North American B-25D Mitchell - The Second Most Mass-Produced Mitchell

[Nostalgistic]

Would you like to see this in-game?

• Yes
• No

Which model of the B-25D would you like to see implemented? (Multiple choice; choose up to 5)

• Standard B-25D-5
• B-25D Strafer (solid nose with more forward-firing MGs and other modifications)
• B-25D with Mediterranean Modifications (ventral turret removed; waist and tail MGs added)
• I have a specific model in mind (please comment)
• I want all B-25D variants
• Don’t care, just gimme any B-25D model
• I said “No” in the first poll

North American B-25D Mitchell

   Hello everybody. I’d like to suggest the North American B-25D Mitchell for the US aviation tree in War Thunder. This variant was the second most-produced Mitchell during World War II. The B-25D was virtually identical to the B-25C, except that it was built at North American’s Kansas City plant rather than the Inglewood, California facility. Its introduction was driven by the US Army’s excessive wartime demand. Like the B-25C, the B-25D saw service in both the Mediterranean and Pacific theaters.

History

Initially, the B-25D was simply the B-25C manufactured in Kansas City. On September 28, 1940, the Army ordered large numbers of the updated Mitchell, incorporating modifications based on combat experience. However, it soon became clear that North American’s Inglewood facility could not meet demand for both the Mitchell and the P-51 Mustang. To resolve this, the company established outdoor assembly lines and opened an additional plant in Kansas City, Kansas.

The California-built version was designated B-25C, while the Kansas-built version was designated B-25D. An initial order for 1,200 B-25Ds was approved on June 28, 1941, and production began in late 1942. The first B-25D rolled out just before Christmas of that year and was formally accepted in February 1943. While B-25C production ended in May 1943, B-25D production continued until March 1944, with successive production blocks introducing incremental improvements.

The first production block, the B-25D-1, added external wing racks capable of carrying six to eight bombs weighing between 100 and 325 pounds. Additional self-sealing tanks were fitted in the outer wing panels, increasing fuel capacity and range. Other changes included carburetor air filters, self-sealing oil tanks, torpedo racks, and revised engine exhausts.

The B-25D-5 replaced the .30-caliber nose gun with two fixed .50-caliber guns and a single flexible .50-caliber gun, an improvement over the B-25C’s single fixed .50-caliber weapon. It also featured an improved scanning lens for the sighting system for the retractable ventral turret and introduced Bendix Amplidyne turrets, which used a different electrical power system.

Later production blocks introduced further refinements. The B-25D-10 and -15 incorporated minor changes, while the B-25D-15 added a clear-vision windshield and extra armor behind the copilot. The B-25D-20, -25, -30, and -35 introduced additional small improvements, with the final version accepted as the B-25D-35-NA.

Ultimately, 2,290 B-25Ds were produced in total during the production run, and all changes incorporated into the B-25D model meant added weight. Despite being powered by an improved powerplant, the top speed was restricted to around 280 mph.

Many B-25C/Ds were sent to the Pacific, and some of those were converted into strafers for anti-shipping missions. Bombsights were removed from the nose, replaced by fixed forward-firing machine guns, with some aircraft fitted with gun packs on the fuselage sides. Ventral turrets were often removed, and additional guns were mounted in the waist and tail. These field modifications laid the foundation for the factory-built B-25G, armed with a 75 mm cannon, followed by the even more heavily armed B-25H and B-25J gunship variants.

In the Mediterranean, similar modifications were carried out. For example, the 321st Bombardment Group had 57 of its B-25Cs and Ds modified at a depot in Georgia before being shipped overseas. The ventral turret was eliminated and faired over, waist gun positions were cut into the fuselage, and a flexible tail gun was installed. Additional armor plating was added beneath the pilots’ seats, around the waist positions, and in the tail. More aircraft were modified at Sidi Ahmed Air Base in Bizerte. In total, more than 300 B-25Cs and Ds from the 12th, 310th, 321st, and 340th Bombardment Groups were brought up to this standard, serving from Tunisia through to the final German surrender in northern Italy. These modifications were later incorporated into the factory-built B-25H and J models.

