Osprey Publishing

RAF Mustang and Thunderbolt Aces

by  Andrew Thomas with art by Chris Davey

Reviewed By  Howie Belkin, IPMS #16

MSRP: $22.95 ISBN: 978 1 84603 979 9 Website: www.ospreypublishing.com Soft cover 7.25"x 9.75" 100 pages including color covers, 36 color side views plus black and white photos throughout The tale is legend that the British recognized the potential the Mustang had, if hitched to the magical Merlin engine produced by Rolls-Royce. Author Andrew Thomas, credits Rolls-Royce Chief Test Pilot Ronald Harker with that spark of genius. It should be no surprise then, that 13 R.A.F. pilots became aces flying the Mustang, and another 26 also became V1 aces. An additional "27 aces achieved at least part of their scores in Mustangs or Thunderbolts." What did come as a surprise to me was that the Thunderbolt "was used by the R.A.F. exclusively against the Japanese in Burma, where its range, firepower and ruggedness were much appreciated…" I'd have thought the Mustang's extraordinary range, which made it so valuable escorting bombers over Germany, would have made it especially valuable over the great expanse of the Pacific theatre. In fact, the R.A.F. considered the P-47's range with drop tanks, more than adequate for the job. They were land based rather than island based, and by mid-1944 when P-47s began to replace Hurricanes, the Japanese Army Air Force "had almost been swept from the skies of Burma." Nevertheless, Thunderbolts knocked Japanese aircraft out of the sky whenever the occasion arose, and gallantly performed their tasks of long range bomber escort and ground support. Most of them were painted in Green-and-Earth camouflage, with theatre markings. Group Commander and ace Frank Carey flew an all black P-47 Mk II with a bold red thunderbolt along its fuselage along with additional red trim. The Razorback was designated Mark I by the R.A.F., the Bubble canopy Mark II. The first Mustang kill was obtained by RCAF Flg Off. Hollis Hills, an American, in an Mk I over Dieppe. Mustangs were successfully flown by British, Commonwealth and Allied pilots, including one armed ace James Maclachlan, Australian Max Bell, New Zealander ‘Jerry' Westenra, and Polish ace W. Potocki. No. 126 Sqn C.O. Norwegian Arne Austeen's "loss was the last suffered by an ace in an RAF Mustang in combat," occurring on May 4th, days before the German surrender. No. 112 Squadron carried over its trademark sharksmouth onto its Mustang Mk IIIs noses, as exemplified by Sgt. Arthur Banks who would earn the George Cross. Flt. Lt. Warren Peglar was the most successful RCAF Mustang pilot, having also become an 8th Air Force ace while attached to the 354th FS, having occasion to fly "The Iowa Beaut". Perhaps one of the Mustangs most famous escapades was when ace and Squadron Leader Dziubek Horbaczweski landed and rescued WO T. Tamowicz. While there are many profiles of camouflaged Mustangs from colorful pilots (including P-51D or Mk IVs), there are also ‘colorful' natural metal finish Mk IVs. For example, the cover illustration shows Norwegian ace, LtCol Werner Christie, in his nmf Mk IV marked with his WHC initials, red spinner and Sqn Leader pennant making "the last aerial kill credited to an ace flying an RAF Mustang." It shows a weathered natural metal, rather than the difficult to model pristine metal finish. Its RAF prop warning yellow leading edges will make this a model that ‘pops' out of the crowd of ‘ordinary' finished Mustangs. One of the most colorful nmf P-51D/Ks (Mk IV) that Matchbox featured in 1/72nd and Airfix in 1/24th, as well as other manufacturers, was "Dooleybird." It was not mentioned in the excellent narrative nor was it among the 36 profiles. One lesson I teach during judging, is that if a model is built THAT GOOD, then any glaring "mistake" is probably NOT a mistake. I went online and discovered that "on 7th September 1945, the squadron moved to Molesworth at which time one of the pilots was Fit. Lt. Joe Dooley who named his aircraft 'Dooleybird'." It didn't explain whether Dooley was an ace or not (he's not listed in any of the appendix lists), but the fact that his markings were postwar would preclude inclusion in this book. The 19 Sqn checkerboard nose band is a tip-off of postwar markings. It's also a tip-off that the author did not make a mistake! This book is highly recommended and could stand as a modeler's primary reference book on RAF Mustang and Thunderbolt aces. Every aviation history buff will enjoy the thoroughly researched, well written narrative. Like all the excellent Osprey books, they're a little pricey for soft covered books but jam packed cover to cover and well worth the investment. Available in better hobby shops and bookstores or go to www.ospreypublishing.com. Many thanks to Kerry Serini of Osprey Publishing for the review copy.