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The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomber in the ground-attack role.
XP-47K, s/n 42-8702, the first bubbletop Thunderbolt. A common complaint from P-47 pilots was that the razorback cockpit limited rearward visibility. In response to these complaints, Republic fitted a bubble canopy from a Hawker Typhoon onto a P-47D-5-RE in July 1943. Designated XP-47K, the aircraft's new canopy improved visibility greatly. [16]
New P-51 units of the Ninth would be exchanged for P-47 groups earmarked for the Eighth, and all VIII Fighter Command Thunderbolt and P-38 Lightning groups would eventually be re-equipped with the Mustang. The sole exception to this change was the 56th Fighter Group, which decided to retain its P-47s for the duration.
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is an American fighter aircraft. From the first prototype produced in 1941, 15,686 P-47s were produced, the last of which was accepted by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) from Republic Aviation ' Evansville, Indiana factory.
The Republic Aviation Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer based in Farmingdale, New York, on Long Island.Originally known as the Seversky Aircraft Company, the company was responsible for the design and production of many important military aircraft, including its most famous products: World War II's P-47 Thunderbolt fighter, the F-84 Thunderjet and F-105 Thunderchief jet fighters.
On February 27, 1943, Gabreski became part of the 56th Fighter Group, flying the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, assigned to the 61st Fighter Squadron, and quickly became a flight leader. He was immediately resented by many of his fellow pilots, and the fact that he was opinionated and outspoken did little to ease the situation. [ 5 ]
The purpose of a bubble canopy is to give a pilot a much wider field-of-view than flush, framed "greenhouse" canopies used on early World War II aircraft, such as those seen on early models of the F4U, P-51, the Soviet Yak-1 and earlier, "razorback" P-47 fighters, all with dorsal "turtledecks" integral to their fuselage lines, which left a blind spot behind the pilot that enemy pilots could ...
Its World War II predecessor, the 348th Fighter Group, was the most successful Republic P-47 Thunderbolt group in the Southwest Pacific Theater. Its commander, Neel E. Kearby was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in combat.