B25N 'Mitchell'
B-25N 'Mitchell' (PH-XXV)
The B-25 Mitchell is a medium bomber that was developed by the u.s. Army at the end of the 1930s. Just like in our country, there was no separate air force formally. What we now call air force was called at the time, US Army Air Corps, and later US Army Air Force.
March 1939 the US Army Air Corpscontacted the American aviation industry to develop a medium bomber. That was supposed to be able to transport a load of 3,000 pound over a distance of at least 2,000 miles. The motor had to be the State-of-the-art Pratt & Whitney or Wright radial piston engines. The manufacturers Martin, Douglas, Stearman and North American delevered their design, the choice fell on the NAA design. The prototype flew on 19 August 1940 as the first of a total production of 9.889 aircraft.
The Mitchell was named after the American General Billy Mitchell who shortly after the first world war held demands for forming a separate air force. He was vilified because of his views, and had to leave the service involuntarily but got posthumous rehabilitation.
The first great feats of the Mitchell was the Tokyo Raid. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in december 1941 the us was involved in the war. General Jimmy Doolittle formed a formation of Mitchell bombers to perform an attack on targets in Japan. The aircraft were launched from an aircraft carrier in the Pacific.
The Mitchell served on many fronts during the second world war. The Dutch Government was the first foreign recipient of the bomber. The unit was ordered to go to the ML KNIL, the Dutch military aviation Division of the Royal Indian army. In addition the Mitchell was bought or leased for use in the 320 [Dutch] Squadron of the Royal Air Force. After the war the Mitchell did service in India during the police actions. Most aircraft were turned over to the Indonesian air force. In our country the Mitchell was still in active duty untill 1954 by the Naval Aviation 320Sq. The Squadron was closed down in 2005. The airplane especially acts as a Search-And-Rescue plane, during the big flood disaster of February 1953.
Our Mitchell was purchased in 1989 by some individuals. of SKHV. After the flight to Netherlands in May 1990 crossing to the aircraft was the flagship of the DBAF/Duke of Brabant Air Force. After a few years the aircraft was bought by DBAF. The registration N320SQ keeps the memory of the Dutch aircrews alive. At the request of the Royal Air Force the veteran bomber was added to the SKHV fleet in 2004 at the start of the integration between SKHV and DBAF.
Read MoreThe B-25 Mitchell is a medium bomber that was developed by the u.s. Army at the end of the 1930s. Just like in our country, there was no separate air force formally. What we now call air force was called at the time, US Army Air Corps, and later US Army Air Force.
March 1939 the US Army Air Corpscontacted the American aviation industry to develop a medium bomber. That was supposed to be able to transport a load of 3,000 pound over a distance of at least 2,000 miles. The motor had to be the State-of-the-art Pratt & Whitney or Wright radial piston engines. The manufacturers Martin, Douglas, Stearman and North American delevered their design, the choice fell on the NAA design. The prototype flew on 19 August 1940 as the first of a total production of 9.889 aircraft.
The Mitchell was named after the American General Billy Mitchell who shortly after the first world war held demands for forming a separate air force. He was vilified because of his views, and had to leave the service involuntarily but got posthumous rehabilitation.
The first great feats of the Mitchell was the Tokyo Raid. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in december 1941 the us was involved in the war. General Jimmy Doolittle formed a formation of Mitchell bombers to perform an attack on targets in Japan. The aircraft were launched from an aircraft carrier in the Pacific.
The Mitchell served on many fronts during the second world war. The Dutch Government was the first foreign recipient of the bomber. The unit was ordered to go to the ML KNIL, the Dutch military aviation Division of the Royal Indian army. In addition the Mitchell was bought or leased for use in the 320 [Dutch] Squadron of the Royal Air Force. After the war the Mitchell did service in India during the police actions. Most aircraft were turned over to the Indonesian air force. In our country the Mitchell was still in active duty untill 1954 by the Naval Aviation 320Sq. The Squadron was closed down in 2005. The airplane especially acts as a Search-And-Rescue plane, during the big flood disaster of February 1953.
Our Mitchell was purchased in 1989 by some individuals. of SKHV. After the flight to Netherlands in May 1990 crossing to the aircraft was the flagship of the DBAF/Duke of Brabant Air Force. After a few years the aircraft was bought by DBAF. The registration N320SQ keeps the memory of the Dutch aircrews alive. At the request of the Royal Air Force the veteran bomber was added to the SKHV fleet in 2004 at the start of the integration between SKHV and DBAF.
