The 348th Fighter Group arrived in Australia on June 30th, 1943 with their P-47D-2-RE Jugs. Just as in Britain, the Thunderbolt made an immediate impression upon the RAAF personnel. Reportedly, as a P-47 pilot climbed down from the cockpit, one Aussie ground crewman inquired; "Where is the rest of the crew?"

Ciao

[Chuck in Indiana]

Ed the Rocket Scientist's aunt, lower left..and in the Jug. You can hang the picture either way.. I prefer this one. 

Woops, apparently forgot to attach the pitcher..

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Just watched this very nicely done video: https://youtu.be/IwqTN5fhMR8

[john fish]

Just watched this very nicely done video: https://youtu.be/IwqTN5fhMR8

Nice video.  One question for the anoraks:  where did the air cooling the intercooler exit the plane?  It did not join the intake air, did it?

[lucky phil]

Nice video.  One question for the anoraks:  where did the air cooling the intercooler exit the plane?  It did not join the intake air, did it?

Rectangular exit doors on each side of the aft fuse behind the cockpit area. BTW the Pratt capacity advantage wasn't as great over all the the RR engines. The latter Spitfires were fitted with the Griffon engine which was 10 litres larger than the Merlin at 37 litres compared to 27 litres.

Ciao

[john fish]

Thanks, Phil. 

[bacongrease]

 I had a relative that flew the P-47, he said flying long distance over the Pacific,  "they always lost Tail End Charlie."