The Gunship Bomber that Tore Open the Sky
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- In the distance, the growl of engines steadily intensified, signaling the imminent arrival of the B-25 Mitchell. Amid the backdrop of the twilight, “Patches” breached the sky.
The battle-worn aircraft proudly bore the scars of its encounters, 400 patches, each coated in the bright yellow of zinc chromate primer.
Its worn, distorted airframe maintained a precarious balance, demanding 8 degrees of left aileron trim and 6 degrees of right rudder. This remarkable warbird completed over 300 missions and survived six belly landings, making it a living legend.
The B-25 Mitchell wasn't an average bomber; it was a true workhorse. While Patches was just one beloved example, the story of the Mitchell was such a success that it spanned roughly 10,000 aircraft that fought across the globe…
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Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.
As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.
Col. Dean Davenport, co-pilot for Lt Ted Lawson on the Ruptured Duck, was a patient of mine at Tyndall AFB in the 90's. He quickly became my favorite parient, and I got to take him home one day. When we arrived he asked if I'd like to see his medals. I went in, and he also had the case that contained everyone's shot glass and bottle of Cognac from the year Doolittle was born. The Doolittle Raid took place April 18, 1942, and I subsequently received my discharge on the same day 45 years later. Unbeknownst to me, I was living in the St Pete Beach area in Feb 2000, and discovered his obituary the ONLY time I ever looked at the obits in that paper. Amazing man, and incredible stories of which I have many more....
Congratulations. You have managed to make this about you without actually adding to the story that brought us here. 🎉🎉🎉
They were just sharing some insight to a different part of the story of one of the crew. Nothing wrong with that…
@@TheOsfania Someone pee in your coffee this morning?
@@TheOsfania Ya got a better story? Thought not.
Never mind HIPAA laws and patient privacy; we all needed to know that you’re among the thousands of people he met
I would like to change the B-25s designation from medium bomber to heavy attack aircraft based on its impressive history.
I love how this guy shows pictures of the completely wrong type of aircraft.
A few sneaky Havocs in there too!
Uh....anyone notice @7:36 that "Patches" sprouted 2 more engines????
An the BRAVE MEN WHO FLUE IT 🇺🇸
Patches even possessed the ability to grow two new engines at will!!..amazing!!
7:36
Lol
Oh wow. What the hell? B-24 maybe?
And it magically morphed into an A 20 Havoc at 11:47 and a few other places
Twice Patches was a B24 in this video. Wha wha.
As a young boy in the 50’s, a friend of mine had a plastic model of a B-25 and I thought it just looked the business. My opinion has not changed since then. The British say that if it looks right, it probably is and the Mitchell just looks so right.
TLAR engineering - That Looks About Right!
I'm British and I say It looks like a tough little bastard that will take on anything.
It was.
Could have done with more power maybe? But it's a really good looking aircraft in all ways. Such good proportions and shapes.
@@flickingbollocks5542 Brits used almost a 1000 of them in WWII one even as a transport to haul Churchills fat @$$ around the country !!!
@@kgs42 When built it had the largest engine available the Wright R2600 @ 1700 hp wit a ingle stage supercharger, the PW R2800 was just become available !!! used on the B26 and A26....
My father flew 52 missions out of Port Moresby, New Guinea with his B-25 "The Jaded Saint". He loved that plane. He used to say I ran like a ruptured duck.
There is a book, General Kenney Reports, which describes much of the air war history of World War 2 in the southwest Pacific. If you can find a copy it is great reading and you might even read about some missions your father flew.
My father was a B25 pilot in WW II. He was a flight instructor at San Antonio and then when to the Mediterranean and was in the same unit as Joseph Heller, author of the book “Catch 22”. My father flew 25 missisions before the war ended. He claimed the model with the 75 mm cannon was a bad design because it did not have recoil spring. The designer figured that since the plane was flying it did not require recoil control. The cannon would bend the airframes and is why the 75mm was removed.
He told me several war stories like the one that we later found in Heller’s book about a B25 outrunning an ME109.
