Stars and Stripes picture of Dad waving planes off. P-47 pilots could not see over the nose when sitting on the ground and the flag man was there to let them know when the flight ahead got off the ground. That is an auxiliary fuel tank on the belly, not much ground clearance. The P-47 had four .50 caliber machine guns in each wing. My guess is that is a 500 pound bomb. I blew the photo up and the bomb has writing on it, "With love from Butch, this 'n kill ya'l" (ya'l is southern for "Youse guys")
The picture where I got the names of the crew.
LT Bill Collins and Crew Chief SSG Selby
Pratt and Whitney R-2800-21 Engine
This type of engine was used in the Republic P-47. Rated at 2,000 horsepower for take-off. Many contractors built engines under license during WWII. This engine was built by Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, MI.
courtesy US Air Force Museum-Wright Patterson AFB