P-47 Thunderbolt Aces of the Eighth Air Force
The US aviation industry produced three great fighter designs to equip its burgeoning army air force during World War 2, and of this trio, Republic's P-47 Thunderbolt was easily the heaviest.
Powered, crucially, by a turbocharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine that produced 2000 hp, the first production fighters reached the 56th FG in June 1942, and six months later the group joined the Eighth Air Force in Britain.
This book charts the way combat tactics evolved in units like the 56th and 78th FGs, and pilots learnt how best to fly the Thunderbolt in order to effectively counter the more nimble Luftwaffe fighters.
Jerry Scutts has worked in the field of aviation publishing since the late 1960s, writing over 40 books that have covered a broad spectrum of subject matter ranging from US Navy floatplane fighters in World War 2 to the exploits of the USAF's Phantom IIs over Vietnam. His first book for Osprey Publishing was in 1977, and he has been a regular contributor to Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces series since its inception in 1994.
An airbrush artist with years of experience, Chris Davey has become Osprey Publishing's principal illustrator of RAF aircraft, having produced the profiles for over a dozen books since 1994. His work for Osprey includes Aircraft of the Aces 27 and 30, and Combat AIrcraft 14 and 19. He is particularly adept at 'big' aircraft like the Halifax and Sunderland.