After recently buying a book on the P47 which has many pictures of battle damaged P47s and many snippets telling how the pilot returned with sometimes amazing levels of damage I now even more than i did before feel OUR P47s arent tough enough!!
I know this is controversial and very much a subject prone to each of our individual 'feelings' about its durability but id like to put my case accross and see if anyone agrees.....
First id like to point out that when we all seemed to agree the P38's tail was like glass when hit we could all 'feel' it was wrong or at least go to read books about it and see that , although the tail WAS vulnerable it wasnt so weak as to be mentioned as a fault with the aircraft. It wasnt how we put it 'glassed tailed'.
Well Ive noticed when shooting down the P47s rather than flying them that the Tail(or more accurately the horizontal stabilisers) are very easy to remove with sometimes fairly small caliber weapons. It seems if you manage to hit a few times on those stabilisers they will come off. Ive also noticed if you manage to hit the wings in a sawing type of hit (a long strike accross the surface) the wings shear off quite easily too.
Then theres the engine too which , although i feel it does survive oil hits pretty well it still is certainly not so noticable as the books would make you believe.
Ok so, I always felt that the P47 should appear to be one of the most durable if not THE most durable fighter aircraft in AH and after reading this book on the P47 i was amazed at some of the battle damage they sustained and still managed to return home.
I cant scan them in or host the pics but i can give you the ISBN number so you might buy the book too and see. (ISBN 1-58007-018-3)
Ill describe some of the damage: One picture has a cannon hit on the horizontal stabiliser big enough for a fully upright man to STAND in and low and behold there is a picture with the mechanic standing in the hole make by the hit!! Then theres two pictures of bullet holes from a 6oclock shot that peirces the propellor blade! The hole is the size of a golf ball one side and a grapefruit the other!! this aircraft returned home with this hole! can you imagine the vibrations? another picture shows incredible damage to the right horizontal stabiliser where the whole thing has literally been ripped off leaving just the elevator conected to the twisted wreckage of the horizontal stabiliser, the vertical fin is pot marked with collateral damage. Again this fighter returned to base. Another picture shows a battle damaged P47 ditched and you can see the whole tail section from just behind the cockpit has been bent and crushed. The caption says 'On april 22 1944, P47D 42-8426 suffered major damage but retained enough structural integrity to protect its pilot as it came to rest in an english hedge'.
Many others show hits and the resulting damage. Some look like at least 20mm hits, some showing the cockpit hit and smashed with a gaping hole. Overall the short excerpts and stories seem to point again and again to a incredibly rugged fighter.
It does seem to suggest the fighter wasnt a great turner which is a little strange in that our P47s turn pretty good but overall the impression made by this and other books is that this was a Big, fast and very durable fighter.
I have to say in AH it just doesnt portray that sort of durability, ALTHOUGH it is pretty good.
Imo though the P47 needs to be a little tougher to break up than our present AH P47s. I know this is just my opinion and really it counts for nothing much but I was wondering who might also feel it isnt quite the legendry tank like aircraft it appeared to have been in the books.
This is why im lobbying for HTC to toughen it up a little. Make it capable of recieving a lot of damage. So much so that we all feel its the strongest of the lot. At the moment I dont feel its much harder or tougher to damage than say the P38 or F4F or even La7 and a few others. All of these aircraft i find harder to break a part off and yet in books about them you dont often see the ones that returned missing huge sections like you do in P47 books.
I might be out of line asking and maybe im not being scientific enough to warrent listening to, but remember there wasnt any charts or details given in order to fix the P38 tail or the 190a8 engine when they 'FELT' wrong.
So who would agree to it? who agrees they would like to see our P47s surviving massive damage that would likely down lesser durable planes? do you like me desire to 'feel' that the P47 is a damn hard aircraft to shoot and break up?
guess its very subjective and perhaps HTC would feel this is a dumb request but id hope they take a look in this book I have just got myself (isbn above)and maybe agree with me. you guys too....
Remember also Im rarely flying them myself, but i have shot many down and my view has been formed from the damage i see inflicted when i hit. When i have flown the P47 it DOES seem pretty rugged and tough but I would have to say it doesnt feel any tougher than many other types of aircraft in AH and i feel (if HTC agree to strengthen them) this is something that would make them 'feel' like the legendary tough bird they were.
ok fire away with those flame throwers!!
