"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com wrote

Some years ago I climbed up on the wing of a P-47 parked outside of Sun
Aviation in Vero Beach, FL and peeked into the cockpit. The manifold pressure
gauge was redlined at 67", IIRC. I was *very* impressed.

Power came from the ubiquitous R-2800 P&W aircooled engine. That was one huge
airplane... must have been about 2/3 the size of a B-17.

The first time I saw a P-47, it was taxing at our local airshow, just a few feet
away. I too was impressed at the immense bulk of the plane.

I thought to myself, that it was remarkable that it flew as well as it did!
Once again, it is proven that if you put enough HP on a brick, you can make it
fly!

That engine had a two speed supercharger, didn't it? As I recall, the impeller
is almost as large as the crankcase of the engine, and is located at the back of
the engine, in line with the crankcase. Huge, in-other-words!
--
Jim in NC