B-25 Bomber - The Bloody 500. Remembering the 345th Bomb Group, The Air Apaches Of WW2

Video Description

The American 345th Bomb Group--the Air Apaches--was legendary in the war against Japan. The first fully trained and fully equipped group sent to the South Pacific, the 345th racked up a devastating score against the enemy. Armed to the teeth with machine guns and fragmentation bombs, and flying their B-25s at impossibly low altitudes--often below fifty feet--the pilots and air crews strafed and bombed enemy installations and shipping with a fury that helped cripple Japan. One of the sharpest tools in the U.S. arsenal, the 345th performed essential missions during Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s campaigns in New Guinea and the Philippines, earning an impressive four Distinguished Unit Citations. The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II, and after the war ended, many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 B-25s were built. These included several limited models such as the F-10 reconnaissance aircraft, the AT-24 crew trainers, and the United States Marine Corps PBJ-1 patrol bomber. The Air Corps issued a specification for a medium bomber in March 1939 that was capable of carrying a payload of 2,400 lb (1,100 kg) over 1,200 mi (1,900 km) at 300 mph (480 km/h) North American Aviation used its NA-40B design to develop the NA-62, which competed for the medium bomber contract. No YB-25 was available for prototype service tests. In September 1939, the Air Corps ordered the NA-62 into production as the B-25, along with the other new Air Corps medium bomber, the Martin B-26 Marauder "off the drawing board". Interior of huge aircraft factory where rows of bombers are being assembled North American B-25 Mitchell production in Kansas City in 1942 Early into B-25 production, NAA incorporated a significant redesign to the wing dihedral. The first nine aircraft had a constant dihedral, meaning the wing had a consistent, upward angle from the fuselage to the wingtip. This design caused stability problems. "Flattening" the outer wing panels by giving them a slight anhedral angle just outboard of the engine nacelles nullified the problem and gave the B-25 its gull-wing configuration. Less noticeable changes during this period included an increase in the size of the tail fins and a decrease in their inward tilt at their tops. After the war, the USAF placed a contract for the TB-25L trainer in 1952. This was a modification program by Hayes of Birmingham, Alabama. Its primary role was reciprocating engine pilot training. General characteristics Crew: 5 (one pilot, navigator/bombardier, turret gunner/engineer, radio operator/waist gunner, tail gunner) Length: 52 ft 11 in (16.13 m) Wingspan: 67 ft 7 in (20.60 m) Height: 16 ft 4 in (4.98 m) Wing area: 618 sq ft (57.4 m2) Airfoil: root: NACA 23017; tip: NACA 4409R Empty weight: 19,480 lb (8,836 kg) Max takeoff weight: 35,000 lb (15,876 kg) Powerplant: 2 × Wright R-2600-92 Twin Cyclone 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial piston engines, 1,700 hp (1,300 kW) each Performance Maximum speed: 272 mph (438 km/h, 236 kn) at 13,000 ft (4,000 m) Cruise speed: 230 mph (370 km/h, 200 kn) Range: 1,350 mi (2,170 km, 1,170 nmi) Service ceiling: 24,200 ft (7,400 m) Armament Guns: 12–18 × .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and 75 mm (2.95 in) T13E1 cannon Hardpoints: 2,000 lb (900 kg) ventral shackles to hold one external Mark 13 torpedo Rockets: racks for eight 5 in (127 mm) high-velocity aircraft rockets (HVAR) Bombs: 3,000 lb (1,360 kg) bombs Watch more aircraft, heroes, and their stories, and missions ➤ https://www.youtube.com/@Dronescapes To support/join the channel ➤ https://www.youtube.com/@Dronescapes/join IG ➤ https://www.instagram.com/dronescapesvideos FB ➤ https://www.facebook.com/Dronescapesvideos X/Twitter ➤ https://dronescapes.video/2p89vedj THREADS ➤ https://www.threads.net/@dronescapesvideos #aviation #bomber #aircraft