North American RB-25D-30 (F-10) Mitchell 43-3374 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. This aircraft was removed from storage at Tucson, Arizona, and rebuilt by North American Aviation at Inglewood, California, to the configuration the lead B-25B flown by Lt. Col. Doolittle on the Tokyo Raid, B-25B 40-2344. It was flown to the museum in April 1958.
This is a list of United States Army Air ForcesB-25 Mitchell medium bomber units. It does not include non-combat units assigned within the United States for operational training or replacement training.
The B-25 medium bomber was one the most famous airplanes of World War II. It was the type used by Gen. Jimmy Doolittle for the famous Doolittle Raid over Japan on 18 April 1942.
The first B-25 test aircraft flew on 19 August 1940, and the first production Mitchell was delivered to the 17th Bombardment Group in February 1941. A total of 9,816 Mitchells were built, greater than any other American twin-engined bomber. The majority of B-25s in American service were used in the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) and the Aleutian Campaign. In the China-Burma-India Theater (CBI), the B-25 attacked Japanese communication links, especially bridges in central Burma. It also helped to supply the besieged troops at Imphal in 1944.
In 1942, the first B-25Bs arrived in Egypt just in time to take part in the Battle of El Alamein. From there the aircraft took part in the rest of the Western Desert Campaign, the invasion of Sicily and the advance up Italy. The five bombardment groups that used the B-25 in the North African desert and the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) were the only US units to use the B-25 in Europe. In addition to the bombardment groups, the F-10 photographic reconnaissance variant of the Mitchell was widely used.
After the war, the B-25 was taken out of front-line service and redesignated the TB-25, reflecting that it was no longer considered a combat aircraft. It flew training roles with the United States Air Force for many years, the last example, TB-25J 44-30210 not being retired until 31 January 1959.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency