Though a bit out of sequence, the latest of Squadron's In Action series is on the P-47 Thunderbolt. Perhaps one of the more well known and more widely modeled aircraft of WWII, the P-47 was a big change from the norm when it came to fighter aircraft. Instead of slim, light, and powered by an in-line liquid cooled engine, the P-47 was large, relatively heavy and powered by a turbocharged, twin-row radial engine.

Since it was so large, it could carry a heavy armament of eight .50 caliber machine guns as well as all the ducting required for the turbocharger. It was this latter item that meant it could operate at relatively high altitudes and escort bombers. Trouble was that it didn't have much range. This was something that was not properly dealt with until midway through production when it was finally decided to add wing pylons so it could carry additional fuel tank (and bomb, should the need arise). Eventually, the P-47 was replaced in the escort role by the much more suited P-51 Mustang the the Thunderbolt was used almost exclusively as a ground attack aircraft in the last year of the war.

As with all production aircraft, there were many variants produced, some of which stayed experimental and some which entered production. One which saw production and use in the Pacific was the P-47N. This aircraft had been redesigned with larger and longer wings, which allowed even more fuel to be carried in the wings themselves and allowed the P-47 to have the range to escort B-29s to Japan from bases in the Pacific. While the B-29s operated from islands in the Marianas, the Thunderbolts were able to operate from much closer bases on Ie Shima (Iejima). The Thunderbolt did not last long after the war with the last unit operating them disposing of their planes by 1950. The Thunderbolt, which would have been perfect for ground attack in Korea, was not used due to a lack of spare parts. 

Typical of the genre, this edition contains a bevy of well chosen photographs, some which are old faithfuls and some which are new to your reviewer. What I really liked were all the color photos that are in this edition, none of which are warbirds but all operational planes. We get the usual development history as well as drawings of the major models and of the differences between the sub-types. All the experimental versions are covered as well making this a very handy reference. Well worth picking up.

June 2014

My thanks to Squadron Products for the review copy. Get yours today at your favorite shop or on-line retailer. Squadron's web site doesn't list the soft back version as of this writing, so here is a link to the hard back.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.