Republic P-47 Thunderbolt | Fighting And Defeating The German Luftwaffe During WW2

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The story of the last battles in Germany during WWII, before the German capitulation, and the contribution of the P-47 Thunderbolt to defeat the crippled Luftwaffe.
It starts with the aftermath of the Battle of the Bulge.
The video Includes Interviews with WWII veterans and brave P-47 pilots.
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Click the link to watch more aircraft, heroes, and their stories, and missions: / @dronescapes
The pilots' first mission was a fighter sweep of the French coast in March 1944 and from then until D-Day that June the ground supported Allied preparations for the invasion of France, taking out German military sites and equipment in northern France. The Group was awarded a DUC for quite a singular action: when supporting infantry in the St. Lo area on 11 July 1944, the pilots discovered a column of enemy tanks as yet unknown to the infantry. Despite coming under intense fire, the Group, as well as striking nearby pillboxes, the intended target of the mission, attacked this column. This put many of the German tanks out of action before they engaged the infantry. The Group carried out armed reconnaissance missions during the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944-January 1945) and escorted bombers during the assault across the Rhine River. The Group's last mission saw them attacking harbors at Kiel and Flensburg on 3 May 1945. The Group remained in Germany after the war and, as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), was part of the occupation force.
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American aerospace company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. Its primary armament was eight .50-caliber machine guns, and in the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry 5-inch rockets or a bomb load of 2,500 lb (1,100 kg). When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to 8 tons, making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war.
The Thunderbolt was effective as a short-to-medium-range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat and ground attack in both the European and Pacific theaters. The P-47 was designed around the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 18-cylinder radial engine, which also powered two U.S. Navy/U.S. Marine Corps fighters, the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair. An advanced turbosupercharger system ensured the aircraft's eventual dominance at high altitudes, while also influencing its size and design.
General characteristics
* Crew: 1
* Length: 36 ft 1.75 in (11.0173 m)
* Wingspan: 40 ft 9+5⁄16 in (12.429 m)
* Height: 14 ft 8+1⁄16 in (4.472 m)
* Airfoil: Seversky S-3
* Empty weight: 10,000 lb (4,536 kg)
* Max takeoff weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg)
* Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-59 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 2,000 hp (1,500 kW)
* Propellers: 4-bladed Curtiss Electric C542S constant-speed propeller, 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m) diameter
Performance
* Maximum speed: 426 mph (686 km/h, 370 kn) at 30,000 ft (9,100 m)
* Range: 1,030 mi (1,660 km, 900 nmi)
* Service ceiling: 42,000 ft (13,000 m)
Armament
* Eight .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns (3400 rounds)
* Up to 2,500 lb (1,100 kg) of bombs
* Ten 5 in (127 mm) HVAR unguided rockets
#p47 #thunderbolt #aircraft

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23 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 237

@LanceRomanceF4E 11 месяцев назад

My father flew F-101B in the 1960’s with famous P-47 ace Francis Gabreski. Col Gabreski was the wing commander at Suffolk County AFB, Long Island, NY. Dad said Gabby had the fantastic eye sight and saw the enemy before anyone else. I sat next to the war hero in barber seats at the base shop one time as an 8 yr old kid and he talked to me like a normal person. I always remembered that. I made him laugh. Rip Col. Rip Dad.

@douglasstreet7304 10 месяцев назад

NICE !

@MangoTroubles-007 10 месяцев назад

Did you father see combat?

@douglasstreet7304 10 месяцев назад

YES, too much.@@MangoTroubles-007

@douglasjones2570 10 месяцев назад

Bless you all.

@LanceRomanceF4E 9 месяцев назад

@@MangoTroubles-007 yes, 100 mission over N Vietnam

@russellfinch5493 7 месяцев назад

My father flew the 47 in this exact time frame. He started in Pontedera, Italy and ended up in Biblas, Germany. He was part of the 27th, FG 524 which according to him, was the first allies to occupy a german base, located in Biblas. They were forced down at the end of a mission due to weather and just landed at the abandoned german air field. It would become their home base. In fact, Bob Hope was forced down due to bad weather and landed there. I still have the photo he took with the whole squadron. He had a lot of stories. Used to tell me how many times he flew around the Leaning Tower of Pisa playing follow the leader after their missions. He ended up flying 57 missions before Germany surrendered. He eventually ended up on the north shore of Germany in the summer of 45 and flew a leg of fighter escort for President Truman when he flew into Berlin.

@williamcarrithers7480 7 месяцев назад

ßß

@michaelmarrone5768 4 месяца назад

My father played tenor sax in Bob Hopes band. He had a lot of stories too. Nice to hear a story that my father was remotely involved with. That must have been a heck of a time for all the young men who took part.

@gorflunk 6 месяцев назад

This and the documentary "Thunderbolt" are excellent, superior to most WW2 documentaries. I appreciate the pilots' honesty about their flight experiences, their killer instincts, and their views on the death and destruction that surrounded them.

@burliesanford1863 10 месяцев назад

With Veterans Day coming up, I salute all of our WW 2 Veterans from then to now . I know the number is getting smaller every day along with very valuable history . God Bless you brave warriors one and all that sacrificed their all for us. God Bless America and those warriors still with us .

