B-25 Bomber - The Bloody 500. Remembering the 345th Bomb Group, The Air Apaches Of WW2
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- Опубликовано: 18 дек 2023
- 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
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I like your videos.
Field modifications in PNG was the beginning of the gunship, i.e., Spooky. These were unauthorized until proven effective. Then word was sent to NA engineers to redesign in support of those now approved mods, such as adding additional bulkheads or gun ports.
Some field mods didn't work out. Such as wing mounted rocket pods which burned off control surfaces.
The parachute bomblette was invented in this way. This to prevent following aircraft from receiving shrapnel.
The B-25 was the first gunship. Direct lineage to Spooky to Puff to AC-130s today.
Proudest achievement of my Dad''s life was to pilot one of these. He was deemed too old for the Army Air Corp at first. They didn't want to take him because he was "too old" (at 27) and had a child. They called him "Pops" in his group. He did his training at Garner Army Air Field in Uvalde, Tx. He said that with the engines just outside the cabin you couldn't hear yourself scream. I still have his silver wings and his dress uniform.
My father a B 25 pilot suffered hearing loss in his 5o’s and he claimed it was from his hours flying mission in Burma.
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My dad was in the Army Air Corps and had been discharged in early 1941. In February 1942, he got a letter from his favorite uncle in Washington "inviting" him to come back into the new Army Air Force. He was 34 and was called "Grampaw" by the guys he flew with. He was a B-25 gunner and the group was flying anti-submarine patrols out of Alameda Naval Air Station near Oakland. One day, the plane was diving after what was probably a neutral whale and Dad's eardrums ruptured. There being a war on so he wasn't discharged but was grounded and made a supply sergeant in the same outfit. He didn't mind because a lot of aircrew didn't come back. Dad lost lots of friends. He didn't talk much about experiences in the war, but did say that being a supply sergeant had its advantages. He said he got second choice of everything that came off the ship -- Seabees unloaded it and got first choice. Dad went on to air bases in Apemama, Saipan and Okinawa. He was Poppa Oscared about being brought back in the service after having been discharged. I never heard him say the word Japanese -- it was always shortened. And he never drove a Japanese car.
My wife's uncle completed 35 missions on a B25 as a rear gunner. in the Canadian Air Force. The entire crew of this plane survived the first 25 missions and volunteered for an additional 10 more missions.
My father was a B-25 pilot in the 500th Bomb Squadron, 345th Bomb Group. He deployed with the unit from SC to Port Moresby and flew missions until late 1943. His plane was SNAFU/MFUTU that was lost over Rabaul. He ditched Lil D Icer without loss to his crew. His last mission involved friendly bombs dropped on his plane, Bugger-Off, that sustained significant damage and injured he and others of the crew. It never spoke about his time in the pacific theater. It was tough time for his squadron and he ended flying just before it really got tough. God Bless all of these Air Apaches!
F. Naigle
Thank you for sharing
Where is Port Moresby friend?
My Grandfather was in new New Guinea and Rabaul. Been looking for a doc about the Rough Raiders! Thank You!
Our pleasure!
I had a seat in a WW2 downed B25 in Madang lagoon on the west coast of Papua new Guinea, the aircraft being at a depth of around 50 feet . In remarkably good condition the cockpit was complete and the largest control was the Trim wheel on the starboard side, quite true, those brave guys needed a lot of muscle to fly those beasts as well as courage for those low level missions. We must all salute this remarkable generation
JH
One of the greats from the greatest generation.
I grew up in Wichita Kansas the air capital, God bless Jimmy Doolittle.
I have a signed copy of Warpath Across The Pacific the story of the 345th Bomb Group. They had high resolution cameras in the planes. The pictures in this book are insane.
My former chiropractor Keith Dougherty flew a B25 with the 500th Squadron Rough Raiders in the 345th Bomb Group. He flew 65 missions in the New Guinea area and became the CO for a few months. Wonderful person who has been missed greatly since passing away in 2012.
I have that book as well. The photos are so crisp you can just about count leaves on the trees!
