P-47 Light

[Hap]

light jug is great esp if one be used to loading it to the max.  i don't take an N w/out 8 guns.  i do fly the 25, 11, 40 light frequently esp when hauling ord.

[Spikes]

The P-47 D-11 is surprisingly turney and manuverable, as I recently was fought to a near standstill in my F4U-1 last night. And I'm not talking about fighting in the vertical, but in the horizontal, as if we were turney-birds. Don't underestimate the powers of a light D-11.

I never have, the D11 is definately the primary fighter out of the four of them. Whenever I see a D11 (since most 'new guys' don't fly the D11 or D25, theyd rather take all the ord they can get) I know it's going to get into a turn fight.

[BnZs]

I never have, the D11 is definately the primary fighter out of the four of them. Whenever I see a D11 (since most 'new guys' don't fly the D11 or D25, theyd rather take all the ord they can get) I know it's going to get into a turn fight.

According to Mosq's turn data, the D11 can turn a somewhat smaller radius than many planes, including surprisingly the C205 or any of the P-38s. Not so surprisingly several of the planes which have somewhat larger turn radii whoop the D-11 in turn rate though..such as the C205, the P-38s, the Ta-152, etc.

[StokesAk]

The N has a great roll rate. And if you manage you E well you can go into a furball on the deck and keep your E while shooting at the baddies!

[Krusty]

Going from 8 guns heavy to 8 guns light saves you almost 500lbs. Going from 8 guns heavy to 6 guns light saves you nearly 1000lbs.

A N loaded to the same weight as the D40 will out climb and out accelerate the D model. The engine is much more powerful. The problem is that the fuel goes a little faster.

Try this for fun, at least once: Up a 47N, 6 guns light, with 2 small wing DTs and 25%. Use the DTs to climb and fly to the fight. Once you find the fight, drop the tanks and engage anything you can for the 15+ minutes you have internal gas left.

It outperforms all other Jugs this way, by a lot.

[Stoney]

Found naught on internet regarding tank placement....but from observation, aux tank in N goes about 12 minutes, at 1 gallon every 6 seconds--thats 120 gallons...~ 6 pounds per gallon....720 pounds. That sure could have an effect, depending on placement

Both the Main and Aux tanks are located between the leading and trailing edges of the wing, and therefore, don't cause a huge shift in CG at any point in burning a full bag of gas.  The reason the fuselage tank in the Pony was so destablizing was it was behind the wing, with a relatively long moment arm, and therefore, created a lot of instability.  The reduced weight for the P-47 is a bigger performance boost than any sort of extra maneuverability due to CG location.  The Main tank is located right behind the firewall and in front of cockpit--sort of an "L" shape, with the bottom of the "L" fitting under the cockpit area.  The Aux tank is behind the portion of the main below the cockpit.  So, ironically, the main fuel tank hits you suffer in-game in the N should hit the Aux tank instead.  About the only way to hit the main tank would be from an angle perpendicular to the fuselage in this area.  Look at the P-47N POH in the Wiki--it has a schematic of the fuel system.  Always take 8 guns, but take as little fuel as necessary, and keep the plane as light as possible.  I almost always take the light 8-gun ammo package.

[Krusty]

I've heard rumblings that the "heavy" ammo load was rare, used only for ground strafing. I think our N got it by default (all the others had it), but I've since wondered if the pacific theater (with less to strafe) ever carried this weapons setup.

[bozon]

Try this for fun, at least once: Up a 47N, 6 guns light, with 2 small wing DTs and 25%. Use the DTs to climb and fly to the fight. Once you find the fight, drop the tanks and engage anything you can for the 15+ minutes you have internal gas left.

It outperforms all other Jugs this way, by a lot.

...For the 5 minutes of WEP duration. If you lost the WEP, the N is the worst performing jug in every aspect except the roll.

I've heard rumblings that the "heavy" ammo load was rare, used only for ground strafing. I think our N got it by default (all the others had it), but I've since wondered if the pacific theater (with less to strafe) ever carried this weapons setup.

Also as far as I know, the 425 rpg was not used for escort duties. In real life, as opposed to AH, saving weight this way makes sense. Your chances of getting to shoot at so many enemies till your guns are dry were slim - if you saw any enemy at all. If they found the enemy, pilots were happy to empty their entire ammo load into 1 target and RTB with 1 kill. In AH on the other hand, you fight endless waves of incoming bandits. You will always find a target to shoot more bullets into and you will always want to return with more than 1 kill. The ultimate price to pay for this eagerness is a wounded ego and a quick trip to the tower. Real pilots would rather run out of ammo for a better chance of escaping alive.

