Bargain Book - B-25 Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell The Magnificent Medium - by N.L. Avery
I bought this book back in mid 2000, off the bargain book shelf for forty-nine cents. For that price I had nothing to lose. The author, Norm Avery, is listed as a draftsman and design engineer at NAA on the rear flap, having contributed to the B-25 as well as other aircraft such as the P-51 and F-86 among others. His chronicle of the B-25 is broad and detailed, in addition to my finding it an enjoying read.
The opening chapters cover the lineage of aircraft which preceeded the B-25, and it's part in the search for a high performance medium bomber, as well as the design and testing phases. What follows is a progression through each variant of the B-25, presented chronologically and formatted as an outline of each model. Details include engine specs, fuel capacities, armaments, as well as weight and flight performance specs. Where appropriate, more detailed text is given to explain major developments steps, such as engine, exhaust stack, and carb changes, and anti-icing. For certain models, extra space is given to bomb armaments and weapons such as the 75mm M-4 cannon.
Later chapters cover operations in the war, such as Doolittle's raid, and missions in the Mediterranean, the Pacific, Japan, and Burma among others. Often included here are details on various field modifications and some combat results. Mr. Avery closes with post war B-25s serving in the civilian and Air National Guard, and includes a brief section on the B-25 in non-US air forces. The rear of the book includes a collection of line drawings and charts covering dimensional and performance data, and also some markings drawings.
The photos and drawings are plentiful, and illustrate the text well. Most of the photos are black and white, as many may have been taken as such originally. I found the line drawings particularly useful during creating a profile painting of the B-25.
Forty-nine cents was a steal for this book, and since I bought it I've seen this book on Amazon listed above a hundred dollars from some resellers. Prices like that are reserved for serious collectors, but as a used discount book I think this is an easy recommendation to fans of the B-25 bomber.
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