Ed, been a couple years and i hope you are doing well. What do you see in these planes that compare to the warthog? What makes you appreciate this? (Sorry, i enjoy airplanes and grew up around Air Tractor crop planes)
@@DanialKougl I really don't see much parallel with the P-47, except that the company later built the Hog. They used the name and not much else. The Thunderbolt was nearly as fast as the Mustang, was designed to fight other fighters, was the plane for our highest scoring European ace and fighter group, and was adapted to ground attack like the Mustang, Hurricane, FW-190, etc. etc. The Stuka, Sturmovik, Beaufighter, P-39, A-26, etc. are more comparable to the Hog, which I think takes elements from them.
Excellent documentary. Surprised at how many cameras they installed to give views of other aircraft in the formation, landing gear going up, dive bombing from pilot POV and rearward after pulling up, planes peeling off, pilot almost passing out from G-load, etc. We take these kinds of camera angles for granted in an age of microelectronics, but these guys were probably using 16mm film cameras (heavy) with limited record times. Truly remarkable.
good thing is , if you have any intestinal problems you wont have to worry about that or any cramps after some high G pullouts. no one's bunghole can hold that in
Hun Hunter. RIP Gilbert O. Wymond Jr. 1919-1949, died in an F-84 crash on active duty, age 29. This is from an official 1947 Air Force film Thunderbolt prologue by AF hero and actor James Stewart (but I think that part was cut out here)..
Love to see a vid of an A-10 pilot grabbing a smoke in the cockpit, on the way home after a combat mission. Just like our hero at 12:50. Only thing missing is the pilot flicking the butt out of the open cockpit...priceless...
Lt. Colonel Gilbert 'Gil' Osborne Wymond Jr. is the Commanding Officer in this video. He's flying the number 40 'Hun Hunter' Thunderbolt. He survived the War and learned to fly Jets, but he was killed when his Republic F-84 Thunderjet crashed on May 11,1949. He was 29 years old. He came from my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, and he's buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.
I was told by an English pilot sent to Canada in 1944 to train on Thunderbolts, that after being rather awed by the size of the things, they [the British] had a saying amongst themselves, that the S.O. P. for avoiding enemy fire was to 'run up and down in the cockpit.'
Compared to the Spitfire (and most other aircraft of the day) the cockpit of the P-47 was supposedly downright spacious and considered quite comfortable with even a working and functional cockpit heater.
My Dad was in the Army Air Corps, WWII, and he said the P-47 won that war. Yeah, there was a lot of credit to go around, but the mighty Thunderbolt played hell with enemy convoys, troop movements, tanks...
When in 1944 when we needed to get air superiority before D-Day it was the Mustangs that shutdown German Fighters not the p-47s. The p-47 was rugged that was great for strafing but did not fight well except at very high altitudes so guess what? the 109s and 190 's would dive out get below 25000 feet where they were faster and more maneuverable than the jugs. and the jugs lacked the range to go very far into Europe.
@@jackhammer5468 **my apologies for the long reply. I wanted to be thorough.** this is entirely untrue. For the first quarter of 1944, the P-47 flew more escort missions than the P-51 and P-38 combined, and about 4 times as much as the P-51 by itself. For the second quarter, it flew almost twice as much as the Mustang. This is a time where massive amounts of Luftwaffe fighter planes were being shot down in preparation for D-Day. The fighter that was by far the most responsible for these kills was the P-47 Thunderbolt. It wasn't even close. The P-47 was absolutely the most prevalent and destructive fighter plane during Big Week, despite most history articles acting like the P-51 was the plane that got it done. And of course before this, in 1943, the P-47 was even more in use relative to its American counterparts, where it also racked up a big number of kills. Since the plans for D-Day were put into effect in July 1943, it is only reasonable to include these late months in 1943 as well. It is also incorrect to say that the P-47 did not fight well except at high altitudes. This is a common thought that is perpetuated without much insight into how the planes actually fought. The P-47 was almost undeniably the best fighter plane at high altitude where the bombers were escorted throughout most of the war. (Some Mks of the Spitfire certainly challenge it in this regard but that is debatable and that fighter had its own drawbacks, mainly range). However, this does not mean the P-47 was a bad fighter at lower altitudes. Generally, yes, as the altitude dropped, the Germans were given the advantage. But that is such a generalized statement it's almost useless. You said that the 109s and 190s would dive below 25,000' and enjoy their speed and maneuverability advantage. This was not the case. If they survived diving away from the P-47, (which they often did not, thanks to the superior dive speed and characteristics of the Thunderbolt, and it's heavy armament), then they would encounter other problems. Namely the fact that neither aircraft were faster the Thunderbolt by 25,000'. In fact, the 109 was quite literally NEVER faster than the P-47 except for some models at very low altitude. Generally, the P-47 was the faster plane at all altitudes when compared to the Me 109. Secondly, the Fw 190 would not be faster than the Thunderbolt until down around 20,000', if not 15,000. Against the 109, the P-47 always had the roll advantage at all altitudes, always dove better, and always zoom-climbed better. This is to say nothing of the usual advantage of better durability and superior firepower. Excluding roll rate, its maneuverability was not as good as the 109 below 25,000', but it did have at least a competitive (if not better) turn rate (not radius). This would allow it to at least hold its own in a two-circle fight, even at low altitude. Against the 190 it was at more of a disadvantage, as the 190 had a better roll rate, and by a fair amount. But there are still plenty of things a P-47 pilot could do to come out on top. If a P-47 pilot kept his speed up, and maintained the fight in the vertical, he was usually in a pretty good spot. When played to it's advantages, the P-47 was not so bad at medium and lower altitudes. Generally still disadvantaged, sure. I would never make the argument that it was the superior plane at low altitude. But it wasn't nearly as bad as people often seem to think. And, keep in mind, leading up to D-Day, the majority of the kills made by the USAAF were at high altitude during bomber escort. Again, playing into the hands of the Thunderbolt. The