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' -r,;'r,1r

Forthmming issues featiue:

Modem Desroyers
Gtrs of World lTu 1l
Ar'tti-tattk
Japanese Canien olWorld War II
llodem fncked APCs and ItVs
liqht & lvledium
Bs:mbers of
Wbrld Wbr ll
The lightlmedium bomber was an ill-defined classification,
and many typtes can lay claim to having performed this rcle.
Ilere are d,escfibed the aircraft typifying this role, along with
their phenomenal development and exploits during the
cowseof thewan
The light and medium bombers of World War II were sandwrched
between the generation of glamorous day and night fighters on the one
hand, and the heavy bombers, such as the Boeing B-17, Consolidated
B-24, Avro Lancaster and Handley Page Hahfax, with their role of
strategic bombing, on the other. For a multitude of reasons the Japanese,
Germans and the ltalians failed to introduce an efficient four-engdne
long-range healry into service: the Helnkel He 177A-5 did become
operational, but was in service wrth only a few Gruppen, and such was
the nature of its maintenance and unreiiability that its contribution to the
Axis effort can hardly be emphasized. The Axis nations therefore opted
for a selection of liqht and medlum bombers, restricted their use to
tactical and naval work, and could never mount anything suggestive ofa
damaging campargn ol bombing of strategic concept, Nevertheless
much of the triumphal gain that fell to the Axis ln the flrst half of World
War II was born on the wings of the hqht bomber: for the Luftwaffe, the
fabulous Junkers Ju 88 was ihe workhorse of 1939-45; and for the Regta
Aeronautica, the 'evrl hunchback' Savoia-Marchetti S,M,79 and the
graceful CANT Z 1007; and lor the Japanese, the Mitsublshi G3M2 'Ne11'
and G4Ml 'Betty' of the Imperial Navy's land-based flotillas, and the
Kawasaki Kr-48 'Lily and Mitsubrshi Kr-21 Sally' of the Imperial Army's
regiments, These represented the striking power of the Axls powers
and, in their heyday before the advent of Allied air superiority, they
were iormidably effective.
Stillserving in 1941 withKG 2, thisDornier Do 172 is seen operating in the
Balkans.The typewas being replaced byJunkersJu 88s and Dornier Do 2 i 7s,
which could lift agreaterweightof bombs andwere lessvulnerable to fighter
attack.
The relative importance of tactical needs over those of a s:ra,eg-:
nature dictated that the Soviet air forces (V-VS) would place m;c:
reliance on intermediate-range light bombers: the four-engine Il-rpcie'.-
TB-3 and Petlyakov Pe-8 served we1l, but only in small numbers The
best Soviet bomber of 1941-4 was the Petlyakov Pe-Z; rt was replaced b1;
the Tupolev Tu-2 in 1944 The Americans had the immediate advantage
of having a wide selection of very powerful air-cooled radral engrnes
when they went to war in 1941, Also they gained pre-knowledge of
actual operatlons from their Bntish ally. The light bombers produced for
the US Army and US Navy, the North American B-25 Mltchell, the Martin
8-26 Marauder, the Douglas A-20 Havoc, the Lockheed PBO-1 and PV-1
and others, served not only ln the US forces but with a host of grateful
Allies, A11 were universally efficient: there was not a failure amongst
them, The Mitchell got the headlines in the papers for its daring low-
level work in the Pacific theatre, For the British, the best was undoubted-
ly the extraordinary de Havilland Mosquito bomber serres whrch defred
iogical desrgn practice, But over Germany nothing could catch them,
and a legend was born,
The second RAF squadron to receive the excellent Mosquitowas No. I39 Sqn
at H or sham S t F aith and, later, M arh am. T he type's speed and agdr ty b e c am e
essential attributes of the medium bomber as fighter and grround defences
became impenetrable toearlier types such as the BristolBlenheim and
Tupolev SB-2.
 DK tristolBlenheim
--, .:g ior the first time on 12 Aprll 1935
-:-: Brisoi Type I42 was a twin-engrne
:-3l-speed transport designed at the
:equest of the press baron, Lord
i.c-hermere, So startling was the per-
::rma:rce that the T\pe 142, and later
Type 142M, were adopted for de-
=e
i-elopment as a light bomber under the
Au Ministry Specification B,2Bl35, The
result was the Bristol Blenheim Mk I,
wh-rch was ordered straight from the
drawinq board, The first examples
went to No. 114 Squadron at wyton in
March 1937, At the time of the Mumch ret, while a rearward-firing twin-gmn were phasedout. Finlandand Greece Bristol Blenheim Mk I of No. I I 4 Sqn,
Crrsis in September l93B the Blenheim turret could be installed under the operated Blenheim Mk IVs, as did RAF, sewing at Larissa, Greece in
Mk I equipped 16 squadrons in Nos t, 2 nose section. slghted by a perlscope, Canada where it was known as the 1 94 1. The Middle East was a major
and 5 (Bomber) Groups of Bomber The Blenheim Mk IV scored a number Bolingbroke, The Bienheim Mk V (945 theatre for theBlenheim, where its
Command, As early as January 1938 of 'firsts' in World War IL On 3 burlt) appeared in late 1942, powered ability to absorb battle damage
the Bldnheim Mk i entered service September Blenheim Mk IV (N6215) of by two 950-hp (708-kW) Mercury 25 or helped it to severa,lsuccesses in the
with No, 30 Squadron at Habbaniya, No, 139 Squadron, under Flying Offlcer 30 engines, and saw sewice in North earlyyears ofthewar.
Iraq, while other Blenheim Mk Is were A. McPherson, became the flrst RAF Africa and T\-rnisia, and in the Far East,
posted to AHQ India early rn the fol- arrcraft to enter German airspace and Underpowered and poorly armed, the
Iowing year, The Blenheim Mk I was photograph the fleet units off Blenherm lost more crews than anv (27,260 ft), maximum range 2340 km
powered by lwo 840-hp (626-kW) Bris- Wilhelmshaven, On the following day other RAF type (1,460 miles)
tol Mercury VIII radial engines, The Blenheim Mk IVs of Nos 107 and 110 Weishts: empty 4445 kg (9,790 1b);
light armament consisted of one 7.7- Squadrons made the first offensive Specification maximum take-off 6537 kg ( 14, 400 ]b)
mm (0,303-in) machine-gun in the attack by Bomber Command, The Bristol Blenheim B.Mk fV Dimensions: span 17, 17 m (56 ft 4 in);
wing, and one manually-operated 707- RAF's first U-boat kill was made on I l Tlpe: three-seat light bomber
mm (0,3-rn) Vickers K gmn rn a dorsal !gr1gl! 12.98 m (42 ft 7 in)heght 2,99 m
March 1940, by a Blenheim Mk IV of Powerplant: two 920-hp (686-kW) (9 ft 10 in): wing area 43.57 m
hrret; 454 kg (1,000 lb) of bombs could No. 82 Squadron flown by Squadron Bristol Mercury XV radial piston (469 sq ft)
be carried. A total of 1,365 Blenheim Leader M,V Delap. Blenheim Mk IVs englnes Armament:up to five 7,7-mm (0,303-in)
Mk I bombers were produced by Bris- saw extensive sewice over France, off Performance: maximum speed machine-gmns (one ixed in wingr, two
tol, Awo and Rootest 45 were made Norway, over Germany, Greece, 428 krn/h (266 mph) at 3595 m in dorsal turret, and two optional rear-
under licence by the Finmsh VLT Crete, North Africa, Indra, Malaya and ( I 1,800 ft); cruising speed 318 kn/h frrrng), plus a normal bombload of
company, and the lkarus firm ofYugos- Sumatra until August 1942 when they (198 mph); servicecerling83l0 m 454 ks (1,000 lb)
lavia made 16. Wtth its characteristic
short-nosed glazed canopy the
Blenheim Mk I saw service with the
RAF in Greece, Malaya and North Afri-

Engines of increased power and a

longer, scalloped, nose characterized
the main production variant, the
Blenheim Mk IV, of which 3,286 were
produced, Powered by two 920-hp
(686-kW) Bristol Mercury XV radials,
the Blenherm Mk IV equipped seven
squadrons in No, 2 (Bomber) Group at
the outbreak of war in September
i939: armament was increased by the
installation of two 7,7-mm (0.303-in)
g,uns in a Bristol B,l, Mk IV dorsal tur-

T he crew of a Bristol Blenheim Mk IV

board their aircraft prior to a raid.
The Blenheimwas the premier Wht
bomber of the RAF in 1939, and
continued to serveuntil the more
potent Mosquito arrived in large-
scaie seryr'ce. T hos e s ewing
overseas continued to see action
until late 1942.

>K iiandley Pase Hampden

.:s eariy as 1932, in answer to the Arr
i,iinrstry specif,cation 8,9/32, a team at
--:-e
Handley Page concern under G,R,
-.-:lkert
designed the Handley Page
HP,52 a shm twin-engtne aircraft
::ai,nng a boom{ype fuselage of very
:a:row width and considerable depth.
?:;ered by two Bristol Pegasus
P- c5(a) engrines, the HP,52 flew for
:.
-
xst trme on 21 June 1935 with Major
-:-1 B Cordesatthecontrols, Thefirst
:::iuctron HP.52, now known to the
L:-,'al Air Force as the Handley Page Bomber Command were in the based No, 83 Squadron sent an armed H andley Page H ampden M k I of N o.
I
li,ampden Mk flew its rnitial trials process of re-equipment, On the reconnaissance to the Schillig Roads / 06 Sgn based at F inningley,
*;:.: on 24 }une l93B followinq the outbreak of war Hampden Mk I on 3 September 1939, but fog forced an Yorkshire in the spring ot I 940 . The
-s:: :f promisinq orders, The first bombers were rn sewice with Nos 44 early return to base, In common with ye llow rounde I has been painte d ou t
=-l::::pie to serve with the RAF was 49, 50, 61, 83, 106, 144 and 185 other RAF bombers of the pedod, the rn lhernferesls of camouflage.
-:.:=a io the Central Flying School at Squadrons based in Lrncolnshire and Hampden Mk I was grossly under- During this time, N o. I 06 S qn flew
-:.:-,-::- and by December l93B Nos Huntingdonshrre under No, 5 armed: defensive gnrnnery was limited intensive sortie s again s t G em any,
-: ,, -:.id 83 Squadrons of RAF (Bomber) Group, The Scampton- to only three 7,7-mm (0.303-in) hand- incurring heavy losses rh ffi e process

:,-
Handley Page Hampden (continued) Light and Medium Bombers of World War II
neld Vrckers K guns, Operating within
a few miles of the German coast in
broad daylight soon brought repercus-
sions. On 29 September Nos 61 and 144
Squadrons were operating over the
German Bight when their Hampdens
were bounced by a mixed formation of
cannon-firing Messerschmitt Bf 109Es
and Bf I 10Cs from Jever and Nordholz:
in a runninq battle five Hampdens
were shot down, Some time later the
Vickers Wellingrton Mk Is of Bomber
Command encountered similar ex-
periences, and the RAF was forced to
commit its bomber force to noctumal
operations, On night mrssrons the stur-
dy Hampden Mk I, wrth its respectable
bombload, performed very wel1, The
first German land base to be attacked,
Hdrnum near Sylt (Westerland), was the Canadian CAA (160); 141 Hamp- Specification The Hampden did not have any
raided by Hampdens on 19/20 March den Mk Is were converted to Hamp- Handley Page Hampden Mk I power- oper ated gun tufi e ts, an d s o
1940. The type made the first attack on den TB,Mk I torpedo-bombers, whrch Tlpe: four-seat medium bomber withonly hand-held gruns for tail
the industrial Ruhr in the company of served wrth Nos 144, 455 and 408 Powerplant: two 980-hp (73 -kW)1 defence it was particularly
Wellingrtons on II/12 May, and it took Squadrons in Coastal Command from Bristol Pegasus XVIII radial piston vulnerable in the presence of
part in the first RAF bomber mission to bases in Scotland and the northern enqmes fighters. This is a H ampden M k I with
Berlin on the night of 25126 August USSR during 1942; two Hampden Mk II Performance: maximum speed Bn'sf o/ Pegrasus engrrnes.
1940. T\ruo Victoria Crosses went to aircraft with I,100-hp (820-kW) Wrrght 426 km/tr (265 mph) at 4725 m
crews of Hampdens: the fLst to Flight Cyclones were produced, The 1,000- ( 15, 500 ft); cruising speed 269 lca/h
Lieutenant R.A.B. Learoyd (No, 49 Sqn) hp (745-kW) Napier Dagger VIII en- (167 mph); climb to 4570 m (15,000 ft) in (669 sq ft)
for action against the Dortmund-Ems gine was installed in the Hampden's lB mrnutes 55 seconds; service ceiling Armament: initially single 7, 7-mm
canal on 12113 Augnrst 1940, and the cousin, the Hereford: 100 were built, 6920 m (22,700 ft); maximumrange (0,303-in) Browningand Vickers K
second to Sergeant John Hannah (No, saw no action, and nine were con- 3200 km ( 1,990 miles) guns in nose (fixed), nose cupola and
83 Sqn) for putting out a fire over verted to Hampden Mk Is, The Hamp- Weights: empty 5343 kg (l i,7BO lb); rear dorsal and ventral stations, after
Antwerp on 15/16 September i940. den was phased out of Bomber Com- maxrmum take-off9526 kg (21,000 lb) January 1940 upgrunned by twin 7.7-
Total production numbered I,532, mand's first{ine units by Augmst 1942, Dimensions: span 21.0B m (69 ft 2 in); mm (0.303-in) Vickers K gmns in ventral
Hampden Mk Iswere built by Handley but the Hampden TB,Mk I continued in Iensth 1033 m (53 ft 7-rn) heighI4.49 m and dorsal stations, plus a bombload oi
Page (500), English Electric (770), and sewice until December 1943, (14 ft9 in); wingarea62,06 m 1814 ks (4,000 lb)

