Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

by Richard A. Franks

Valiant Wings Publishing
Airframe and Miniature No. 25

Reviewed by Graham Carter

This is the latest in this popular series of modelling and technical books and follows the two-part coverage of the P-51 Mustangs. This is another large edition, with 288 A4 pages, well bound with a glossy card cover and printed on quality glossy paper that allows excellent reproduction of images and drawings. The cover is adorned with a Jerry Boucher commissioned  illustration of  P-47D ”Carol Ann” flown by Col Morgan Magoffin of 362nd FG n 1944. There is much to appeal to the historian and technically-minded person as well as the modeller, with many pages devoted to builds by Libor Jekl and Steve A Evans in the popular scales as well as a listing of available kits and accessories.

Following the familiar path, the volume begins with a Preface and introduction of some forty pages covering the story of the development of the Thunderbolts in both Razorback and bubble-top forms and their usage by a number of forces as well as the US. B&W photos illustrate most of these.

Chapter 1 is six pages of the Evolution of the prototypes up to the P-47C, followed by fifteen pages on the P-47D to M models and then a further four pages devoted to the long-range P-47N models. These changes and the bewildering alpha-numeric nomenclature of different models are illustrated with port-side sketches by Juraj Jankovic.

Next comes Chapter 4 of 47 pages of info on Camouflage and Markings which provides information and photos or colour drawings by Richard Caruana of the schemes worn by examples from most users. These start with the Olive Drab over Neutral Grey scheme and move through the variety of colours and NMF schemes, as well as the later grey&green and two-blues and including the very colourful squadron and individual markings carried by USAAF and USAF pilots. The invasion B&W striped ones are also covered. Several schemes are illustrated by colour images.

At the end of this chapter is a 1/48 drawing sheet showing the location of stencils on the airframe. Then there are some illustrations of schemes carried by non-US users: Brazil, Bolivia, Portugal, France, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Chile, China, Cuba, Iran, Italy, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, Russia and the UK. Quite a list.

Chapter 5 is devoted to a round-up of available kits in the major scales, and along with a handy table of airframe dimensions for each of the nineteen main variants and their sizes in each of the main scales. Each of the main available kits is described and an outline of any strengths or weaknesses is given. This will assist modellers to select the kit that best suits their skills and pockets.

There then follows Chapter 6, which covers builds by Libor Jekl of the Tamiya 1/72 USAAF P-47 Bubbletop kit as well as the earlier Razorback and the Academy Razorback in RAF service. Steve A Evans then builds the Dora Wings 1/48  P-47C with ferry tank kit and the Miniart P-47-30RE , finishing off with the Trumpeter 1/32 P-47D Razorback kit. All of these builds are well-illustrated and written and do point out a couple of ways to improve or tackle each kit.

Chapter 7 is 43 pages of ‘Building a Selection’ in which each variant is illustrated with an annotated sketch to point out the differences or special features of each, by Juraj Jankovic. And again I would request that some of these should be underside drawings to illustrate important features that do not show up in the upper three-quarter views provided.

Then Chapter 8 covers the In Detail with 62 pages containing sections on the engine, cockpit interiors, wings and control surfaces, undercarriage, armament, ordnance, electrical, ground equipment and miscellaneous bits and bobs. All of these are covered in some depth with clear detailed contemporary workshop manual drawings, B&W photos and some colour images of preserved aircraft. All photos have good captions and should be a boon for the super-detailer among modellers.

There are then four appendices covering, in alphabetic lists by scale, all of the kits that have been available, accessories, decals and a bibliography. At fifteen close spaces triple-columned pages an enormous amount of a lot of work has gone into compiling these lists and I commend the researchers for this task.

Inside the rear cover are the familiar scale drawings. In this case there are eight fold-out sheets showing the different variants in profile and then plan views of upper and lower surfaces, all in 1/48.

This really is a very useful volume that should be in every Thunderbolt modeller’s library, regardless of which scale one works in, and I recommend it whole-heartily. It brings together a great deal of information in a  single volume and therein lies its usefulness.

This really is an exceptionally useful volume that should be in every P-47 Thunderbolt modeller’s library, regardless of which scale one works in, or anyone with an interest in aviation history and technology. I recommend it wholeheartedly

Thanks to Valiant Wings Publishing for the sample.

Review Copyright © 2024 by Graham Carter
This Page Created on 24 December, 2024
Last updated 4 July, 2025

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