cutiger83 Posted May 30, 2019 Share #1 Posted May 30, 2019 I have been able to find where the RAF flew B-25s for the D-Day invasion but so far have not been able to find any American units that flew the B-25. Do any of you know if Americans also flew B-25s during the invasion? Thank you in advance for your assistance, Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baron3-6 Posted May 30, 2019 Share #2 Posted May 30, 2019 B-25's flown by the AAF were only in the Mediterranean theater (Also a lot of use in the Pacific)....there was at least one B-25 hack plane used by the 8th AF I have heard of. Other than that, NW European operations of the B-25 were by our Allies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbtcoveralls Posted May 30, 2019 Share #3 Posted May 30, 2019 B-25's flown by the AAF were only in the Mediterranean theater (Also a lot of use in the Pacific)....there was at least one B-25 hack plane used by the 8th AF I have heard of. Other than that, NW European operations of the B-25 were by our Allies. That's correct, the B-25 was used extensively in those theaters but never saw much use in the ETO. The B-26 Marauder (Martin) and later the B-26 Invader (Douglas) were the mainstays of the medium bomber fleet in the European theater The only ETO B-25s I know of were in the movie "hanover street" Tom Bowers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutiger83 Posted May 30, 2019 Author Share #4 Posted May 30, 2019 Thanks for your input. I did find an online interview of RAF pilots who flew the B-25 on D-Day but so far only the RAF. As Baron3-6 said, it appears the Americans flew them in the other theatres: CBI, Pacific, Mediterranean, etc. Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobgee Posted May 30, 2019 Share #5 Posted May 30, 2019 FYI - The old movie "Hanover Street" with Harrison Ford circa 1970s erroneously featured B-25s operating out of England. Bobgee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutiger83 Posted May 30, 2019 Author Share #6 Posted May 30, 2019 FYI - The old movie "Hanover Street" with Harrison Ford circa 1970s erroneously featured B-25s operating out of England. Bobgee Just to clarify, B-25s were flown by the RAF out of England but not the U.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobgee Posted May 31, 2019 Share #7 Posted May 31, 2019 Just to clarify, B-25s were flown by the RAF out of England but not the U.S. Understand. Failed to mention that the film depicted USAAF operating B-25s out of England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-17Guy Posted June 3, 2019 Share #8 Posted June 3, 2019 That's correct, the B-25 was used extensively in those theaters but never saw much use in the ETO. The B-26 Marauder (Martin) and later the B-26 Invader (Douglas) were the mainstays of the medium bomber fleet in the European theater The only ETO B-25s I know of were in the movie "hanover street" Tom Bowers All correct, I believe I read somewhere that the sole 8th AF B-25 was lost at some point. Incidentally, one reason the B-25 was not seen in USAAAF units in England was the fact that it was so well suited off short, unimproved runways...and the B-26 Marauder was not. Especially in the Pacific, most runways were craved out of islands with rough conditions. The B-26 was a good medium bomber, but it was a bit of a runway hog when compared the the B-25. The 26 did much better when operating off the longer, nicely paved English runways and the 25 had no problem with rough field conditions. Thats why you generally see B-25s everywhere but England. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pararaftanr2 Posted June 5, 2019 Share #9 Posted June 5, 2019 I concur with what others here have stated. There were no USAAF B-25 units flying out of England during WW2, however I do know of at least one B-25 that was attached to Air Transport Command and was used by them as a utility aircraft, having been stripped of its armament and kept at Bovingdon air base. My late father, Lt. Charles A. Faulkner, a C-47 pilot in the ATC, flew it on occasion and even served as a check pilot for others who wished to fly it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomfixer Posted June 5, 2019 Share #10 Posted June 5, 2019 some B25s with D Day invasion stripes...British operated credited from FB page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutiger83 Posted June 6, 2019 Author Share #11 Posted June 6, 2019 Thanks for everyone's responses. I found this information from the B-25 History group on Facebook. Over 50 B-25s were flown on D-Day (mostly by the RAF). This includes 11 from 98 Squadron, 21 from 180 Squadron, 12 from 226 Squadron and another 12 from 320 (Dutch) Squadron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now