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| - Designed and built by a company with no previous experience of bombers, multi engined aircraft or high performance warplanes, the B-25 - named in honour of the Air Corps officer Billy Mitchell, who was court martialled for his belief in air power - has often been described as the best World War 2 aircraft in its class, and was made in larger quantities than any other American twin engined warplane.
- The North American B-25 “Mitchell” was a twin engine, medium weight bomber, that was used by the United States in World War II. The aircraft was developed by North American Aviation. The as NA-62 designated prototype had its first flight on 19th August 1940. To honor of General Billy Mitchell it received the nickname “Mitchell”. The Mitchell was used by the Air Forces of the United States, Great Britain, Australia, China, the Netherlands and the Soviet Union. All in all 9,984 B-25 bombers were produced.
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| abstract
| - Designed and built by a company with no previous experience of bombers, multi engined aircraft or high performance warplanes, the B-25 - named in honour of the Air Corps officer Billy Mitchell, who was court martialled for his belief in air power - has often been described as the best World War 2 aircraft in its class, and was made in larger quantities than any other American twin engined warplane. The design team led by Lee Atwood and Ray Rice initially created the NA-40 in response to U.S. Army Specification 98-102 for a twin engine medium bomber., which gave way to a sleeker, more powerful machine when the Army issued a revised specification. The prototype, now known as the NA-40-1 Attack Bomber, was completed with two 1,100 hp Pratt and Whitney R-1830-s6c3-g radials in early 1939, and was flown in January. In mid February the engines were replaced by a pair of 1,200 hp Wright Cyclone GR-2600-A7J radials, resulting in the revised designation of NA-40-2 (NA-40B). Initial armament consisted of a hand held 0.3 in M2 browning with 300 rounds, three 0.3 machine guns fixed in the wings with 500 rounds each, single guns on hand held mountings in the mid upper and rear lower positions with 500 rounds each, and 1,200 lbs of bombs. Following a brief test programme, the Air Corps suggested a number of design changes, resulting in North American redesigning the aircraft to meet a revised specification as the NA-62. This featured increased bomb load capability, obtained by rearranging the internal bomb stowage while replacing the raised cockpit with one in line with the top of the fuselage. In addition, the wing attachment point was lowered by several feet to provide an improved mainspar location, the engine nacelles were extended aft of the wing, a 0.5 in machine gun was fitted in a hand held mounting in the tail, and crew accommodation was increased from three to five. Army approval for the new design was obtained on 10 September 1939, with a contract for the construction of 184 examples, ordered off the drawing board as the B-25, being issued ten days later. Following delivery of a static test example to Wright Field on 4 July 1940, the first flying B-25 made its initial flight on 19 August 1940. Powered by two 1,700 hp Wright-Cyclone R-2600-9 radials, this variant was capable of 322 mph at a gross weight of 27,310 lb. After completion of the first nine examples, the design was modified by re-setting the outer wing panels to the horizontal position, in order to eliminate the directional instability encountered during bombing run tests carried out at Wright Field.
- The North American B-25 “Mitchell” was a twin engine, medium weight bomber, that was used by the United States in World War II. The aircraft was developed by North American Aviation. The as NA-62 designated prototype had its first flight on 19th August 1940. To honor of General Billy Mitchell it received the nickname “Mitchell”. The Mitchell was used by the Air Forces of the United States, Great Britain, Australia, China, the Netherlands and the Soviet Union. All in all 9,984 B-25 bombers were produced. The best known mission of the B-25 was the bombing raid on Tokio planned by Lieutenant Colonel James „Jimmy“ H. Doolittle who planned the mission named “Doolittle Raid”, which was started on 18th April 1942 from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. On 28th July 1945 a B-25 bomber collided, because of a navigation error and bad weather, with the Empire State Building.
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