@brianmacadam4793 10 месяцев назад

I watched a crew prep a P-47 for a flight in Pennsylvania, when it came time to start up, everyone put down their tools or left their desks to take in he show. The P-47 was POWER defined, a great experience.

@Rocklighting1 Месяц назад

My Father flew the P-47 with the 365th fighter group aka The Hell Hawks. He flew over 100 missions including the Battel of the Bulge. He is now 101 years old and still to this day enjoys flying in his 1940 Stearman.

@fintonmainz7845 6 месяцев назад

Countless lives saved by these brave young men.

@dans.5745 10 месяцев назад

The P-47D was a superb weapon against the Luftwaffe Fighter force before the arrival of the P-51B/C. The P-47 was considered so dangerous to engage that the German fighter pilots were ordered to attack the B-17 & B-24's beyond the anticipated range of the P-47. This in effect forced the Luftwaffe to shift its fighter forces further east into Germany and essentially yielding the air superiority during daylight hours over northern France and the Low Countries to the US 8th & 9th Air Forces. Every time the P-47's used bigger drop tanks (getting longer escort range) for the first time, the German interceptors were surprised & savaged by the P-47s being where they were not expected. USAAF & Luftwaffe records indicate that the P-47 units were achieving better than 1 to 1 kill ratios against the best German fighter groups (JG's) in the west starting about July 1943. The kill ratios would continue to accelerate against the Germans as 1943 ended. This is important because in 1942-43 it was the Luftwaffe that had by far the most skilled & experienced fighter pilots in Europe (greatly surpassing the best RAF units). So in 1943, the average American fighter pilots with the P-47D (having just arrived in England) were breaking even or better than the best pilots in units of the Luftwaffe flying the Me-109G & Fw-190A. This is something that RAF fighter units were NOT doing in 1941-43 in northwest Europe (per German records). The P-47s firepower was also not just a killer or German aircraft but their pilots. Luftwaffe records clearly show that the major reason for the defeat of the Luftwaffe fighter force was the loss of their most experienced (expert) pilots in air-to-air combat. Also each of the P-47's eight .50 cal MG's carried more ammo than each of the P-51's (4-6 MG). The P-47D had superior high altitude (30,000ft+) performance over the P-51B/C/D/K, all Me-109s, and the Fw-190A's and could handle the Fw-190D at these altitudes. One can only imagine what would have happened if the long-range P-47N had made it into combat in Europe in 1944-45!!!

@bobsakamanos4469 5 месяцев назад

Sounds like you've ingested Greg's propaganda about the P-47.

@dans.5745 5 месяцев назад

@@bobsakamanos4469 No, I have read the numerous accounts from the Allied and German perspectives. I have examined the subject for decades. The P-47D was deadly, but lacked the range to win air superiority over Germany. It did win air superiority over Northern France by forcing the Germans to defend the Reich outside of the P-47's range. My earlier post was fairly comprehensive and not conjecture or guessing. What part of my post comes from Greg?

@bobsakamanos4469 5 месяцев назад

@@dans.5745 when comments on an aircraft and show all pros and no cons (which are common knowledge) we are left with the impression that there is excessive bias. When did tactics improve? When did paddle blades become common? How did 47's cope with compressibility? When did they receive dive flaps? When was range first extended with more internal fuel (D-25) and what were the problems with larger drop tanks? How susceptible to damage was the exposed turbocharging sytem behind the pilot and how did that affect high altitude combat? I am a fan of the P-47 and Zemke et al, but just don't like half the story. It's too Hollywood.

@paulhicks6667 18 дней назад

@dans.5745 the P47 did not win air superiority over France. The Luftwaffe more or less pulled out of France long before the P47 appeared, in order to attack Russia. By August 1941 only Luftflotte 3 was left in the west to cover France and the Low Countries with just 150 fighters, not all of which were operational at any given time. Furthermore the RAF was trying to engage them as much as possible from the spring of 1941 onwards, with daylight bombing raids on French targets that were escorted by large numbers of Spitfires. Luftwaffe commanders were not silly enough to squander precious fighters opposing raids that weren’t doing critical damage so they engaged as and when it suited them. Often, not at all. Nothing changed when the P47 appeared a year and more later. I have to say, I’ve been a keen student of the European air war for about 50 years, and the idea that the P47 was some sort of super-fighter is a new phenomenon. Sure it was a rugged aircraft, but as with anything that flies, “rugged” is a relative term. But according to internet lore, born I think from gaming culture and people just believing and repeating unsupported claims they have seen online, the P47 is suddenly (and I quote) “a flying tank”, “invincible” and “bullet proof”. It could supposedly fly after being struck by more than 200 rounds, exhausting the ammunition of multiple Bf109s! It could fly with multiple cylinders blown off its engine! Its entire underside was in fact made of steel and was impervious to gunfire! It could dive at speeds which ripped the wings off a P51! Etc etc. All absolute nonsense. Even its armament is hyped. 8 x .50s vs the standard 6 of other US fighters is not much of an upgrade, and US fighters were modestly armed by comparison with British and German fighters which all had 20mm cannon. The USAAF wanted 20mm cannon because it had evaluated them as being 3 times as destructive as .50s. But unfortunately no US manufacturer could produce a reliable 20mm cannon. So seen in perspective, against the FW190A’s 4 x 20mm + 2 13mm (by USAAF measures, equivalent to FOURTEEN .50s!) the P47 was rather poorly armed. Its strengths were, very high speed and good all round performance at high altitude. Lower down, it was a poor dog fighter but a good ground attack platform due to its ability to carry a good payload - much like the Hawker Typhoon, though it lacked the Typhoon’s cannon firepower. The P47 dived very well, but ultimately not as fast as the P51 which being more aerodynamic had a higher critical Mach number. Early model P47s had a lamentable rate of climb. This was later made acceptable by the paddle prop. Ultimately the USAAF was of course acutely aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the aircraft it operated and the P47 was replaced in the escort role by the P51, which was a sound decision.

