- 23 hours ago
For educational purposes
The Mitchell is the stuff of legends named after General Billy Mitchell, the World War I ace, and flown by Jimmy Doolittle as he led the Tokyo Raiders (from the deck of the U.S. Hornet) in the first attack on Japan after Pearl Harbor.
This outstanding World War II medium bomber was one of the few lightning aircraft to be flown simultaneously by the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps, it was an easy plane to fly, and tremendously resilient.
In the later years of the war, the front of the B-26 was adapted into a mass of high caliber cannons; at one time a Howitzer was actually fitted onto the aircraft's nose, this Mitchell actually packed more power than most fighters Live the legend today.
Climb into the cockpit of "The Sweetheart of the Air Force", the North American B-25.
The Mitchell is the stuff of legends named after General Billy Mitchell, the World War I ace, and flown by Jimmy Doolittle as he led the Tokyo Raiders (from the deck of the U.S. Hornet) in the first attack on Japan after Pearl Harbor.
This outstanding World War II medium bomber was one of the few lightning aircraft to be flown simultaneously by the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps, it was an easy plane to fly, and tremendously resilient.
In the later years of the war, the front of the B-26 was adapted into a mass of high caliber cannons; at one time a Howitzer was actually fitted onto the aircraft's nose, this Mitchell actually packed more power than most fighters Live the legend today.
Climb into the cockpit of "The Sweetheart of the Air Force", the North American B-25.
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LearningTranscript
00:00The End
00:30During the late 1930s, the United States Army Air Force adopted a policy of having at least two aircraft for each of the perceived needs.
00:54Within this belts and braces approach, one of the medium bombers developed was the North American B-25.
01:01To describe this aircraft as a success is to understate the matter.
01:05Not only did it fulfill the original requirement, but it also served a myriad of other functions.
01:11It is one of the very few aircraft that have been flown simultaneously by the Air Force, the Navy and the Marines.
01:17And it was the aircrew of those services who named it the Sweetheart of the Forces.
01:23Perhaps minor among its other distinctions is the fact that it was the only American aircraft of World War II to be named after an individual.
01:36For the B-25's official name, given to it after production had started, was the Mitchell.
01:42The B-25's namesake was General Billy Mitchell, a far-sighted Army Air Corps General who saw service in World War I and predicted that future conflict would hinge upon the outcome of war in the air.
01:59Against considerable opposition from within both the Army and the Navy, he demonstrated the potential of air power with the sinking of a captured German battleship, with bombing from a primitive biplane.
02:11Mitchell's vision and his stubborn promotion of air power were badly out of step with the prevailing moods of the service chiefs.
02:18And with both Army and Navy allied against him, it was to cost him his career.
02:27Between the wars, the Army Air Corps, restricted in funds, was often limited to mercy flights, dropping food parcels, and was relegated to delivering the mail.
02:37With whereby the Army Air all worsens the normal time he breathed.
02:42With …
02:44…
02:47…
02:51…
02:53…
02:56By the mid-30s, air power was being more fully appreciated by other powers as an effective
03:12means to an end.
03:15Italy had used bombers with devastating effect over Spain, and by 1935, Mussolini's tools
03:21were being used against Ethiopia with overwhelming results.
03:26With the primitive resources of Ethiopia, the impact of the Italian plains was crushing,
03:31and despite Haile Selassie's pleas to the League of Nations, nothing was done by the
03:35other powers.
03:36By 1936, the Emperor had been forced into exile, leaving his country to its fate and the League
03:42to its demise.
03:56The turning of world events produced a few tremors within the USA, and perhaps significantly,
04:02in that year, cadets from West Point were given their first formal training in aerial combat.
04:071936 was also the year in which North American Aviation committed their company to aircraft production
04:31with a new factory in Los Angeles.
04:33For the day, their product, like this observation plane, with retracting undercarriage and other
04:39relatively advanced features, were sophisticated designs.
