Operational photos

B-25J 9M Athena (serial # 43-27655) painted in olive drab with white tail letters taking off from Alesani, Corsica. Photograph by Quentin Kaiser.

B-25J 9M Athena (serial # 43-27655) painted in olive drab with white tail letters on a bombing mission over the Alps in the Brenner Pass. Photograph by Quentin Kaiser.

Another photograph of B-25J 9M Athena (serial # 43-27655) but here painted light biege or silver with black tail letters somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea. Photograph by Quentin Kaiser.

Here's another photograph taken by Quentin Kaiser of B-25 9M Athena (serial #43-27655) painted light with black tail letters somewhere on a bombing mission.

This photograph taken by Quentin Kaiser on a bombing mission of B-25J 9M Athena and B-25J 9B Legal Eagle clearly shows the two contrasting styles of 489th planes.

Quentin Kaiser's main plane, B-25J 9F Stella in which he flew 15 missions, taking off from Alesani, Corsica. Photograph by Quentin Kaiser.

This 488th Bomb Squadron B-25J 8P actually made it back to Alesani after a mid-air collision with B-25J 8U. The tail gunner of this plane (8P) and the entire crew of the other plane (8U) were killed. Of course everyone on the base wanted to see this plane after they heard what happened so there are many pictures of it.

Here's another view of the damaged B-25 8P after miraculously returning to Alesani.

This B-25J was the "8P" 43-27657 with pilot, 2nd Lt. W.B. Pelton. After the bombing of San Michele, the flak started to fire but nobody was hit. Changing the heading to join Corsica, a strong blast of wind unbalanced the "8U" 43-4064 with pilot, 1st Lt. W.Y. Simpson. The 8U collided with the 8P tail and killed the tail gunner S/Sgt. Aubrey B. Porter. The 8U came down in a spin and crashed with all the crew members (KIA). The 8P landed safely at Alesani with such tail. 8U crew: Pilot, 1st Lt. William Y. Simpson/ Copilot, 2nd Lt. Frederick C. Greenig/ S/Sgt. James C. Rice/ Sgt. Doyles G. Shipley/ Sgt. Robert J. Jackson/ Cpl. Fred B. Hicks. 8P crew: Pilot, 2nd Lt. W.B. Pelton/ Cap., F/O H.K. Shackelford/ S/Sgt. A.J.Bertagna/ S/Sgt. R.C. Garner/ Cpl. H. Lisby and S/Sgt. A.B. Porter (MIA). (The crew lists give only the pilot positions nothing about the gunners) I have only the names. Unfortunately for 1st Lt. Pelton, the 16th of March 1945, his B-25 "8H" ditched at 4 miles after the take-off, the two engines stopped at the same time, the plane blown up in touching the water. Only the body of the radio-gunner was found and buried at the cemetery of Bastia- S/Sgt. Lawrence W. Kahl."


				North American B-25 Mitchell Operational photos - Page 2



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		The Photos in this section were supplied via Warwings art.com B-25J 9M Athena (serial # 43-27655) painted in olive drab with white tail letters taking off from Alesani, Corsica. Photograph by Quentin Kaiser. B-25J 9M Athena (serial # 43-27655) painted in olive drab with white tail letters on a bombing mission over the Alps in the Brenner Pass. Photograph by Quentin Kaiser. Another photograph of B-25J 9M Athena (serial # 43-27655) but here painted light biege or silver with black tail letters somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea. Photograph by Quentin Kaiser. Here's another photograph taken by Quentin Kaiser of B-25 9M Athena (serial #43-27655) painted light with black tail letters somewhere on a bombing mission. This photograph taken by Quentin Kaiser on a bombing mission of B-25J 9M Athena and B-25J 9B Legal Eagle clearly shows the two contrasting styles of 489th planes. Quentin Kaiser's main plane, B-25J 9F Stella in which he flew 15 missions, taking off from Alesani, Corsica. Photograph by Quentin Kaiser. This 488th Bomb Squadron B-25J 8P actually made it back to Alesani after a mid-air collision with B-25J 8U. The tail gunner of this plane (8P) and the entire crew of the other plane (8U) were killed. Of course everyone on the base wanted to see this plane after they heard what happened so there are many pictures of it. Here's another view of the damaged B-25 8P after miraculously returning to Alesani. This B-25J was the "8P" 43-27657 with pilot, 2nd Lt. W.B. Pelton. After the bombing of San Michele, the flak started to fire but nobody was hit. Changing the heading to join Corsica, a strong blast of wind unbalanced the "8U" 43-4064 with pilot, 1st Lt. W.Y. Simpson. The 8U collided with the 8P tail and killed the tail gunner S/Sgt. Aubrey B. Porter. The 8U came down in a spin and crashed with all the crew members (KIA). The 8P landed safely at Alesani with such tail. 8U crew: Pilot, 1st Lt. William Y. Simpson/ Copilot, 2nd Lt. Frederick C. Greenig/ S/Sgt. James C. Rice/ Sgt. Doyles G. Shipley/ Sgt. Robert J. Jackson/ Cpl. Fred B. Hicks. 8P crew: Pilot, 2nd Lt. W.B. Pelton/ Cap., F/O H.K. Shackelford/ S/Sgt. A.J.Bertagna/ S/Sgt. R.C. Garner/ Cpl. H. Lisby and S/Sgt. A.B. Porter (MIA). (The crew lists give only the pilot positions nothing about the gunners) I have only the names. Unfortunately for 1st Lt. Pelton, the 16th of March 1945, his B-25 "8H" ditched at 4 miles after the take-off, the two engines stopped at the same time, the plane blown up in touching the water. Only the body of the radio-gunner was found and buried at the cemetery of Bastia- S/Sgt. Lawrence W. Kahl." This picture of B-25J 9N was taken by my father on a bombing mission after taking off from Alesani, Corsica as they passed over the town of Bastia, Corsica heading north. B-25J 9N on the return trip for the same mission shown above starting out over Bastia, Corsica. B-25J 7E exiting pod before take-off from Alesani, Corsica.