18 Machine Guns on One Plane: The Deadly Evolution of the B-25

Video from the channel Historic Warfare about North American B-25 Mitchell, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 7:30. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

A short documentary on the transformation of the North American B-25 Mitchell in the Pacific: from vulnerable medium bomber to low-level attack aircraft with a nose packed with machine guns.

In early 1942, B-25s destined for Europe were diverted to the Pacific and reached Australia in April. They bombed from 10,000-12,000 feet, and the escorting P-40 and P-39 fighters lacked the range to accompany them to the target, so they suffered heavy losses: in an April raid over New Guinea, 6 of 18 aircraft were lost. General George Kenney took command of the Fifth Air Force in August 1942 and backed the proposal of Major Paul "Pappy" Gunn: replace the bombardier's station with a solid nose carrying up to eight .50 caliber Browning M2 machine guns. His teams converted B-25Cs and Ds in open-air workshops in New Guinea, taking care over the balance of an aircraft loaded heavily toward the nose.

In March 1943, in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, the modified B-25s attacked a Japanese convoy carrying about 7,000 soldiers at wave-top height, combining strafing and skip bombing, and sank all eight of its transports. North American took the idea into the factory. The B-25G carried a solid nose with an M4 75 mm cannon. The B-25H, from early 1944, replaced it with a lighter T13E1 and raised the number of forward machine guns to eight. The recoil, muzzle flash, and manual loading of the cannon led many crews to prefer machine guns, and some field modifications reached 14 forward-firing guns.