04:49Greater success followed, in the shape of their series of single-engine basic trainers, which
04:54were used in a variety of roles by various countries' armed services.
04:58This brilliant and versatile aircraft was to earn a reputation as being not only a well-designed
05:03plane, but also a very well-built plane.
05:06The quality of the organisation of the manufacture was, in itself, impressive.
05:15The company first struck failure with its design for a twin-engined long-range bomber.
05:20Originally, five XB-21s had been ordered by the Air Force, but only one example was ever
05:25produced.
05:26For while the 21 featured advanced technology, such as automated gun turrets, there were shortcomings
05:32in the behaviour of the plane itself.
05:34However, it did give North American an excellent opportunity to explore the real needs of bomber
05:39design, as well as allowing them the chance to demonstrate to the military decision-makers
05:44that they were active in the field, and beginning to come to terms with the relatively novel form
05:49of aerial warfare, and the supporting philosophies, such as the concept of the independent defence
05:55of bombers by arming them with multiple rapid-fire machine guns.
06:02Thank you so much for this.
06:09And if you're a part of this, we'll be aware of this.
06:12So let's go to the main action.
06:13See you soon.
06:20The second half is the only place in our future.
06:30Undaunted by the failure of the B-21, NAA proceeded to develop another design and, using
06:46its own money, it produced the NA-40.
06:49This model took the sophistication further, including tricycle undercarriage enabling
06:54landing at high speed.
06:56This is a model of the NA-40 in wind tunnel testing.
07:00The model's twin fins were adopted as a means of gaining greater directional stability.
07:05All in all, the design was considered vastly superior to its predecessor, but still more
07:10improvements were envisaged.
07:26By the end of 1939, world events had taken further steps towards disaster as Europe was
07:32swallowed by a new war, distinguished by the German demonstration of the overriding importance
07:37of their power.
07:44of the US.
07:47of the US.
07:51of the US.
07:53of the US.
07:56Across the Atlantic, worried planners were reflecting on Mitchell's prophecies, and
08:22among other designs pushed into emergency development was the NA40, with provisos that the wing be lowered and the fuselage be widened.
08:30But even though these changes were considered essential, the design was favourably enough assessed for orders to be placed for 178 of the new type off the drawing board.
08:40The first of the fuselages was dedicated to weight testing.
08:44With the main support removed, added weight was placed all round the structure to test the design's resilience under stress.
08:51Thousands of pounds of lead ingots were fixed around, hung from and placed within the aluminium frame, in attempting to identify any weakness that may endanger the aircraft under combat stress.
09:16The widened body would carry heavier loads than were originally intended, and these pressures may be too much for the design.
09:23If you look carefully here, you can see the panels rippling under the enormous sustained pressure, but the tests did prove the fuselage to be adequate.
09:30Elsewhere, accurate one-twelfth scale models of the new design were catapulted into water to explore the shape's behaviour on a ditching.
09:37If you look carefully here, if you look carefully, if you look carefully here, if you look carefully here, you can see the panels rippling under the enormous sustained pressure, but the tests did prove the fuselage to be adequate.
09:44Elsewhere, accurate one-twelfth scale models of the new design were catapulted into water to explore the shape's behaviour on a ditching.
09:51Back at the factory, different skills were being employed.
09:58Here, pattern makers prepare a mould for the top of the engine nacelle.
10:05You can see the scoop which will force air into the carburettor of the powerful radial engines, which will propel the new North American design, now known as the B-25.
10:13Molten metal is poured as production of parts for the bomber commences in earnest.
10:43At the main fabrication shop, workers begin to assemble the fuselage on a jig, and slowly the aeroplane's form starts to take shape.
11:05The very early construction of the B-25 still employed a great deal of hand skills and hard labour.
11:12At this stage of production, the planes were the product of tradesmen's individual skills, most fabrication tasks being approached manually.
