THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHT FOOT

P-47 Thunderbolt vs. P-51 Mustang Pilot 〉〉 Frank Oiler, 1st Lt. 78th Fighter Group 8th Air Force In early 1944, after having been commissioned a second Lieutenant and with 10 hours of P-40 flight time under my belt, I was introduced to a “beast” of an airplane called a P-47C Thunderbolt. As I stood in front of this behemoth of an airplane, wide eyed and intimidated by its size, the only thought that ran through my young mind was, “It’s so damn big, it will never fly!” This monster weighed over eight tons fully loaded and towered over me like an overgrown milk jug. Simply put, I was awestruck. When they finally turned us loose and told us to crank our engines, the sound of that big 2,000-horsepower R2800 Pratt…

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Flight Journal (Digital) - 1 Issue, November/December 2024

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