@gort8203 11 месяцев назад

At about a minute into the film you're thinking of G-suits, not pressure suits. A pressure suits is essentially the same thing as a 'space suit' and covers the entire body to provide it with atmospheric pressure. A G-suit constricts the lower body to help keep blood flowing to the brain during a high G maneuver. Two very different functions.

@PappyGunn 9 месяцев назад

Good point. I think they should talk more about the effects of flying an unpressurized sircraft at lenght at those high altitudes. Gasses in the bloodstream can do strange things, not to mention the gasses in your digestive system. Pure oxygen also does a number on the lungs.

@MichaelTauber-o1k 7 месяцев назад

When I was younger l thought how exciting this had to be now that I'm old l see how terrible war is how wasteful it was and what good could have been accomplished if used in a different way but l salute these brave men and all veterans thank you all for your service

@dougmackenzie5976 10 месяцев назад

My dad flew P-47s in Europe for the 8th Air Force. He never talked much about it, except to say once they installed the Hamilton standard paddle bladed prop, it became a monster, and he loved the fact that it was tougher than anything the Nazis could put up. And he told me, one time, he counted over 50 holes in his plane after a particularly difficult ground attack mission.

@bobsakamanos4469 3 месяца назад

It was a great ground attack aircraft where the turbo didn't matter and which was very exposed to cannon fire from behind.

@scottbrunni6336 6 месяцев назад

This is a great documentary!

@danielburgess7785 11 месяцев назад

"President" Eisenhower? Damn son, you have a time machine.

@danielreiss1156 11 месяцев назад

Great Footage, Great Airplanes, Brave young men, the greatest generation!

@mrtruecommenter10000 9 месяцев назад

A 50 percent death rate can you just imagine the How brave these guys when I think about their age and how naive and what a youngster I was at that age is just it's just fantastic

@kenneth9874 9 месяцев назад

In 2 1/2 years P47's flew 545,575 missions with a loss rate of just 0.7%

@Richard-or5yg 5 дней назад

Facts 100%

@63DW89A 11 месяцев назад

The P47 Thunderbolt's absolutely critical role in Allied victory after D-Day is sadly overlooked. The P51B/C may have been the main reason the Luftwaffe was neutralized prior to D-Day, although the P47 also had a large role in Luftwaffe neutralization too. Post D-Day landings, the P47 is the major reason the Allied armies could move so rapidly to push the German Army back to total containment. When P47 Thunderbolt's were in the air, the German Army could not move! The P47 utterly destroyed the transportation and supply chains of the German Army, and stopped the movement of tanks and artillery units. P47's protected Patton's flanks during his aggressive movements. The rapid Allied victory by May, 1945 could not have happened without the aggressive seek-and-destroy missions, close air support, and the utter containment of the German Army, and the destruction and ceasing of their supply chains by the P47 Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt's record of destruction of tens of thousands of trucks, locomotives, rail cars, vehicles, etc stands unchallenged even today. Based on the incredible post D-Day record of the P47, a good argument can be made that the P47, may well have been the most critically important USAAF fighter in the European Theater.

@macmccreadie8541 10 месяцев назад

Plus the Hawker Typhoon..

@davidelliott5843 10 месяцев назад

@@macmccreadie8541And Mosquitoes carrying rockets that delivered the impact of a naval broadside.

@davidelliott5843 10 месяцев назад

The US bomber generals refused to use drop tanks on their aircraft. Thunderbolts had the facility because the British demanded them and it wasn’t worth making two versions. Ditto the Mustang though the latter had horrible handling until the rear fuselage tank was emptied. If drop tanks had to be jettisoned early, their range suffered badly. Mustang gave these narrow minded generals the excuse to use wing tanks on every fighter.

