Kearby's Thunderbolts

Book excerpt: The 348th Fighter Group was the most successful P-47 Thunderbolt unit in the Pacific. Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Neel Kearby took an aircraft that was generally despised in the southwest Pacific and made it into the terror of the skies over such formidable targets as Wewak on New Guinea, and Cape Gloucester on New Britain. Besides the redoubtable Kearby, the 348th aces included William "Dinghy" Dunham, Bob Rowland, Bill Banks, John Moore, Sam Blair, and George Davis, the Texas ace who would later receive the Medal of Honor in Korea. Ending the war in P-51 Mustangs, the 348th ranged over the Japanese homeland - completing their impressive record and honor, and the drive begun by the illustrious Kearby. John Stanaway is also the author of Attack and Conquer: The 8th Fighter Group in World War II: Possum, Clover & Hades: The 475th Fighter Group in World War II; The Operational Story of Lockheed's Lucky Star (all three titles are available from Schiffer Publishing Ltd.).