Model Airplane News - November 2009

NORTH AMERICAN B-25A BY STAN PIET

Starting as an underpowered, light bomber competitor (NA- 40), then becoming the overweight XB- 21 Dragon, the North American B- 25 now stands as the Army Air Force’s most successful medium bomber of WW II.

Ordered in August 1939 (without proto-
type), it flew a year later and the early B-25s

could carry 3,500 pounds of ordnance at a top speed of 320mph.

The 10th B- 25 airframe introduced the distinctive gull wing, and its pilots found it easy to fly, enjoying its fighter-like maneuverability. Wright R-2600 Cyclone-series engines powered all versions.

Early models, such as this B-25A from the 17th BG’s 34th BS, were lightly armed and had fixed, hand-operated machine guns; self-sealing fuel tanks and some crew armor were added later. Combat reports from the War in Europe soon dictated changes that transformed the B- 25 into a formidable weapon.

On April 18, 1942, the B- 25 became a legend in its own time when 16 of them piloted by specially trained crews led by Col. Jimmy Doolittle bombed Japan from the carrier Hornet.

This article originally appeared in the “WW II Bombers” special issue of Flight Journal, Winter 2001.

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