At one point Pappy had 14 forward facing .50 cal Duces in a Mitchell, 8 in the nose 2 in blisters each side cockpit plus the 2 dorsal ball turret, I've read it would put out so much mass that ships hulls would start coming apart at the welds
I've got a book around here somewhere that details this exactly and more. Written by air and ground crews who were there. Fascinating.
The war effort by these men was moving faster that what command or designers could keep up with.
The result was a continuous plethora of unauthorized field mods. Some worked, some didn't.
The crews basically told command to shove it, we're plowing ahead.
I'd suggest that the PB4Y-2-the single-tailed Navy version of the B-24-was the original inspiration for the DC-3 and, later, the AC-130 gunships. While the B-25 was deadly in a head-on strafing attack, the essence of the later gunships is the orbiting attack, in which many guns are sighted down one wing, allowing incredible weight of fire to be poured onto a single target point for many seconds. A PB4Y-2 could point as many as 10 .50 machine guns down one wing, allowing the pilot to circle the target and destroy it almost instantly. This was a tactic used by PB4Y-2s in attacking subs and shipping. The first plane would attack in the circle maneuver, eliminating any crew on deck manning AA guns, while a second bomber set up for a bombing run to sink the enemy ship.
My dad flew 50 missions as a pilot in the 345th/500th and survived to tell the stories!! He was also a courier for Doolittle!
Not sure if mentioned, there is a J model B-25 gunship at the Military Aviation Museum, Virginia beach, Virginia. Worth the $17 bucks alone.
My father flew 45 B25 combat missions with the 500th squadron and he went thru two aircrews, all killed. He was grounded for one mission and his crew was shot down over Clark AFB, but that’s when it was held by the Japanese. Ground troops murdered all of his friends by their damaged B25. His 2nd B25 crew were all killed on a Formosa mission after Dad rotated home after he had enough points. Pappy Gunn was a retired Naval aviator who knew how to make things happen. He couldn’t stand pencil pushers, so he was well respected by all of the B25 combat crews. My Dad never talked much about the war until his kids were all grown. Dad and I went to one reunion in the 1980’s and their combat stories are wild. Someday their story will be told. It would make one hell of a movie. The 345th Bomb Group were the original Wild Bunch!! 👍👍🥃🥃🍺🍺😎
I bet he went to the reunion in San Diego!!
An Engineer friend of mine at Ft. Belvoir, VA was part of this Squadron, and flight. Man the tales he told were jaw dropping. 👍👍🤴⭐
My dad was in the 3rd Attack Group 90th Squadron 5th AAF as a gunner in one of, or perhaps the only A 20 in the B25 Squadron. So I believe he might've flown his parafrag missions with the 89th as he went to their reunions. I wish I'd have gotten more detailed information about that before he passed away. He was transferred to New Guinea only about a month before they moved into the newly liberated parts of the Philippines and spent much of his time in the new Douglas A26 Invader. He said that in New Guinea he shot a huge rat off the foot of his cot with a .45 ACP but only once by popular demand of tentmates . . . that and the cleanup on which he soloed.
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He missed out on the Battle of the Bismark Sea where they and Australian Beufighters wrecked a Japanese Army armed transport convoy by skip bombing and strafing. That's probably fortunate because you could get shot up on the approach to those transports by deck guns that the Beufighters 20 mm nose cannons either missed or they were re-manned and if you had to ditch an A20 in the water the Gunner didn't really have a handy way to escape the aircraft as his compartment was separate with access on the bottom of the fuselage.
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He claimed he never got to use the fancy new-tech gun turrets defending the A26 because their P38 escorts, like the Aces loaded 475th, wouldn't let anything that could actually catch them from behind anywhere near them. They also had the eight M2 Fifty calibers in the nose so a head-on attack was going to be your last act in any event. He certainly didn't mind and thought the world of those guys. He got to occupy Japan for awhile stationed in Osaka and went to the States on some merchant scow seasick the whole way.
My father was based at Nadzab and other New Guinea and Phillipines bases
Respect to your father 🤝
Bless him
It’s great to see areas of WW2 unpacked more thoroughly (aside from typical Band of Brothers June 1944 to V.E. Day.) I recently read that the US supplied Soviet Russia with 450,000 trucks through the course of the war. One country, almost half a million trucks. Remarkable.
