North American B-25
| North American B-25 Mitchell | |
|---|---|
 North American B-25G-10 of the United States Army Air Forces |
|
| Type: | bomber |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
August 19, 1940 |
| Commissioning: |
1941 |
| Production time: |
1941 to 1945 |
| Number of pieces: |
9984 |
The North American "Mitchell" was a twin-engined medium-weight bomber produced by the US manufacturer North American Aviation . The prototype with the factory designation NA-62 flew for the first time on August 19, 1940. During the Second World War , a total of 9,984 B-25s were produced from 1941 to 1945.
The guy was nicknamed Mitchell in honor of General Billy Mitchell (1879-1936) . The U.S. Air Forces ( USAAF ), Great Britain , Australia , China , the Netherlands and the Soviet Union deployed B-25s.
Probably the most famous use of the B-25 was the attack by Lieutenant Colonel James "Jimmy" H. Doolittle on Tokyo , known as the Doolittle Raid , which was launched on April 18, 1942 with 16 B-25B from aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet .
Around eighty USAAF B-25 bombers were destroyed in March 1944 in the last eruption of Vesuvius to date , when tephra precipitation fell on the military airfield Pompeii Airfield in Terzigno (Italy).
On July 28, 1945, a B-25 bomber collided with the Empire State Building due to a navigation error in poor visibility .
Versions
US Army
- B-25
- 24 built, the first nine aircraft had wings with a continuous V-position from the fuselage to the wing tips. The outer wings of the following machines were aligned horizontally so that a slight gull wing was created. The directional stability could be improved by this modification, which the first nine aircraft received afterwards. Wright R- 2600-9 engines under construction at the Inglewood , California facility .
- B-25A
- 40 built. Version with self-sealing tanks , armor and a modified rear stand. As of 1942, they were considered obsolete and referred to as "RB-25A" ("R" for "Restricted").
- B-25B
- 120 built. Version without rear stand, but with rotating towers on and under the fuselage. Although the tower could be retracted under the fuselage, the speed decreased by 48 km / h. 23 machines were sent to the Royal Air Force as Mitchell Mk I delivered. B-25B were used in the " Doolittle Raid " on Tokyo on April 18, 1942.
- B-25C
- 1,625 built. Version with Wright R-2600-13 engines, de-icing equipment and a cockpit for the navigator. The bow armament was reinforced by a movable and a rigid 12.7 mm MG (RAF "Mitchell Mk II").
- TB-25C
- Trainer version of the B-25C (originally called "AT-24C").
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- B-25D
- 2,290 built, B-25C from the Kansas City (Kansas) plant.
- TB-25D
- Trainer version of the B-25D (originally called "AT-24A"), 60 rebuilt.
- XB-25E
- A B-25C that has been converted to test a de-icing system (de-icing using the engine exhaust).
- XB-25F-A
- A B-25C that has been converted to test a de-icing system (electric de-icing).
- XB-25G
- Conversion of a B-25C with a disguised nose and a bow armament of two rigid 12.7 mm machine guns and one 75 mm M4 cannon.
- B-25G
- 420 built. Production version of the XB-25G with increased fuel load and improved armor. One machine was given to the RAF for testing.
- TB-25G
- Trainer version of the B-25G (originally called "AT-24B").
- B-25H
- 1,000 built. Improved B-25G with four 12.7 mm MG in the bow and two each on the right and left of the fuselage. The M4 cannon was replaced by the 75mm T13E1.
- B-25J
- 4,318 built. Originally B-25H with a glazed nose, but often also with 14 to 18 rigid forward-firing 12.7 mm MG in a disguised nose. 316 to the RAF as Mitchell Mk III .
- TB-25J
- Trainer version of the B-25J (originally called "AT-24D").
- CB-25J
- B-25J converted as a transporter.
- VB-25J
- B-25J converted as a VIP transporter.
- TB-25K
- Trainer version of the B-25J with Hughes E1 radar, 117 rebuilt.
- TB-25L
- Trainer version of the B-25J, 90 rebuilt.
- TB-25M
- Trainer version of the B-25J with Hughes E5 radar, 40 rebuilt.
- TB-25N
- Trainer version of the B-25J, 47 rebuilt.
- F-10
- Conversion of 10 B-25D to reconnaissance aircraft. From 1948 referred to as RB-25D ("R" for "Reconnaissance").
- PBJ-1C
- B-25C with radar, 50 rebuilt.
- PBJ-1D
- B-25D, rear stand with only one 12.7 mm machine gun and one 75 mm T13E1 cannon in the bow, often equipped with radar. 152 rebuilt.
- PBJ-1G
- B-25G, one adopted by the US Navy.
- PBJ-1H
- US Navy B-25H, often equipped with radar. 248 taken over by the US Navy. One was equipped for catapult launches and launched from the aircraft carrier USS Shangri-La .
