US service By the end of 1942, P-47Cs were sent to England for combat operations. The initial Thunderbolt flyers,
56th Fighter Group, were sent overseas to join the
8th Air Force. As the P-47 worked up to operational status, it gained a nickname: "Jug" (because its profile was similar to that of a common milk jug of the time). Two fighter groups already stationed in England began introducing the Jugs in January 1943 - the
Spitfire-flying
4th Fighter Group, a unit built around a core of experienced American pilots who had flown in the RAF
Eagle Squadrons prior to the US entry in the war; and the
78th Fighter Group, formerly flying
P-38 Lightnings. ,
56th Fighter Group, leading ace of the
8th Air Force Beginning in January 1943, Thunderbolt fighters were sent to the joint Army Air Forces – civilian
Millville Airport in
Millville, New Jersey, to train civilian and military pilots. The first P-47 combat mission took place 10 March 1943 when the 4th FG took their aircraft on a fighter sweep over France. The mission was a failure due to radio malfunctions. All P-47s were refitted with British radios, and missions resumed 8 April. The first P-47 air combat took place 15 April with Major
Don Blakeslee of the 4th FG scoring the Thunderbolt's first air victory (against a
Focke-Wulf Fw 190). By mid-1943, the Jug was also in service with the
12th Air Force in
Italy and against the Japanese in the Pacific, with the
348th Fighter Group flying missions out of
Port Moresby, New Guinea. By 1944, the Thunderbolt was in combat with the USAAF in all its operational theaters except Alaska. schemes used on the P-47: This one converged the eight guns into a point at about out front.
Luftwaffe ace
Heinz Bär said that the P-47 "could absorb an astounding amount of lead [from shooting at it] and had to be handled very carefully". Although the
North American P-51 Mustang replaced the P-47 in the long-range escort role in Europe, the Thunderbolt still ended the war with an aerial kill ratio of 4.6:1 in over 746,000 sorties of all types, at the cost of 3,499 P-47s to all causes in combat. By the end of the war, the 56th FG was the only 8th Air Force unit still flying the P-47, by preference, instead of the P-51. The unit claimed 677-1/2 air victories and 311 ground kills, at the cost of 128 aircraft.
Lieutenant Colonel Francis S. Gabreski scored 28 victories,
Captain Robert S. Johnson scored 27 aerial victories (with one unconfirmed probable kill leading to some giving his tally as 28), and 56th FG Commanding Officer
Colonel Hubert Zemke scored 17.75 kills. The sole remaining P-47 group in the 8th Air Force, the 56th FG remained its top-scoring group in aerial victories throughout the war. With increases in fuel capacity as the type was refined, the range of escort missions over Europe steadily increased until the P-47 was able to accompany bombers in raids all the way into Germany. On the way back from the raids, pilots shot up ground targets of opportunity, and also used belly shackles to carry bombs on short-range missions, which led to the realization that the P-47 could perform a dual function on escort missions as a
fighter-bomber. Even with its complicated turbosupercharger system, its sturdy
airframe and tough radial engine could absorb significant damage and still return home. The P-47 gradually became the USAAF's primary fighter-bomber; by late 1943, early versions of the P-47D carried bombs underneath their bellies, midproduction versions of the P-47D could carry bombs and
M8 4.5 in (115 mm) rockets under their wings or from the last version of the P-47D in 1944,
High Velocity Aircraft Rockets (HVARs, also known as "Holy Moses"). From
D-Day until
VE day, Thunderbolt pilots claimed to have destroyed 86,000
railroad cars, 9,000
locomotives, 6,000
armored fighting vehicles, and 68,000 trucks. During
Operation Cobra, in the vicinity of
Roncey, France, on 29 July, early in the US break out, the 405th Fighter Group hit a German column trapped between Roncey and St-Denis-le-Vetu by elements of the US 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions. The group attacked this column from 3:10pm to 9:40pm. Ground investigations found 66 tanks, 204 vehicles and 11 guns destroyed in this attack.
Medal of Honor recipients , in the cockpit of his P-47 Thunderbolt Two P-47 pilots received the
Medal of Honor during World War II: • USAAF Col.
