Best tour of a B-25 I've seen. It was almost like seeing it in action. Never seen one with the turrets all operational, and a full crew on board. Brilliant.
Every time I read Catch-22 I wish I could see the layout of one of these planes, and what Yossarian was complaining about Aarfy doing, and today I finally got to see it. Thank you!
You're welcome. A wartime B25 would have a lot more equipment than shown in this video, so even more cramped. Every winter during the maintenance season more original equipment gets added to this B25, Miss Mitchell. She now has the complete radio stack and desk between the bomb bay and waist guns, ammo cans for tail and waist guns, armor plates around waist guns, and various other small meters and instruments. Commemorative Air Force, Minnesota Wing, maintains this B25. They have many others around the country, check out their website perhaps one is close and you can see one in person.
I cannot imagine, flying thousands of feet in the air, cramped space, loud noises of machine gun fire (if in combat) engines ect. and whenever in combat being at shot at. Those air force crewmen and pilots were very brave, God bless our vets.
no they weremnt brave - they just didnt grew up in a luxury live where everything is done for a healthy life it was done because it has to be done and comfort wasnt a factor in this Wartime
@@Martinlegend I'd like to see you on board a bomber, flying over Europe on a bombing run, getting picked off by German air and flak. You were practically waiting for either luck or death to knock on your door. All it took was one blast of flak and you'd be free falling from thousands of feet.
I've always thought the B25 was the most attractive of the multi crew planes. Just beautiful. Was truly surprised how loud. Gee I I could hear everything Van Johnson was saying to his co-pilot in the movie. Those were the days of a real America and without the best generation. Wonder what they think whilst watching now a days??? Truly they were heros. Great video. Really captured the feel. Thank you
Nice vid. The camera work gives you a sense of how cramped it was. You can see how the pilots are shoulder to shoulder. A very versatile medium bomber.
It is so cool how there are so many flyable B-25s that they allow tourists to play around with the turrets like this. All the remaining B-24s, B-17s, and B-29s' owners don't allow people to play with those precious rare turrets like this haha. It seems like B-25 turrets are a dime a dozen. Sadly there are no flyable B-26s anymore. There is one airworthy B-26 that last flew in 1998 but it is grounded as a museum piece due to a cautious owner. It is really sad how the medium bombers like B-25s and B-26s' veterans groups and the U.S. military itself don't provide for the public easy access to extremely detailed reports of missions and MACRs (Missing Aircraft Reports) that explain every single lost medium bomber like they do for B-24s, B-29s, and B-17s. All we ever get in documentaries and books and movies are "they were involved in anonymous boring generic 'tactical bombing' missions" involving low-altitude diving attacks on tanks, warships, and flak artillery 500 miles away as if that is somehow not dangerous at all like strategic bombing for heavy bombers haha. I have a feeling in about 20 years all the currently airworthy WWII heavy bombers will have to be grounded because of how rare they are (only 3 or 4 operational/airworthy B-17s, 2 for B-24s, and 2 for B-29s) and how many accidents since 2011 (three of them to be exact) there are involving the famous B-17s. We will truly appreciate medium bombers like B-25s at airshows due to them being able to fly as long as however long a B-52 can fly (thanks to how there are so many airworthy B-25s that fly casually at airshows and for tourists today) and we thankfully have the Doolittle Raid to keep the average person entertained and recognize B-25s' claim to fame when they see B-25s and no more heavy bombers in the sky.
My dad was a flight mechanic and tail gunner aboard a Mitchell B-25 in the Pacific during WW2. I guess he might have known your father. They were heroes.
Im 18 years old and currently a car mechanic. But near my hometown is a airport where a B-25J is stationated. Since the B-25 is my favourite plane, my goal is to become a plane mechanic for that B-25. That B-25 is a very special B-25, because it is completely demilitarized and the front canopy has a comfortable leather bench in it.
It is so cool how there are so many flyable B-25s that they allow tourists to play around with the turrets like this. All the remaining B-24s, B-17s, and B-29s' owners don't allow people to play with those precious rare turrets like this haha. It seems like B-25 turrets are a dime a dozen. So sad that the B-25's sister counterpart, B-26, has no operational airworthy aircraft. There is one airworthy B-26 but it hasn't flown since 1998 and is a museum piece now.
