Lewis Air Legends North American TB-25J Mitchell

Lewis Air Legends, of San Antonio, Texas, is the owner and operator of this beautifully restored North American TB-25J Mitchell (S/N: 44-30456) which is available for airshows, flybys and film.

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 final version of the Mitchell, the B-25J, looked much like the earlier B, C and D models, having reverted to the longer nose section as used in those types. The less-than-successful, 75 mm cannon was deleted on the J model. Instead, 800 of this version were built with a solid nose containing eight .50-caliber machine guns, while other J-models featured the earlier "greenhouse" style nose containing the bombardier's position. Regardless of the nose style used, all J-models also included two .50 caliber guns in a "fuselage package" located directly under the pilot's station, and two more such guns in an identical package just under the co-pilot's compartment. The solid-nose B-25J variant carried an impressive total of 18 .50-caliber guns: eight in the nose, four in under-cockpit packages, two in an upper turret, two in the waist compartment, and a pair in the tail position. No other bomber of World War II carried as many guns. In all, 4,318 B-25Js were built.

Although the B-25 was originally designed to bomb from medium altitudes in level flight, it was used frequently in the Southwest Pacific theater (SWPA) on treetop-level strafing and parafrag missions against Japanese airfields in New Guinea and the Philippines. These heavily-armed Mitchells, field-modified by engineering genius Major Paul Irving "Pappy" Gunn, were also used on strafing and skip-bombing missions against Japanese shipping trying to re-supply their land-based armies. Under the brilliant leadership of Lt. Gen. George C. Kenney, B-25s of the 5th and 13th Air Forces devastated Japanese targets in the SWPA from 1942 to 1945, and played a significant role in pushing the Japanese back to their home islands. B-25s were also used with devastating effect in the Central Pacific, Alaska, North Africa, Mediterranean and China-Burma-India theaters.

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.

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.

Aero Trader of Chino, CA refurbished the bomber and the interior is fitted with student seats. Rod finished his TB-25J in Soviet Air Force colors as 'Rusky Night Attack' to reflect  the thousands of Lend-Lease bombers supplied during the war.

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