P-47 Thunderbolt of WWll fame was a tough plane

[Sunni Man]

Either a German ME-109 or a FW-190 fighter plane was behind this P-47 and shooting its 20mm nose cannon to knock it down.
When the one-in-a-million shot to the P-47's propeller happened.
Amazingly, the rugged P-47 was able to keep flying and take the pilot back to his base.

 

[0311]

View attachment 827876
Either a German ME-109 or a FW-190 fighter plane was behind this P-47 and shooting its 20mm nose cannon to knock it down.
When the one-in-a-million shot to the P-47's propeller happened.
Amazingly, the rugged P-47 was able to keep flying and take the pilot back to his base.

When the P-47 first came out, pilots laughed at it, saying it looked like an oversized barrell. It was also one of prop driven aircraft to reach the speed of sound, you burned out the engine but it still the speed of sound.

 

[Esdraelon]

The "Jug" was not a graceful, beautiful aircraft, like say, the Corsair, but it was just as tough and had enough armaments to shatter German planes in combat. I think it came along later in the war. I sometimes get the P-47 confused with the Navy's F6F Hellcat. Both were specifically designed to be superior to enemy aircraft that we were having trouble defeating. The Hellcat was designed after we found a downed Japanese Zero in the Aleutians and put it back in flying shape. It was then tested and we learned all of its disadvantages.

 

[1srelluc]

The "Jug" was not a graceful, beautiful aircraft, like say, the Corsair, but it was just as tough and had enough armaments to shatter German planes in combat. I think it came along later in the war. I sometimes get the P-47 confused with the Navy's F6F Hellcat. Both were specifically designed to be superior to enemy aircraft that we were having trouble defeating. The Hellcat was designed after we found a downed Japanese Zero in the Aleutians and put it back in flying shape. It was then tested and we learned all of its disadvantages.

09:37 in.

 

[Robert W]

When the P-47 first came out, pilots laughed at it, saying it looked like an oversized barrell. It was also one of prop driven aircraft to reach the speed of sound, you burned out the engine but it still the speed of sound.

What is the fastest P47 Thunderbolt?


The XP-47J was first flown on November 26, 1943, and on August 4, 1944, it became the first piston-engined fighter to exceed 500 mph, with a speed of 504 mph, making it the fastest Thunderbolt variant.

******************
What mph is the speed of sound?


about 761 mph

If we consider the atmosphere on a standard day at sea level static conditions, the speed of sound is about 761 mph, or 1100 feet/second. We can use this knowledge to approximately determine how far away a lightning strike has occurred.

 

[Robert W]

09:37 in.

My father was the boss on the job that recovered that Japanese fighter plane. He said the pilots neck was broke when the plane flipped over. It was not very damaged due to the very soft Aleutian tundra at that time of year. I was a child in WW2 and climbed steps in Oakland, CA to look into the cockpit when it was put on display. Then my father was not my stepdad. Mom married him around 4 years later.

 

[1srelluc]

My father was the boss on the job that recovered that Japanese fighter plane. He said the pilots neck was broke when the plane flipped over. It was not very damaged due to the very soft Aleutian tundra at that time of year. I was a child in WW2 and climbed steps in Oakland, CA to look into the cockpit when it was put on display. Then my father was not my stepdad. Mom married him around 4 years later.

The closest I've been to one is this one.

Mitsubishi A6M5 Reisen (Zero Fighter) Model 52 ZEKE

Single-engine, low-wing fighter.No other aircraft surpasses the Mitsubishi A6M Reisen ("ree-sin," Japanese for Zero Fighter) as the symbol of Japanese air power during World War II. Mitsubishi designed the Zero fighter but co-produced the airplane with Nakajima.

airandspace.si.edu

There is supposed to be 10 left in flight worthy condition.

 

[0311]

The "Jug" was not a graceful, beautiful aircraft, like say, the Corsair, but it was just as tough and had enough armaments to shatter German planes in combat. I think it came along later in the war. I sometimes get the P-47 confused with the Navy's F6F Hellcat. Both were specifically designed to be superior to enemy aircraft that we were having trouble defeating. The Hellcat was designed after we found a downed Japanese Zero in the Aleutians and put it back in flying shape. It was then tested and we learned all of its disadvantages.

IF I'm correct both the P-47 Thunderbolt and the P-51 Mustang became the first U.S.AA.C fighters to shoot the ME-262 Jet, they could fly fast enough to catch Buzz Bombs.

 

[Robert W]

The closest I've been to one is this one.

Mitsubishi A6M5 Reisen (Zero Fighter) Model 52 ZEKE

Single-engine, low-wing fighter.No other aircraft surpasses the Mitsubishi A6M Reisen ("ree-sin," Japanese for Zero Fighter) as the symbol of Japanese air power during World War II. Mitsubishi designed the Zero fighter but co-produced the airplane with Nakajima.

airandspace.si.edu

There is supposed to be 10 left in flight worthy condition.

