soc.history.war.world-war-ii

On Feb 21, 4:04 pm, "Hal Hanig" wrote:
> Michael Emrys wrote:
> > in article 47BDC253.8060...@hotmail.com, Tiger at Lana_sa...@hotmail.com
> > wrote on 2/21/08 10:30 AM:
>
> >>> Sure the B-26 had a 10MPH faster top speed but does that really make any
> >>> difference in a bomber?
>
> >> When a Zero is on your tail, every litle bit helps.

My source shows a much larger speed advantage than 10mph, but as we
know models varied and all such figures should be taken with salt.

> > Your logic is impeccable. However, since the B-26 was withdrawn from the
> > Pacific theater after 1942, they were unlikely to meet up with many Zeros.

Yes, I believe that was a matter of range, where the B-25 had the most
substantial advantage, as the Liberator did over the Fortress. ( I
think some early B-26 types particpated in the battle of Midway as
torpedo bombers, to not much effect.)

> > That said, the B-26 seems to have had other advantages. It suffered the
> > fewest crewmen lost on a percentage basis during the war of any American
> > bomber and had a very good record for accurate bombing. So it must have
> > had
> > something going for it.

One difference might be simply that the 25 was a prewar(?) design and
the 26 a later one based on a few more years experience, with the
corollary that there were more 25s earlier.

> Foolish me....all these years, I always thought that bombing accuracy was
> something bombardiers got credit or blame for, not the airplane they
> happened to be riding in.

Fair enough, but this is probably the cue for Art Kramer, if he's
still around.

> BTW, the airplane's nickname "One-a-Day in Tampa Bay" evolved from the
> frequency with which new pilots transitioning into the plane made
> unscheduled landings in the water....it was apparently quite a handful for
> inexperienced pilots. OTOH, no one ever said that about the B-25.

Yep, the 26 was a hot aircraft, and the 25 was a workhorse. I've met
former pilots of both types, but as far as I know only the 26 has an
international organization of ex-26ers. (Motto: Optimi Optimorum.)

I did learn one B-25 joke from a man who flew them in the SoPac:

"What do you say to B-25 pilot?"

" . . . "

"I SAID, WHAT DO YOU SAY TO A B-25 PILOT?"

"Did you say something?"

It would explain a lot about my father, who flew a B-25 in the Med.

Narr