Thunderbolt Mk.1 (Great Britain)

▄Thunderbolt Mk.1

▄Thunderbolt Mk.1

Britain

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.7	3.7	3.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Purchase:1 600

Show in game

Description

The ▄Thunderbolt Mk.1 is a premium rank III British fighter with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Raining Fire".

General info

Flight performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 7,925 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	___	___	12200	__._	__._	__._	__._	600
Upgraded	704	676		23.9	25.0	16.1	11.5

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
0	450	520	520	320	~13	~5

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 402	< 420	< 470	> 335

Survivability and armour

Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Thunderbolt Mk.1 (Great Britain) is armed with:

• 8 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns, wing-mounted (425 rpg = 3,400 total)

Suspended armament

The Thunderbolt Mk.1 (Great Britain) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 1 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bomb (500 lb total)
• 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs + 1 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bomb (2,500 lb total)
• 6 x M8 rockets
• 1 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bomb + 6 x M8 rockets (500 lb total)

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the aircraft, the features of using aircraft in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Simulator / EC

In Simulator / Enduring Confrontation, bulkier planes that suffer in AB & RB shine and that of course includes the P-47. Sitting at BR 3.7, the lowest BR for rank 3 EC, it can respawn infinitely which makes it a great learning platform for new EC players. In Sim, the P-47 has great control handling, all-round unobstructed vision and fast speed, and it offers a wide range of additional armaments of bombs and rockets, plus the original 8 x .50 cal, meaning it is an excellent multi-role aircraft. It can perform base-bombing, ground pounding, bomber intercepting and traditional BnZ fighting.

Sim is different from realistic, so discard the habit of bringing the least fuel. Bring at least 30 minutes of fuel, although it decreases the plane's performance a bit, it prevents constant refueling which saves time for patrolling and fighting.

For base bombing, choose the maximum setup of 1 x 500 lbs and 2 x 1,000 lbs to maximise the damage. The fastest way to get to a base is to remain at tree-top level upon taking off. This way there is no need to climb so the P-47 can pick up quite some speed like that, even with the full bombload. It is also harder to be seen, since the P-47's dark colour will blend in with the ground for some maps. When approaching the base, check its position with the minimap to ensure it's the right target. When the base fills up the gunsight, pull up to around 500 m and then dive at the base at a rather shallow angle. When the gunsight slices past the furthest edge of the base, release all the bombs, bank to the direction of the nearest friendly airfield, descend back to tree-top level and fly back. If you are lucky, you might even catch some enemy bombers that just took-off from a nearby airfield. They will be some nice RP for you. Overall, base bombing is the safest way to get rewards but not the most efficient.

For ground pounding, you can choose to take the full bombload if you want. Use the bombs to take out pillboxes and tanks. The aiming method for bombs is pretty similar to base bombing, but there are differences for the 500 lb and 1000 lb, as their drop are different and you want to adapt the aim to be more precise, because now the targets are much smaller. Dive at a shallow angle to approach the target, try to get as close as possible but avoid crashing into the ground. When the gunsight slices through and just above the target, drop the 1000 lbs. When the target is at the center of the gunsight and fills up around 1/3 of it, release the 500 lb. The 8 MGs are perfect for killing trucks, AA guns and artilleries as they have plenty of ammo. However, constantly watch your surrounding, especially your high 6 for any incoming enemies.

You want to be more careful when hunting bombers, since with the Sim control (whether it be mouse joystick or a real stick) the plane will manoeuvre much more gently, making itself a great target for the bomber's gunners. DO NOT follow behind a bomber's 6 unless you are sure that its tail gunners are unconscious. Chasing behind a bomber makes yourself pretty much stationary for the tail gunners, and you will be showered with bullets. The big radial engine of the P-47 will usually get damaged. Instead, before launching an attack, get an altitude advantage over the bomber by flying around 2 km above it. The bomber should only fill up about 1/6 of your gunsight. The best position for an attack is at the bomber's high 6 so you can adjust the lead much easier. Dive at the bomber, but not directly at it, try to predict where you two will crash by imagining yourself as a missile, that's where you should aim at (deflection shooting). To maximise the damage it is better to aim for their wings and engines, as the fuselage usually soaks up quite some bullets. Only fire when the bomber passes in front of your guns. This short window might seems inadequate to do anything, but the 8 MG on the P-47 are actually quite destructive, as sometimes it only takes one bullet to set the target aflame.

As for dogfighting, because almost all aerial battles in Sim occurs at below 3,000 m, the P-47 can easily climb to this altitude and gather up lots of speed before engaging a battle. The tactic is similar to the RB one above. If, unfortunately, you find yourself being chased at your 6 and you don't know how to do any defensive manoeuvres, do a large, smooth turn towards the nearest friendly airfield to avoid bleeding too much speed. Then shallow-dive towards your airfield. The P-47 can quite easily outrun opponents like the A6M or Bf-109 E, but struggles to outrun Bf-109 F/G, FW-190 A or other P-47. Another way of disengaging is to do a sudden split-S to dodge under the chaser. Average Sim players will now try and see where you went, if not immediately losing track of you. You can then run for your airfield or shallow climb for another attack.

Enemies worth noting:

• Me 264: This giant is one of the few bombers who get air spawns in Sim, so it usually flies higher than you think. On top of this, the Me 264 is armed with large calibre MG and cannons all over it, therefore tailing a 264 is basically suicide unless all of their gunners are knocked out. You can treat the 264 almost like a B-29 or B-17 as they are very similar in both design and defensive capabilities. It is best to head-on the 264 if you can as you can easily knock out the pilots due to its glazed nose while also taking minimal damage. However the bomber lacks a ventral turret on its belly, making it easy to deal damage from below, but be weary of the downwards facing rear 20 mm cannon near the tail. The safest way to attack is from a higher altitude, dive at an oblique angle and focus fire on the wings and nose. Never engage if you have no altitude advantage.

• Bf 110, Ki-45, A-26: As mentioned before, those twin engine aircraft are a big threat since their lack of manoeuvrability comparing to single engine fighters are minimised in Sim. They are usually armed with heavy guns & cannons in the nose, so an accurate burst will tear any plane apart, including the P-47. The P-47 manoeuvres rather sluggishly and you might get out-turned from even those heavy fighters, so engage them with either altitude or speed advantage to avoid being targeted. If they are not manoeuvring aggressively, aim for their wings or engines. If the fight is intense and you cannot smooth the aim, just burst anywhere as long as you hit them, the 12.7 mm bullets will damage their flight models quite a bit.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Auto control available	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 1 gear	Auto controlled

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 12 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe		FMBC mk.1
III	Wings repair	Engine		New 12 mm MGs
IV	G-suit	Engine injection	Cover		Rocket Launcher M10	FLBC mk.1
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".

Pros:

Cons:

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] New P-47 Thunderbolt Variants