Future Build Preview: PBJ-1J Mitchell
In the early days of World War II, the U.S. Navy realized that it had need of a land-based bomber force to support its operations, particularly in the roles of anti-shipping and anti-submarine warfare. Of course, the USAAF wanted its bombers all to itself – most famously Hap Arnold’s hoarding of B-17s to support the 8th Air Force’s daylight bombing campaign.
Eventually, a deal was struck. The Navy would give up its new Boeing PBB-1 Sea Ranger seaplane, leaving the Consolidated PBY Catalina to soldier on and freeing up Boeing to develop the B-29 Superfortress. In return, the Navy would receive a number of Consolidated B-24 Liberators, Lockheed B-34 Venturas, and North American B-25 Mitchells. These were redesignated according to the Navy’s logical but annoying naming scheme, where an aircraft was labelled by mission type, model number, and a manufacturer identifier. The B-24 became the PB4Y-1 – marking it as the fourth Patrol Bomber contracted from Consolidated.
By the time the first Mitchells (PBJ-1s in Navy parlance) became available in 1943, the Navy was already happy with its PB4Ys, so the Marine Corps happily took on the smaller Mitchells as its own. (more…)