How much fuel did the P-47 burn?

Short answer

The Thunderbolts burned 200,504,000 gallons of fuel. The type logged 1,352,810 hours of combat flight time. Internal tanks held 305 US gallons (1,155 L), and total fuel load rose to 595 gallons (2,252 L) with external tanks.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Curtiss P-40E Warhawk (Kittyhawk IA)

Total consumption

The P-47 Thunderbolt consumed 200,504,000 gallons of fuel. The type logged 1,352,810 hours of combat flight time. In those operations it dropped 132,482 tons of bombs.

One aircraft's tanks

The main and auxiliary tanks, both self-sealing, sat beneath the cockpit and gave a total fuel capacity of 305 US gallons (254 imp gal; 1,155 L). With external tanks, total fuel load rose to 595 US gallons (2,252 L; 495 imp gal). With that load, maximum range was 1,800 mi (2,897 km) at 10,000 ft (3,048 m).

What that fuel was for

The Thunderbolt flew twice as many sorties and dropped 2,010% more tonnage than any other Allied fighter. Its crews shot down 3,752 enemy aircraft and destroyed more than 2,800 on the ground. The fighter ended the war with a 4.6:1 kill ratio. Between D-Day and V-E Day, its pilots claimed the destruction of 86,000 railcars, 9,000 locomotives, 6,000 armored fighting vehicles, and 68,000 trucks. Its .50-caliber machine guns fired through more than 135,000 ammunition belts.