Jugs also did not lack the range to go very far into Europe. That is one more common myth. This is a pretty complicated subject but know that the P-47s were given a bad wrap by the men who controlled the 8th Air Force. They wanted to prove that bombers could defend themselves and didn't ship over drop tanks with the P-47s to properly escort the bombers. Good drop tanks that provided good range weren't available until embarrassingly late. Still, by the time the P-51 really started showing up in numbers to escort, the P-47s could escort pretty damn deep into Germany. They could escort the bombers to all major targets in Germany and come back. The P-51 always did have an edge on the Thunderbolt in range (excluding the P-47N, which is a different animal in a different theater), but again the P-47 was not nearly as bad as it was made out to be here. The 'bomber mafia,' as these high-up men came to be known, used the made up lack of range of the Thunderbolt to cover for big losses such as both Schweinfurt raids. So no, lack of range was not really an issue with the P-47. Certainly not a primary one, and certainly not the issue that led to the massive bomber losses early on. To backup my first point, I urge you to look up Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles 8 part series on the P-47 Thunderbolt on RUclips. It's long, but full of more information about the plane than you can imagine, all backed up with primary and secondary sources. In part 8 he gives a rundown and talks about why the P-47 was arguably the most important plane in the ETO. He goes more in depth about it's numerical superiority in usage over other USAAF fighters about 2/3rds the way through the video, and how it was the single most valuable plane for setting up air superiority for D-Day. In part 6 of the series, he also talks about the range of the P-47, and how it has been misrepresented in the past years. Incredible info that I can't recommend enough. As for the second point of it being a great all-around fighter, moreso than just a high-altitude one, I suggest you look up real combat reports from P-47 pilots. They are easy to find and there is a ton of them on a sight on Google. Now, I understand that survivorship bias is at play here, no doubt. We don't hear from Thunderbolt pilots that were shot down, or from the German pilots that shot them down. With that in mind, however, I think the results might shock you. Plenty of after-action reports describe medium-altitude and low-down dogfights in the P-47, where they got one or more kills. Some are at tree-top hight. Quite a few of these reports were before the Spring of 1944, where we can be sure they did not have the improved bubble-top variants with greater power. Even more impressive, some are before late December 1943, so we know that they didn't have the paddle-blade prop, which was a pretty vital upgrade. And yet these reports prove the fighting capability of the P-47 Thunderbolt, notably at lower altitudes. Some reports seem to directly refute the claim that the P-47 was a sluggish plane at low altitude. Again, I am not making, nor would I ever, make the claim that the P-47 was a support fighter plane to its foes at low altitude. However, it could absolutely hold its own in a dogfight, and even reign the victor in many cases. With the addition of more power and improved visibility in the P-47D-25, it was almost on-par with it's German counterparts down low. People seem to think this was not the case, but history proves otherwise.
These were once hunting my grandma. She was a farm girl. They called these "low flyers". Shot at everything that moved. She had no grudge. It was the war, she said.
I watched clips like this when I was in my teens. I loved these bits. I'm 71 now and I look at these things as romantic propaganda. The innocent lives lost ... on both sides, loyal to their country, believing that what they were doing was just and right. And then there's the innocent civilians ... babies, young kids who did nothing wrong. Grieving families. Atrocities. Horror. That's real war. Not just blowing up bridges, trains, roads and vehicles. Does this make me a bleeding heart?
No, just human. My father was in WWII in the Philippines, Never talked about his experience with me or any of his sons. I could tell it pained him to even reminisce about that time, and his involvement there as a CB. I,m certain that he, like many thousands of others saw the very worst of humankind towards one another, and till the day he passed on, he would not even consider purchasing a product made in Japan. America did what had to be done, and he, as well as many, many other young men and women, volunteered to stop the onslaught of imperialism and fascism that threatened the entire world. Thanks to all that stepped up to the plate, Thank you to the greatest generation. America has done more for the progress of humankind than any other nation on earth, and will continue to do so, until such time as weak men and weak minds rule our country. God Bless the USA.
A couple of things to note: 1. Rommel did not "get it that way". He was injured when an Allied fighter, probably RAF, strafed the car in which he was riding. He actually died of self-induced poisoning (suicide) when given the choice of that or a public trial for being involved in the plot to kill Hitler. 2. The narrator does indeed sound like Lloyd Bridges, but for a brief time near the end the narrator changes and sounds like Gregory Peck.
My father was a tank commander in the New Zealand Division in Italy and told us a lot of his experiences there. One of them was the time that he and his crew were billeted in a house off the end of the runway of an airfield were a P47 squadron was based and how watching fully loaded Jugs use up most of the runway to take off low over their heads was a little unnerving. They eventually pulled out and moved up to the line and heard a few days later that a P47 had failed to make the grade and had flown right in the front window of the house.
Thank you for putting everything on the line for America. Some of us refuse to forget your sacrifices. Although none of you may remain with us today, may God bless you all. Semper Fi America 🇺🇸
@Just Gofish Hey there Gofish, good friends still get into fights with each other sometimes, but don't piss us off or you'll end up on the receiving end of great pain and destruction. We have no choice in this world but to remain good friends eternally. God bless you Gofish, and may God bless the United Kingdom of Great Britain!!! 🙏✝️🗽 PALS United! 🇬🇧🇺🇸 Semper Fi America, 🇺🇸 Semper Fi President Trump 🇺🇸
It's interesting to think that some of these airmen would go home after the war to go on and later form motorcycle "clubs" that were structured very much like their "squadrons" during the war. I love this video, I remember watching it as a kid some 40 years ago on TV:-).
