Republic P-47 Thunderbolt Vol I

Kagero has been turning out some very interesting and well-researched monographs on many subjects which have not been previously adequately covered.

This latest installment is Volume I of another favorite of mine, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. The cover art nicely depicts how many allied pilots and gunners might confuse the Focke Wulf Fw 190 and the P-47.

As with the other titles in this series, this P-47 Volume I starts off with the development and operations of the early versionst. The coverage includes:

• Introduction
• P-47 Development
• P-47 Thunderbolt in Combat - Europe 1943

Upon completion of the text (presented side-by-side in Polish and English), the title provides some very nice drawings of the early P-47s. These include the P-47B, P-47C, P-47G, and the P-47D - all the Razorbacks, as well as a few of the early bubbletops. These diagrams are all presented in 1/48 and 1/72 scales. Color profiles are included for 21 aircraft, not surprising that the majority of which are of 56th Fighter Group subjects since this unit was the main user of the type in Europe. Coverage ends with five nice color photos of P-47s from the 56th FG.

A sheet of Techmod decals is also provided with the markings from selected color profiles in both 1/72 and 1/48 scale. These include:

• P-47C-5-RE, 41-6332, 61 FS/56 FG, HV-M
• P-47D-5-RE, 42-8487, 63 FS/56 FG, UN-M
• P-47D-21-RE, 42-25512, 62 FS/56 FG, LM-Q

The aviation historian and modeler alike will want to add this to their reference libraries - especially considering the VERY reasonable retail price! This title is highly recommended!

My sincere thanks to Squadron Mail Order for this review sample!