Ebook: Wolfpack Warriors: The Story of World War II's Most Successful Fighter Outfit

"Beware the Thunderbolt!" With that motto, the pilots of the U.S. Eighth Air Force's 56th Fighter Group—also known as Zemke's Wolfpack—took to the skies above Europe in their P-47 Thunderbolt fighters, escorting bombers into Germany, dogfighting with the Luftwaffe, and conducting ground-attack missions. The first group to receive the P-47, the 56th pioneered aerial tactics and compiled a staggering record: 665.5 aerial kills, 311 ground kills, thirty-nine fighter aces with five or more kills, two Distinguished Unit Citations, eighteen Distinguished Service Crosses, and twenty-eight Silver Stars.