World War II Bomber
by Richard Gehlbach
Title
World War II Bomber
Artist
Richard Gehlbach
Medium
Photograph - Fine Art Photography
Description
The B-25 Mitchell was developed by North American Aviation as a medium bomber, which saw extensive service during World War Two (WWII). It was named in honor of General William �Billy� Mitchell, an early advocate for the potential of airpower. North American delivered over ten thousand of these bombers in various configurations during the life of the project. These configurations included medium bomber, maritime patrol/interdiction, ground strafing, heavy gunship platform, reconnaissance, and as a trainer. The bomber was flown by The Army Air Corps (later to become the United States Air Force), The United States Navy, and the United States Marines. It was also used by many of the allies during and after the conflict.
The Mitchell was fast and maneuverable. It was well liked by its aircrews. It could be used at either high or low level operations but excelled at the latter. The aircraft was also very durable and could withstand tremendous punishment.
One B-25C of the 321st Bomber Group was nicknamed "Patches" because its crew chief painted all the aircraft's flak hole patches with high-visibility zinc chromate primer. By the end of the war, this aircraft had completed over 300 missions, had been belly-landed six times and had over 400-patched holes. The airframe of "Patches" was so distorted from battle damage that straight-and-level flight required 8� of left aileron trim and 6� of right rudder, causing the aircraft to "crab" sideways across the sky.
The B-25 is best known as the aircraft used to bomb Japan during the �Doolittle Raid� of 1942. Although not designed for operations from an aircraft carrier, the B-25 demonstrated its versatility when placed in the hands of some talented and brave aircrews. The raid did not result in significant physical damage to Japan; however, the psychological damage was significant as their leaders boasted that no country would ever be able to launch an attack against their homeland. Col. Jimmy Doolittle and his brave crews proved those leaders wrong just four months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The last flight of a B-25 Mitchell used in a military capacity by the United States occurred in 1960. The last B-25 to operate in a military capacity anywhere in the world was flown by the Indonesian Air Force in 1979. Some B-25s, as the one in this picture, have been restored and are flying while others have been relegated to museums.
Uploaded
May 24th, 2016
Statistics
Viewed 755 Times - Last Visitor from Fairfield, CT on 04/19/2024 at 5:18 AM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet