And so we come to the end of our aircraft companion series for Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China. FTSOC‘s final mission starts off by showcasing the North American B-25 Mitchell, an aircraft most famous for its role in the Doolittle Raid.
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| Fagen Fighters B-25J “Paper Doll” at the Sioux Falls Air Show in 2016. (My photo) |
In the CBI Theatre, B-25s were primarily used as low-level Close Air Support (CAS) aircraft. Later versions of the aircraft saw steadily increasing quantities of forward-firing machine guns, which made them excellent for the job. USAAF B-25s also operated in the anti-shipping role against the Japanese navy, relying on skip-bombing and mast-level attacks to maximize their effectiveness.
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| Tail gunner’s position view in IL-2 |
B-25s served in every major theatre of World War II, with surviving aircraft operating in military service in various countries into the 1960s. After being retired from military life, many aircraft found a second life as fire bombers and aerial camera ships. There are some forty-five aircraft still flying, many converted back from their second post-war life to once again represent warbirds.
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| IL-2‘s B-25J model in flight. |
For simulator pilots, it can be a little bit more difficult to get behind the controls of a virtual B-25. FTSOC‘S B-25 representation is okay, but obviously not a sim. IL-2 Sturmovik does feature a pretty solid representation of a B-25J, however, complete with usable nose, dorsal, tail, and waist gun positions.