The American ETO medium-bomb groups were equipped with B-26s or A-20s, reportedly because of concern about the B-25’s ability to stand up to the intense flak over Western Europe. Though the USAAF did not deploy B-25s to Britain, the RAF received 712 Mitchells, assigned to at least seven squadrons beginning in 1942, with combat operations commencing in January 1943. The B-25 Mitchell was a medium bomber operated by the all-black 477 th Bombardment Group, which did not prepare in time to be deployed abroad. The twin-engine medium bomber entered service in early 1941, powered by two 1,700 hp Wright R2600s. Doolittle’s April 1942 raid on Japan-the Mitchell nevertheless was used in nearly every theater of operation. Most famous for its use in the Pacific-especially Lt. The Tuskegee Airmen airplane served throughout the war but was generally disfavored by more capable aircraft. The fighter was often slower and less maneuverable than its adversaries, but the P-40 earned a reputation in battle for extreme ruggedness.
The was the third most-produced American fighter of World War II, after the P-51 and the P-47. Because air combat was a certainty for the recent graduates, they welcomed any flight time in real combat platforms, even if lackluster compared to the war’s more modern fighters. These were weary and otherwise obsolete planes, but with superior performance to any of the trainers. The Tuskegee Airmen class of 1944 received 10 flight hours of fighter lead-in training in hand-me-down P-40 Warhawks. Developed in 1938, the P-40s engaged Japanese aircraft at Pearl Harbor and in the Philippines in December 1941. The P-40 was a single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack plane that was arguably the United States’ best fighter plane available in large numbers when World War II began. It was also the first fighter fitted with a tricycle undercarriage Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Tuskegee Airmen plane had an innovative layout, with the engine installed in the center fuselage, behind the pilot, and driving a tractor propeller via a long shaft.
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