I have to agree about the 1940s style terse, gravelly, tough-no-nonsense-guy narrator barking out his narration- basically unlistenable in 2018. Much better video with the sound muted.
Barrie Rodliffe "Better" 6 September - Just days after the start of the war, in what was dubbed the Battle of Barking Creek, three RAF Spitfires from 74 Squadron shot down two Hurricanes from the RAF's 56 Squadron, killing one of the pilots. One of the Spitfires was then shot down by British anti-aircraft artillery while returning to base.
Chiron That is why the RAF introduced IFF and aircraft recognition to try to prevent a repetition of that event. It is a pity the USAAF did not do the same or so many incidents like the USAAF P 47 pilot and a P 51 pilot trying to shoot each other down, or the many times USAAF pilots tried to shoot down allied fighters fortunately without much success would not have happened, then there was the occaison when 4 USAAF P 51 pilots tried to shoot down a USAAF Spitfire Mk XI, the Spitfire pilot had no trouble and maybe lucky he had no guns to shoot back unlike the RN Seafire pilot who when attacked by 2 USAAF P 51's shot one of them down, the other P 51 pilot later protested to the Commander of the RN aircraft carrier but got sent packing.
Notice its pilot was a Lt. Colonel? You would end up seeing 24 y.o. Colonels in the USAAF in WWII because of losses of senior officers on missions. Come in at 21 a 2nd Lt. Two years later you are a full colonel.
What a great video and as I am sure alot of other people stated NO Stupid background music. The sound and sight of those planes is so impressive and awesome almost sounds as good as a couple hundred HARLEYS running down the road and to me that is music and I would know I have ridden in it lots of times. Can you imagine what hundreds of those planes would sound like it's to bad that there aren't many left. I'm sure some of you would agree I was born to late.
Hey Horseman, looking at the other comments "Don't Worry About It!" I think that is DAMN cool where you live. My son's friend and fellow RC pilot Jake Arnold lives in NJ! ruclips.net/video/8APdn1ii2sA/видео.html What was it they always said about the Thunderbolt - She might be the biggest girl at the dance but she would always bring you safely home!
Artemis Gordon- Absolutely! But it was also a pretty damn good fighter. A plane that does not get the attention it deserves. Much like how the Spitfire unjustly overshadowed the Hurricane; the P-51 Mustang overshadowed the Thunderbolt. The plane that was the closest to the A-10 in WWII (heavily armored dedicated ground support and armor killer) was undoubtedly the Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik.
Alec Foster I was going to say it was probably the IL2 nicknamed the flying tank but then again we can’t forget about dive bombers like the ju87 stuka or the SBD.
Vet u.k..Stornoway isle of Lewis outer Hebrides.....Admiration for an Awesome Generation of young men who have given us the freedom we have today in usa and Europe ,much gratitude and AWE INSPIRING HEROISM...
Went to Tennessee on vacation a few years ago, got to go up and touch the Hun Hunter, not the model in this video, but the later one with the teardrop canopy,.. big plane,..
Interesting - never really thought about that. My grandfather flew P-47's in WW2 - Africa, Sicily, Italy and ended the war in China as commander of the 81st fighter group. Col. Philip B. Klein.
Google Hawker Typhoon........the aircraft that tore the German Army in France limb from limb. Eight 60lb rockets fired in unison was the equivalent of a full Broadside from a 6in Cruiser!
Julian Neale Absolutely agree! The Mosquito could carry the same bomb load as a B17, carry it further and deliver it on target. Something which the USAAF always had difficulty in achieving!
Lol..... This video is how a *REAL* man texts and talks during a phone conversation. *STRAIGHT TO THE POINT* Concise, no unecessary emotion. *LOVE IT* ! ... Today it's wayyy too much " Well, how do you feel about the situation" ?
11:29 "Houses around here ... look kinda suspicious." -Was it the way they walked, their dark sunglasses, or the nonchalant whistling that gave it away? Maybe it was the way the civilians in the houses ran away from the strafing runs instead of stopping to politely answer the pilots' questions.
Roads and driveways that looked heavily used. I'm sure they were briefed on what to look for. But if the local population isn't on your side it is what it is. War
Glenn 103 -A house explodes at one point in time and therefore all houses in the country are suspicious? That's kind of like saying that a man punched me once and so I punch all men first. If the pilots were given intel on the particular area that indicated the houses were being used by the enemy, that's a different story, but I do not believe it is right for pilots to shoot up random houses to see which ones explode.
govsux1 -It was a humorous observation on the silliness of the war propagandist's language. Since it's been treated as more than that, no matter the war or the side, the deliberate targeting of civilians is a war crime. It doesn't particularly matter which side does it. To argue otherwise is to justify actions like the SS's public executions and retributions against entire French towns whose inhabitants were accused of sheltering members of the resistance.
arthurneddysmith - This was World War II pilots were not given intel of one specific street address to attack they were given an area the enemy is operating in which may or may not be accurate at the time. Of course as the enemy moved they used existing inconspicuous civilian structures as needed. In World War II many entire cities were bombed to dust trying to hit just one factory and sometimes intentionally even though they had no military value, that was simply the nature of the most destructive war in human history.
A shame that a couple of squadrons of P-47 aircraft were not used in close air support at Omaha Beach landing. The .50 caliber machine guns. rockets and bombs would at least have kept the defenders heads down and interfered with their machine gun fire that cost the U.S. so many casualties...
Not really, no. Not only would they have been combat ineffective, but flying on instruments was a lot more dangerous back then. You can't shoot if you can't see the ground.
@@Angelum_Band If that is true, then consider that War in general is a crime against humanity. I am not about to judge the guys that were there with their lives on the line, and frankly neither should you. I'd lay you 100 to one odds that every single one of those pilots would have preferred to stay at home in the U. S. and not get their asses shipped off to fight a war that none of them started.