Also a recent rewatch of The Pacific (HBO, Playtone 2010) reminds viewers that the first American beach invasion was not North Africa in November of 1942. It was the US Marines on Guadalcanal in August of ‘42.
Interestingly it’s the Guadalcanal Campaign where we see many concrete examples of fast switches to newer technologies:
•’03 Springfield to the M1 Garand
•Browning .30 cal machine guns with water cooling jackets to the more ubiquitous air cooled versions.
•Thompson’s in .45ACP with the fore grips and drum magazines over to the later models with stick mags
•The often forgotten Johnson machine guns quickly lost to the BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle in .30 caliber)
Lastly some of the greatest stories of tactical pulse quickeners and valor are hidden to this day from casual students of WW2 in the CBI Theater. China-Burma-India. Roosevelt even entertained a US led invasion of Mainland China in 1942-43 in lieu of what became the Sicilian-Italian Campaign.
It seems that the American focus of her involvement in WW2 will forever be those final 14 months in Western Europe but from innovations to extremely high battle casualties the big war was often in the Pacific. Many Americans are unaware that of the 438,000 American KIA’s the majority of those lives lost occurred outside Europe. Predominantly in the PTO. Pacific Theater of Operations. For further reading? “Helmet For My Pillow” by Robert Leicke USMC. “With The Old Breed” by Eugene Sledge. And a great page turner novel by PT Deuterman “Pacific Glory.” These are, for the the War in the Pacific, what authors like Ambrose and Kershaw are regarding Europe.
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After the war, was there a study to determine the percentage of enemy battle deaths from rifle, sub-machine gun, crew served machine gun, armor and artillery fire?
Not in the comics? Original service histories written in the 50s! Never considered that
It is so great and wonderful that this clip began with the story of Paul Irvin (Ingram?) "Pappy" Gunn - The war in the phillipines was exceptionally brutal and savage. There are many many things that were skipped over in history class, things much too unsuitable for even teen agers. Two books about Americans that stayed or got left or missed the boat you might say with families fighting in corregidor or imprisoned by the enemy in the Phillipines at the time are (1) The saga of Pappy Gunn by general George Kenney (2) "Miss Margaret Utinsky" - by herself. Note: the book miss U is harrowing so be warned - war is not for the faint of heart and it should be said that there were thousands of stories of lives wrecked by war that will never be known that were snuffed out - Japanese as well as American and many others in that terrible conflict so be warned - they are written in the time and we must be glad and thankful for the days of peace that we've enjoyed that so many who fought and died never knew - we must not forget them, friend or foe.
Thank you for the amazing stories!
Our pleasure!
It would be physically impossible for the plane to come to a complete stop in the air, as he claimed, when firing the 75mm. That had always been just a tall tale and an absurd one
Heh.. It would drop like a potato wouldn't it? What about the saying that an AC-130 shifts laterally forty feet when it's bofors (sp?) cannons fire?
I think it would have like a 5-15mph drop in speed each shot fired.
It’s no surprise the manually loaded 75mm gun was too slow firing. The British Tsetse Mosquito had a 57mm six pounder (high velocity) anti tank gun with auto loader. It could easily sink U-boats but at about 40 rounds per minute they could only deliver about five rounds in an attack dive. The type was not continued, because eight rocket projectiles did more damage and the plane could keep its four 20mm cannons. 30mm guns with AP rounds would have probably been more useful than the single Six Pounder.
When you think about it, though, he’s right. The more you operate, the more you’re going to lose. Effectiveness is the key point.
Great reporting on the Air Apaches.
My father Einar "Ed" Muhonen flew with the 345th , 499th "batsouttahell", out of Biak in 44', 45'. I was born in 46' and he had become a pilot for American Airlines so I got up close and personal with all the aircraft that he flew, and I could fly before I could drive. He didn't talk much about the War, but he sure did love his B25 except for it was hard on his ears.