11:21The B-25 can also brace with сама.
11:22The Cosmetic
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11:32The
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11:43Skilled hands and steady eyes combined with pride of trade in a hive of activity surrounding
11:59the emergence of the new medium bomber, now officially dedicated and given its name.
12:05North American's B-25 was to be known as the Mitchell.
12:22Some early Mitchells were to find their way to the United Kingdom where they were soon
12:35embroiled in that country's involvement in the war, but the majority were ordered for
12:40the local market, destined for any air force service, though clearly by this stage the
12:46service chiefs would have been fairly certain that these two would be engaged in the conflict
12:51before very long.
12:53The aircraft's life weight to the wind ratio and the balance of the overall shape resulted
12:59in a package that was very easy to fly, and this in turn inspired great confidence and
13:04easy acceptance from the crews.
13:06Clearly, North American aviation had a winner on its hands.
13:18Early analysis from the British forces in Europe suggested that the Mitchells were far too lightly
13:23armed, and probably drawing on the B-21 developments, the manufacturers installed new turrets, including
13:29one in the lower fuselage which operated via a periscope.
13:41These added defences, although not fitted to all models, were to prove very timely, because
13:47on December the 7th 1941 another chapter in world events was to be written.
13:53Japanese carrier forces unleashed their attack on Pearl Harbour with devastating results.
13:58Japanese carrier forces began to portray the embrace of the United States without the
14:20coflowers.
14:21And the most important beforehand has been made with the U.S. now in the world.
14:25With the US now in the war, less than six months was to pass before it had its own carrier-borne
14:32bomber force trained and poised to attack the Japanese capital.
14:37The US retaliation could only be achieved by multi-engined aircraft working from a carrier
14:42deck.
14:43Although several designs were contemplated for the raid, only the versatile Mitchell
14:48offered the ability to take off from such a confined area and travel the distance required.
14:53A hand-picked team of volunteers had been trained to the point of perfection in short take-off
14:59from land bases, and the forgiving nature of the B-25 was pushed to the limit.
15:04But by the time the planes and crews embarked on the carrier Hornet, there was confidence
15:09that the job could be successfully carried out.
15:23Also, the
15:31And with
15:45a
15:48The task force approached Japan carefully, but while still short of the intended takeoff
15:57point, the ships were sighted by Japanese fishing boats.
16:01The boats were sunk, but this was not before there had been radio transmission from them.
16:06Accordingly, with the risk of the loss of the carriers uppermost in their minds, the
16:10decision was made to launch the raid early.
16:40The attack on Tokyo cost several American lives.
17:09And all of the planes used were lost, ditching in the sea or crash landing.
17:16The raid had three important effects, demonstrating to the Japanese people that their homeland
17:21was not invulnerable to attack from American forces, causing the Japanese government to
17:27realise the same message and tie up a considerable percentage of its military power in defence
17:32of its home shores, and, perhaps most important, giving a boost to US morale.
17:38The raid displayed the enormous courage of the crews which participated.
18:02And Doolittle, the leader of the raid in every sense of the word, was, fittingly, given the
18:08Congressional Medal of Honour.
18:11Standing to his left is General Hap Arnold, who was Chief of Staff for the Air Force.
18:17This is General Arnold again, seen on a visit to the North American Aviation Plant at Los
18:22Angeles.
18:24Looking over the factory and undoubtedly discussing the delivery of more B-25s and the modifications
18:29to the plane that were being constantly evaluated.
18:33Arnold had his own B-25, which displayed a badge on its side, identifying his rank and position.
18:41It was maintained as a transport to carry the General and his staff to various parts of the
18:45country at high speed.
18:50By now, the production of the B-25 was a matter of maximum priority, because it, and the other
18:56aircraft in the US inventory, held the key to speedy victory.
19:01Like many coastal aircraft plants, the North American factory at Inglewood was considered
19:05a prime target for enemy assault.