Specifications

North American B-25D Mitchell

Number Built: 2,290 (counting all subvariants)

General Characteristics

• Crew: 1 (Pilot, copilot, bombardier, navigator/radio operator, and gunner)
• Dimensions:
  • Length: 53 ft (16.15 m)
  • Height: 15 ft 9 in (4.80 m)
  • Wingspan: 67 ft 6.75 in (20.59 m)
  • Wing Area: 610 sq ft (56.67 sq m)
• Propeller:
  • Type: 2 x 3-bladed Hamilton Standards
  • Diameter: 12 ft 7 in (3.84 m)
• Powerplant:
  • Type: 2 x Wright Cyclone R-2600-13 air-cooled radials
  • Power Output:
• 1,700 hp (1,268 kW) each @ takeoff (3,400 hp/2,536 kW total)
• Fuel Capacity: 974 US gal (3,687 L) self-sealing
• Weight:
  • Empty: 20,300 lb (9,208 kg)
  • Max. Takeoff: 33,500 lb (15,195 kg)

Flight Performance

• Power-to-Weight Ratio: 0.10 hp/lb (0.17 kW/kg)
• Max Speed: 284 mph (457 km/h) @ 15,000 ft (4,572 m)
• Wing Loading: 55 lb/sq ft (268.5 kg/sq m)
• Climb Performance:
  • Rate of Climb: 1,375 ft/min (6.99 m/s)
  • Time to Altitude: 16.5 minutes to 15,000 ft (4,572 m)
• Service Ceiling: 21,200 ft (6,462 m)
• Range: 1,525 miles (2,454 km)
  • with 974 gallons of fuel and a 3,200-pound bombload.

Armament

• Guns:
  • 1 x fixed 0.50-in MG in the nose (300 rds)
• Turrets:
  • Nose: 1 x flexible 0.50-in M2 Browning (300 rds)
  • Dorsal Bendix Type N Turret: 2 x 0.50-in MGs (400 rpg; 800 rds)
  • Ventral Bendix Type K Turret: 2 x 0.50-in MGs (350 rpg; 700 rds)
• Bombs:
  • Payload limitation: 5,200 lb
  • Internal:
    • 1 x 2,000-lb
    • 2 x 1,500-lb AP
    • 3 x 1,000
    • 6 x 500-lb
    • 8 x 250-lb
    • 12 x 100-lb
  • External:
    • 1 x 2,000-lb torpedo
    • 6 x 325-lb depth bombs
    • 8 x 250-lb
    • 8 x 100-lb

Diagrams

Images

Related Suggestions

Mitchell Family:

• B-25
• B-25A
• B-25B
• B-25C - Made by @slowmo21too-psn
• B-25G
• B-25H
• B-25J (Strafer)
• NA-98X
• PBJ-1C
• PBJ-1D
• PBJ-1J (Glass Nose)

British Mitchell Family (made by @lxtav):

• Mitchell Mk. I
• Mitchell Mk. II
• Mitchell Mk. III

Sources

• EE-393 Wartime Tactical Planning Characteristics & Performance Charts (1 July 1945)
• Profile Publications - The North American B-25A to G Mitchell (1965)
• Walk Around B-25 Mitchell - Walk Around Number 12 (1997)
• Warbird Tech Vol. 12 - North American B-25 Mitchell (1998)
• B-25 Mitchell in Detail & Scale - D&S Vol. 60 (1999)
• Crowood Aviation Series - North American B-25 Mitchell (2001)
• Osprey Combat Aircraft 032 - B-25 Mitchell Units of the MTO (2002)
• B-25 Mitchell - Detail in Action (2022)
• North American B-25 Mitchell - Wikipedia
• North American B-25D Mitchell
• B-25C/D Strafers
• Mediterranean Modifications of B-25C/D

Thank you for taking the time to read my suggestion! 😃

[PlayedStatue626-live]

+1 for all models

[Nihilist_Saint]

+1 for low tier bombers; man you are really pumping these suggestions out, I both admire and fear you.

[Oinkleton_Stanle-psn]

Thank you for your exemplary work in getting these suggestions up. Much as I would love to see all variants, my ideal outcome would be that they add three - a Mitchell for the RAF that includes the useless ventral turret, a Mediterranean field-modded D variant for the US tech tree and a B-25D strafer of the 345th BG ‘Air Apaches’ as a US premium.

These fill the gap between the B-34 and the B-25J, providing some much needed low-mid tier fun, and add an iconic, mass-produced bomber that saw combat in all theatres.

[jon_man1199]

A +1 from me! It would be pretty neat to see it added; as a fun note, a friend of mine owns what’s left of a B-25D that the US Air Transport Command used as a transport. He also owns the only two known extant examples of the original emblem.

[CharAznable3]

The B-25 is a excellent work horse in game and with the bomber revolution and naval you can have a nice aircraft that does the job. +1