P-47 Thunderbolt (World Fighter Aircraft Collection)

The P-47 Thunderbolt was the largest and heaviest single-engined fighter of World War Two, and one of only two American fighters to use a turbo super-charger, the other being the twin-engined P-38 Lightning.

In spite of its size and weight, the Thunderbolt was a very effective fighter, able to tackle even the best German fighters of the time, like the Focke-Wulf FW 190.   Unusually for American land-based fighters of the time, the P-47 wasn't powered by an inline piston engine like the Spitfire, P-40 Warhawk or P-51 Mustang, but a radial piston engine just like the FW 190, a power source also favored by American naval fighters.   Indeed the Thunderbolt used the same R-2800 Double Wasp engine as the F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair, though it managed to fly slightly faster than the F4U.