moto tool and a combo of a cutoff wheel
and sanding drum. A wood screw holds the
upper nacelle while the lower portion is fastened with plastic clips inserted into precut
slots. Plastic thumbscrews are then added
and make for solid connections. The
retractable nose gear is similar, except
there’s an added rod for your steering servo.
The mains and nose gear are all actuated via
a single servo, so make sure you use a servo
with enough torque. I found the Cirrus
Removing two screws allows easy access to the
two powerplants. There’s plenty of room for the
electric setup, which performs perfectly.
retract servo to work very well. Following
the instructions made the entire process
fairly easy, as everything worked exactly as
outlined. I did cut some length from all
three gear rods and found it necessary to
move the nose gear off-center for proper
clearance from its “hatch” cover. Gun turrets, radiators and guns will need to be cut
out and installed. The included decals are
great and were easy to cut and apply.
CONCLUSION
I managed to log in 24 hours during the
completion of this model’s build. BH Models gets my kudos for having included a
retract system that’s fairly painless to
install. Typically, I spend as much time
adjusting and tweakiing a retractable landing gear system as I do with the rest of the
airframe, so this was a nice change. If you
decide to go with a glow power system, you
may have to put even more time in the
build because of the additional parts
required. I say keep your B- 25 clean and
quiet; it’s perfect for sneak attacks!
PHOTO COURTESY OF NORMAN FELTWELL
B-25s in the South Pacific
Here’s an excerpt from the article “Punch in the Nose,” by Capt. John “Jack”
Bronson, USAAC (Ret.), as told to and written by James P. Busha. It appeared in
Flight Journal’s special issue, “WW II U.S. Medium Bombers.”
Designed to be a land-based, medium-altitude bomber, the B- 25 was tasked with one of
the War’s most spectacular missions. On April 18, 1942, 16 heavily laden B-25s took off
from the USS Hornet’s pitching deck and headed towards Japan. Led by Lt. Col. James
H. Doolittle, these aircraft and their brave crews proved that Japan was susceptible to
the U.S.’s wrath. After the success of that mission, the B- 25 was tapped to fly a variety
of bombing and strafing raids. Nowhere was the B- 25 more dominant than in the South
Pacific Theater. Capt. John Bronson survived flying the B- 25 Mitchell in the South Pacific
on an even more dangerous mission than Doolittle’s. Here is his story:
Our crew consisted of a pilot, a copilot, a navigator-bombardier, an engineer, a
radioman and a turret gunner. After practice bombing much of South Carolina and the
surrounding areas, we were deemed combat-ready and given brand-new B-25Ds stripped
of all cold-weather equipment. Although we weren’t officially told where we were being
sent, everyone knew where we were heading: the South Pacific.
We prepared for what we knew was one of the biggest mission so far: a surprise
attack on Rabaul. There were more than 300 Japanese aircraft distributed between four
airfields near Rabaul, so this was definitely a top-priority target. The 5th Air Force
Command drafted an all-out massive air strike. Rabaul was heavily defended by
hundreds of antiaircraft guns, and because the Japanese aviators on the island were
experienced, we needed to get in early and take them absolutely by surprise.
In the predawn hours of October 12, 1943, dozens of B-25s taxied out for takeoff. Our
base at Dobodura, New Guinea, was a mere 460 miles away from Rabaul and the strip
there was made of Marston matting laid atop crushed coral. When the first B- 25 roared
down the runway, the massive power of two, big radial engines caused a huge wall of
coral dust. The B-25s, all loaded down with ordnance and fuel, were to take off 10
seconds apart into zero-zero visibility. When it was my turn, I lined up on the runway
center—at least, what I thought was the center—set my gyro compass to zero and hit
full throttle. The B- 25 bucked and jerked as I fought to maintain my runway heading and
prayed that the guy in front of me had got off OK.
As forward speed increased and the controls felt lighter, I lifted it off at 145mph and
pulled back on the yoke. We broke out at 100 feet AGL where it was absolutely clear. I
formed up with the rest of my squadron and headed off into the unknown. As we drew
closer to our objective, we saw a small but comforting sight. P- 38 Lightnings were our
close-cover escort at 5,000 feet and P- 47 Thunderbolts were our high cover at 12,000
feet. But I was unpleasantly apprehensive: would I make it through this? No time to
worry about what-ifs, as we began our descent to 50 feet above the waves. Other
bombers and fighters separated to head for their targets. Our target was Vunakanau
Airfield, which was packed with Japanese fighters and bombers and enough AAA gun
placements to turn a good day bad.