@@Str8Raiser If? War is a crime. It is Murder by Numbers. "War is a place where young people who do not know each other and do not hate each other kill each other, by the decision of old men who know and hate each other, but do not kill each other." Erich Hartman.
Yea, this movie aged like stale bread. Perfect example of why we have ROE. Dude just hoses a LIGHTHOUSE with 8 .50 cal machine guns. I guess the old Italian lighthouse keeper is a Nazi?
I love the videos with narration and the actual sounds of the planes and guns. I even like the videos with the orchestral music playing in the background. I don't like the videos where they use music that's off tiktok or played in clubs. The engines of these planes are music enough.
We owe a Hell of a Lot to the generation of people that were in their 20's (or fighting age) during WW2 !!
And..... The Korean-Vietnam era Vets are not owed a debt of gratitude?
Hmmmmm.....?
Vietnam Era Vet here......!
@@markrobinson1135 Indeed sir our thanks- My uncle was 1st cav combat medic there
Real men get to the point with very little talk. Reminds me of my dad. What a great generation that was
And we Babyboomers raised children who couldn’t raise children. The evidence is apparent.
The thunderest roar of those planes is addictive. Great vid.
The scenery over Italy is BREATHTAKING!!
As a pilot of the A-10 Thunderbolt II, I seriously appreciate these pilots and crew chiefs.
You obviously don't have a real life, offline.
Ed, been a couple years and i hope you are doing well. What do you see in these planes that compare to the warthog? What makes you appreciate this? (Sorry, i enjoy airplanes and grew up around Air Tractor crop planes)
@@DanialKougl I really don't see much parallel with the P-47, except that the company later built the Hog. They used the name and not much else. The Thunderbolt was nearly as fast as the Mustang, was designed to fight other fighters, was the plane for our highest scoring European ace and fighter group, and was adapted to ground attack like the Mustang, Hurricane, FW-190, etc. etc. The Stuka, Sturmovik, Beaufighter, P-39, A-26, etc. are more comparable to the Hog, which I think takes elements from them.
The true sky pilots. Those days must have been so desperate,so many people put their bodies on the line. Thanks for the great post.
Excellent documentary. Surprised at how many cameras they installed to give views of other aircraft in the formation, landing gear going up, dive bombing from pilot POV and rearward after pulling up, planes peeling off, pilot almost passing out from G-load, etc.
We take these kinds of camera angles for granted in an age of microelectronics, but these guys were probably using 16mm film cameras (heavy) with limited record times. Truly remarkable.
Excellent video! Mostly Razorbacks used in footage.
good thing is , if you have any intestinal problems you wont have to worry about that or any cramps after some high G pullouts. no one's bunghole can hold that in
FYI I believe this is from the old documentary "Thunderbolts"
ytugtbk NJ
yeah it's the Thunderbolts documentary it's on Netflix! these are all young kid's the oldest one is 21 he a captain!!😱
A good, straightforward, NON MUSICAL narration. Thank you!
Just the real sounds plane engine and a great voice in narrating
One of my favorite videos on RUclips. I've watched It many times.
Hun Hunter. RIP Gilbert O. Wymond Jr. 1919-1949, died in an F-84 crash on active duty, age 29. This is from an official 1947 Air Force film Thunderbolt prologue by AF hero and actor James Stewart (but I think that part was cut out here)..
Seriously. One of the coolest videos i've ever seen! The narration is just perfect! The camera footage and editing is beautiful!
Sydow93
Loyd Bridges before he got a job at “Sea Hunt”
@@josefschmeau4682
About as real as Sea Hunt.
War Crimes beautiful? You are deranged.
@@Angelum_Band Which war crime? And probably he was talking about the cinematography.
@@sird4vy501 Strafing civilians is war crime. Look it up and shut your hole.
Just brilliant. Those guys did a fantastic job.
Love to see a vid of an A-10 pilot grabbing a smoke in the cockpit, on the way home after a combat mission. Just like our hero at 12:50. Only thing missing is the pilot flicking the butt out of the open cockpit...priceless...
Ditto! Great no-nonsense video.
Lt. Colonel Gilbert 'Gil' Osborne Wymond Jr. is the Commanding Officer in this video. He's flying the number 40 'Hun Hunter' Thunderbolt. He survived the War and learned to fly Jets, but he was killed when his Republic F-84 Thunderjet crashed on May 11,1949. He was 29 years old. He came from my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, and he's buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.
Sounds like Lloyd Bridges narrating. I recognize his voice from watching every episode of Sea Hunt as a kid.
Yes, I concur! That definitely sounds like Lloyd Bridges! And I too loved & watched Sea Hunt! Not too bad in "Airplane" either!
Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking.
Hey old timers. DOB 1951 and still kicking.
to me, the narrator sounds like william holden.
@@skyserf Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.
Superb narration, minimal, factual without the silly music that often accompanies such videos.
The sound of the engines is plenty of music
I remember getting a VHS tape of this very documentary. Was always fun to watch.
Hudson Ball
I get goose bumps, just listening to and watching the Jugs in formation.
Love it! Especially the narrator and his delivery.
coolest thing i've seen this week.
Excellent video!Serious,and straight to the point😎👍.
Just like tbe P-47
Beautifully done. Had to watch it 3 times just to appreciate it more.
Awesome video! Thanks for posting!
That was F!#$%^ING AWESOME! Man oh man that formation flying and the content and commentary, I didn't want it to end. I like I sub :o)
"LISTEN TO ME STRIKER, ITS GOTTA BE IN ONE PIECE WHEN YOU COME IN!"