ffi f,e Havilland Mosquito

In October l93B the designteamunder M L9 63 was a M osquito B. M k XVI built at H a tfi e ld in I 944 and s een s ewing with
Geoffrey de Havilland, with R.E. No. 571 Sqn at Oakington in Cambridgeshire. The Mk XVI was a development
Bishop and C,C. Walker, started work of the Mk IX with pressurized cockpit and extra fuel. The enlarged bomb bay
on a light bomber constructed entirely enabled a l8l4-kg G,000-lb) bomb to be carried.
of wood to offset the demand for
strategically vital materials that war
would inevitably bring, After a 1940
order of 50, burlt to Specification B, 1/
40, the first prototype de Havilland
Mosguito flew on 25 November 1940,
powered by two 1,460-hp (1089-kW)
Merlin 21s. It displayed the most out-
standrng performance from the very
start, being faster than the RAF's con-
temporary interceptor flghters, Of the
initial production batch l0 were con-
verted to de Havilland Mosguito B.Mk all b a tch of H a tfield- built B.M k I X high- altitude bomber s, which
O ne of a sm
IV Series I light bombers with glazed setup fantastic record of night missions withNo. 105 Sqn. Ten aircraft
a
nose and internal bomb bays: the first reached 1 00 missions and two reached 200. The aircraft carries standard
of these, W4072, flew for the first time Bomber Command night camouflage.
on 8 September 1941. The main pro-
duction version was the Mosquito
B.Mk IV Series II which had Merlin 21,
23 or 25 engines in lenglhened nacel-
les, No, I05 Squadron, then based at
Marham in No, 2 (Bomber) Group, re-
ceived its first Mosqurto B.Mk lVs in
the spring of 1942. Its first mission was
to Koln on 31 May 1942. the morning
after the 'One Thousand Bomber'raid.
Crews learned to use the Mosquito's
speed as the prrmary method of evad- rons were over Ber[n on the morning modified with bulged bomb bays to Mosquito B.Mk 25 before the wars
hg enemy fighters, for the type was of 30January 1943, andcausedfuryand carry a single 1814-kg (4,000-lb) HC end, Production totalled 7 785.
entirely unarmed, Low-altitude mrs- consternation dunng a series of bomb, and these served in the Fast
sions with shallow-dive approaches to speeches by Nazi leaders who were Niqht Striking Force equipped with Specification
the target soon proved to be the Mos- celebrating an anniversary of the Oboe Mk I-llL Canada built the Mos- de Havilland Mosquito B.IVIkXVI
qurto bomber's forte by day, and one of Fiihrer's apporntment as Chancellor of quito B.Mk VII with 1,418-hp ().057- T14>e: two-seat medium bombel
No. 105 Squadron's flrst major attacks the Third Reich, Reconnaissance and kW) Packard Merlin 3]s, Fifty-four Powerplant: two 1, 680-hp ( 1253-k ;'i
was a daring low-level strike on the bomber Mosquitoes roamed over Ger- Mosquito B.Mk IX aircraft with extra Rolls-Royce Merlin 72 V- I 2 p*.::,-.
Gestapo headquarters in Oslo, Such many and the occupied territories at bombload and Merln 72 engines were engmes
iras the demand for Mosquitoes as re- will during 1943-4, The specialist Jagd- produced, The most efficient was the Performance: maximum spee :
:cmaissance and night-f,ghter aircraft grmppen Nrn 25 and 50 were formed in Mosquito B.Mk XVI with a pressurized 656 krr/h (408 mph) at 7925 r.
--:at bomber units were slow in forma- the Luftwaffe in 1943 with souped-up cdbin, comprehensive naviqational (26.000 ft): crursrng speed 39- -<:. .-.
::rr by the autumn of i942, No. 139 Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 fighters, but equipment and a bulqed bomb bay, (245 mph); inttial cltrnb ra:t :: ! :-
Sq:adron was workingup on Mosqurto gained no success, In Bomber Com- Canada's de Havilland subsidiary also (2.B0O ft) per minute ser.-.r: --:---:-.;
3 lvk IVs, Both Nos lOS and 139 Squad- mand 54 Mosquito B.Mk IVs were produced the Mosquito B.Mk XX and I 1280 m (37,000 ft); mannru-::-:rl:e
 . , ,rir, it,. :i| . . ::;t,"tl:::
fr.&F#h1r+,,1riFfril}I''
=i+:

2389 km ( 1,485 miles)
Weights: empty 6638 kg ( 14,635 lb);
maximum take-off 10433 kg (23,000 lb)
Dimensions: span.i6,51 m (54 ft 2 in);
|ensth12,47 m (40 ft 11 in); heisht3.8l m
( 12ft 6 in); winq area 42. lB m2
(454 sq ft)
Armament: four 227-kg (5001b) bombs
internally and two more under wrngs,
or one 1B l4-kq (4,000-]b) bomb
F lying with No. I 39 Sqn from
M arham in the early suntmer of I 943,
this Mosquito B.Mk IV Srs II shows
the potent lines of the m arque. N o.
139 Sqntookits Mosquitoes toWyton
inJune thatyear on Pathfinder
duties, flying'spoof' attacks and
conducting radar dislocation raids
using'Window' ( chafl).

m iteguet
The Bregmet 690 was designed in re-
ogs
sponse to a 1934 French air ministry
specrfication calling for a twin-engnned
thee-seat fi ghter, Several manufactur-
ers submitted proposals, and the con-
test was won by the Potez 630. The
Bregnret proposal had been heavier
and more powerful than the other sub-
missions, its desrgmers believing it to
be a more versatile, multr-role aero-
plane. Design of the Bregmet 690 was
started in 1935 and a prototype was
completed in 1937, irst flying on 23 Above:Formerlyof GBAI/51 of theArmeedel'Air, thisBreguetBre.6g7 is pictured afterbeing transferred tothe
March 1938 The aircraft was found to Reg:iaAeronautica in I943.Theredof theFrenchroundelswereretained, with thellaft'an fasies replacingtheblue.
have a performance superior to that of
the Potez 630, and Bregnret received a
contract to supply lO0 aircraft, con-
figured as hght attack bombers,
The resulting Bregruet 69I was a
clean-looking cantilever mid-wing
monoplane of all-metal construction,
with two wing-mounted engines and a
short fuselage nose reminiscent ofthat
of the Bristol Beaufighter, Aft of the
wing, however, the fuselage tapered
to a tailplane with twin endplate fins
and rudders. Conversron from Bre.69O
to Bre.691 was relatively simple, the
main change being deletion of the
nar'lgator's position to provide a small
bomb bay, Experience with the
Bre.691 proved the Hrspano-Suiza
powerplants to be unrehable, and the
8re.693.01 was introduced with two
Gnome-Rh6ne l.4M-6/7 engnnes after
only 78 Bre.69ls had been built, 1\ro
hundred and thirty four examples of
Right: This Breguet Bre.695 was on
the strenglh of the 1"'e Escadrille of
GBA I / 5 1. The Bre.695 was powered
by the Pratt & Whitney TwinWasp
Junior engine, but it was severely
outclassed by the German fighters it
encountered.
Breguet 693 (continued)
the Bre.693 were built, later examples
having two extra 7,S-mm (0.3-in)
machine-guns, one installed in the tail
of each engine nacelle, to improve
self-defence,
Foreign interest in the Bre,690
series was cut short by the German
invasion of France and the single
8re.694.01 built, intended as a three-
seat reconnaissance aircraft, was deli-
vered directly to the A6ronavale, The
Bre,694 was generally similar to the
original Bre,690 with no bomb bay and
a navigator's compartment, but with
Gnome-Rh6ne I4M-4/ 5 engines,
The Bre.695 was virtually identical to
the Bre,693 but with Pratt & Whitney
SB4G Twin Wasp Junior engines. it
was felt desirable to desigm a version
of the aircraft using foreign engines in
case the supply ofFrench powerplants
was drsrupted by enemy action, Fifty
Bre.695s were built, being delivered to
Groupe 18 in June 1940,
The Bre.696 and 697 were built only
as prototypes and were respectively a
two-seat light bomber and a two-seat
heavy destroyer. The Breguet 693
proved extremely vulnerable and
almost half were lost to enemy action.
light and Medium Bombers of World War II
Specifieation length 9,67 m (3 I ft B3lq Ln); herght
Breguet 693 3.19 m (10 ft Ssl+ in); mngarea 2-Q 23 r-=
Type: hrro-seat light attack bomber (32 sqft)
Powerplant: two 700-hp (522-kW) Armament: one 20-mm Hrspano-S-:i-za
Gnome-Rhdne 14M-6/7 radial piston cannon andtwo 7.S-mm Darne
engrnes machine-gmns firing forwarci pl- : :-+
Performance: maximum speed simrlar gun on pivoted mounl rn :ea:
490 kn/h (304 mph) at 5000 m cockpit, one fixed 7.S-mm qx-'t fing
( 16,400 ft); maximum cruising speed
400 km/h (248 mph) at 4000 m
obliquely aft from ventral poslu::.
(late models) rwo 7.S-mm gurs c:.: :-
-j
(13, 125 ft); maximum range 1350 km each engdne nacelle firing ai. a::d ::
(839 miles) to 400 ks (BB2 lb) of bombs
Weishts: empty 30 10 kq (6,636 1b);
maxrmum take-off 4900 kq ( 10, 803 lb)
Dimensions:span 15.37 m (50 ft 5 in);

iffanin Modet t8z Baltimore

=]
A powerful and much modrfied version
of the Martin Maryland light bomber,
the Martin Model 187 Baltimore was
produced specifically to RAF orders,
the first of 50 Baltimore Mk I aircraft
(4G685) was shipped to the UK in
October l94l to commence tdals at
Burtonwood, near Liverpool. The first
150 Baltimore Mk I and Baltimore Mk II
bombers were delivered without pow-
er-operated dorsal turrets, the srngle
7,7-mm (0,303-in) Vickers K maclune-
gun in the Baltimore Mk I's dorsal posi-
tton being replaced by a twin mount in
the Baltimore Mk IL Because of the ber were sent to Twkey under Lend- 7315 m (24,000 ft); normalrange An ex-USAAF M artin A-30A- I l-MA
shortagTe of RAF medium and light l,ease. Production totalled 1,575, the 1530 lcn (950 miles) Baltimore Mk V of No. 232 Wing,
bombers in RAF Middle East Com- last being FW8B0 (a Baltimore Mk V) Weights: empty 6895 kq (i5,200 lb); N orth-wes t Alrican T actic al Air
mand, the first Baltimores were deli- that was issued to the RAF in May 1944. maximum take-off 10433 kg (23,000 lb) Force;comprisingNos 55 and 223
vered to No, 223 Squadron based at Dimensions:span 18.69 m(61 ft4 rn); S qns, the wing flew the Baltimore
Shandur, Egypt, in January 1942, and Specification lenglh 14.77 m (48 fi53/s in) heiqht MkV during the ltakan campaign of
were rnrtially used for conversion MartinBaltimore Mk III 5.41 m (17 ft 9 in); wing area 50.03 m2 1944.
training, The next squadron to re- Type: four-seat light/medium bomber (538.5 sq ft)
equrp was No, 55, which took its new Powerplant: two 1,660-hp ( 1238-kW) Armament: four 7. 7-mm (0, 303-in) Among the first batch oI Baltimores
Baltimore Mk III bombers into action Wnght Cyclone GR-2600-19 radial wrng-mounted Browning machine- toarrtvewasAG697, aMkl. As itwas
during the Battle of Gazala and the lall piston engines guns, two (or four) 7,7-mm (0.303-in) pictured hereithad beenupdated to
of Tobruk in May 1942, a power- Performance: maximum speed Brownings rn dorsal turret and two 7,7- Mk I I standard with twin dorsal gans.
operated Boulton-Paul turret was in- 4BO kr/h (302 mph) at 3355 m mm (0,303-rn) Brownings in ventral The subsequent aircraft featured
stalled rn this version with either two or ( I 1,000 ft); climb to 4570 m ( 15,000 ft) rn position, plus a maximum bombload of B ou lton- P aul power -oper ated fou r -
four 7.7-mm (0,303-in) Browningr l2 minutes 0 seconds; service ceiling 907 kq (2,000 lb) gun turrets as the Baltimore Mk IIL
machine-gmns, Both Nos 55 and 223
Squadrons contrnued to operate over
Cyrenaica, being based under No. 2 I I
Wing at Amiriya along with the Doug-
las Boston Mk IIIs of Nos 12 and 24
(SAAF) Squadrons as part of the De-
sert Air Force's light bomber force,
Baltimores were issued to No, 21
(SAAF) Squadron and No, 1437 Flight,
and for maritime reconnaissance
duties to No. 69 Squadron and No, 203
Squadron, Operations by day and by
niqht were mounted against Benghazi
and Tobruk, against military camps of
the Afrrka Korps and on many desert
airflelds.
After the 2nd Battle of El Alamern
Baltimores continued to operate over
Libya and Tumsia, before turning to
the pre-invasion bombing offensive on
Luftwaffe airfields in Sicily, Pantellaria
and Sardima, The type proved to be
sturdy and easy to handle, In 1943, the
RAF took charge of the fust Baltimore
Mk IIIA aircraft on Lend-Lease and
produced to an USAAF order for the
A-30: the main difference was the in-
clusion of a Martin 250CE turret with
twrn 12,7-mm (0.S-in) Brownrngs in
place of the Boulton-Paul turret, The
Baltimore Mk IV (A-30A) was simrlar to
the Baltimore Mk IIIA, while the final
version, the Baltimore Mk V, had up-
rated Wright GR-2600 enqines, and
wing-mounted 12,7-mm (0,5-in) Wns,
Baltimores served with the RAF over
Sicrly and ltaly until May 1945, with the
Free French air force and the ltahan
co-belligerent air forces, while a num-

Eza
 .::,:a. a:.::11
The Pacific war was a perfect theatre for
the light bomber to display its merits.
Both sides employed many types in this
role, operating from bases hacked outof
the jungle on the nearest secureisland
totheenemy.
Although carrierborne aviation, at first demon-
strated with such terrifying effect by the Impe-
riai Japanese Navy, played the dominant role in
the urar rn the Pacrfic, the light bomber of the
Allied and Japanese air forces contributed
greatly in the battles for air supremacy.
Throughout the war the Japanese failed to de-
ploy an operational four-engine bomber, and
were thus reliant upon a selectron of well-
designed and capable twrn-engine attack
bombers of intermedrate range and bombload,
and which could if necessary use the rustic
jungle or coral airstrips that proliferated in the
vastness ol the Pacific theatre, Allied experr
ence soon tended to favour use of the light
bomber for the same reason, and the Ailies
thus employed the light bombers' inherent
826
adaptabrlity to pursue a range of tasks from
level bombing, via dive-bombing and anti-
shipping strike to ground-strafing, It needed a
nation with the resources of the USA to intro-
duce the heavy strategic bomber rnto Pacific
operations, and the huge logisticai back-up
that this task entailed. The tough Boeing B-17
Fortress was in actlon as early as December
l94l irom bases in Luzon rn the Phllippines, but
casualties sustained by Japanese air attacks
forced its withdrawal to Australia. From here
few worthwhrie targets could be reached, and
these only with extraordinary difficulty, The
'Fort' was superseded in 1942 by the Consoll-
dated B-24 Liberator, whrch had better range
capabrhty, but even so thls was forced to use
expensive and extensive arrflelds far removed
from the theatres of conflict, A11 changed when
the US 2Oth Air Force started to attack Japan
with the Boeing B-29 Superfortress in the
spring of 1945 but by then the war had only
another six months to run, The bulk of the work,
therefore, was completed by the light bombers
of the combatant powers during the challeng-
ing years 1941-4,
The Japanese onslaught
In therr quest for the otl, rrce and mlnerals of
South East Asra the Japanese forces went to war
in the dawn hours of 7/8 December 1941, the Ist
Carrier Fleet striking at the US Navy's base at
Pearl Harbor to cripple the battle fleet but
failing to f,nd the vital aircraft-carrrers, The
Americans rn the Philippines, the Bntlsh rn
Malaya, and the Dutch in Java mustered some
710 aircraft which were backed by 165
machines of the Royal Australian Air Force
stationed in Malaya, the East Indles and in the
Solomons, In Malaya the RAF Far East Com-
mand had Nos 60 and 62 Squadrons with Bristol
Blenheim Mk Is, a type that had entered ser-
vice rn March 1937, and which had a defensive
armament of one 7,7-mm (0 303-in) Vickers K
machine-gun, Also on strength were two units
with Vickers Vildebeest Mk III torpedo-
bombers which, with a maximum speed of
90 mph (112 km,h) was the slowest aircraft to
be committed to operations rn the entire
theatre, The RAAF was equrped wrth the Lock-
heed Hudson Mk l and Mk III maritime recon-
naissance bomber of good performance, and
sufficiently well armed to withstand fighter
attack: a few squadrons of single-engine Com-
monwealth Wirraways were used for recon-
naissance, but could be fitted with small
bombs, A composite unit, No, 24 Squadron, was
based at Rabaul in New Brrtain with Wirraways
and Hudsons, The Netherlands Indies Army
Air Corps (ML-KNIL) operated with the twin-
engrne Martin I39WH2 ligrht bomber which
equipped a division, one squadron of which
was detached to Srngapore, The US Far East
Led by Lieutenant C olonel J ames H.'J immy'
Doolittle on 18 April 1942, atorceof 16 B-25
Mitchells left the deck of USS Hornet to catry out a
daring attack on Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya and
Kobe. The raid required much co-operation
between theUS ArmyAir Force andNavy.
 us
.G
'iil

