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Aircraft And Military Development & Applications

WWII Aircraft Listings - 2

71-WWII North American B-25 Mitchell

The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American twin-engine, medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. The design was named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II and after the war ended many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 Mitchells rolled from NAA factories. These included a few limited models, such as the United States Marine Corps' PBJ-1 patrol bomber and the United States Army Air Forces' F-10 reconnaissance aircraft and AT-24 trainers.

Maximum speed: 437.70 km/h (271.97 mph), Range: 1,350 mi, Maiden flight: 19 Aug 1940, Length: 52.92 ft, Wingspan: 67.59 ft, Cruising speed: 370.15 km/h (230 mph)

The North American B-25 Mitchell series of medium bombers went on to become one of the classic American aircraft designs to emerge during World War Two. Designed as early as 1939, the series was built to specifications as required by the United States Army. The B-25 would go on to gain national fame in the United States as the aircraft used by the famous "Doolittle Raiders", the end result having shown the American ability to bomb the heart of Tokyo from a USN carrier stationed in the Pacific (USS Hornet).

The B-25 was initially designed as a three-crew, high-mounted wing bomber utilizing twin Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S6C-3 radial engines. By the end of its production run, the system would be overhauled to include 5 to 6 crew members in various gun positions, a shoulder-mount wing assembly and twin Wright GR-2600-A71 radial engines. After over 9,800 were produced, the Mitchell had evolved into a host of variants that included trainers, dedicated ground strike, reconnaissance and torpedo carriers.

The more identifiable B-25's were a twin-engine design with the radials mounted underneath either wing element. The forward fuselage was of a greenhouse-type design affording the forward-located gunners and bombardiers a good field of vision. The pilot and co-pilot sat in a raised location just behind the nose assembly and had good vision forward, above and to the sides. A top dorsal turret was included and was mounted with twin .50 caliber machine guns. Waist gunner positions were added with single .50 caliber guns, as was a twin .50 caliber gun position in the tail. The B-25 made use of a powered-tricycle landing gear system and a decent internal bomb bay. Twin rudder assemblies differentiated the system from the other similar-looking twin-engine medium bombers of American design.

Initial B-25 designs limited the crew to just three, whereas a fuselage widening helped to increase width and seat the pilot and co-pilot side-by-side. Armor and self-sealing fuel tanks were already common in about 40 developmental models of the "A" variety. The "B" model would go on to feature 119 production aircraft with powered dorsal and ventral turret emplacements but the rear tail gunner position removed.

It would not be until the valuable and definitive "C" models joined the lines that the B-25 would come into its own. C-model construction would leap into the 1,600's and featured an autopiloting system, underwing hardpoints, provision for torpedo carrying and the identifiable forward-fixed 4 x .50 caliber machine gun pods on either side of the lower-front fuselage.

Following the C-models would be the very similar "D" series that varied in only being produced on a different production line facility. The next "G" models would feature a large-caliber 75mm cannon in the nose followed by "H" models with a similar gun system and upwards of 18 defensive machine guns positioned throughout the aircraft. Dedicated ground strike models were even featured with a devastating array of 8 x .50 caliber machine guns in a forward-fixed assembly mounted in the nose.

As well as serving with the US armed forces the Royal Air Force would also use the North American B-25 Mitchell in high numbers to replace it's Douglas Boston and Lockheed Ventura aircraft and the type entered operational service with the RAF on the 22nd January 1943 when twelve aircraft supplied form both No. 98 and No. 180 Squadrons attacked the oil installations at Ghent. As well as the RAF B-25 Mitchells would serve with various air forces around the world including Canada, Holland and China.

By the time production had finished 9,984 B-25's had been built and served in various roles including reconnaissance and wing de-icing experiments and continued in service outside of the US until 1960.

One of the sixteen North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers that took part in the famous Doolittle Raid of 1942, 'The Ruptured Duck,' along with Doolittle's own aircraft is one of the best known of the aircraft that took part. Conceived as a way to boost the morale of a nation still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbour, the Doolittle Raid consisted of the USAAF flying a number of B-25 Medium bombers off an aircraft carrier close to Japan, bombing Tokyo and then flying on to land in China. While material

damage would be slight, the effect on morale back in America, and detrimentally in Japan, would be huge. 'The Ruptured Duck' got its name from scraping its rear fuselage on the runway during training. After bombing Tokyo the aircraft flew on to China where it crashed into the sea near Shangchow. All of the crew survived, though the pilot Lt. Ted Lawson lost a leg in the ditching.

