B-25 Mitchell

Living where I do, I get to hear and see some of the planes from the Warplane Heritage Museum flying over. I heard the loud roar of the B-25 Mitchell’s two Wright Cyclone radial engines this morning. Very different from the sound of the four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines of the Lancaster, which I also find thrilling to hear and see. I went out to see if I could snap some pics of it flying over. 

I just think the Mitchell is a really cool plane. Sleek, fast, used in a multitude of roles. Its most famous use was in the amazing Doolittle Raid. I particularly like the variant with a 75mm cannon and multiple .50 cals mounted in the nose, that was used for strafing and bombing Japanese shipping.

During the war it quite often flew at tree top level, and today it flew not much higher than that. At one point it would have had guys aiming a quad 20mm anti-aircraft gun at it and trying to shoot it down. Now it merely has a guy pointing a camera at it to shoot some photos.

Not really great pictures, but it’s always a real thrill for me when I hear that sound and then see that beautiful plane come ripping past, fast and low.

The Museum offers flights in some of their planes. Pricey, but I hope one day to have the chance to go up in the Mitchell or the Lancaster. It would be a very humbling experience I’m sure.