Your Dad probably knew my Dad, as he went through pilot and bomber training in San Antonio and Galveston
7:36 a four-engined ''PATCHES"
I saw that too!!!!! I hate AI-generated scripts, narration, direction, etc.
Yes this a constant problem this channel. The film editors don't know or apparently care about accuracy often shown wrong aircraft or ship or wrong war. This time around they showed B24 on at least two occasions. They both have twin tails and B24 is only one number off from B25 ones a medium while the other is heavy bomber. I do find the narrative interesting and on a whole accurate. Please, please check your film footage for accuracy.
Came to point out the same issue. Obviously an editor just looking for "patches" pictures and not looking further at the image. Or not having a mild knowledge of aircraft.
B-24
We got the B-17s, B-24s, B-29s but the B-25 will always be my WWII Favorite Bomber
B-26’s. But yeah the Mitchell is right up there with the fortress for me.
The B-17 is my favorite. But my first love was the B-25. When I was a kid I saw a news clip of the wreck of one being pulled up from a lake. I was instantly hooked. Even now I have an old VW bus that I did up with paint and details modelled after one.
My Mom had a friend from work that flew B24s on Costal Patrol for Jap Subs during WWII (He was the Navigator) (he also taught me to fly the Cessna 150, I was 11 at the time)
The Pilot of his crew got his kicks, Hedge Hopping through the bottom of the Grand Canyon in their B24 when they were not looking for Submarines off the coast of Los Angeles....
Kinda got me hooked on Crazy ARMY Pilots every chance I got the chance to fly with one (and I've had a few)‼️🇺🇲‼️😉‼️❤‼️
It Must be Recognized that God was with Us In WW11 - I am 91 - USAF Korea War Vet - We Will Continue to be The Worlds Salvation - God Blessed The B25
Wow, no mention of Pappy Gunn? Come on!
Featured in one of the funniest war movies ever - Catch 22!
No history of the B-25 would be complete without mentioning one of the all time greatest US aviators of WW2, Paul Irvin "PI" Gunn, also nicknamed Pappy. It was PI and his group, cutoff in Australia from effective resupply and parts, that turned the B-25 into a gunship platform. It was an engineering feat born out of necessity and tested and implemented in combat. The B-25 in the strafing role devastated Japanese shipping around the Philippines. The effectiveness of these modifications and the strafing role of the B-25 got the attention of the top brass and the heads of North American and these new models started to roll off the assembly lines back in the States. The head of North American even remarked to Pappy, once back in the States, that before Pappy's field modifications took hold as a new version of B-25, he thought the B-25 would lose out to the B-26 and A-26. All the while Pappy is fighting the Japanese his wife and kids were being held in a Japanese POW camp in the Philippines. I recommend the book, "Indestructible", by John R. Bruning. A must read for all WW2 aviation fans or just any fan of brave and resourceful American badasses. RIP Pappy Gunn.
At one point General Kenney sent Pappy back to the States to see if North American could build B-25s at the factory to match the ones they were modifying in the field.
When Pappy described what he wanted, including the 14 .50 caliber machine guns in the nose, to the engineers at North American, they said "That will never fly, it will be too nose heavy."
Pappy explained "Nah, it flies just fine, we just put 75 pounds of lead in the tail."
Pappy Gunn was a mechanical genius. Sadly after the war I believe he was lost in a storm just like Gerald Johnson P38 ace.
Why did "patches" have 4 engines in the video? B25s only had 2.
That's called an " Editing Error " . So NOW you know .
From the description of _every one_ of their videos:
“As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.”
"Patches" was a B-24. Maybe there was also a B-25 called patches.
Because the video never matches the content in these productions. Never had.
7:11 that's a B24
Apparently, there were two bombers called "Patchies", since it looks like a crashed B-24 had it written on its nose, also.
one scene featuring 'patches' nose wheel down, is a B24....
Yeah. I noticed when he was talking about the B-25 "Patches" sustaining a number of belly landings, they were actually showing a B-24. Not very impressive.
