The last example of the P-47B series (41-6065) was converted during
manufacture in September 1942 as the XP-47E with a pressurized cockpit
and a hinged canopy. However, increased emphasis on low-level
operations over Europe lead to the cancellation of plans to introduce
this pressurized Thunderbolt into production.
Sources:
-
American Combat Planes, Ray Wagner, Third Enlarged Edition, Doubleday,
1982.
-
The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion Books,
1987.
-
War Planes of the Second World War, Fighters, Volume Four, William
Green, Doubleday 1964.
-
United States Military Aircraft since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and
Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.
-
The Republic P-47D Thunderbolt, Aircraft in Profile, Edward Shacklady,
Doubleday, 1969.
-
Famous Fighters of the Second World War, Volume I, William Green,
1967.
-
Thunderbolt: A Documentary History of the Republic P-47, Roger
Freeman, Motorbooks, 1992.