@edwardbrooks3025 10 месяцев назад

Ppppp❤😮

@63DW89A 9 месяцев назад

@@davidelliott5843 There has recently been a lot of inaccurate misinformation in comments, blaming the "Bomber Mafia" for not using wing tanks earlier on P47's / P38's. The "Bomber Mafia" theory has been put forward by modern historians, who actually were not alive in 1944 to see first-hand the real technical and tactical reasons preventing the external tank use. "Presentism" is the fatal thinking flaw where a modern historian looks at 20th Century events with a 21st Century perspective, which prevents the historian from seeing what was actually happening in the time frame he is looking at. The P38/P47/P51 capabilities circa the critical time frame from June 1943 to June 1944 were a major factor in why the P51 emerged as the only plane to do the job in the critical first 6 months of 1944. The final tactical/strategic planning for D-Day was just coming into focus by late 1943. The technical issues of using external fuel tanks were not really solved until mid-to-late 1943. External tanks were to be made of a laminated epoxy paper, as dropping aluminum tanks would aid German war supplies. The laminated paper tanks were strong enough to survive cruising speeds of around 300 mph, but not much above, so had to be dropped as soon as air combat was eminent. General Ira Eaker was the 8th Air Force Commanding General who was "promoted up" in order to move him out of the way so that General James Dolittle could take command of the 8th Air Force in January 1944. Although Gen Eaker had performed brilliantly in getting the 8th AF bombing operation up and running from 1942-43, it was apparent from his focus on bombing, that he wasn't comprehending the memo from General Eisenhower about the critical necessity of neutralizing the Luftwaffe in the first half of 1944 in preparation for the D-Day landings by mid-1944. Gen Dolittle understood the necessity of Luftwaffe neutralization by USAAF fighters and that was the reason Eaker was promoted up and out of the way. The Mustang balance problem with the fuselage tank was easily solved by using the fuselage tank fuel first, and burning off 1/2 the tank before switching to the external wing tanks. Although the P38 had the range to escort bombers deep into Germany, the P38's Allison engines were unreliable in coping with the colder European climate, so the P38 was too unreliable. The P47, as it existed in June 1943 to June 1944, even with range extended by wing tanks, did not have the internal fuel supply to have enough loiter time over Germany to be as effective as the P51B/C. This is why the P51B/C became the major player in Lufwaffe neutralization in the first 6 months of 1944. Later models of the P47 (M & N models) would have the internal fuel supply for a longer loiter time, but those models did not appear until 1945.

@scotteilers5626 7 месяцев назад

“Even surprised President Eisenhower” getting a bit ahead of yourself, aren’t you?

@nicholasforman1195 10 месяцев назад

Am amazed the Luftwaffe were airborn at this time! The Thunderbolt was was affectionately known as the 'Jug'.A fantastic aircraft that made a massive difference to the closing months of WW2.

@peterkin1010 10 месяцев назад

Whilst there's little doubt about the contribution and abilities of the P-47 they weren't quite as invulnerable as this video would have you believe. Later variants of the Focke-Wulf Fw190 could catch the Jug and occasionally come out on top. Fortunately these variants and most importantly the Luftwaffe pilots with the necessary skill and experience were few and far between . Even when both coincided another factor came into play....lack of fuel. Once all of that was brought to bear then the writing was on the wall. Had those later variants been available in January 1944 then things might have been different.

@timmotel5804 8 месяцев назад

Wow. That was Excellent. Very educational and interesting. Thank You So Much & Best Regards.

@Overexcited 2 месяца назад

They were the angels in the skies.

@kwakgreen 11 месяцев назад

This was a pleasure to listen too being an English man. 58 minutes of not hearing a single BUNCH, no bunch of bombs, no bunch of bullets.

@paulbriggs3072 7 месяцев назад

So you didn't hear that a whole bunch?

@warbuzzard7167 7 месяцев назад

I didn’t understand it either.

@CarlKocis-x8e 11 месяцев назад

Dad was a ball turret gunner in B-24. Amazing contribution of the POLISH pilots, Dad was Czech, gotta hand it to the Slav Pilots of fighters and bombers, natural aviators!

@simonthieriot5596 5 месяцев назад

BRASS BALLS! MY DAD COMMANDED ONTUS UNIT IN NAM.

@robertmayo2982 9 месяцев назад

That peppermint shake did hit the spot. I hung out until 17:45 before I headed for home. A great day trackside and being with a close friend. Thank you Kyle for a wonderful day.

@JayMunsell 3 месяца назад

One of my uncles was a crew chief of a Thunderbolt squadron in Italy. Nothing but praise for the mighty JUG!

@bobsakamanos4469 5 месяцев назад

Thank you for this video, which illustrates via veteran interviews the short life expectancy of the P-47 pilots. It is historically accurate and splashes cold water on the mesmerized followers of Greg's propaganda.

@LawrenceMay-w9o 2 месяца назад

My dad was a turret gunner on the B-29’s

@jamesbarca7229 11 месяцев назад

I never knew that you could hear on your headset when a radar guided flak gun was pointing at you. (21:52) That's akin a primitive missile lock warning.

@robertcarson2228 6 месяцев назад

Yes, they had microwave for radar acquisition and definition, but there were carrier waves in the RF and HF range that could be heard on fighter radios. We had the same headset warning in the Phantoms when we flew strikes in North Vietnam. Of course, the alert to a SAM missile that was launched to blow us to pieces didn't tell where the damned thing was coming from. However, it was a big help, once we saw the rocket exhaust smoke or flame, we would then turn into it and pull high "G" evasive turns. That worked fine, they would try to follow and break up trying to follow us in tight diving turns. Lots of fun, I think I'll write a book "The Six 'G' SAM Reducing Diet, or How to Live Longer and Look more Youthful, While Sheading Those Nasty SAMs".

@bobsakamanos4469 3 месяца назад

thank the Brits for airborne radar technology shared by the Tizard commission in 1940.

@marksummers463 9 месяцев назад

You gotta love a guy like G.

@maxpuppy96 10 месяцев назад

It was a flying tank, you couldn't shoot it down and they would land with pistons flopping out of the engine. Toughest airplane made.