Arr Force in the Phillppines had no hght bom-

bers, but had 36 Boeing B- I 7D fortresses based G4MI and G3M2, were lightly armoured at
near Manila. The Allies were totally unpre- first, but thelr primary weapon, the liquid oxy-
pared to face the ferocity of the Japanese air gen-propelled 450-mm (17 7-1n) Tlpe 91 torpe- The Rabaul axis
attacks. They considered Japanese aircraft do, was outstanding. On 10 December l94l For the next tvvo years, while pe4pheral ba!
equipment to be inferior, or at best mere G4M1s and G3M2s of the Genzan, Mihoro and tles were fought in China, the Aleutians and rn
copies of their own but now obsolescent de- Kanoya Kokutais (naval air groups) sank HMS eastern India, the primary conflicts took place
signs, They ignored the overriding fact that Repu.lse and HMSPnhce of Wales off the coast in the Solomons and in New Guinea. For the
Japanese air crews had been engaged in war of Malaya. By this third day of the war Japanese Japanese the central base was at Rabaul, whrch
operations in Manchuria and Chrna for the past light bombers were roaming far and wide, served as their bastion in the south wesi
l0 years, and were very skilful in the art of attacking Wake Island (by 24th Air Flotilla Pacrfic, To add pressure the Japanese navy
long-range oversea navigation, bomblng and based in the Marshall Islands), Hong Kong, Air Flotilla at Kendan, ur
stationed its 23rd
air fighting, Singapore, Manila, and a host of other targets. Celebes, and made a growing number of
The light bombers of the Japanese army air The only tough opposition encountered was attacks on the Australian port of Darwin wrth
force were concentrated within two joint air over Ranqoon in December andJanuary, when G4MIs and G3M2s; at the same time the
eroups with which the land-based arr of the many Ki-2ls were shot down by Curtiss P-40s of Rabaul-based 25th Alr Flotllla attacked the key
Japanese naval air force co-operated.'For the American Volunteer Group ('The Flying Allied base of Port Moresby in Papua, After the
attacks on Luzon and Mindanao the JAAF em- Tigers') and the Hawker Hurricanes and Alhed route rn Java the RAAF and the US Far
ployed the Formosa-based Sth Joint Air Group Brewster Buffaloes of the RAF, The Japanese East Alr Force struck back, using Hudson Mk
with Mitsubishi Ki-21-lb and Kawasaki Ki-48-l secured their aims by capturing Singapore, IIIs, Martin 8-26A' Marauders, Douglas A-24
twin-engined bombers in the 8th, I4th and securrng Maiaya, Sumatra and the Netherlands dive-bombers, North American B-25B Mitch-
62nd Hikosentis (Air Regiments), Raids over East Indies by March 1942, and Burma and the ells and a few Douglas A-20C Havocs, At firsl
Siam and Malaya were conducted by the JAAF Philippines by May only a handful of aircraft was available, but over
3rd Air Group based rn French Indo-China and
Harnan: Ki-2ls and Ki-48s, Iater known as'Sa1ly'
and 'Lily' under the Allied code system of 1942,
served in the 75th, 90th, 12th, 60th and 98th
Regiments. The JAAF was also equipped with
single-engine light bombers: these were the
Mitsubishi Ki-30 and Ki-51 (coded 'Ann'and
'Sonia'), and the Kawasakr Ki-32 ('Mary') A
large proportion of the 450 Japanese aircraft in
Indo-China and the 200 in Formosa beionged to
squadrons of the Japanese navy's land-based
1]th Air Fleet, under Vlce Admiral Nishlzo Tsu-
kuhara: the 2lst and 23rd Naval Atr Fiotillas
were based in Formosa, with the 22nd in the
Sargon area. The new Mitsubishi G4MI ('Betty')
was gradually supplanting the older Mitsubishi
G3M2 ('Nell'), although the latter remained tn
front-line service well into I944, Navy bomber
crews were the best rn the world at this time,
being proficient in accurate navigation over
extremely long distances. Their alrcraft, the
A dramatic s hot of a D ouglas P -7 0 alte r being hit by
J apanese flak over Dutch New Guinea during a
low-level attack. Such scenes were commonplace
in the Pacific, where the medium bomber pr:oved
excellent at attacking the heavily-defended
isJands.
Tactical Bombing in the Pacific
the next six months these hit at Rabaul, Lae,
Salamaua, Buka, Di1i, Penfui, and at targets in
the Arafura Sea. The most daring raid of this era
was carried out by 16 B-25Bs of the ITth BG
against Tokyo from the carrier USS Hornel on
i6 April: led by Lieutenant Colonel James H.
Doolittle, the Mltcheils were launched when
over 965 km (600 miles) from their targets
which included Kobe and Nagoya, before
making for China, The Allied light bombers in
the SWPA (South-West Paciflc fuea) operated
at extreme ranges, and were often hotly
opposed by Mitsubishi A6M2 'Zeke'fighters of
the crack Tainan Kokutai based at Lae and
Rabaul, At Port Moresby the new US Sth Air
Force, under Major General George C. Ken-
ney, had the 3rd, 22nd and 38th Bomb Groups,
while the RAAF's No, 9 Group had a squadron
of Boston Mk IIIs which were later joined by
Brlstol Beaufighter Mk VIF fighter-bombers,
The 8-26 Marauders were qradually with-
drawn, and the primary weapons of the Sth Air
Force became the B-25 Mitchell and the A-20
Havoc. Largely at the rnstigation of Major Pqul L
('Pappy') Gunn, these were adapted for low-
level work as strafers, and used the hiQrhly
Iethal 10-kg (23-1b) Para-Frag bombs. The new
B-25C-lNA Mltchells were equipped with
erght 12,7-mm (0.5-in) Browning M2 machine-
gnrns fixed in the nose. Another type, the Lock-
heed Ventura GR,Mk V, saw service wlth
RNZAF squadrons in the Solomons from the
autumn of 1942 onwards. The low-flying Mitch-
ells scored their grreatest triumph in the Battle
of the Bismarck Sea during 3/5 March 1943,
when they decimated a Japanese troop convoy
en route to lrae from Rabaul The light bombers
were in the forefront of the assault of the JAAF's
4th Air Army during the summer, and des-
troyed most of the Ki-21s, Ki-48s and the new
Nakajima Ki-4g-ll 'Helens' parked at But,
Dagn:a, Boram and Wewak on the northern
coast oiNew Guinea, In October 1943 Kenney's
B-25s flew many rards on the harbour and
airfields at Rabaul at this time the 38th and
345th BGs had B-25Cs and A-20s equipped the
3rd 312nd and 417th Groups.
The drive on Japan
While the US Sth afid ?tir Rir Forces, joined
by the ITAAF and RNZAF, took part ln the cam-
paigns in the Solomons and New Guinea, the
small US l ith Air Force fought its own bitter
war in the Aleutians. At first B-25s served with
the 28th Composite Group, and later, after the
fall of Kiska in Augmst 1943, solely with the 77th
Bomb Squadron: the last took part in a raid on
Paramushiro in the Kuriles on 11 September
1943. Japanese G4M2s of the 25th Air Flotilla
were also active in this theatre, as were an
increasing number of the US Navy's Lockheed
PV-1 and PV-2 Harpoon light patrol bombers
engaged on anti-shipping work, This quiet

North American B-25J Mil

North American B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was
the most widely used USAAF lighV
medium bomber of World War II, and
probably had the unique distinction of
seeing service on more battlefronts
than any other Allied type. The com-
pany produced its NA-40 attack bom-
ber design in reply to the US Army Air
Corps' specification dated 18 January
1938, and thrs made its first flrght in
March 1939. In response to vanous re-
commendatrons Nor-h Amencan pro-
duced the definitive B-25 model
(BuAer 40-2165) which made its flrst
flight from Wright Field on 19 Augnrst
1940. This was followed by the 8-254
which had extra armour and self-
sealinq fuel tanks, The first unit of the
USAAC to be equipped with the B-25
and B-25A was the 17th Bombardment
Group. The B-25B introduced a Bendx
power-operated dorsal turret and a
ventral tufiet, and dispensed with the
tail giuns: the B-25C was similar but had
1,700-hp (1268-kW) Wriqht R-2600-13
engines in place of the earlier R-2600-
9s, With the outbreak of war the 3rd BG
began a long tour of the South West
Pacrfic Area. The 17th BG meanwhile
was groomed to take part in the daring
attack on Tokyo, On 18 April 1942 the
first of 16 B-25Bs led by Lieutenant Col-
onel James H, Doolittle took off from the
deck ofthe aircraft carrier USSHornel
for a ]i84-km (714-mile) flight to the
Japanese capital, and to other objec-
tives at Naqoya, Kobe and Yokohama,
The raid achieved immense morale
and propaganda value for the Amer-
icans, although the damage effected
was mrnimal, While the B-25 was oper-
ating over New Guinea, it was also in-
troduced into action with the US 12th
Air Force in North Africa, the 10th Air
Force in India, the I lth Arr Force inthe
Aleutians, and with the RAF as the
Mitchell Mk I and Mitchell Mk II with
No. 2 (Bomber) Qroup, And as early as
drawing key
'1 0.50-in (12.7-mm)
machine-gun
2 Fixed nose machine-gun
3 Bomb sight
4 Nose compartment glazing
5 Bombfusingand release
switch panel
6 Bombardier's instrument
pane
7 Cabin heaterblower
8 Noseundercariageleg
Strut
9 Nosewheel
10 Undercarriagetorque
Above: N orth American B -2 5C - I 0 of B elow : The B-2 5 Mitchell was a well- sclssors
the 487 th BS, 340 th BG in C atania, liked design on account of its speed, l1 Aerialmast
S icily in September I 9 43. N ote the
12 Heatingairducting
armament and agility. T his B - 2 5 D 13 Bombardiersseat
RAF-sUletintlash. was built at the Kansas City factory.
14 Nosecompanment
emergency escape hatch
T5 Armouredcockplt
bulkhead
16 Windscreen panels
17 lnstrumentpane shroud
18 Pilot'sgunsight
19 Windscreen de-misting air
ductlng
Mitchell Mk IIL The US Navy used the 20 lnstrumentpanel
March 1942 the first of 850 B-25s was en 21 Rubberpedals
route to the Sovret Union, where the PBJ-IG, PBJ-IH and PBJ-I sub{ypes, 22 Controlcolumn
type saw extensive service with the Some 9,816 B-25s of all marks were 23 Cockpitarmoured skin
plating
V-VS, It was in New Guinea that the produced. 24 Crawlwayto nose
B-25 became one of the most terrifying compartment
weapons of the war in the Pacific. Here Specification 25 D/Floopaerlal
26 Ventralaerialcable
the US Sth Air Force adopted lowlevel North American B-25D Mitchell 27 Extendlng ladder
strike tactics with B-25s and B-26s T'ype: five-seat medium bomber 28 FoMard entry hatch
against Japanese arrfields and ship- Powerplant: two 1,700-hp (1268-kW)
ping, Under the guidance of Major Wright R-2600- 13 radial piston engrnes
Paul L ('Pappy') Gunn the B-25C and Ferformance: maximum speed
subsequent marks were fitted with up 457 Wn/h (284 mph) at 4570 m
to eight forward-firing 12,7-mm (0,5-in) ( 15,000 ft); cruising speed 375 kmih
Browning M2 machine-gmns, and car- (233 mph); climb to 4570 m ( 15,000 ft) in
ried a load of fragrmentation bombs, l6 minutes 30 seconds; service ceilingt
The operations of B-25s in thls theatre 6462 m (21,200 ft); normalrange
becarhe legendary, the most devastat- 2414 km (1,500 miles)
ing employment of the B-25 being in Weights:empty920B kg (20,300 lb);
the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in March maximum take-off 15880 kg (35,000 lb)
1943, Dimensions: span 20,60 m (67 ft 7 in);
The year 1943 saw the introduction Ienslh 16. 12 m (52 ft I I in); heisht
of the North American B-25G and B- 4.82 m (15 ft 10 in); wing area 56.67 mz 29 Machine-gun blisterfairing
25H, which were fitted with differing (610 sq ft) 30 0.50-in (1 2.7-mm) f ixed
types of 75-mm (2.95-in) cannon; these Armament: six 0, 5-in ( I 2, 7-mm) machine-quns
31 Ammunltion boxes
did not prove to be entirely successful. Browning M2 gmns (two each in nose, 32 Ammunition feed chutes
The most wrdely employed mark was Bendx dorsal tufiet and ventral 33 Fireextinguisher
the B-25J, with either a glazed or soltd station), plus a maximum bombload of 34 Pilot'sseat
nose: this was passed to the RAF as the 1361 kq(3,000lb)

828
 Light
-,* :: -ne Sth Air coast of New Guinea, In October 1943 Kenney's
B-25s flew many rards on the harbour and
theatre was overshadowed by the fighting in January I945 This trme w::.:-
--C the A-20 the South Pacrfic when US forces invaded the Japanese suicrde operatro:- ,:
::: I,lajor Paul I. airfields at Rabaul: at this time the 38th and
:=;:eC for low- Marshall and Gilbert Islands. Here the US 7th kaze (divrne wind) attacks. ',',':.
345th BGs had B-25Cs, and A-20s equipped the
Air Force operated, its B-24s belng jolned by toll of Alhed shipping. In th: l
="=: ie highly 3rd, 3l2nd and 417th Groups. the B-25s of the 4lst Group, By now the latest paign the JAAFs Ki-48-ll a::
::is. The new versions of the Mitchell included the 75-mm bers fought courageously, -,'.:-=
.

