Bostwick's P-47M-1-RE

P-47M-1-RE

P-47M-1-RE

USA

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.7	5.7	5.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

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This page is about the gift American fighter Bostwick's P-47M-1-RE. For other uses, see P-47 (Family).

Description

Bostwick's P-47M-1-RE Thunderbolt is a gift rank IV American fighter with a battle rating of 4.7 (AB) and 5.7 (RB/SB). This fighter was introduced in Update 1.49 "Weapons of Victory". The Republic P-47M was the fastest of the production model Thunderbolts. The plane is painted after the camouflage scheme of American pilot George E. Bostwick in the US Army Air Force in the 56th Fighter Group.

The P-47M is a high-altitude interceptor that has impressive armament and ordinance that serves it well in both the fighter and Close Air Support role. In Air RB, it is currently unequalled in performance at a 5.7 battle rating, possessing ridiculous top speed, competitive climb rate, decent energy retention, great armament, and surprising manoeuvrability at speed.

As such, the P-47M is best played to its strengths as a Boom & Zoom and Boom & Run fighter in Air RB. In Ground RB it is an excellent fighter bomber with a good rocket/bomb load-out and .50 cals that can deal with most turret roofs.

The M variant was specifically setup to intercept Germany's buzz-bombs and the new jet/rocket powered fighters. The primary advantage of this new variant came through speed. The aircraft was powered by either a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-14W or R-2800-5 engine while using the CH-5 turbo-supercharger. The aircraft was able to produce 2,800 hp, giving it higher top speed.

In War Thunder Air RB, the P-47M sits at a battle rating of 5.7 while having the performance qualities of super-props. Top speeds above 5 km exceed literally any opponent besides the Ta-152 H-1 (which is only capable of competing at around 9-10 km). Climb rate is great, at around an average of 23 m/s from 0-6000 m. WEP is available for up to 12 minutes to maximize engine output.

Interestingly (besides the better engine), the P-47M gets a unique airbrake which makes it very easy to stick behind the tails of opponents in a high-speed dive.

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
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 9,144 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
720	702	12,200	25.6	26.2	8.3	10.8	500
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 9,144 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
801	760	12,200	22.8	24.0	27.6	15.9	500

Details

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

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
0	450	540	490	320	~14	~6

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 400	< 420	< 470	> 335

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
9,320 m	2,220 hp	2,826 hp

Survivability and armour

• 9.5 mm Steel - Seat back and headrest armour plate
• 38 mm Bulletproof glass - Windscreen

Armaments

Offensive armament

Bostwick's P-47M-1-RE is armed with:

• 8 x 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine guns, wings-mounted (425 rpg = 3400 total)

Suspended armament

Bostwick's P-47M-1-RE can be outfitted with the following ordinance:

• 1 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bomb (500 lb total)
• 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 1 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bomb + 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs (2,500 lb total)
• 10 x 127 mm HVAR rockets
• 10 x 127 mm HVAR rockets + 1 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs (500 lb total)
• 10 x 127 mm HVAR rockets + 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs (2,000 lb total)
• 10 x 127 mm HVAR rockets + 1 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bomb + 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs (2,500 lb total)

Usage in battles

First of all, the P-47 should always fly fast. No matter the altitude, it is recommended to fly at speeds higher than 520 kph (~320 mph). One of the few things the P-47 is terrible at doing is dogfighting. Imagine a truck loaded with cement with wings strapped to the side. Congratulations, you just pictured a P-47 flying at low speeds. Now, with this out of the way you must remember one thing and one thing only, when and where possible, fly high, the higher the better. The higher in altitude the P-47 goes the better the engine performs compared to its potential adversaries. The best altitude for the P-47M is around 9,000 meters (~30,000 ft), but it still can perform very good at lower altitudes ranging from 6,000 meters (~20,000 ft) to 8,000 meters (~26,000 ft). One drawback of the P-47M's engine is that it can easily overheat when using WEP for extended periods of time, however just disabling WEP for few seconds should be enough to cool down the powerful Pratt & Whitney powerplant hidden under the hood.

Modes

Arcade: In AB much of what was mentioned above can be disregarded due to the adjusted flight model of arcade battles, instead just put your throttle to WEP, climb above your enemies and Boom & Zoom them. It is important to realize that while the P-47 can be the king of the hill, there are a few others which will buck for the spot too including Spitfires, Fw 190s and Bf 109s as they can climb as good as you and they often have cannons which in no time can dismantle a P-47 quickly in flight.

Air Realistic: In RB P-47M's pilot should not take any additional armaments such as bombs and rockets, they will only slow down the plane and make it an easy prey for Bf 109 K-4s, Ta 152s and Fw 190s. As soon as you take off from the airfield divert 30 degrees to left or right (depends on where the middle of the map is, just don't climb towards the middle), engage WEP and climb at ~17-18 degrees. The best speed for climbing is around ~267 kph (~165 mph). When you reach an altitude of about 5,500 meters (18,000 ft) start to gradually turn towards the middle of the map. Watch out for any enemy planes coming towards you, especially the Ta 152s and Bf 109 K-4s which are the biggest threats as they have similar performance output compared to the P-47M. At ~6,000 meters you will notice that climbing at 18 degrees makes your plane go slower and is necessary to adjust the angle of attack to 10-15 degrees. It is also a plausible option to stop climbing at this point since you will probably be above everyone. Next, it is recommended to fly level and gain some speed, but not more than 400 kph (~250 mph). In this situation, the P-47 will reign supreme over the skies, look around you, see if there are any enemy planes spotted and pick off the easiest targets, preferably slow-flying fighters which are flying straight. If you cannot see such targets go for other fighters, 109s and G.55s are your priority targets, as they can easily kill you if you are not careful.

