Squadrons! No.2 - The Republic Thunderbolt Mk.I Book Review
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | April 2015 | Title | Squadrons! No.2 - The Republic Thunderbolt Mk.I |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Phil Listemann | Publisher | Philedition |
| Published | 2014 | ISBN | 978-2918590-36-1 |
| Format | 40 pages, softbound | MSRP (USD) | $13.95 |
Review
Phil Listemann has released a new series of monographs under the Squadrons! banner. In Volume 2, the author looks at the Republic P-47D Thunderbolt in RAF service. The Thunderbolt Mk.I was comprised of three production blocks from Republic consisting of blocks 15, 21, and 22. With the exception of a few test and evaluation airframes, these aircraft were allocated to the Far East squadrons to replace the war-weary Hurricanes.
This title looks at the RAF's strategy to transition the various squadrons in the Pacific theater with minimum impact on combat operations before embarking at a look squadron-by-squadron how each performed with the Thunderbolt in combat. Each squadron is documented with an operational summary along with the vital statistics of combat operations. In addition, this title is nicely illustrated with photos of the Thunderbolt in the colors and markings of the various RAF, RAAF, and RNZAF squadrons. Three color profiles are also included in this title.
Check out this and other titles offered by this author on his RAF-in-Combat website.
My sincere thanks to Phil H. Listemann for the review sample.