He had trained on 25's in Columbia SC and on a training mission in 1943 his pilot climbed out of his seat to go back and get some gun time when his parachute clipped the escape hatch handle, which ejected it and sucked the now open parachute right out, dragging him out except for my dad's quick thinking where he was able to catch his foot and held on for dear life while still flying this buffeting B25 with the other hand. With the pilot completely out from the knees up and the parachute billowing dad had his hands full not wanting to let go. Dad always said that the B25 was the best to fly. After 20 minutes Dad was able to land on the third attempt and save the life of not only himself but his plane and his pilot. He did get awarded the Service medal for this.
I've learned so much about the 345th and it truly was a game changer in the Pacific war. Dad flew airplanes from age 22 until he retired on DC10's when he was 65 and lived to be 90 years old, I miss him.
Question, was the 345th involved in the signing of the Japanese surrender papers?
If you want to see the full 1943 news report with a picture, I could send it, just text me at Craig Muhonen 970-739-8055 with your email address.
Great Video... Thanks for Sharing
This is the a-10s great granddaddy
Pappy established Philippine Airlines wow the first in Asia. He should be mentioned in our in our history class. He deserves to be a hero with his innovation and contribution in war effort against Japan. The whole group, The Bloody 500, our liberator should be given recognition from Filipinos.
Excelente video. 👏👏💪💪
My Dad flew in the 500th, the Mexican Spitfire. Flew 52 missions, he never really talked much about it.
Good doc.
Amazing Aircrews and Aircraft. Hero’s to my generation. I’m not surprised the aircraft would lost motion/momentum when that artillery round went off. American Gunships. CAS
The fact there is an aircraft tied to Mitchell and Doolittle is amazing as I believe them together as the biggest for fathers of the us air force. I think the one missing person that also was part of the war effect was Charles A. Lindbergh. Who helped the US to figerd out better fuel options for there aircraft and by a lot of account got his own kill before DC called him back home. The three with Airheart could be considered the second step beyond the wright brothers and Curtis.
Sounds like the grandfather of the Warthog.
My father was a B 25 pilot in Burma. I asked him how he was selected for pilot training. He said after he enlisted, he and a group of other Army enlisted personnel were asked for volunteers for paratrooper training. They were informed of the increase in service pay. The majority signed up to be paratroopers. They were led away. The remaining were told they were going to pilot training.
Bless them
My uncle Jerry was on the Hornet CV8 when Doolittle launched. He was also on the Hornet in the Battle of SantaCruz islands when the Japanese wanted revenge on our ships. He spent about 6 hours in burning oil and dead mates when the battle went on. The hornet was a tough ship, he would tell me, as he leaned over a model of it in a glass case he had in his home. I felt honored when he told me the whole story one night on how he survived the battle and how the hornet refused to go down. So it was scuttled to keep secrets out of the hands of the Japanese. God bless my uncle Jerry DeRose!
Bless him
They need to make a war movie about this
I didn't know this video was about Mr Dolittle as there's no indication in the title. What a nice surprise. All I knew about was the Dolittle raid and some other stuff.
This has become a Bot self absorption Jag!
North American's classic trio. B 25, P 51 and AT 6.
Well he skipped a little detail on Pappy Gunns experience during the Royce Mission to relieve the beleaguered deffenders of Bataan. On that certain 3 day mission Pappy Gunn dove his B-25 ordering the nose gunner to fire his 50 cal. Towards the shippings in Cebu and Davao, releasing his bombs and pulling up.
Russell Johnson (Professor on Gilligan's Island) was a navigator on the B-25, but I can't pin down which model.
The 22nd Troop Carrier had 6 B25 s in addition to the groups compliment od C47 s . The B25 s were hard nose and configured like these straight from North American. The 22 nd got them through clerical error and just kept them . They did the training locally, and didnot initiate missions on their own , but would add ships on to a true Pappy Gunn unit when asked in.Usually when due to maintenance requirements, or combat attrition.
When my mom was in the airforce in the mid 50's she took a hop from one base to another in Germany. They put a parachute on her for the trip just incase
This old video is full of inaccuracies. Firing a 75 mm did not stop the aircraft in midair. If it did the aircraft would crash because it would loose all lift. The Doolittle raid was never going to return the the carriers either.
