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 B-25D / Mk. 2LB HD331
Ex USAAF B-25D-35-NA serial number 43-3844, ex RAF Mitchell Mk. II HD331. Officially identified as a B-25D in early RCAF records. Taken on strength at No. 5 Operational Training Unit at Boundary Bay, BC. Category C damage while with this Unit on 15 November 1944. To No. 22 Sub-Repair Depot for repairs, 18 November 1944 to 16 May 1945. To storage at Reserve Equipment Maintenance Satellite at Abbotsford, BC on 3 December 1945. Assigned to No. 3 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Unit at Carberry, Manitoba on 4 February 1946. Stored by No. 10 Repair Depot at RCAF Station Gimli, Manitoba by 1948. To Avro Canada at Malton, Ontario for conversion to Light Bomber, 16 March 1949 to 15 March 1950. To North West Air Command when completed. To North West Industries in Edmonton, Alberta for winterization, 9 to 23 January 1953. To Tactical Group when completed, for use by No. 406 Squadron (Auxiliary) at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Emergency landing at Rivers, Manitoba on 16 February 1954, following an engine failure. Category B damage while with this squadron on 13 March 1954. Still with this unit when it crashed on 12/13 August 1954. 3 fatalties. Assigned to RCAF Station Lincoln Park, Alberta for scrapping on 2 September 1954.1944-04-05 Taken on Strength Western Air Command as a new aircraft 2019-08-20
1944-November-14 Accident: 5 Operational Training Unit Loc: Sea Island Airport Names: Leavitt | Lowe | Milne | Morphy | Popovich | Robertson
1954-09-02 Struck off Strength Written off, scraped 2019-08-20