And yes, they were used in the ground attack role at that time. Besides their .50 cal machine guns, they regularly carried a 500lb general purpose bomb under each wing, and could carry a 1,000 lb general purpose bomb under each wing. M-8 4.5" "Bazooka" rockets were used as well.

Regards,
SkyChimp

The first bombing mission flown by P-47's occurred on 25 Nov '43. The 56th and 353rd groups bombed targets in France, while the 78th and 356th provided escort. Each fighter of the 56th and 353rd carried one 500lb bomb.

In April '44 Republic commenced manufacture the P-47D-25 model - the Thunderbolt with the 'bubble' canopy.

By May '44 the 9th AirForce had 13 P-47 fighter groups. Almost 1100 fighters. All were equipped with wing bomb racks capable of carrying up to two 1000Lb bombs.

In late May the 56th Fighter Group started to receive D-25 model 'bubble canopy' Thunderbolts. By D-Day they would have only 5 five operational. The 56th was the only group to have some D-25 models by 6th June.

D-Day 6th June. Both the 8th and 9th Air Forces have a total of 20 P-47 Fighter Groups available for the Invasion - 1900 P-47's are operational. NB Additional to the above figure is all the P-51 and P-38 Fighter Groups as well! The Allies had overwhelming numbers of aircraft.

On August 17 rockets are used for the first time on P-47's. Both the 56th and 78th Fighter Groups are equipped with the 'stovepipe' 3-tube chute. They are found to be very difficult to aim. The 56th demands to be equipped with the 'zero' rail rocket version that is used on the British Typhoon.

By mid August the 56th FG has converted to the D-25 bubble Thunderbolt. The 78th and 353rd have commenced teh process.

The British designed 'Zero' rail rockets are used for the first time by the 56th FG on 22 September. They are found far superior to the 'three-chute' variety. Widespread conversions to this form of rocket commence in the 9th Air Force.

It's interesting that HVAR was actually used in the ETO before the M-8/M-10 was. The M-8 rockets were first used in August 1944, as you state. In July 1944 the American HVAR was first used in the ETO.

On July 17, 1944 several P-47Ds of the 513th Squadron of the 406th FG attacked the marshalling yards at Nevers, France with HVARs. A flak tower was destroyed first, then the planes fired 48 rockets, 38 of them hitting 25 locomotives. 3 repair shops and a roadhouse were damaged. That's pretty impressive for the 1st use.

On July 26 the first American rocket attacks against tanks was made with 4 tanks destroyed by HVAR rockets.

On the 27th, the German aerodrome at Coulommiers was attacked with HVARs resulting in moderate damage (1 large hangar, 4 small hangars, a fuel dump and 1 Me-110 were hit).

On August 13 the 513th attacked, with HVARs, 4 heavy tanks (Mark V Panthers) and 1 light tank moving along a road near Marignym, France and destroyed all five.

Despite the effectiveness of the HVAR (and the M-8/M-10), rockets were never widely used in the ETO by USAAF FGs. During the entire war in the ETO, the 9th AF expended just 13,959 rockets. Compare that to the PTO, where Navy and Marine aircraft alone, from August 1943 to August 1945, expended 210,056 rockets.

Regards,
SkyChimp

Quote

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It looks like we're referring to the same source: "USAAF Jabos..." (William Wolf, Schiffer).

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Actually no. I haven't heard of that book. I'll have to look it up.

The info I used for the post above was from two books, namely Thunderbolt by Robert A Freeman, and America's Hundred Thousand by Francis Dean.

http://www.schifferbooks.com/military/aviationwwii/0764318780.html

Regards,
SkyChimp

Now that is bad. LOL
_____________
Major Priller
Jagdverband 44
Aces Are Those That Are Unseen And Unheard Until It's Too LATE!
P-47N Modeller
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