- PBJ-1J
- US Navy B-25H with improved radio equipment, often equipped with radar. 255 rebuilt.
production
| Manufacturer | Type | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North American, Inglewood | B-25 | 24 | 24 | ||||
| B-25A | 40 | 40 | |||||
| B-25B | 107 | 13 | 120 | ||||
| B-25C | 1106 | 514 | 1620 | ||||
| North American, Kansas | B-25D | 435 | 1701 | 154 | 2290 | ||
| North American, Inglewood | B-25G | 405 | 405 | ||||
| B-25H | 334 | 666 | 1000 | ||||
| North American, Kansas | B-25J | 2858 | 1460 | 4318 | |||
| total | 171 | 1554 | 2954 | 3678 | 1460 | 9817 |
On June 30, 1956 the USAF had the following conversions: From version D: 2 RB-25D, 1 TB-25D; from version J: 5 VB-25J, 32 VB-25N, 123 TB-25J, 90 TB-25K, 79 TB-25L, 35 TB-25M, 603 TB-25N.
Users
While the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps only used the PBJ for test purposes until 1948 after World War II, the US Air Force used the B-25 until 1959, primarily as a training aircraft.
In addition to the US armed forces, the UK was the largest user to receive B-25 under Lending and Lease Act 910. Within the RAF, one squadron from the Netherlands, one from Poland and one from French flew the B-25.
Also as a result of the lend lease agreement, the Soviet Union received a total of 870 B-25 versions B, C and J from October 1941. The aircraft were transported by sea and the Persian Corridor or directly via the Alaska-Siberia route (ALSIB ) flown in. Some of these B-25s were still in use well into the 1950s. NATO therefore gave the Mitchell the code name "Bank". Some aircraft were used as test carriers for jet engines, jump starters and the rescue system of the OKB-2 346 .
The Netherlands ordered on 30 June 1941, the Dutch East Indies 162 B-25C, the first of which, however, the Dutch armed forces did not reach prior to their surrender in March 1942 more. Between 1942 and 1945 150 B-25C / D / J were delivered, which were used from Australia. Some were used in the Indonesian War of Independence until 1950 and were handed over to the Indonesian Armed Forces in 1950. They used this until 1979. The Dutch 320 Sqn. the RAF in Europe flew the Mitchell from 1943 to 1951.
Australia received 30 B-25D and 20 B-25J in 1944/45, which were sold by No. 2 Squadron RAAF were deployed. Most of the machines were scrapped in 1950.
Canada received a Mitchell Mk I, 42 Mk II and 19 Mk III from the RAF in 1944. In 1951 another 75 B-25J were procured, which were mainly used for transport tasks until 1960.
The Chinese National Armed Forces received 100 B-25C / D and 131 B-25J under the Lending and Lease Act during the Second World War, which were also used in the civil war that followed. Many were transferred to Taiwan in 1948 , but some were also used by the armed forces of the People's Republic of China .
The armed forces of Free France received about 21 B-25s, with which the No. 342 Squadron of the RAF was formed. In 1944/45 it became the GB I / 20 Lorraine of the French Air Force , which was used until 1947.
Under the Loan Act, Brazil received seven B-25Bs, one B-25C and 32 B-25Js, which were used to patrol the Atlantic . In 1946/47 Brazil received a further 64 B-25J, the last of which were retired in 1970.
From 1947 the USA delivered the B-25 to seven Latin American states as part of the “ Military Assistance Program ” in order to strengthen their armed forces. The following deliveries are known:
- Bolivia : 13 B-25J that flew until 1979.
- Chile : twelve B-25Js that flew at Grupo de Bombardeo Mediano No 8 in Quintero until 1954.
- Dominican Republic : two B-25H and three B-25J
- Colombia : three B-25J that flew until 1957.
- Mexico : three B-25Js that were in service until the 1960s.
- Uruguay received 14 B-25Js and one B-25H in the early 1950s.
- From 1947 to 1957 Venezuela received 30 B-25H / Js and bought nine B-25s from Canada. They were used by the Escuadrones de Bombardeo 3, 7 and 40 until 1971.
Biafra still used two B-25s in the Biafra War in 1967 .
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data (B-25J) |
|---|---|
| crew | 6 (1 pilot, 1 copilot, 1 navigator / bombardier, 1 tower gunner / engineer, 1 radio operator / nose gunner, 1 rear gunner) |
| span | 21 m |
| length | 16.5 m |
| height | 4.8 m |
| Empty mass | 9,580 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 19,000 kg |
| drive | two radial engines Wright Cyclone with 1,850 HP (1,361 kW) each |
| Top speed | 455 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 6,500 meters |
| Range | 2,173 km |
| Armament | 4-8 12.7 mm machine guns as defensive armament 8 forward- firing 12.7 mm machine guns 1,800 kg (3,968 lb) weapon load (bombs / missiles) |
See also
literature
- Chris Westhorp (Ed.): Thunder in the Heavens - Classic US aircraft from World War II . German-language edition, Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1995. ISBN 3-86070-364-1
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius. In: warwingsart.com. Retrieved July 25, 2016 .
- ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1946 , p. 100 ff .; www.uswarplanes.net
- ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1956. p. 97
- ↑ Hans-Joachim Mau / Hans Heiri Stapfer: Under the Red Star - Lend-Lease Aircraft for the Soviet Union 1941-1945. Transpress, Berlin 1991, pp. 114-118.