United States' North American B-25 Mitchell bomber

Photos

North American B-25 Mitchell bomber, wind tunnel model:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber: Aeronautics Aircraft Spotters' Handbook	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber: Aeronautics Aircraft Spotters' Handbook
North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber, test firing its weapons:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:
North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:
North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:
North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:
North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:
North American B-25 Mitchell bomber flying over Ulithi:	North American B-25 Mitchell bombers attacking a Japanese warship:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber's crew and support crew:	North American B-25 Mitchell bombers at the factory:
North American B-25 Mitchell bomber in the Doolittle Raid:	North American B-25 Mitchell bomber:
See even more pictures of the North American B-25 Mitchell bomber

Design

The North American B-25 Mitchell was named after the visionary Colonel "Billy" Mitchell who was a proponent of air power in the 1920s and was later court-martialed for his views.^3,5

The design of the B-25 Mitchell started in 1938.⁵

North American had never produced a high performance multi engine plane before.³

Undercarriage

The undercarriage was tricycle landing gear.³

Bomb bays

The North American B-25 Mitchell had two vertical bombbays.¹

Wings

The B-25s had inverted gull wings which allowed for it to be more maneuverable than with straight wings.¹

Prototype

The NA-40 prototype first flew in January 1939.³ Was destroyed in a landing accident in March 1939.^3,5 The next prototype was the NA-62.⁵ An order for 184 was placed in September 1939 by the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC).³

The B-25 prototype, NA-62, first flew on August 19, 1940.^2,5 The prototype had a dihedral running the full wing.²

Production

The first B-25 production aircraft flew in August 1940.³ The first B-25H flew in July 1943.³

• Delivered to:
  • Soviet Union: 870¹, <900⁵
  • United Kingdom: 700², 910¹
  • United States Air Force, United States Navy: >9,800⁵, 9,816²
• North American NA-40: 1³
• North American B-25: 24^3,5
• North American B-25A: 40^3,5
• North American B-25B: 120^2,3,5
• North American B-25C: 1,619^2,3,5
  • Produced at Inglewood, California.²
  • PBJ-1C BuNo Numbers: 34998-35047 (50)⁴
• North American B-25D: 2,290^2,3,5
  • Produced at Dallas, Texas.²
  • PBJ-1D BuNo Numbers: 35048-35072 (25)⁴, 35078-350096 (24)⁴, 35098-35193 (96)⁴, 35196-35202 (7)⁴
• North American B-25G: 405^2,3,5
  • Delivered in 1942.³
  • PBJ-1G BuNo Numbers: 35097 (1)⁴
• North American B-25H: 1,000³
  • PBJ-1H BuNo Numbers: 35250-35297 (48)⁴, 88872-89071 (200)⁴
• North American B-25J: 4,318³
  • Delivered from 1944 to 1945.³
  • PBJ-1J BuNo Numbers: 35194-35195 (2)⁴, 35203-35249 (47)⁴, 35798-35920 (123)⁴, 38980-39012 (33)⁴, 64943 - 64992 (50)⁴
• Total: 9,816³, 10,000¹, 11,000², >11,000⁵
  • Manufacturer: North American Aviation Inc.⁵
  • Production: 1940 - 1945⁵

Variants

• North American NA-40: Prototype.³ Had two Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines (1,100 HP).³ Later the Wright R-2600 engines were installed (1,350 HP).³
• North American NA-62: Prototype.⁵ Available September 1939.⁵
• North American XB-25E: Experimental prototype.³
• North American XB-25F: Experimental prototype.³
• North American XB-25G: Experimental prototype.³ Had 75 mm M-4 field gun installed in a solid nose.³
• North American B-25A: The dihedral outboard of the engines was reduced resulting in the gull wing.² Had self sealing fuel tanks.^3,5 Armor protection was increased.^3,5
• North American B-25B / North American Mitchell Mk I: Had additional gun armament.^2,3
• North American B-25C / North American Mitchell Mk II: Extra fuel capacity.^2,3 Gun turrets on top and on the bottom of the fuselage.⁶
• North American B-25D / North American Mitchell Mk II: Extra fuel capaicty.³
• North American B-25G: Nose mounted 75 mm field gun.^2,3,5 The gun was hand loaded and recoiled 21" / 53 cm.³ Was vulnerable in the attack dive.³
• North American B-25H: Had lighter T-13E1 75 mm gun.^2,3 Had 14 12.7 mm MGs.²
• North American B-25J / North American Mitchell Mk III: Had 12 machine guns in the nose.¹
• North American PBJ: US Marine Corp version.¹
• North American PBJ-1C: The US Navy version of the B-25C.³
• North American PBJ-1D: The US Navy version of the B-25D.³
• North American PBJ-1G: The US Navy version of the B-25G.³
• North American PBJ-1H: The US Navy version of the B-25H.³
• North American PBJ-1J: The US Navy version of the B-25J.³
• North American AT-24 (later TB-25): Trainer.³ Converted B-25.³
• North American F-10: Photo reconnaissance.³ Converted B-25.³

Usage

Users of the B-25 were Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Netherlands, Soviet Union, and the United States.³

European Front

The B-25s flew 63,177 missions, dropped 84,980 tons of bombs, and shot down 193 enemy aircraft.⁵

Delivery

The B-25As were first delivered in 1941 to the 17th Bomb Group.^2,5

First Combat

The B-25 Mitchell was first use in combat was on December 24, 1941 when one sunk a Japanese submarine.¹

The B-25s were used in New Guinea and the Philippines.³

From Shangrai La

Sixteen B-25Bs, under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, took off from the carrier Hornet in April 1942 to bomb Tokyo.^1,2,3,5 The raid was a huge moral builder for the Americans who were in much need of a success.^1,5 When asked by reporters where the planes were from, President Roosevelt said "Shangrai La."¹

Skip Bombing

The B-25s were often used in skipping a bomb on the water into the side of its target.¹

Scratch One Destroyer

A Japanese destroyer was sunk by seven shots from a B-25H's 75 mm cannon.¹

United States Marines

The United States Marines used the Mitchells in the Pacific and called them PBJs.¹ 687 were delivered.⁴

Royal Air Force (RAF)

The RAF received 314 B-25Js.³

After World War II

Some B-25s were still used as trainers into the 1950s (until January 1959³).^1,3

Specifications

	North American B-25 Mitchell
Type	Medium bomber3
Crew	5 - 63
Engine (Type)	2: Wright Cyclone6 2: Wright R-2600-9 Double Cyclone3
OR	2: Wright R-2600-13 Double Cyclone3
Cylinders	Radial 143
Cooling
HP	1,700 each3
War emergency HP
Propeller blades	3 each3
Dimensions
Span	67' 6"6
Length	51' 5"6
Height	14' 10"6
Wing area
Weight
Empty
Loaded	24,000 lb6
Maximum load
Performance
Speed	300 mph6
Cruising speed
Climb
Service ceiling
Range	2,500 miles6
Armament