Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a large all-metal monoplane Pursuit aircraft with a tubo-supercharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engine and retractable landing gear operated by the USAAC.  The turbo-supercharged engine resulted in the P-47 having very good high-altitude performance.  Per reference [8] it took its first flight on 6 May 1941, and entered operational service in November 1942.  The P-47 was built in many variants, with early variants having a Razorback fuselage shape aft of the cockpit but later variants being constructed with a bubble canopy. The primary variant analyzed at this website is the P-47D including:

• an early P-47D razorback variant
• a slightly modified P-47D variant built at Republic's Evansville IN plant
• a later model P-47D-25 variant configured with a bubble canopy

In addition to service with the USAAC, variants also served with the UK, USSR, Brazil, Mexico, and Free French forces.  After WWII they also served with Italy, Turkey, Iran, Yugoslavia, Portugal, China, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Nicaraugua, and Peru.  Per reference [8] a total of 15,636 P-47 aircraft of all variants were procured.  

As shown in the images below distinguishing features of this aircraft including;

• large size
• a large radial engine 
  
• a razorback configuration aft the cockpit for early variants and a bubble canpoy for later variants
• wing mounted in the lower quarter shoulder of the fuselage cross section
• inboard retracting main landing gear

[Image Sources: Public Domain via Ref [8] - as annotated by this site]

The table below summarizes the current data collected on this type aircraft, identifying sources for the data

		P-47D (early)	P-47D-RE	P-47D-25	Source	Notes
Primary Source		2	1	1	3,5
No of Crew		1	1	1
Engine:
Qty		1	1	1
Model		R-2800-63		R-2800-59
Displacement	(cu in)	2800	2800	2800
Power
Military	(HP)	2000		2000
War Emergency	(HP)
Normal	(HP)	1625		1625
Take Off	(HP)	2000		2000
Eng Dims
Length	(ft)	6.31		6.31
Width/Dia	(ft)	4.375		4.375
Height	(ft)
Base Engine Wt	(lb)	2265		2290
Propeller
# Blades		4	4	4
Dia	(ft)	13	13	13
Manufacturer
Type		Const Speed	Const Speed	Const Speed
Wing
Span	(ft)	40.8
Root Thickness	(%)	14.0%
	(in)	15.2
Total Area	(sq ft)	300	300	300
Wing (less Ailerons & Flaps)	(sq ft)
Ailerons	(sq ft)			25.7
Flaps	(sq ft)
Tail Area	(sq ft)	86.1	86.1	80.8
V Tail Area	(sq ft)	26.5	26.5	25.8
Fin	(sq ft)			13.9
Rudder	(sq ft)			11.9
H Tail Area	(sq ft)	59.6	59.6	55
Stabilizer	(sq ft)			33
Elevator	(sq ft)			22
Total Control Surf Area	(sq ft)
Length
Overall	(ft)	35.34	35.34	35.34
Fuselage	(ft)	31
Body	(ft)	33.43	33.43	33.43
Body Depth	(ft)
Body Width	(ft)
Fuel Tank Volume	(gal)
Wing Tanks	(gal)
FuselageTanks	(gal)
Oil Tank Volume	(gal)
Water Injection Fluid Tank Volume	(gal)
Wetted Area (sqf)	(sq ft)
Pwr Ldng	(lb/HP)	6.69
Wing Ldng	(lb/sq ft)	44.58
Struct. Des. GW	(lb)
Ultimate Load Factor	(G's)	12
Design Speed	(mph)
Not to Exceed Speed	(mph)
Total Struct Weight		4613	4655.6	4631.4
Total Wing		1755	1459.6	1447.4
Wing
Ailerons
Flaps
Fuselage Carry-Through
Tail		252	250.5	250.5
H Tail		172
Stabilizer
Elevator
V Tail		80
Fin
Rudder
Body + Eng Section + LG
Body + LG		2606	2945.5	2933.5
Body		1539	1822.5	1808.5
Fuselage			1443.5	1425.5
Engine Section			379	383
Landing Gear		1067	1123	1125
Mn Landing Gr		953
Tail/Nose Aux LG		114
Tail Hook
Booms
Nacelles
Total Propulsion Weight		4037	4324.3	4593.6
Engine w/ Accessories		2680	3219	3260.2
Engine(s) as Installed		2223	2265	2283.2
Accessories		457	954	977
Turbocharger(s)		232
Controls		61	57.8	57.8
Propeller(s)		532	541.3	659.3
2-Blade
3-Blade
4-Blade		532	541.3	659.3
Starting System		57	56	56
Water Injection System		34
Tanks
Piping Etc
Cooling System
Lube System		132	117.9	138.1
Tanks
Piping Etc
Fuel System		309	332.3	422.2
Tanks
Piping Etc
Total Sys. & Eqpmt.		987	976.8	973.7
Instruments		54	53.4	52.2
Surface Controls		122	137.1	127.4
Hydraulics		153	110	97.5
Electrical Equip		201	209.1	214.1
Electronics (Purple means incl in Furn/Gray in Useful Ld)		153	146	151.1
Arm Prov/Equipment & Armor		221	183.2	203.1
Furnishings		83	103.2	115.2
Anti-Ice (If not in Furn)			34.8	13.1
Other /Misc
Hoisting Gear
Floatation Gear
Armor Plate
Empty Wt		9637	9956.7	10198.7
Basic Mission Useful Load		3736
Crew		200
Equipment
Oil		215
Fuel		1830
Fuel & Oil Trapped in Systems
Water Solution for Engine Injection
Bombs/Torp Etc
Radio (if Not Included in Empty Wt)
Nav Equipment
Oxygen System
Armament		1241
Guns & Ammo		1241
Guns		600
Ammo		641
Pyrotechnics
Camera
Other
Other Useful Load		250
Basic Mission GW		13373

Notes: This website has been developed with a number of low cost or free programs including Hot Metal Pro, KompoZer, MicroSoft Designer and Da Button Factory.com

Rev 3-8-25

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