French Text The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is one of World War II fighters produced in the argest numbers. It is also one of largest and heaviest piston-engined single-seaters ever designed. Used massively by the United States, in the Pacific as well as in Europe, nearly 450 of the type were provided to France from 1943, which were used by the newly reconstructed Air Force not only in the last months of World War II, but they remained in service long enough to take part in the first operations of "law enforcement" in Algeria, as a close-support aircraft, thanks to its robustness and its great carrying capacity.