B-25 Mitchell in Action - Aircraft No. 221

This may have been the best plane of them all, back during WWII.Referring, of course, to the bombers, and not the fighters.We were blessed with many superb fighter planes, so one would be hard-pressed to declare a favorite.This was the plane that Jimmy Doolittle personally piloted off the deck of the aircraft carrier Hornet, to conduct the first bombing raid on Japan, when it wasn't even designed to fly from a carrier.Then, they continually modified it to create a ground attack platform, by installing eight .50 Cal. machine guns in the nose, plus the top and bottom turrets, as well as side and rear guns.Truth be told, if we hadn't been blinded by the intoxicating promise of the big bomb load of the B-17s and B-24s, and later of the B-29s, it may have been the only bomber we actually needed, which was much smaller and cheaper to build and fly then any of the others.The difference was in the types of bombs we used.Gen LeMay finally realized that high-level bombing was a total non-starter, because very few of the bombs hit the target.We can thank the Norden bombsight for that.And they were the wrong kind of bombs, anyway.A high-explosive bomb is fine, if it hits the target. But if your aim is off, and you don't score a direct hit, or at least come very close, you have just wasted your efforts, and your bombs.But a B-25, crammed full of clusters of incendiary bombs, and accompanied by P-47s equipped with drop fuel tanks, could have zipped in under the radar and devastated any target they wanted to, without worrying about being picked up on radar and blasted with ack-ack fire, or attacked by hordes of quick German fighters, if they simply flew in low, so as to avoid the early radar of that time, which would guarantee that they would actually hit the target, and not miss by hundreds or thousands of yards, and succeed only in blowing up a lot of squirrels or fish, by hitting wooded areas or lakes.

This well illustrated and informative book tells the complete story of the North American B-25 Mitchell, often proclaimed as the most used bomber of World War II: it was used by every allied power in every theater of World War II. The Mitchell achieved fame as the workhorse of the Doolittle Raid on Japan in 1942, provide direct air support to ground troops in North Africa, was used as a strike bomber to interdict Axis supply lines in Italy, bombed Europe, flew supplies over the Hump in the CBI, as excelled as a surface attack aircraft in the Pacific. The book includes technical data, line drawings, numerous photographs, and color illustrations. Highly recommended for aviation BUFFS.

Super book on the B-25. As a bonus, I didn't even realize this series was also published in hard cover, which this edition is. Better book at a lower price than any other place I've found it in paperback. I'll be replacing other "In Action" books in my collection.

Not the best and not the worst from Squadron in recent years this offering does give a fine overview of the Mitchell production line. Operational details are much lacking but the book certainly contains a lot of very interesting pictures. Recommended.

Although the page size is fairly small, there is a good amount of material and photos in the soft-back book. I bought it as a gift for my grandson, Mitchell, and he likes it.

great history

Nice book. I enjoyed it.

very informative.. the 'In action series " from Squadron Signal is my GO TO book to supplement my aircraft models