My father's ship CV-6 Enterprise escorted the Hornet on the Doolittle raid. Years later I worked on a fire crew in Fairbanks, AK and saw B25's used as fire bombers. One time on a business trip in Chicago I took an evening drive and stumbled across a small air museum at a regional airport and as the sun was setting saw a restored B 25 warming up its engines.
I had a patient that was in a contest early in the war somewhere in the NW. They were practicing short takeoffs. He was the radio operator. He'd been informally adopted and later learned he was only 14 at the time he was unknowingly practicing for the Doolittle raid.
one time when i was 13, a b25 drove down my street too
We're Jimmy Doolittle and Pappy Gunn in attendance?
Lol
Pops flew in this bird as a navigator during the war, later in his life he could not hear well go figure the B-25 was loud inside. Still have his jacket, silk maps, and flight logs. Just a bad ass bird! thanks for the video.
I got a short ride in a B-25 at an airshow in Omaha, probably 1983. Once seated (l.h. waist gunner position), I was given a set of earphones that was connected to the sound system from the cockpit. Gen. Urshler was in the Left seat being assisted by the crew chief of the plane in the right seat. The engines were lit, we taxied next to the runway for engine and generator checks, then take-off power was applied and off we went.
I was astounded by the terrible echoing of the exhausts inside the fuselage, without those earphones, it would have been most unpleasant - like sitting in an empty 55 gal. steel drum getting hit by hammers. We did a tour around the base ( Offutt AFB), a pass down the runway with a P-51 along side then we landed. I was glad for the opportunity, certainly interesting to this WW2 aviation buff and r/c pilot but I left the experience with mixed feelings. I'm sure many who served as a B-25 crew member, especially those who were stationed behind the wing, had hearing damage .
If you’re anywhere near Michigan, the Yankee Museum has a working B-25’s which you can get a short flight on.
@@whalesong999 It is said the B25 was most efficient at turning av gas into noise !!!!
The B-25 had a long postwar career as a waterbomber on the West Coast. I saw one fly at treetop height over our campsite in Oregon in 1971 - frightened the hell out of me!
this guy is solely relying on his overly dramatic voice, his feed is bullshit sometimes
@@davidnilsen7336reminds me of military channel they big noted anything and failed to mentioned the negatives about any modern experimental US arms
I believe that I saw a couple those in the 70s / 80s from Airspray (in Canada) - though the Douglas A-26 / B-26 Invader was much more common. I preferred the Invader - but the twin tail on the B-25 did look cooler.
It was also used as a trainer. My father, an air force officer, did his multi-engine training in them, as did quite a few others.
I have an uncle that worked at the Hayes Aircraft plant in Birmingham AL after the Korean War (he fought in Korea.) I have an aunt who worked at the Bechtel-McCone plant in Birmingham AL building B-29s during WWII. I used to listen to her talk about having to learn how to rivet aircraft components blindfolded, the plant was a war time plant of course and in the event that things dragged out that far and there were blackouts, they had to know how to do their jobs in blackout conditions. I miss both of them.
Friend was a B-25 Pilot, when ordered to demonstrate a short field landing he flew to the end of the field, pulled a hammerhead stall and plopped the bird at the end of the runway, check piolet shit his pants. BTW the British did not replace their wooden wonder, we should have built them too.
I live in Greenville, SC which happens to be where the Doolittle Raiders practiced. Most of the roads around the municipal airport downtown bear names related to Doolittle and the Raid.
Video of "Patches" was a B-24 Liberator.
My Grandfather, Richard V Nelson was a Captain and flew a B-25 in the Pacific (New Guinea) during the war. My Hero.
I'm a Dark Skies fan but please, turn down the 'stirring' music in the production !!!
I have talked to several B-25 crewmembers, the FIRST modifications done to the J-model, with big gun was to TAKE IT OUT AND REPLACE IT WITH ANOTHER PAIR OF .50s! Every time you would fire that thing it would vibrance every screw and bolt on the aircraft. Or, it would shock damage the nose landing gear strut and make the gear fall down. Crew Chiefs loathed it, navigators hated loading the gun, armorers hated the recoil mechanism. NO ONE BUT USAA COMMAND THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA.
