1:48 B-25J Mitchell

A medium bomber that fought over the Mediterranean

The North American B-25J was the last and most numerous form of the Mitchell. It was built in Kansas, had an armored cockpit, defensive gun positions around the whole perimeter of the fuselage and, in late series, eight fixed machine guns in the nose as well. It was committed from field airfields against bridges, marshaling yards and transport junctions, that is against targets for which four engine formations were needlessly heavy.

The 340th Bombardment Group

The unit whose machines the sheet covers was among the hardest tried formations of the Italian theater. In March 1944 Vesuvius buried its airfield near Pompeii in ash and hot stone during an eruption and it lost dozens of Mitchells without a single enemy fighter taking off against them. The group re-equipped and went on fighting over northern Italy. One of the machines on the sheet carries the name Briefing Time, the code letter 9D and serial number 43-27638; the second flew with the code 9V.

What set the late form apart

Late series received strengthened defensive gun positions and in some examples a nose block of machine guns for low level attacks as well. Machines like those appeared over the Balkans and over the Po valley, where the fighting was mainly against the transport network.

Procedure on a model

The markings of the Mitchell lie largely on the vertical tail surfaces and on the sides of the nose, that is on areas with transitions and riveting. Varnish the base to a gloss, therefore, lay a piece down wet and soak the excess water off with a cloth from the center to the edge. The deeper artwork of the nose motif takes a second round of decal softener as well, and after it the decal is left undisturbed for at least forty-five minutes.