Definitely my second favorite bomber of WWII, following the B-17, of course. Gosh I never realized just got cramped they are in there. I know it had to be tight, but dang, those waist gunners probably bumped into each other all the time.
My father in law and his brother flew in the Pacific in WWII. Father in law flew Catalina flying boat and uncle flew B-25 straffers for the 345 Bomb Group. The B-25 looks fairly large from the exterior but get inside and its severely cramped. I can better understand how difficult it would be to bail out if the aircraft is on a reasonably level attitude...if in a spin or inverted it likely would have been impossible.
Additionally many items present in combat are not in this video like armor plate, ammo cans, radio sets, life rafts, parachutes, etc so emergency exit would be further hampered - and impossible on the low level strafer flights the 345th specialized in. If you have not read Air Apaches by Jay Stout check it out, a great book about the 345th and their B25s.
How the heck did the tail gunner hit anything? Those controls look pretty sluggish. Great video, if you make it back to Fargo I hope to take a ride on her.
really confined space for the whole crew, when the guns were fired the spent shell must have been all over the place or were they somehow ejected outside.
I took a flght while recovering from a hip replacement so I crawled on my back up to the nose! Lol Isnt it kinda slanted uphill to the nose? great vid brought me back to that terrifyingly loud and awesome experience!
Yes there is an interruptor, in the base of the turret there is a series of disks that rotate with the turret. The discs have protrusions that cam out micro switches that break the circuit that energize solenoids that fire the guns. The disc protrusions mimic the prop arc and tail so operation is seem less to the gunner. This feature is common to the American turrets and probably also in other country's ww2 designs as well.
She had great protection everywhere other than the nose it seems. Can anyone tell me why there are two .50’s in the nose by chance? Honestly looks like the second would only help protect slightly forward but mainly on the right bottom side. Very curious.
One flexible .50 in the nose manned and aimed by the bombardier. If the b25 was not a lead plane the norden was often removed to allow this gun more movement (trailing planes would drop on the norden equipped lead plane's signal). The two fixed guns on the lower right were aimed and fired by the pilot.
Does anyone know how the top turret gunner kept from shooting the plane's tail? Was it his skill and caution or were there mechanical aids that prevented this?
There is a mechanical interrupter in nearly all power turrets that cuts out the firring circuit when the guns swing near interference points. The flexible hand moved guns would require trigger discipline alone.
At least one escape route in each crew area. Tail turret upper canopy jettisons. Rear area floor hatch (main entrance from ground) and a side escape. Above bomb bay a hatch into the bay. Upper turret out floor hatch (main entrance from ground) below the turret. Pilot compartment top hatch jettisons. In the nose a side hatch jettisons. And for when all else fails axes around the plane to make a hole in aluminum or plexiglass.
Could you imagine how pumped full of adrenaline you’d be on a bombing mission over German occupied territory. Flying at night and having to take out enemy threats. It was do or die. Unbelievable. Bravery is an understatement. God bless our veterans.
Fire interrupters are on almost all powered turrets. The B25 Bendix powered upper turret has a system of cams on the base with protrusions that correspond to hazard points on the aircraft, when the guns swing into those hazard points the cam protrusion engages a micro switch that cuts out the gun firing circuit. For the flexible hand moved guns the only safety is the gunner's judgement...and I'm sure accidents happened in the heat of combat. Not only their own plane but also others close in formation.
Awesome. I did wonder how the crew moved from the front to the back-thinking "there's no-way they could climb over that tiny gap covering the bomb-bay", turns out it's another crawl space! I knew about the one leading to the front. Good thing the Japanese didn't have a modern medium bomber, 'till the Ginga. Which I don't think entered service 'till late '44, and even then-it was plagued with mechanical problems. Fast though.
Rocketassistedgoat g4m. g5n. ki 49. ki 61. (or 64 i get confused ones a fighter ones bomber). then the boatplanes. h6k and h8k. all med to heavy bombers.
