![]() ![]() The introduction of revised rudder and elevator balance systems and other changes corrected these problems. A Republic test pilot was killed in the fifth production P-47B when it went out of control in a dive on 26 March 1942, and crashed due to failure of the tail assembly, after fabric-covered tail surfaces ballooned and ruptured. The 56th served as an operational evaluation unit for the new fighter. Initial deliveries of the Thunderbolt to the USAAF were to the 56th Fighter Group, which was also on Long Island. ![]() The initial P-47Cs were very similar to the P-47B. Production changes gradually addressed the problems with P-47B, and on balance, with experience the USAAF decided that the P-47 was worthwhile, quickly following the initial order for P-47Bs for 602 more examples of a improved model, named P-47C, with the first of this variant delivered in September 1942. ground attack aircraft, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, takes its name from the P-47. The armored cockpit was roomy inside, comfortable for the pilot, and offered good visibility. The sturdy and rugged aircraft was designed by Alexander de Seversky and Alexander Kartveli, emigres from the Russian Empire. Mexican and Brazilian squadrons fighting alongside the U.S. The P-47 was one of the main United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters of World War II, and served with other Allied air forces such as France, the UK and the USSR. The P-47, based on the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine, was to be very effective as a short-to-medium range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat and when unleashed as a fighter-bomber, proved especially adept at ground attack in both the WW-II European and Pacific Theaters. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to eight tons, and in the fighter-bomber ground attack roles could carry five inch rockets or a significant bomb load of 2,500 pounds-over half the weight the famous B-17 bomber could carry on long-range missions. Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. ![]()
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