Air International 1993-03
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J.Scutts - Medium with the mostest - The B-25 Mitchell /Warbirds/ (2)
Towards the end of B-25D production, modifications that were standardised on the J model were introduced, including a revised shape Bendix top turret, larger waist windows and a similar raised tail gun sighting station. This Mitchell II (HD311) was among those transferred to the RCAF from RAF orders.
A posed factory picture of B-25H-5 43-4555 showing to advantage the pilot's entry ladder/hatch extended, armour plating and the nose guns.
Only one of the seven operational US Marine Mitchell units is known to have used the PBJ-1H in action. This example is pictured during a test.
Among the experimental B-25H airframes was 43-4406, the NA-98X which flew with Pratt & Whitney R2800 engines during March and April 1944 before being destroyed in a crash.
North American's Kansas City plant was a major manufacturer of the Mitchell and some examples of its work are seen in this view including 43-28111, a J model destined for the Russians with earlier insignia, a B-25H-10 (43-4917) and a PBJ-1J in naval colours.
North American B-25H Mitchell
General arrangement drawing of the B-25H with the upper side-view of the G model and the scrap view of the B-25J.
B-25 в окраске Советских ВВС
More than 800 B-25s in four models were passed to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease arrangements, this J-30 model 44-31162 carrying markings and camouflage applied in the USA before delivery. Under the postwar NATO reporting name system, the B-25 became known as ‘Bank’.
A post-war B-25J-25 in USAF markings with what appears to be a dorsal radar fairing, typical of the modifications applied to this type in its later years.