B-25 Mitchell (PBJ-1D) - NAS, Pensacola, Florida, USA. - Static Aircraft Displays on Waymarking.com

Named after General 'Billy' Mitchell, America's foremost supporter of air power, the B-25 Mitchell first flew on Aug. 19, 1940, and was the first multi-engine design to fly off a carrier.

North American Aviation built nearly 10,000 B-25 bombers mostly for the US The Army & Navy.

"The B-25 Mitchell's introduction to Naval Aviation came under unique circumstances when 16 of the bombers under the command of Army Air Forces Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle launched from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) for a raid on Tokyo on 18 April 1942. Just two months later, the Navy contracted for a percentage of North American's B-25 production. Designated PBJs, the aircraft became a mainstay in Marine Corps medium bombing squadrons. Marine Bombing Squadron (VMB) 413 flew the aircraft's first sorties in the Solomon Islands, and subsequent flights included daylight bombing over Rabaul, as well as night heckling missions. Navy use of the PBJ was mainly experimental in nature, including catapult and arresting gear trials aboard the carrier USS Shangri-La (CV-38) in November 1944. The PBJ on display is painted in the markings of an aircraft assigned to VMB–423 that crashed on the island of Vanuatu on 22 April 1944."
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Type of Aircraft: (make/model): B-25 Mitchell - Naval designation PBJ-1D Tail Number: (S/N): 02344 Construction:: original aircraft Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): National Museum of Naval Aviation inside / outside: outside Other Information:: Free admission to the Museum & Free Parking. Access restrictions: You require a Passport or Government issued ID. (Some State IDs accepted, but not all). You must enter the Naval Airbase Station via the West Gate, off Blue Angel Parkway. Pensacola.

Visit Instructions:
Photo of aircraft (required - will be interesting to see if the aircraft is ever repainted or progress if being restored)
Photo of serial number (required unless there is not one or it is a replica)
Photo(s) of any artwork on the aircraft (optional but interesting)

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/20/2017 veritas vita visited it