At the time it entered service Republic`s P-47 Thunderbolt was the largest,heaviest and most powerful single engined fighter ever to fly.
Steadily supplanted as a long range escort by the P-51,the P-47 became USAAF`s premier fighter-bomber causing chaos among Axis forces in Europe.
When the P-47`s arrived in England, pilots transitioned from the streamlined Spitfire could hardly believe that such a large aircraft as the "Jug" could protect itself, let alone fight! They were soon proved wrong and this massive fighter established itself as a fine example of American engineering design