Marine Corps PBJ-1 LAST RIDE

Owner: David Morales
Co-Builder: Roy Young

Well here it is, the Marine Corps PBJ-1. Commonly known as the B-25 Mitchell, what is not commonly known is the aircraft was flown by every major allied force of WWII. In addition the airframe was modified and flown by every major U.S. force as well.

Identified by the Navy and Marine Corps as the PBJ-1 (Patrol Bomber) the twin engine airframe proved ideal for long range patrol and attack. While most people know about the Doolittle raid on Japan, few know Navy and Marine Corps PBJ aircraft were used in many carrier based operations throughout the war in the pacific.

Operating from make shift airfields along side the P-39 Aero Cobra and F4U Corsair the PBJ lead the long range attacks on Japanese held territory and shipping throughout the Pacific Campaign.

PBJ’s flew incredibly low level attack missions on sea and land which placed the aircrews in great danger from ground fire. The aircrews were constantly making field modifications to increase survivability. These modifications were invented and tested in the field and if the modification proved valuable the data was returned to the US and engineers would modify the production lines to include the field requirement.

There were so many field modifications to armament and performance it is virtually impossible to list them all, however if you can imagine a modification, chances are it was tried during the pacific campaign. PBJ crews dropped Para-Bombs to slow the impact point allowing the PBJ to escape the blast zone. Many PBJ’s were damaged by simply flying too low and too close during an attack run.

Marine Corps. PBJ-1 Last Ride

was built in honor of those Marines who flew low level attack missions. The aircraft is the standard Ziroli 101” B-25 kit modified to reflect the armament placement of the early PBJ’s. The Top Gunner Turret is located at the rear of the fuselage and the 4 side mounted 50 Cal. Machine guns are located to the side and under the pilot and copilot.

The objective of the build was to create a realistically damaged PBJ and experience the challenge of flying one these the way pilots during WWII actually had to do. The aircraft was designed to fail at some point – and everyone involved in this project knew the plane was on its Last Ride, hence the name.

"See an Actual Low Level Attack on a Jap Island"

During the build - areas of the outer skin were removed along with the supporting wood bracing. These areas were then built back utilizing N-scale railroad beams to simulate the internal ribbing structure.  Once the structure was rebuilt the affected areas were covered in thin aluminum skin and the entire airframe was painted.

When the painting was complete we began the process of exposing the FLAK damaged portions of the airframe. Additional bullet/AAA holes and blast damage was added to complete the look.

The nose of the aircraft was modified to reflect multiple AAA hits in the glass sections of the bomb nose and co-pilots area. These were all hand done including each fracture line showing in the glass.

Both the Nose Gunner and Co-Pilot figures were then placed in slumped over positions reflecting the wounds sustained as a result of the AAA.

Utilizing custom painting techniques and a mini torch - heat and blast damage was then added to the outer area of the nose, major flak holes showing folded back metal and tears in the skin were added. These techniques completed the damaged effect we were looking to achieve.

Final production was achieved with the addition of an onboard smoke system plumed to the right engine to simulate a flamed engine as a result of the mid wing flak damage.

On Test Flight day we secured the assistance of World Champion Bill Hempel (http://www.billhempel.com/) to assist in the check out flight. On many occasion Bill has manhandled both RC aircraft and Multi Million Dollar Military UAV’s through precarious situations. My confidence in Bill’s ability to fly this airplane successfully was evident in the many video cameras on hand ready to capture the Last Ride of Last Ride.

The aircraft was initially test flown with the right engine fouled 700 rpm less than the left engine. The cause of the fouling was disturbed airflow over the carburetor caused by the cowling.

After careful consideration by the attending air crew and chief mechanic (me) we decided the combination of the fouled engine, blast damage, flak holes and overall drag caused by the AAA damage would provide us with the most realistic handling characteristics of a battle damaged PBJ.

To my surprise Bill H. agreed – and because realism was the intent of the plane we pushed forward with a test flight. The rest of this story is evident in the video presented here – there is no need to show the run up – the cameraman could not keep up with the plane squirreling all over the runway - so we pick up the video at the point of rotation where you can see Bill has an immediate handful!! During this flight we did not retract the gear or try the smoke system.