Inside the B-25J Mitchell: 14 Machine Guns in One Bomber

Video from the channel Flybuyer about North American B-25 Mitchell, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 24:02. Language: English. Video type: Onboard.

The video is an exterior and interior walkthrough of a North American B-25J Mitchell named "Betty's Dream", preserved by the American Honor Foundation in Ocala, Florida. The presenter walks around the aircraft, enters through the bomb bay, sits in the pilot and co-pilot seats, looks into the dorsal turret and crawls through the narrow passage leading to the radio operator's station, the waist gunner positions and the tail gunner's position.

Externally, the two Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone radial engines stand out: 14-cylinder, air-cooled, up to 1,700 hp, with a two-stage supercharger. The propellers spin very close to the cockpit, which the video says caused hearing loss in many crews. It points out the gull wing, which replaced the continuous dihedral of the first nine aircraft, the tricycle landing gear, the steel plate under the cockpit to protect the pilots, and the fabric-covered control surfaces. The solid nose carries eight .50-caliber machine guns, with more in the dorsal turret, on the sides and two in the tail. Next to the name is "Pop Rice", with bombing mission markings and two ships. The bomb bay holds about 3,000 pounds of bombs. Inside the cockpit are the bomb release panel, the gun sight, the supercharger, flap and gear controls, the trim controls for all three axes, and the connectors for heated flight suits.

The B-25 first flew in 1940, more than 9,800 were built, and it is named after General Billy Mitchell. The video recalls the Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942, with 16 B-25s taking off from the carrier USS Hornet, the 75mm cannon of the G and H versions, and skip bombing in the Pacific. The early production series had a glazed nose for the bombardier and a belly turret; the J model removed the latter and lengthened the bomb bay doors. This aircraft was airworthy until its engines failed, and the museum keeps unused 1940s-era engines in storage to refit it.