North American B-25 Mitchell

T The North American B-25 Mitchell was one of the most famous bombers of the World War II. This medium bomber without a prototype was built by North American from the drawing board. Production began in February, 1941. The plane was named after Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, a pioneer advocate of military air power. Just over a year later, it gained its greatest fame on April 18, 1942, when sixteen B-25Bs, launched from the carrier USS Hornet, raided Tokyo in the first reprisal by U.S. forces against the Japanese mainland. During the war, 9,916 B-25's were accepted by the Army Air Force for U.S., British, and Russian units. Pilots liked the B-25 for its dependability and general flight characteristics.

North American rebuilt the plane on display at the USAF Air Museum to the configuration of a Tokyo Raider.

The photograph to your left is that of Colonel Doolittle standing on the Hornet's flight deck with the members of his Tokyo air raid team.

The first Mitchell off the Hornet's deck. The lead off pilot was Colonel Doolittle himself. The short take off from a carrier deck was carefully prepared for by all the team pilots. However, Doolittle felt his example would be a good leadership example. It was, of course.

Specifications:

Manufacturer: North American
Length: 51 ft., 5 in.
Wing span: 67 ft., 6 in.
Height: 15ft., 10 in.
Crew: 6
Speed: 285 mph
Range: 1,200 mi.
Armament: twelve or fourteen .50-cal. machine guns, or six .50-cal. machines guns and one 75-mm cannon
Bomb load: 3,200 lbs.
Weight: 33,500 lbs.

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