Those of you who have ever had the opportunity to read a book from Histoire & Collections realize that these are among the best in the industry. They just happen to be written in French. So it is with this latest edition in their 'Les materiels De l'Armee De L'Air' series on the P-47Thunderbolt.

Now this isn't your standard Thunderbolt history book as it is strictly concerned with its use in the French air force, a period that spanned from 1944 to 1960, making the French possibly the longest user of the type in Europe.

The book is subdivided into two sections; one on its wartime use and the other, much larger section on post-war operations. Each section covers the units which operated the type in the order that they received the aircraft. A color image of the unit badge is also part of this coverage.

As you can imagine, the book is just full of images of these planes, each batch of images corresponding with the unit's historical section. Most images are black and white, though there are some superb color photos of the planes in the later years of its use as well as a goodly smattering of excellent color profiles drawn by Nicolas Gohin.

Since this is pretty much a photo book, the language barrier is minimal and if one reads closely enough, one can pretty well figure out what is being said. After all, most of the English language is derived from the French.

Overall, it is an outstanding book on the type and makes for an excellent reference for the enthusiast and modeler alike. You will not be disappointed.

October  2007

Review book courtesy of  Casemate Publishing, where you can order your copy of this and many other superb books.

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