17.12.2007, 01:34
~ Dedicated to the proposition that the current Thunderbolt cockpits will be improved upon ~
PreRamble
The current P-47D cockpits can and should be repainted and possibly further modded. Many items are wrongly colored, most notably the red seat in the P-47D/D-27 'bubbletop' variants.
I. Base reference of the current model
The P-47 models in IL-2 Sturmovik were initiated by a team in Brazil and completed by 1C:Maddox Games prior to the the release of Forgotten Battles. The cockpit details seem to be chiefly based on FAB226766 at Museu Aeroespacial do Campo dos Afonsos, Rio de Janeiro. This aircraft was flown by Brazilian forces during WWII and is now Brazil's only flying example of the P-47. The in-game 'bubbletop' variant's cockpit details compare favorably to photographs of FAB226766:
1. Cockpit detail, large photo. Notice that the gunsight's rear is silver and not orange like in the game. (For quick reference, here is an in-game view for comparison.)
2. Panel detail, large photo. (For reference, here is an in-game view of the P-47D-27's panel.)
3. Panel detail, wide angle, large photo.
4. Cockpit detail, medium photo.
I'm uncertain as to the cockpit reference for the P-47D-10/D-22. However, details may be based on images found in Technical Order No. 01-65BC-1, Pilot's Flight Operating Instructions for P-47B, -C, -D and -G airplanes (January 20, 1943). This manual is easily found as a PDF on the internet, as a contemporary reprinted book, and as a bonus item on the "How to Fly the P-47 Thunderbolt" DVD from zenosflightshop.com. In addition, excerpted illustrations can be viewed at Zeno's Warbird Drive-in if you go to More Neat P-47 Stuff!
Note the date on this commonly available manual. It is a good reference for the B series (which did not see combat), the C series and the early D series planes. A later manual, published in November 1943 and available on CD-ROM, better represents the later razorback D-models. (The final razorback block was the P-47D-23-RA built concurrently with the P-47D-22-RE.) I'll try to post relevant images from this manual soon. The bubbletop variant production began with the P-47D-25 block and the AAF published a separate series of pilot's flight operating instructions expressly for the bubbletopped series.
II. P-47G cockpit (USAF Museum, Dayton, Ohio)
Curtiss-built P-47s were given a 'G' designation and served as training aircraft during the war; according to P-47 Thunderbolt in Detail & Scale by Bert Kinzey, no G models served in combat and were only used for training and test evaluations. Also according to the book, a Thunderbolt painted as a P-47D "which is on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio, is actually a Curtiss built P-47G. Curtiss used Chromate Green primer for the cockpit interior instead of the Dull Dark Green used by Republic...The cockpit in most P-47Gs was almost identical to to those in Republic built P-47D-10-RE razorbacks except the color of the paint."
1. P-47G cockpit detail. Although filed under P-47D at the hosting website, this cockpit matches the photographs of the example published in the book quoted above.
2. P-47G instruments as published in the book. "This photograph shows details of the instrument panel which remains almost completely intact.
3. P-47G rudder pedals. "Note the corrugated floor as compared to the smooth floor in the P-47D-30-RA."
4. P-47G cockpit front left. "Provides a good look at the throttle, control column, and the electrical distribution panel."
5. P-47G throttle quadrant.
6. P-47G cockpit's left, rear corner.
7. P-47G control stick.
8. P-47G cockpit's front, right corner.
9. P-47G cockpit's right, rear corner.
10. P-47G pilot's seat. "The design for the head rest and pilot's armor was different in the razorback Thunderbolts than on the later bubbletops."
III. P-47D-30-RA (Museum of Aviation, Warner Robins, Georgia)
According to P-47 Thunderbolt In Detail & Scale, "P-47D-30-RA, 44-32691, was in service at what is now Robins Air Force Base when it was taken off the line and placed directly in storage for the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Georgia. All details in the cockpit, including the Dark Dull Green color, remain exactly as they were when the aircraft was in service. This makes [this aircraft] very valuable as a historical record of the Thunderbolt's cockpit, because no restoration work has been done."
1. D-30 instrument panel.
2. P-47D-30 Mk.VIII gunsight. "Details of the reflector gun sight are visible here. Note also the back-up ring sight mounted on the reflector unit."
3. P-47D-30 control stick. "The control column and rudder pedals were also Dull Dark Green. Note that the floor is smooth rather than being corrugated."
4. P-47D-30 cockpit, left side. "The throttle quadrant and electrical distribution box are the major items on this side along with the trim wheels."
5. P-47D-30 cockpit, right side. "The right side of the cockpit was less cluttered. Thunderbolts built by both Republic lines left the factory with cockpits painted Dull Dark Green rather than Chromate Green used by Curtiss."
6. P-47D-30 seat's headrest. "The top of the pilot's armor and head rest are visible here. The head rest was often black as shown here, but in other cases could be brown or gray."
7. P-47D-30 pilot's seat. "The seat was also painted the Dull Dark Green color. Note that teh shoulder straps are off-white, while the lap belts are khaki."
8. P-47D-30 lap belts. "The pilot sat on his parachute which also served as a cushion in the seat bucket."
IV. P-47M (Yanks Air Museum, Chino, California)
According to P-47 Thunderbolt In Detail & Scale, "The Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California, has a beautifully restored P-47M-1-RE. The paint used in the cockpit matches what factory fresh Dull Dark Green would have looked like."
1. P-47M left instrument panel. Aircraft has a K-14 gunsight.
2. P-47M instrument panel. "The instrument panel in the P-47M was very similar to that in late P-47Ds."
3. P-47M control stick. "The floor in the P-47M was without corrugations."
4. P-47M cockpit, left side. "Most items on the side of the cockpit remain as they had been on the late P-47Ds."
5. P-47M cockpit, right side.
PreRamble
The current P-47D cockpits can and should be repainted and possibly further modded. Many items are wrongly colored, most notably the red seat in the P-47D/D-27 'bubbletop' variants.
