B-25D MITCHELL "RED WRATH" 41-30024 PORT MORESBY 1944 - CORGI AA35315 1/72

CORGI AA35315 1/72 NORTH AMERICAN B-25D MITCHELL "RED WRATH" 41-30024 345TH BG 498TH BS PORT MORESBY FEBRUARY 1944 - LAST ONE HERE BEFORE RESTOCK

The four squadrons making up the 345th BG "Air Apaches" arrived in Port Moresby, New Guinea during the summer of 1943, routing from Australia, with crews intent on continuing the work started by the 38th BG "Sunsetters" in using B-25 Mitchells as low flying, heavy hitting strafing gunships.

Fitted with an additional eight forward firing .50 calibre machine guns, the aircraft of the 498th BS "The Falcons" would become some of the most flamboyantly presented aircraft of the Pacific War, with the glazed section of their noses overpainted in a green, yellow and red representation of a falcon's head. With all those .50 cals firing in unison, must have made for a fearsome sight, particularly if you were unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of their attentions.

This distinctive aircraft named "Red Wrath", was one of the hard-working strafing Mitchells of the 498th BS and made a name for itself whilst leading a raid against Japanese forces on the Island of Rabul in October 1943, one of the first such operations. Piloted by Lt. Col. Clinton L True, "Red Wrath" flew at the head of a force of 36 Mitchells leaving their base at Dobodura Airfield, with 200 miles of open ocean between them and their target.

Bad weather forced the mission to be aborted, however, the leader of the B-25 Mitchell force apparently didn't receive the order and the Mitchells pressed on alone. True had a reputation for being a particularly aggressive pilot and wore his "Fearless" nickname with pride, and whilst it was claimed he simply chose to ignore the order, that was never definitively proven.

Pressing their attack home with ferocity, once the Mitchells were over the target, they pounded the Japanese airfield complex, claiming at least 22 enemy aircraft destroyed in the air and countless others put out of action on the ground. Only 2 B-25s failed to make the return flight home to Dobodura Airfield.

North American B-25D Mitchell

Originally designed as an attack bomber for export to France and the UK, the B-25 Mitchell was first flown on August 19, 1940. Rejected by the countries it was designed for in favour of the new Douglas DB-7, the B-25 later entered service with the Army Air Corps as a medium bomber. Early in its service career, the B-25 became famous for its role in the Doolittle Raid. Nearly 10,000 B-25s were built by North American Aviation, and the aircraft's service spanned four decades. Named for aviation pioneer Billy Mitchell, the B-25 is the only US military aircraft to bear the name of an individual person.

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