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Title: B-25 Mitchell vs Japanese Destroyer Condition: New Subtitle: Battle of the Bismarck Sea 1943 Author: Mark Lardas Illustrator: Jim Laurier, Gareth Hector Contributor: Jim Laurier (Illustrated by), Gareth Hector (Illustrated by) Format: Paperback ISBN-10: 147284517X EAN: 9781472845177 ISBN: 9781472845177 Publisher: Osprey Publishing Genre: Law & Politics Topic: Military History, History Release Date: 21/10/2021 Description: Throughout the first year of the war in the Pacific during World War II the USAAF was relatively ineffective against ships. Indeed, warships in particular proved to be too elusive for conventional medium-level bombing. High-level attacks wasted bombs, and torpedo attacks required extensive training. But as 1942 closed, the Fifth Air Force developed new weapons and new tactics that were not just effective, they were deadly. A maintenance officer assigned to a B-25 unit found a way to fill the bombardier’s position with four 0.50-cal machine guns and strap an additional four 0.50s to the sides of the bomber, firing forward. Additionally, skip-bombing was developed. This called for mast-top height approaches flying the length of the target ship. If the bombs missed the target, they exploded in the water close enough to crush the sides. The technique worked perfectly when paired with “strafe” B-25s.Over the first two months of 1943, squadrons perfected these tactics. Then, in early March, Japan tried to reinforce their garrison in Lae, New Guinea, with a 16-ship convoy – eight transports guarded by eight destroyers. The Fifth Air Force pounced on the convoy in the Bismarck Sea. By March 5 all eight transports and four destroyers had been sunkThis volume examines the mechanics of skip-bombing combined with a strafing B-25, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the combatants (B-25 versus destroyer), and revealing the results of the attacks and the reasons why these USAAF tactics were so successful. Language: English Country/Region of Manufacture: GB Item Height: 248mm Item Length: 184mm Book Series: Duel Release Year: 2021
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