Built by North American Aviation, the B-25 first flew in 1940 and the U.S. Army Air Corps had accepted the first five in 1941. It was named in honor of Brigadier General William “Billy” Mitchell (1879-1936), a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Mitchell is generally regarded as the father of the U.S. Air Force.
During World War II, the B-25 Mitchell was the U.S. Army Air Force’s most broadly employed medium bomber. B-25s saw duty in every combat area being flown by the Dutch, British, Chinese, Russians, and Australians in addition to U.S. forces. By the end of the war, a total of 9,816 B-25s had been built.
Most of the B-25s used by the Americans saw action in the Pacific in the war against Japan. The most famous raid came in 1942 when Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle used B-25Bs to attack mainland Japan. In North Africa and Europe, B-25s were used in the campaign in North Africa, the invasion of Sicily, and the advance up Italy.
The B-25J Mitchell shown below is a part of the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon. In the J version, the most numerous variant, the aircraft returned to its initial arrangement as a level bomber, reverting to a transparent nose that included one flexible and two fixed .50-cal. guns.
The B-25J Mitchell has a crew of 6, a maximum speed of 272 mph, a cruising speed of 230 mph, a range of 1,350 miles, and a ceiling of 24,200 feet.
Note: these photographs were taken on September 14, 2023.
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