| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Contents | ||
| B-25 Mitchell | ||
|---|---|---|
B-25 Mitchell, England, 2001 | ||
| Description | ||
| Rôle | Medium bomber | |
| Crew | 6 | |
| First Flight | 1939 | |
| Entered Servise | 1939 | |
| Manufacturer | North American Aviation | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Length | 52 ft 11 in | 16.12 m |
| Wingspan | 67 ft 6 in | 20.57 m |
| Height | 17 ft 7 in | 4.8 m |
| Wing area | 610 ft² | 56.67 m² |
| Weights | ||
| Empty | 21,120 lb | 9,580 kg |
| Loaded | 33,510 lb | 15,200 kg |
| Maximum takeoff | 41,800 lb | 18,960 kg |
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines | Wright R-2600-29 ‘Cyclones’ (2) | |
| Power | 1,850 hp | 1,380 kW |
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | 275 mph | 442 km/h |
| Cruise speed | 230 mph | 370 km/h |
| Combat range | 1,350 miles | 2172 km |
| Ferry range | 2,700 miles | 4344 km |
| Servise ceiling | 25,000 ft | 7620 m |
| Rate of climb | 789 ft/min | 240 m/min |
| Wing loading | 54.9 lb/ft² | 268 kg/m² |
| Power/Mass | .11 hp/lb | .182 kW/kg |
| Armament | ||
| Guns | .50-calibre (12.7 mm) machine guns (5-18) | |
| Bombs | 5,971 lb | 1,820 kg |
B-25 Mitchell was a twin-engined, medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation in the United States and used during World War II. By the time production of the plane ended, roughly 10,000 had been built, including PBJ-1 Navy Patrol Bomber and an F-10 reconnaissance version. It served in every combat theatre and was used by a number of countries other than the United States, including Australia, Britain (which received more than 900), China, The Netherlands, and Russia. Its nickname ‘Mitchell’ was in honour of General Billy MitchellWilliam L. Billy) Mitchell ( December 28, 1879 February 19, 1936) was an American general who is regarded as the father of the U. He is arguably the most famous and most controversial figure in American airpower history. Born in Nice, France to a wealthy, an early proponent of airpower.
While the B-25 was meant originally to bomb from medium altitudes in level flight, it was used frequently in the Pacific Theatre in treetop-level missions against Japanese airfields and for operations such as strafingWarfare Strafing ( adaptation of German strafen to punish) is the practice of shooting a machine gun, from an airplane in flight, at objects or people on the ground. It first became possible in the first World War, when a Frenchman set small armor plates and skip-bombing against enemy Japanese shipping.
The B-25 is most famous as the bomber used in the 1942This is a list of aviation-related events from 1942: Events January January 30 Canadian Pacific Air Lines formed by the acquisition and merger of Arrow Airways and Canadian Airways, along with all the various subsidiaries of the latter. April April 18 Col Doolittle RaidThe Doolittle Raid was a bomber raid launched on the Japanese mainland on April 18, 1942. The raid — a propaganda exercise — was planned and led by then Lieutenant Colonel James Harold Doolittle. The raid was made possible by a technical observation of Ca, where the raiders took off from the aircraft carrier USS HornetEight ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Hornet after the stinging insect. The first Hornet was a ten-gun sloop commissioned in 1775, and served in the American Revolutionary War. The first two ships in the new Continental Navy were Horne, bombed TokyoTokyo (; Tokyo lit. eastern capital) is the capital of Japan as well as the most populous conurbation in Japan, and the world's largest metropolitan area by population with 33,750,000 people living within its urban influence. A little more than 12 million, and crashed in China; a B-25 also collided with the Empire State Building in 1945.