1/48 Italeri North American B-25

"Lend / Lease"

by Steffen "Little Airwolf" Tittmann

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North American B-25D "Mitchell"

Lend/Lease 337. APDD UdSSR

To the Original:

The airplane belonged to the pilot, second lieutenant Arkadi Mogilnitskiy, Hungary, spring 1945. The North American B-25D-30 'red 85' became his personal machine in the 337. APDD (in December 1943 pieces to the 35th GvAPDD were renamed, but then again as 251. GvBAP back characterized).  This variant of the Mitchell was marked in the USSR as B-25DP. Such machines were a mixture from D and J, differences gave it only in the armament.  The production line of the standard armament included locally specified mg on the sides of the cockpit also.  These were developed in the USSR before delivery to the combat units.  All lower surfaces were neutral grey and the top sides in olive drab, those colors of US Air Force were maintained.  The Nose artwork was painted upon the request of the pilot only on the pilot side.  It existed by the head of a tiger with yellow (supposed) heart as background.

The descriptions in red one reads "Za krov ' Vityebska" (for the blood of Witebsk). Witebsk was Mogilnitskiys hometown.  The arrow was white.  Tactical NR. 85 in red was white bordered.  The seriel number was 43-33729 on the tails which were green re-painted over.  The red stars with red-white edge on the wing and the fuselage sides.  The nose gear wheel disk was white and the red star carried a white edge.  This airplane was flown from Mogilnitskiy to the victory day and also later, than its regiment was stationed in Hungary.

 

Altogether during the Lend/Lease to the USSR 870 B-25 of all versions were supplied.  In the last weeks of the war the employments of the Russian B-25 concentrated on East Prussia and the realm area.  Several times Soviet B-25's attacked the realm capital Berlin in the flight.  Because of cold weather some B-25 of the Soviet air forces were equipped with adjustable air intakes before the radial engine, which one could remove in the warm season again.  Such air intakes were already used as standard equipment on the Lisunow Li-2 (Soviet manufacture under licence of the DC-3).

 

To the model: 

The Italeri kit NR. 2650 comes from Accurate Miniatures and is just as developed as the kit of the B-25B "Doollittle Raid".  It has to be stated however that at the parts have more burr than with the Accurate Miniatures kit.  The so convincing thing for me was only that in the kit 2 parts were missing, which are very important for the building of a B-25D.  These are the two rear windows with the defensive weapons, which I had from a good friend from his kit of a B-25J.  I began with the glueing of the two fuselage halves.  Looks good, one has later nothing of it.  Harm, but it unfortunately does not go differently. After up to the missing windows all parts are appropriate in the fuselage halves, I began to put the cockpit together. This time also again OOB that is called without etched and resin parts.  Since Italeri unfortunately put no B-25 D variant into the kit, but studying my reference material for a B-version, I had to procure for myself from an acquaintance the lateral on-board contactor windows and to reproduce the curvatures at these with my wax putty equipment. These windows were on both sides of the fuselage, but some smaller windows (oval and round on both sides) no more attached in the original.  This were also over-painted later. Then the display base for the GAZ-67B was started.  In addition the grass mat which was moistened along the traces and scratched then with a tinkering measurer the grass down. Since it concerns an old Air Force airfield, it will have to be given probably also a grave of a German soldier. The commissioner reads out from the "Prawda". The submachine guns by the tree, are captured German storm rifles MPi-44 and originate from the Tamiya kit of the German infantry.

Steffen

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Photos  © by Steffen Tittmann and Text © by Nancy Proft