Beauly or beast, that was the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, and there were no two ways about it. Pilots either loved or loathed designer Alexander Kartveli's corpulent fighter. And yet this aeroplane, conceived during the opening months of World War II, was to become one of the most outstanding fighters of its generation and a legend in its own time. A legend that was written around the exploits of the numerous "Acc" pilots who flew it, men like Lt.-Col. F. S. Gabrcski, whose total of thirty-one confirmed victories put him at the head of the high scoring list, and Captain R. S. Johnson (28) and Colonel H. Zemke (20).

Like all new and untried aeroplanes the Thunderbolt was plagued with teething troubles and it was a constant battte to overcome them. The prototype XP-47 suffered from many deficiencies including excessive control loads at high altitude, and the first production batches of the P-47B and 47C developed faults that were patiently eradicated.

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The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

Number 7