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

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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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

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