I’ve been off-site for a few days, so I’m full of little questions today.
I’ve been preparing a couple of AcMin B-25 builds, and thinking of ways to make them different from the herd. I notice that several B-25 varients, and the PBJ-1’s, are listed as being capable of carrying the Mk. XIII torpedo, and this is always followed by the notation “externally.” Where did they carry it? I briefly had a color profile of a PBJ with an 11" Tiny Tim rocket slung under the belly where the bombay doors are. (Then my computor ate all my nice PBJ profiles and I can’t find them anywhere. Anybody out there give a modeler a hand? Somebody went to a lot of trouble to send those to me.)
Does anyone know where the torpedo was carried, and how it was mounted? I have a nice resin Mk. 13 looking for a home. A Tiny Tim as well. I’d like to put the Mk. 13 on my B-25G, but I’m suspecting this is one of those many, many cases where an aircraft is capable of carrying a certain weapon, it was tested, but it never actually did so in anger because it was either impractical, dangerous, inaccurate or the weapon simply was not available.
Tom
Tom,
I think someone earlier was asking the same question about B-25Gs in the forum, but forgot who it was. There were some B-25s that had the torpedo mounted (with special racks) in the bomb bay. The search for pics of the bomb bay rack came up a goose egg. I also remember seeing a pic of a B-25 with a torpedo mounted underneath the wing between the engine nacelle and the fuselage, but haven’t had luck finding it again.
Semper Fi!
Carl
When I asked the question I had a vague memory of seeing a torpedo mounted on a PBJ wing just as you describe, but it must have been in a book I no longer own. However, if so many sources describe this thing, it must have been tested, and if nothing else, the DoD has always photographed everything it tested. Like my bomb-toting F-102, this one has to turn up somewhere…I hope.
Tom
I know the PBY had the option for 2 torpedos-- one under each wing…but have not seen anything for the Mitchell variant…will check my books out when I get home.
No luck on finding torpedo mounts yet, but came across two sites for reference.
One is a shot of the B-25J (“Heavenly Body”) taking off from the USS RANGER (CV-61) in 1992! Site follows:
http://www.b25.net/b25carr.html#anchor4422
Second is of VMB-613, a Marine Squadron that flew PBJ-1s during WWII. They also have a few good pics. Site is below:
The search continues![:D]
I have found two pics of a PBJ armed with a torpedo, one is from my Squadron/B-25 in action, and the other image is from an old Italeri catalogue (2001) - it shows the same bird. Although not a “G” version, you can see the torpedo mounted outside in the open bomb bay.
I found this in a lucky net search (check out the box art at the top of the page):
http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/allies/us/pbjpreview.htm
It appears that the torpedo was carried under the centerline of the fuselage with the bomb bay doors open. This would seem to match some of the other things I read (including at the link above to VMB-613) that said that the torpedo was carried externally with the bomb bay doors open:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~fbonne/warbirds/ww2htmls/nortb25.html
(about 3/4 down the page, in the B-25C-1 description)
http://www.vectorsite.net/avb25.html
(toward the end of the B-25C section; apparently the torpedo was mounted on an external rack)
Of course, you can’t believe everything that is on the Internet.[:)] Hope that this helps.
Darn, just a little too slow![V]
I think I have the actual photograph of the PBJ-1D pictured above with a torpedo. I will send it tomorrow once I scan it. This is the only photograph I have ever seen of a PBJ-1 carrying the torpedo. The torpedo was carried externally with the bomb bay doors open – the torpedo was longer than the bomb bay. I’m not sure excactly how it was mounted. The only time torpedos were ever carried was in training at NAS Boca Chica.
Sharkskin: I will send the profiles again tomorrow morning if you wish.
Yanacek
Thanks, guys, I knew you’d come through for me. I half figured the fish was carried outside the bombay, but I couldn’t figure them taking off, climbing and cruising all the way to target with all that garbage hanging out in the slipstream, and the drag, not to mention the resulting speed and fuel penalties must have been ridiculous. I’ll bet Yanacek is right when he says it only happened at Boca Chica. Probably only used in the army in training.
But, assuming I go through with this, would the frangible wooden box that protected the fins from impact have been carried with this thing? For that matter, was the box always used when the Mk. 13 was dropped from TBM’s, SB2C’s, etc.?
Not a complete answer, but take a look at this:
Here are two photos of BuNo 35094, one of which shows it with a MK-13 torpedo:
This particular aircraft was used to evaluate the PBJ-1 as a torpedo bomber.
When the Marine Corps received PBJ-1s, they decided initially to modify them to carry the Mk-13 aerial torpedo. As part of the training syllabus, all pilots were sent to NAS Boca Chica to learn how to aim and drop the torpedo. This training lasted about one month. However, I have never seen any evidence that a PBJ-1 used a torpedo overseas. The pilots I know were gald that this was the case as they were “sitting ducks” on torpedo runs due to the slow speed of the aircraft and the inability to take evasive action once the run-to-target had begun. Therefore the box art on the PBJ-1D by Italeri apparently shows BuNo 35094 on a torpedo training/evaluation sotrie.
Semper Fi,
Yanacek
Thanks Robert, and to all. I’m guessing that PBJ-1 in the B&W photos is a C or D model? Only way I can tell at glance the C/D from the J models is by the dorsal turret, which is mounted aft on the B-25/PBJ’s through the G models, and was moved foward, between the wings sort of, on the H and J. Oh, and Turtle, that site is invaluable. It just went into my modeling bookmark. It even answered my Tiny Tim mount question. Now, if I can only figure out what a Mk. 51 bomb rack is, I can mount the big rocket on a model.
Tom
That particular aircraft (BuNo 35094) was built as a B-25D-25 (USAAF Serial Number 42-87178), hence, it is a PBJ-1D.
Semper Fi,
Yanacek