P-47D Thunderbolt Vs Ki-43-II Oscar

by Michael John Claringbould

ISBN: 9781472840912

Published: 2020-08-04

An extensively researched and accurate examination of the eight-month confrontation between two key World War II fighter planes in New Guinea. Although New Guinea's Thunderbolt pilots faced several different types of enemy aircraft in capricious tropical conditions, by far their most common adversary was the Nakajima Ki-43-II Hayabusa, codenamed “Oscar” by the Allies. These two opposing fighters were the products of two radically different design philosophies. The Thunderbolt was heavy, fast, and packed a massive punch thanks to its battery of eight 0.50-cal machine guns, while the “Oscar” was the complete opposite in respect to fighter design philosophy--lightweight, nimble, maneuverable, and lightly armed. It was, nonetheless, deadly in the hands of an experienced pilot. The Thunderbolt commenced operations in New Guinea with a series of bomber escort missions in mid-1943, and its firepower and superior speed soon saw Fifth Air Force fighter command deploying elite groups of...