Snautzer01
Honourably banned
- 39,329
- Mar 26, 2007
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Morning Yves,Hope this photo wasn't posted earlier in the same thread - over the years I started forgetting my own contributions.
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A staged photo from the early B-25 months in North Africa. This are men from the 12th BG - the first B-25 group in the MTO. The interesting part is that the bombs we can see are not US but British. Don't mix this type of use with the RAF-Mitchells though.
Cheers!
Source: FOLD3 (those WWII photos are free for use and have no copy-rights to be afraid of!)
I know I'm late to the party (and admittedly have spent more time lurking here than actually contributing - hopefully that will change) but does it look like the housing aft of the rear boarding ladder actually holds a 45-degree mirror such that the camera is actually within the plane, facing downward, but the mirror would allow the camera to take pictures to the rear? As I understand it, the 38th and 345th used K-21s for taking these rear-facing strike photos and I don't see how a K-21 would fit into that housing.Found this photograph on Facebook here. I wonder if that is one of the first rear facing camera's that where installed as a field modification located just behind the rear entrance ladder.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2036908989909690/user/100002417876934
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I know I'm late to the party (and admittedly have spent more time lurking here than actually contributing - hopefully that will change) but does it look like the housing aft of the rear boarding ladder actually holds a 45-degree mirror such that the camera is actually within the plane, facing downward, but the mirror would allow the camera to take pictures to the rear? As I understand it, the 38th and 345th used K-21s for taking these rear-facing strike photos and I don't see how a K-21 would fit into that housing.
Could be, Camera mountings seem to vary just as much as weapons on the B-25. There are several different types scattered in this thread. I hope Yves comes on, been trying to get ahold him but no dice so far.
Below is info from the AN 01-60GB-1 Pilots Flight Instuction manual for the B-25C and D series and Navy Models PBJ-1C and PBJ-1D of another mount that I dont think we have talked about yet here.
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Ah, yes, this camera mount. I've seen that same diagram and photo. My impression is that this mount, being the standard camera mount for the C/D, was used by combat mapping squadrons before the F-10 was developed. The 9th PRS had a B-25 that they used for photo mapping that I believe used this configuration, as did the early photo reconnaissance B-25s used by 681 Sqn RAF early in the war in Burma (see the photo from Eyes for the Phoenix below). That full mount and supporting structure would seem to be a lot of extra weight and would take up a lot of extra space for a combat plane IMHO, especially when the 38th and 345th BGs liked to mount guns out of the oblique camera windows. Looking at that photo that I was referring to with the potential mirror, it looks like the camera apparatus was mounted on the ventral camera window cover. I wonder if a K-21 could have been mounted vertically in a field-created camera mount positioned similarly to the one in Figure 44 above.Could be, Camera mountings seem to vary just as much as weapons on the B-25. There are several different types scattered in this thread. I hope Yves comes on, been trying to get ahold him but no dice so far.
Below is info from the AN 01-60GB-1 Pilots Flight Instuction manual for the B-25C and D series and Navy Models PBJ-1C and PBJ-1D of another mount that I dont think we have talked about yet here.
View attachment 739162View attachment 739163View attachment 739164
Morning Chris,Ah, yes, this camera mount. I've seen that same diagram and photo. My impression is that this mount, being the standard camera mount for the C/D, was used by combat mapping squadrons before the F-10 was developed. The 9th PRS had a B-25 that they used for photo mapping that I believe used this configuration, as did the early photo reconnaissance B-25s used by 681 Sqn RAF early in the war in Burma (see the photo from Eyes for the Phoenix below). That full mount and supporting structure would seem to be a lot of extra weight and would take up a lot of extra space for a combat plane IMHO, especially when the 38th and 345th BGs liked to mount guns out of the oblique camera windows. Looking at that photo that I was referring to with the potential mirror, it looks like the camera apparatus was mounted on the ventral camera window cover. I wonder if a K-21 could have been mounted vertically in a field-created camera mount positioned similarly to the one in Figure 44 above.
Sorry for the long delay in responding. Thanks for posting these! I'm familiar with these but after seeing them again, I can see how it would be relatively easy to include the vertical camera on missions, especially a smaller strike camera, in that rear position. Assuming that's to scale, it wouldn't take up much space. Looking through a number of the 12th BG mission reports, anywhere from 1-3 planes would photograph any given mission. As I recall, there is a cover for the camera window when it was not being used which is probably why you rarely see the camera window exposed on in-flight photos. That and I suppose that many of the in-flight photos may have been taken from the photo plane to begin with.Morning Chris,
Not sure on the mirror but makes sense. As far as the camera goes in the C/D it goes back to the configuration of the B-25B model. You may find these interesting.
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That is gorgeous!I'm not sure if this is appropiate, but this is a 7' PBJ-1H-10 I built 24 years ago patterned after Mitchell #99.View attachment 752981View attachment 752982View attachment 752983View attachment 752980
I thought I was looking at the real thing until I read your caption.I'm not sure if this is appropiate, but this is a 7' PBJ-1H-10 I built 24 years ago patterned after Mitchell #99.View attachment 752981View attachment 752982View attachment 752983View attachment 752980