On January 25, 1939, the Army Air Corps announced a competition for
a medium bomber design, but instead of waiting for the prototypes, the
Army awarded production contracts to North American for the B-25 and Martin
for the B-26. Named in honor of US airpower proponent Brig. Gen. William
"Billy" Mitchell, the B-25 served in every theater of World War
II and was made in larger quantities than any other American twin-engine
combat airplane. The 17th Bomb Group at McChord Field, Wash., was the first
unit to receive B-25s in 1941. On April 18, 1942, Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy"
Doolittle led the Doolittle Raid, in which 16 B-25B crews took off from
the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) and bombed Tokyo and other targets,
the first time US aircraft had bombed Japan. The 75-mm cannon in the B-25G/H
was used with mixed results, primarily against ships. Recoil from the cannon
was 21 inches and momentarily stopped the plane in flight. The Marine Corps
received 706 B-25Bs, Cs, and Ds, which were redesignated PBJ-1, and used
for antisubmarine patrol duties. Mitchells were later relegated to support
duties and did not see service in Korea. The last B-25s were used to train
pilots assigned to fly bombers and tankers. Large numbers of B-25s were
flown by the Soviet Union and Britain. It was also flown by the Netherlands,
Taiwan, and Brazil. A number of surplus B-25s were used by civilian operators
as aerial camera ships for Hollywood movies. On May 21, 1960, the last
serving aircraft, a VB-25J staff transport, was retired from service at
Eglin AFB, Fla.
| Contractors: |
North American Aviation, Inc. |
| Locations Built: |
Inglewood, Calif. |
| Kansas City, Mo. |
| Number Built: (USAF) |
11,433 (9,816) |
| First Flight: |
January 1939 |
| First Flight Model: |
NA-40 |
| First Flight Location: |
Inglewood, Calif. |
| First Flight Pilot: |
Paul Balfour |
| Models/Variants: |
B-25, B-25A, B, C, D, G, H, J. AT-24A, B, C, D (later redesignated TB-25D, G, C, J). F-10 |
| Powerplant: |
Two Wright R-2600-29 Cyclone 14-cylinder radials of 1,700 hp each |
| Wingspan: |
64 ft 7 in. |
| Length: |
51 ft 11 in. |
| Height: |
16 ft 4 in. |
| Weight: |
35,000 lb gross |
| Armament: |
12 .50-cal. machine guns and 4,000 lb of bombs
(Some H/J models were modified with a solid nose and an additional four
to eight .50-cal. machine guns or two or four .50-cal. machine guns and
a 75-mm M4 cannon) |
| Accommodation: |
Crew of six normally (pilot, copilot, bombardier,
radio operator/top turret gunner, waist gunners, and tailgunner; some models
required fewer people) |
| Cost: |
$96,000 (B-25B) |
| Max. Speed: |
272 mph |
| Range: |
1,350 mi. |
| Ceiling: |
24,000 ft. |
|