All of those are either fighters, or 1930's designs. The Japanese didn't have anything modern and comparable to the B-25, 'till the Ginga. It was one of their failings, much like how the Germans never developed a strategic bomber.
again g4m ki 49 both rwim engine bombers. ki 64 twin wngine bomber. h6k 4 engine h8k 4 engine. g5n 4 engine. please do some research the b 25 came around in 41 g4m was around in the 30s. also they had ki 21 and were using it in the china campaighn
then its sad that they did thier jobs BETTER than a b 25. longer range more payload and many a time bettter defencive armorment. and again if your a dumbass who thinks the war started in 41 you have no place in this argument.
tuvo que haber sido muy tenebroso estar en un avión en medio de una lluvia de balas de los aviones de combate alemanes y la artillería antiaérea mis respetos con estos soldados que pelearon esas guerras
eu fico imaginando como pode o avião foi inventado no começo de 1900 e na década de 40 ja tinham desenvolvido uma máquina dessa,como se não bastasse voar ainda virou máquina de guerra...uma evolução muito rápida...🤔
Imagine sitting in those lower seats when your top turret gunner takes a 30mm shell to the head and the entire upper half of his body turns to liquid and flows down into where your sitting, and you still have finish your mission and get back to base
Il sistema di controllo della torretta di prua e' simile al joypad della PlayStation ,anzi e esattamente il contrario e' il joypad della playstation che e' simile al sistema di controllo della torretta di prua.
Best tour of a B-25 I've seen. It was almost like seeing it in action. Never seen one with the turrets all operational, and a full crew on board. Brilliant.
I am showing it to my students this morning. We are reading Catch-22, the Mitchell is what they flew.
I’m 6’7 I think the only place I could fit is the front turret lol
That rear set of guns was so nicely balanced
Every time I read Catch-22 I wish I could see the layout of one of these planes, and what Yossarian was complaining about Aarfy doing, and today I finally got to see it. Thank you!
You're welcome. A wartime B25 would have a lot more equipment than shown in this video, so even more cramped. Every winter during the maintenance season more original equipment gets added to this B25, Miss Mitchell. She now has the complete radio stack and desk between the bomb bay and waist guns, ammo cans for tail and waist guns, armor plates around waist guns, and various other small meters and instruments. Commemorative Air Force, Minnesota Wing, maintains this B25. They have many others around the country, check out their website perhaps one is close and you can see one in person.
that’s exactly why i came here too! thanks for posting :)
They made a miniseries on Hulu. They use the real planes
I cannot imagine, flying thousands of feet in the air, cramped space, loud noises of machine gun fire (if in combat) engines ect. and whenever in combat being at shot at. Those air force crewmen and pilots were very brave, God bless our vets.
no they weremnt brave - they just didnt grew up in a luxury live where everything is done for a healthy life it was done because it has to be done and comfort wasnt a factor in this Wartime
@@Martinlegend I'd like to see you on board a bomber, flying over Europe on a bombing run, getting picked off by German air and flak. You were practically waiting for either luck or death to knock on your door. All it took was one blast of flak and you'd be free falling from thousands of feet.
@@ataka2142 no im from Germany so i would rather be the guy who sends a 12.8 cm shell up into the sky
@@Martinlegend You are not really proving a point here buddy. There were brave men on both sides. Why can't you accept that?
@@ataka2142 because the people today cant imagine how it was
I always wanted to see the gun cabinets of the bombers, and the only video showing this is yours, thank you
Entel Feridun let me guess. You’re a fellow scale modeler?
@@sparetime2475 HELL YEA
I've always thought the B25 was the most attractive of the multi crew planes. Just beautiful. Was truly surprised how loud. Gee I I could hear everything Van Johnson was saying to his co-pilot in the movie. Those were the days of a real America and without the best generation. Wonder what they think whilst watching now a days??? Truly they were heros.
Great video. Really captured the feel.
Thank you
Nice vid. The camera work gives you a sense of how cramped it was. You can see how the pilots are shoulder to shoulder. A very versatile medium bomber.
It is so cool how there are so many flyable B-25s that they allow tourists to play around with the turrets like this. All the remaining B-24s, B-17s, and B-29s' owners don't allow people to play with those precious rare turrets like this haha. It seems like B-25 turrets are a dime a dozen. Sadly there are no flyable B-26s anymore. There is one airworthy B-26 that last flew in 1998 but it is grounded as a museum piece due to a cautious owner.
