Like the famous song, there’s pretty much nowhere that a B-25 Mitchell hasn’t been. The hearty medium bomber is credited with flying in every theater during WWII. Alaska, Africa, Australia… and that, of course, is just the A’s.
It was not just an Army plane either. There were Navy and Marine Corps Mitchells designated PBJs. Even the U.S. Coast Guard had one that they had unofficially “borrowed” in 1945. And it certainly wasn’t just the United States flying Mitchells. During WWII, pilots from the UK, Australia, Free France, Canada, China, Russia, and Brazil, among others, flew the B-25 in combat against the Axis.
After the war, the plane’s reach went even farther — Peru, Poland, Portugal, Pakistan, Palestine, and yes, I suppose, even Peoria and Poughkeepsie. Successful and versatile airplanes keep working for a long, long time. The FHC’s B-25 was hauling fire retardant in Canada as late as 1995.
You can come and see the plane and others (finally in what you might call a semi-retirement, flying for the museum) at The Flying Heritage Collection’s last Free Fly Day of the year, Saturday, September 29, at Paine Field.
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