Typical !
I fell in love with this aircraft as a kid. I must of built 10 different models of it as a teenager. I still love its lines and its awesome looks.
They named this plane after Wm. Mitchell who was court marshalled and told the military that the Japanese would hit Pearl harbor theN they laughed at him. All he wanted to do was make military pilots safer by making sure planes were maintained and safe for the pilots.
One of my Hero’s, an uncle, flew the Mitchell in the Pacific Campaign. He was also admired by my Dad whom was a Tailgunner in a B24, in Africa, Europe and the Pacific arenas.
Thanks for your services doesn't even come close.
Turn down the music!
at 3:51, it looks like a Douglas A-20 Havoc. The panel that opens the top of the cabin and aft is a pretty clear indication.
You are correct.
Also at 11:48!
You know i really enjoy your videos but can you please show the correct air craft, you have B-26's and B-24's when talking about the B-25
I don't know who is reviewing your aircraft but they obviously don't know the difference them, this has come up with some of your previous videos.
65 yrs old and still building plastic model ww2 aircraft, B-25 And A-20's from the SWP still my favorites'. Great planes, unbelievable missions and heroes to fly them, modify and keep them flying. General Kenny and his men are legendary.
"Pathches" (7:00) was a B-24 NOT a "B-25c"; at least the one in the picture. I wish people would check facts/pictures before they air "documentary" videos. Please tell that "Dark Skies" hasn't gone to a AI method of research..... Come on guys!!
Either fourteen forward firing .50 cals OR two .50’s on either side of the fuselage, four .50s in the nose and a 75 mm canon, for a total of eight .50’s And basically a howitzer. The P-47 has been my all-time favorite ground attack aircraft. I might have to rethink that…
Holy crap balls that’s a lot of fire power! Oh, and bombs too! Talk about a homewrecker.
When the top turret was moved forward, it's 2 .50s could be used also. 8 in the noise, 4 on the sides and the two up top.
Imagine the reaction of the Japanese sailors the first time it fired the 75mm cannon at their ship.
@@christopherharmon2433 you know those 8 .50’s were crackling at the same time. I can’t imagine how terrifying that would be.
8:45 @@CX0909
It also had twin 50s in the turret, the two waist guns and a tail gun! One of the the most heavily armed aircraft in WW2.
Your picture of Patches is of a B-24 Liberator, not a B-25.
A few years ago I saw a B-25 parked next to an A-10, and was struck by how similar they are in size and shape. The main differences are where they put the engines, and how many seats on the inside. So, another great gunship!
It is always fascinating to see WWII aircraft parked next to more modern aircraft. I remember the first time I saw a B-17 parked next to an F-4. They too, are fairly close in size. It shocked me.
@@chdnorm Tulare, CA?
That photo of patches looked like a B-24 based on the nose wheel.
The usual badly researched Dark Skies mishmash. At least try to get your video clips right! A four engined B-25 !!!!!. I'm beginning to think that this stuff must be AI generated. No human could make so many mistakes.
Closest aircraft to the Mosquito, ergo very impressive 🎉🎉
From the time I was a young child here in Battle Creek, Michigan there was a B-25 setting next to a Beech 18 parked alongside our small airport terminal. I loved them both and enjoyed every time I was able to see them. Then, one day when I was in my mid 40's I was standing in my yard and heard radial engines. The old B-25 flew over. Someone had purchased it and had it repaired.
We were stationed at Custer AFS and I remember that plane. BTW, my Dad flew with the Air Apaches in WW2 on B-25 Strafers...Biak, Philipines, & Indochina. His outfit, 345th BG, earned 3 Presidential Unit citations and was selected by MacArthur to escort the Japanese surrender aircraft.
The B-25 in its successful ground-support role perhaps was the precursor of the A-10 Warthog?
I agree with that!