:1::oped with The drive on lapan cannon armed B-25G and B-25H, and the latest subishr Kr-67 Hiryu ('Pegq- : -
;1,2 machine- While the US Sth arid ?th Arr Forces, jorned 8-251-lNA which couid carry up Io 12 12,7-mm countered for the flrst time -.-.
.;e, fie Lock- by the RAAF and RNZAF, took part in the cam- (0.S-in) forward-firing machine-guns, These best Japanese light bomber :- ':
; service with paigns in the Solomons and New Guinea, the
were employed with effect on Japanese in- Sth Air Force's B-25s, nor,n' : =
:-:rs from the small US l lth Air Force fought its own bitter stallations on Kwajalein, Majuro, Mille, and attacked shipping in the Sou-:
-r.-iyrng Mitch- war in the Aleutians. At first B-25s served wlth Eniwetok in the Marshalls, targets on Formosa, before'::-
;:. n the Battie the 28th Composite Group, and later, after the Air supremacy over the Japanese air forces Force after the invasion of Cr:
: lularch 1943, fall of Kiska in Augmst 1943, solely with the 77th had been securely achieved by mid- I944, after 1945: from Ie Shima, the B-25s -.
€:roop convoy Bomb Squadron: the last took part tn a raid on the crucial Battle of the Philippine Sea and the in southern Japan, During the
: bombers Paramushiro in the Kuriles on I l September paiqn the suicide attacks rose .
'-:-ght
:f the 1943, Japanese G4M2s of the 25th Air Flotilla
destruction of the Japanese navy's lst Air Fleet
JAAF's in the Marianas Isiands, The light bombers of with every category of Japanes:
::er and des- were also active in this theatre, as were an the sth and 7th Air Forces came under Ken- employed, includinq G4M2e
i: and the new lncreasing number of the US Navy's Lockheed ney's Far East Air Forces in June, and these rying manned MXYT Okha Ni:
at But, PV-1 and PV-2 Harpoon light patrol bombers
:=<ed
re northern engaged on anti-shipping work, This quiet
took part in the invasions ofLeyte and Lingayen
Gulf during the period from October 1944 to
By the time of the surrender rr -:-
latest Douglas A-26 Invader -,', =

62 Starboardfabriccovered
North American B-25J Mil chellcutaway alle ron
B3 Tailgun feedchute
84 Tallplane centre section
drawing key 63 Aileron tab
64 Alleron h ngecontro
Bb Starboard tai p ane
construction
35 Safetyharness 65 Starboard outer slotted f ap B6 Starboardtailfin
0.50-in (12.7-mm)
36 Co pllovnavigatoLsseat 66 Oilcooerairoutlets B7 Aerialcabie
machine-gun
37 Seat back armour platinq 67 Nace le tall fairlng BB Fabrlccovered rudder
Fixed nose machine-gun
38 Cockpit roof dltchlng hatch 68 Starboard lnner slotted f ap 89 Rudderhornbalance
Bomb sight
39 Starboardfixedgun 69 Gundeflectorplates 90 Ruddertab
Nose compartment glazrnq
ammunition boxes 70 Bombbayroofcrawway 91 Starboard fabrlccovered
Bomb fus ng and re ease
40 Radio racks 71 Bomb hoisting f rame e evatorconstructlon
switch panel
41 Turretfootpeda s 72 Verrica bomb rack 92 Elevatortab
6 Bombardier's instrument
42 Ammunition boxes 73 Portbombstowage, 93 Tai gunner'senclosure
panel 43 Hydrau ic reservolr maximum bomb load 94 Armour plating
7 Cabin heater blower
44 Turretmountingring 3,000 ib(1361 kg) 95 Tai barbette
8 Nose undercarrlage leg
45 Front/centre fuselage jolnt 74 Gunturretmotor 96 7-mm) /
Twin0.50-ln(12
strut
f rame amplidyne machine-ouns ,/
9 Nosewheel
46 Twin 0.50-in (1 2.7-mm) 75 Centre/rearfuselage joint 9/ Flevatoriab /
machlne-guns frame 98 Portelevator .'
10 Undercarrlage torque
l:e B-25 Mitchellwas awell 47 Upperrotating gunturret 76 Rearfuselage heaterunit
./ /'
sctssoTS tl
ts:gn on account of its speecl, ]T Aerialmast
48 Starboard innerwing panel 77 Starboard0.50 in(T2.7-
49 Nacel etopfalrings mm)waist machine-gun
j:t and agility. This B-25D 12 Heating airduct ng
50 Engine coollng alrf aps 78 Dlnghystowage
13 Bombardler's seat
-: al ffi eKansas City factory. 51 Ejectortype exhaustpipes 79 Fuselage skln plating
52 Starboard Hami ton 80 Ammunition feed chute
Standard constant-speed 8T Starboardwalstgun
propeller ammunit on box
53 Eetachable engine 82 Starboardtai gun ./ gg Portrudderconstructlon
cow inqs ammlrnitlon box 100 Ruddertab
63
,/ ./ 101 Tailfin constructlon
1 02 Fln/ta lp ane attachment

a/
./ jolnt
103 Podtailplane
104 Tail-gunner'sseat

14 Nose compartment
emergency escape hatch
15 Armoured
bulkhead
coclpit
16 Windscreen panels
a
*'.
11 lnstrument panel shroud
1B Pi ot's ouns oht
'19
W ndsdreen?le mistino a r
ductinq
20 lnstrument panel
I'E< IIL T'he US Navy used the 21 Rubber pedals
PBJ-IH and PBJ-I sub-types, 22 Contro column
:-: B-25s of all marks were Cockpit armoured skln
': patng
24 CrawlwaV to nose
compartment
25 D/F loop aeria
=tion
r.erican B-25D Mitchell 26 Ventral aerial cab e
21 Extending adder
:-seat mediumbomber 28 FoMard entry hatch
two 1, 700-hp ( I 268-kW)
-ar.t:
:'2330- 13 radial prston engines
a:.ce: maximumspeed
- 2E4mph)at4570m
:rrrsingT speed 3TS kr/h
' :lrnbto4570 m(15 000 ft)in
=: 33 seconds; sewice ceiling
- - 210 ft); normal range
- :C0 miles)
::pty 9208 kg (20,300 Ib);
,:ake-off 15880 kg (35,OOO lb)
::s: span 20.60 m (67 ft 7 rn);
: -, m (52 ft 1 1 in): heighl_
.I :U Ln), WlIlQdlea C0.bl m'
29 Nlachtne qun bl sterfarrnq 54 Carburettorairlntake
.
30 0.50rn(12.7-mm)fixed - 55 Outboard auxiliary fuel tank
,::: sx 0. S-rn ( 12, 7-mm) machlne-guns
56 Oll coo ers
3T Ammuntonboxes
5/ Olcooerramarilntake
; l.l2 quns (two each in nose, 32 Ammunltion feed 58 Landing/taxiing amp
:-:sal turret and ventral 33 Fire ext nguisher
chutes 59 Pitottube @ Pilot Press L *
60 Starboard navigation ight
:,-s a maximum bombloadof 34 Pilot'sseat 61 Aileron balance weights
j -10 Ib)

theatre was overshadowed by the fighting in
the South Pacific when US forces invaded the
Marshall and Gilbert Islands. Here the US 7th
Air Force operated, its B-24s being joined by
the B-25s of the 4lst Group, By now the latest
versions of the Mltchell included the 75-mm
cannon armed B-25G and B-25H, and the latest
B-25J-1NA which could carry up lo 12 1,2.7-mm
(0.5-in) forward-firing machine-guns. These
were employed with effect on Japanese in-
stallations on Kwajalein, Majuro, Mille, and
Eniwetok in the Marshalls,
Air supremacy over the Japanese air forces
had been securely achieved by mid- 1944, after
the crucial Battle of the Philippine Sea and the
destruction of the Japanese navy's Ist Air Fleet
in the Marianas Islands, The light bombers of
the Sth and 7th Air Forces came under Ken-
ney's Far East Air Forces in June, and these
took part in the invasions of Leyte and Lingayen
Gulf during the period from October 1944 to
Light and Medium Bombers of World War II
January 1945 This tlme witnessed the entry of
Japanese suiclde operations, known as Kami-
kaze (divine wind) attacks, which took a high
to]] of A-llied shippingr. In the Philippines cam-
paign the JAAFs K1-48-ll and Kr-2i-llb bom-
bers fought courageously, while the latest Mit-
subishi K1-67 Hiryu ( PeSSy ) bomber was en-
countered for the first time. This last was the
best Japanese light bomber of the war, The US
Sth Air Force's B-25s, now based in Luzon,
attacked shipping rn the South China Sea, and
targets on Formosa, before joining the 7th Air
Force after the invasion of Okinawa in April
1945: from Ie Shima, the B-25s attacked Kyushu
in southern Japan. Durtng the Okinawa cam-
palgn the suicide attacks rose to a crescendo As with other islands attacks, the operation against
New Britain I sland at C ape Gloucester was a co-
with every category of Japanese llght bomber ordinated effort by land, sea and air forces. The
employed, including G4M2e bombers car- B-25 Mitchell provided a large part of the aerial
rying manned MXYZ Okha Model 11 bombs, force, softening up the defences with lowJevel
By the time of the surrender in August 1945 the bombing attacks on military insta//aftbns sucft as
Iatest Douglas A-26 Invader was in action. gun emplacemen fs an d sf ores.

62 Starboard fabriccovered 83 Tail gun feed chute 05 Rearfuselage/tallplane '131 Portouterslottedf ap

chellcutaway aileron
63 Aileron tab
84 Tailplanecentre section
85 Starboardtailplane
1

aitachment frame
106 Tail bumper
construction
'132 Wing rib construction
64 Aileron hingecontrol construction 107 Fuselageframe 133 Aileron hlnge control
35 Safetyharness 65 Starboard outerslotted flap 86 Starboardtailfin construction 134 Ailerontab
36 Co-pilovnavigator's seat 66 Oll coolerairoutlets 87 Aeriaicable 1 08 Poft tail gun ammunition 1 35 Port f abric-covered aileron
37 Seatbackarmourplating 67 Nacelletailfairing 88 Fabriccoveredrudder box construction
38 Cockpit roof ditching hatch 68 Starboard innerslottedf ap 89 Rudderhorn balance 1 09 Portwaist gunammunition 136 Wingtipconstruction
39 Starboardfixedgun 69 Gundeflectorplates 90 Ruddertab box 137 Port navigation light
ammunition boxes 70 Bomb bay roof crawlway 91 Starboard fabriccovered 'l10 Air scoop 138 Leading-edge nose ribs
40 Radioracks 7 l Bomb hoisting f rame elevator construction 11 1 Fuselagewalkway 1 39 Outerwlnq panel marn
4l Turretfootpedals 72 Verticalbombrack 92 Elevator:ab I 12 Emeroencvstores pack spar
42 Ammunition boxes 73 Portbombstowage, 93 Tail gunner's enciosure 1 13 Rearentryhatch 140 Portlanding/taxiing lamp
43 Hydraulicreservoir maximum bomb load 94 Armourplating 1 14 Extending boarding ladder 141 Mainwheeldoors
44 Turretmountingring 3.000 lb(136i kg) 95 Tail badette 1 15 Portwalstgun gondola 142 Naceileconstruction
45 Fronvcentrefuselagejoint 74 Gunturretmotor 96 Twin 0.sGin (1 2.7-mm) 1 T 6 Flexiblecanvasseal 143 Outerwing panel joint rib
frame ampiidyne euns
machine ,/ 1 17 0.50-in ('1 2.7-mm machine- I 44 Undercarriage retraction
46 Twin 0.50-in (1 2.7-mm) 75 Centre/rear fuselage iornt 97 Flevaior:ab gun jack
Pcnelevaior /' '/
,/ /
machine-guns rrame 98 1TB Spentcadridgecase 145 Oiltank, 37.5 US gal(142
47 Upperrotating gunturret 76 Rearfuselage heaterunit collector box litres)
48 Starboard innerwing panel 77
49 Nacelletopfairlngs
50 Englne cooling alrflaps
Starboard0.50-in ('1 2.7-
mm)waist machine€un
78 Dinghystowage
.,/
79
al
51 Ejectortypeexhaustpipes Fuselage skin p atrng tl
52 Starboard Hamilton B0 Ammunition feed chute
Standard constant-speed B1 Starboardwaistgun
propeller ammunition box
53 Eetachableengine 82 Starboardtailgun ." 99 Portrudoerconstruction
cowllngs ammunition box ./ 100 Ruddertao
/' 101 Tailfinccrsiruction

'/
/' / 102 Fin,tailplaieatiachment
joint
103 Pontajiolane
i 04 Tail€unner's seat

!'l
Z'a 146 Main undercatriage
'1
19 Portinboard slottedflap mountings
'120 Flapemergencyactuator 147 Oi coolerramairintake
121 Innerwlng rearspar 148 lvlalnwheel eg strut
1 22 Fuselage/lnnerwing joint 149 Undercarrlage leg door
strip
150 Torquescissor inks
123 Rearmainfueltank. 164 15T Poftmainwheel
US gal (621 litres)
1 52 Oil tank sump
124 Foward main fueltank. 153 Battery
1 51 US gal i572 litres)
154 Enginecompartment
125 Auxiliaryf ueltanks, T 52 US fireproof bulkhead
gal (575 litres) in three iuel I 55 Engine bearerstruts
156 Coolingairflaps
\-% cells perwing
1 57 WrightCyc one R-2600-13
'l
26 Flapactuator links
two-row radlal engine
'127 Flaphydraulic jack
Jv 128 Portoilcoolers
129 Oilcooierexhaustducts
158 Prope lerreduction
gearbox
130 Nacelerallfairing 159 Engine cowling rlng
1 60
Prope lor hub pitch change
mechanism
I 61
Hamilton Standard thiee-
bladed, constant-speed
propellor
162 Engine cowlings
163 Carburettorairintake
1 64 lnnerwing panel front spar

165 Foryard cabin heater

I 66 Bam airlntaketo heater

54 Carburettorairintake
55 Outboard auxillaryfuel tank
56 Oi coolers
b/ Ur coolerramailntake
58 Landing/taxiing lamp
59 Pitottube @ Pilot Press Limited
60 Starboard navigation light
6 1 Alleron balancewelghts