I was told by an English pilot sent to Canada in 1944 to train on Thunderbolts, that after being rather awed by the size of the things, they [the British] had a saying amongst themselves, that the S.O. P. for avoiding enemy fire was to 'run up and down in the cockpit.'
Compared to the Spitfire (and most other aircraft of the day) the cockpit of the P-47 was supposedly downright spacious and considered quite comfortable with even a working and functional cockpit heater.
My Dad was in the Army Air Corps, WWII, and he said the P-47 won that war. Yeah, there was a lot of credit to go around, but the mighty Thunderbolt played hell with enemy convoys, troop movements, tanks...
When in 1944 when we needed to get air superiority before D-Day it was the Mustangs that shutdown German Fighters not the p-47s. The p-47 was rugged that was great for strafing but did not fight well except at very high altitudes so guess what? the 109s and 190 's would dive out get below 25000 feet where they were faster and more maneuverable than the jugs. and the jugs lacked the range to go very far into Europe.
@@jackhammer5468 **my apologies for the long reply. I wanted to be thorough.**
this is entirely untrue. For the first quarter of 1944, the P-47 flew more escort missions than the P-51 and P-38 combined, and about 4 times as much as the P-51 by itself. For the second quarter, it flew almost twice as much as the Mustang. This is a time where massive amounts of Luftwaffe fighter planes were being shot down in preparation for D-Day. The fighter that was by far the most responsible for these kills was the P-47 Thunderbolt. It wasn't even close. The P-47 was absolutely the most prevalent and destructive fighter plane during Big Week, despite most history articles acting like the P-51 was the plane that got it done. And of course before this, in 1943, the P-47 was even more in use relative to its American counterparts, where it also racked up a big number of kills. Since the plans for D-Day were put into effect in July 1943, it is only reasonable to include these late months in 1943 as well.
It is also incorrect to say that the P-47 did not fight well except at high altitudes. This is a common thought that is perpetuated without much insight into how the planes actually fought. The P-47 was almost undeniably the best fighter plane at high altitude where the bombers were escorted throughout most of the war. (Some Mks of the Spitfire certainly challenge it in this regard but that is debatable and that fighter had its own drawbacks, mainly range). However, this does not mean the P-47 was a bad fighter at lower altitudes. Generally, yes, as the altitude dropped, the Germans were given the advantage. But that is such a generalized statement it's almost useless. You said that the 109s and 190s would dive below 25,000' and enjoy their speed and maneuverability advantage. This was not the case. If they survived diving away from the P-47, (which they often did not, thanks to the superior dive speed and characteristics of the Thunderbolt, and it's heavy armament), then they would encounter other problems. Namely the fact that neither aircraft were faster the Thunderbolt by 25,000'. In fact, the 109 was quite literally NEVER faster than the P-47 except for some models at very low altitude. Generally, the P-47 was the faster plane at all altitudes when compared to the Me 109. Secondly, the Fw 190 would not be faster than the Thunderbolt until down around 20,000', if not 15,000. Against the 109, the P-47 always had the roll advantage at all altitudes, always dove better, and always zoom-climbed better. This is to say nothing of the usual advantage of better durability and superior firepower. Excluding roll rate, its maneuverability was not as good as the 109 below 25,000', but it did have at least a competitive (if not better) turn rate (not radius). This would allow it to at least hold its own in a two-circle fight, even at low altitude. Against the 190 it was at more of a disadvantage, as the 190 had a better roll rate, and by a fair amount. But there are still plenty of things a P-47 pilot could do to come out on top. If a P-47 pilot kept his speed up, and maintained the fight in the vertical, he was usually in a pretty good spot. When played to it's advantages, the P-47 was not so bad at medium and lower altitudes. Generally still disadvantaged, sure. I would never make the argument that it was the superior plane at low altitude. But it wasn't nearly as bad as people often seem to think. And, keep in mind, leading up to D-Day, the majority of the kills made by the USAAF were at high altitude during bomber escort. Again, playing into the hands of the Thunderbolt.
The Jugs also did not lack the range to go very far into Europe. That is one more common myth. This is a pretty complicated subject but know that the P-47s were given a bad wrap by the men who controlled the 8th Air Force. They wanted to prove that bombers could defend themselves and didn't ship over drop tanks with the P-47s to properly escort the bombers. Good drop tanks that provided good range weren't available until embarrassingly late. Still, by the time the P-51 really started showing up in numbers to escort, the P-47s could escort pretty damn deep into Germany. They could escort the bombers to all major targets in Germany and come back. The P-51 always did have an edge on the Thunderbolt in range (excluding the P-47N, which is a different animal in a different theater), but again the P-47 was not nearly as bad as it was made out to be here. The 'bomber mafia,' as these high-up men came to be known, used the made up lack of range of the Thunderbolt to cover for big losses such as both Schweinfurt raids. So no, lack of range was not really an issue with the P-47. Certainly not a primary one, and certainly not the issue that led to the massive bomber losses early on.
To backup my first point, I urge you to look up Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles 8 part series on the P-47 Thunderbolt on RUclips. It's long, but full of more information about the plane than you can imagine, all backed up with primary and secondary sources. In part 8 he gives a rundown and talks about why the P-47 was arguably the most important plane in the ETO. He goes more in depth about it's numerical superiority in usage over other USAAF fighters about 2/3rds the way through the video, and how it was the single most valuable plane for setting up air superiority for D-Day. In part 6 of the series, he also talks about the range of the P-47, and how it has been misrepresented in the past years. Incredible info that I can't recommend enough.
