NORTH AMERICAN
B-25J MITCHELL BOMBER
The B-25 medium bomber was one of America’s most famous airplanes of WW II.This model was used by General Doolittle for the Tokyo Raid on April 18, 1942. Subsequently, it saw duty in every combat area being flown by the Dutch, British, Chinese, Russians and Australians in addition to our own U.S. forces.Although the airplane was originally intended for level bombing from medium altitudes, it was used extensively in the Pacific area for bombing Japanese airfields from treetop level and for strafing and skip bombing enemy shipping.
More than 9,800 B-25s were built during WW II. It was first flown in 1940 and became the first plane to see action in all theaters of fighting in WWII.The B-25 was nicknamed after General Billy Mitchell.The B-25 was the first plane to carry a 75mm cannon and the first plane to sink an enemy submarine.Forty-eight B-25’s still fly today, with a total of 139 surviving. The plane on display at Grissom Air Museum was used in the movie Catch 22 “6B Passionette Paulette”.
| SPECIFICATIONS | |
| Span: | 67 ft. 7 in. |
| Length: | 52 ft. 11 in. |
| Height: | 15 ft. 9 in. |
| Weight: | 28,460 lbs. loaded |
| Armament: | Five .50-cal. machine guns; 5,000 lbs. of bombs |
| Engines: | Two Wright R-2600-13 Double Cyclone 14 cylinder air-cooled radials of 1,700 hp. ea. |
| Crew: | 5 |
| Cost: | $ 96,000 |
| Tail Number: | 44-86843 |
| Nickname: | Mitchell |
| PERFORMANCE | |
| Maximum Speed: | 275 mph |
| Cruising Speed: | 230 mph |
| Range: | 1,275 miles |
| Service Ceiling: | 24,000 ft. |
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