North American Mitchell B-25 B-25D B-25J
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Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II, and after the war ended, many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 B-25s were built.
The North American B-25 Mitchell was flown by the RCAF during and after the Second World War. The RCAF flew the B-25 Mitchell for training during the war and continued flying operations after the war, in Canada with most of 162 Mitchells received. The first B-25s had originally been diverted to Canada from RAF orders. These included one Mitchell Mk. I, 42 Mitchell Mk. IIs, and 19 Mitchell Mk. IIIs. No 13 (P) Squadron was formed unofficially at RCAF Station Rockcliffe in May 1944 and flew Mitchell Mk. IIs on high-altitude aerial photography sorties. No. 5 OTU (Operational Training Unit) at Boundary Bay, British Columbia and Abbotsford, British Columbia, operated the B-25D Mitchell in a training role together with B-24 Liberators for Heavy Conversion as part of the BCATP. The RCAF retained the Mitchell until October 1963.
No. 418 (Auxiliary) Squadron received its first Mitchell Mk. IIs in January 1947. It was followed by No. 406 (Auxiliary), which flew Mitchell Mk. IIs and Mk. IIIs from April 1947 to June 1958. No. 418 Operated a mix of Mk. IIs and Mk. IIIs until March 1958. No. 12 Squadron of Air Transport Command also flew Mitchell Mk. IIIs along with other types from September 1956 to November 1960. In 1951, the RCAF received an additional 75 B-25Js from USAF stocks to make up for attrition and to equip various second-line units.. Wikipedia and Harold Skaarup web page
CASPIR Aircraft Groups:
RCAF Owned (164) RCAF 400 Squadrons (3) Canadian Crewed (70) Canadian Museum (2)Mitchell Mk. 3PT / 3AIA 5242
Ex USAF B-25J-30/32-NC, serial number 44-86733. Received from USAF at Mobile, Alabama. To stored reserve at No. 25 Air Material Base on 5 March 1952. To Tactical Group on 25 April 1952, for use by No. 406 Squadron (Auxiliary) at RCAF Station Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. To North West Industries in Edmonton, Alberta for modifications and major inspection, 15 September 1952. Back to 406 Squadron on 3 November 1952. To storage at RCAF Station Lincoln Park, Alberta on 19 May 1954. To storage at No. 6 Repair Depot on 20 July 1954. To Hughes Aircraft for modification to TB-25M configuration, including installation of APG40 radar, on 24 September 1954. Probably redesignated Mk. 3AIA at this time. To Air Defence Command at RCAF Station Cold Lake, Alberta on 22 June 1955, for use by No. 3 (AW) Operational Training Unit. Category A crash at Cold Lake on 19 July 1955. Flight Lieutenant H.A.K. Fisher killed. Scrapped on site by 10 August 1955, by crews from Lincoln Park and Canadian Pacific Airlines.1952-01-24 Taken on Strength No. 6 Repair Depot 2019-08-20
1955-08-10 Struck off Strength Struck off, scrapped 2019-08-20