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B-25 Mitchell

North American B-25 Mitchell

The B-25 Mitchell was the easiest of all twin engine bombers to fly and land. It was such a pleasure to fly it gave the pilots the much needed time to deal with the more important aspects of combat flying. The twin-engine bomber proved it could do the impossible by flying off the USS Hornet with Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle’s Tokyo Raiders. 16 of the North American B-25 Mitchells launched off the USS Hornet in a successful raid on Tokyo in response to Pearl Harbor attack on April 18, 1942.

The most versatile of short range bombers ever built the B-25 was designed to bomb from medium altitudes in level flight. But it filled many other rolls in its combat career. In the Southwest Pacific Theater it was used for treetop-level strafing and para-frag missions against the Japanese in the Philippines and New Guinea. Later on Major Paul I. “pappy” Gunn field-modified the B-25s for skip-bombing and strafing missions against the Japanese shipping trying to re-supply their land based armies.

The short range bomber was used with devastating effect in the Central Pacific, Alaska, China-Burma-India and Mediterranean Theaters.

The U.S. Army Air Corp had such a great need for a hard hitting strafing aircraft the B-25G was redesigned. The transparent nose was replaced with a shorter-length nose that contained two .50 in 12.77 mm machine guns and a 75 mm M4 cannon.

One interesting characteristic of the B-25 Mitchell was its ability to extend range by using one-quarter wing flap settings. The aircraft normally cruised in a slightly nose-high attitude; about 40 gal of fuel was below the fuel pickup point and would be unavailable for use. The flaps-down setting gave the aircraft a more level flight attitude, which allowed this fuel used, and slightly extending the aircraft's range.