B-25 Mitchell vs Japanese Destroyer: Battle of the Bismarck Sea 1943 (Duel, 116)

Up through 1943, Allied bombers had proved notoriously inaccurate in attacks against Japanese naval vessels. This fact allowed the survival of many Japanese naval movements not in range of land or sea-based fighters and torpedo bombers. In early 1943, this circumstance was about to change, in the waters of the Bismarck Sea off New Guinea...This Osprey Duel series book highlights the role innovation plays in wartime. The re-arming of B-25 Mitchell bombers with lots of heavy machine guns, coupled with new low-attitude attack tactics, produced a small revolution in attrition. Author Mark Lardas methodically walks the reader up through the changes demonstrated at the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, assisted by lots of period photographs and modern illustrations and battle diagrams. Well-recommended to students of the conflict as an in-depth look at a successful battlefield innovation.

I thought this was a very good booklet (80 pages) on the "Battle of the Bismarck Sea." It especially describes in detail the development of the American A-20 and B-25 strafing bombers and the skip-bombing attack technique. The heavy nose armaments of four to eight 50-caliber machine guns in the A-20 and B-25C were initially made in the field at the US bomber bases in Australia and New Guinea. The concept was then adopted back in the US at the North American Aviation factories and resulted in the B-25G and B-25H.The booklet also describes the Japanese destroyers deployed in the Bismarck Sea battle. I thought that the author (Mark Lardas) was unduly critical of the weak anti-aircraft armament of the Japanese ships. Back in the 1920s and 1930s when the ships were designed and built, no navies envisioned the need for a heavy anti-aircraft armament.US destroyers were not involved in the "Battle of the Bismarck Sea." However, a very good discussion of the development of destroyer armaments is given in the book "United States Navy Destoyers of World War II" by Reilly (1983), Chapters 3 - 5.

Enough detail into the methods but doesn't get bogged down. Good explanation of skip bombing and mast height bombing. Must read for B-25 fans in the Pacific.

Excellent treatment of this battle, very in depth on the B-25 and it's evolution into a premier anti shipping weapon, as well as discussing the fundamental weaknesses of the IJN destroyers involved in the battle. Very highly recommended.

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Osprey siempre aporta datos precisos y poco conocidos

本書はビスマルク海海戦として知られる日本軍の駆逐艦を含む輸送船団と連合軍雷爆撃機の戦いぶりを描いたものです。本文はシリーズの様式を踏襲して序文、B-25ミッチェルと日本の吹雪型とこれをモデルシップにした駆逐艦の開発の歴史、技術仕様説明（日本駆逐艦は対空兵装の能力について詳述しています）、両軍のおかれた戦略的状況、乗員（妙に米軍搭乗員をアマチュア、日本側乗員がプロとして扱われる記述に違和感があります）、実戦、解析、後日談という構成です。　本文にはモノクロ写真と少数のカラー写真、B-25D（銃撃型）の前面・側面・上面の三面図、日本側の旗艦「白雪」の上面・側面の二面図、B-25銃撃型のコックピット、銃撃型に特化したB-25Gの機首、500ポンド汎用型爆弾の断面図とイン　アクション（B-25を射撃する機銃員）が本文だけなら単調になる内容に華を添えています。　水平爆撃機による中高度からの船舶の爆撃では戦果が上がらない為に考案された銃撃機による対空銃座の制圧、マストトップ低高度爆撃やスキップボンビングなど、この海戦で初の実戦投入になり、B-25の銃撃型はガラスの爆撃手席に機銃を固定装備しガラスを塗りつぶしている様子がガラス枠で確認できる1頁、14頁では有用です。　また、この海戦に参加した駆逐艦の主砲である三年式12糎7の対空砲としての不適格ぶりが良く書かれており、日本の補給法の大きな転換点であることが理解できます。その意味で内容は良いと思います。　ビスマルク海海戦では攻撃後の生存者銃撃について降伏の意志表示をしない物は上陸すれば戦力補強になるので銃撃した旨の記述があります。違和感は感じますが評価は変えていません。