Histoire & Collections / Casemate Publications

Les Materials de l'Armee de L'Aire P-47 Thunderbolt Francais

by  Sebastian Guilleman

Reviewed By  Brian R. Baker, IPMS# 43146

MSRP: $19.95 ISBN: 2-915239-90-8 ISBN 13: 978-291523990-4 Paperback, 64 pages, 150 b/w & 50 color images Thanks to Casemate Publications for the review copy (www.casematepublishing.com) THE BOOK This book contains a lot of useful information on the Republic P-47D in French L'Armee de L'Aire service during and after World War II. Although it is written in French, the average American could probably decipher the meaning and content of most of the information presented because English and French are pretty closely related (remember 1066, the Norman Conquest, although the Normans were basically Danish) and most of the words are similar and easily interpreted. At least it is not written in Japanese. The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, of which over 13,000 were built, was one of the major U.S. fighters of World War II, and became an excellent close support fighter bomber in addition to its qualities as a pure air-superiority and escort fighter. The fact that the 56th Fighter Group refused to relinquish them for P-51's late in the war shows that it was popular with at least some of its pilots. As the USAAF began to phase them out in late 1944 in favor of the P-51, P-47's became available to our allies, and many were distributed to Italy, Mexico, and Brazil, as well as 500 to 600 given to the French to replace their ageing P-39's, P-40's and p-38's. Later, many others were exported to other countries, and the type served on in U.S. Air National Guard units until the early fifties. The first few French P-47D's were early model "razorbacks", but most were the later model P-47D-25 and later block numbers with the all-around 'clear vision" bubble canopy. A few of the early versions are illustrated, but most coverage is devoted to the more numerous later models. These aircraft were in French service from 1944 until 1960, when they were finally retired. The book tells the story of the initial acquisition of P-47's and their use against the German holdouts who were bypassed during the Normandy invasion. The authors list the various combat and training units, as well as the mechanics schools that used the type. The photos are excellent, and most have not been published before to my knowledge. One page of 1/72 and 1/144 scale drawings illustrate both major variants, and no less than 24 color profiles and at least 16 color photos appear in the text. These are consistent in quality with other Histoire & Collections publications that I have seen; that is, excellent. This book should definitely be on your list for prospective purchase if you are interested in French P-47's, although I would suspect that an English version is probably in the works, since their other publications all seem to have English editions. In French, however, it is still useful and highly recommended. Now get out those French decals and get to work! Thanks to Casemate Publications and IPMS/USA for the review copy. Order from Casemate, 1016 Warrior Road, Drexel Hill, PA 19026. Phone is 1-610-853-9131 or 1-610-853-9146. Website: www.casematepublishing.com.

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