Roger Anthony Freeman (1928–2005)

My copy of this book is a 1992 Arms and Armor Press printing of the 1978 original title. At 152 pages this book is a bit of a cross between a Detail and Scale publication and some of the later and voluminous Schiffer specific aircraft offerings. I had mixed feelings about what Freeman provides his readers, but in the end I felt it was well worth the read.

The author provides an "About This Book" page and an introduction. Seventeen numbered chapters follow, although I think that from Chapter 13 onward the pages would be better described as appendices as they give a lot of technical and statistical information. The book is logically arranged chronologically, with Freeman switching back and forth between developmental/production history and operational history through Chapter 11. Chapter 12 provides three pilot evaluations of the aircraft. Chapter 13 gives engineering and performance data for each Thunderbolt production block, along with the production changes unique to that block, one or two photographs of aircraft from the block, and the USAAF serials assigned to the block. The chapter also provides three-view drawings of several "razorback" P-47D production blocks and side view drawings of each major P-47 variant. Chapter 14 is a one page note on P-47 production details, while Chapter 15 has text and photographs of the beating heart of the Thunderbolt, Pratt & Whitney's R-2800 engine. Chapter 16 speaks to the Thunderbolts supplied to America's allies during the war, while Chapter 17 enumerates the various operational units equipped with the fighter, their dates of service, their theater of combat, and the model of P-47 supplied.

I have to admit that I felt a bit deflated after finishing this book in light of the contrast with the author's contemporary "The Mighty Eighth" series, but a re-reading of the "About This Book" page set me straight. In that page Freeman speaks to the book being a research project started in 1970, and he mentions that there were several areas of the Thunderbolt story where little documentation is available. Given that widespread declassification of WWII records did not take place until the following decade, it is understandable that Freeman had trouble finding research material. What research material the author did find he noted in his "About This Book" page. Freeman evidently found some Republic corporate documents, some unit histories, and Warren Bodie magazine articles, which are perhaps one step removed from oral histories. There are no footnotes or endnotes, so it is difficult to say what parts of the book came from where. Readers may be thankful for what little Freeman gives them, for in researching the Republic company in Wikipedia, I discovered that Republic was bought up into the Fairchild-Hiller Corporation in 1965. Sadly, twenty years later, the Wiki article revealed that Fairchild-Hiller destroyed the Republic Company archives in 1987.

In the end I gave "Thunderbolt" four stars, more for its modelers' value than anything else. The profusion of photographs throughout the book and the information in Chapter 13 in particular make the book a valuable modeling reference. It is not, however, the definitive story of Republic's heavyweight fighter.… (mere)

This volume is an excellent companion to "The Mighty Eighth", providing useful information that would have made the original book too unwieldy. Freeman explains in some detail how the 8AF went about its bloody business, describing the various organizations and suborganizations such as combat wing, bomber group, and fighter group, and then he proceeds to outline how a bombardment mission or fighter escort mission actually took place. The author explains how the various parts of the bomber/fighter group operated and the development of the organizations and the missions between 1942 and 1945.

In the next section of the book Freeman gives a great account of the Eigth's various aircraft, describing them in detail down to the production block level. There is much useful information for the modeler in these pages as one can trace how specific aircraft were equipped at various times in the war. So if a modeler is trying to depict a specific aircraft, with Freeman's help they should be able to build it to the correct specification.

Next, the author talks about the armament and equipment of the Eighth, from machine guns and cannon, through bombs, guided weapons, radios, bomb sights, bombing radars, flying equipment, and ground equipment. These descriptions, although brief, were far more coherent than the assemblage of manuals and reports pieced together by William Wolf in his U.S. Aerial Armament in World War II series.

Finally, Freeman talks about the bases that sprang up all over the UK for 8AF units, especially in the southeast. He usefully provides airfield maps for 64 sites, which makes for fascinating discovery when used in conjunction with Google Earth, although I had trouble with some locations in reconciling map with actually overhead imagery.… (mere)

I consider this work to be the gold standard for World War II unit histories. Freeman has given us a fabulous gift of remembrance for the hundreds of thousands of men and woment who served and sacrificed with the U.S. Eighth Air Force.

This book is extremely well-written with good editing, artwork, and photographs, all of which contribute to the excellent readability of the volume. The author proceeds in a roughly chronological fashion, alternating accounts of 8AF bomber and fighter organizational and operational histories until late in the book, when the accounts tend to blend into a single chronological line, which resembles what actually happened in the course of 8AF operations in 1944 and 1945.

The author is British, which accounts for the very respectful and positive accounts of the 8AF's most trying times. Mr. Freeman could not have done much better.

This book must be consulted for the painting and marking of any 8AF aircraft as the author provides these details as appendices in the book.… (mere)