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Thunderbolt Manufacturer : Number Built : 15683 Production Began : 1943 Retired : Type : Alexander Kartveli was a engineer with Seversky Aircraft who designed the P-35, which first flew in 1937. With Republic Aviation Kartveli supervised the development of the P-43 Lancer. Neither of these aircraft were produced in large numbers, and neither was quite successful. However, the Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt, also nicknamed the Jug, was quite a different story. The Jug was the jewel in Kartvelis design crown, and went on to become one of the most produced fighter aircraft of all time with 15,683 being manufactured. The P-47 was the largest and heaviest single seat fighter of WW II. The P-47 immediately demonstrated its excellent combat qualities, including speed, rate of climb, maneuverability, heavy fire power, and the ability to take a lot of punishment. With a wingspan of more than 40 feet and a weight of 19,400 pounds, this large aircraft was designed around the powerful 2000 HP Pratt and Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine. The first P-47 prototype flew in May of 1941, and the primary variant the P-47D went into service in 1943 with units of the U.S. Armys Eighth Air Force. The Jug had a maximum speed in excess of 400 MPH, a service ceiling in excess of 42,000 feet, and was heavily armed with either six or eight heavy caliber machine guns. With its ability to carry up to a 2,500 pound bomb load, the Jug saw lots of use in ground attack roles. Until the introduction of the N model, the P-47 lacked the long range required for fighter escort missions which were most often relegated to P-51 Mustangs or P-38 Lightnings. In his outstanding painting entitled Bridge Busting Jugs, noted aviation artist Stan Stokes depicts Eighth Air Force Jugs in a ground attack mission in the Alps in June of 1944. The top P-47 ace was Francis Gabreski who had flown with the 56th Fighter Group, the first unit to be equipped with the P-47. In August of 1943 Gabreski attained his first aerial combat victory (over an Fw-190) and by years end he had reached ace status with 8 confirmed victories. As Commander of the 61st Squadron, Gabreski continued to chalk up victory after victory, and on seven different occasions he achieved two victories during the same mission. However, in July of 1944 Gabreski damaged the prop on his Jug during a low level attack on an airfield near Coblenz. Forced to make a crash landing, he was captured and remained a prisoner of war until Wars end in 1945. Following the War Gabreski returned to military service with the Air Forces 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing in Korea. Flying the F-86 Sabre Jet, Gabreski attained 6.5 more aerial victories in 1951 and 1952 becoming an ace in two different wars

Thunderbolt

Latest Thunderbolt Artwork Releases !
Tribute to Robert S Johnson by Ivan Berryman.	Tribute to Walker 'Bud' Mahurin by Ivan Berryman.	Duxford Pair by Ivan Berryman. (PC)	The Dash for the Beach by Ivan Berryman. (PC)

Thunderbolt Artwork Collection

Thunderbolt on Duty by Richard Ward

Duxford Pair by Ivan Berryman.

Schweinfurt Thunderbolts by Jason Askew. (P)

Devastating Thunder by Brian Bateman. (P)

Victory for White Two by Brian Bateman.

Greek Victory by Brian Bateman.

Victory for Red Section by Brian Bateman.

Clipped Signature - Hub Zemke.

Clipped Signature - Wayne L Coleman.

Clipped Signature - Arthur Fiedler.

Clipped Signature - Herky Green.

Clipped Signature - Walker 'Bud' Mahurin.

Clipped Signature - Gabby Gabreski.

Clipped Signature - Jim Goodson.

Clipped Signature - Donald Strait.

Clipped Signature - Howard Park.

Clipped Signature - Everett Jones.

Clipped Signature - Ivan Hasek.

Clipped Signature - Ben Davis.

Clipped Signature - Edward J Lopez.

Clipped Signature - Herbert L Prevost.

Clipped Signature - Charles Lane.

Clipped Signature - William Wheeler.

Clipped Signature - Sir Bernard Chacksfield.

Zemke's First Fan by David Pentland.

Return From Bremen by Simon Smith.

The Wolfpack by Robert Taylor.

Bridge Busters by Anthony Saunders.

Feeling the Wolves Bite by Brian Bateman.

First Strike on Berlin by Nicolas Trudgian.

Thunderbolt Strike by Robert Taylor.

Thunderbolts and Lightnings by Nicolas Trudgian.

Days of Thunder by Richard Taylor.

Thunder in the East by Richard Taylor.

Devastating Thunder by Brian Bateman.

The Dash for the Beach by Ivan Berryman.

Hell Hawks Over Utah by Robert Taylor.

Thunder in the Ardennes by Anthony Saunders.

Tribute to Walker 'Bud' Mahurin by Ivan Berryman.

Tribute to Robert S Johnson by Ivan Berryman.

Looking for Trouble by Keith Woodcock.

P-47 Thunderbolt Aces of the Eighth Air Force.

Mustang and Thunderbolt Aces of the Pacific and CBI.

P-47 Thunderbolt Aces of the Ninth and Fifteenth Air Forces.

Outward Bound by Robert Taylor.

Zemkes Wolfpack by Robert Taylor.

Eagle Strike by Simon Atack.

Bridge Busting Jugs by Stan Stokes.

Jenkins Jerry Junkers by Stan Stokes.

Herky's Big Day by Stan Stokes.

Tigers at Rest by Stan Stokes.