Neel E. Kearby of the
348th Fighter Group was awarded the Medal of Honor for his action during a fighter sweep over the Japanese base at
Wewak, New Guinea, on 11 October 1943, flying P-47D, serial number nicknamed "Fiery Ginger III". Encountering 40 Japanese planes, Kearby led his flight of four P-47s and in the ensuing combat, he shot down six Japanese planes. After the mission, Kearby would score a total of 22 aerial victores before he was shot down and killed over Wewak in 5 March 1944. • USAAF 1st Lt.
Raymond L. Knight of the
346th Fighter Squadron of the
350th Fighter Group was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during missions over northern
Po Valley, Italy, on 24 and 25 April 1945, flying P-47D, serial number nicknamed "OH JOHNNIE". On 24 April, he repeatedly volunteered to lead attacks on enemy air bases and exposed his P-47 to intense hostile fire in low-altitude reconnaissance and strafing missions. During a mission on the following day, his P-47 was badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire. Knowing that his unit was short on aircraft, he decided against parachuting to safety and instead attempted to fly his P-47 back to his home airbase, but crashed in the
Apennine Mountains and was killed.
Postwar service With the end of World War II, orders for 5,934 P-47s were cancelled. Redesignated as F-47 in 1947, the aircraft served with the USAAF through 1947, the USAAF
Strategic Air Command from 1946 through 1947, the active-duty
United States Air Force (USAF) until 1949, and with the
Air National Guard (ANG) until 1953. F-47s served as spotters for rescue aircraft such as the
OA-10 Catalina and
Boeing B-17H. In 1950, F-47 Thunderbolts were used to suppress the
declaration of independence in
Puerto Rico by nationalists during the
Jayuya Uprising. The F-47 was not deployed to Korea for the
Korean War. The USAF and ANG had more North American F-51 (P-51) Mustangs, and used them, mainly in the close air-support role. Since the Mustang was more vulnerable to being shot down—many were lost to antiaircraft fire— some suggested the more durable Thunderbolt should have been sent to Korea in the Mustang's place. The Cuban Air Force took delivery of 29 ex-USAF airframes and spares. By the late 1950s, the F-47 was considered long obsolete as a fighter, but was well suited for
counter-insurgency tasks. 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. Those squadrons not disbanded outright after the war re-equipped with British-built aircraft such as the
Hawker Tempest. During the
Italian campaign, the
"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. In the early 1980s, this unit was awarded the "
Presidential Unit Citation" by the American government in recognition for its achievements in World War II. 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
Escuadrón Aéreo de Pelea 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. 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. 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
Yugoslavia.
In Soviet service In mid-1943, the Soviet high command showed an interest in the P-47B. Three P-47D-10-REs were ferried to the
Soviet Air Forces (VVS) via Alaska in March 1944. Two of them were tested in April–May 1944. Test pilot Aleksey N. Grinchik noted the spacious cockpit with good ventilation and a good all-around view. He found it easy to fly and stable upon take-off and landing, but it showed excessive rolling stability and poor directional stability. Soviet engineers disassembled the third aircraft to examine its construction. They appreciated the high production standards and rational design well-suited to mass production, and the high reliability of the hard-hitting Browning machine guns. With its high service ceiling, the P-47 was superior to fighters operating on the Eastern front, yielding a higher speed above . The
Yakovlev Yak-9,
Lavochkin La-5FN,
Messerschmitt Bf 109G, and
Focke-Wulf Fw 190A outperformed the early model P-47 at low and medium altitude, where the P-47 had poor acceleration and performed aerobatics rather reluctantly. In mid-1944, 200 P-47D-22-REs and P-47D-27-REs were ferried to the USSR via Iraq and Iran. Many were sent to training units. Less than half reached operational units, and they were rarely used in combat. The fighters were assigned to high-altitude air defense over major cities in rear areas. Unlike their Western counterparts, the VVS made little use of the P-47 as a
ground-attack aircraft, depending, instead, on their own
Ilyushin Il-2. At the end of the war, Soviet units held 188 P-47s.
In Chinese service After World War II, the
Chinese Nationalist Air Force received 102 P-47Ds used during the
Chinese Civil War. The
Chinese Communists captured five P-47Ds from the Chinese Nationalist forces. In 1948, the Chinese Nationalists employed 70 P-47Ds and 42 P-47Ns brought to
Taiwan in 1952. P-47s were used extensively in aerial clashes over the
Taiwan Strait between Nationalist and Communist aircraft. ==Flying the Thunderbolt==