It is really sad how the medium bombers like B-25s and B-26s' veterans groups and the U.S. military itself don't provide for the public easy access to extremely detailed reports of missions and MACRs (Missing Aircraft Reports) that explain every single lost medium bomber like they do for B-24s, B-29s, and B-17s. All we ever get in documentaries and books and movies are "they were involved in anonymous boring generic 'tactical bombing' missions" involving low-altitude diving attacks on tanks, warships, and flak artillery 500 miles away as if that is somehow not dangerous at all like strategic bombing for heavy bombers haha.
I have a feeling in about 20 years all the currently airworthy WWII heavy bombers will have to be grounded because of how rare they are (only 3 or 4 operational/airworthy B-17s, 2 for B-24s, and 2 for B-29s) and how many accidents since 2011 (three of them to be exact) there are involving the famous B-17s. We will truly appreciate medium bombers like B-25s at airshows due to them being able to fly as long as however long a B-52 can fly (thanks to how there are so many airworthy B-25s that fly casually at airshows and for tourists today) and we thankfully have the Doolittle Raid to keep the average person entertained and recognize B-25s' claim to fame when they see B-25s and no more heavy bombers in the sky.
Excellent video. Gave us a sense of the layout of the B-25. You can also hear the exhaust from the engines in flight. I’ve not heard that before.
Great job, thanks for doing the things that we would all like to do in a B25 in flight.
Great video. My grandfather was a top turret gunner on the B 25, and I always wondered what it was like for him in that role.
This is amazing
My Dad used to fix these birds during WW2. He was over in the PTO on an island. He loved the B-25s.
My dad was a flight mechanic and tail gunner aboard a Mitchell B-25 in the Pacific during WW2. I guess he might have known your father. They were heroes.
Im 18 years old and currently a car mechanic. But near my hometown is a airport where a B-25J is stationated. Since the B-25 is my favourite plane, my goal is to become a plane mechanic for that B-25. That B-25 is a very special B-25, because it is completely demilitarized and the front canopy has a comfortable leather bench in it.
Dad flew 50 missions out of Corsica 1944-45 for the 57th bomb Wing. So proud of him.Still have lots of pictures
It is so cool how there are so many flyable B-25s that they allow tourists to play around with the turrets like this. All the remaining B-24s, B-17s, and B-29s' owners don't allow people to play with those precious rare turrets like this haha. It seems like B-25 turrets are a dime a dozen.
So sad that the B-25's sister counterpart, B-26, has no operational airworthy aircraft. There is one airworthy B-26 but it hasn't flown since 1998 and is a museum piece now.
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing. Greets from the Netherlands, T.
I think I flew in a b-25 in anchorage AK somewhere around 2000-2005 I wish I could remember exactly
U guys are lucky! Thanks for showing us.
Definitely my second favorite bomber of WWII, following the B-17, of course. Gosh I never realized just got cramped they are in there. I know it had to be tight, but dang, those waist gunners probably bumped into each other all the time.
Great vid! Thanks for sharing man, and greets from the Netherlands!
Eww, a dutch.
Hello, Netherlands…. thanks to all men, women and children who helped so many escape and survive a horrifying experience! God bless. 🇺🇸
@@e.conboy4286 : Thank you!
God bless you too.
Catch 22 !!!
I thought I recognized Miss Mitchell. She’s a grand lady with an awesome crew!
Excellent tour, thanks!
Great Video. Great Plane.
Fantastic.
Thank you.
I got to look around this plane last year and the first thing I noticed was how cramped it was.
Thank you for this tour!
It's no wonder my Poor father was deaf! God Bless Our Service Men and Women!
God bless you and your father!
My father fly a b-29
Beautiful!!!
My father in law and his brother flew in the Pacific in WWII. Father in law flew Catalina flying boat and uncle flew B-25 straffers for the 345 Bomb Group. The B-25 looks fairly large from the exterior but get inside and its severely cramped. I can better understand how difficult it would be to bail out if the aircraft is on a reasonably level attitude...if in a spin or inverted it likely would have been impossible.
Additionally many items present in combat are not in this video like armor plate, ammo cans, radio sets, life rafts, parachutes, etc so emergency exit would be further hampered - and impossible on the low level strafer flights the 345th specialized in. If you have not read Air Apaches by Jay Stout check it out, a great book about the 345th and their B25s.