As for the second point of it being a great all-around fighter, moreso than just a high-altitude one, I suggest you look up real combat reports from P-47 pilots. They are easy to find and there is a ton of them on a sight on Google. Now, I understand that survivorship bias is at play here, no doubt. We don't hear from Thunderbolt pilots that were shot down, or from the German pilots that shot them down. With that in mind, however, I think the results might shock you. Plenty of after-action reports describe medium-altitude and low-down dogfights in the P-47, where they got one or more kills. Some are at tree-top hight. Quite a few of these reports were before the Spring of 1944, where we can be sure they did not have the improved bubble-top variants with greater power. Even more impressive, some are before late December 1943, so we know that they didn't have the paddle-blade prop, which was a pretty vital upgrade. And yet these reports prove the fighting capability of the P-47 Thunderbolt, notably at lower altitudes. Some reports seem to directly refute the claim that the P-47 was a sluggish plane at low altitude. Again, I am not making, nor would I ever, make the claim that the P-47 was a support fighter plane to its foes at low altitude. However, it could absolutely hold its own in a dogfight, and even reign the victor in many cases. With the addition of more power and improved visibility in the P-47D-25, it was almost on-par with it's German counterparts down low. People seem to think this was not the case, but history proves otherwise.
This is some incredible footage.
Perfect voice over. Serious, for a serious matter.
Fascinating! Outstanding film. Thanks.
Impressive documentary. Gives me the shivers every time I watch it.
Squadron leader. Doesn't tell you what to do. Just does. You follow.
Absolutely awesome great video and footage
These boys more than likely never owned a car, now their flying a p47 with 8 50 cals. Talk about coming up.
You had to grow up quick back then.
These are excerpts from movie "Thunderbolt." IIRC, the Group Commander was 23 years old.
@@coster1963 They learned fast or didn’t come home.
That's why the hot rod scene exploded after the war. All those kids had gotten a taste for raw horsepower.
some of the best footage i have seen.
These were once hunting my grandma. She was a farm girl. They called these "low flyers". Shot at everything that moved. She had no grudge. It was the war, she said.
I watched clips like this when I was in my teens. I loved these bits. I'm 71 now and I look at these things as romantic propaganda. The innocent lives lost ... on both sides, loyal to their country, believing that what they were doing was just and right. And then there's the innocent civilians ... babies, young kids who did nothing wrong. Grieving families. Atrocities. Horror. That's real war. Not just blowing up bridges, trains, roads and vehicles. Does this make me a bleeding heart?
No, just human. My father was in WWII in the Philippines, Never talked about his experience with me or any of his sons. I could tell it pained him to even reminisce about that time, and his involvement there as a CB. I,m certain that he, like many thousands of others saw the very worst of humankind towards one another, and till the day he passed on, he would not even consider purchasing a product made in Japan. America did what had to be done, and he, as well as many, many other young men and women, volunteered to stop the onslaught of imperialism and fascism that threatened the entire world. Thanks to all that stepped up to the plate, Thank you to the greatest generation. America has done more for the progress of humankind than any other nation on earth, and will continue to do so, until such time as weak men and weak minds rule our country. God Bless the USA.
Love the sound of that big radial!
A couple of things to note: 1. Rommel did not "get it that way". He was injured when an Allied fighter, probably RAF, strafed the car in which he was riding. He actually died of self-induced poisoning (suicide) when given the choice of that or a public trial for being involved in the plot to kill Hitler. 2. The narrator does indeed sound like Lloyd Bridges, but for a brief time near the end the narrator changes and sounds like Gregory Peck.
Incredible video. Outstanding.
Wow... nerves of steel.
That's it! No laser guided or smarty bombs. You drop your ordy by hand and after it go thru the deck... where it really hurts.
Love that throaty roar!
Awesome audio, those planes sound like the start of the Gold Unlimited Race at Reno!
My father was a tank commander in the New Zealand Division in Italy and told us a lot of his experiences there. One of them was the time that he and his crew were billeted in a house off the end of the runway of an airfield were a P47 squadron was based and how watching fully loaded Jugs use up most of the runway to take off low over their heads was a little unnerving. They eventually pulled out and moved up to the line and heard a few days later that a P47 had failed to make the grade and had flown right in the front window of the house.
Are another great Army Achievement with this unit and this aircraft.
Thank you for putting everything on the line for America. Some of us refuse to forget your sacrifices. Although none of you may remain with us today, may God bless you all.
Semper Fi America 🇺🇸
@Just Gofish
Hey there Gofish, good friends still get into fights with each other sometimes, but don't piss us off or you'll end up on the receiving end of great pain and destruction. We have no choice in this world but to remain good friends eternally. God bless you Gofish, and may God bless the United Kingdom of Great Britain!!! 🙏✝️🗽
PALS United! 🇬🇧🇺🇸
Semper Fi America, 🇺🇸
Semper Fi President Trump 🇺🇸
@@tumbleweed8236
US needs Britain more than the other way round.
The sound is amazing 🤩 gives you goosebumps
"By this time my lungs were burning for air" Lloyd Bridges, Sea hunt.
It's interesting to think that some of these airmen would go home after the war to go on and later form motorcycle "clubs" that were structured very much like their "squadrons" during the war. I love this video, I remember watching it as a kid some 40 years ago on TV:-).
I grew up listening to that voice in the documentary . Just all facts and information just what ya want to hear 👍👍😉
Excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
MyX wife's house looks suspicious. Can you fly over it?
Mission Accomplished . Target Neutralized
Hahahahaha nice.
Drop a 500 lber
Great video - and the best bit ? No stupid background music...
Matchless AJS BSA
ROYAL ENFIELD
PANTHER 650
Thank you.
complexadaptive- No, try a stupid comment from you. What's so stupid about the narration? Oh, you are just a contrarian troll.
I have to agree about the 1940s style terse, gravelly, tough-no-nonsense-guy narrator barking out his narration- basically unlistenable in 2018. Much better video with the sound muted.