@stinker43 9 месяцев назад

I've flown in several planes powered by the P&W R-2800, including a P-47. The liquid-colled Packard-Merlin that powered the P-51 gets a lot of the credit, but the air-cooled R2800 had a much better chance of getting the pilot home alive.

@bryanturner683 2 месяца назад

So no )47's were shot down during WW2???

@arniewilliamson1767 6 месяцев назад

Great video. I remember my uncle in the Royal Canadian Air Force telling me about the Typhoon missions they flew during the battle of the bulge. He talked about rocketing German tanks and artillery. he also said their 4 20 mm cannons were deadly on strafing runs. He lamented about the high loss rate of the fighter bombers. Apparently the P47s and Typhoons could absorb a lot more battle damage than the P51's which he described as flying gas tanks.

@bobsakamanos4469 3 месяца назад

Most of the Typhoon losses were from engine failures, CO in the cockpit, empanage failures. Vibration of the airframe was so bad that pilots avoided touching the airframe in flight. Then of course there was the superior LW fighters and flak.

@billballbuster7186 11 месяцев назад

With the arrival of the P-51, most P-47s were switched to ground attack, were at low level the speed was considerably lower. But it had a good reputation for getting its crews home.

@kevink8481 11 месяцев назад

😊

@edwardpate6128 11 месяцев назад

That pendulum swung back a bit late in the war as late model P-47D and then the M model proved more than capable of doing any job assigned including high altitude escort. P-51's were deemed to be more necessary at that point in the Pacific war and impending invasion of Japan due to their range.

@billballbuster7186 11 месяцев назад

@@edwardpate6128 Most RAF P-47Ds served in the Far East SEAC in the fighter -bomber role, were it was greatly appreciated. The P-47 got a bad rap for range because drop tanks were generally not available when it entered service. Something about bombers not needing fighter escort. It took time to get them rewired and kitted out with drop tanks. Were as the P-51 had them from the start. The late P-47s were awesome. but so too was the P-51H. But the future was the jet, the P-80 was almost ready and the P-84 not far behind.

@kenneth9874 9 месяцев назад

The P47's were faster and much tougher

@kenneth9874 9 месяцев назад

@@billballbuster7186the drop tanks were available, they weren't used at first because high commands theory was that the bombers could do it alone and they tried to prove it unfortunately.

@AnthonyEvelyn 11 месяцев назад

Achtung! Jabos! Loved the old P-47 Thunderbolts! Made by Republic Aircraft. Tough fast packing a lot of firepower.

@mxmissile4588 Месяц назад

56th Fighter Group was /and is still based at Luke AFB, AZ. Still going strong today. They fly on training missions daily over our house in Wickenburg, AZ on their way to their Alamo Lake Training Range. I'm told they and the other four fighter groups fly more sorties in one day that most other bases fly in a week. Fight, Win, Die.

@kevinmalone3210 8 месяцев назад

A movie could be made about Francis Gabreski's life.

@steveclark5357 9 месяцев назад

respect, sir, thank you

@vaxxedfilms7477 9 месяцев назад

Great pics thanks!

@joselinares2084 11 месяцев назад

Excelente información Histórica Norteamericana. Felicitaciones a este Nuestro Excelente Aviador.

@bogusmogus9551 11 месяцев назад

Hell these young men were so brave

@sabrecatsmiladon7380 11 месяцев назад

My Grandfather was part of a Bofors 40mm AA team protecting southern England. He always wanted to get a German plane and last week, he finally got a BF-109 at an Air Show!!!

@martinsuter3531 11 месяцев назад

What??!! You Granddad shot down a BF109 at an airshow last week???!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣

@warbuzzard7167 7 месяцев назад

What does this mean? He bought an BF-109? There’s like three in the world; what’s a 95 year-old going to do with a WW2 fighter plane? What I’m trying to say is I DON’T BELIEVE YOU.

@patrickquinn7437 Месяц назад

Amazing to see at 13:58 Illesheim Army Airfield (ETIK) or properly named Storck Barracks as it was at the end of the war. During the war it was a middle level Luftwaffe repair facility with train tracks leading to the front of the hangars while the main doors of the hangars opened out level onto the ground. All the interiors still had the original hoists and internal cranes to move things around inside the buildings. After the war it was a TBolt base for a while then an armored infantry Kasserne. By the 1970's it was an Army helifield through my time there in the late 1990's. By the way that is the village of Urfersheim in the left of the video.

@chrisgrantham8442 8 месяцев назад

While the P-47 was a great high altitude fighter, a great ground attack platform it was not, lacking dive brakes and being so heavy, when put in a dive the speed built up so quickly it left it's pilots little time to pick out targets on the ground and once in a dive it was reluctant to pull out forcing it's pilots to start/stop their bomb/strafe attacks from higher attitudes least they hit the ground which accounts for their high losses in that role. It was capable of carrying a variety of bombs and rocket's and was renowned for being extremely rugged with many reports of them still flying after taking damage that would have downed most other aircraft.That they did so well in the ground attack role is a testament to the skill and daring of its pilots.!

@rafalIL29 10 месяцев назад

Glad I found this channel 🙏 Liked! Subscribed !💯

@Dronescapes 10 месяцев назад

Welcome aboard!

@clarencemcgregor8568 6 месяцев назад

A joke is not a joke without a butt and there is no butt like Rump!

