It's been 75 years since the iconic B-25 Mitchell Warbird made its debut
The B-25 came into service as a lower altitude, shorter-range alternative to the B-17.
The B-25's "Mitchell" nickname came from US General Billy Mitchell, who was an outspoken advocate of military airpower since as early as 1906, just three years after the Wright Brother's historic first flight.
The smaller B-25 was adopted by all branches of the US armed forces. Its short takeoff distance made it ideal for taking off from aircraft carriers.
On April 18, 1942, the B-25 was the first United States aircraft to bomb the Japanese mainland as part of the Doolittle raids, which were led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle.
The Mitchell's "greenhouse" style cockpit provided excellent visibility for bombers and gunners alike.
An Australian engineer, Maj. Paul I. "Pappy" Gunn, was the first to remove the bombardier-navigator from the greenhouse compartment of a B-25 and equip the plane with eight 50-caliber machine guns.
Where the B-17 was successful flying high and dropping bombs, the B-25 carved out its niche flying low and strafing with its guns blazing.
Shown here is the beastly forward firing power of the B-25. This model has four 50-caliber Browning machine guns above a 75-millimeter cannon.
The 75-millimeter cannon fitted to some B-25s was so effective that a single plane once sunk a Japanese destroyer with just seven shells.
The 75 millimeter cannon was the same size used on tanks at the time.
In addition to its firepower up front, the B-25 also dropped bombs from a very low altitude — so low, in fact, that they had to fix parachutes to the bombs so they could fly away before being rocked by their own explosives.
Whether strafing, bombing, or simply transporting personnel, the B-25 has an important impact throughout World War II.
The last B-25 was retired from the USAF on May 21, 1960. At that point it was being used to transport VIPs for the military.
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