This latest volume of Pacific Profiles is on the P-P-47 in the South and Southwest Pacific theaters of operation. For those who don't know, these two areas run from Guadalcanal in the southern Solomons up to the border of Dutch New Guinea, which is about halfway east and west across the island of New Guinea. One of the major things pointed out in the beginning of the book is that the P-47 wasn't really suited to operations in this area. Much of this was due to the type's short range, which meant that it was unable to escort bombers on most missions. 

Typical of what happens in war, when records on both sides of the conflict are studied, their kill ratio was about 1:1. This was due to some fairly major overclaiming, an issue with both sides throughout the war. Secondly, the aircraft was fairly complex to maintain thanks to the turbocharging system. The airplane also had a fairly long take-off and landing run, meaning it could not operate from smaller fields. On the plus side, the radial engine meant that it was able to take damage to the engine and keep on flying. It was also well armed. An interesting fact is that no 'bubble top' P-47s operated in the South or South West Pacific. Those were not received until after units had moved farther north.

The book follows a standard format with each of the various units covered in greater or lesser detail, depending on how long they operated in theater. Each section shows the squadron's common markings and colors along with a number of great photos and profiles based on those photos as you can see by the example provided on the left. Each full color profile provides information on that particular aircraft. No lengthy pilot stories or background history on this as it concentrates on the aircraft and units involved in the conflict. In addition to photos and profiles, you are provided an introductory section on the plane and the theater of operations as well as some nice art work, the latter spread throughout the book.

It all makes for a superb reference book for the modeler and enthusiast and well worth the price of admission. I very much like this series and look forward to each new volume. Most highly recommended.

June 2023

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