@@Type99mgAnd... I just now purchased Air Apaches from Amazon. Hardcover, because I know I'll love it. Thank you for the recommendation Brother !
I always thought there was alot more room in these B-25 bombers. I saw the inside of a B-29 and it was so much larger than this.
How the heck did the tail gunner hit anything? Those controls look pretty sluggish. Great video, if you make it back to Fargo I hope to take a ride on her.
Awesome, thanks for sharing!
my god that is a cramped plane. still looks like it would be an enjoyable ride though.
really confined space for the whole crew, when the guns were fired the spent shell must have been all over the place or were they somehow ejected outside.
Who else would want to fly one of those? I wish I had one
That was brilliant! Thanks for uploading!
I never really l knew what the inside of a B-25 looked like and here we are
I took a flght while recovering from a hip replacement so I crawled on my back up to the nose! Lol Isnt it kinda slanted uphill to the nose? great vid brought me back to that terrifyingly loud and awesome experience!
My uncle was a bombardier aboard one of these B-25s in WWII. The greatest generation
The plane is really cool, and still works.
Thanks for posting this excellent video.
Functional gun positions! Neat!
2:45 is there some kind of "shooting interruptor" that would not allow gunner to saw-off tail? or it all depends on his attention?
Yes there is an interruptor, in the base of the turret there is a series of disks that rotate with the turret. The discs have protrusions that cam out micro switches that break the circuit that energize solenoids that fire the guns. The disc protrusions mimic the prop arc and tail so operation is seem less to the gunner. This feature is common to the American turrets and probably also in other country's ww2 designs as well.
WOW!😍😍😍thx!
My Dad flew a B-25 named "Frisky Frisco". Look up John Fall B25 pilot.
This makes me want to watch "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" !
She had great protection everywhere other than the nose it seems. Can anyone tell me why there are two .50’s in the nose by chance? Honestly looks like the second would only help protect slightly forward but mainly on the right bottom side. Very curious.
One flexible .50 in the nose manned and aimed by the bombardier. If the b25 was not a lead plane the norden was often removed to allow this gun more movement (trailing planes would drop on the norden equipped lead plane's signal). The two fixed guns on the lower right were aimed and fired by the pilot.
Does anyone know how the top turret gunner kept from shooting the plane's tail?
Was it his skill and caution or were there mechanical aids that prevented this?
There is a mechanical interrupter in nearly all power turrets that cuts out the firring circuit when the guns swing near interference points. The flexible hand moved guns would require trigger discipline alone.
@@Type99mg Thanks NT. I figured it must be something like that.
SPECTACULAR. THANKS 4 SHARE
So much glass! I wonder if is it bullet proof.
3:08 Instantly Millennium Falcon chase music starts to play
Why do I sudenly want to own one and mod it for sivilian use
I need 4 boxes of those to buy ok
It sounds like sitting in a tractor, one question: how the crew jump off when being hit?
At least one escape route in each crew area. Tail turret upper canopy jettisons. Rear area floor hatch (main entrance from ground) and a side escape. Above bomb bay a hatch into the bay. Upper turret out floor hatch (main entrance from ground) below the turret. Pilot compartment top hatch jettisons. In the nose a side hatch jettisons. And for when all else fails axes around the plane to make a hole in aluminum or plexiglass.
Could you imagine how pumped full of adrenaline you’d be on a bombing mission over German occupied territory. Flying at night and having to take out enemy threats. It was do or die. Unbelievable. Bravery is an understatement. God bless our veterans.
Gosh! B-25 even with Snowden lying on the floor!
just like my uncle told me, super loud.
How do you stop shooting bits off your own aircraft?
Fire interrupters are on almost all powered turrets. The B25 Bendix powered upper turret has a system of cams on the base with protrusions that correspond to hazard points on the aircraft, when the guns swing into those hazard points the cam protrusion engages a micro switch that cuts out the gun firing circuit. For the flexible hand moved guns the only safety is the gunner's judgement...and I'm sure accidents happened in the heat of combat. Not only their own plane but also others close in formation.
@@Type99mg thankyou. I was sure there was something. I just didn't know what.