BZ9
Among the most coloudully decorated airnaftd
the war were the North American B-25s that srcTd.
in the Pacific theatre. Commanded by Colonel
Glenn A. DoolitUe, the 345th BG (Me&um) mavd
to Leyte in the Philippines in Novembr 1944, tfuir
B-25Js marked with the Group's'Air Apache'
badge prominently on their tails. Anzong iE
component squadrons were the 498th 'Fal<r nl
and the 499th 'Bats OutaHell', the latter displayiag
enormous bats' wings enveloping the airaalf s
nose, as typified by this l8-ganB-Zs,f Betty's Drem-
 iffartinB-26 Marauder
=
IIigh wrng{oadings, break-neck land-
rng speeds and malictous single-
engine flying characteristics nearly i,. ii.5.rEaE!.s/,11.i*rylpl.Ht'n: r=1..;11'5
put paid to the career of the Martin
8-26 Marauder in October 1942 when a
US Army Air Force committee was cal-
led in to investigate its future, How-
ever, certain rmptovements were
made and the 8-26 went on to become
one of the USAAF's medium bomber
stalwarts. In the competition for
medium and light bombers for the US
Army Air Corps of January 1939, the Marauders sewed on onlY two RAF Africa from
N o. I 4 Sqn in N orth
Glenn L. Martin Company was squadrons, both in the August 1942 toSeptember 1944.
awarded a contract for 200 8-26 air- M editerr ane an ; the s hor t- s Pan Later, the long-span Marauder Mk II I
craft, Going all out for speed, designer Marauder Mk I shown here flew with sewedwithNo.39Sqn.
Peyton M, Magnuder produced an atr-
craft with torpedo-like fuselage, two
huge engines, tricycle landing gear
and stubby wings, Powered by two
Pratt & Whitney R-2800-5 engines the
prototype 8-26 first flew on 25 Novem-
ber 1940, by whlch time orders for
1,1318-264 and 8-268 bombers had
been received. The first B-26s and B-
26As were passed to the US 22nd Bom-
bardment Group at Langley Field in
February l94L Wrth the outbreak of
war the 22nd BG was the only unit with early 1943 the 22nd BG had been re- heavily defended targets and paid the A Martin 8-268-40 of the 444th Sqn,
B-26s and, after sewice at Muroc, Cali- equipped, The 8-268 came lnto the price: on 17 May 1943 the 322nd BG 320th BG based atDecimomannu,
fornia, the group was sent to Brisbane, war rn May 1942, powered by R-2800- was wiped out on the Ijmuiden strike. S ardinia, in I 944. The Marauder was
Australia, to operate against the 5, R-2800-41 or R-2800-43 engines, Adopting medium-level pattern widely used in ltaly, its high speed
Japanese in the South West Pacific without the spinners of the 8-26A, with bombing, the 8-268 and B-26C (with and agility suiting it to penetrating
Area: the 22nd BG made its first raid on extra armour and euns, and with en- the US VIII Air Support Command, and heavy defences. The original aircraft
Rabaul on 5 Aprll 1942, in addition to larged wing span on the 642nd and later the US 9th Arr Force) were the letter shows through the hastilY-
frequent attacks on Lae, Salamaua, and following production aircraft, Martin's backbone of the Allied medrum bom- ap plied olive- dr ab fi nish.
Buna, In the epic Battle of Midway four Omaha subsidiary made the B-26C, ber forces to the end of the war in
B-26As with torpedoes attacked the which was identical with the in- Europe, Total productron was 4,708. Weights:empty 10152 kg (22,380 lb);
Japanese fleet, flown by pilots drawn creased-span B-26B, maximum take-off I 55 13 kg (34, 200 ]b)
from the 22nd and 38th Groups. The The 8-26 saw sewice in the Aleu- Specification Dimensions: span 19.8I m (65 ft 0 in);
B-25 Mitchell was more successful tians in 1942, and rn the Western De- Martin 8-268 Marauder Iength 17.75 m (58 ft 3 in): heig^ht 6.04 m
sert under RAF Middle East Command Type: seven-seat medium bomber (19 ft 10 in); wingarea55,93 m'
than the 8-26 in this theatre, and by
as the Marauder Mk I (8-26A), Powerplant: two 2, 000-hp ( 149 I-kW) (602 sq ft)
Though frequently criticized on Marauder Mk IA (8-268), and Maraud- Pratt & Whitney R-2800-41 radial piston Armament: two 7. 7-mm (0, 3-in)
account of its tricky handling er Mk II (B-26C) No, 14 Squadron engmes Browning machine-gnrns (one each in
qualities, the8-26 packed aheavY being the first recipient, The type Performance: maximum speed nose and venttal stations) or two 12,7-
punch and was widely used by the was used by the Free French Air 5 0 knr,tr (3 I 7 mph) at 4420 m
1 mm (0.S-in) M2 machine-gnrns inbeam
USAAF in Europe. This B -268 of the Force, the SAAF, and as AT-234 and ( 14, 500 ft); cruising speed 4 18 km/tr positions instead ofventral gnrn, and
59 8th Bomb Sqn, 397 th Bomb Wing, JM-I target tugs by the US ArmY and (260 mph); climb to 4570 m (15,000 ft) in four l2,7-mm (0,5-in) gn:ns (two each in
pictured during the invasion of US Navy, Four grroups of the US 8th Atr 12 minutes 0 seconds; service ceiling dorsal turret and in tail station), plus a
Normandy, displays an impressive Force arrived in England in March 7165 m (23,500 ft); range 1850 km maximum bombload of 2359 kg
tally on the nose. 1943, flew low-level attacks over (1, I50 miles) (s,200 rb)
I JAPAN
Mitsubishi Ki-zI
The Mitsubishi Ki-zI (Army Type 97
Heavy Bomber) was produced by en-
gineers Nakata and Ozawa rn re-
sponse to an operational specrflcation
issued by the Air Headquarters
(Daihonei) of the JAAF on 15 February
1936. The first of two prototypes flew
on 18 December 1936, the first produc-
tion model being the Mitsubishi Ki-21-
Ia (Army Type 97 Model IA). Because
of production bottlenecks it was not
until the end of 1939 that Ki-2l{a bom-
bers equipped the flrst JAAF unit, the
6Oth Hikosentai (air regiment) based in
China, tn totality; the next unit to be
equipped was the 61st Sentai, Early
lessons learned over China demon-
strated lack of firepower and protec-
tion, and the Ki-2llb and Ki-2I-Ic sub-
variants had extra armour, additronal
7.?-mm (0.3-rn) Type 89 machrne-gmns,
more fuel and larger bomb-bays. The
engines were 850-hp (634-kW) Naka-
jrna Ha-5 KAI radials, By the time of
the outbreak of war in December 1941,
the majority of the Mitsubishi Kr-21-la,
Ki-z1-lb and Ki-21-lc bombers had
been relegated to secondline duties,
or to servrce as operational bomber
trainers, First-line bomber senfars had
by now received the more powerful
Ki-2I-II, with I,500-hp (1119-kW) Mrt-
subishi Ha-101 engines in modified
cowlings: production models in ser-
JAPAN
Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu
The Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu (storm
dragon) was desrgned early rn 1938 to
replace the JAAF's successful Mrtsu-
bishi Kr21 heavy bomber which, in
fact, was only just entering service with
senfals based in Chlna and Manchuria,
Later code-named'Helen', the Naka-
jrna Kr-49 was a workmanlke design
but was destined to be just not good
enough for the condttrons prevailing
over the various fronts in 1942, when
the initial productron Ki-49-l (Army
Type I00 Heavy Bomber Model l)
started operations wrth the 61st
Hikosentai in China, Production was
preceded by the flight of the fust pro-
iotype in August 1939, powered by two
950-hp (708-kW) Nakajima Ha-5 KAI
radrals: the more powerful 1,250-hp
1932-kW) Ha-41 radial engines were
r.lstalled in pre-production versrons,
and in the Ki-49-l bomber, In appear-
ance the 'Helen was deceptive in size,
:cr it appeared to be a comparatively
.argre aircraft because of lts propor-
.;ons actually, its drmensions were
sirnilar to those ofthe Lockheed Hud-
scn. However, a crew of seven or eight
-,';as
crammed into the narrow fusel-
=ge, In the spring of 1942 the usual
s:eps were taken to increase perform-
:rce, protection and defensive fire-
power. The Nakajima Ki-49-IIa (Army
Type 100 Heavy Bomber Model 2A),
:e first of the new series, was pow-
::ed by two Nakajima Ha-109 radial
::gnnes with increased ratings, The
was fast, well protected by 5-
=craft
:n (0,2-in) armour plating and
:-:iberized fuel cells, and heavily
-=ed, The Ki-4g-IIb was upgunned
;t-: 12.7-mm (0,S-in) Ho-103 machine-
;:-. Both the Ki-49-lla and Kr-49-llb
;r::e in actron with the 7th and 61st
--J42,based in China in the summer
:e:::ars
:: and made many attacks on
3::::gking
- and air bases of General
I Chennault's China Air Task Force.
---:-er' bombers equipped the 12th
vice rn l94l were the Ki-2llla (Army
Type 97 Heavy Bomber Model 2A),
and the Ki-2I-IIb which had a pedal-
operated dorsal tuffet with one 12,7-
mm (0,5-in) TVpe I heavy machine-
gmn, Three sentals remarned in Japan,
Korea and in Manchuria when the
Japanese hrgh command went to war
in South East Asra, For operations over
the Philippines the JAAF's Sth Air
Group, based in Formosa, mustered
the 14th and 62nd Hrkosentais; these
went into action early on the morning
of B December 1941 striking at Aparri,
T\rgmegarao, Vigan and other targets
in Luzon, Mitsubishi Ki-21s of the 3rd
Air Group, based in French Indo-
China, were earmarked for bombing
strikes against Siam (Thalland) and
Malaya: umts were the i2th, 60th and
98th Hikosentais, These smashed RAF
and RAAF facilities at Alor Star, Sunger
Patanr and Butterworth, being
Sentai, based at Medan and Sabang
(Sumatra) under the 3rd Air Army, and
these attacked objectives in Burma
and eastern India, joining Ki-2ls on
some occasions in rards on Calcutta, In
1943 the Ki-6]s ofthe 7th and 6lst Sen-
tais, now operating from Timor, attack-
ed Darwrn to face strong reaction by
the Supermarine Spitfire Mk VCs ol
No, 1 Fighter Wing, Units equipped
with Ki-49s suffered most in New
Guinea, where 4th Air Army came
under constant attack on its airfields at
Wewak, But and Dagua after Augnrst
1943, when the RAAF and the US 5th
Air Force went onto the offensive. Stx
Ki-49-III bombers, powered by very
potent 2,420-hp (1805-kW) en9rines,
were built as prototypes, Other
variants produced in experimental
form were the Ki-58 escort fighter, and
the Ki-80 escort bomber. Total produc-
tion amounted to B19 aircraft. After ac-
tion in the Philippines in 1944, Kr49s
were used ll-th increasing frequency
on suicide missions,
Specification
Nakajima Ki-49JIa Donryu
Type: seven/eight-seat medium
bomber
Powerplant: two 1,450-hp ( 108 l-kW)
Nakajima Ha-I09 (Army Type 2) radial
piston engines
Performance: maximum speed
492 lcnh (306 mph) at 5000 m
( 16, 405 ft); cruising speed 350 km/h
(217 mph); climb to 5000 m (16,405 ft) in
escorted by Nakajima Ki-27 and Kr-43
fighters. In the flush ofJapanese victory
in 1941-2 the Mitsubishi Kr-21, code-
named'Sally', performed well; only
over Rangoon over December 1941
and January 1942 did the Kr-21s suffer
heavy casualties, The Ki-2 l-llb was the
flnal model to enter sewice, which was
seen on all fronts in the Pacific and Far
East theatres, Some 2,064 Ki-Zls were
built,
Specification
MitsubishiKi-2Illb
Type: five-seat medium bomber
Powerplant: rwo 1,500-hp (1 1 t9-kW)
Mrtsubishi Ha- 10 1 (Army Type 100)
radial piston engrnes
Performance: maximum speed
4BO kr/h (302 mph) at 472b m
( 15, 485 ft); cruising speed 380 krr/h
(236 mph); climb to 6000 m (19,685 ft) in
13 minutes 13 seconds; senice ceiling
13 minutes 39 seconds; semce ceiling
9300 m (30,510 ft); maximumrange
2950 km ( 1,835 miles)
Weights: empty 6530 kg (14,396 1b);
maximum take-off I 1400 kg (25, 133 lb)
Dimensions:span20.42 m (67 tt 0 in):
lenq1h 16.50 m (54 ttlYz in); height
4,25 m (13 ft I I /+ in); wins area
69,05 mz (743.24 sq ft)
Armament: tve single manually-
operated 7,7-mm (0,303-in) Type 89
machine-gnrns (in nose, tail, ventral
and twobeam stations) and one
flexible 20-mm Ho- I cannon in dorsal
turret, plus a maximum bombload of
1000 ks (2,205 lb)
M itsu bishi K i- 2 I J I b of the I mprial
Japane se Ar my. T his type w as
virtually obsolescent at the outbreak
of the Pacific war but it soldierd on
until 1 945 , scoring many nota.ble
successes before finally ending its
active life onkafitikaze attacks.
10000 m (32,810 ft); maximumra-i:ge
2700 kn (1,680 miles)
Weights: empty 6070 kq (13,382 lb).
maxrmum take-off 10610 kg (23,391 ib,
Dimensions: span 22,5O m (73 ft 9% .::,
lensth 16,00 m (52 ft 6 in); heisht 4 8: :.
(15 ft l1 in): wingarea69.6 m2
(749,16 sq ft)
Armament: five single manually-
operated 7,?-mm Type 89 machtne-
gruns (rn nose, tail, ventral and two
beam stations) and one 12, 7-mm (0. 5-
in) Type 1 machine-gn-rn (in dorsal
position) plus a maximum bombload o:
1000 kq (2,205 lb)
A Ki-49 -l I a of the
3rd Chutai, I 5 th
Sentai, operating in north eastChina
during S eptember I 9 44. The' p aln-
frond' camoullage was applied in the
field.
Despite its J apanese designation of
'heavy bomber', the Nakajima Ki49
h ad a max imum bom bload of only
1 000 kg (2,205 lb). I t saw much aclion
butsuffered at thehands of Allied
fighters due to lackotperformance.
 . Mitsubishi Ki-67 Hirnt
i:r:r::n:ea ::r're A.llies in the latter
sa;m :i=e ?as:ic war, comparative-
-n" f=m :i
-:e :::r-:idable Mitsubishi Ki-
t 3iry:n .1-"-:3 dragon) medium bom-
:e= i-i ::lpedo-bombers, code-
-.*+: ?egEy' bY ak intelligence'
:mE-:: ::T'ixtered in action. Produc-
::i ri- ;raied and got off to a late
-- --:-e -rar.
sE: and by the time of tts
:re:;= :eb::i il 1944 the Ki-67's poten-
:1 ir-::egated both by Allied fighter
s;'=:-xy and by the poor qualitY of
:- -i-i.F a:rd JNAF crews which oPer-
::e: -: To take the place of the Mttsu-
:;.i- K-2i 'Sal$ and the Nakajima Ki-
ll
---eler' the Au Ofhce (Koku Hom-
::- speciications for a new
=sled
::=be: to the Mttsubishi concern in
li:-,=mirer work was led bY
1940. The
J::e: Eagrineer Ozawa on an aircraft
:ased on the beautful Japanese llnes
powered by the newgeneration of
=d
;:rerful Ha-100 double-row 18-
:_;::::der radial engdnes. Three Pro-
::ipes of the Ki-67-l were completed
r€:Feen December 1942 and March
the first making its initial flight on
-*3.
2- December 1942, The Kt-67-i proved
:: be fast (though not as fast as orignnal-
-r soecif,ed), and extremely man-
:e:wable wlth loops and barrel-rolls
:e-ng camed out with ease in an un-
icaded configuration, Although
aiopted for servrce as the Army Type
4 Heary Bomber, such was the promise
c: rire Ki-67{ that even the lmperial
Japanese Navy was impressed, and
inade early representations to Mitsu-
bishi, On 5 January 1943 Mitsubishi re-
:eived an order to convert 100 Kt-49s
as torpedo-bombers, with internal
racks capable of handling the standard
450-mm (I7.7-in) Navy Type 9I Model
11 aenal torpedo: these saw service
;.rth the 762nd Kokutai (air gnoup) from
tire auhrmn of 1944 onwards, The Kr67-
I 'was issued in small numbers to the
;ereran 7th, 14th, 16th, 61st, 62nd, 74th,
38th and I ]Oth Hikosentais (air regim-
ents) and saw limited action over Chi-
CANT 2.1007 Airone
Along with the Savoia-Marchetti
S.M,79, the CANT 2.1007 Airone
Seron) series of bombers served as
backbone of the Regia Aeronauti-
=e
ca's conventional and torpedo stnke
:orces in World War II. Under the
aeqis of the firm of CANT (Cantie
fuunih de]]' Adriatico), Ingenlere Filip-
po Zappata began design shldies of
ire CANT 2.1007 and Z.l0II in 1935:
both were powered by 625-kW (840-
hp) isotta-Fraschini Asso XI RC,15 en-
onaes, for which the former had three
and the latter two. The relatively low
power ratings of this engine forced the
Regra Aeronautica to order the tri-
motor CANT Z, 1007 for production, the
irst prototype flying in March 1937,
The aircraft was constructed entirely
cf wood, save for the usual metal ancil-
lanes and nacelle cladding. The first
examples had two-bladed wooden
propellers, but all later verslons
adopted the three-bladed metal Alfa
Romeo types, In 1938, as a msns to
better load and performance, the
CANT Z.l007bis entered production,
having three 745-kW (1,000-hp) Piag-
eno B.Xtbis RC.40 radial engines as
standard. The CANT Z. 1007brs was the
major production model, and featured
revised armament, engine cowlings
and drmensions, A slngle fin and rud-
:34
m (31,070 ft); maximum range MitsubishiKi-67-l of the Imperial
na, Biak and Sansapor in north western 9470
New Gulnea, and Sumatra in the sum- 3800km (2,360 miles) lapanese Army. During the closing
mer of 1944, The type was recognized Weights:empty8649 kg (19,068 kq) months of the war, these aircraft had
tfi er'rnosespacke d with explosives
as such for the first tlme by the Allies in maximum take-off 13765 kg (30,346 lb)
October 1944, during the US 3rd Dimensions: span 22,50 m (73 ft 93/q in); for use as kamikaze aircraft.
Fleet's attacks on Formosa and the length 18.70 m(6lfi4 /q in); height
Ryulcyus where the Hiryu served in the 7.70m(25 ft3/a in); wingarea65.85 m'
Bth Hikoshidan (au division) based on (708,86 sq ft)
Formosa under navy control, Thereaf- Armament: four 12, 7-mm (0, S-in) Type
ter Ki-67{s were encountered over the I machine-gnrns (one each in nose, two Built along classicJapanese lrhes, ffie
Philippines, off Iwo Jima, in the strikes beam blisters, and tail turret) and one Ki-67 was an impressive aircraft but
on the US 20th Atr Force's bases on 20-mm Ho-S cannon in dorsal turret, its servicewas limiteddue toits late
Saipan and Tinian, and in the Okinawa plr:s a maximum bombload of BO0 kg arrival in thewar. Armament
campaign where it was used as a ( I 765 1b), or one Type 9 1 or Type 94 consk ted of fou r m achine -gans and
torpedo a20-mmcannon.
suicide aucraft. For suicide missions
the JAAF used modified Peggys
known as the Ki-6ll I(AI with arma-
ment removed and a solid nose Pack-
ed with explosrve. Only two of the
more powerful Ki-67-II vanant were
made, production of army and navY
Ki-67{s amounting to 696, It was the
best Japanese medium bomber of
World War IL
Specification
Mitsubishi Ki-67-I Hiryu
Type: six/eight-seat medium bomber
and torpedo-bomber
Powerplant: 1,900-hp (14 17-kW)
Mitsubishi Ha- I04 (Army TVpe 4)
radial piston engines
Performance: maximum speed
537 kr/h (334 mph) at 6000 m
(19,685 ft); crursingspeed400 km/h
(249 mph); climb to 6000 m (19,685 ft) in
14 minutes 30 seconds; service ceiling
Above : T his CAI{| Z. I 007 bis serve d
w ith 2 30" S quadriglia, If G ruPPo,
35' Stormo in Greece, February I 94 1.
Known as the Airone (heron), the
typewas builtinboth single- and
twin-tinned versions.
Right: Owing to its weak gun defence
aid poor performance, the CANT
Z. 1 007 wasa sitting duck for Allied
fighters, but the type sewed until late
1943 in the Mediterranean and on the
Russianfront.
der was used on the 2.1007 Serie I-III,
with a twrn fin-rudder fornat being
adopted on the 2.1007 Serie IV-IX sub-
types,
-
When Itaiy entered the war on l0
June 1940 the Regia Aeronautica had
CAlfI 2.1007 Airone (continued)
:- 3ANT2, 1007 and Z, 1007bis bom-
:els rn commission, of which 38 were
-:iceable, These sewed with the 16'
--e 47" Stormi da Bombardamento
lerestre stationed at Vicenza and
3::edr Ln northern Italy, These units
first action against Greek forces in
=..';
l:rober 1940, before turning therr
::ergiies to anti-shippinq strikes off
3rete and North Africa, and on
:-edrum-level day and night bombing
lards on Malta. Subsequently the type
r;as employed by the B', 9', 27', 30"
Stormi, and by the 41", 51', 59", B7', 90",
33" and 107" Gruppi BT plus two
squadnglie. During the climax of the
Fiat B.R.20 Cicogna
A well designed and sturdy medium
bomber, the Fiat 8.R.20 Cicogna
(stork) series fell nevertheless into that
category whrch was nearinq obsolesc-
ence by the outbreak of World War IL
Designed by Ingeniere Celestrno
Rosatelli, and owing much of its paren-
tage to the sleek Fiat APR,2 commer-
cial transport, the Fiat 8.R,20 prototype
flew first on lO February 1936. The first
unit of the Regia Aeronautica to re-
ceive B,R.20s was the i3" Stormo BT
stationed at Lonate Pozzolo: the 7'Stor-
mo BT, also at Lonate, received Fiat
B,R,20s in February 1937, Powered by
two I,000-hp (745-kW) Fiat A.B0 RC,41
radial engines, the B,R,20 possessed a
maximum speed of 430 km/h
(267mph) at 4000m (i3,125ft), and
was armed with hvo 7,7-mm (0.303-rn)
and one 12,7-mm (0.S-in) machine-
gnrns. Elements of the 7" and 13'Stormi
BT were despatched to Spain in May
1937 for combat experience, while
other B,R,20s were expoded to Japan,
and saw sewice with indifferent re-
sults in China and Manchuria as the
JAAF'sArmyType I Model I00 HeaW
bomber. Modified nose contours, in-
creased armour protection and re-
vised armament featured in the
8.R.20M, of which 264 were ultimateiy
produced. When ltaly declared war
on l0 June 1940 the Regia Aeronautica
had 162 Fiat B,R,20s and B.R.2OMs in
commission wlth the 7", 13", 1B'and 43"
Stormi BT. The flrst bombing mssron
was made on 13 June when 19
B, R,20Ms of the 13'Stormo BT attacked
installations at Hydres and Fayence in
southern France. A detachment of 80
B,R,20Ms of the 13'and 43" Stormi BT
were sent to the Belgian airfields of
Chieveres and Melsbroeck in late
September l94O to assrst the Lu-ftvraffe
in its bombing campaign aqainst Eng-
ffi ii#ni"rDo ITandDo
Much propaganda value was gained
by the Lu-ftwaffe during the years be-
fore World War II by the emphasis of
speed on selected aircraft. The truth
was that most were stripped-down
quasi-commercial transports or mail
carriers, and their record-breaking
performance bore little resemblance
ro that of sewice versrons,
Ordered rn quantity production, the
Dormer Do l7E-I bomber and the Do
17F-1 reconnarssance aircraft saw ser-
vrce rn the formative years of the lruft-
waife. The outbreak of war saw these
:nodels superseded by the primary
;ersion. the Do 172-l and Do 172-2
Malta battles in May 1942, CANT
Z,1007s took healry casualties from the
RAF's newly-arrived Supermartne
Spitflrc Mk VC frqhters; simrlar losses
were experienced during the epic
'Harpoon' and 'Pedesta' convoy battles
of the summer, Dwindling numbers
were on hand to attempt to counter the
Allied landings in Sicily in July 1943,
and by the trme of the armistice in
September only a few were still avall.
able, these continuing to fight both
with the RSI (Fascist regime) and the
Italian co-belligerent air forces, Thirty-
ive CANT Z, l007ters were produced;
productron of the CANT Z, lO7bis and
Above: An early BR.20M belongring to
the 277" Squadriglia, 1 1 6' Gruppo,
3? Stormo based atGrottaglie, south
I taly late in I 940. The unit served
over the G reco-Alb anian front
during the invasion ofGreece.
Right: The Fiat 8R.20 was an
unimaginative design with no better
than mediocre pertormance. It was
widely used early in the war on
account of its useful bomb load, but
I ack of defens ive arm ament m ade
extremely vulnerable.
land, As part of the Corpo Aereo lta-
hano the B.R.20Ms suffered losses as a
result of crew failings and fighter
attacks, The campaign in Greece saw
the 116" Gruppo (37' Stormo) in action
foom bases in Albania, followed by ac-
tion over Crete, and on a day and night
attacks agalnst Malta, In the USSR
B,R,20Ms ofthe 38'and I 16" Squadrig-
lie operated from Augmst 1942 in the
southem sector,
Fifteen of the improved B.R.20bis
model were produced. These were
powered by two 1,250-hp (932-kW)
Fiat A,82 RC,42S engines, had addt-
tional 7,7-mm (0,303-in) machine-gnrns
215
1{
ry
bombers, and the lighter Do 17M-l re-
connaissance versron the last equip-
ping many FernaufklArungsgruppen
by September 1939, The Dornier Do
tight and Medium Bombers of World War II
Z.1007ter (Piaggio P,XIX engines)
amounted to 526,
Specification
CANT Z. I007bis Alcione
Type: five-seat medrum bomber
Powerplant: three 1, 000-hp (745-kW)
Piagqro P.XI RC,40 radial piston
engmes
Performance: maximum speed
455 l<n/h (283 mph) at 4600 m
(15,090 ft); cruising speed 338 kn/h
(210 mph); climb to 6000 m (19,685 ft) in
l6 minutes B seconds; service ceilingr
7500 m (24,605 ft); normalrange
1795 km (1,115miles)
it
and a power-operated dorsal turret. cruising speed 340 km/h (21 t mph):
Early in 1943 the B.R.20M bomber had climb to 6000 m (19,685 ft) in 25 minu:=s
been withdrawn from active service 0 seconds; sewice ceiling 8000 m
wrth the Regia Aeronautica, units (26,245 ft); maximumrange 2750 ke
being re-equipped either with CANT (1,709 miles)
Z, 1007s or wrth Savoia-Marchetti Weights: empty6500 kg(14,330 lb)
S.M.79s, Production totalled 602 of all maximumtake-off 10100 kq (22,27C ibl
marks. Dimensions: span 2i,56 m (70 ft 8;'r ::,
length 16,68 m (54 ft B in); herghr 4 -: :-
Specification (15 ft7 in); wingarea74.00 m
Piat B.R.20M Cicogma (796,5 sq ft)
Tlpe: five-seat medium bomber Armament: three I 2. 7-mm (0. 5-n)
Powerplant: two 1, 000-hp (745-kW) Breda-SAFAT machine-erurs (u:
Fiat A,80 RC.4l radial piston engines nose, dorsal turret and ventral g;:
Performance: maxrmum speed stations), plus a maximum bombl:a: ::
440 krr/h (273 mph) at sea level; 1600 ks (3,528 ]b)
Dornier Do l7Z-2 of 10.(Kroat)/KG 3 Do ITZuntillate 1942, but':te gp:
deployed on the central sector of the had been largely withcbar-
Eastern Front in December I 94 l. KG front-line seruice by ear$ i 31==r=
-
2 and KG 3 continued to operate the
Dorr,ier Do 17 and Do 215 (continued)