I. Base reference of the current model
The P-47 models in IL-2 Sturmovik were initiated by a team in Brazil and completed by 1C:Maddox Games prior to the the release of Forgotten Battles. The cockpit details seem to be chiefly based on FAB226766 at Museu Aeroespacial do Campo dos Afonsos, Rio de Janeiro. This aircraft was flown by Brazilian forces during WWII and is now Brazil's only flying example of the P-47. The in-game 'bubbletop' variant's cockpit details compare favorably to photographs of FAB226766:
1. Cockpit detail, large photo. Notice that the gunsight's rear is silver and not orange like in the game. (For quick reference, here is an in-game view for comparison.)
2. Panel detail, large photo. (For reference, here is an in-game view of the P-47D-27's panel.)
3. Panel detail, wide angle, large photo.
4. Cockpit detail, medium photo.
I'm uncertain as to the cockpit reference for the P-47D-10/D-22. However, details may be based on images found in Technical Order No. 01-65BC-1, Pilot's Flight Operating Instructions for P-47B, -C, -D and -G airplanes (January 20, 1943). This manual is easily found as a PDF on the internet, as a contemporary reprinted book, and as a bonus item on the "How to Fly the P-47 Thunderbolt" DVD from zenosflightshop.com. In addition, excerpted illustrations can be viewed at Zeno's Warbird Drive-in if you go to More Neat P-47 Stuff!
Note the date on this commonly available manual. It is a good reference for the B series (which did not see combat), the C series and the early D series planes. A later manual, published in November 1943 and available on CD-ROM, better represents the later razorback D-models. (The final razorback block was the P-47D-23-RA built concurrently with the P-47D-22-RE.) I'll try to post relevant images from this manual soon. The bubbletop variant production began with the P-47D-25 block and the AAF published a separate series of pilot's flight operating instructions expressly for the bubbletopped series.
II. P-47G cockpit (USAF Museum, Dayton, Ohio)
Curtiss-built P-47s were given a 'G' designation and served as training aircraft during the war; according to P-47 Thunderbolt in Detail & Scale by Bert Kinzey, no G models served in combat and were only used for training and test evaluations. Also according to the book, a Thunderbolt painted as a P-47D "which is on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio, is actually a Curtiss built P-47G. Curtiss used Chromate Green primer for the cockpit interior instead of the Dull Dark Green used by Republic...The cockpit in most P-47Gs was almost identical to to those in Republic built P-47D-10-RE razorbacks except the color of the paint."
1. P-47G cockpit detail. Although filed under P-47D at the hosting website, this cockpit matches the photographs of the example published in the book quoted above.
2. P-47G instruments as published in the book. "This photograph shows details of the instrument panel which remains almost completely intact.
3. P-47G rudder pedals. "Note the corrugated floor as compared to the smooth floor in the P-47D-30-RA."
4. P-47G cockpit front left. "Provides a good look at the throttle, control column, and the electrical distribution panel."
5. P-47G throttle quadrant.
6. P-47G cockpit's left, rear corner.
7. P-47G control stick.
8. P-47G cockpit's front, right corner.
9. P-47G cockpit's right, rear corner.
10. P-47G pilot's seat. "The design for the head rest and pilot's armor was different in the razorback Thunderbolts than on the later bubbletops."
III. P-47D-30-RA (Museum of Aviation, Warner Robins, Georgia)
According to P-47 Thunderbolt In Detail & Scale, "P-47D-30-RA, 44-32691, was in service at what is now Robins Air Force Base when it was taken off the line and placed directly in storage for the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Georgia. All details in the cockpit, including the Dark Dull Green color, remain exactly as they were when the aircraft was in service. This makes [this aircraft] very valuable as a historical record of the Thunderbolt's cockpit, because no restoration work has been done."
1. D-30 instrument panel.
2. P-47D-30 Mk.VIII gunsight. "Details of the reflector gun sight are visible here. Note also the back-up ring sight mounted on the reflector unit."
3. P-47D-30 control stick. "The control column and rudder pedals were also Dull Dark Green. Note that the floor is smooth rather than being corrugated."
4. P-47D-30 cockpit, left side. "The throttle quadrant and electrical distribution box are the major items on this side along with the trim wheels."
5. P-47D-30 cockpit, right side. "The right side of the cockpit was less cluttered. Thunderbolts built by both Republic lines left the factory with cockpits painted Dull Dark Green rather than Chromate Green used by Curtiss."
6. P-47D-30 seat's headrest. "The top of the pilot's armor and head rest are visible here. The head rest was often black as shown here, but in other cases could be brown or gray."
7. P-47D-30 pilot's seat. "The seat was also painted the Dull Dark Green color. Note that teh shoulder straps are off-white, while the lap belts are khaki."
8. P-47D-30 lap belts. "The pilot sat on his parachute which also served as a cushion in the seat bucket."
IV. P-47M (Yanks Air Museum, Chino, California)
According to P-47 Thunderbolt In Detail & Scale, "The Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California, has a beautifully restored P-47M-1-RE. The paint used in the cockpit matches what factory fresh Dull Dark Green would have looked like."
1. P-47M left instrument panel. Aircraft has a K-14 gunsight.
2. P-47M instrument panel. "The instrument panel in the P-47M was very similar to that in late P-47Ds."
3. P-47M control stick. "The floor in the P-47M was without corrugations."
4. P-47M cockpit, left side. "Most items on the side of the cockpit remain as they had been on the late P-47Ds."
5. P-47M cockpit, right side.