Squadrons #16: North American Mitchell - Dutch, French, & Poles

For their next 'Squadrons' book, RAF-in-Combat has chosen a type that was mostly known for its operations in the Southwest Pacific and the Mediterranean, but not so much in Northern Europe. The B-25 Mitchell was considered the best medium bomber of the war by many. It carried a decent payload, had good range and was relatively easy to fly. The B-26 was faster, but more of a handful, which is probably why it quickly disappeared after WWII while the B-25 soldiered on into the 1960s.

The story of how the B-25 got into Europe is interesting in itself. The original foreign order was by the Dutch in 1941, who wanted the type in the Netherlands East Indies. So while the intial deliveries did arrive in Australia in 1942, it was after the NEI had been overtaken by the Japanese. Those planes were integrated into the RAAF. However, that was only a small portion of the order so the rest were diverted to England where Dutch crews who were flying in various RAF squadrons, converted to the type and flew them from 1943 until the end of the war. Other countries who flew the type were the French and the Poles, though not in the same numbers. All major variants aside from the canon armed versions were flown and many carried nose markings.

This book is like others in the series which takes a look at the various squadrons that flew these types that were not widespread throughout the RAF (like the Wellington or Hurricane). We are provided a brief history of the type along with its operational use during WWII. This means a well researched history of the type's use with the various squadrons that flew the plane. In line with others in this series there are some super photos and great full color profiles. The stats section is what you've come to expect from this series, making it a superb reference book and one worth having on hand.

October 2016

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