- Thread starter
-
- #21
Pisis
2nd Lieutenant
But on the other hand, we all know that where is cold, there you have to warm up yourself with a bit of something sharper.
Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
Aggie08 said:Haha, sorry, it was a low joke. Apologies... I know thats not how it is. But there is the fact that no one knows what happened the to ruskie jugs...
Matt308 said:Educate me. I did not realize that the D model had anything other than teardrop canopy. Wasn't the C model the last with the lattice canopy?
The 3962 P-47D-1RE to -22-RE Farmingdale-built Thunderbolts, the 1461 P-47D-2-RA to -23-RA Evansville-built Thunderbolts, and the entire lot of 354 P-47G-1-CU through P-47G-15-CU Curtiss-built Thunderbolts all had the original framed sliding canopy that was first used on the P-47B. However, combat experience indicated that the the rear fuselage decking on these Thunderbolts provided a serious blind spot aft which was a real hindrance in air-to-air battles. In an attempt to improve rearward visibility, a few P-47Ds were fitted in the field with the RAF "Malcolm hood", a Spitfire-like bubble canopy made in England which was made famous by its application to the P-51B and C Mustangs flown by both the RAF and USAAF. However, P-47Ds fitted with Malcolm hoods were quite rare, whereas P-51Bs and Cs with Malcolm hoods were quite common.
In the meantime, in search of a more lasting solution the USAAF fitted a standard P-47D-5-RE airframe (serial number 42-8702) with a bubble canopy taken from a Hawker Typhoon. In order to accommodate the bubble canopy, the Republic design team had to cut down the rear fuselage. This conversion was redesignated XP-47K, and was tested in July 1943. This modification was immediately proven to be feasible, and was promptly introduced on both the Farmingdale and Evansville production lines.
Ordinarily, the USAAF would have given such a radical modification as that which produced the bubble-canopy Thunderbolt a completely new variant letter (or perhaps even a new type number). However, the USAAF chose instead to designate it simply by giving it a new production block number in the D-series. Consequently, the first batches to feature this new bubble canopy were Farmingdale's P-47D-25-RE and Evansville's P-47D-26-RA. These batches also had the R-2800-59 or -63 engines, the paddle-bladed propeller, and the "universal" wing first introduced on the "razor-back" P-47D-20-RE. Stronger belly shackles capable of carrying a 91.6 Imp. gall. drop tank were fitted. This tank, together with the 170.6 Imp. gall. main fuselage tank, an 83-gallon auxiliary fuel tank and two 125-gallon underwing tanks, made it possible to carry a total fuel load of 595 Imp. gall, providing a maximum range of 1800 miles at 195 mph at 10,000 feet.
A single P-47D-20-RE (serial number 42-76614) was taken off the production line and modified as XP-47L with a bubble canopy as in the XP-47K and with increased capacity fuel tanks which raised internal fuel capacity from 305 to 370 US gallons. Both of these changes were incorporated in the P-47D-25-RE production batch.
The early "bubble-canopy" Thunderbolts had suffered from some directional instability as a result of the loss of aft keel area. From the P-47D-27-RE production lots onward, a dorsal fin was fitted just ahead of the rudder. This innovation successfully restored the stability.
Farmingdale produced a total of 2547 bubble-canopy P-47Ds and Evansville built 4632.
Sovereign Sensations K. of P.
Pisis said: