Here are a few photos of the B-25J:
Monogram B-25J--Completed
Monogram B-25J--Completed
Monogram B-25J--Completed
Monogram B-25J--Completed
Monogram B-25J--Completed
Monogram B-25J--Completed
This airplane, 43-36199, was a B-25J-11 and served with the 345th Bomb Group, 501st Squadron. She had the eight-gun nose installed as a field modification, hence the lack of camouflage on the nose section. This mod made the airplane roughly equivalent to a B-25J-22. Notice, too, that the fuselage side gun packs have been removed and that the fuselage was unpainted where the fairings had been. These packs were usually removed when the gun noses were installed. The right rudder had been replaced (see next paragraph for a possible explanation) and the Group insignia was not repainted. The model depicts the machine shortly before its final mission.
On the mission of 28 April, 1945 this airplane was attacking shipping near Saigon and hit the mast of one of the target ships. Seven feet of the mast stuck in the horizontal stabilizer before finally coming loose. 1/Lt. Ralph E. Blount and his crew limped the airplane back home 700 miles with damage to the tail and one nacelle and the airplane was repaired to fight again. On 11 July the airplane was damaged by flak off the coast of Formosa. The crew got her home to Clark Field for a successful belly landing. The damage was considered severe enough that the airplane was written off.
It took me three decades to finish this, but I hope y'all find it of interest. Just for "old time's sake" I used the top turret from a long-gone B-25H that was scrapped and the nose is from a different J that's also broken up.
