Home

American Combat Planes of the 20th Century is an incredible reference for anyone who is interested in any American Combat Plane History. There are 758 pages and 1700 b/w photos in this substantial labor of love by Ray Wagner, who has been passionately researching and writing about aircraft for over 50 years. Whether you are already familiar with his past works, or just discovering this accomplished author for the first time... This is the book that you've been waiting for!

If you'd like to see the book's Table of Contents ... Click here. You can also browse the entire Index Section to get an idea of the extensive amount of information that is covered within this book.

Search our site for other combat planes. A- 1 Eaton A- 4 Skyhawk A- 6 & A- 7 Air Weapons AV- 8 to A- 10 A- 20 Havoc A- 22 Martin Maryland A- 23 Martin Baltimore A- 24 Douglas A- 26 Douglas Invader Attack Planes B- 2A, F-111, F-117 Stealth B- 17 Flying Fortress B- 24 Liberator B- 25 North American B- 26 Marauder B- 29 Superfortress B- 32 Dominator B- 35 Flying Wing B- 36 B- 47 Stratojet B- 50 Boeing B- 52 Stratofortress B- 57 Canberra B- 58 Hustler Biplanes Biplanes, Army Pursuits Bombers, B- 70 to Stealth Bombers, First Big Curtiss Falcon CO- 1 DH- 4 De Havilland F3D- Douglas Skyknight F3H- McDonnell Demon F4D- 1 Skyray F4F Grumman Wildcats F- 4U Corsair F6F Grumman F7F Grumman F7U Vought F9F G. Cougar F9F G. Panther F- 16 Fighting Falcon F- 84 F- 86 Sabre F- 89 to F-94 F- 100 to F-108 First Fighters Flying Boats GAX Iraq to Afghanistan Martin Bombers Missile Era Fighters Navy Fighers Navy Flying Boats O- 2 Douglas P- 35 Seversky P- 36 to 42 Curtiss P- 38 Lightning P- 39 Airacobra P- 40 Line P- 47 Thunderbolt P- 51 Mustang Fighter P- 61 Black Widow P- 63 Kingcobra P- 79 to P-81 P- 82 Twin Mustang SB2C Helldiver TBF-TBM Avenger Thomas-Morse Torpedo Planes V- 11 Vultee XB -28 XP -48 / 77

North American B-25

Page 2

Crewmen from the 17th Bomb Group, however, were given a unique mission; flying the only Army bombers ever to attack from an aircraft carrier. Led by LtCol. James H. Doolittle, 16 B-25Bs were launched from the USS Hornet on April 18, 1941, each loaded with 2,000 pounds of bombs and 1,141 gallons of fuel, and made a low-level attack on Tokyo and other targets in Japan.

The first mass-production Mitchell was the B-25C (NA-82) with 863 ordered from the Inglewood factory September 28, 1940, and 162 for the Netherlands East Indies on June 24, 1941. A new bomber factory was also begun in Kansas City in December 1940, and an initial order for 1,200 B-25D Mitchells was approved June 28, 1941. This model (NA-87) was to be identical to the B-25C, and the first 100 were assembled from parts made in Inglewood until the Fisher Body Division of General Motors took over parts supply. NORTH AMERICAN B-25C-5

The first B-25C, flown on November 9, 1941, was identical to the B-25B except for the R-2600-13 engines with new Holley carburetors, an anti-icing system, and new 24-volt electrical system. Changes introduced on later production aircraft were increased fuel capacity and a navigator’s scanning blister atop the fuselage on plane #385, and these were included on parallel B-25D aircraft.

Most of the first 100 B-25Cs finished by March 1942 were rushed out of the country to help Dutch and Soviet pilots. The first to see combat were 42 B-25Cs flown across the Pacific to Australia. Although intended for the Netherlands East Indies, they were taken over by the 3rd Bomb Group’s 13th and 90th squadrons, which had arrived in Australia without their own aircraft. NORTH AMERICAN B-25C-10

On April 6, 1942, the 13th Squadron attacked a Japanese air base on New Guinea with 12 Mitchells, and the 90th flew ten to the Philippines on April 11, where they raided Japanese shipping and returned without loss. These two squadrons were joined in September by a Dutch squadron (No. 18) that had obtained another 18 B-25Cs, and the 38th Bomb Group added two more B-25C squadrons to the Fifth Air Force defending Australia.

