The pilot was Bob Johnson of the 56th FG. They counted over 20 20MM holes as well. the a/c was carted off as junk when they finished cutting him out of the cockpit. The defense rests 
Iām a fan of both and over the years have been privileged to work on each. How ever, I had to go in harms way, I would want to go in something that had a radial engine up front. Its amazing the amount of damage one of those things will take and still come home. (I once was on a fire base and a B-26 came back from a fire that was 70 miles out with a hole in the cowl where one of the cylinders came out after it blew off the engine. Oil every where but it still ran). The flight manual on the 51 states that if you lose your coolant, the engine will quit in 15 minutes. My dad had a friend who flew a 51 out of England and spent the last 8 months of the war as a guest of the Luftwaffe. Seems he took a round thru the radiater and headed for the closest friendly territory, Switzerland, which was 20 minutes away. 5 minutes from the border, the engine siezed up and he was walking. It was his second mission.
Ed I like the picture of the 56th P-47 you use on you replies. I have a Hasegawa that I did up in the same colors Fireball UN*K JOHN
P-47.
Donāt get me wrong, the P-51 is a beautiful aircraft and from what Iāve read itās a joy to fly (unless you donāt drain the internal fuselage tank behind the pilot prior to the other tanksā¦they say it would swap ends on you if you didnāt). I think for all around best between the two, the P-47 wins for protectability, ability to take punishment and still keep on flying, firepower (8X.50 cals), and itās performance as a ground attack fighter.
Just my opinion.
Now for the gentleman who said that the F4U Corsair was the best fighter in the PTOā¦Wrong. The F6F Hellcat was purpose built to go against the Zero and accounted for more enemy kills than all other fighters combined. The hellcat was rugged as well attesting to the Grumman āIron Worksā ability to produce tough aircraft.
The bentwing bird was beautiful, and I like it very much but as far as which was bestā¦definately the Hellcat.
Mike sums it all up!!!
P-47ās rule! Ok I said it, Ed. Now give me that five spot you promised so I can get that P-51 kit Iāve been eyeing at Hobby Lobby.[:p]
I like the P-47 better because it used the same engine as the F4U Corsair - the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial. That engine could take a beating and keep on ticking. Supposedly, based on a few books Iāve read, it was (arguably) the best aircraft piston engine ever produced. The P-47, F4U, F6F, F7F, P-61, and others that Iām sure Iām forgetting, all used this engine.
Give me the Mustang over the P-47 anyday when it comes to the ETO. The Jug as it was called could not do the most important thing and that was bomber escourt. If it wasnt for the Mustang the Allied bombing campaign would have failed. But in the end BOTH fighters did their respective jobs well. So which one was the best? I believe both were the best and thank god we had them when we did. Enough said.
Steve
This is from my brotherā¦
Iād say the edge goes to the P-51ā¦pilots being equal (which they never are). Jug dives a little better, but the 51 was no slouch either and had very high E retention. Edge in speed goes to the 51 and it had better climb over 20,000 ft. What the 51 was best at was high speed turning. If I was a 51 pilot, Iād put the plane nose downā¦the 47 would catch me and Iād go into a sharp turnā¦ If the 47 pilot knew what he was doing, heād probably go straight into a zoom climb and depending on altitude Iād have to climb after him. Heād then have to dive awayā¦which he could, but Iād catch him eventually due to my speed and fuel advantage; after he ran out of altitudeā¦fight over!!
If you dove in your Mustang, and I went into a zoom with my Jug, Iād hammerhead at the top and have a good clear shot at your top as you climb back up to me. Game over.
There is also the option to performa lag roll and just follow that sharp turn. A good pilot can account for just about any maneuver there is. Robert Johnson beat a high Spit 9 with his Jug in a mock dogfight. Acm is like chess, there are moves, and counters, and counters to counters and counters to counters counters etcā¦ Itās a beautiful thing.
Hereās a pic of the tail of that plane.
Give me the Jug. My dad (WW II vet) says that the P-38 was the catās meow during the war.
Guys,
Good thread, tough choice. Since Iām a proponent of Close Air Support, Iād have to go with the Jug, but each airplane certainly has its merits. Now to address the speed issueā¦ Depending on the dash number of the D or any later model, the P-47 and not the P-51 had the speed advantage. The P-47M on full war-emergency power topped out at just under 480mph. Granted speed like that is going to blow the engine if maintained for an extended period of time, but it could do it, where the P-51 topped out at 440mph. Iāve got a 48th Hasegawa P-47D that I converted to an M flown by Polish Ace Witold Lanowski when he was attached to the 56th FG. Beautiful black upper surfaces over bare metal. Its one of my best models everā¦
[2c]
I happen to prefer the Jug, but this thread is the old āapples and orangesā comparison. While the Mustang had a big edge in range which made it better for long-range escort, the Jug was better for tactical work because of itās durability, firepower, and load. Both airplanes could hold their own in air-to-air combat. It is a matter of utilizing the good points of the airplane you are flying regardless of what it is.
Jim
Depends on which P-51 and which P-47 weāre talking about. Everyone almost always is referring to the P-51D and most talk about the P-47D. The max range for the P-47D was around 1800 miles while the P-51Ds range was around 2300 miles. The P-51Dās top speed is listed to be around 437mph @ 25000ā.
The P-47N however had a range of almost 2400 miles. This version escorted B-29s all the way from Saipan. Plus its listed top speed was 448mph @ 25000ā.
The M version was basically built just to intercept V1 buzz bombs. It was lightened and had little armor, included water injection and was fitted with airbrakes. It also had no external hardpoints.
Dont forget the XP-47J was the first propeller driven fighter to exceed 500mph in level flight.
I have read that the R-2800ās could be turned up to very high horsepower levels, like around 3200hp. They did wear out sooner but didnt suffer any failures at all, just a shorter TBO.
My preference (my choice, meaning its my view whether consitent or inconsistent with others views) would be the P-47. Later versions could do what a P-51 could do plus some and have the big radial engine up front, you cant go wrong with that. (Though sincerely deep down, I always wanted to be in the bombers)
DaveB
Re the XP-47J - it happens to be my favorite Jug variant. Too bad the cool-looking cowl and spinner never made it into the production variants. From what I understand there were originally supposed to be two āJā prototypes built with the second having a bubble canopy.
Jim
I voted for the best fighter but, during combat. The P51 was the troughbred for sure but for my money I would want a good sturdy plane that can take the punishment as well as dish it out. So I think the point of the question " which is your favorite fighter " may also include engagement. I still would go with the P47.[;)]
Both aircraft were designed for different rolls and were very good at their own area of operations. The jug was a big heavy mother that went in banged some heads and went out, it could take hits and keep coming and was excelent for low level support. When you went up high in the thin atmosphere and long range escort missions the 'Stang beat all. Fuel injection helped to make it a very capable fighter. I donāt think either one is the best statisticaly but we all gotta have an opinion right? P-51 all the way.
By far the P-47 hands down. If it wasnt for the british putting the merlin engine in the mustang it wouldnt have lived up to the airplane that it was and probally would have been cancelled.
They were both the best but for different reasons. The P-47 is close to my heart because of a picture I have of a Razorback with the name āMollyā on the cowl and my Dad with 12 others in front of the left wing. It was named after Melvin āMollyā Mollberg, my namesake, who died in the crash of a C-47 on May 13, 1945, Motherās Day! He had taken my Dadās place as part of the flight crew. In 1974 I was lucky to get a 30 minute hop in the jump seat of a P-51D and it was flight to remember! The ā51ā is all smooth flowing lines and the āJugā is a lovable brute!