Performance
Maximum speed: 272 mph (237 kn, 438 km/h) at 13,000 ft (3,960 m)
Cruise speed: 230 mph (200 knots, 370 km/h)
Range: 1,350 mi (1,174 nmi, 2,174 km)
Service ceiling: 24,200 ft (7,378 m)

Armament
Guns: 12–18 × .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and 75 mm (2.95 in) T13E1 cannon
Hardpoints: 2,000 lb (900 kg) ventral shackles to hold one external Mark 13 torpedo
Rockets: racks for eight 5 in (127 mm) high velocity aircraft rockets (HVAR)
Bombs: 3,000 lb (1,360 kg) bombs

General characteristics (B-25H)
Crew: 6 (one pilot, one co-pilot, navigator/bombardier, turret gunner/engineer, radio operator/waist gunner, tail gunner)
Length: 52 ft 11 in (16.13 m)
Wingspan: 67 ft 7 in (20.60 m)
Height: 16 ft 4 in (4.98 m)
Wing area: 610 sq ft (56.7 m²)
Empty weight: 19,480 lb (8,855 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 35,000 lb (15,910 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Wright R-2600-92 Twin Cyclone 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 1,700 hp (1,267 kW) each

Role: Medium bomber
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: North American Aviation
First flight: 19 August 1940
Introduction: 1941
Retired: 1979 (Indonesia)
Primary users: United States Army Air Forces
                      Royal Air Force
                      Soviet Air Force
                      United States Marine Corps
Number built: 9,816
Developed from: North American XB-21
Developed into: North American XB-28 Dragon

Operators
B-25 Mitchell bombers from No. 18 (NEI) Squadron RAAF on a training flight near Canberra in 1942
Australia - Royal Australian Air Force operated 50 aircraft
No. 2 Squadron RAAF
Biafra - Biafran Air Force operated two aircraft.
Bolivia - Bolivian North American B-25J Mitchell
Bolivian Air Force operated 13 aircraft
Brazil - Brazilian Air Force operated 75 aircraft including B-25B, B-25C, B-25J)
Canada - Royal Canadian Air Force – operated 164 aircraft in bomber, light transport, trainer and "special" mission roles
13 Squadron (Mitchell II)
Republic of China - Republic of China Air Force operated more than 180 aircraft
People's Republic of China
People's Liberation Army Air Force operated captured Nationalist Chinese aircraft.
Chile - Chilean Air Force operated 12 aircraft
Colombia - Colombian Air Force operated three aircraft
Cuba - Cuban Army Air Force operated six aircraft
Fuerza Aérea del Ejército de Cuba
Cuerpo de Aviación del Ejército de Cuba
Dominican Republic - Dominican Air Force operated five aircraft
France - French Air Force operated 11 aircraft
Free French Air Force operated 18 aircraft
Indonesia - Indonesian Air Force received some B-25 Mitchells from Netherlands, the last example retired in 1979.
Mexico - Mexican Air Force received three B-25Js in December 1945, which remained in use until at least 1950.
Eight Mexican civil registrations were allocated to B-25s, including one aircraft registered to the Bank of Mexico but used by the President of Mexico.
Netherlands - Royal Netherlands Air Force operated 62 aircraft
No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF
No. 119 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF
No. 320 Squadron RAF
Dutch Naval Aviation Service operated 107 aircraft
No. 320 Squadron RAF
Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force – operated 149 aircraft, including many postwar
Peru - Peruvian Air Force received 8 B-25Js in 1947, which formed Bomber Squadron N° 21 at Talara.
Poland - Polish Air Forces on exile in Great Britain
No. 305 Polish Bomber Squadron
Spain - Spanish Air Force operated 1 ex-USAAF example interned in 1944 and operated between 1948 and 1956.
Soviet Union - Soviet Air Force (Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily or VVS) received a total of 866 B-25s of the C, D, G* & J series.* trials only (5).
United Kingdom - Royal Air Force received just over 700 aircraft.
No. 98 Squadron RAF – September 1942 – November 1945 (converted to the Mosquito
No. 180 Squadron RAF – September 1942 – September 1945 (converted to the Mosquito)
No. 226 Squadron RAF – May 1943 – September 1945 (disbanded)
No. 305 Squadron RAF – September 1943 – December 1943 (converted to the Mosquito)
No. 320 Squadron RAF – March 1943 – August 1945 (transferred to Netherlands)
No. 342 Squadron RAF – March 1945 – December 1945 (transferred to France)
No. 681 Squadron RAF – January 1943 – December 1943 (Mitchell withdrawn)
No. 684 Squadron RAF – September 1943 – April 1944 (Replaced by Mosquito)
No. 111 Operational Training Unit RAF August 1942 – August 1945 (disbanded)
Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm - operated 1 aircraft for evaluation
United States - United States Army Air Forces
United States Navy received 706 aircraft, most of which were then transferred to the USMC.
United States Marine Corps
Uruguay- Uruguayan Air Force operated 15 examples
Venezuela - Venezuelan Air Force operated 24 examples

71a-WWII North-American B-25 Mitchell