.!!,1.i:-..:' .: ..:1a
r;,.i|:t:l:n:'
'a.1l.
.,.::'::.:a):
: .a.t' ...-
iJ\
1l: ,::lrr r,1t' :11.t::j1it, r.1i:t

.:,::::j-:::3

Above : These two D ornier Do I 7Zs of

KG 2 are seen during the camPaign
against the Low Countries. The tYPe
fairedwell in these early battles, but
when more professional defence was
encountered, such as that over
England in 1940, the aircraftwas
found to be lacking andwas soon
relegated to less dangerous roles.

172 bombers equipped nine Kampf-

gruppen on the outbreak ofwar: I and
IVKG 2 at Liegnitz; II and IIVKG 3 at before takrng part rn the Soviet cam- Specification DornierDo 172-2 of Stablll Gruppe,
Herligenbeil; I and IIVKG 76 at Weis pargn. Expori ve.rslons saw service DornierDo l7Z-2 KG 3 based atHeiligenbeilinEast
and Wrener-Neustadt; and I-IIVKC 77 with the air forces of Finland and Type: flve-seat medium bomber Prussia during September I 9 39.
at Pragnre-Kbely Olmiitz and Brinn, Yugoslavta. By November 1942 the Powerplant: two 1,000 hp (745 kW) Such aircr af t were he auily
numberrng about 370 in total. Elements type had been wtthdrawn from flrst- Bramo Fafnir 323P radtal piston committed to the assaultonPoland
of these units provided much oi the line units, Lrmrted service was seen by engines alongside theJunkers Ju 87 dive-
Luftwaffe s strrking force when Poland the Do 2158 series, which were Po- Performance: ma-ximum speed bombers.
was rnvaded on L September, wered by two 1,075-hP (802-kW) 410 km/h (255 mph) at 4000 m (13, i25 ft);
Although not conspicuously fast the Daimler-Benz DB 601A-1 inverted V- cruising speed 270 km/h ( l68 mPh); 4.60 m (15 ft I rn); winqarea 55,00 m2
12 engines; built primarily for export, service ceiling 8200 m (26,905 ft); (592,01 sq ft)
Dornier Do I7Z could be handled
much like a flghter, being very hght on 112 Do 2iSBs were produced, tnclud- maximum range 1500 km (932 miles) Armament: four (later up to eight) 7,92
the controls: structurally it was tougrh, ing small numbers of Do 2I5B-4 recon- Weights:empty 5200 ks (11 465 lb); mm (0.31-in) MG l5 machine-guns in
and rt soon surprtsed its opponents by naissance-bombers. Total production maximum take-off 8590 kg ( 18,940 Ib) windscreen, nose, beam, ventral and
being able to evade attacks by wheel- of Dornrer Do I 7Zs amounted to around Dimensions: span 18.00 m (59 ft 0% tn); dorsal stations, plus a bombload of
ing into a wing-over and plummeting 1,200 length 15,80 m(51 ft9% in); height 1,000 kg (2,205 ]b)
down in a dive often tn excess of
610 km/h (3BO mph) In Poland Do I7Z-
ls and Do l7Z-2s made many verY low-
level strikes on airflelds and military
installations,
Gradually superseded by the Junk-
ers Ju BBA the Dornier Do I7Z-2 (the
variant built in the larqest numbers)
saw extensive sewice wrth Kampfge-
schwader Nrn 2, 3 and 76 during the
assault on the West in May 1940 in
attacks on shipping off Dunkirk, during
the massrve raids of the summer of
1940 against England and in the noc-
lsrnal Blitz of the autumn and winter of
1940 By the trme oi the Balkans cam-
pargn in April 1941 Do l7Z-2s served
only with KG 2 and IIYKG 3, but con-
trnued in servtce in the fighttng over
Greece and Crete durlng the summer,

