Yikes!

[sarnali2]

Originally Posted by seruzawa

or this one:

The Mitchell is too light, you want a B17, preferably a G model with twin .50 chin turret to do some damage....granted it's a slower aircraft than the B25 but pound for pound you can't beat them for putting the hurt on your protagonist....

[seruzawa]

Originally Posted by sarnali2

The Mitchell is too light, you want a B17, preferably a G model with twin .50 chin turret to do some damage....granted it's a slower aircraft than the B25 but pound for pound you can't beat them for putting the hurt on your protagonist....

The B-25s sank more surface shipping than the entire US Navy surface fleet in WWII. Not a plane to be taken lightly. Especially the hard nosed version. That's 12 forward firing 50 cals....14 including the top turret. There was also a version with 8 50 cals and a 75mm cannon in the nose. It certainly put the hurt on the Imperial Japanese Navy. Anything smaller than a cruiser fell victim to these planes.

Interestingly, the B-25 also had a greater strategic effect than the vaunted B-17. The Doolittle raid on Japan was the motivation that made the Japanese decide to take Midway. The result was a disastrous naval defeat in which the Japanese lost 4 of their 6 large carriers and 1/4 of their pilots. That shortened the Pacific war by several years. The strategic bombing campaigns over Europe had far less effect than the post-war propaganda from the USAF has led the public to believe.

[sfcdjevans]

I'll not argue the strategic value of the European airwar. However the sacrifice is worth noting. Stephen Ambrose in his book Wild Blue Yonder claimed the 8th Air Force sustained more causalties than the Marine Corp.

" Ya see Norm, it's a little known fact that..."

[seruzawa]

Originally Posted by sfcdjevans

I'll not argue the strategic value of the European airwar. However the sacrifice is worth noting. Stephen Ambrose in his book Wild Blue Yonder claimed the 8th Air Force sustained more causalties than the Marine Corp.

" Ya see Norm, it's a little known fact that..."

Oh, absolutely. And I'm not saying that it wasn't an important part of defeating Hitler. I'm referring more to the propaganda campaign the USAF engaged in after WWII to justify the expense of huge strategic bombing wings all through the 50s and 60s.

[sarnali2]

Thats true, I wasn't thinking of anti shipping I was thinking in terms of bomb load. Albert Speer in his memoirs said the biggest effect of the round the clock bombing from the 8thAAf and the RAF Bomber Command was in diverting resources from the Russian front. In terms of damage to production there was enough slack in the system to make up, however the effort required to support fighter aircraft, fuel and ammunition plus the FLAK guns, ammunition and crews was always a problem. The FLAK guns in particular since they were basically 88 PAK guns pointed up, their range and flat trajectory made them a critical weapon against the Soviet T34's