A Rogue Chihuahua Republic P-47 Thunderbolts
I LOVE WATCHING THESE DOCUMENTRYS ... TBIS IS OUR HISTORY THAT SHOULDN'T BE FORGOTTEN....THESE PILOTS ARE HEROES ......
Background music, badass radial engines!
"If you see a white plane, it's American; if it's black it's RAF. If you see no planes at all, that's the Luftwaffe."
AngryZombie808
Lol
you are wrong - blue is america, green RAF.......
If an American pilot sees another plane he tries to shoot it down no matter what colour, fortunately the RAF had better fighters and pilots.
Barrie Rodliffe "Better" 6 September - Just days after the start of the war, in what was dubbed the Battle of Barking Creek, three RAF Spitfires from 74 Squadron shot down two Hurricanes from the RAF's 56 Squadron, killing one of the pilots. One of the Spitfires was then shot down by British anti-aircraft artillery while returning to base.
Chiron
That is why the RAF introduced IFF and aircraft recognition to try to prevent a repetition of that event. It is a pity the USAAF did not do the same or so many incidents like the USAAF P 47 pilot and a P 51 pilot trying to shoot each other down, or the many times USAAF pilots tried to shoot down allied fighters fortunately without much success would not have happened, then there was the occaison when 4 USAAF P 51 pilots tried to shoot down a USAAF Spitfire Mk XI, the Spitfire pilot had no trouble and maybe lucky he had no guns to shoot back unlike the RN Seafire pilot who when attacked by 2 USAAF P 51's shot one of them down, the other P 51 pilot later protested to the Commander of the RN aircraft carrier but got sent packing.
My favorite P-47 is the "Hun Hunter", number 40-!!!
Notice its pilot was a Lt. Colonel? You would end up seeing 24 y.o. Colonels in the USAAF in WWII because of losses of senior officers on missions. Come in at 21 a 2nd Lt. Two years later you are a full colonel.
Really good video!!👍
What a great video and as I am sure alot of other people stated NO Stupid background music. The sound and sight of those planes is so impressive and awesome almost sounds as good as a couple hundred HARLEYS running down the road and to me that is music and I would know I have ridden in it lots of times. Can you imagine what hundreds of those planes would sound like it's to bad that there aren't many left. I'm sure some of you would agree I was born to late.
the P-47 thunderbolts were trained in americas first army airfield in millville new jersey and im proud to live 5 mins from that airfield
The Plagued Horseman im proud that I live in Berlin
i am proud that i live 8km from porsche, 7 from mercedes, 6 from bosch and 5km from mahle
I'm proud I live in Georgia - Southern by the grace of God. lol
Proud of living in the land of Hamlet and the little mermaid :)
Hey Horseman, looking at the other comments "Don't Worry About It!" I think that is DAMN cool where you live. My son's friend and fellow RC pilot Jake Arnold lives in NJ! ruclips.net/video/8APdn1ii2sA/видео.html What was it they always said about the Thunderbolt - She might be the biggest girl at the dance but she would always bring you safely home!
The Jug was the A-10 of its day.
Artemis Gordon- Absolutely! But it was also a pretty damn good fighter. A plane that does not get the attention it deserves. Much like how the Spitfire unjustly overshadowed the Hurricane; the P-51 Mustang overshadowed the Thunderbolt. The plane that was the closest to the A-10 in WWII (heavily armored dedicated ground support and armor killer) was undoubtedly the Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik.
Don't forget the P-40
Alec Foster I was going to say it was probably the IL2 nicknamed the flying tank but then again we can’t forget about dive bombers like the ju87 stuka or the SBD.
hate to say it but you are wrong.
the Stuka is the A-10 of its day.
the A-10 even being based off it
Hachi Roku don't know still think it could be the IL2 but you put up a good argument with the ju87
Vet u.k..Stornoway isle of Lewis outer Hebrides.....Admiration for an Awesome Generation of young men who have given us the freedom we have today in usa and Europe ,much gratitude and AWE INSPIRING HEROISM...
Beyond awesome...
Went to Tennessee on vacation a few years ago, got to go up and touch the Hun Hunter, not the model in this video, but the later one with the teardrop canopy,.. big plane,..
The Hun Hunter" is on display in Tennessee? Where?
Gary Biggs cool,dude!
The teardrop canopy, along with the extended fuselage made that version of P47 a beautiful looking plane. Very pretty bird.
Only if you like overweight fat and heavy
Barrie Rodliffe ... No, the 47 I'm talking about does have beautiful lines.
The narrator sounds like Lloyd Bridges.
yes, that what I thought too.
It is Lloyd Bridges. "Thunderbolt" 1947
The dudes dad.
It's a bad day to give up sniffing glue
He picked the wrong week to stop drinking !
BEST CHANNEL ON YOU TUBE!
Stunning !
More pilots were lost on bombing missions and fighter sweeps than in aerial combat. Ground fire, terrain, etc.
Interesting - never really thought about that. My grandfather flew P-47's in WW2 - Africa, Sicily, Italy and ended the war in China as commander of the 81st fighter group. Col. Philip B. Klein.
and nearly as many a/c was lost due to mechanical failure as enemy action in ww2
@18tangles i'm talking all aircraft losses, not just the jug. i read years ago mech failure approached 40% IIRC
He didn't pump the brakes before retracting his gear
Noted also.
Great stuff. Brave guys.
Great sound!
He's a madman! Who knows how many civilians he took out
Google Hawker Typhoon........the aircraft that tore the German Army in France limb from limb. Eight 60lb rockets fired in unison was the equivalent of a full Broadside from a 6in Cruiser!
Perfectly put, but lets not also forget the DH98 Mosquito!
