Don't Obsess on the Heavies and Forget The Crucial Medium Bombers!
Next up after my 'Heavy Fighters' list is my next favourite WW2 military aircraft type - the Mediums.
I can't say why I prefer twin engined [and in one case 3 engined] military aircraft rather than the - held to be - more glamourous single engined fighters, I just do. Maybe, it's about the power, or that they have a crew (and I like the idea of a team) or maybe it's because of their greater ability to carry heavier loads of ordinance. Whichever it is, I love the 'twins' [or - again - 'tri'!].
And what you have to remember is, certainly for the early half of the war, twin engined bombers were the mainstay of every air force and for the RAF they were the only means they had to enact any form of push back against Germany.
So, here are my picks for medium bomber that I find interesting...
[Note: Just a reminder that these are five aircraft models that I find most 'interesting'. I do not proclaim that they are the 'best' - although that is subjective anyway - just that they were important in their own way.]
5. The Vickers Wellington - The Venerable 'Whimpy'!
At the bottom of my list, the Wellington is included because of the amazing - Barnes Wallis designed - geodetic airframe. It's one of the early war British bombers that was not replaced as quickly as possible and served throughout the war in a variety of roles, which is a clue to the usefulness and ruggedness of the design.
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| Above: Vickers Wellingtons being built, showing the complex Geodetic construction. |
(Britain cast off a lot of the designs that it went into the war with as - in action - it became quickly apparent which were the lemons! Spoiler... Quite a lot of them!) 😕
I personally think that the Vickers Wellington was the best medium bomber that Britain produced, and here people will chime in and say 'what about the De Havilland Mosquito'? But, I'll stand my ground and insist that the Mossie was a whole new category of military aircraft type of it's own, the multi-role aircraft and I'll do a post just on that type another time...
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| Above: The Wellington was the only British bomber that was produced for the duration of the war, and was produced in a greater quantity than any other British-built bomber. |
Anyway, back to Barnes Wallis. This genius - and by that I don't mean a Gen Z 'genius' I mean a real genius - was responsible for several amazing inventions during the war - like the 'earthquake bombs' (like the Tallboy) and the Dambuster bomb - and this is why I include the Wellington, because it's design was truly innovative, unusual and quite unique. This shows how Britain - struggling to reach parity with Germany's technological military advances - thought outside the box. And it was Britain's designers and scientific innovators, like R. J. Mitchell (Spitfire), Robert Watson-Watt (radar), Alan Turing (code breaker) and Barnes Wallis that kept the country in the fight.
The Wellington is a prime example of the great British talent for 'muddling through' for - as good as the Wellington was - it outstanding feature was that it was the best of a bad bunch. (I'm being a bit unfair, perhaps, but not by much!)
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| Above: Despite serious damage and the - sad - lost of the rear turret and gunner this 'Welly' got home! A credit to the ingenious Geodetic design. |
The Hampton, Blenheim, Whitley, Beaufort, Buckingham, and Manchester were all variations of lacklustre (and in most cases inferior to American types which were brought in to fill Britain's need for medium bombers). Some will argue this point, but - generally - British medium types never stayed in service for very long OR were modified into different roles, which kinda says something. Whereas the Wellington, stayed in service throughout the war.
4. Lockheed Hudson - The Tubby Little Plane That Could
Another type that - unusually - served throughout the war because of it's sheer usefulness rather than it being a spectacular design was the Lockheed Hudson. Just by looking at it you would be forgiven to think of this 'stout' little aircraft as being ungainly and a little sluggish and a soft target for more sleek enemy types... But therein is where you would be quite wrong and why I include the Hudson in this list (because I love real the story of this chubby underdog).
[Note: Some might note that the Hudson - technically - was defined as a 'light bomber' type but I will play loose with categorisation as my focus is on twin[+] engined types.]
As a lover of old war movies I became aware of this American aircraft before I knew it's full service history because of the 1942 Warner film 'Captains of the Clouds'. This starred my father's favourite actor James Cagney as 'seat of the pants' Canadian bush pilot who enlists in the Royal Canadian Air Force at the start of World War 2.
Above: 1942 Theatrical Trailer | Captains of the Clouds | Warner Archive.
The most memorable scene was towards the end of the movie where Cagney and his compatriots are attempting to ferry much needed Lockheed Hudsons across the Atlantic to Britain. Ambushed by a German Bf109 Cagney's character best the nimble fighter, which - even when I was younger - I thought was a piece of fanciful propaganda... (I'll come back to that thought!)
