World War II produced many iconic planes, from the P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustang to the C-47 Skytrain.  Among them is the B-25 Mitchell, first introduced in 1941 and used throughout the war.  Durable under fire and easy to fly, it’s no wonder almost 10,000 B-25s were produced and flown by the U.S. and many of her allies throughout the war and beyond.

The earliest version of the B-25 was produced as a prototype by North American Aviation in the late 1930s as part of the U.S. Army Air Corp’s request for a medium bomber-style plane.  Although this early design was not initially chosen, the USAAC revisited it in 1939.  Modifications were requested, including a redesigned gull wing, and by 1941 the first of the B-25s entered active service.

It should be noted that while the bomber version of the B-25 was the most produced version of the plane, several concurrent models were flown through the war.  This would include the F-10 (reconnaissance), AT-24 (trainer), and PBJ-1 (USMC patrol bomber).   Over 30 variants were produced by the time the B-25’s production ended in late 1945.  The most numerous of these variants was the J model.

Its prolific nature and design meant that the plane saw action in every theater in World War II (Europe, Africa, and Pacific) and in the Second Sino-Japanese War.  In addition to being flown by the US Army Air Corp/ Air Force, the U.S Marine Corps, and U.S. Navy, the Air Forces of England, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Free French, Brasil, China, and the Soviet Union all flew a version of the B-25.

Following the end of World War II, the Department of Defense directed the creation of an independent Air Force branch.  With its foundation, most of the planes under ownership to the USAAF were turned over to the USAF itself.  This included the B-25, whose inventory now numbered only in the hundreds.  Many of these planes were converted into trainers and used for a variety of support roles.  Some were assigned to Air National Guard units, who used them alongside planes like the F-94 Starfire.

It would be during this same time that the USAF modified many of the B-25s resulting in an additional exhaust system that uses a semicollector ring to split emissions.  This is often referred to as the Hayes modification.

While the U.S.’ World War II allies retired the plane after the war, B-25s were still flown by the Soviets in the early years of the Cold War.  Their reporting name within NATO was “Bank” and many remained in use until the early 1950s.  Of the 870 planes the U.S. gave the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program, it is not entirely sure how many remained after the war.

During the 1960s, Nigeria experience a brief civil war when the southern most section of the nation declared independence as the Republic of Biafra.  In October 1967, the U.S. sold two B-25s to the Republic despite public-facing support for Nigeria’s position.  They quickly put them into action in November.  However, they were both pulled from service in December.

Indonesia was the only other country to fly the B-25 after the end of World War II when their military receive twenty-five B-25C models from the Netherlands in 1950.  They arrived at the end of the Indonesia National Revolution.  In a turn of events, after their fleet had been overhauled in Hong Kong in 1959, the Indonesian Air Force used the B-25s in combat against the Dutch military during Operation Tirkora in 1962.  This was during a combined offensive with the Soviets to annex New Guinea from the Netherlands.  The use of the B-25s continued until the Indonesia miliary retired the B-25 in 1974 – marking the end of the Mitchell’s combat era.

As the U.S. entered the era of the Cold War in the 1950s, the B-25s were slowly replaced by faster counterparts as part of the aerospace race between the Americans and the Soviets.  But they remained in use by the Air Force through 1960, when the last of the USAF’s active B-25 inventory was sent to Elgin AFB.  This plane was presented to the city of Valparaiso, FL and remained on display with the city before it was donated to the Air Force Armament Museum.  Others, like tail number 44-86843 were sold to private companies for other uses or kept in care of museums like the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.  Today, over 100 B-25 Mitchells are still available, with forty-five currently airworthy and many held in trust by museums and municipalities around the world.