Disassembly/Reassembly Of the Whitney Wolverine

During World War II, Robert L. Hillberg worked for Republic Aviation, the manufacturer of the P-47 Thunderbolt. A fighter-bomber nicknamed "Jug" by its pilots, the rugged plane could take quite a pounding and still return safely to base. The P-47 packed eight Browning 50-caliber machine guns, four mounted on each side of its somewhat elliptical wing. Hillberg was given the responsibility for fitting the big guns plus their ammo into the limited space available. He learned a great deal about lightweight aluminum alloys in the process. When he left Republic after the war, he joined High Standard Manufacturing as head of research and development. Shortly thereafter, High Standard became the first firearm company to employ aluminum alloys commercially.

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