Perhaps a full commentary about the Marine Corps' PBJ1 variant and the VMB squadrons in the Pacific?
SEMPER FI!
I’ve read a good bit about the marine PBJ and there isn’t a whole lot to talk about. They did harassing attacks on Rabaul that was largely ignored by that time, as well as some anti-shipping but that’s about it
This channel is awesome!
The B-25 was also used to train PF-80 & early T-33 pilots how to use the castrering nose wheel
To learn more, I recommend "Indestructible: One Man's Rescue Mission That Changed the Course of WWII" by John R. Burning. It's the story of the American most responsible for turning the Mitchell into a low-level attack aircraft. I also recommend "Whip" by Martin Caidin, a fictionalized account of the B-25 in WW II based on real people.
My wife and I flew in one at the Galveston Air Museum,sensational and very noisy!
How could you talk about the ground attack and anti shipping B-25's without talking about Col. Paul Irving Gunn?
Just like he did. You watched it. 🤷🏻♂️
@@vincedibona4687 Time stamp when he mentioned Paul Gunn
Milwaukee’s airport is named after Mitchell and there is a B25 on display in front of the terminal building
Just take a moment here ,would you want to be on the recieving end of ten .50s naaah
Love this plane..my Grandfather was with the air Apaches in the pacific...never said a lot but what he shared was nothing short of frightening in the flying bombing mega gunship...
My Dad flew with the Air Apaches too! Lt Col Joseph Mallard, he might have known your Grandfather. He did tell me some hair raising stories. He was 22 yrs old when he arrived in theater.
Can you please tone down the background music ? It makes it really difficult to hear the narrative. Other than that I love your channel and its documentaries.
I used to work with a retired Army Lt. Col. who fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.
We worked near the Palm Springs Air Museum so warbirds were a common sight.
One Saturday morning we were standing outside the main entrance chatting and we heard this sound. It was a B-25.
The Col. got a far-away look in his eye as we watched it fly over head and then said, "The B-25 was my favorite plane of the war...it was my favorite SOUND of the war..." he paused and looked at me out of the corner of his eye, "..do you know why? Because if you heard that sound it was because you were completely f#$%ed and about to be unf$%^ed."
These were one of the first “gunships”, basically a solid nose full of cannons or m2 50s. Occasionally a 75mm! Think these were the G and J models.
Absolutely obliterated Japanese shipping and airfields.
That and an unbelievable ability to absorb punishment.
Cousin was a pilot on a B25 . KIA by flak that hit him. Copilot brought bird back safely.
Lol, Me and my brother drove by one once in NJ about 1965, and I got a picture of me standing in front of Apache Princess,
Yeah I know big deal.
A propeller driven airplane with an artillery cannon on it?
Yep! And it was such a good idea we did it TWICE!
[Because EFF YOU! - signed America]
My father was a B25 bombardier during WW2. Retired after a 30-year career with the Army Air Corp and US Air Force as a B52 tailgunner.
Sounds like the B-25 bomber was the start of the great A-10 Warthog fighter bomber back in WW2? Shalom
Thats forte, like fortay, not fort. Classic Dark Skies mispronunciations,.
Patches was a B-24 Liberator
Feels like this is the daddy or granddaddy to today’s A-10.
I think that might fall to the
Douglas Invader and later counter invader. 🤔
Interestingly this is one of the aircraft that got shipped in large numbers to Russia to give them a heavier bombing capacity when their production got forced back further east, by the Nazis and their early designs weren't delivering.
B-25 is cool and all, but have you seen how awesome the A-20 is? :0
Brrrrrrrrttt
A great story of an iconic, war-winning aircraft, "the Sweetheart of the Forces", she was called. One point I must make; you say about the Doolittle Raid ". . it forced Japan to divert troops for home defense . ." But it also forced the hand of the IJN to attack Midway!
Tired of these Wikipedia BS channel(s) (Dark Whatever). 🙄
My grandfather flew many missions against Japanese targets in the Mitchell. He also lost many friends on the Doolittle raid.
