On April 28, 1942 the North American B-25 Mitchell made the first U.S. air strike against the Japanese mainland. The aircraft did score a combat victory before that when on December 24, 1941 a B-25 was credited with the sinking of a Japanese submarine.
The B-25 aircraft was named after General Billy Mitchell, one of the earliest proponents of air power.
Pilots appreciated the B-25 for its predictable handling, and ground crews appreciated its low maintenance.
The B-25 was North American Aircraft's first mass manufactured warplane. The design of the B-25 made it relatively easy to produce and simple to maintain.
One of the most versatile U. S. aircraft of World War II, B-25 missions included strafing, low and medium altitude bombing, training, anti shipping, and reconnaissance.
In the South Pacific, the B-25 was especially effective as a low altitude bomber. When used by the Pacific 5th Air Force, the B-25H model was armed with a 75 mm cannon and four .50 cal. machine guns in the nose. It had an additional four .50 cal. machine guns in blisters along side of the nose, two in the aircraft waist , two in a dorsal turret and two in the tail. The B-25H could carry 3,000 lbs. of bombs in its belly, and four rockets under each wing. One thousand B-25H versions were produced.
In addition to the U.S. Army Air Corps, the U.S. Navy and numerous U.S. Allies all used the B-25 Mitchell. Demand by U.S. Allies for the B-25 was so great that U.S. forces never had more than about 2,700 aircraft deployed.
When WW II ended, the B-25 was used primarily as a training aircraft. Flight schools appreciated the easy ground handling of the B-25 due to its wide spread main landing gear and steady in- flight handling.
Some post-war B-25 aircraft were used by the U.S. military as VIP transport aircraft until they were eventually retired in May of 1960.
Over 9,950 B-25 aircraft of all models were built.
George Peters and his RC Airplane.