Always perform powered dive and if you feel you're going too fast just extend the airbrakes long enough to reign in the aircraft's speed which is one of the biggest advantages of P-47M over the D-series and other comparable non-allied prop fighters. When you are over with the Boom portion of the flying do not climb outright, instead, speed away from the enemies (preferably towards your teammates) increasing distance between you and anyone tailing. When you gain ~3 km (~2 miles) of separation from enemy planes you can do the Zoom part of the tactic or keep running if you're feeling that the enemy planes could catch up to you. Climb at 10 degrees and gain enough altitude to ensure that you have an energy advantage above enemy planes. In most dire situations you can try to go for head-on (only if you have at least 2.5 km separation from the enemy) attack, but it's not recommended to do that as you will most likely damage your engine in the process. In the worst-case scenario, the fighter will catch fire and burn up. If you see an enemy fighter which is attempting to dive at you, try to force them to overshoot, call for help and fly towards your closest teammate. You can shrug off few hits to the fuselage but anything that touches your wings and elevators will most likely disable or destroy the aircraft's ability to fly well or at all. Flying with your friends also helps as you can quickly call them to assist you. If you're the only one left on your team you should climb, look out for enemy fighters and Boom & Zoom them, just keep in mind that P-47 is not the best plane to do 1 vs 2 in. Try to separate enemies and pick them off one by one.

The last thing you should do in P-47 is ground-pound in realistic battles. Taking bombs and rockets will make your plane even more sluggish than it already is and because of that you will have to fly near the ground, and that typically makes the P-47 easy pickings for other enemy fighters. Bombers are typically a difficult target to go after as they usually soak up quite a bit of ammunition before taking critical damage and you risk being set afire or sniped by the defensive gunners.

It is important to mention the two schools of thought regarding the ammunition belts for .50 cals. The first one says that you should use Ground Targets belts because of the high amount of armour piercing rounds which do a lot of damage and can easily shred anything hit with them. However, the second school of thought states one should use Tracers belts because they have the highest chance of setting the enemy on fire which will typically leads to a fiery destruction of the enemy aircraft. But, there's one thing everyone agrees on: Don't use Default belts, upgrade away from them as soon as possible.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Automatic control available	Controllable No automatic control	Controllable No automatic control	Separate	Controllable 1 gear	Controllable

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	FRC mk.2
IV	G-Suit	Engine Injection	Cover		FLBC mk.1

• All modules and improvements are unlocked from the start. The Tracer belts are the most popular for Air combat, while several other ammunition belts are optional for uses such as ground attack.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Forgiving aircraft
• Eight deadly .50 cal M2 Brownings
• Good ground-attack ordinance selection
• Unrivaled high altitude performance
• Very good high-speed maneuverability
• Good climb rate
• Airbrakes
• Radial engine is generally resistant to damage
• Access to premium bonuses in Silver Lion and Research Points

Cons:

• Payloads encourage a low-altitude attacker playstyle, playing into P-47M's disadvantages
• Poor low-Speed maneuverability
• Large size and wingspan makes it an easy target for enemy fighters
• Engine damage is very likely in head-ons
• Engine easily catches fire when hit by 13/15/20 mm shells

History

Four P-47D-27 Aircraft were pulled from the production line at the Farmingdale factory and were fitted with the Pratt & Whitney R-2800-57(C) engine. They were also equipped with a larger CH-5 turbo-supercharger allowing the aircraft to reach 2,800 hp at 32,000 feet. Air brakes were also added underneath the wings to aid in deceleration and recovery during dives. These four prototypes were re-designated YP-47M.

The engine installations were eventually added to the last 130 P-47D-30s from Farmingdale in Sept of 1944. They were all re-designated P-47M-1-RE. It is important to note that the under-wing racks were not fitted to this aircraft. It was intended to be strictly a fighter. They were delivered in Dec. of 1944. The dorsal fins were later added as a field modification.

The M-variant saw service with the 56th Fighter Group but problems with the new highly tuned R-2800 delayed their use until the last weeks of the war in Europe. At one point the aircraft was pulled from service and replaced with D variants until the aircraft performed reliably. The P-47M was never used against V-1 flying bombs, it's original target.

The P-47M is most remembered for Major George Bostwick's engagements with the Me 262. Bostwick shot down a Me 262 on March 25 1945. He was able to damage a second one a few days later on April 7th.

His P-47M-1-RE had the nickname "Ugly Duckling" and a striking paint scheme.

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

• [Series] Maj. George Bostwick's P-47 Thunderbolt
• Official WT forum Aircraft Data Sheet section: "Republic P-47M"