Like the Wellington, the Hudson was not a 'sexy' instrument of war that we think of when we talk about impactful aircraft types of WW2. And how many of you have actually heard of the Hudson?
But it was modest and unsung contributions to the war effort like this aircraft that kept Britain in the fight, taking up roles that - while essential - perhaps never got the recognition that they deserved. It wasn't a Spitfire or a Mosquito or a Lancaster, but without unassuming aircraft like the Hudson, stoically performing it's role, history might very well have taken a different turn in the early years of the war.
But - and here's the other reason I include this cheeky little chap in my list - I mentioned the dramatic climax to the movie 'Captains of the Clouds' and how the idea that a medium bomber could take on the legendary Bf109, well... And here I include an extract from the Hudson's entry in Wikipedia...
"Its opponents found that the Hudson had exceptional manoeuvrability for a twin-engine aircraft; it was notable for the tight turns achievable if either engine was briefly feathered.
High-scoring Japanese ace Saburō Sakai, praised the skill and fighting abilities of an RAAF Hudson crew killed in action over New Guinea after being engaged by nine highly manoeuvrable Mitsubishi A6M Zeroes on 22 July 1942. The crew, captained by P/O Warren Cowan, in Hudson Mk IIIA A16-201 (bu. no. 41-36979) of No. 32 Squadron RAAF, was intercepted over Buna by nine Zeroes of the Tainan Kaigun Kōkūtai led by Sakai. The Hudson crew accomplished many aggressive and unexpected turns, engaging the Japanese pilots in a dogfight for more than 10 minutes. It was only after Sakai scored hits on the rear/upper turret that the Hudson could be destroyed. Its crew made such an impression on Sakai that, after the war's end, he sought to identify them. In 1997, Sakai wrote formally to the Australian government, recommending that Cowan be "posthumously awarded your country's highest military decoration".
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| Above: 'Captains of the Clouds' - duel in the clouds, 1942, Warner Pictures |
3. Lioré et Olivier LeO 45
The French get a lot of stick regarding their perceived performance during World War 2. I think that this is very unfair and slightly bias. I will not dwell on the subject but simply say - for Brits and Americans that hold unfavourable views on the French conduct - that 'there but for the grace of God go I'. It's easy to feel superior when you have either the English Channel or the whole Atlantic protecting you from the - then - rampant Germans!
Anyway, it has to be said - though - that the French build up to the 1940 German invasion was something of a farce. From being completely wrong footed as to the nature of modern warfare and Germany's intentions, to they complete chaos of the French preparation, everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong.
By the time the French did start to get their act together it was neigh on too late and the story of French aircraft production for the coming war is no more an apposite illustration of this.
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| Above: The LeO 45, note the conspicuously large dorsal gun! A impressive and unusually large 20 mm Hispano-Suiza cannon would be a nasty surprise for any attacker. |
French aircraft development - especially of bombers - in the inter-war period was comically shambolic and by the time that they did sort thing out with a few good modern types they barely got them into production - much less service - by the time the Germans invaded! [Indeed, some of the most promising designs were discovered by the Germans themselves, languishing in some forgotten hangers, still in the prototype stages!]
Such is the story of the best French medium bomber of the war - the Lioré et Olivier LeO 45. Never heard of it? Well, that's the sad irony...
When you look at the LeO 45 you might be inclined to conclude that - while nice looking - that there is noting particularly innovative or special about the design. It was - indeed - pretty conventional when you compare it to other 'modern' foreign types of the period. Only a few of this bomber got into service at the outbreak of The Battle of France, and it was very much a case of too little, too late.
But the reason I picked the LeO 45 for my list is more about what had gone before it than any striking technical innovation it represented. Here is - for example - one of the most numerous French medium bombers when they entered the war... The Amiot 143! 😬
Above: The Amiot 143 is sometimes considered one of the ugliest aircraft ever made.So my interest in the LeO 45 - and other similar 'advanced' French aircraft designs of the time - is something of a intriguing 'what if' situation. What if Germany had put off their invasion until a year later, or two years later? Would the sad outcome of The Battle of France been any different? 🤔
I find the whole chaotic history of the French bomber 'strategy' and development leading up to WW2 absolutely fascinating (and laughable), and if you are a aircraft enthusiast I highly recommend that you watch this excellent potted history by 'Rex'a Hanger' to understand the full misery of the story and why the Leo 45 was such a refreshing design...
2. The Savoia-Marchetti SM. 79 Sparviero
From the ridiculous to the sublime? Well, maybe not quite - I'll save the sublime for the number one spot in this list...