19:08With the prospect of attack, elaborate camouflage was employed to hide the production lines.
19:14In the hot Californian sun, the shade of the netting was a welcome side effect.
19:21To increase production, the LA factory extended still further, even though by this time a whole
19:27new factory had been constructed in Kansas City, dedicated to B-25 manufacture.
19:33The Los Angeles effort even included commandeering the Hollywood Park Racecourse.
19:38During the war years, the recreation of horse racing was suspended, and the idle grounds
19:43of the course were used to store components for the B-25's construction, while other areas
19:49were taken over with administration offices and sub-assembly workshops.
19:55Inglewood remained North American Aviation's main plant, and became rapidly more automated
20:00as mass production techniques took over from the initial small-scale production.
20:05With a large percentage of the male population directly engaged in the armed forces, US industry
20:11employed large numbers of women workers for the first time, making the weapons of war.
20:17The demands of the military grew, the war effort gained momentum, and the daily output of the
20:23Mitchell swelled in parallel.
20:24The Mitchell swelled in parallel.
20:25The Mitchell swelled in parallel.
21:43Mitchells of the Army Air Force flew alongside B-24 Liberators and B-17 Fortresses in a persistent bombardment of Axis positions that helped greatly enforcing the eventual evacuation of German forces.
21:57Here, the Mitchells were employed in much the way they had been designed, as a conventional medium-range bomber.
22:04In this role, it had to run the gauntlet of anti-aircraft fire without deviation, with the bomb aimers focused on their targets.
22:11We'll be right back to this one.
22:31The bomber's support of the 1942 Operation Torchlandings
23:00in French North Africa played a major role in that action and in the campaign that followed.
23:07But there was a price to be paid by the airmen.
23:30To contain demand for parts and to compensate for shortages, as planes became unflyable,
23:46they were passed for the attention of the specialist cannibals who would dismantle the entire structure in search of reusable bits.
23:53Often, otherwise useless planes would be grafted together.
23:58The resulting aircraft were a testament to the creative ingenuity of the engineers on the bases.
24:07Similar ingenuity was displayed on the other side of the world,
24:11where groups operating from a base in northern Australia made an unauthorised field modification to standard B-25s.
24:18They gave them a more substantial forward firepower by placing added machine guns in the wings, just outside of the propeller arc.
24:27These men, with their frontline experience, had perceived another role for the Mitchell,
24:32ignoring its supposed specialisation as a conventional bomber and using it as a low-level ground attack weapon.
24:39News of the success of these early flight modifications quickly got back to engineers at Inglewood.
24:45And although in horror at the danger of damage to the wings, they banned continuance of the practice,
24:51they promptly started to investigate the idea themselves back at the factory.
24:56At first, experiments were made with two additional 50-caliber machine guns
25:01located on the outside of the fuselage beside the pilot.
25:04The plane immediately gained in firepower, but the impact of the guns and the weight of the installation,
25:10so close to the cockpit, caused concern.
25:13If you look carefully, you can see the effect of the firing on the thin aluminium surface,
25:18inches from the pilot's seat.
25:20To compensate, heavy-duty plates were added to the design.
25:33An additional four 50-caliber machine guns were made.
25:49The machine guns were mounted in the nose, providing the Mitchell with more forward firepower than many fighters.
26:04The success of the manufacturers' experiments and the need for a versatile gun platform
26:09resulted in an extremely different plane from that conceived by the designers in the original concept.
26:14Soon, the Inglewood plant was turning up the solid-nose variant with its stubby profile,
26:20with little to advertise the special devastation they contained.
26:24Later, solid-nose Mitchells were given even greater firepower,
26:29as the success of the plane in its new configuration became evident and suggested further experiments.
26:36The modification procedure itself became refined and streamlined.
26:55Here, two gun cells are fitted with 50 calibers, in a process that is simple and efficient.
