Survivability of the P-47

[DPQ5]

I fly the P47 alot, seem to be the plane i spend the second amount of my time in after the 190A8 and i believe its a very durable plane in the game but it seems to lack the armor it had.

[Motherland]

i believe its a very durable plane in the game but it seems to lack the armor it had.

Contradict yourself much?

[DPQ5]

Contradict yourself much?

 

[BaDkaRmA158Th]

Perhaps the razor back p47 helps people survive more.

[Rebel]

Perhaps the razor back p47 helps people survive more.

Actually, I've found that one to be the mose "pilot wound happy" of the bunch.   

Others' observations may be different, but a puffy ack went off behind me in a Razorback, and I wound up with a hole in the back of the plane, and blood all over my windsheild.  Barely made it back. 

[Xasthur]

Remember, when you start flying it, that the P47 was a strong airframe, but it was NOT invincible, and it was no match for the armament of a mid-late war RVG aircraft. By 'strong airframe', you can take probably 5-6 20mm hits, if your lucky, but a concentrated, even short burst on any one point of the a/c will bring it down.

'...Then suddenly four other peculiar looking single engine aircraft dive past. They have the white star and broad white stripes as wing markings. Blast! They are Thunderbolts. I have not seen them before.
I immediately dive down after them. They swing round in a steep spiral heading for a lone Flying Fortress whose two outside engines have stopped. There is a Messerschmitt on its tail: it is Reinhard.
The bloody fool has eyes only for his fat bomber, and is unaware of the enemy fighters coming up behind.
"Reinhard, Reinhard, wake up! Thunderbolts behind!"
Reinhard does not reply, but keeps on calmly blazing away at his Fortress. I go flat out after the thunderbolts. The first of them now opens fire on my wingman. The latter just keeps firing at his victim.
But now the leading thunderbolt is a perfect target in my sights. A single burst of fire from my guns is all that is needed. It bursts into flames and goes down spinning like a dead leaf into the depths below. It is my second kill today. ...'

Wonderful quote, thanks mate.

[Xasthur]

I flew a P 47N in a mission the other night and it was one tough b|tch. Flying through weeble wobble fire and pounding Il2s After I'd cleared the higher cons.

I took an oil hit, stuck around and shot down another Il2 and then flew the 40odd miles back to base and still had a solid quarter remaining on the oil pressure gague.

Tough stuff.

Don't expect the wings to be any tougher than that of many other aircraft, it's in the engine and the massive plane around the pilot that its reputation for coming home shot all to watermelon was born.

[Karnak]

(Image removed from quote.)

The above Brazilian P-47 hit a chimney,  I believe over 1m of the wing is missing.   It returned home from a ground attack, where it hit a factory chimney. 

I have a photo of a Mossie 6 that struck the mast of a U-Boat while straffing it and had its entire cannon package ripped from the aircraft, but it did bring back the Nazi naval jack.

But keep in mind why these photos get taken and published.  It is because they are extrordinary and thus notworthy.  Almost none of the P-47s that were only hit by a small burst and went down immeadiately have their stories told and none of those are well publisized.  Yes, certain aircraft were definately tougher than others and the P-47 is among the short list of standouts, but it was also just another aluminium stressed skin structure with all the inherent frailties.

My list of standout tough aircraft is B-17 Flying Fortress, F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat, Il-2 Sturmovik, Mosquito, P-47 Thunderbolt and Wellington.

I have heard that the F4U Corsair, H8K "Emily", Hurricane, Ju88, Lancaster and P-38 Lightning were also tough, but I haven't gotten the feeling from comments abou them as I have about the seven I listed above.

[BnZ]

P-47 fuel tank catches fire more than other aircraft, seems like.

R2800 in AHII runs a long time on oil-out allright, but if anything, those big radials seem to actually be stopped MORE easily than the inline engine of other aircraft I fly. I've noticed this in the Hog at any rate, but Hog and Jug having the same engine, surely they are damaged model the same.

Otherwise, tough cookie.

[Widewing]

Remember, when you start flying it, that the P47 was a strong airframe, but it was NOT invincible, and it was no match for the armament of a mid-late war RVG aircraft. By 'strong airframe', you can take probably 5-6 20mm hits, if your lucky, but a concentrated, even short burst on any one point of the a/c will bring it down.

'...Then suddenly four other peculiar looking single engine aircraft dive past. They have the white star and broad white stripes as wing markings. Blast! They are Thunderbolts. I have not seen them before.
I immediately dive down after them. They swing round in a steep spiral heading for a lone Flying Fortress whose two outside engines have stopped. There is a Messerschmitt on its tail: it is Reinhard.
The bloody fool has eyes only for his fat bomber, and is unaware of the enemy fighters coming up behind.
"Reinhard, Reinhard, wake up! Thunderbolts behind!"
Reinhard does not reply, but keeps on calmly blazing away at his Fortress. I go flat out after the thunderbolts. The first of them now opens fire on my wingman. The latter just keeps firing at his victim.
But now the leading thunderbolt is a perfect target in my sights. A single burst of fire from my guns is all that is needed. It bursts into flames and goes down spinning like a dead leaf into the depths below. It is my second kill today. ...'

Bob Johnson, whose P-47 sucked up more than twenty 20mm hits and several hundred 7.92mm hits explained his observations during the war.

"Yes, Thunderbolts could fly home after receiving a terrible pounding. Many came home with damage that would have knocked down a B-17. That was not always the case though. A single 20mm hit in the right place could end your day. Luck, or call it fate if you prefer, was always a factor. One 20mm hit to the fuel line at the fire wall would usually mean a very serious fire. Armor did not extend around the cockpit. One hit from the side or above could kill or wound the pilot.

While I am convinced that the Thunderbolt was the toughest fighter ever to fly in combat (in WWII), and had the lowest loss rate of any fighter in the war, it was far from invulnerable."


My regards,

Widewing

[Captfish]

I dont fly the 47 that much, but from what i have seen the F6F seems to be the strongest. That thing just takes a lickin and keeps on tickin! It also has the same engine as the f4u and p47.

[SlapShot]

I dont fly the 47 that much, but from what i have seen the F6F seems to be the strongest. That thing just takes a lickin and keeps on tickin! It also has the same engine as the f4u and p47.

They didn't call Grumman ... "Grumman Iron Works" ... for nothing.

[Noir]

My list of standout tough aircraft is B-17 Flying Fortress, F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat, Il-2 Sturmovik, Mosquito, P-47 Thunderbolt and Wellington.

I have heard that the F4U Corsair, H8K "Emily", Hurricane, Ju88, Lancaster and P-38 Lightning were also tough, but I haven't gotten the feeling from comments abou them as I have about the seven I listed above.

add the yak9u (ingame) to that list, test it if you want but their wings are very resistant especially.

[BnZ]

The Typhoon/Tempest seem pretty tough in the wing fuselage area, although the chin radiator gets taken out by ack rather easily.

[angelsandair]

The Typhoon/Tempest seem pretty tough in the wing fuselage area, although the chin radiator gets taken out by ack rather easily.

Typhoon is a monster. I got called a "H4xx0r" on 200 a couple of days ago. Because I took 3 30mm tater hits. (course, all 3 were in different places in the middle of my plane taking out 2 guns, and a whole bunch of other stuff.. 


Today in the DA, I shot a P-47D11 w/ 2 30mm taters and got nothing. IMO, it seems the D11 lasts longer.