Aero Trader's North American B-25J Mitchell "Pacific Princess"

Tony Ritzman and Carl Scholl of Aero Trader, and John Paul of the Warhawk Air Museum, are the owners and operators of this North American B-25J Mitchell "Pacific Princess" which is available for airshows, flybys and film throughout the USA.

Perhaps the most exciting projects has been the "Pacific Princess's" involvement in the US Navy aircraft carrier launches commemorating the historic Doolittle Tokyo Raid. The "Pacific Princess" lead the overhead formation for the USS Ranger launch in 1992 and flew off the deck of the USS Carl Vinson twice in 1995. In 2000, Tony and Carl added the USS Lexington and the USS Constellation to their logbook entries of Navy flattops for the movie "Pearl Harbor".

Design of the North American B-25 Mitchell bomber began during 1938 at Inglewood, California in response to a USAAC requirement for a twin-engine medium attack bomber. The prototype first flew in January 1939, but its initial performance proved somewhat of a disappointment. To improve performance North American reconfigured the fuselage and wings and replaced the inadequate Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engines with more powerful Wright R-2600 Cyclones. The revised design was approved by the Air Corps in September 1939. By then the Second World War had started and as the military urgently required new aircraft, the initial batch of 200 B-25s was ordered straight from the drawing board. The first production aircraft flew in August 1940 and from then on production grew steadily at several locations across the US. The first B-25s went into service with the US Army Air Corps towards the end of 1940.

The North American B-25 was among the famous twin engine medium bombers used during World War II. It was the most widely produced American twin engine combat aircraft, with approximately 10,000 produced, in a total of 8 major models. No doubt, part of its heroic stature derives from its namesake, the outspoken Gen. Billy Mitchell who proved once and for all that bombers could destroy targets, and that wars would nevermore be decided only on land or sea. The B-25 achieved worldwide fame on April 18, 1942. Sixteen B-25's, under the command of Lt. Col. James Doolittle, were launched from the aircraft carrier Hornet in a daring raid on five Japanese cities including Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, Nagoya, and Kobe.

Pacific Princess has one flexible 0.50-inch machine gun in nose, 300 rounds. One fixed 0.50-inch machine gun in nose, 300 rounds. Note: Beginning with B-25J-20, a second fixed 0.50-inch gun was added in the nose. (Princess does not have the second one.) Four 0.50-inch machine guns in individual blisters on the side of the fuselage with 400 rpg. Two 0.50-inch machine guns in top turret, 400 rpg. Two 0.50-inch machine guns in waist position, 200 rpg. Two 0.50-inch machine guns in tail turret, 600 rpg. Normal bomb load was 3000 pounds, but a maximum bomb load of 4000 pounds could be carried on short-range missions.

B-25 Mitchells fought in every theatre of the Second World War and operated in many roles including tactical bombing, low-level strafing and skip bombing and anti-shipping strikes. In addition to service with the U.S. Army Air Force, these bombers were also used to good effect by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and the air forces of 17 foreign countries. The last operational B-25 was finally retired from the U.S. Air Force inventory in January 1959.

"Pacific Princess" makes a perfect camera platform for both still and motion photography. A stable aircraft with ample payload and interior room, the B-25 can accommodate full size motion picture cameras as well as hand held still and video equipment. Photographers can shoot from a variety of positions including the nose, upper turret, waist window and tail gunner locations. The entire tail enclosure of the aircraft can be removed to provide an unobstructed rear view for superb air-to-air photography. Many of the corporate aircraft pictures you see in various magazines and publications have been taken from the B-25. "Pacific Princess" can accommodate up to six photo crewmembers and their equipment. Rates are based on daily flight time plus crew costs and expenses. We have worked with nationally recognized photographers such as Paul Bowen, John Dibbs, Mike Fizer, Erik Hildebrandt, Paul Koskela, Phillip Makanna, Frank Mormillo, Doug Fisher and Michael O'Leary.

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