@nole8923 2 месяца назад

Some of these old pilots being interviewed sound a lot like David McCullough who narrated the PBS civil war documentary as well as many other documentaries.

@skelelator 5 месяцев назад

P-47's can fire 100 rounds a second??? Amazing!!!! Patton never knew President Eisenhower. He knew General Eisenhower though.

@goosf5746 11 месяцев назад

Wiadomo Franciszek uczył się od najlepszych 😎💪

@richardbullwood5941 8 месяцев назад

And to think, there were fighter aircraft that started World War II with only two 30 caliber machine guns. The P-47 had 6 .50 caliber machine guns. Three in each wing. No wonder they were able to blow apart locomotives during ground attack missions

@clementevaldez1271 8 месяцев назад

The jug had 4 guns per wing....p40e and p51 had 3 per wing ....

@andersonlong7709 6 месяцев назад

Wrong sir: all P-47’s had EIGHT.50 machine guns, not six.

@richardbullwood5941 6 месяцев назад

@@andersonlong7709 correct

@peterrobbins2862 6 месяцев назад

The day and night bombing of the axis oil production refineries finished the Luftwaffe along with the decimated German industry and chronic lack of resources.the axis airforce produced over 2500 aces the allies didn't come anywhere near the skill set of the Luftwaffe our forces won by attrition rather than superior skills we were also fighting against poorly trained new pilots by the end of the war

@edwardgrabot798 3 месяца назад

Good documentary about Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. At 12:52, some what of a gaff, narrator says, President Eisenhower

@canoe365 27 дней назад

I read somewhere that the P-47 had the highest pilot survival rate of any fighter in WW2.

@marksummers463 9 месяцев назад

PRESIDENT Eusenhower?! At that time he was a general!

@Dronescapes 9 месяцев назад

You misspelled his last name, so you made a mistake while pointing out a mistake, how ironic! By the way, the mistake has been pointed out many times before your comment, but it seems you did not read any of them.

@haroldmclean3755 11 месяцев назад

Great Footage and very interesting 👍

@stevelueb7787 9 месяцев назад

Awesome video

@nole8923 2 месяца назад

I wonder if they had wild weasel type squadrons that went ahead of the main mission and were tasked with taking out flack batteries.

@kenross1634 10 месяцев назад

My father was a master Sargent in a squadron for armaments, he told the same story as this, more or less

@terryfallert1371 7 месяцев назад

God bless the greatest generation

@GiantPopIts89 20 часов назад

I’m sorry this might be a silly question but for all the historians or legit military guys watching this. 15:17 pause and zoom in. Is that a DIY cluster bomb?? Or am I not looking at it right?

@TigerDominic-uh1dv 12 дней назад

Yes You Do Have To Work Together 😊

@mrtruecommenter10000 9 месяцев назад

I always felt it very hard to match up to my father who was also in World War II he was on an LST converted over to a gunboat smallest boat allowed to cross the Pacific they were equipped with the new Stalin's organ type Rockets Plastering Iwo Jima Etc the the gunboat could literally go all the way up into the sand on the beach which they did play decimated the Japanese when they came in in numbers

@TJ24050 9 месяцев назад

The rocket firing LST’s were awesome shore bombardment boats. Not just rockets but they also had 4.2 inch mortars, 40mm bofors, and some had 5” naval guns.

@phlodel 10 месяцев назад

I watched a video of Eric "Winkle" Brown. He'd tested the P-47 and P-38 and said they were no good at all as fighter planes. He allowed the P-38 was good at reconnaissance and the P-47 was a good ground attack plane.

@Dronescapes 10 месяцев назад

Do you remember the title?

@CallsItLikeISeizeIts 10 месяцев назад

How wrong he was😂

@johnbrewer8954 10 месяцев назад

@@Dronescapes It was/is a discussion of Mach number in a dive, from the Test Pilot series. Brown was involved in the tests that resulted in air dive brakes being fitted because of "mach tuck" issues.

@kenneth9874 9 месяцев назад

He was full of crap in that instance and the raf proved it

@paulbriggs3072 7 месяцев назад

Even the Luftwaffe test pilot who flew a captured P-47 admitted that above 20,000 feet it was a serious threat.

@edwardkujawa 8 месяцев назад

P-47 shined in its ground attack role but was a formidable fighter Nazis were afraid of it believe me

@pungarehu 10 месяцев назад

Well I was going to argue for the typhoon, but sadly it couldn’t even hold a candle to the P47’s record - oh well…….

@alexandremarcelino7360 10 месяцев назад

É uma aeronave muito robusta, comparando ao P-47 só o F6F Hellcat🌟

@richardwarner3705 9 месяцев назад

Every pilot had a convertible Mercedes.🇺🇲😉👍

@robertmiller1299 10 месяцев назад

On D-day there were 14,600 allied sorties

@MorganOtt-ne1qj 8 месяцев назад

There were no civilian casualties. They were an equal part of the war. Just as Sherman rolled to the sea, Patton rolled to the Rhine and beyond.

@saberdogface 11 месяцев назад

12:50. President Eisenhower?

@ThomasDonnelly-dt8mq 4 месяца назад

Everyone should read the book Thunderbolt about Robert S Johnson a very eye opening biography about a P47 pilot who made it home and who had either 27 or 28 victories. A very good read and a testament to the durability of the P47

@Dronescapes 4 месяца назад

Reading is always welcome, thanks for sharing

@jimmiller7971 3 месяца назад

That’s the book that first turned me on the P 47 when I was 10 years old in 1968!