Awesome. I did wonder how the crew moved from the front to the back-thinking "there's no-way they could climb over that tiny gap covering the bomb-bay", turns out it's another crawl space! I knew about the one leading to the front. Good thing the Japanese didn't have a modern medium bomber, 'till the Ginga. Which I don't think entered service 'till late '44, and even then-it was plagued with mechanical problems. Fast though.
Rocketassistedgoat g4m. g5n. ki 49. ki 61. (or 64 i get confused ones a fighter ones bomber). then the boatplanes. h6k and h8k. all med to heavy bombers.
All of those are either fighters, or 1930's designs. The Japanese didn't have anything modern and comparable to the B-25, 'till the Ginga. It was one of their failings, much like how the Germans never developed a strategic bomber.
again g4m ki 49 both rwim engine bombers. ki 64 twin wngine bomber. h6k 4 engine h8k 4 engine. g5n 4 engine. please do some research the b 25 came around in 41 g4m was around in the 30s. also they had ki 21 and were using it in the china campaighn
then its sad that they did thier jobs BETTER than a b 25. longer range more payload and many a time bettter defencive armorment. and again if your a dumbass who thinks the war started in 41 you have no place in this argument.
and finally ki 64 is a bpmber. look it up. youll see very quickly. ki 61 is the fighter.
You would think these bombers would make a great family journey planes.
Your wife would hate it, but I'd love that ❤👌🏻
Wow!
Dang that's a lot bigger inside that it looks from the outside
yayyyyy the reflector sight was on
For both turrets too.
inside the b25 is very small
Something missing a photo of smiling girl👰
I can ben there done that also a
P 51 MUSTANG AWESOME FLIGHTS.
tuvo que haber sido muy tenebroso estar en un avión en medio de una lluvia de balas de los aviones de combate alemanes y la artillería antiaérea mis respetos con estos soldados que pelearon esas guerras
One day I have to do this. To feel what Grandpa felt it the s pacific.
eu fico imaginando como pode o avião foi inventado no começo de 1900 e na década de 40 ja tinham desenvolvido uma máquina dessa,como se não bastasse voar ainda virou máquina de guerra...uma evolução muito rápida...🤔
people are enjoying in playing in the plane. however for the heroes who once fought in it, it's all about live or death.
Flying Fortresses are so damn cool.
lol the guys just chilling in the back
Благодарю! Вот, как оно было!
Like a train, or truck
How had this not got more likes!
noticed that,especially when you look at the views...must be a gremlin in there ...
So the B-25 had a remote-controlled tail gun? Jeez, man... the amount of technology developed because of war is just staggering...
Yeah, and remember that most of the things we use nowadays are developed from wars. Just like the Internet
awesome,
what a machine
this creature was like a battleship in the skies
more like the b-17
It's not a creature
More like a light cruiser.
Well, at least you can change your location in the plane. You know, in case you want to change your mind...
I thought he flew the p 47
Nose gunner looks like the most comfortable position
chippledon1 not for yossarian
And deadliest one too
And just an incredible view.
That's the bombadier's position
Nice
everybody ganster until jerry fails the launch off Uss Hornet
when you realise an F15 has the same wingspan as the B25
No they don't, F-15 is 43 feet wide and the B-25 is 68 feet.
機内がとてつもなく狭かったことにびっくりした😲
Still more spacious and less expensive than a New York apartment. I think.
No built for comfort or peace and quiet.
Slow down the panning - feeling dizzy trying to view this
Imagine sitting in those lower seats when your top turret gunner takes a 30mm shell to the head and the entire upper half of his body turns to liquid and flows down into where your sitting, and you still have finish your mission and get back to base
this is a wett dream
nice real game
very poggers
Bro your in a b29 and just laid down. What a miserable thing, geez
Hi Nate. I'm interested in licensing some footage for an indie film. Please let me know the best way to contact you. Thanks!
Pretty tight fit in there
Il sistema di controllo della torretta di prua e' simile al joypad della PlayStation ,anzi e esattamente il contrario e' il joypad della playstation che e' simile al sistema di controllo della torretta di prua.
B25って案外と狭いんだな
About time the West help ukraine
k
Boring. Get your act together.
It's very interesting. Take your bored crap somewhere else.