Soviet Air Force
The USSR received 862 B-25s (B, C, D, G, and J types) from the United States under Lend-Lease during World War II[50] via the Alaska–Siberia ALSIB ferry route. A total of 870 B-25s were sent to the Soviets,[51] meaning that eight aircraft were lost during transportation.[citation needed ]
Other damaged B-25s arrived or crashed in the Far East of Russia, and one Doolittle Raid aircraft landed there short of fuel after attacking Japan. This lone airworthy Doolittle Raid aircraft to reach the Soviet Union was lost in a hangar fire in the early 1950s while undergoing routine maintenance. In general, the B-25 was operated as a ground-support and tactical day bomber (as similar Douglas A-20 Havocs were used). It saw action in fights from Stalingrad (with B/C/D models) to the German surrender during May 1945 (with G/J types).[citation needed ]
The B-25s that remained in Soviet Air Force service after the war were assigned the NATO reporting name “Bank”.[52]
Source North American B-25 Mitchell - Wikipedia
In late 1942 and into 1943, B-25 aircrews generally carried out strikes on German railway junctions, airfields, and other such rear areas, but in the second half of the war, the Mitchell crews bombed targets in cities such as Warsaw, Breslau, Konigberg, Tilsit, and Berlin. Towards the end of the war, however, due to the fact that B-25s required more room to take off and the advancing Soviet forces often had to make use of dilapidated and makeshift airfields, Il-4s were at times chosen for bombing missions over the Mitchells, despite the fact that their bomb loads were significantly lower than the American-made bombers. Nevertheless, the Soviets were able to modify some B-25s to convert them into transport aircraft. Mitchells were gutted out to carry as many as 20 people, and could haul up to one ton of supplies over a distance of 2,240 kilometers. Moreover, B-25s were used as reconnaissance aircraft, as they were capable of flying at night and were equipped with modern navigation and monitoring systems. On such flights, crews would place a 215 gallon fuel tank in the bomb bay, which would increase flight time by up to 7 hours.
B-25 were thus highly respected among Soviet bomber crews in the Great Patriotic War. One Soviet fighter pilot who test flew a Mitchell, Sergey Yakovlevich Tatushin, simply said, “It’s a beautiful aircraft.” Of the 861 B-25s delivered to the Soviet Union, 497 survived the war. In accordance with the terms of the lend-lease program, under the supervision of US officials, the majority of the Soviet Union’s American-made aircraft were destroyed, but not all. Indeed, the 330th regiment, stationed in Babruysk, continued flying B-25s until the introduction of the Tu-4 (a reverse engineered B-29) in 1949. The B-25 rightfully has its place in history as a major contributor to the Allied victory over the Axis powers in World War Two. Nevertheless, like so much about the Eastern Front, Soviet Mitchells were soon forgotten in the West. While Soviet air forces generally focused on providing close air support to the Red Army, the ADD did carry out long-range missions against rear targets, and the B-25s were undoubtedly the best aircraft they had for the job. The B-25 with Soviet marking truly was a beautiful aircraft (as were all Mitchells).
Source and more info “It was a beautiful aircraft”: The Soviet B-25s | vvs air war
I think i dont need to write much about the B25, it is allready used and known in the USA Tech Tree.
There are allready some lend lease Aircrafts for the soviets like P40 , A 20 Boston and Hurricane.
It could be a nice addition easy to Add , and i know its Copy and Paste.
The lighter Bomb load could fill the Br4 Soviet TT Aircraft gap.
- Yes B-25 for Soviets with big Bomb load for BR5
- Yes B-25 for Soviets with smaller Bomb load for Br4
- No B-25 for Soviets
Other Iders from me
Back to Topic
For what shoult it be?
Just if you did choose in the first poll on of the yes options.
I think it with event Without a squad it would be problematic then the Soviet bomber TT squads have a lower number of bomber crew, but to change it maybe just for one aircraft would be problematic i think.
- For Tech Tree
- For Event with Event squad.
Stuff like!
Criticism, complaints, Ideas, questions, other, opinions,
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