Just a few short weeks after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. military began planning a daring operation to launch a retaliatory attack on the Japanese home islands. Just four months later, on April 18, 1942, 16 Mitchell B-25’s, with 80 volunteer crew aboard, left the deck of the U.S.S. Hornet, bound for five Japanese cities. Though universally recognized as America’s first “strike back”, the bigger tactical impact of the immortal Doolittle Raid on the War in the Pacific has not always been fully appreciated by historians and others. On the 23rd of December 2002, the National Executive Committee of the Disabled American Veterans designated New Orleans, Louisiana as the host city of its 86th National Convention. On the 23rd of August 2005, Katrina, the third strongest hurricane to ever make landfall in the United States, hit the North Central Gulf Coast. Over 1,800 lives were lost and over $81 billion in damage was done. The 1.3 million members of DAV immediately stated their intention to stand by and with New Orleans, reaffirming their commitment to bring their Convention to the Crescent City as planned. On August 11, 2007, the DAV kept its promise with the opening ceremonies of its 86th National Convention. What’s more, it brought an incredible gift for the city – and the veterans – along. To honor the 65th Anniversary of the Doolittle Raid, the DAV arranged to fly “Panchito”, a fully restored Mitchell B-25, from Oshkosh to Lake Front Executive Airport on Lake Pontchartrain, hoist it onto a derrick – in very much the same fashion as the B-25’s were hoisted aboard the Hornet – transport it through the Industrial Canal and up the Mississippi River, to place it on display at the Canal Street Wharf, a major downtown New Orleans commerce center, just a few easy steps from the DAV Convention Site.
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North American B-25 Mitchell.
General characteristics
Crew: 5 (one pilot, navigator/bombardier, turret gunner/engineer, radio operator/waist gunner, tail gunner)
Length: 52 ft 11 in (16.13 m)
Wingspan: 67 ft 7 in (20.60 m)
Height: 16 ft 4 in (4.98 m)
Wing area: 618 sq ft (57.4 m2)
Airfoil: root: NACA 23017; tip: NACA 4409R
Empty weight: 19,480 lb (8,836 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 35,000 lb (15,876 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Wright R-2600-92 Twin Cyclone 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial piston engines, 1,700 hp (1,300 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 272 mph (438 km/h, 236 kn) at 13,000 ft (4,000 m)
Cruise speed: 230 mph (370 km/h, 200 kn)
Range: 1,350 mi (2,170 km, 1,170 nmi)
Service ceiling: 24,200 ft (7,400 m)
Armament
Guns: 12–18 × .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and 75 mm (2.95 in) T13E1 cannon
Hardpoints: 2,000 lb (900 kg) ventral shackles to hold one external Mark 13 torpedo
Rockets: racks for eight 5 in (127 mm) high velocity aircraft rockets (HVAR)
Bombs: 3,000 lb (1,360 kg) bombs
source
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B-25 Mitchell bombers are legendary for the Doolittle Raid.
B-24 Liberators and B-25 Mitchells might look similar, but they have completely different characteristics that makes them unique even for medium bombers.
Here's a toast to the host of those who love the vastness of the sky.
To a friend we send a message of his brother men who fly
We drink to those who gave it all their old
And down we roar to score the rainbow's pot of gold.
A toast to men we boast the Army Aircorps.
Off we go into the Wild blue Yonder Climbing high into the sun.
Here there they come zooming to meet our thunder
At em boys Give EM the Gun!(GIVE 'EM THE GUN!!)
Down we dive spouting our flames from under Off with one hell-uva roar
We live in fame or down in flames
Nothing will stop the Army Aircorps!
My uncle was the copilot when his B25 crashed and the entire crew killed in Tunisia North Africa on Easter Day April 25 1943 during WW2. It was his 4th mission with the 489th bomb sq 340 bomb gp fighting the Germans. The story was the B25 below his rose up sharply after takeoff and his plane didn’t survive the incident. The 489 went on to fly several hundred mission into Italy, France and German before the war ended. He loved flying the B25.
United States is not America and never was.
There are a lot of countries on this continent and the United States is only one of those countries.
Or is it 50 smaller countries and a great big empire?
Regardless there are almost 1,000,000,000 people here in this continent and only a small fraction of those people are Yankees.
that is a 10 stars thank you so much i do hope that all afected apperciate this as much as i do