27:00This carried over into the installations on the planes, making them easy to maintain in the field,
27:05in the often primitive conditions of forward bases.
27:09You can see how easily these weapons can be attended to, and how effective they are.
27:37The later models had the dorsal turret moved forward,
27:46where, if needed, its 250s could be added to the plane's awesome barrage.
27:51Shifting the dorsal turret left the rear of the plane even more undefended,
28:01and could only be carried out in conjunction with equipping the B-25 with a proper tail gun position for the first time.
28:08Here, twin 50s are installed, giving the Mitchell the same rear protection as the Boeing Flying Fortress.
28:15The ventral turret had never been a success, the periscope proving difficult to use, and it had been discarded.
28:30Side protection was afforded by single 50s.
28:49The third solid nose 25s were, therefore, deploying the protection of 14 machine guns, and some planes were to carry even more.
29:02Many Mitchells had an additional forward-firing weapon that was truly extraordinary,
29:07a single fixed cannon firing a 75mm projectile.
29:12This awesome weapon, basically a naval cannon, was for many years the largest gun ever fitted to a US plane.
29:19It was mounted directly below the pilot's seat, with a highly effective damper to absorb the recoil of the gun.
29:26You can see here the size of the shell of the cannon, and imagine its effect.
29:46The radio operator was given the task of reloading the cannon, one at a time, with the 14 rounds that were carried.
29:55Some aircrew claimed that the impact of each firing of the gun was such that it actually had the effect of stopping the plane for a brief second of its flight.
30:04This theoretical impossibility must surely have been the physical sensation for the crew,
30:09and there's no doubting the stopping power of the shells on any target they struck.
30:14The jolt of the firing on the plane is clearly visible.
30:25With these modifications, the Mitchells of all three services were able to use firepower against naval targets,
30:32that was unprecedented in its ferocity and its effectiveness.
30:36Tracers from the machine guns were used to adjust position to aim the plane before firing the cannon.
30:51So successful was solid-nose Mitchells, that the manufacturer's options continued in development.
31:10Here, with a kit that employed eight .50 calibers in a completely self-contained package.
31:17In a unique way, individual commanders found themselves with manufacturer-provided options
31:22on how exactly they wanted their plane's armaments tailored.
31:29Now I keep watching this team right when it's here.
31:38In someillon citations작isfakukan teamü studies,
31:41shall we be��ek急okwishtam?
31:47In a kit that is not intended to survive those claims.
31:50Our team is to use theian law of emergency stingers,
32:56The precision of the 25s provided great but economical effect.
35:56The B-25's employment on maritime control in a search of destroy role against shipping
36:17was an enormous success.
36:19The Japanese fought fiercely back and many Mitchells suffered violent ends, sometimes at the hands of flack or ground fire and sometimes at the hands of the occasional zero.
36:44Although the Mitchell was a robust fighting machine, its use at low level meant that it often presented itself as an accessible target.
37:40Information coming back to North American on the losses among the Mitchells caused the
37:49company to make the mark even more resilient. These aircraft coming off the production
37:54line have armoured plate under the windscreen and the area painted yellow is all heavy armour.
38:06Information at Inglewood continued, as it did at the Kansas City plant, not only for all
38:10three of the US forces but also for the Allied air forces, including the RAF and the Red
38:16Air Force.
38:23Here, a very late model Navy variant and its near identical Air Force counterpart stand
38:42side by side in the final stages of production.
38:53Some naval Mitchells were equipped to handle a single torpedo which was mounted below the
38:58bomb bay so that the doors could not be fully closed with it in position. Only after the
39:04release of the weapon could the fuselage be sealed. Though effective, this must have been
39:09a very drafty way to go to war.
39:14Less than totally successful with the erratic iron bombs of the day, the B-25s would still,
39:20on occasion, tackle conventionally delivered bombing from the safety of a high altitude.
