This skin represents a North American PBJ1-1J (B-25J) Mitchell, of Marine
Medium Bomber Squadron 613 (VMB-613), based on Sterling Islands, in The 
Solomons, April 1944.

Thanks to Woolfman, Redeyes and RDF and anyone else I forgot.

North American Aviation's B-25 "Billy Mitchell" medium bomber saw action 
with U.S. and Allied air forces almost everywhere during World War II. 
But mention its service with the U.S. Navy, and most think of the dramatic 
launch of 16 Army B-25s from the deck of the USS Hornet on April 18, 1942, 
in America's first strike at the Japanese homeland, lead by Lt. Col. James
Doolittle. To protect the Hornet from attack and further puzzle the enemy,
President Roosevelt announced that the raid had been launched from a 
mysterious base called "Shangri-La."

Of course, the B-25s couldn't land on an aircraft carrier  or could they?
On November 15, 1944, a specially modified Mitchell did just that, making
arrested landings and catapult takeoffs aboard the appropriately named 
USS Shangri-La. But this Mitchell was a PBJ, the Navy's designation for the
North American B-25 patrol bomber. Although the Navy dropped the idea of
flying PBJs from carriers, they went on to see action with the U.S. Marine
Corps.

For years before America's entry into the Second World War, there was a war
of a different sort between the air forces of the U.S. Army and Navy. The 
Navy wanted long-range multi-engine land-based reconnaissance and patrol 
aircraft but the Army Air Corps regarded all land-based bombers as an Army
operation. In late 1942, however, this situation was changed by an unusual
"deal."

The Army saw Boeing's new B-29 Superfortress as a major weapon in the war
with Japan, and its production would occupy Boeing's Seattle and Wichita
plants, plus Bell's Marietta facilities. Boeing had another plant in Renton,
but it had been built by the Navy to produce Boeing PBB "Sea Ranger" flying
boats. As American forces captured island bases in the central and 
southwestern Pacific, the need for flying boats and seaplanes was greatly
reduced. Thus, the Army proposed to trade its North American Kansas City
plant, which was building B-25s, in return for the Navy's Renton plant.
The deal was struck, and the sole XPBB-1 Sea Ranger built became "The Lone
Ranger."

In February 1943, the first B-25C and D models were delivered to the Navy
and given the designation PBJ-1C and PBJ-1D respectively. Army model letters
was used to designate all subsequent PBJ variants. The Navy's Mitchells were
to be used in the reconnaissance, anti-shipping and close support roles and
flown by Marine Corps crews. The first Marine bombing squadron, VMB-413, was
organized in March 1943, and a number of its PBJ-1s were fitted with search
radars mounted in place of the lower turret.

Since most Marine Corps pilots and crews were operating single-engine
fighter and attack aircraft, VMB-413 acted as a training squadron for air
and ground crews in the twin-engine Mitchell. By October 1943, seven more
squadrons, VMB-423, 433, 443, 611, 612, 613 and 614, had been equipped with
PBJ-1s to form the first Marine Medium Bombardment Group. First to see
action in the Pacific was VMB-413, which arrived in January 1944 and entered
combat in March of that year.

The squadron flew its first combat missions from Sterling Island, flying
both day and night bombing strikes against targets in the Rabaul and 
Bougainville areas. Having to develop new tactics, the Marine PBJs suffered
heavy losses at first. However, the squadron's effectiveness was noted in a
commendation from the Army commander of aircraft in the Solomons area
(ComAirSols), Brig. General William A. Matheny:

 you have, in the space of a few weeks, matched similar units which have 
been operating under ComAirSols for nine months You have, further, 
developed the dangerous, tiresome mission of night heckling against the
enemy bases to the highest perfection it has attained in the fourteen months
I have been working under ComAirSols.

In late 1943, newer PBJ-1Hs were delivered, fitted with a 75mm cannon 
mounted in the nose and additional forward-firing .50 caliber guns. These
were followed by PBJ-1Js in the spring of 1944. Those H models fitted with
radar had a radome in the nose, while the PBJ-1J's radar was mounted on the
right wingtip, allowing either a clear bombardier nose or solid gun nose to
be fitted. In addition, both models could carry eight air-to-ground 
High-Velocity Aircraft Rockets (HVAR) mounted under the wings. As described
below, the rockets proved more effective than the slow-firing 75mm gun, 
which rarely got off more than 3 or 4 rounds during a pass on a target.

VMB-612, commanded by Lt. Col. Jack Cram, was selected for special training
in night attacks on enemy shipping, using radar to locate and attack the
targets. In addition to conventional bombs and torpedoes, the new 5-inch
HVAR rockets were tried and found to be highly accurate and effective. By 
flying level about 300 feet above the water and correcting for wind and
temperature variations, Cram's pilots learned to judge the rockets range.
In one practice attack on a small island only 200 feet long by 100 feet wide
, the squadron fired over 250 HVARs and scored 56 percent hits.

In November 1944, VMB-612 was stationed on Saipan, but the nearest shipping
targets were near Iwo Jima and Chichi, 630 and 750 miles to the north,
respectively. Cram's squadron stripped their PBJs of excess weight, 
including the upper turrets and cheek guns, and carrying 1520 gallons of
fuel, successfully flew missions which lasted 10-12 hours.

From Saipan, VMB-612 moved to Iwo Jima in April 1945, where it could reach
the coast of Japan during its nigh-time anti-shipping strikes. Cram's 
squadron claimed 7 ships sunk and 80 damaged during missions from Saipan and
Iwo, with a loss of three PBJs in combat. On July 28, 1945, VMB-612 departed
for its next base on Okinawa.

The HVAR rockets shown to be so effective by VMB-612 were an early product 
of the Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) established at China Lake in 1943,
Working with civilian scientists from the California Institute of Technology,
the NOTS developed aircraft rocket weapons, including the big 11.75-inch 
"Tiny Tim", intended for attacks on enemy bunkers and other protected targets.
Being the "rocket experts", VMB-612's PBJ-1Js were fitted with mounts for 
two Tiny Tims, one on each side of the fuselage, above the bomb bay doors.
Cram's pilots flew three night missions with the big rockets against targets
in southern Japan on August 11, 12 and 13, 1945, in the last days of the war.

Just over 700 PBJs were delivered to the Marines, 50 PBJ-1Cs, 152 Ds, 1 or 2
Gs, 248 Hs and 255 PBJ-1Js. Performance of the PBJ-1J powered by two Wright
R-2600-29 1,700 horsepower engines included a top speed of around 275 mph at
12,500 feet, a cruse of 230 mph and normal range of 1,560 statute miles. 
Service ceiling was 20,600 feet with a normal gross weight of 34,000 pounds.
A typical PBJ-1J was armed with twelve 0.50 caliber machine guns and up to
4,000 pounds of bombs, a Mark 13 aerial torpedo or 8 HVAR rockets.

Marine bomber squadrons lost 45 PBJs to all causes, along with 173 officers
and men. Given the unusual reasons for choosing the Army-designed North
American bomber, it is hard to imagine an aircraft more effective than the
PBJ in the hands of its U.S. Marine Corps pilots and crews. 

