Browse Items (19 total)

The pitot tube was used as a weather gauge, sending information like air speed and altitude to the console of the pilot. Pilots had to adapt to this plane quickly, but even experienced pilots had trouble in flying it. The pitot tube was located on…

The propeller on the engine of a P-47. The engine, a Pratt and Whitney R-2800, helped to determine the size of the plane. The engine was covered with metal plates known as a cowling. During combat, the cowling cover was color-associated with the…

This insignia was introduced in 1943. The blue and white gloss insignia was referred to as the "star and bar" and was standard on all planes in the U.S. military in WWII. It was painted under both wings to help ground troops avoid friendly fire. The…

The P-47 Thunderbolt was a heavy fighter aircraft, maxing out at 17,000 lbs. Part of this weight was owed to the extra protection given to the pilot. Armor plates were installed behind the seat and on each side of the cockpit below the window. In…

This illustration shows the pathway of air into the engine of the P-47, showing how effective it made the P-47 at higher altitudes. The thinning air was compressed in the turbines as it passed on to the engine. This helped to increase horsepower and…

A side by side comparison of the original Razorback canopy (right) and the updated Bubble Top canopy (left) on P-47s. Complaints with the Razorback canopy included difficulty in bailing out for pilots in flight, as well as overall visibility.

In addition to the .50-caliber machine guns, the P-47 was able to hold multiple kinds of bombs. This P-47 decorated as the one flown by Colonel Joseph Laughlin has 500-lb bombs attached under each wing. The planes were also capable of holding…

The P-47 had 4 .50-caliber machine guns on each wing. Each gun could fire at a rate of around 500 rounds per minute, meaning a lot of firepower was needed in each wing. These guns were in addition to the bombs that could be attached under each wing.

The 8 .50-caliber machine guns on a P-47 could fire at a rate of up to 500 rounds per minutes. Even without the use of bombs, this made the P-47 a very deadly weapon in the hands of a capable pilot.

The bombs were positioned just to the outside of the last machine gun, which was also where the bullets to the machine guns were stored in the wings. That made the wings the most vulnerable part of the plane, especially if the bombs had not been…