Aside from that, the overloading of ammo was said to cause gun jams.

[Rebel]

The way I fly it is thus-  Go heavy, stay light.  I fly the D-11 mostly.

The Jug will burn tons of gas, and she thrives on the thin air, but she doesn't climb all that well.

The heavy ammo load should really be reserved for ground strafing and/or bomber interceptions.  Those are the long protracted high speed dives where the extra weight won't hurt, and you're not pulling on the pole non stop.

The point of the Jug is air superiority.  Come in with an advantage, force the bad guy to deplete all his energy, pin him down, then whack him over the skull.

You can't do that if you're constantly watching your fuel state.  You're not supposed to be turning all that hard (and if you're flying the Jug correctly you really shouldn't be anyway), so you should always be losing energy in minimal states through your zoom climbs. 

So, to recap- cruise at around 15-17K.  Typically, that's how far your drop tank will take you, so pop it off to clean up, and you'll be cruising at a resepectable 380ish, punch wep and you're creeping up on if not exceeding 400. 

From that position of advantage you should be able to attack with impunity.

Once your fuel gets down to 50%, you can get a bit more aggressive.  At 25% you can furball with the best of 'em, but keep an eye on your altimeter.  You will need 5,000 feet and WEP to clear out of a fight. 

In an N, it's all a bit different.  Save the WEP for when you need it, take 50% gas, and a drop tank.  Same rules apply for the most part, but if you punch wep on the deck you're lookin at a significant speed advantage, and if you dive with it, you can run down a Mustang in short order.

[Anodizer]

The 47N owns the D-11.  I've dueled one vs the other from both sides (with comparable pilots), and either way the 47N came out on top.

It's just the opposite for me unless the N has an alt advantage..  Otherwise, I'll out turn an N model all day in a D11...  I will give mention to the
N model's role rate, though..  Reminds me of a 190..  Comes in really handy especially when your going 500 miles an hour...
And once the N's wep runs out, it's as good as over....  The N is substandard without wep..  It is the slowest, climbs the worst, turns the worst..
Unless there's an alt advantage and plenty of WEP available, the N model is just like any other Jug, only worse...
I'd take a D40 instead only because it's super easy to cause an overshoot in that ride.. 
But if you want to turn for a while, D11 is the way to go..  If you want to BnZ or fight it out with some high cons(very rare) the N is the way to go....

[moot]

ty Stoney.

[Krusty]

...For the 5 minutes of WEP duration. If you lost the WEP, the N is the worst performing jug in every aspect except the roll.

Wrong. Most folks assume this because the AH charts have the N loaded out with a lot more fuel, making it perform worse. You load it out similarly to the D40, and it is very close on military power. However, it leaps ahead when using its WEP.

Here's a sample of climb rates for example, where the 2 models are similarly loaded:



When the 47N is lighter, it's even better still.

A light 47N (6 guns light, 25%) will eat a basic [edit: 8-gun] D40 every day of the week.

[BnZs]

I should point out that when loaded with the same gun package and fuel for similar "burn times" (50% vs. 74%) the N and D40 are basically identical.

I would assume they are pretty close in turning when loaded this way. Remember the N has a larger wing than the Ds. At the same weight it would have an even lighter wingloading.

Wrong. Most folks assume this because the AH charts have the N loaded out with a lot more fuel, making it perform worse. You load it out similarly to the D40, and it is very close on military power. However, it leaps ahead when using its WEP.

Here's a sample of climb rates for example, where the 2 models are similarly loaded:

(Image removed from quote.)

When the 47N is lighter, it's even better still.

A light 47N (6 guns light, 25%) will eat a basic [edit: 8-gun] D40 every day of the week.

[Krusty]

The N has more wing area, and that translates into a few results you might not think of. Somebody once claimed the guns were a bit further outboard than the D models, for example.

Does that mean the flaps are longer, if the wing area is larger? I've not looked into it yet, just had that question pop into mind.

[Widewing]

The N has more wing area, and that translates into a few results you might not think of. Somebody once claimed the guns were a bit further outboard than the D models, for example.

Does that mean the flaps are longer, if the wing area is larger? I've not looked into it yet, just had that question pop into mind.

The difference in wing area is 20 square feet. Flap area increases by less than 2 square feet. It isn't as significant as weight is, but every little bit helps. If you look at the empty weights, the increased wing area is more than offset by the increase in basic weight.

Oh, and the guns are further out than on the D model. This is due to inserting an 18" wing section inboard of the landing gear.


My regards,

Widewing