Review by Martin Koenigsberg
By the time we get to Volume 12 of the Pacific Profiles series, the Allies are totally ascendant. 1945 brings the P-51 and F-6 Mustang to the Pacific War theater, fresh of its role in ending the Luftwaffe. Kenney’s Fifth Air Force in the South Pacific would work up to ten Squadrons of Mustangs, both fighters and reconnaissance . Michael John Claringbould, the master of the South Pacific Air war , is your guide as we meet each unit, usually a former P-47 outfit, as they transition to the sleeker Mustang. Then we get to see photos and silhouette schemes of as many of the aircraft as the author feels confident in showing. These guys dominated the skies over the Philippines, and could get as far as Formosa in the last days of the war. The US Army Air Corps – soon to become an independent USAF, had chosen the P-51 over the P-47 at the end of the war- focused as they were on Air Superiority. In fact, at the end of the War, having achieved air superiority, what they really needed was ground attack air support- where the radial engines of the P-47 would have been hardier under antiaircraft fire. The same thing was to happen in Korea, where the USAF would send P-51s again- jets having taken the Air Superiority mission- and use them largely for ground attack. Of course- even playing out of position, the P-51 still performed well- but those Jugs would have come in real handy. Claringbould actually tracks the Squadrons out to 1948- so early Cold War readers are forewarned. There are few adult themes and no graphic injury passages, so this is a good book for the Junior Reader over 10/11 year interested in Aviation. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, this is a useful look at a type people forget fought in the Pacific. The gamer has several squadron histories to mine for scenarios/campaign ideas. The Gamer/ Modeler gets all those great silhouette schemes for build/diorama development. The Military Enthusiast gets to think about the lesser known story of an Iconic airframe in wholly different part of WWII. It’s a well presented project that will demand attention.
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