Legends of Warfare P-47 Thunderbolt

Published on
May 14, 2019
Review Author(s)
Book Author(s)
David Doyle
ISBN
987-0-7643-5673-5
MSRP
$193.99
Company: Schiffer Publishing - Website: Visit Site
Provided by: David Doyle Books - Website: Visit Site
Front Cover

Introduction

Among the iconic aircraft of World War II, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt not only was physically the biggest single-engine fighter, it also had and enormous impact on history.

P-47’s were flown by 132 US Army Air Force squadrons during the Second World War, but they were not flown only by Americans. The Aircraft also served with sixteen British Royal Air Force squadrons and four French squadrons, as well as Brazilian, Chinese, and Mexican squadrons attached to US units. The Soviet air force also prominently flew Thunderbolts, through the exact number of squadrons equipped with the massive fighter is uncertain.

The Author

David Doyle’s earliest published works appeared in periodicals aimed at the hobby of historic military vehicle restoration. By 1999 this included regular features in leading hobby publications, appearing regularly in US, English and Polish magazines. Since 2003, over 100 of his books have been published. Broadening his horizons from his initial efforts concerning vehicles, he soon added aircraft and warships to his research objectives.

Contents

The book is divided into eight chapters all covering specific variants and development of the P-47.

  • Chapter 1 - XP-47B
  • Chapter 2 - P-47B
  • Chapter 3 - P-47G
  • Chapter 4 - P-47 D and G Razorback
  • Chapter 5 - P-47D Bubbletop
  • Chapter 6 - XP-47E, XP-47F, XP-47H, XP-47J, and XP-47K
  • Chapter 7 - P-47M
  • Chapter 8 - P-47N

In the Book

The book is hard bound with 112 pages and full of archival photos of each P-47 variant discussed. Some of the pictures are black and white and some high definition color. Each chapter starts out by giving an overview of the variant covered in the chapter, with the biggest discussion about the P-47D model and about the Bubble top canopy.

I did not know until reading the book that the P-47 was modified for installation of a Chrysler XIV-220 inline engine with the variant becoming the P-47H. Also included are several period images of P-47’s and their crews. Most of the images are very clear and offer a lot of detail for the aircraft modeler.

The book is short on reading and long on associated photographs of the aircraft, my kind of book.

Summary

I had a limited knowledge of the P-47 Thunderbolt previously and thus the reason to request a review of this book. The subject was very well covered with history of the different variants and a section for detail images of different parts of the airplane.

If you are preparing to build a P-47 I recommend this book as a reference or if you just have an interest in the P-47.

I want to thank David Doyle and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to read and review the Legends of Warfare P-47 Thunderbolt book.

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