Julian Neale
Absolutely agree! The Mosquito could carry the same bomb load as a B17, carry it further and deliver it on target. Something which the USAAF always had difficulty in achieving!
+Julian Neale yea but remember the mosquitos were Royal air force not usaf
i much prefer the Tempest, but yes P47 is not that great
I love the spitfire and the hurricane too.
Lol..... This video is how a *REAL* man texts and talks during a phone conversation. *STRAIGHT TO THE POINT* Concise, no unecessary emotion. *LOVE IT* ! ... Today it's wayyy too much " Well, how do you feel about the situation" ?
Cool how they show D-15's and D25's taking off together.
The sound of great American freedom and courage 🇺🇸
One proud to be an American 5 gen strong.
Can you imagine a pilot having a cigarette flying a plane now.
Patrick Mann yes
no they smoke pot today
Great video. Man... all I ever wanted to be was a WWII fighter pilot.
I really liked that!
11:29 "Houses around here ... look kinda suspicious." -Was it the way they walked, their dark sunglasses, or the nonchalant whistling that gave it away? Maybe it was the way the civilians in the houses ran away from the strafing runs instead of stopping to politely answer the pilots' questions.
The house that exploded at 11:47 confirmed that suspicion, only way to find the hidden ammo is to knock on the doors.
Roads and driveways that looked heavily used. I'm sure they were briefed on what to look for. But if the local population isn't on your side it is what it is. War
Glenn 103 -A house explodes at one point in time and therefore all houses in the country are suspicious? That's kind of like saying that a man punched me once and so I punch all men first. If the pilots were given intel on the particular area that indicated the houses were being used by the enemy, that's a different story, but I do not believe it is right for pilots to shoot up random houses to see which ones explode.
govsux1 -It was a humorous observation on the silliness of the war propagandist's language.
Since it's been treated as more than that, no matter the war or the side, the deliberate targeting of civilians is a war crime. It doesn't particularly matter which side does it. To argue otherwise is to justify actions like the SS's public executions and retributions against entire French towns whose inhabitants were accused of sheltering members of the resistance.
arthurneddysmith - This was World War II pilots were not given intel of one specific street address to attack they were given an area the enemy is operating in which may or may not be accurate at the time. Of course as the enemy moved they used existing inconspicuous civilian structures as needed. In World War II many entire cities were bombed to dust trying to hit just one factory and sometimes intentionally even though they had no military value, that was simply the nature of the most destructive war in human history.
Well, whadya know? Narration by Sgt. Joe Friday. "Just the facts fräulein."
Pretty sure the narrator was Lloyd Bridges.
I like how they mounted GoPro Hero3 Cameras in the wheelwells at 2min. in.
There's one near Raja Empat island, Papua, Indonesia at 85 feet, upside down on the sand. Canopy lying nearby. Makes a great give.
Had a mix of B's and D's in the Squadron.
no I think its all D's some P-47Ds had the razorback
mainly the earlier varients before the bubble top came out
How do you tell? I thought that was cool the different types.
Full fuel and armament-heavy takeoff!
This has lots of great footage!
That was great.
A shame that a couple of squadrons of P-47 aircraft were not used in close air support at Omaha Beach landing. The .50 caliber machine guns. rockets and bombs would at least have kept the defenders heads down and interfered with their machine gun fire that cost the U.S. so many casualties...
Weather was too much, plus I think there were still serious AAA threats.
They would have made a big difference, despite the weather could have flown on instruments!
Not really, no. Not only would they have been combat ineffective, but flying on instruments was a lot more dangerous back then. You can't shoot if you can't see the ground.
Perhaps I stand corrected.
Richard Crowe Dont know about about Omaha but definitely at Normandy. My Dad was crew chief for The Fighting Gator
Hmm... These houses round here look kind of suspicious,
Brrrrrrrrrrt
Wook 😂😂🙂😂😂 hmm look at poor fella running awa... BRRRRRTTTTTTTT
War Crimes.
@@Angelum_Band If that is true, then consider that War in general is a crime against humanity. I am not about to judge the guys that were there with their lives on the line, and frankly neither should you. I'd lay you 100 to one odds that every single one of those pilots would have preferred to stay at home in the U. S. and not get their asses shipped off to fight a war that none of them started.
@@Str8Raiser If? War is a crime. It is Murder by Numbers. "War is a place where young people who do not know each other and do not hate each other kill each other, by the decision of old men who know and hate each other, but do not kill each other." Erich Hartman.
Yea, this movie aged like stale bread. Perfect example of why we have ROE. Dude just hoses a LIGHTHOUSE with 8 .50 cal machine guns. I guess the old Italian lighthouse keeper is a Nazi?
Yeah really nice , no music and no monotone annoying voice! Echo the other comments
I love the videos with narration and the actual sounds of the planes and guns. I even like the videos with the orchestral music playing in the background. I don't like the videos where they use music that's off tiktok or played in clubs. The engines of these planes are music enough.
Those weren't "USAF P-47 pilots"; it was USAAF at the time. USAF came into existence late 1947, more than two years after the end of World War II.
Milosz Ostrow thank you for correctly saying it was the US Army Air Forces and not the Army Air Corps like so many people mistakenly say!
Film says a made after change to USAF.
Lloyd Bridges is the narrator.
NOT!
Then who ?
It surely sounds like Lloyd Bridges to me, and I'm only 30 seconds into the video!
Sounded like Lloyd Bridges to me the whole time.
I thought it was Mike Nelson.
One bad ass plane nice video
I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue! Airplane.
I thought I heard Loyd Bridges and two other narrators. Did anyone reognize the others?
The "Jug", what a cracking aircraft, like the Typhoon they scared the **** out of the Jerry panzers.
Rather high losses of the P 47 which did not destroy many tanks at all
Formation flying looks badazz.
Love this documentary.