B-25H as night intruder - 418NFS

[Baska]

As I am researching the 418th Night Fighter Squadron (flying at first the P70 night fighter variant of the A-20 and later the P61 Black Widow), the squadron flew for some time the B-25H as a night intruder and anti shipping bomber in New Guinea.
There are hardly any pictures of this B-25H to be found. In the 418th it flew with the top turret removed and a crew of four (pilot, navigator, radio ops/air gunner and an air gunner), the 75mm gun removed and the hole in the nose covered, all black, like the artist impression here.

Does anyone have or know where to find pictures of this B-25H version in the SWPA?

Bas

 

[Crimea_River]

Maybe scroll through this thread: North American B-25 Mitchell

 

[MIflyer]

Here are three pages out of the book Queen of The Midnight Skies, which is mainly about the P-61 but does cover other night fighters and night intruders as well. It says that the 418th wanted to keep the B-25's even after they received the P-61.

 

[Baska]

Here are three pages out of the book Queen of The Midnight Skies, which is mainly about the P-61 but does cover other night fighters and night intruders as well. It says that the 418th wanted to keep the B-25's even after they received the P-61.

Thanks MLflyer. I've seen these before but like in the pages you posted here, the quality of the pictures is not very good. AFAIK this configuration of the B-25 was fairly unique (no top turret). In this cropped part of an aerial of a crash landed B-25 of the 418th you can see the distinctive markings on the rudder and the fact that there is no top turret.

Would love to find some better pictures of these B-25H's. Must hope for a crew member or ground crew to have made pictures that turn up somewhere, sometime........

 

[MIflyer]

I did find a photo of a black painted B-25D in the Pacific but it was not from the 418th. So they did on occasion paint them black.

 

[warbooklover]

Have you visited the 417th Night Fighters website?

They have a pretty good .pdf on the History of the 418th NFS there.

 

[Baska]

Have you visited the 417th Night Fighters website?

They have a pretty good .pdf on the History of the 418th NFS there.

Yeah, I visited the website and read the PDF. Great stuff, but a bit mixed on pictures, specially on the B-25H. Thanks for the tip.