I said it at the start of the month that July was going to be Thunderbolt month and this month has definitely delivered. Here’s a fun recap of content that has come out or has been highlighted this month that feature the P-47 Thunderbolt from WWII!

A striking fighter

One of World War II’s most iconic fighters is the milk jug shaped P-47 Thunderbolt and the last little while has been really good for fans of the fighter. The Thunderbolt’s big, heavy, and imposing firepower have shown up in flight sims dating back decades now but this year we’ve seen what the latest in flight simulation physics, graphics and detailed research by their developers can do.

In June, Eagle Dynamics released the DCS: P-47D Thunderbolt for DCS World. It wasn’t until July, however, that I was able to check it out and what a great experience that was. Paired together with the new Channel Map for DCS, the P-47 has a growing playground of scenery to fly over and new targets to contend with. Hopefully we’ll see both the aircraft and the WWII scenario mature more in the near future.

Read my Early access review of the DCS: P-47D Thunderbolt

On July 8, 1CGS released patch 4.008 for IL-2: Great Battles and with it some great P-47 content. Starting with the release of the first Battle of Normandy aircraft in the form of the P-47D-22. This ‘Razorback’ version is a rarity in detailed simulation so it was a welcome addition to both the series and sims in general.

That wasn’t all as 1CGS went back through their reference materials and updated the flight model for both P-47’s in the sim improving the handling and addressing a few issues along the way. They also added 150 octane fuel to the equation for both aircraft providing a notable boost in low altitude performance giving fans of the fighter more to work with – especially in those deadly late war battles.

Read my first impressions of the IL-2: Battle of Normandy P-47D-22 here or check out ‘Thunderbolt Ascendant’ in the full review here.

Finally, the P-47D-28 in IL-2: Battle of Bodenplatte is getting some great new single player experiences in the form of the ‘Hell Hawks Over The Bulge’ Scripted Campaign. With 150 voice overs, just over a dozen missions, and plenty of historical research to back it up.

I had the pleasure of working with the campaign author to make the promo trailer for the campaign which saw me doing a lot of P-47 flying – further driving home the theme for July!

‘Hell Hawks Over The Bulge’ will release with patch 4.009 and is expected to arrive soon with the pre-order now available.

Having fun with it

Although the P-47 is not the easiest to fly in combat, it does represent one impressive fighter and one that I’m pleased to see has gotten quite a bit of attention recently from more than one flight simulator. July has been a good month for fans of this type and I count myself among them. More fun to be had in the future to be sure!