Why This Fighter Plane Was Unkillable

The German pilot had almost used up his ammo. The P-47 Thunderbolt ahead of him should have been falling from the sky. His wingmen had already made two passes, their twenty-millimeter cannons tearing into the massive American fighter. He pulled closer. Through the oil-smeared cockpit, the American pilot was still fighting the controls of a smoking airframe with over 200 holes. Another burst from his wingman went right into the engine. The propeller stuttered, caught, and stuttered again. He'd seen Spitfires fold from half this damage. Mustangs turned into fireballs. But this seven-ton monster kept grinding through the sky. While every other nation built dogfighting dancers, the Americans had built a bulldozer with wings. --- Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between. As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.