Apparently 5934 P-47s were cancelled following VJ-Day by which time the P-47N was up to the P-47N-25-RE variant with the 2,800hp R-2800-77 engine. I am assuming that the intention was to continue to refine the Thunderbolt design through the remaining ordered airframes, does anybody know of any planned but unfulfilled modifications intended for the P-47N or whether further variants were planned?
My question is inspired by this outstanding thread about the P-51L/M: http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,11766.0.html
They were all intended as light-weight sprint/interceptor aircraft, whereas the N was a long range escort fighter so it is highly unlikely that any of these variants would have had much to do with the 5934 aircraft supposedly cancelled after VJ-Day. In all probability the intention was continued evolution through various subtypes as the N had already seen. In essence I would expect minor airframe and internal layout changes and more refined versions of the R-2800 and/or improved superchargers.
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This rare 1945 color film of the Republic XP-47H powered by the Chrysler XI-2220 engine was shot by Carl Breer, Head of Research Engineering for Chrysler at the time. The XI-2220 engine was a turbo supercharged, liquid cooled, inverted V-16 power plant that produced 2,500 horsepower from 2,220 cubic inches (36.4 L) of displacement. The engine was fitted to a highly modified Republic P-47 Thunderbolt for ground running and flight testing starting in early 1945. Due to the novel engine, extensive airframe modifications, and complex turbo supercharging system, the XP-47H did not fly until late July 1945. By the end of WWII three weeks later, it was already clear the future was the turbojet engine, not pistons. Three XI-2220 engines survive: Serial number D-000001 at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT; D-000006 and XP-47H firewall-forward in the collection of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Chantilly, VA, and D-000005 is held by the Chrysler Foundation. This film was digitized and narrated by Carl Breer’s son, William, and shared with me by Paul Wise who worked on the XI-2220 engine and flight test program. The film is presented here with the kind permission of Carl Breer II, grandson of the photographer, Carl Breer. The definitive work on the XI-2220 engine and XP-47H is Chrysler Aircraft Engines by Kimble D. McCutcheon (2012) and an excellent chapter on the XI-2220 can be found in Willem L. Weertman’s Chrysler Engines, 1922-1998 (2007).
As interesting as the XP-47H was, it was not successful.
Although the project was begun in August 1943, the two P-47D-15-RE airframes were not actually converted until 1945. Test flights began on July 26, 1945. One of my sources (Green) says that during flight trails, one of the XP-47H's actually attained a speed of 490 mph in level flight. However, another one (Wagner) says that the Chrysler engine failed to deliver the promised power output, and that the maximum speed attained during tests was only 414 mph at 30,000 feet, poorer performance than the "stock" P-47D. In any case, the Chrysler XIV-2220 engine never achieved production and the advent of jet propulsion killed any further USAAF interest in the development of even faster piston-engine fighters. Consequently, no further work was undertaken on the XP-47H project.
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