Nef I do agree. I have that book also and have come up with the same conclusion and wonder why if they were contracted in 42 why did some not see action, unless it was late 1942.
Nef in Bodies book the paddle prop enabled the P47 to climb 400ft/min better then without one. That's why they retrofitted them. I am guessing since it could climb better
that would also increase its' speed somewhat. Simple physics. It could grab more air.
There were many many different models of the P47. From Bs to Cs to a few Gs and the most manufactured was the D Model, all having different models which meant upgrades.
I don't know how or even if adding P47 models to the game could be done. We have late war models the M and the N (last type manufactured). Not many Ms' were produced.
Cs' and D models were prevalent of the models of Jugs flying with the USAAF and many other countries during the war. D Models alone were, The D1, D2,D4, D5,D6, D10, D11 ,D15,
D16, D20 D21, D22, D23, D25, D26 ,D27, D28, D30 and D40. This list is from Bodies Book who is considered the authority on this matter. The pictures are great and the complete story of the Jug
is fantastic. All these models had slight to moderate upgrades to the previous model. Some being very important. I'm thinking with this number of models, we in this game have gaps in the P47 lineage. We don't need all of these for sure, but a few more to fill the timeline gaps would be nice. Retrofitting the D11 with a paddle prop would be nice. It was done at the airbases as well
as at the production lines. As I said Gabreskis' D11 was retrofitted at the 56th. I don't think we can do the Hot Rod Souped up models such as Robert Johnson's Jug. Few and far between.
The Jug was manufactured in numbers more then any US Fighter. It's total production was almost equal to the B24. And it wasn't cheap to produce. It's engineering and durability and reliability
made it that important. To carry 8 .50 cals, 2500#s of ord not counting 10 rkts made it the best jack of all trades.