The B-25 Mitchell Medium Bomber 

The B-25 Mitchell Medium Bomber

The North American B-25 Mitchell Medium Bomber

The North American B-25 Mitchell bomber is an American twin-engine Mitchell medium bomber named after General Major William Billy Mitchell, a pioneer of American military aviation. 

The first B-25 bomber had its roof turret at the front of the cockpit and had gun windows on both sides. At the bottom, this type of aircraft had a flat belly gun turret. Below and to the side of the cockpit were two 12.7 mm machine guns on each side. There was also a gun turret at the rear. A small flying fortress. 

Since the C version, the B-25 Mitchells received a nose gun turret in the front, unlike the regular B-25. The gun turret at the top of the aircraft was center aft and the
B-25 C had no side gun windows, but it had a rear gunner's post. The belly gunner's post was missing in this version. 2,268 kilograms of bombs could be carried.

The bombers were not designed to take off from an aircraft carrier at all. The B-25 Mitchell bomber was the first to do so in a US Army action.

Until before the Doolittle raid, there had been experiments with taking off from an aircraft carrier, but in an unloaded state. In short, no bomber with so much carrying weight had taken off from an aircraft carrier. 

The aircraft was modified for the use of the B-25 during the Doolittle raid. I will come back to this later. 

The B-25 Mitchell bomber in more detail: 

-        Six crew members (in the Doolittle Raid five per crew); 

-        Weight (empty) of 8,836 kg – 19,480 lbs; 

-        Maximum takeoff weight of 15,976 kg – 35,000 lbs; 

-        Length of 16.13 meters – 52 ft 11 inches; 

-        Wingspan of 20.60 meters – 67 ft 7 inches; 

-        Height of 4.80 meters – 16 ft 4 inches; 

-        Wing area of ​​56.7 m² - 610ft²;

-        Top speed: 442 km/h – 275 mph;

-        Range of 2,172 km – 1350 miles; 

-        Maximum flight altitude of 7,376 meters – 24,200 ft. 

About 10,000 aircraft were produced over the years.

The first flight with the B-25 Mitchell took place on August 19, 1940. The aircraft was introduced to the US Army in 1941. 

The aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation built the B-25 Mitchell bombers. 

The B-25 Mitchell bomber served in various locations during World War II, and many remained in service after the end of the war, for four decades to come. It was and remains a very solid device, flexible and had a lot of possibilities. 
The last official flight of the B-25 Mitchell bomber was in Indonesia in 1979. The aircraft therefore has 58 years of service worldwide.