The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was the most important tactical fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft of the USAAF in Western Europe. Following the landing in Normandy, Allied engineers quickly established makeshift field airfields (Advanced Landing Grounds) behind the front lines, from which P-47 squadrons both escorted bombers and attacked ground and supply targets. The photograph was taken in the context of Jack Lieb’s coverage of Allied forces from the invasion coast into the hinterland and documents the rapidly established Allied air superiority over the Normandy front.