Three great planes built by North American Aviation during WW 2. B 25 Mitchell bomber , T 6 Texan trainer and P 51 Mustang fighter.
B-25G was the WWII version of the A-10 but bigger.
75mm on the Mitchel…. C130j spooky hold my beer
👎👎👎 This guys voice sounds best with the mute button firmly pressed.
My Father, Lt. Col. John Belko, was an instructor pilot for B-25's, in Columbia SC.
Patches deserves it’s own episode
Agreed David 10000%
actually look up the Oxford dictionary and he has spelled it correctly@traybern
That B-25H variant is insane. It's like the solution to some weird problem, where the question is "how many machine guns do you need?" and the answer = N + 1, with N being the number of machine guns you currently have.
I like the competition with the b25 Mitchell vs b26 marauder as rivals as medium range bombers
But I like how the b25 was more famous by the pilots and the doodle little raid as well
The b25 was a tough as the b17 with plenty of firepower
🕊️ Of ✌️
My grandfather flew the Mitchell during WW2. It’s awesome to learn more about this amazing plane!
7:37 what’s with the B-24?
The North American Aviation company was arguably one of the best producers of very successful aircraft/spacecraft during the Second World War and beyond. Those aircraft include the T-6 Texan trainer, the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber, the P-51 Mustang, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the F-100 Super Sabre, the X-15 rocket plane, the XB-70 Valkyrie and the B-1 Lancer strategic bomber. Spacecraft include the Apollo command and service module, the Saturn V second stage rocket and the Space Shuttle orbiter.
IIRC NA got folded into the Rockwell conglomerate and adopted the name.
@@christopherharmon2433 Yep, quite true.
My grandpa was a B-25 mechanic stationed in the Aleutian Islands during WWII.
Stop with the AI generated thumbnails. Smfh.
At 1:42 : is that a Little Person specifically hired to crawl into those very tight spaces during construction ? First time to see this…
Deadliest multi role bomber...that would be the B24 🤷🏾♂️... sadly the most overlooked war plane
Who slipped in that clip of a B29 named "Patches"?
Dad was a radio operator riding in B-25s. Now I know why he was a little hard of hearing, even as a young man.😂
This is the ac that the a-10 should have been named for. Twin tails, canon, guns…
i love the dolittle raid and play world of warships, in honor of this they have a special aircraft carrier, USS Hornet who besides the games normal CV aircraft gets the Mitchell as a special extra attack flight that drops HE bombs on the selected target. The Dolittle raid is an interesting study of not being physically destructive but its pyschological impact was profound as it showed the Japanese that Japan was reachable and bombable by american aircraft if they so wished.
It was also an incredible morale boost for the American people. Remember Midway hadn't happened yet, and all we seemed to do when we faced the Japanese was get our butts kicked.
@1:42 now here is a story that needs to be told, the dwarves that worked in aircraft manufacturing!
One of my uncles was a tail gunner in a 25 operating out of N. Africa, Sicily and Italy. He survived the war and returned to NYC. In all a dozen of my older relatives fought in WW II and Korea
One other thing the B-25 did (WB-25), hurricane hunter. After it was determined that a plane could go in and out of a hurricane to gather data, the WB-25 was the first plane used for hurricane hunting.
The B25 is and always will be one of my favorite WW2 aircraft!! ❤❤
What's wrong with the scene @11:00? "Smoke up Johnny while we fuel your plane up"! 🤣🤣
I have to disagree with the high wing statement. Look at any picture and it obviously mid winged. The B-24 was high winged. All in all another great video.
Our old family friend, John Cody, flew the gunship version during WWII, mainly in coastal patrol missions. He swore it felt as if the plane stopped in midair each time 75mm gun was fired.
There was a few of them that did fly ins to Eagle Field and when two of them took off together they shook the ground. Impressive.
Could you do a video on the Lockheed Hudson? 🇳🇿
My father had a photo of a B25 that got home minus the entire left rudder. Now that's piloting.
Undoubtably one of the best American Planes of WWII!
lend lease to the Soviets as well