A{ter s ew ing w itft grea t success in

the SpanishCivilWar, the next action e€:::l:.!li , ,,,
5..
{or the Dornier Do 17 was during the
attack on P oland in I 9 39, where this
example is see n. Operatinguirtually
f* r-,

unopposed, the Do l7s made many

ievastating low-level attacks on
::. I t a ry i n s t all ations.
: t
t [[pot"usB-z
The two ANT-40 light bomber pro- Late production Tupolev SB-Zbis with faired-over dorsal position. The type
:otypes of Andrei N, Tupolev's design had a usetul bombload of I 000 kg (2,205 Ib).
cweau were years ahead of their time
when they first flew in October 1934: ,i
:.lre all-metal construction, enclosed
:ockpit and retactable landing L*
,yere then comparatively novel fe#
:.ues, Indeed the ANT-4O'S maximum
speed of 325 Wn/h(202 mph) at operat-
::g height was faster than the biplane
:nterceptor fighters that equipped
::rost of the peacetime air forces. The
nitial production version as selected
:cr export and service with the V-VS
,vas based on the second prototype, Tupolev SB-2bis with dorsal turret and hand-held machine-gun in the ventral
and was known as the I\rpolev SB-2 position.
iskorostnoi bombardirovs hchik, or fast
oomber); the engineswere two 830-hp
16 19-kW) licence-built Hispano-Suiza
12Ybr engrnes, termed M-100 by
Soviet industry, and initially thesg
,vere fitted with two-bladed fixed:
prtch propellers, The first SB-2s were
passed to the V-VS's bomber aviation
:egiments in February 1936, and in
Cctober of that year the first of 210
ivere transfered with Soviet crews to
Sparn to fight on the side ofthe Repub-
lcan air force against the insurgent
Nationalists, Over Spain the perform-
ence of the SB-2 caused considerable TheTupolevSB-2waspainfullyundergrunned,andfellinlargenumbersover
.oncern to the Nationa[st fiqhter units Finland and the EasternFront.
,vluchwereequtppedwithHeinkelHe
5l and Fiat iR.32 and the
CR.32 biplanes,
s74l-
JT ll ,',,H
\ |
6
:*
,6---,-,-.
:rgentcallwentoutforfightersofbet- ,. -
5:""':tT3fJH:.;'"qg,r"{qfii'*
Nationalist au foice to fight aganst tfre !""e
-lpanese, "
- .
:'s #*r--1,.
'",'here
and to Czechoslovakia, itn"\,,.J :
the type went into licensed fl**
:ranufacture as the B.7l bomber, In
lieneral the SB-2 performed well untij
with sterner fighter opposition,
=ced
',';Luch occwred over Spain in 1938 and
-r panicular over Finland during the 100 V-12 piston engines Weisht: loaded 5732 kg (12,636 lb) ShKAS machrne-gn-lns in nose turet.
,Vinter War of 1939-40, when many Performance: maxLmum speed Dimensions: span 20.33 m (66 ft B7z rn); one 7.62-mm (0,3-in) ShKAS in dorsal
-r,'ere shot down. Steps were taken to 410 krn/h (255 mph) at 4000 m lensth 12,27 m(40 fI3% in); heisht station (or turret), and one 7,62-mm
-nprove performance by installing the (13, 125 ft); sewice ceiling BSOO m 3,25 m ( lO ft B in); wrng area 51,95 m2 (0,3-in) ShKAS in ventral position, pl';s
330-hp (641-kW) M-100A engnne with (27,885 ft); normalranqe 1200 krr (746 (559,2 sq ft) a maximum bombload of 1000 kq
'.'ariable-pitch propellers. Increased miles) Armament: two 7, 62-mm (0. 3-in) (2,205 rb)
--:el capacity and two 960-hp (716-kW)
l,'1-103 engines were installed in the
Tupolev SB-2bis, the performance of
:;:rch was improved by three-bladed
',
-S\-ZZ propellers, ln addition to the
P5-40 and PS-4I transport versions the
SB-RK (Arkhangelskii Ar-2) was a
-::difiedSB-2bis dive-bomber with
::Cuced wing area and powered by
r.: supercharged M-105R engines,
lhe SB-Z's record as a day bomber
--:lne to an abrupt end durrnq the
:::ce frghting following the German
:,;asion of the USSR on 22 June 1941,
,---:se that were not destroyed on the
=-::und ventured into the air on
- --:erous and gallantly-florrm missions
-::: the front line, and paid a heavy
;:,:e to the Luftrvaffe's Messerschmitt
:: -:3F fighters, Thereafter the SB-2
---: SB-2brs bombers were relegated
-: ---Eht work with the V-VS and the
i:',':et naval air arm, Productron
--::-rted to 6,967 0f all marks.
Specification
llpe: -Jtee-seat lighVmedlum

!:werplant:two 830-hp (619-kW) M-

.r- --::plev SB-2 in landing
:r.:..:igruratron, displaying the broad
m=g a-nd tail su rf aces which
::.2:aderized the type. The SB-2 had
tz:;er fought in the SpanishCivil
4' :: but it was outclassed during
&' : : !.C W ar I I, falling in enormous
:::sers.
L Pettvatcov Pe-2
n small numbers
-i::,;-:-;y'-VS in the ranks
:: :e
-,-:-::a:cn
to witness the mass de-
of the summer of 1941, the
Petlyakov Pe-2 was destined to be-
::;::e the best Soviet light bomber of
,ri:rld War IL The aircraft was derived
:om V.M, Petlyakov's VI-100 pressu-
nzed high-altitude twin-engined inter-
ceptor, which displayed a phenomen-
al top speed of 623 km/h (387 mph) at Above: PetlyakovPe-2 of theV-VS. Below : M any Soviet aircraft carried
lO0O0 m (32,810 ft), had a crew of two The Pe-2 was referred to often as the legends, often as theywere'gift'
and was powered by 1,100-hp (820- 'Russian Mosquito' due to its aircr att trom collec tives and
kW) M-105R V-12 ensdnes, The VI-100 versatility ofroles, and its abiliU to organizations.
flrst flew on 7 May 1939. With the carry them all out excellently.
approach of war in Europe the V-VS
made urgent requests for dtve-
bomber aircraft, and to this end the
design bureau adapted the VI-l0O
fighter by removing the TK-3 high-
altitude turbo-charqers, fltting stan-
dard M-105R enqines lattice type
dive-brakes, and g[vingr the tailp]ane
pronounced dihedral to increase sta-
bility, Two prototype PB-I00 (prkrr-
uyushchii bombardjrovshchik, or
drve-bomber) aircraft were built with
these rtems installed in addition to an by September 194 I the numbers of Pe- control trainer was termed the Pe-2UT, Weights: empty 5876 kq (12,943 lb);
extensively glazed nose and defensive 2s in front-line units were few: Colonel The aircraft saw distinguished service maximum take-off 8496 kg ( 18, 730 ]b)
arrnament, This type became the Pet- General LS Konev's Western Front in every major Soviet campaign from Dimensions: span 17. 16 m (56 lt 3tlz in);
lyakov Pe-2 light bomber and dive- had only five in commission wtthwhich 1941 to 1945, includins operations in lengrth 12.66 m(41fi6Vz in); height
bomber. The crew of three (pilot, to stem the German assault on Mos- Manchuria against the Japanese rn 4 0 m (13 flI /z in), wing area 40,50 m'
bombardier and arr-gnrnner) sat under cow, and the estabhshment of Pe-2s September 1945, A total of I 1,427 Pe-Zs (436 sq ft)
a long glazed canopy with 9-mm (0,35- with the Bryansk and Kalinin Fronts and Pe-3s (the fighter version) was Armament: two ixed 7.62-mm (0,3-in)
in) armour protection, Inittal armament was even lower, Although iimited in produced. ShKAS machine-gruns or one 7,62-mm
consisted of two flxed 7.62-mm (0,3-in) numbers, Pe-2s contributed to the vic- ShKAS and one 12,7-mm (0.S-in)
ShKAS gn:ns in the nose, one in the todes of the Soviet winter offensive of Specification Beresin UBT machine-gnrn in nose, and
dorsal statron, and a fourth tn the ven- I94l-2, and were seen tn increasing Petlyakov Pe-2 single 7,62-mm (0,3-in) ShKAS or 12, 7-
tral aLmed by a 120'vision periscope. numbers during the defensive battles Tlpe: three-seat hghVmedium mm (0.5-in) UBT machtne-gnrns in
The M-105R engines drove three- at ]reninQfad, Kharkov, Rostov, and in bomber and dive-bomber dorsal and in ventral stations, plus a
bladed VISh-61 propellers, The air- the Stalingrrad campaign. Late in 1942 Powerplant: two t, 100-hp (820-kW) maximum bombloadof 1200 kg
craft proved to be fast highly man- came the improved Pe-2FT with i,260- Klimov M-105R V- I2 piston engrnes (2 646 lb)
oeuvrable, but was quite demanding hp (940-kW) Klimov M-]O5PF engdnes, Performance: maximum speed
to novice pilots under asymmetric con- and a 12.7-mm (0,5-rn) UBT machlne- 540 krr/h (336 mph) at 5000 m bombing was never a
H igh- leve I
drtions. By the time of the German inva- gmn in a dorsal turret, The Pe-2I and ( 6, 405 ft); cruisrng speed 428 krn/h
1 forte of the Soviet air forces, and in
sion in June l94l some 458 Pe-Zs had Pe-2M were flghter-bombers, po- (266 mph); climb to 5000 m (16,405 ft) in the bombing role the Pe-Z was
been produced from the factortes, but wered by 1,620-hp (1,208-kW) VK- 7 minutes 0 seconds; servrce ceiling confined largely to medium-level
it is suspected that deliverres to ser- 107A engines. The reconnaissance BB0O m (28,870 it) normal range anddive-bombing, proving tobe a
vice units was tardy, Certainly, even version was the Pe-2R whtlst a dual- 1500 km (932 miles) fast and elusive target.

::a
 The PeQ qf the Baffle of Kurslr
Oneof thefiercestbattles in modernhistorywastoughtin theKursk salientin 1943.
Medium bombers were used widely over the enormous tank battleground, and the
finestof thesewas thePetlyakov Pe-2.Swift, agileandpackingaheavy punch,the
Pe-2 went on tobe instrumental in the eventual Sovietvictory.
The German recovery after the disastrous Sta-
lingrad campaigm of late 1942-early 1943 was
remarkable, despite the pressure being ex-
erted on other fronts in the Sovret theatre and in
Tunisia. Reinforcements, an early thaw, and
overstretched Soviet lines of supply assisted
Generalfeldmarschall Erlch von Manstetn rn
his counterattack that recaptured the vital city
of Kharkov on the Donets in March 1943, and
restored German morale, By short-founded
tradrtion the Germans always took to the offen-
sive in the summer to capitalize upon their
armies' inherent mobility, whereas Soviet
practice had tended to utilize the snows and
bad weather of the winter months with which to
promote their offensive operations. As a pre-
lude to his summer offensives in the Ukraine,
Adolf Hitler ordered his generals to prepare
fbr a massrve strike to wipe out the so-called
Kursk-Orel salient, or bulge, that was occupied
by Soviet forces and had been a result of the
German advance to Kharkhov, No effort was to
be spared in this undertaking, termed
temehmen Zitadelle (Operation'Citadel'), for
Hitler badly needed a vrctory, Just where the
Germans were next to strike was obvious to the
Stavka, the Soviet high command, and in its
preparations for defence of the salient it was
helped immeasurably by knowledge of Ger-
man detailed planning through espionage, The
Sovret military commander, General Georgl
Zhukov, created a defensive system 40 km (25
miles) deep, deploying 109 rifle drvisions, 13
tank corps, two mechanized corps and four
cavalry corps,
The forthcoming Battle of Kursk was to wit-
ness monumental clashes of armour between
the opposing tank formations, and between the
fighters and ground-attack aircraft ofthe Luft-
waffe and the V-VS. Light and medium bom-
bers, such as the Heinkel He IIIH-6 of the
Luftwaffe, and the Petlyakov Pe-2, Ilyushin I1-4,
and ageing Tupolev SB-Zbis of the V-VS were
to play a subsidiary role before, during and
after the campaign in attacks on airfields, troop
concentrations, depots and rail centres, though
often at great cost, The Soviet air commands in
the Kursk-Orel sector were the 2nd, I6th and
17th Air Armies backed by units of the strategic
bombing force (ADD): these mustered about
2,900 aircraft in all, including some 1,200
Yakovlev Yak-l and Yak-7, Mikoyan-Gurevrch
?. 'ltti;rt.:
.:..'
e3Jiti.::.,:.1:..;r:.' -
L-=--=**l-;,-
MIG-3 and Lavochkin La-S fighters, 300 Pe-2s,
200 I1-4s and SB-Zs, The remainder were light
night bombers (Polikarpov Po-2s), and Ilyushin
II-213m ground-attack aircraft, Units that rn-
cluded Pe-2s on strength were primarrly the
22lsl, 223rd and 262nd Bomber Aviation Divi-
sions, and a number of reconnaissance units
with Pe-2Rs,
Aircraft in resenre
In addition the V-VS maintained reserves
with the 1st,1Sth and 8th Air Armies to the north
and south of the salient which were to be com-
mitted later. The Luftwaffe had I,830 aircraft,
rncluding a large number of Messerschmitt Bf
I09G-O and Focke-Wulf Fw I90A-5 fighters,
Junkers Ju 87D-3 dive-bombers (including a
few Ju 87G- Is with two 37-mm Flak 18 cannon),
and Henschel Hs 1298-2 anti-tank aircraft, dis-
posed rn Luftflotten IV and VI. The V-VS started
pre-emptive strikes as early as May I943 with
the Pe-2s of the l6th Air Army conductrng a
Un- successful attack on the rail centre at Brasovo
and the mrlitary camps at Lokot. The modifled
Petlyakov Pe-2FT was well capable of wardrng
off flghter attacks, being very fast and well
armed. Powered by two Klimov M-l05PF en-
gines each rated at I,260 hp (940 kW) the Pe-
2FT's maximum speed was 360 mph (580 km,/h)
at rated altitude, It carried a crew of three, and
K, was armed wrth four or five 7,62-mm (0 3-in)
ShKAS and 12,7-mm (0.5-in) UBT machlne-
qruns; the maximum bomb load was I0O0 kg
(2,20s 1b).
Pe-2s took part in the strikes of 6/8 May, and
in the great air battles over Kharkhov and Orel
on the morning of 5 July 1943, when Operation
:irl"j"b
'Citadel' commenced. The efc:e::.. :: 3e:-
man fighter reaction resuled -: ::::.-,- -:s*.=:
within the attacking V-VS unr:s -:.: 3: - _,l-:_.
and Fw 190A-5s of the 1 FlieoelA'.-s-::=- -_:
the VIII Fliegerkorps claiming a :=:::: {:l
krils in the course of the day. The sca.e :: -:_: --:
fightlng was unprecedeited. The :::i=r_:
losses of the Luftwaffe and the V-\-S :- -:_=
period 5/8 July 1943 were 854 and 566 respe:-
tively: these figures are taken from So',-e,
sources, and while the casualties of the V-\-S
can be taken as true, those of the Luftwafe
were undoubtedly lower, Be that as it may, on
the ground the armies of Manstein and Mode]
were halted by the Soviet defences and, by 12
July, were on the retreat, Thereafter the Soviet
armies went over to the oifensive and there
was to be no stopping them: Kharkov, Orel, and
Belgorod were retaken by August 1943, and
the way opened for the great autumn offensives
to the Dniepr rlver and the prize of Kiev, the
capital city of the Ukraine. Throughout the
Kursk battles and the ensuing drives to the
Dniepr, the Pe-2, Pe-2FT and Pe-2R com-
pounded their reputations so assiduously
garned durlng 1942 over Leningrad, Rostov,
Stalingrad and the Kuban, Easy to seruice and
maintain, capable of operations in all weathers
and their high performance demanding hiqh
standards from their pilots, the Pe-Zs of the
V-VS maintained their status as the best Soviet
light bomber of the war with conspicuous suc-
Fast enough to escapg fi97l167,, .
attacl$, thePe-Zs over theffursk
battlefreld used low-angle dive-
bombingt tac ticsas&iinsi
concentrations of enemy armour.
.-. . . .t--.. ,.,.. ,.
I
lle
itpot"u ru-Z
ongdn of the Tupolev Tu-Z lay ln
--:e AUT-58, ANT-59 and ANT-60 hqht
bomber prototypes that came from the
desigrn bureau of Andrei N, Tupolev
dunng l93B-40: powered by two 1,400-
hp (1044-kW) Mikulin AM-37 V-i2
engdnes, the ANT-58 made its first
flight on 29 January 1941 with'M,P,
Vasyakin at the controls, The ANT-60
was re-engined with the big and
powerful 1,480-hp (1104-kW) M-82
radials because of the relatrve
unreliability of the AM-37s, The result ManywartimeTupolevTu-Zs hadtheir numbers handpainted.ThisTu-25 sewedon theKalininfront.
was the definitive Tu-2 bomber that
was to see service with the V-VS
during the last year of World War II
andwell into the 1950s, Soviet industry
was still in a state of upheaval following
the terrible years of I94I-2, when the
German army struck deep into
Belorussia and the Ukraine, The Tu-2
was too complicated an aircraft for the
conditions prevailinq, and after many
months in which the Tu-2 was modified
and srmplified for the mass production
lines, the Tu-2S (Seriinyl, or series)
appeared, flyrng for the flrst time on 26
Augmst 1943, A small number of Tu-2s
had previously been passed to front- TheTupolevTu-ZS carriedtwowingrootcannonandthreemachine-grunsmounted intherear cockpit and the
line reqiments rn September 1942, dorsal and ventral positions.
where their performance, armament
and bombload had received greneral
enthusiasm,
ByJanuary 1944 the first production
Tu-2 and Tu-2S bombers had been
passed to the regiments of the V-VS,
but it was not until June of that year that
Tu-2s saw action on a large scale, The
sector was the Karelian (Finnish) front
in the north where the V-VS forces,
under the overall command ofGeneral
A.A, Novikov, numbered 757 aircraft of
the l3th VA (Air tumy) the V-VS KBF
(Red Banner Baitic Fleet) and the 2nd
GV IAK (Suards fighter corps), Of the ThisTupolevTu-2Swas delivered to theV-VS in the summer of 1944 andwears thestandard camouflageof that
249 T!-2 and Petlyakov Pe-2 light bom- period.
bers in the Soviet order of battle, many
came under Coionel I.P, Skok's 334th including Tupolev Tu-2s, were called Performance: maximum speed in winq roots and three 12.7-mm (0.5-
Bomber Air Divrsion which subse- up to attack strongpoints at Kustrin, 547 kn/h (340 mph) at 5400 m in) UBT machine-gmns (one each in
quently received a citation for its wor\. Konigsberg and other fodrfied ports ( 17, 7 15 ft); cruising speed 4 42 lrrn/h both dorsal positions and ventral
Reconnaissance work was now beingt and crties, September 1945 saw many (275 mph); climb to 5000 m (16,405 ft) in station), plus a maximum bombload of
carried out by Tu-2D and Tu-2R air- Tu-2s in action against the Japanese 9 minutes 30 seconds; sewice ceiiing 3000 kg (6,614 lb)
craft with modified mainplanes, nose Kwantung fumy in Manchuna before 9500 m (31,170 ft); normalrange
glazing, and capacity for vertical and the final surrendet, 2000 km (1,243 miles)
oblique cameras. Wartime production Weights: empty 8260 kg (iB,20O lb);
of the T\rpolev Tu-2 and rts sub-types Specification normaitake-off i2800 kg (28,219 ]b) Andrei Tupolev was commanded by
amountedto 1, 111, Asabomberitdid Tupolev Tu-2S Dimensions:span 18,86 m (61 ft Stalin to produce a better bomber
not come into its own until the autumn Type: four-seat medium bomber I}Vzin),length 13,80 m (45 ft 3tlz in); ' than theJunkersJu 88, and the
of 1944, However, as German resist- Powerplant: two l,850-hp ( 1,380-kW) heightt56 m (14 ft I 1 in); wingarea resultingTu-2 proved to be one of
ance stiffened on nearing the eastern Shvetsov ASh-B2FN radtal ptston 48.80 mz (525,3 sq ft) the finest wartime aircraft. Tftrs ls a
borders of the Reich V-VS bombers, engmes Armament: two 2O-mm ShVAK cannon Tu-25 with broadened ailerons.

