“The P-47 was one of the most versatile aircraft we had in World War II,” saysJeremy Kinney, curator and chair of the aeronautics department at theSmithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, which houses aP-47 in its collections—on view at the museum’sSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. “It was not as famous as the P-51 Mustang, but it ranks as one of the best for that era. The Thunderbolt was the hammer: big and strong, it could take a lot of punishment and still deliver a lethal blow. It was unparalleled as a ground-support aircraft and it was also a great dogfighter.”
In the European Theater, P-47 pilots were responsible for destroying more than 7,000 enemy aircraft—more than half in air-to-air combat. Though at least twice as heavy as theSupermarine Spitfire, the Thunderbolt was surprisingly agile and fast. It was well-regarded for its exceptional diving ability—considered crucial by ace pilots—and how it transformed that energy into climbing power to get back into the fight.
“As an escort plane for bombers, it more than held its own against the best the Luftwaffe had despite its range limitations,” Kinney says. “With eight .50-caliber machineguns and the capability of carrying rockets and bombs, the P-47 was a formidable aircraft against ground targets.”
And rugged too. Not long after Gabreski became an ace, his engine shut down at high altitude when his turbocharger was hit by a 20 mm cannon shell from aMesserschmitt Bf 109. He was able to outmaneuver the enemy aircraft and restart thePratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Waspengine at a lower elevation.
“The Thunderbolt could take a lot of damage,” Kinney says. “It was designed to be rugged and became a preeminent fighter of World War II, flying in all major theaters and developing this mythic quality because of its durability.”
The aircraft was the brainchild ofAlexander Kartveli, lead designer forSeversky Aircraft Corp., predecessor of Republic Aviation. In the 1930s, he created theSeversky P-35for theU.S. Army Air Corps, which served as the model for the P-47. The new fighter made its first flight on May 6, 1941.
“Kartveli, a Russian immigrant, was one of America’s great aviation designers,” Kinney says. “He revolutionized fighter aircraft with the semi-elliptical wing and more powerful engines equipped with turbosuperchargers.”
During World War II, the Thunderbolt flew more than half a million missions and dropped 132,000 tons of bombs. It had an exceptionally low rate of loss—.07 per mission—while Thunderbolt pilots racked up an impressive 4.6-to-1 aerial kill ratio. Of the 15,683 P-47s built between 1941 and 1945, only 3,499 were lost in combat.
The Thunderbolt on display at the Hazy Center is one of only a few dozen that survived the conflict and the march of time. Built in 1944, thisP-47D-30-RAwas used primarily as an aerial gunnery trainer in the United States. After the war, it became part of the U.S. Army Air Forces Museum, now theNational Museum of the U.S. Air Force, before being transferred to theSmithsonian. It was restored byRepublic Aviation for the 20th anniversary of the fighter’s first flight in 1941.
Looking at the shiny aluminum fuselage of the P-47, it’s easy to see why World War II pilots relied so much on this aircraft. Large and lasting, she was the beast of the airways and could deliver far more punishment than she took.
In fact, that reputation for durability became the inspiration for another remarkable aircraft: theFairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II. Known affectionately as the “Warthog” for its unusual aesthetics, it followed in the footsteps of its namesake to become one of the most reliable and rugged close-air-support aircraft in theU.S. Air Force.
“The A-10 pays homage to the P-47 as a ground-attack aircraft,” Kinney says. “Both are durable and amazing machines that were and are crucial to our country’s defense.”
Gabreski may have been just as tough as both aircraft. He flew a total of 266 combat missions and survived both a crash landing and internment in a German POW camp. In addition to his 28 kills in World War II, Gabreski shot down six aircraft in Korea, becoming one of only seven American pilots to be an ace in two wars.
In the latter conflict, he flew jets and certainly came to appreciate their speed and nimbleness. However, the turbocharged supremacy of the P-47 Thunderbolt in World War II left a lasting impression with Gabreski, who died in 2002.
“That added power meant so much,” he said in an interview later in life. “It meant that I could do combat with the enemy over his territory at all altitudes and I could break off at will. I had more power than he had and I could corkscrew, go up to altitude and he couldn’t follow me.”
Editor’s note, January 24, 2022: This story has been edited to reflect that the Thunderbolt dropped 132,000 tons of bombs during World War II, not 132,000 pounds
