- Yes
- No
Hello!, and welcome to my suggestion for the Republic P-47D-30 Thunderbolt in RAF service, Dubbed the Thunderbolt Mk.II, I feel this could come to game as a potential TT alternative to the Thunderbolt Mk.I and a useful Ground attack aircraft around 5.0.
History
Spoiler
As I’m sure you already know the P-47 Thunderbolt was a Massively successful aircraft of WW2, being one of the few aircraft instantly recognisable by Aviation enthusiasts, even in War Thunder it already has a strong foothold with 12 aircraft across 7 trees, and I would like to suggest a familiar variant to some, the P-47D-30 in service with the RAF. Those familiar with the Italian or Chinese Tech Trees will most likely either have or at least known of this variant, it is a member of the later “bubbletop” Thunderbolts with the distinctive Bubble canopy.
The RAF was one of the main operators of the Thunderbolt during WW2, in 1944 they were supplied 830 aircraft in total, these were made up of 240 Thunderbolt Mk.Is and a much larger number of Thunderbolt Mk.IIs, however, as the RAF had no need for a new High altitude fighter by 1944, already having the Spitfire, Mustang and several other designs, they opted for the Thunderbolts second role, that of ground attack. Being shipped off the Asia for to fight the Japanese.
The Thunderbolts were cleared for use before the end of the year, being used to great effect against Japanese Ground targets and aircraft alike, the standard role for the Thunderbolts was Close air support but they also took part in operations like Airfield attacks, Logistics strikes and Escorting bombers, like RAF liberators in their bombing campaign of Rangoon.
During the Japanese breakout at Sittang Bend in 1945, the Thunderbolts joined with Spitfires to devastate the japanese 54th Division as it attempted to assault british lines, the standard armament for the Thunderbolts was either 3 x 500 lbs bombs or several RP-3 rockets, however the Thunderbolts were still able to carry the same armament as other nations such as the HVAR rockets and Bombs of up to 1000 lbs. In several cases, bombs were being dropped so close to allied lines that the British Ground observers guiding the Allied aircraft were injured by shrapnel from bombs exploding within 500 meters of their positions.
Many Thunderbolts remained in RAF service after the war although gradually being replaced by British aircraft like the Hawker Tempest some units ended up serving until October 1946, including in support of Dutch forces trying to regain control over Indonesia.
Images
Spoiler
Thunderbolt Mk.II KJ299 photographed in November 1944
An RAF Thunderbolt in Burma, 1944 equipped with drop tanks under the wings
A Large formation of Thunderbolts on patrol over Burma
A Thunderbolt Mk.II In flight near Rangoon, Burma
Another Picture of KJ299 this time from side aspect
A Colourised Image showing a Thunderbolt in the Pacific camouflage of the RAF, all of the red in allied markings was removed to avoid confusion with Japanese aircraft
Specs/armament
Spoiler
General Characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-2800-59 Double Wasp (2300hp)
- Length: 11.02 m (36.2 ft)
- Width: 12.43 m (40.8 ft)
- Height: 4.44 m (14.6 ft)
- Weight: 4854 kg (10700 lbs)
- Max. Combat Weight: 6623 kg (14600 lbs)
Performance
- Max. Speed: 690 km/h (429 mph)
- Max Alt.: 12192 m (40000 ft)
- Range: 1528 km (950 miles)
Armament
Guns
- 8 x 12.7mm Machine guns (425 Rounds per gun)
Bombs
-
Up to 500 lbs of bombs under fuselage
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Up to 1000 lbs of bombs under each wing
Rockets
-
up to 10 HVAR rockets
-
either 6 or 8 RP-3 Rockets
Place in game
Spoiler
I feel this could come to the Tech tree to provide the british tree with an efficient ground attacker to fill the 4.3 to 5.7 gap with players being forced to play the Typhoon Mk.Ib at 4.3 until they unlock the Tempests, Sea Fury or Hornet at 5.7 to 6.0 this would fill that gap by putting an effective ground attack aircraft in the tree that would be effective even at higher BRs
In terms of BR it would most likely sit at 5.0 the same as the Italian and Chinese P-47D-30s as there were no major modifications, other than a few RP-3s, to the British P-47s that would necessitate a BR increase or decrease,
Sources
Spoiler
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt - Wikipedia
Battle of the Sittang Bend - Wikipedia
The Modelling News: Sprues, colours & markings of MiniArt's new 48th scale Thunderbolt Mk.II Royal Air Force - advanced kit...
Republic P-47D-25 / P-47N Thunderbolt
P-47 Performance Tests
http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/p-47/P-47_thunderbolt2-aircraftdatasheet.jpg