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| Above: The SM. 79 in it's prime. Serving on the Nationalist side during the Spanish Civil War [1936-39] these Italian bombers were untouchable, being faster than any of the opposition fighters pitted against them. |
Like the French the Italian's are widely viewed as being two of the most poorly performing major factions of the Second World War. And once again, I think this is not quite as fair of an assessment as you might think. While it is true that strategically the Italians were something of the whipping boys and that they have - over time - likewise become the butt of many jokes (even from the Germans, amazingly enough) the truth is that Italy had a lot a lot more to proud of in both it's technological developments and the conduct of certain of it's fighting units that is widely given credit for.
Italian paratroopers and military frogmen are held to be dome of the most elite units of the war. And even the Germans recognised the superiority of the Italian divers given some of their amazing successes over Allied shipping.
But let's talk aircraft. It should be of no surprise that the country who brought the world automobile marks such as Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Maserati also was also a world leader in aircraft development. Indeed, the Italians produced fighters like the Macchi C.202 Folgore and Macchi C.205 Veltro, which were on parity with the best of the Allied fighters.
And in the field of medium bombers the Italians were no slouches either...
The Savoia-Marchetti SM. 79 Sparviero undertook its first flight on 28 September 1934, early examples of the type established 26 separate world records between 1937 and 1939, qualifying it for some time as the fastest medium bomber in the world!
Now, in a way the SM.79 was the Dornier Do.17 of the Italian Air Force; a world leading, record breaking design prior to the Second World War (which, by the way, also started out as an 'airliner' before being militarised), but by the 1940s was starting to lose it's edge.
That said, the Sparviero ('Sparrowhawk') reinvented itself became a quite formidable torpedo bomber, but - like many of the early war British mediums - by 1941 it was 'passed it's sell by date'. So why is it on my list?
Well, historical pros and cons aside, one of the reasons that I have included the SM.79 so highly in my top medium bombers list is a simple case of schoolboy nostalgia. You see, the SM.79 was one of the earliest Airfix model kits I can remember making. I found the novelty of a tri-motor aircraft and the very attractive mottled desert camouflage scheme an unusual and exciting subject which was so different to many of the other other conventional bomber types of the early war.
There's something very 'Italian' about the design (obviously) which typified how they had their own sense of flair which set the Italians apart from the rest of the world. I think the SM. 79 is a very elegant aircraft and I also admire the brave Italian airmen who had to continue putting their faith if an aging design, particularly towards the later half of the war when the SM. 79 was very easy prey.
The Sparviero was not one of the best medium bombers of the war, but it was certainly one of the most recognizable. And in a funny way that's so Italian!
1. North American B-25 Mitchell
Now, finally we come to the top spot in my list of WW2 medium bombers and here I am fairly confident that other aircraft fans will actually be happy with my choice.
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| Above: Classic 'silver' B-25. Photo by Chris Rose. |
The B-25 was one of those American types that the RAF was very glad to have in it's inventory. Ironically, the B-25 eventually replaced the venerable Wellington in it's convectional bomber role (though the Welly soldiered on in specialist roles).
Above: The most famous B-25 mission that catapulted (excuse the pun) this aircraft
into the annuls of air warfare history - the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.
To me, the Mitchell was the aircraft equivalent to the American Sherman, it was a product of the USA as the industrial powerhouse of the Allied war effort. The B-25s were used by not only the US Air Force (USAAC) but the US Marines and also the RAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Airforce, Dutch Air Force, Free French, Brazilian Air Force, Nationalist Chinese and the Soviet Union!
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| Above: B-25 in RAF scheme. The Historic Flight Foundation North American B-25 Mitchell bomber "Grumpy" is shown in flight. Philip Makanna/Courtesy Historic Flight Foundation |
It was a reliable, durable and well liked aircraft and was particularly well armed, carrying from 12-18 .50 cal machineguns(depending on the version). And it was modified to take on the role as a specialist ground attack aircraft, in which - in one variant - it was armed with a 75mm cannon!
Now there are lots of good reasons to place the Mitchell at the top of my list, and - as I said - many warplane enthusiasts and military historians would agree with my pick here, but - again - my reasoning is somewhat unconventional...
You see, what has burnt the B-25 Mitchel into my mind as being the very encapsulation of the medium bomber experience in World War 2 is my early memory of watching the 1970 film adaption of Joseph Heller's novel 'Catch 22'.
I truly mean that it is one of those movie scenes that brought home the horror of war to me and has stayed with me ever since. It made me realise, at an early age, that as glamourous as military aircraft can seem the act of going to war in any of them was nothing to romanticise about.
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