39:27to the
39:56mirroring the importance of the destruction of Japanese ships,
40:26was the successful provision of Allied merchant naval activity, vital in the
40:31flow of supplies to the battlefields. Hundreds of thousands of bombs moved
40:36around the world in their holds. Munitions of all descriptions found their
40:41way to the fronts and to the bombers which delivered them.
40:56Munitions of all
41:26Here, specialist ordnance is loaded into a squadron of B-25s prior to takeoff for attacks
41:53against the Japanese base of the ball.
42:23Looking weary and war-born, these Mitchells, which appear to be the sea model, make their
42:28way on one more mission.
42:36The distinctive paintwork of many US squadrons was more to promote group morale rather than
42:41intimidate the enemy, but with the level of attack employed by the Mitchells, it's certain
42:46that some of the livery would have been clearly visible to the Japanese troops.
42:53So far, we're going to take a look at this.
43:00We're going to take a look at this.
43:04We're going to take a look at this.
43:08We're going to take a look at this.
43:15We're going to take a look at this.
43:19We're going to take a look at this.
43:23We're going to take a look at this.
43:30We're going to take a look at this.
43:34We're going to take a look at this.
43:38We're going to take a look at this.
43:55We're going to take a look at this.
45:01But there was no argument that it was more liked by its crews.
45:06For the crew of the B-25, there was comfort in the plane's responsive maneuverability,
45:11in its robustness, its ability to sustain damage and still fly.
45:16And if all else came to naught, in the fact that the plane was easy to get out of in an emergency.
45:20This attack is to be carried out with parachute bombs,
45:34which, with their slowed descent, give the low-flying Mitchell time to escape their impact.
45:39Here, if you look carefully, you can see the effect of skip bombing,
46:00where the bomb bounces off the ground on its way to the target, exploding on its second contact.
46:06Again, this gives the bomber time to escape the blast.
46:09Advancing U.S. troops would see the results of these raids in the form of wrecked Japanese aircraft,
46:33bizarre and stark monuments to the effectiveness of the B-25s and other Allied attack planes.
46:40The Mitchell, even though it had been evolving steadily from the original role,
46:45was still very much the same plane as originally submitted to the Defense Department,
46:50back before the U.S. involvement in the war.
46:52In 1944, the North American plant at Inglewood made its last B-25,
46:59although the plant in Kansas City was to continue in production to the end of the war.
47:04The California plant was turned over entirely to construction of the P-51 Mustang
47:08and later jet development, which was to lead to aircraft like the F-86 Sabre.
47:14These aircraft, the last to leave the California plant, are of a batch of 1,000 H models.
47:22As they make their way down the runway,
47:27the last plane to leave is the last one manufactured at the factory.
47:33Named Old Bones, it was covered with signatures and messages from the plane's builders,
47:39the workers at the factory, and looked slightly bizarre with its graffiti covering.
47:44It was deployed to action through India and saw service with exactly the same appearance,
47:50the crew never wanting to cover the handiwork of those who built the plane
47:53that would hopefully see them home again.
48:07Many B-25s survived the war and returned to the U.S.
48:11In the post-war years, many continued in service in a variety of roles.
48:16In the majority of cases, the plane's immense firepower was removed,
48:20but the planes remained useful,
48:22serving as trainers, transports and communications vehicles.
48:27Many surplus Mitchells were purchased as private planes
48:30and refitted as executive transports.
48:33The versatile basic concept took all these tasks in its stride.
48:37At the end of the day, the Mitchell had been produced in greater numbers
48:41than any other Allied twin-engined bomber,
48:44and it had seen service in more theatres
48:46and in the liveries of more countries and services
48:48than any of its counterparts.
48:51Even today, the few still in the air are a joy to fly,
48:56responsive, calm and forgiving.
48:59It's no wonder that it earned itself the title
49:01Sweetheart of the Forces.
49:02Sweetheart of the Forces
49:19In the Sea
49:22auf bat
49:25Scheid
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