The WWII Fighter That Turned German Laughter Into Terror

The American P-47 Thunderbolt, once ridiculed by German pilots in WWII, became one of the most feared fighters in the skies.

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🇩🇪 German Taunt: In 1943, ace Werner Schroer mocked them as “flying barrels” over Belgium.

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Built Like a Tank: Weighing 10,000 lbs with a 2,000-hp engine, the “Jug” ruled at high altitudes.

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Eight-Gun Mayhem: Packed with eight .50-cal Brownings—spitting 100 bullets a second.

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Unkillable Beast: Lt. Robert Johnson’s P-47 took 200 hits and still made it home.

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Dive-and-Destroy Tactics: U.S. pilots struck from 30,000 ft at 500+ mph—too fast to catch.

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Pure Annihilation: Incendiary rounds melted German planes in seconds.

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Ace Killer: The Jug’s ambush wiped out top Luftwaffe ace Hans Phillip—no chute seen.

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Over 15,000 built, a 4:1 kill ratio—proof the “flying barrel” became the ultimate Allied war machine.

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