North American B-25 Mitchell

The B-25 Mitchell, as it was known, was a medium type bomber that was first designed in 1939 and began flying in the Army Air Forces in 1941. Most famous for being the aircraft used by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle and his raid on Japan in April 1942, the B-25 flew in all theaters of the war. Mainly used by the USAAF in the Pacific and Mediterranean theaters, the Mitchell came in many variants including full nosed gunships, some of which contained a 75mm canon.

The 41st Bomb Group was placed under the 7th Air Force command in mid-1943. The group moved from California to Hawaii in October, 1943 and prepared to be deployed. After Tarawa was taken by the Marines, the 41st BG moved their B-25s to the island on December 17, 1943 and within 11 days flew their first combat mission on enemy air facilities at Mille Atoll in the Marshall Islands. They moved to Makin Island and continued thier attacks through June of 1944, while the 48th Bomb Squadron was moved to Saipain to help bomb Guam and Tinnian for invasions of those islands.

By the fall of 1944, the 41st BG had returned to Hawaii until June, 1945 when they moved to Kadena on Okinawa. Hitting Japanese air fields, bridges, railroads, shipping and shipping facilities, the group flew 36 missions in July and another 11 in August until the war ended.