During that time in WW2, my father was a construction boss with the possession for his work of a barge with a crane on it. He was not told the nature of his trip to that island until he got there and saw the airplane. The photo of the crashed Zero was on a major magazine cover at the time. It is to be expected that any surviving zeros are rare. As one example, there is just one B29 that is still flying airworthy in TX.

 

[0311]

During that time in WW2, my father was a construction boss with the possession for his work of a barge with a crane on it. He was not told the nature of his trip to that island until he got there and saw the airplane. The photo of the crashed Zero was on a major magazine cover at the time. It is to be expected that any surviving zeros are rare. As one example, there is just one B29 that is still flying airworthy in TX.

My Dad was on the receiving end of straffing runs made the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. They were deadly. They were built for speed. Not well armored, but fast as hell.

 

[Zincwarrior]

Its interesting that three of the best US fighters (and would have been five as the Bearcat and Tomcat were in production when war ended ) had the same engine - the Double Wasp. The British had the Merlin, we had the Double Wasp.

I think it was the only US fighter with 8 .50cal machine guns. The Bearcat at the end of the war had four 20mms but thats a lot of Dakka.

 

[Robert W]

My Dad was on the receiving end of straffing runs made the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. They were deadly. They were built for speed. Not well armored, but fast as hell.

My dad too was strafed by Zeros at the Aleutian islands. I have learned that the Zero did not have self sealing fuel tanks making them a victim to incendiary rounds.

 

[0311]

My dad too was strafed by Zeros at the Aleutian islands. I have learned that the Zero did not have self sealing fuel tanks making them a victim to incendiary rounds.

I was straffed several times, first time Guadalcanal when Japanese for running ships down the Iron Bottom Sound. The last time he was straffed when he was on Okinawa. The Japanese straffed the hospital he was assigned to as a medic.

 

[Robert W]

I was straffed several times, first time Guadalcanal when Japanese for running ships down the Iron Bottom Sound. The last time he was straffed when he was on Okinawa. The Japanese straffed the hospital he was assigned to as a medic.

In ways, it is still amazing that Germany, Italy and Japan were defeated. Did you mean it was your dad being strafed?

 

[0311]

In ways, it is still amazing that Germany, Italy and Japan were defeated. Did you mean it was your dad being strafed?

From his accounts, on Guadalcanal he and three other men were bringing wounded to the beach to be evacuated to a waiting ship when he saw three zero's begining their run. His team ran back to cover of trees when the attack began. After two runs, U.S. Marine fighters appeared and chased them off. The wounded men made to ship. One man on my Dad's detail was hit and was evacuated as well.

On Okinawa, he was cliff awaiting replacements when a single zero dived at him. He ran for cover, but was hit in the leg. When he woke up he was in bed in his hospital.

According to what he told me, that is when he learned that he had been promoted to 2nd. Lieutenant. I have a copy of the promotions orders signed by Joseph A. "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell.

 

[Sunni Man]

When the P-47 first came out, pilots laughed at it, saying it looked like an oversized barrell. It was also one of prop driven aircraft to reach the speed of sound, you burned out the engine but it still the speed of sound.

The only way a P-47 or any other propeller plane could even come close to the speed of sound would be during a full throttle power dive.
In fact, no propeller driven plane has ever broke the sound barrier and gone Mach 1

 

[0311]

The only way a P-47 or any other propeller plane could even come close to the speed of sound would be during a full throttle power dive.
In fact, no propeller driven plane has ever broke the sound barrier and gone Mach 1

Not in dive, level flight. Balls to wall, ful throttle.

 

[Sunni Man]

Not in dive, level flight. Balls to wall, ful throttle.

Incorrect grasshopper. ..

Can A Propeller-Driven Aircraft Break The Sound Barrier?

Can a propeller-driven aircraft break the sound barrier? It's a complicated question, really complicated. Here is our short answer to it.

www.planeandpilotmag.com

 

[0311]

Incorrect grasshopper. ..

Can A Propeller-Driven Aircraft Break The Sound Barrier?

Can a propeller-driven aircraft break the sound barrier? It's a complicated question, really complicated. Here is our short answer to it.

www.planeandpilotmag.com

Nope, a pilot in P-47 could the sound of speed. But keep going, you are somewhat lamely amusing.

I was incorrect, the speed was reached in a dive.

13 November 1942 | This Day in Aviation

 

[Sunni Man]

Hey Poindexter, read what the experts from the article I posted say about a propeller driven plane breaking the sound barrier.

"Perhaps the obstacles to achieving supersonic flight in propeller-driven aircraft are simply too high to overcome. Even if the planes could handle the powerful shockwaves generated or push through transonic drag with enough thrust to maintain lift, the noise level alone seems prohibitive. To date, the closest a prop-driven aircraft has come to breaking the sound barrier was in 1944, when a Spitfire in a dive reached Mach 0.92—much controversy surrounds this and other claims, so take it with a grain of salt. One additional catch; the Spitfire’s propeller had broken off, so it was technically a glider at the time it reached that speed. Otherwise, the fastest speed on record for a propeller-driven aircraft is Mach 0.71, accomplished by the Tupolev Tu-114."