Robert Taylor's P-35 Thunderbolt aviation
prints. Thunderbolt
paintings by Robert Taylor. The P-35 Thunderbolt aviation
prints. Aviation art prints of the Thunderbolt aircraft available from
Aviation Artist Robert Taylor. Published by the Military Gallery and
available form Cranston Fine Arts. Lookout for the special
promotion 2 print offers at great discounts
Alexander
Kartveli was a engineer with Seversky Aircraft who designed the P-35,
which first flew in 1937. With Republic Aviation Kartveli supervised the
development of the P-43 Lancer. Neither of these aircraft were produced
in large numbers, and neither was quite successful. However, the
Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt, also nicknamed the Jug, was quite a
different story. The Jug was the jewel in Kartvelis design crown, and
went on to become one of the most produced fighter aircraft of all time
with 15,683 being manufactured. The P-47 was the largest and heaviest
single seat fighter of WW II. The P-47 immediately demonstrated its
excellent combat qualities, including speed, rate of climb,
maneuverability, heavy fire power, and the ability to take a lot of
punishment. With a wingspan of more than 40 feet and a weight of 19,400
pounds, this large aircraft was designed around the powerful 2000 HP
Pratt and Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine. The first P-47
prototype flew in May of 1941, and the primary variant the P-47D went
into service in 1943 with units of the U.S. Armys Eighth Air Force. The
Jug had a maximum speed in excess of 400 MPH, a service ceiling in
excess of 42,000 feet, and was heavily armed with either six or eight
heavy caliber machine guns. With its ability to carry up to a 2,500
pound bomb load, the Jug saw lots of use in ground attack roles. Until
the introduction of the N model, the P-47 lacked the long range required
for fighter escort missions which were most often relegated to P-51
Mustangs or P-38 Lightnings. In his outstanding painting entitled Bridge
Busting Jugs, noted aviation artist Stan Stokes depicts Eighth Air
Force Jugs in a ground attack mission in the Alps in June of 1944. The
top P-47 ace was Francis Gabreski who had flown with the 56th Fighter
Group, the first unit to be equipped with the P-47. In August of 1943
Gabreski attained his first aerial combat victory (over an Fw-190) and
by years end he had reached ace status with 8 confirmed victories.