My father a B25 pilot who had the experience in firing the the 75’ sad it “seemed like the 25’ paused in flight. It must of been a sensation felt by the crew.
Could you imagine seeing all 18 .50s open up, for its time it would have looked like something out of star wars with every 3rd round being a tracer and the accelerated fire rate of the aircraft 50.s it would have glowed in a nice tracer glow
Tracers were not always used, and not every 3rd round when they were. The USAAF had pretty much stopped using them by the end of the war because they created optical illusions, deceiving gunners about where fire was really going.
Armor-piercing incendiaries gave visual confirmation of actual hits, and made up most ammo belts later in the war.
the name Mitchell made by North American was the best name for that bomber thank you for your service
When he's talking about the B25 straffers, It's kind of odd that they would mention the A-10 wart hog.. The real name of that aircraft was the Thunderbolt 2. Is the original thunderbold, the P-47, Had those same 8 .50 calibers in it, And was used extensively in much the same way.
B25 was used in the Cuba bay of pigs air attacks. Crews had to fly just above the waves from Nicaragua
THEY WERE A 26’s not B 25’s
Actually,I think some B25s did take a part in that combat action over cuba.
i thinc martin caiden wrote a booc about this. "whip" about the 335tth specia! armed with 8 50's in the nose, and 4 cheec guns. sic, need new puter.
Being a VN vet and people say thank you for serving, I say, why because you didn't have to go______
This should not be titled as is, but rather about Jimmy Doolittle. Only the very first part is about the 345th.
The B25 is kinda the A10s grandpappy.
Should of changed his name from Jimmy Doolittle…to Jimmy DidALot…lol
No, there wasn't another way. Ultimately we know Hitler had no intention of surrender, even when the war was clearly lost he ordered the youngsters to fight. One way the other the civilians were in for it - just ask the Germans who ended up facing the Russians.
The B-25 was no match for the Japanese Zero.
Rather take my chances in the B25 over the Zeke, those things had no armour whatsoever.
If you are staffing , FLAK is the only thing you should need to worry about.
Well that was a dumb statement, the B-25 was a medium twin engined bomber and the Zero was a fighter!!
Depends on the experience of the pilot. Seeing as the Japanese started running out of experienced pilots. . I'd say in the hands of a good pilot the B25 could put up a good fight.
Yeah, the Goodyear blimp is no match to the B-52.
35:00 - The Doolittle Raids were NOT “one of the bloodiest” raids of WW2. You just lost tons of credibility.
Hah! What a bullshitter.
"… 75 mm cannon in it, and literally when it was fired, the airplane stopped in mid air."
Fascinating. I never knew there were so many variants of the B25. The variant with 8 - 50 cal in the nose and two on the side of the fuselage plus the others added, between 14 and 18 guns.....it was quite a gun ship....all started by modifications developed and initially done in the field by the crews in the Pacific. The 75 mm cannon must have made quite a racket!!
This fella lost me at "We had the best record and the highest losses. They go hand-n-hand." since that is backasswards. Having a high crew loss issa moral killer, at best. Never trust a Command that is proud of how many Troops have to die to be the 'best'.
It was his way of saying that they had the most ops compared to the other Sqdns that flew 25s
He didn't say 'best record', he said "highest combat record". Flew the most sorties. Don't put words in somebody's mouth.
@@colintraveller.....And you can InterWebz Mind Read dead folks now??? Hellva talent ya'll got.
Yes, the most ops....and most losses = moral killer. Let's not figure out how to prevent so many losses and still hurt the enemy, let's just throw more men in to be killed. And then brag about how many died. Yep, makes perfect sense......no???
Regardless of the propaganda, the vast majority of Military Personal don't really wanna die for the cause for an 'Attaboy' to their corpse. Shocker, I know. Never that way in the movies......huh???
@@mitch3384......Synonyms much???
You seem to miss the important part......more folks got killed and he was proud of it. Getting alot of your troops killed is not very good for moral, either.
Listen again.and remember that unless you have a record like this guy you should inhale deeply if he farts. Show some damn respect