@athenovae 11 месяцев назад

26:31 poor horses 😭

@jagtone 7 месяцев назад

PRESIDENT Eisenhower?!?

@celticman1909 10 дней назад

I would have thought "Gabby" would have made General.

@higgydufrane 11 месяцев назад

Has anyone ever figured out how many cylinders were firing at any given point in WW2?

@greghemlock6679 11 месяцев назад

On June 6th 1944. 22,349,466 at 9 in the morning.gmt.

@johnbrewer8954 10 месяцев назад

Why do all these videos claim one type won the war? The Allies needed all types that is the P-47, P-51, p-38 AND the Spitfire to do what it did. The Spitfire had no range but the P-47 didnt start operations until April 1943, the P-38 and P-51 had more range than early P-47 but in Big Week there were 800 P-47s 100 P-38s and 100 P-51s + some Spittfires. Not one of these aircraft was designed as an "escort fighter".

@douglasbuck8986 7 месяцев назад

President Eisenhower????

@leojablonski2309 8 месяцев назад

And Brits scoffed at the American Jug when it first arrived in England

@Etrichtaube1 2 месяца назад

37 Kills. Es gab eine Menge deutscher Piloten mit mehr als 250 Abschüssen. Dagegen war Gabreski ein Anfänger...........................

@Dronescapes 2 месяца назад

Germans made many of those records in Russia, where shooting down aircraft was extremely easy. It was a different story when they had to face proper aircraft and pilots.

@timries4916 4 месяца назад

Hey Max on bad areas use some plastic strips from Evergreen or who ever. Thin strips with a lot of liquid glue within reason helps it melt and can be sanded into shape. Best of luck.

@booster5329 5 месяцев назад

12:53 "President" Eisenhower?

@StanleyWareham 7 месяцев назад

No one takes the outstanding bravery of the pilots but the p47 did not win the war single handed, Patton did not take Germany on his own, he may have thought of himself as Caesar but he was not, America did jump in to sort out Europes problems for them, America was happy selling arms and ammunition to Europe until Japan and then Germany declared war on them.

@wildcolonialman 11 месяцев назад

Fabulous.

@TechnikMeister2 11 месяцев назад

What defeated Germany was no plane or better opposing forces. They simply ran out of oil...for everything. Towards the end of the war, the Luftwaffe had 4000 fighters grounded at airfields all over Germany and Poland that they could not use. Their aircraft production reached its peak in late 1944, despite all the bombings. By early 1944, aircraft and munitions production had moved underground. It was a waste of bombs and killed 4 million German civilians for no strategic benefit.

@gort8203 11 месяцев назад

And why do you think they ran out of oil? Some external opposing forces crippled their oil supply. Meanwhile they were moving their production underground because the allied bombing was a waste of bombs. What a joke.

@augustiner3821 11 месяцев назад

@@gort8203he has a point. It's not popular to talk about, but most of German industry was fairly intact after the war. How do you think, the "Wirtschaftswunder" happened? With rubble?

@gort8203 11 месяцев назад

@@augustiner3821 That is not the point. The point is, what cashed them to run out of oil and move production underground. If it hadn't been for strategic bombing their productive capacity and oil supply would have been even greater.

@augustiner3821 11 месяцев назад

@@gort8203 but the underground production worked how the production figures confirm. Your assumption is hypothetical concerning the effect. And the lack of of oil sipply was a chronic issue from the first day of the war and one major reason for operation Barbarossa. After losing the acces to the oilfields in the east after 1942, there was no chance to maintain the war. So, think critical, the carpet bombing did have multiple effects, and one was the huge loss of innocent private lives of old men, women and children.

@gort8203 11 месяцев назад

@@augustiner3821 It's not even worth arguing with somebody who can't see the point. Goodbye.

@dennisgrubbs1929 8 месяцев назад

Yeah do what you gotta do that is beyond most peoples comprehension

@j.sumner6999 8 месяцев назад

They didn't think of the obvious solution to the crash landing problem?

@ftc9258 11 месяцев назад

This is the ORIGINAL beloved FAT AMY.

@MikeSowsun 9 месяцев назад

Can anyone identify the type of tank shown at 10:53 ? My guess is M24 “Chaffee” light tank.

@slumzur 8 месяцев назад

it's M18 hellcat

@MikeSowsun 8 месяцев назад

@@slumzur Thanks. They look very similar.

@theguy455 5 месяцев назад

We liberated a bunch of Mecedes Benz, lol.

@charliearmstrong6526 5 месяцев назад

The voice-over mis-spoke. He said, “President Eisenhower.” Eisenhower was General, not president, yet. (As everyone knows, except this poor guy…

@Dronescapes 5 месяцев назад

This is RU-vid, not the BBC or HBO. Mistakes are made (both the BBC and HBO make them as much). This said, yes, you are absolutely right, but it cannot be corrected once it is online. Big networks, compared to social platforms, had the privilege, and still have it, to not have people correct them despite having 100 or 1000 times the budget of RU-vidrs. Thanks for understanding; perhaps one day, we will have the same budget as a network and be able to hire more people to do a perfect job to please everyone. Hopefully, despite the error, you still enjoyed the video. For fun tomorrow, you can check the New York Times and see how many errors you spot! 😉 Have a great weekend, Charlie.

