North American B-25 "Mitchell"

In the late 1930's the US Army Air Corps needed a new attack bomber. Built as a private venture, the NA-40-1 prototype flew in January 1939. The design was improved as the NA-62, and in September 1939 the USAAC placed its first order. Teh first 184 B-25 Mitchells entered service in 1941. The USA's entry into the Second World War saw a rapid growth in production as 9,816 aircraft were produced. The Mitchell remained essentially unaltered in airframe and power plant. It was revised with heavir and more varied offensive payload, improved defensive firepower, protective armor, and more fuel in self-sealing tanks. The most important models that were built 1,916 B-25C, 1,000 B-25H, and 4,318 of the B-25Js. The G and H models were special attack and anti-ship types witha 75-mm (2.95 inch) gun in the nose. The Mitchells were used in all the theaters of operations. The B-25B had dorsal and ventral turrets. The B-25C and D had ventral bomb racks, the G, J, and D's hada a glazed nose and later a solid ose with eight guns. The Mitchell was used for the one-way "Doolittle Raid" on Japan, which was launched from the aircraft carrier Hornet on 18 April 1942.