eBay: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (2 Viewers)

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Just a thought. In a couple of those pictures you can see where the hole for the 4th 50 exists but has been patched over and the patching looks pretty flush with the wing and symmetrical. Perhaps on the p47s that were made with 6×50s( assuming those articles I read were acurate) instead of changing the manufacturing process they made them like any other p47 then just patched the hole where the 4th 50 went. If one were to desire to make a few hundred p47s in such a configuration that would seem to be the best way to do it rather than make a change to the wing manufacturing process for a few hundred planes.
So maybe one or two of those pictures are factory 6 gun Thunderbolts...........or maybe not.

The P-47 wing was manufactured with the facility to fit four machine guns.

It was a simple task to remove one (or all of them) and the large access panel in the top of the wing facilitated this. It could easily be done in a matter of minutes in the field. There is then no reason why the exit in the leading edge of the wing might not be covered permanently or temporarily.
 
P-47D-15-RA flying over Republic Aviation Corp., and a row of F-105 Thunderchiefs in 1961 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first Thunderbolt flight. In 1964 it was donated by RAC to the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio where it is still on display.
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