@Kadetttreter78 10 месяцев назад

The best pilots of the world were still Luftwaffe pilots of the second world war they consider an ace only people who shut down more than 50 enemy aircraft. They were the aces among the aces. The whole world against one country is just not a fair fight so you cannot compare this and say yeah this guy shut down six German plains, so he is almost a hero. The Russians were true competitors to the German army, and Luftwaffe. That’s why more than three-quarter of the soldiers were fighting on that side to try to stop them. If they would not be an eastern front, the D-Day had failed within one week before it really began. No offense brothers 🫡🤔🤭

@paulbriggs3072 7 месяцев назад

German pilots claimed way more kills than they actually had. The allies knew this by comparing actual records of what was shot down on their side with what Germany claimed at that time. Sometimes more than twice as many. Further, the Germans who invaded their neighbors shot down all sorts of obsolete aircraft trying to defend themselves in Poland, France, Belgium, Russia.

@Turloghan 4 месяца назад

Even without Easter Front "Crusade in Europe" will be a success. The best Luftwaffe units fought in Western Front, not Eastern. But they were outnumbered even 15:1 in favor to Allied się power, do Germans fate was inevitable :DEFEAT. Importance of Eastern Front in terms of się war is exagerrated completely, cause thru all wartime Soviet air forces wasnt able to get air dominance over Luftwaffe , cause theirs air forces werent reliable in terms of tactics and supply support. So main air war was over West Europe and Reich defence, which both were lost practically at begining "Overlord" operation, and Reich defence against Allied heavy Bombers was exausted to limit of available german pilot, which was declining even before "Overlord". Stop spraid Russian propaganda, without Lend Lease Russians will be still in Ukrainians steppe in 1944.

@aidanconvery7460 4 месяца назад

Nonsense on shooting off the road into Tiger belly

@madhatter2465 8 дней назад

President Eisenhower, WTF! Get it right!

@OdeeOz 11 месяцев назад

So much Negativity in this video. Followed by a handful of Patriotism.

@bobsakamanos4469 3 месяца назад

@OdeeOz 3 месяца назад

@@bobsakamanos4469 It is not Historically accurate

@bobsakamanos4469 3 месяца назад

@@OdeeOz technical performance was misquoted as well. It could never hit 600 mph in a dive.

@michaelgraystone7881 2 месяца назад

The film that you’re watching has got nothing to do with what he’s talking about although obviously there’s limited film stock many of the clips of film have been shown covering other subjects. I have seen some of these clips of films covering all sorts of subjects.

@Awake2Evil 11 месяцев назад

I read that the pilots of the P-47, called the "Flying Coffin" because the plane would go into a dive and didn't pull up in time. Slow response in dive.

@paulthomas-hh2kv 10 месяцев назад

It was pretty useless in Europe at higher altitude

@AnthonyEvelyn 9 месяцев назад

@@paulthomas-hh2kv No it wasn't useless at high altitude, that's where it excelled the fighter role.

@paulthomas-hh2kv 9 месяцев назад

@@AnthonyEvelyn see Test Pilot, where US fighters failed over Europe

@kenneth9874 9 месяцев назад

Yeah, there was nothing in the luftwaffe that could catch a p47 in a dive or at higher altitudes save a jet

@kenneth9874 9 месяцев назад

@@paulthomas-hh2kvjust how did they fail when they destroyed the luftwaffe when british fighters couldn't even get there?

@dougmackenzie5976 10 месяцев назад

"President" Eisenhower???? At 12:51 you call General Eisenhower "president". Huh? Going to stop watching, right there. If you don't know the history of WWII, you should learn it before attempting to make a documentary about it.

@douglasstreet7304 11 месяцев назад

MY father flew 50 missions in the B24, which I love. However I feel the P47 was the greatest all around WWII fighter along with the Mosquito.

@Dronescapes 11 месяцев назад

Bless him. We just posted a documentary about Jimmy Stewart (He also flew missions on B-24s) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IbrWSD3-BBg.html

@dougmccoy1260 10 месяцев назад

My dad completed his missions in the B24s in China. A good case can be made for the Hellcat as a top fighter. Same engine as the P47. Once they got P51s they had fighter escort for longer missions.

@Dronescapes 10 месяцев назад

Bless him @dougmcoy1260

@douglasstreet7304 10 месяцев назад

Thank you very much.@@Dronescapes

@aidanconvery7460 4 месяца назад

No FW190 final mark, me262

@RolfWolf707 9 месяцев назад

are you kidding? comparing patton with caesar? without the unbreakable power of the russian army - multiple outnumbering the wehrmacht in every single detail - no single american soldier would ever have been able to set his feet on german land! by the way the usaaf outnumbered the luftwaffe in most cases 25:1, had superior fuel, oil, grease, better engines anyway because the lack of essential material in germany and so on… in 1945 it was more about kicking somebody in the face who was allready lying nearly defenceless and unarmoured on the ground… the thunderbolt was without any doubt one of the greatest warplanes - and still it was the number of planes which made the difference!

@paulbriggs3072 7 месяцев назад

Except at the beginning of the war, Germany outnumbered their opponents in airpower.