I just picked a few great books on WWII airplanes, from fighters to bombers to jets to interceptors, etc. I figured its time that we learn something about a plane every other week or so.
Why?
Why not?!
You're not flying the plane because you want to be the best, you fly it because it has piqued your interest at one point and all you know about it is how it flies, its weapons loadout, range, and so on.
This up is my personal favorite, the B-25. Lets take a looksee:
Built by the North American Company, the B-25 Mitchell was classified as a medium bomber/gunship. Originally a level bomber with a bombardier in the front bubble cockpit, the USAAF realized a lot of the missions the B-25 was assigned was low-level. Out came the bombardier and in went a battery of 12 50 caliber machine guns in the nose with .50's on either side of the fuselage. The concentration of 12 .50's was perfect for the B-25's role of anti-ship and ground attack missions.
The B-25 made its combat debut on Christmas Eve of 1941 when it sank a Japanese submarine. The Pacific Theater was where the B-25 would excel wonderfully, with one B-25H managing to take down a Japanese destroyer with 7 shots of its 75mm cannon. B-25's would also skip bomb (which I think should be in the game) at low level against enemy ships. Still approaching the ship, the B-25 would fire its guns on the ship to keep the gunner's heads down while it pulled away from the ensuing blast. Other types of missions the B-25 would sortie was parachute bombing runs, which allowed the B-25 to bomb at low level without taking damage from the bomb explosions. These type of raids were perfect against airfields as the low altitude and fast speed of the B-25 allowed it to escape most anti-aircraft fire while destroying hangars and planes on the ground.
Early in the war, the B-25 was actually faster than most planes in a dive but as the war went on this became less common as an evasive maneuver. Defensive armament for the B-25 consisted of a tail gunner, two waist gunners and a dorsal turret. The B-25J variant allowed the dorsal turret to be locked forward for additional guns to fire on the target.
B-25's were known for their rugged construction and sturdy airframe. One famous B-25, the Ava Maria, finished 103 missions in the Italian Theater, which was an impressive feat considering the anti-air defense in that area. B-25's would go on to be used as trainers well into the 50's. The B-25 saw action not only in Europe and the Pacific, but also in Russia and North Africa. Of the 10,000 B-25's built, Russia used 870 of them, the British nabbed 910 and the rest was used by the good ol' USAAF.
So next time you up in this twin-engined sweetie, take note of its past and what is has down in World War Two and fly it to its best ability!
