{"product_id":"b25-mitchell-vs-japanese-destroyer-9781472845177","title":"B25 Mitchell vs Japanese Destroyer","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThroughout the first year of the war in the Pacific during World War II the USAAF was relatively ineffective against ships. Indeed, warships in particular proved to be too elusive for conventional medium-level bombing. High-level attacks wasted bombs, and torpedo attacks required extensive training. But as 1942 closed, the Fifth Air Force developed new weapons and new tactics that were not just effective, they were deadly. A maintenance officer assigned to a B-25 unit found a way to fill the bombardier's position with four 0.50-cal machine guns and strap an additional four 0.50s to the sides of the bomber, firing forward. Additionally, skip-bombing was developed. This called for mast-top height approaches flying the length of the target ship. If the bombs missed the target, they exploded in the water close enough to crush the sides. The technique worked perfectly when paired with strafe B-25s.   Over the first two months of 1943, squadrons perfected these tactics. Then, in early March,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction  Chronology  Design and Development  Technical Specifications The Strategic Situation  The Combatants  Combat  Statistics and Analysis  Aftermath  Further Reading  Index","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49408765067607,"sku":"9781472845177","price":12.59,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781472845177.jpg?v=1730504122","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/b25-mitchell-vs-japanese-destroyer-9781472845177","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}