Jugs Vs. Jets

P-47 pilot scores the ultimate kill.

- Warren E. Thompson

To all P-51 Mustang or P-47 Thunderbolt pilots who flew combat over France and Germany in World War II, any jet kill they made would rate at the top of the charts. Their most successful prop versus jet victories were made against the Me 262, which was produced in larger numbers (1,430), while the tiny rocket-propelled Me 163 only had a production run of about 370. The Allied pilots ran up some impressive scores against the Me 262. Germany was always far ahead of England and the U.S. in their research and production of jet-propelled aircraft, as they had designed and tested at least 12 different jet airframes by war’s end.

The first real competition the Luftwaffe faced over France from the American fighters was the presence of the P-38 Lightnings and the P-47 Thunderbolts (aka “Jugs”). The latter was like a flying tank built around ruggedness and sporting eight .50-caliber machine guns. The first P-47s in England went to the 78th Fighter Group in January 1943, with T-Bolts becoming operational in March. Their numbers continued to grow, and by the spring of 1944 they peaked when the 8th Air Force had eight P-47 groups.