I don't know what a 'master rod' is, but I've read a LOT of accounts of P-47s (and other radial engine aircraft) coming home with entire cylinders shot off the engine.

That type of durability typically does not apply to in-line engines.

The master rod is a solid rod with a piston on one end. The other end is split and holds the other pistons yet rides around the crankshaft. These pistons are the ones that pivot off the the connecting rod.

Short video

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I don't know what a 'master rod' is ...

If a bullet or shell takes out this rod, the whole engine would stop working.

Radial engine (Wikipedia)