China had been told to prepare for a B-25 squadron’s arrival in April, but Doolittle’s force was unable to locate the landing fields at night. In June 1942, two 7th Bombardment Group squadrons got B-25Cs, with the 11th Squadron flying into China, and the 22nd remaining in India to become the nucleus of the 341st Group activated in September by the Tenth Air Force.

The next Mitchell unit in combat was the 12th Bomb Group, which flew 57 B-25Cs across the South Atlantic and Africa to Egypt without a loss. They made their first raid in support of British forces on August 14, 1942. NORTH AMERICAN B-25D-5

After the Americans landed in North Africa, three more B-25 groups (310th, 321st, and 340th) had by April 1943 joined the struggle for the Mediterranean under the direction of the Twelfth Air Force. The AAF, however, never used the Mitchell on raids from United Kingdom bases, reserving that role for the B-26.

After 605 B-25Cs were completed at Inglewood by July 1942, and 200 B-25Ds accepted at Kansas City from February to October, production continued with 258 B-25C-l and 100 B-25D-l bombers. They added external wing bomb racks that could hold eight 250-pound bombs in addition to the bomb bay’s racks for two 1,600, three 1,000, or six 500-pound bombs, up to a maximum of 5,200 pounds. A 2,000-pound torpedo could be carried externally, although that was not used in combat by the Army.

Beginning in October 1942, a .50-caliber flexible gun and a .50-caliber fixed gun were mounted in the nose of 162 B-25C-5 (NA-90) and 225 B-25D-5 bombers and most subsequent aircraft, for a total of six .50-caliber guns with 1,350 rounds. Winterization changes were made by December on 150 B-25C-10s and 180 B-25D-10s, while in January 1943, the B-25C-15, and later the B-25D-15, had multiple flame dampening exhaust stacks. NORTH AMERICAN B-25C of Fifth Air Force

That corrected the bright flame spurts from the older exhaust pipes that could betray the bomber on night raids. Only minor changes were made on the C-20/-25 and parallel D-20/-25 models. Modification centers were set up at Kansas City to prepare newly-delivered aircraft with the different paint and climate gear desired by each user. NORTH AMERICAN B-25D-15 with BTO radar, 77th Bomb Sq.

Production of the B-25C series was completed in May 1943 with 1,619 built. Deliveries of 1,540 B-25Ds to block D-25 accelerated at Kansas City until they surpassed the output of the California factory. From September 1943 to March 1944, the last blocks of 500 B-25D-30s and 250 B-25D-35s were completed with a single .50-caliber gun in a tail position and the belly turret replaced by a pair of waist guns like those of the B-25H/J models.

A B-25C-10 modified to test a heated surface anti-icing system was designated XB-25E and first flown February 4, 1943, but an XB-25F planned for an alternate system was not completed. Forty-five B-25Ds stripped of armament and fitted with trimetrogon cameras for photo mapping were redesignated as the F-10 on August 18, 1943.

The Fifth Air Force in the Southwest Pacific added its third medium bomber group when the 345th left California with 62 B-25D-5s in May 1943, and began operations in June. The 38th Bomb Group increased from two to four B-25 squadrons by October 1943, and the 22nd Group completely converted to B-25s after the departure of the Martin B-26 Marauder from the Pacific war scene in February 1944. Since the B-26 needed larger airfields and had less range, the B-25’s rival was considered more suitable for Europe.

More pressure on Japan was added with the arrival of the 42nd Group in the South Pacific’s Thirteenth Air Force by April 1943 and the 41st Group in the Central Pacific’s Seventh Air Force in October.

[ B- 24 / Home ] [Back] [ Continue to next page]

Want information on other Combat Planes? Search the rest of our site.