B-25 Mitchell Jimmy Doolittle Model Airplane

Doolittle B-25 Model Airplane: An Exquisite Addition to Your Growing Collection

The Doolittle B-25 model plane's paint scheme, markings and parts are extremely complete, reflecting the original airplane. This Doolittle B-25 model airplane is definitely the ideal piece to every aviation enthusiast and avid aircraft collector, reviving the good, old flight memories and perfect display.

This top-quality Doolittle B-25 Mitchell model plane will surely be appreciated by anyone who receives this elegant desktop display as a gift. This Doolittle B-25 Mitchell model plane is definitely the ideal gift to every aviation enthusiast and avid aircraft collector, reviving the good, old flight memories for it displays perfect resemblance to the actual Doolittle B-25 Mitchell. To ensure a damage-free product straight to your doorstep, the Doolittle B-25 Mitchell model plane with its base stand is safely covered with foam and carefully packed in a box.

The B-25 Mitchell was designed for the United States' Army Air Corps before the Second World War. The North American company had never designed a multi-engine bomber before. The original design had shoulder-mounted wings and a crew of three in a narrow fuselage. The USAAC then decided its new bomber would need a much larger payload -- double the original specifications. North American designers dropped the wing to the aircraft's mid-section, and widened the fuselage so the pilot and co-pilot could sit side-by-side. They also improved the cockpit. The USAAC ordered 140 aircraft of the new design right off the drawing board.

The B-25 first gained fame as the bomber used in the 18 April 1942 Doolittle Raid, in which sixteen B-25Bs led by the legendary Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, attacked mainland Japan four months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The mission gave a much-needed lift in spirits to the Americans, and alarmed the Japanese who had believed their home islands were inviolable by enemy troops. While the amount of actual damage done was relatively minor, it forced the Japanese to divert troops for the home defense for the remainder of the war. The raiders took off from the carrier USS Hornet and successfully bombed Tokyo and four other Japanese cities without loss. However, 15 subsequently crash-landed en route to recovery fields in Eastern China. These losses were the result of the task force being spotted by Japanese fishing vessels forcing the bombers to take off 170 mi (270 km) early, fuel exhaustion, stormy nighttime conditions with zero visibility, and lack of electronic homing aids at the recovery bases. Only one landed intact; it came down in the Soviet Union, where its five-man crew was interned and the aircraft confiscated. Of the 80 aircrew, 69 survived their historic mission and eventually made it back to American lines.

The last B-25, a VIP transport, was retired from the USAF on May 21, 1960. Approximately 34 B-25 Mitchells remain flying today, most as warbirds, although at least one earns its keep in Hollywood as an aerial camera platform.