American fighter plane P-47 Thunderbolt COBI 5737 - World War II

You know that:

• The P-47 was developed in 1941 as a successor to the "chubby" but powerful P-43 fighter.
• Republic Aviation's designers have always built high quality and robust aircraft, and this was also the case with the P-47. The result was the largest and heaviest single-seat piston-engined fighter, a record it still holds today.
• Due to the parameters of the aircraft, the designers needed a new powerful engine, which was developed for the P-47 by Pratt & Whitney. The project nearly ended in disaster as the prototype engine continually failed. Each time the current engine problem was fixed, another and another appeared. After fitting the engine with a new turbocharger, all the problems were overcome and flight testing began.
• The first take-off took place on 6 May 1941 from the company airfield at Farmingdale.
• The flight tests proved that the result was a reliable and durable aircraft that could withstand rough treatment from the crew, which was exactly what the US Air Force needed to support the Normandy landings.
• Eight machine guns and underslung unguided rockets made the P-47 the most heavily armed fighter deployed in Europe.
• Pilots nicknamed the aircraft "Jug" after the shape of the fuselage, which resembled a milk jug.
• Later versions were even equipped with an additional methanol tank, which, when injected into the engine, could briefly boost engine power by 300 hp. 
• In the final phase of the war, the US Army deployed Thunderbolts as so-called "dredgers" to attack fortified points deep in enemy territory, as well as to transport military materiel. According to available records, Thunderbolts destroyed more than 10,000 enemy steam locomotives in Europe.
• 15,686 were produced in various versions.
• Mexico operated Thunderbolts for the longest time until 1958.
• The aircraft even inspired the world-famous composer Bohuslav Martinů, who wrote a Thunderbolt P-47 in 1945.

Technical parameters of the P-47:

• dimensions: wingspan 12.44 m, length 11.02 m, height 4.44 m
• weight 4 536 kg
• power unit Pratt & Whitney R-2800-59 8-cylinder radial engine with an output of 1 500 kW
• maximum speed 700 km/h
• climb speed 15 m/s
• maximum flight level 13 000 m
• range 1 300 km
• fuel tank capacity 1 155 l
• armament 8x 12.7 mm Browning M12 machine gun, possibly up to 10 unguided HVAR missiles
• crew 1