The P-47 Thunderbolt originally designed as a high-altitude interceptor became the principal US fighter-bomber of World War II. First adapted to the ground attack role by units of the Twelfth Air Force in early 1944 the strength & durability of the P-47 airframe along with its massive size earned it the nickname Juggernaut which was quickly shortened to Jug throughout the MTO & ETO. By October 1943 with the creation of the Fifteenth Air Force nearly half of the Twelfths fighter groups would be retasked with strategic escort missions leaving six groups to perform close air support & interdiction missions throughout the entire Mediterranean theatre. The groups inflicted incredible damage on the enemys transport routes in particular using rockets bombs napalm & machine-gun rounds to down bridges blow up tunnels & strafe trains. Myriad first-hand accounts & period photography reveal the spectacular success enjoyed by the Thunderbolt in the MTO in the final year of the war.