Warbird Information Exchange

New article on the Republic AP-47 Mixed-Power Ground Support Airplane Proposal of 1948 is now up at RetroMechanix.com:



This was an evolution of the venerable P-47 that featured the addition of a jet power plant in the aft fuselage, among many other modifications. The accompanying gallery features 5 images, including high resolution general arrangement and inboard profile drawings.

-Jared

Mixed power concept aircraft never did very well but in 1948 that wasn't a foregone conclusion. What surprises is me is that there was not more emphasis on retaining P-47s for the ground support, battlefield interdiction role and that there was not a program to rebuild P-47s into an optimized ground attack aircraft.

A high power low altitude engine with no turbocharger and a reinforced wing with more hard points on the Thunderbolts and the Air Force would not have lost so many Mustangs over Korea and probably would not have had to borrow Navy Skyraiders in Vietnam.

I suppose it was an early example of the Fighter Mafia choosing the sexy Mustang to standardize on as a propeller driven fighter bomber.

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"I can't understand it, I cut it twice and it's still too short!" Robert F. Dupre' 1923-2010 Go With God.

You can see some of the lines that became part of the F-84 design in that drawing.