840
 Armed Forces of the World

US NavalAvicilion,"n,ffi
One of the most important missions of today's US
Navy is that of keeping track of the ever expanding
fleet of Soviet submarines, sea- and land-based
elements having this as their prime function. ln the
case of the former, an organization known as Sea-
based Air Anti-Submarine Warfare Wings Atlantic
Fleet (Sea-basedAirASWWingsLant) exists, this
controlling three subordinate functional wings plus
an additional direct-reporting squadron from its
headquarters at Jacksonville, Florida,
Following the introduction of the multi-purpose
'CV' concept in the early 1970s, all of the large
carriers now routinely deploy with ASW-configured
aircraft and hellcopters, and these also adhere to the
'community' practice. Air Anti-Submarine Warfare
Wing One (AirASWWlngOne) at Cecil Field having
six S-3A Viking squadrons while Helicopter Anti-
Submarlne Warfare Wing One (HelASWWingOne)
at Jacksonville controls six deployable SH-3 Sea
King squadrons as well as a similarly equipped and
permanently shore-based training unit. ln addition,
there is another organization (Helicopter Sea Control
Wing One, or HelSeaConWingOne, at Norfolk) with
several squadrons engaged in two very different Galaxies being used on occasion to ferry the Sea A Grumman E-2C Hawkeye from USS America. Tlre
aspects of helicopter operations. Four of these Stallions to their operating location whilst they are Hawkeye can simultaneously Eack over 250
squadrons are equipped with the Kaman SH-2F equally at home aboard amphibious vessels and targets and control more than 30 interceptions
Seasprite, detachments from these embarking aircraft-carriers. Capability in this area should also using its APA- 17I radar and its advanced
autom ated processrhg syslems.
aboard the large number of surface combatants improve greatly when the three-engine MH-53E
(cruisers, destroyers and frigates) which have heli- variant of Sikorsky's massive helicopter begins to
copter operating facilities for the dual purposes of enter service in the near future. cerned, the US Navy has no less than 24 operational
ASW and anti-ship missile defence. Reinstated ln Finally, Air Tesi and Evaluation Squadron One patrol squadrons equipped with variants of the
production recently, the SH-2F's capability in the (VX-l ) serves as the US Navy's princlpal ASW opera- Lockheed P-3 Orion, as well as two further
latter task is rather limited but the forthcoming tional test agency from Patuxent River, Maryland. squadrons tasked with training. Equally distributed
introduction of the Sikorsky SH-60B Seahawk being equipped with a few examples of the P-3 between the two major fleets, these are home-
should greatly improve potential in this area and will Orion, S-3 Viking, SH-2 Seasprite, SH-3 Sea King and ported at just four US bases, deploying periodically
almost certainly result ln the formation of additional SH-608 Seahawk. in much the same way as carrierborne forces for
squadrons within HelSeaConWingOne. The second ln the case of the Pacific Fleet, organization of extended periods of overseas duty. East coast units
major area of activity concerns mine counter- sea-based ASW assets is rather different, these are administered by an organization known as Patrol
r-n€dSUres; there belng three Sikorsky RH-53D being grouped together in a single command known Wings Atlantic Fleet (PatWingslant) wlth head-
squadrons engaged on this mission, notable opera- as the Anti-submarine Warfare Wing Pacific
tions of recent years being the clearance of (ASWW|ngPac) at North lsland. This controls SH-3
Two Lockheed S-SAVikings enter the landing
Haiphong harbour following the 1973 Vietnam Sea King, SH-2 Seasprite and S-3 Viking units, the pattern of Dwight D. Eisenhower with arrester
USS
ceasefire and the sweeping of the Suez Canal in the majority of which are to be found at North lsland hooks down. The S-3 has greatly enhanced the
spring of 1974. Deployment methods vary accord- whilst shore-based between periods of sea duty, carrier group's anti-submarine powers, as well as
ing ta circumstances, Military Airlift Command C-5A As far as land-based ASW elements are con- providing secondary anti-ship capability.

|
:j) lri t :;:: ;.:=:-=..
Armed Forces ofthe World E
r-a-:eis at Brunswick. Maine, its 12 front-llne
s':-adror,s being assigned to two equal-sized Patrol
.'. rgs at Brunswick (PatWing5) and at Jacksonville
=atWing1l) whilst the trainlng squadron reports
:l rectly to PatwingsLant headquarters. Patrol
i{,ngs Pacific Fleet (PatWingsPac) is similarly orga-
nized with five squadrons at Barber's Point, Hawaii,
under PatWing2 and seven squadrons plus the train-
ing unit at Moffett Field, California. under
PatWingl0. A third subordinate element (PatWingl )
at Kamiseya; Japan) oversees the activities of for-
ward-deployed units operating from bases at Mis-
awa in Japan, Agana in Guam, Kadena in Okinawa
and Cubi Point in the Philippines, whilst Atlantic
Fleet deployment bases include Keflavik in lceland,
Sigonella in Sicily, Rota in Spain, Kindley Field ln
Bermuda and Lajes in the Azores.
Most of the remaining Atlantic Fleet aviation units
are grouped together within Fleet Tactical Support
Wing One (FleTacSupWingOne) at Norfolk and, as
its title implies, thls body is principally concerned
with fulfilling a multitude of support functions
ranging f rom carrier offshore delivery through target
towing to helicopter combat support and communi-
cations between fleet commanders and sea-based
forces. Pacific Fleet support elements do not consti-
tute a separate command, most of the half-dozen or
so squadrons reporting to the functional wing com-
mands which most closely approximate to their
mission orwhich place greatest demands upon their
services.
The few remaining f ront-line units are all stationed
at bases outside the continental USA and, accord-
ingly, come under local control, ln the Meditena-
nean area there are three such units, namely Fleet
Air Reconnaissance Squadron Two at Rota, plus
Fleet Logistic Support Squadron 24 and Helicopter
Combat Support Squadron Four at Sigonella. Opera-
tional control of all these units rests with the Com-
mander Fleet Air Mediterranean (ComFAirMed) at
Naples whilst administrative control is exercised by
ComNavAirlant. Pacific Fleet forward-based units
engaged on similar duties are grouped together to
form the Fleet Air Western Pacific (FAirWestPac)
organization.
Responsibility for the training of aircrew before
assignment to a fleet replacement squadron rests
with the Naval Air Training Command, which main-
tains its headquarters at Corpus Christi, Texas,
exercising control over six Training Wings with a
total of 20 squadrons at six different bases in the
southern states of Mississippi, Florida and Texas.
Like the frontline.forces, the training syllabus and
equipment have been updated significantly in re-
cent years, with further improvements in prospect
when Brltish Aerospace's T-45B Hawk begins to
enter service later in the present decade. Consider-
able emphasis is now placed on 'self-help', at least
in the early stages of pilot training which is at pre-
sent accomplished on the Beech T-34C Turbo-
Mentor. Pilots destined to fly combat jet aircraft
then proceed to the Rockwell T-2C Buckeye and
McDonnell Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk whilst those
earmarked for the more sedate patrol community
progress via the Beech T-44A King Air. Helicopter
crews receive basic training in much the same way,
'noving on to the Bell TH-57A SeaRangbr for initial
'relicopter conversion, this being followed by adv-
anced tuition on variants of the ubiquitous Bell lro-
quols.
All Naval Flight Officer (NFO) training is principally
centred on Pensacola, Florida, where, after basic
non-pilot instruction, candidates are assigned to one
c"our couTSes for specialist studies, these being
'adar intercept, basic jet navigation, airborne
eectronic warfare and airborne intercept control.
--ese provide a thorough grounding in technique,
::-tents putting classroom theory into practice
aboard the T-2C Buckeye, TA-4J Skyhawk and
Rockwell T-39D Sabreliner before moving on to a
fleet replacement squadron where they receive
training on the aircraft type that they will eventually
crew when they join an operational unit. AllT-39Ds
will be phased out by May 1985 and, beginning in
August 1984, replaced with the Cessna T-47A
Citation ll.
ln addition to f ront-line and training elements, the
US Navy also possesses a quite powerful Reserve
Force, the organization of which follows lines similar
to those of the regular US Navy. With headquarters
at New Orleans, this body is spearheaded by two
Reserve Carrier Air Wings (CVWRs), each of which
consists of two F4 Phantom squadrons, three A-78
Corsair squadrons, one RF-8G Crusader squadron,
one McDonnell Douglas KA-3B Skywarrior squad-
ron, one EA-6A lntruder squadron and one E-2B
Hawkeye squadron. Modernization of these
elements is very much in prospect, with F/A-18
Hornets due to enter service within the next couple
of years, whilst it is also proposed to re-equip one of
the three A-78 squadrons assigned to each wing
with the A-6E lntruder.
Secondline helicopter squadrons, of which there
are seven in all, are grouped together within the
HelicopterWing Reserve (HelWingRes) and consist
of two light attack units with the HH-1 K lroquois,
four ASW units with the SH-3 Sea King and one unit
with the HH-3A Sea King, the last being unique in
that it is now the only active repository of combat
searih and rescue expertise in the entire US Navy.
As it has done for many years now, maritime
patrol remains a major feature of activity, there
being two Reserve PatrolWings (one forthe Atlantic
and one for the Pacific) controlling 13 squadrons
T'woRockwellT-ZC Buckeyes ofW-26, based at
with a mixture of P-3A and P-38 Orions, whilst the Kingsvifie, fiyover USSLexington, theUS Navy's
remaining element (the Reserve Tactical Support sole deck/aadjn g training carriet The Roclotrell
Wing) is essentially a transport force predominantly
'equipped with the McDonnell Douglas C-9B Buckqe k to b replacd later in the decade by
the British Aerospace T45B Hawk.
although a few Douglas C-1 18Bs and Convair
C-131Hs are still in use.
The only other aircraft-operating agency within Naval Air Test Center complex at Patuxent River,
the US Navy is the Naval Air Systems Command Maryland, to the small Naval Weapons Evaluation
(NASC), which has responsibility for development, Faciliry at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. Examples of
procurement and service support of those items virtually every type to be found in the current US
necessary to permit the respective Naval Air Force Navy inventory (and quite a few that are not) are on
to fulfil their missions. To assist in this task, NASC hand, the total test fleet almost certainly numbering
has nine major field centres, these principally being in excess of 250 aircraft whilst NASC is also respon-
engaged in various aspects of RDT&E (Research, sible for management of the six Naval Air Rework
Development, Test and Evaluation) and they do vary Facilities (NARFs). Mainly concerned with the over-
in size quite remarkably, ranging from the massive haul of US Navy aircraft, the NARFs generally tend
to specialize in certain types, this being beneficial in
that it enables the predominantly civillan workforce
The McDonnell Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk is
extensively used for advanced training,
to acquire a high degree of expertise and pro-
supplementing the Rocl<'lvell Buckeye. This picture ficiency. ln addition to airframes, other activities
shows a TA-4J from VC- I 3, based at Miramar, include the overhaul and repair of engines, com-
providing air-combat manoeuwe training for a ponents, spare parts and the guidance and control
GrummanF-14 of W-1 14. systems of air-to-air missiles.