Tokyo Raid
The B-25 medium bomber, named for General Billy Mitchell, was one of America’s most famous airplanes of WW II. It was the type used by General Doolittle for the “Tokyo Raid” on April 18, 1942. Subsequently, it saw duty in every combat arena, being flown by the British, Dutch, Chinese, Russians and Australians in addition to our own US Forces. Originally designed as the NA-40 (an Attack bomber), the NA-40 was modified into the NA-62 (a Medium bomber) and re-designated the B-25. The B-25A first flew on February 1941, the aircraft had several modifications done, and when the last B-25J was completed a total of 9,816 were produced. Although the aircraft was originally designed for level bombing at medium altitudes, it was used extensively in the Pacific arena for treetop level bombing and strafing. This TB-25J S/N 44-30854 was delivered on 08 March 1945, it was modified to a TB-25N in March 1954 and was the last B-25 when dropped from USAF inventory on June 1960. It is being depicted as B-25B S/N 40-2344 flown by General (then LtCol) James H. Doolittle during the “Tokyo Raid” mission. The Doolittle Raiders trained for their secret mission at Eglin Field (now Eglin AFB), FL. This aircraft was presented to the AF Armament Museum by the cities of Valparaiso and Niceville, FL on 15 September 1975.
Specifications
- Manufacturer North American Aircraft
- Number Built 47 – TB-25N Models and 120 – B-25B Models
- Crew Size Two-three crew members for the TB-25N and Five crew members for the B-25B
- Thrust Two – Wright R-2600-29A Radial engines rated at 1700 hp each for the TB-25N
- Length 53 ft 6 in
- Height 16 ft 4 in
- Wingspan 67 ft 7 in
- Weight 20,000 lbs Empty/ 41,800 lbs Max
- Speed 275 mph Max /230 mph Cruise
- Range 2,700 Miles Max
- Ceiling 24,000 ft
- Armament None for the TB-25N Model, One – .30 Cal. machine gun and Four – .50 Cal. machine guns in each turret and up to 5,000 lbs of bombs for the B-25B Model