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HISTORY
The North American B-25 "Mitchell" Bomber was
one of the most versatile and widely used aircraft and considered the best
medium bomber of the Second World War. Over 11,000 were
produced with a wide number of variations and armament configurations.
The short-field takeoff and
landing characteristics of the B-25, its ruggedness, ease of maintenance
under primitive combat conditions, and the ease with which field
modifications could be made to meet each combat-group’s unique needs,
resulted in the B-25 eventually replacing the Martin B-26 Marauder as the
standard medium bomber in the Pacific. Many U.S. allies around the world
ordered the B-25J. With all of these attributes, it is not surprising
that the B-25 remained in service for many years after the war, serving
both military and civilian needs.
After becoming surplus in
1959 the B-25J that would one day become the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum's
crowd-pleasing medium bomber was owned by Tallmantz Studios, famous for supplying aircraft and
stunt pilots to the movie industry. It served as support aircraft for
Around the World in 80 Days and other movies. But our girl was
not just a workhorse. She was a movie star in her own right,
appearing as tail # 6C in Catch 22, and appearing in six other
motion pictures. The plane's last
movie role was in the TV mini-series War & Remembrance.
The plane was donated to MAAM
in 1981.
Our "Mitchell" is restored as
'Briefing Time', a B-25J built at North American's Kansas City
plant. The plane was delivered to the 12th Air Force, 57th Bomb Wing, 340th Bomb
Group, 489th Bomb Squadron and served in the Italian
campaign.
The crew names that appear on
the fuselage are those of the crew that flew its first 60 missions.
Along with the painted bombs that represent the bomber's sorties,
Briefing Time sports a depiction of a ship on its nose,
representing partial credit for the sinking of the Italian cruiser,
Taranto.
RESTORATION
'Briefing Time' has been recognized as one of only three flying B-25 in the world
restored to this level of completeness and
authenticity. Making this achievement unique is that all the work
was done by the staff and volunteers
of the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum at our own facility, rather than by a
specialist contractor. Many of the
original aircraft parts, which are no longer available, were fabricated
in-house.
The restoration is complete
with the famous Norden bombsight, as
well as a working bomb bay loaded with six rare, real 250-pound
bombs. The bomber sports a complete set of original WW II radio equipment
and even a rarely seen, full suit of armor plate, which along with the
1500 pounds of iron bombs on its racks makes 'Briefing Time' the heaviest B-25 flying
in the world today.
Although 'Briefing Time'
may not have won an 'Oscar' for its acting, the plane has won numerous
awards, including "Best Bomber"
by the Experimental Aircraft Association at Oshkosh in 1982.
FEATURES
Some of the details that set
'Briefing Time' apart from other "Mitchells" flying the airshow
circuits, or on display in other collections, can be seen and will be
explained in
the Virtual Tour
pages. Just click on the thumbnails to the right to see, hear, and
read more about our award-winning bomber.
SPECIFICATIONS
Engines:
Two Wright R-2600
(1700 HP at takeoff)
Wing Span:
67 Feet, 7 Inches
Length: 52 Feet, 10 Inches
Height: 15 Feet, 9 Inches
Maximum Speed:
284 MPH
Normal Crew: 6
Normal bomb load: 2,000 pounds
Armament: 2 fixed, forward-firing M-2
Browning .50 cal. machine guns in bombardier's compartment;
1 Bendix electrically powered upper turret with twin M-2's;
Bell tail turret with twin M-2's;
Two waist gun positions with single flex mounted M-2's;
(Other models armed with as many as 18 .50 cal. machine guns or 75mm cannon)
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