Visiting History (Page Three)
Did You Know? - Named after the controversial champion of U.S. Airpower, General "Billy" Mitchell, the B-25 is best known for the April 18, 1942 bombing of Tokyo. Led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, and flown from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, 16 B-25s successfully completed the first strike on Japanese soil during World War II.
Mean mean flying machine!
Brave men rode up front... Sitting ducks!
Did You Know? - The crew of six: Pilot, Co-pilot, Navigator/Bombardier, Turret Gunner/Engineer, Radio Operator/Waist Gunner, Tail Gunner
There were almost 10,000 of these machines built
Beautiful in flight - First flight was 19 August 1940
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Yankee know how... Kansas City 1943
The pilot/co-pilot sat behind and above the nose gunner!
Freedom... Here we come
The prop was close to the body of the airframe...
The business end (or bottom) carried bombs!
Thousands of tons of bombs dropped by the Medium Bomber
A bomber taking off form a carrier? Amazing!
The machine is flyable but it still leaks!
Looking over your shoulder... Old Glory was there
Guns could be used from the side openings
Lots of people supported one single airplace
Did You Know? - The Mitchell was an exceptionally sturdy aircraft that could withstand tremendous punishment. One B-25C of the 321st Bomb 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.
Count the cylinders... Partt and Whittney did well
Amazing engineering considering it was 70+ years ago!
The Doolittle Raiding Party takes off and heads for Japan
Did You Know? - The B-25B first gained fame as the bomber used in the 18 April 1942 Doolittle Raid, in which 16 B-25Bs led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle attacked mainland Japan, four months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
The mission gave a much-needed lift in spirits to the Americans, and alarmed the Japanese, who had believed their home islands to be inviolable by enemy forces. Although the amount of actual damage done was relatively minor, it forced the Japanese to divert troops for home defense for the remainder of the war.
Immaculate condition!
It's been used many places...
The color is called Merle Norman Blue
What a car... Built like a tank!
The head lamp is powered by gas
The car was almost as big as the plane!
We walked upstairs (OK, took the elevator) so we could see the displays from 40 feet up! Great way of seeing the relative sizes!
The B-17 looked as wide as it was long!
We could see more of the Mitchell Bomber from above
The tail gunner had quite a view!
Scary is a word that comes to mind!
May she always wave proudly
The DC-3 was beautiful... No paint, just polished metal!
Passengers got quite a ride form these babies!
There was a v very small galley behind the pilots
Look carefully!
The car was magnificent!
It is ready to fly!
Mind boggling engineering/manufacturing feats were commonplace
