p47 jug taking some punishment

[bozon]

It was Mayer's running out of ammo that saved Johnson's life.

That and 7 tones of pure luck. He should have landed his 47 next to a lottery stand and bought a ticket first thing.

The most amazing thing is that the tires were not punctured. Rubber is rubber, even in the P-47.

[GScholz]

Mayer was already out of ammo for his cannons. Only had couple hundred rounds of 7.98 mm left. If i remember correctly Johnson's 47 was hit by only one or two 20 mm shells.

[-ammo-]

Mayer was already out of ammo for his cannons. Only had couple hundred rounds of 7.98 mm left. If i remember correctly Johnson's 47 was hit by only one or two 20 mm shells.

I have read about the Mayer/Johnson incident in several books and I can't recall if it was stated how many 20mm hits HV-P took in either reference.  AFAIK, it has never been specified.

[GScholz]

Here are a couple of photos of Johnson's HV-P. You can clearly see the single 20mm hit in the rear cockpit area that wounded Johnson and damaged the hydraulics. It also trapped him inside the aircraft. The rest of the aircraft (that we can see) looks intact, but with a lot of small .30 cal holes. Johnson was very lucky those .30 cals didn't damage his controls (enough) and make him a trapped passenger in an uncontrollable aircraft.

What a feeling that must have been... Waking up in a vertical dive, oil and blood everywhere, and realizing you couldn't get out.

[-ammo-]

I concur with what you just posted, but no way you can tell from those photos (I have them too) how many 20mm hit the AC -  simply supposition.  We know his AC caught fire at the initial bounce and I believe, totally conjecture on my part, that 20mm strikes caused it. 

[-ammo-]

Another thing thing to note:  In the Dogfights episode, they presume Johnson tried to escape through the top part of the canopy assuming the plexiglass was shot out.  These photos clearly show that was impossible.  In Johnson's book Thunderbolt, he states he tries to escape.

[GScholz]

Yeah, I seem to remember Johnson say or write that the engine had been hit as well, but I haven't been able to find a picture of that. Which is strange since they obviously documented the damage to this P-47.

[TheCrazyOrange]

You know things caught on fire before the use of 20mms was common.

[GScholz]

One thing to consider is that planes returning with damage like this were flukes. For every one that made it home untold numbers didn't make it. Also, those that did make it had very little damage by "AH standards", usually no more than a handful cannon hits, and it was these birds that gave the P-47 its reputation for toughness. Surviving a single 20mm hit in any other single engined fighter was considered lucky.

In AH I squeeze off a two second burst and send 40 20mm shells and 35 30mm shells into my victim...

[GScholz]

I tried watching the OP's video, but after 5 minutes I just couldn't take the exaggerations, wild animations and bravado. I much prefer the following recounting of that fateful day in Johnson's life, told by the man himself:



Btw. in this extraordinary machinima they say that "Half Pint" took 22 cannon hits. If accurate, that's an astonishing, simply incredible amount of damage for a P-47 to survive. That's what the Luftwaffe found was needed to bring down a four-engined bomber! On that day Johnson must surely have been the luckiest man alive.

[TheCrazyOrange]

God, 22 rounds would shred the airframe. I'd be shocked if you could detonate 22 rounds on one in a controlled environment and still have the frame be able to withstand the stress of flight.

[Oldman731]

Johnson's incident is well known, and there are other stories testifying of the P-47's ruggedness.  I would argue that it is pretty well represented in AH given the damage model.

I was surprised to find that Freeman, in "Wolfpack Warriors," casts some doubt on Johnson's version of the event.

- oldman

[-ammo-]

I was surprised to find that Freeman, in "Wolfpack Warriors," casts some doubt on Johnson's version of the event.

- oldman

I did too!  It is a great book and would encourage everyone here to pick up a copy.  A bit off topic but another thing I found interesting in the book was the contrast in leadership styles of Zemke and Schilling

[-ammo-]

I tried watching the OP's video, but after 5 minutes I just couldn't take the exaggerations, wild animations and bravado. I much prefer the following recounting of that fateful day in Johnson's life, told by the man himself:



Btw. in this extraordinary machinima they say that "Half Pint" took 22 cannon hits. If accurate, that's an astonishing, simply incredible amount of damage for a P-47 to survive. That's what the Luftwaffe found was needed to bring down a four-engined bomber! On that day Johnson must surely have been the luckiest man alive.

Nice find, I have never seen that before

[danny76]

I killed Jazzi's P47 last night with about 5 cannon rounds left. 303's took about 25 minutes at 50 ft to saw his wing off.
He even commented on 200 saying 'holy he'll, how many rounds did you have to to put into me'
I guessed that he was sat in the tower listening to pings for a good while.

Jun's in game are this tough already