parsifal
Colonel
Groan.....I need to get out more......
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Groan.....I need to get out more......Possibly because the question was Allied medium bombers? Internet Rule 38-11.09 specifies that any German aircraft must always win "best of" polls for WWII aircraft.
And the CBI!It [Wellington] was also used in the Med/Italy for considerably longer along the Martin 187/Baltimore.
My selection would be a Do 217 speed payload and range, but often overlooked.
Interesting fact, Martin & the Dornier both (unusually for medium bombers) - featured 4-blade props.
This leaves the impression that the short wing B-26s were unsuccessful while the long wing versions were more so. I think this is misleading. On the first mission against Velsen, Netherlands, on 14 May, 1943, using short wing B-26s, the mission was a success as far as the B-26s were concerned. Bombs fell on target and all B-26s made it back to England, with one crashing on landing killing the pilot. Unfortunately, most of the time-delay bombs failed to explode or were easily disarmed by the Germans (one source said the delay was 30 minutes to give the Dutch workers time to escape). The second mission, on 17 May, 1943, was indeed a disaster for a couple of reasons. First, it was a re-attack only three days after the first attack and the Germans were then ready. A re-attack is always more dangerous. At Pearl Harbor, the Japanese lost 9 aircraft in the first attack, 20 in the second. Second, the mission was off preplanned course exposing the flight to intensive German anti-aircraft fire and extending their time over enemy controlled territory. A sad side note, 1st Lt Edward Norton was the pilot of one of the planes, his twin brother James, was his copilot. Both were killed.Prior to that the short wing B-26Bs were hard pressed against the Germans in North Africa and the two early low level missions over Europe were disastrous. The long wing Marauders, flown in strength at medium altitudes, with adequate escort, from Mid '43 racked up an enviably low combat loss ratio.
All valid arguments for a great plane.The B-25 was a "good enough" plane that proved very adaptable to the conditions in the Pacific where its conversion to a low level strafer made it the scourge of the South Pacific. Costing about 2/3 the price of a B-26, it was easier to build, maintain and fly. Plus its roomy nose compartment proved accommodating to the various weapons packages devised for its strafer role.
The USAAF knew better than to employ B-25 'strafers' against the murderous flak in the ETO.
Did the 9th AF ever deploy any A-series aircraft post D-day? Even P-38's were suffering prohibitive A2G losses.
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Actually for the Allies the PE-2, Martin 167, Blenheim, Beaufort and Hudson could be deleted from the list.
They are either light bombers or obsolete in 1942-43. Useful as they may be in some other roles or whatever their accomplishments in 1940-41.
Hampden is iffy.
By 1943 you better have 1600hp or better engines to be in the running.
Yeah, big difference between attacks in the wide wastes of the desert, or on extemporised sea logistics,
& assaulting 'Festung Europa' the 'Atlantic Wall', or heavily armed flak ships - in large, slow aircraft.
Hurricanes suffered so heavily in anti-V1 A2G attacks before D-day - that they were withdrawn,
whereas the RAF still deemed them capable - against the Nippon forces in Burma.
The USAAF knew better than to employ B-25 'strafers' against the murderous flak in the ETO.
Not according to Wiki, the RAF received 900 though.Did the USAAF even operate B-25s in the ETO (ie, from Britain)?
Did the USAAF even operate B-25s in the ETO (ie, from Britain)?
Gotta laugh at wiki, I just clicked on "Europe" but there is another section for "Middle East and Italy" which also describes operations in Austria The Balkans and Aegean 20 squadrons in total.They did plenty from Italy, including targets deep into Germany, occupied France, Yugoslavia etc.
Catch-22 is set in a B-25 squadron in Italy!They did plenty from Italy, including targets deep into Germany, occupied France, Yugoslavia etc.