P-47 Thunderbolt

The P-47 Thunderbolt was designed for high-altitude air-to-air combat. It was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp Radial Engine, and was equipped with a super-charger. To boost the power even more the fighter carried 11 minutes of water that when injected into the super-charger gave the fighter "emergency wartime power". But some people remember this fighter for it's heavy armor and fire power.

A War Story

There is one story of a Thunderbolt pilot flying his damaged aircraft home to England after air combat in Europe, and was spotted by a German fighter. The German pilot pulled up along side of the Thunderbolt and waved to him. The Thunderbolt was to badly damaged to maneuver, so the pilot slid down in his seat as best he could, to be better protected by his armored cockpit. The German fighter maneuvered behind the Thunderbolt, and fired his guns until he ran out of ammunition. Failing to shoot down the Thunderbolt, the German pulled up along side of him again, and waved good-bye. The Thunderbolt pilot flew home and landed safely in England.

Super-Sonic Flight

Now, if you ask someone who broke the sound barrier he/she will say Chuck Yeager; however, he was the first person to break the Sound Barrier in horizontal flight. During World War II the P-47 Thunderbolt broke the sound barrier on a daily basis. Thunderbolt pilots would start steep dives from above 30,000 feet and would break the sound barrier during their dives on a regular basis; so often in fact, that the later models of the Thunderbolt were equipped with special spoilers to allow the pilot to control the aircraft during super-sonic flight.