Some more Jug talk. Here's the comment from Robert Johnson in referenve to Lucky, so it explains why he could outclimb an Fw190 in a combat turn.
RSJ: Sure. My second Jug, a D-5 was the best P-47 that I ever flew, and I flew them all, including the P-47M which the 56th got near the end of the war.
P47M was a hot plane and RJ says his Lucky was even faster at close to 470 mph.
Here's a list called the Jug Advocates GuestList. In that list are some old Jug pilots from WW2 with emails. Some may still be around and I'm sure they would love to get emails from any of you guys. Plus just some good tidbits of info about theirselves.
http://www.p47advocates.com/gbarchive1999.html Here's a comment left by one Jugger:
The P-47 Thunderbolt is a part of my soul. I will always remember with a feeling of reverance my days of flying combat in this mighty war machine -- the biggest and deadliest fighter plane of World War II. Some years ago I wrote and produced a 3-hour television program about my experiences, which was shown on national PBS during the 50th anniversary of D-Day. It was called "A Fighter Pilot's Story," and described what combat was like for the young men of my generation who flew the Thunderbolt on close ground support missions in the ETO during 1944 and 1945. While the passage of time has stolen our youth from us, we will always be proud that we are members of the "Brotherhood of Thunderbolt Pilots", who felt honored to play a role in the defeat of evil that threatened the world.
Quentin Aanenson <boldtiger@prodigy.net>
Bethesda, MD USA - Tuesday, July 20, 1999 at 19:57:09 (EDT)
fscott
[This message has been edited by fscott (edited 04-05-2001).]