Home»Aviation»2013 Aviation»2013.08.09 CAF»B-25 & Air Museum

The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Airpower History Tour at the Fargo Air Museum. They were joined by a B-25J and FM-2P of the Texas Flying Legends Museum. The following aircraft were at the Fargo Air Museum and small enough to fit inside. The text below comes from Wikipedia and the CAF websites.

B-25J Mitchell
Named in honor of General Billy Mitchell, pioneer of American military aviation, the B-25 Mitchell was manufactured by North American Aviation and saw service in every theater of WWII.

Just when the B-25 bomber was considered the most modern aviation technology, Maj. Paul I. "Pappy" Gunn, an engineer in Australia, removed the bombardier-navigator from his greenhouse compartment in the nose of a B-25 and found he could install eight forward-firing .50-caliber machine guns in the aircraft. Thus was born the low-level B-25 strafer.

Capt. Charles E. “Pop” Rice, Jr. became Operations Officer of the 499th Squadron and was assigned to Betty’s Dream in June of 1945. Co-piloted by Victor Tatelman, it escorted two “Betty” bombers carrying the Japanese peace envoys to Ie Shima on August 19, 1945, and again on the return mission from the conference in Manila with General MacArthur’s staff. By the time these talks ended World War II, Betty’s Dream carried 22 mission symbols and two silhouettes representing sunken Japanese ships.

Crew: 6+
Length: 52 ft 11 in
Wingspan: 67 ft 6 in
Height: 17 ft 7 in
Wing Area: 610 sq. ft
Empty Weight: 20,030 lbs
Loaded Weight: 34,000 lbs
Powerplant: 2 x Wright R-2600-35 engines, air-cooled (1,700 hp)
Power/Mass: .11 hp/lbs
Max Speed: 275 mph
Range: 1,350 miles
Service Ceiling: 25,000 ft
Rate of Climb: 790 ft/min
Armament: 14 x .50 cal. Browning Machine Guns (10 firing forward at one time), up to 3 x 1,000 lb bombs

P-51D Mustang
Armament: Six.50-cal. machine guns and 10 5-in. rockets or 2,000 lbs. of bombs
Engine: Packard-built Rolls-Royce Merlin V-1650 of 1,695 hp
Maximum speed: 437 mph
Cruising speed: 275 mph
Range: 1,000 miles
Ceiling: 41,900 ft.
Span: 37 ft.
Length: 32 ft. 3 in.
Height: 13 ft. 8 in.
Weight: 12,100 lbs. maximum
Owner: Tim McPherson

North American T-28 Trojan
Designed in 1948 to replace the T-6 Texan trainer, the T-28A was the first U.S. Air Force trainer with retractable tricycle landing gear. it was powered by an 800 hp Wright R-1300 radial engine and was used for advanced training and armament training. Deliveries began in 1950. and the Navy ordered the T-28D and T-28C for its training. They differed in having a more powerful Wright Cyclone. 1425 hp engine and the T-28C an arrest or hook for carrier landings.
North American modified many surpluses T-28's for ground attack and designated them T-28D. They had a Wright R-1820, 1,425 hp engine installed and 0.50 cal. gun pods under the wings. They could carry up to 1,200 lbs. of bombs, rockets or napalm. Many of these were sold to South Vietnam and armed their small air farce. They were used extensively in the early years; of the Vietnam War, prior to US involvement. American "advisors" were flying them against communist forces throughout the country and Laos. Regulations dictated that the pilot be Vietnamese, but in reality, the pilots were Americans and the Vietnamese "pilot" was someone who happened to be nearby. The T-28's were used to attack communist training areas and to patrol roads and railways, sometimes following the train to its destination. As the war escalated. the South Vietnamese used them more extensively in the ground attack role in support of US and South Vietnamese Army operations.


Grumman F4F Wildcat became the primary fighter for the Navy in the early days of WWII playing an instrumental role in the Battles for Wake Island, the Coral Sea, and Midway. Starting in 1943, though Grumman held the production rights, they had others build them.
General Motors Eastern Division produced the FM-1 Wildcat, identical to the Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat, and the FM-2, which is based on a Grumman prototype designated XF4F-8. General Motors specifically made FM-2s for small carrier operations. They featured four wing guns, a slightly taller tail fin than the previous models to handle the torque, and a more powerful engine - a Wright R-1820-56 engine (1,350 hp).
This aircraft is an FM-2P because it has been fitted for photo-reconnaissance missions. Its flaps are vacuum operated, its under carriage is hand cranked, and the only hydraulic system in the aircraft is the brakes.
Crew: 1 pilot
Length: 28 ft 9 in
Wingspan: 38 ft
Height: 11 ft 10 in
Wing Area: 260 sq ft
Empty Weight: 5,895 lbs
Loaded Weight: 7,000 lbs
Powerplant: Wright R-1820-56,1,350 hp (1,010 kW)
Power/Mass: .19 hp/lbs
Max Speed: 331 mph
Range: 845 miles
Service Ceiling: 39,500 ft
Rate of Climb: 2,303 ft/ min
Armament: 4 x 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 400 rpg and 2 x 0.50 in Browning M2 machine guns, 375 rpg
Rockets: 4 x 0.50 in AN/ M2 Browning machine guns with 450 rounds per gun
Bombs: 2 x 1001b bombs and/or 2 x 58 gal drop tanks

The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was a carrier-capable fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. From the first prototype delivery to the U.S. Navy in 1940, to final delivery in 1953 to the French, 12,571 F4U Corsairs were manufactured by Vought in 16 separate models, in the longest production run of any piston-engined fighter in U.S. history (1942–53).

Empty weight: 8,982 lbs
Loaded weight: 14,000 lbs
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-8 radial engine, 2,000 hp
Maximum speed: 417 mph; Range: 1,015 miles
Service ceiling: 36,900 ft
Guns: 4 × 0.50 in AN/M2 Browning machine guns, 400 rpg
2 × 0.50 in AN/M2 Browning machine guns, 375 rpg
Rockets: 4 × 5 in High Velocity Aircraft Rockets and/or
Bombs: 2,000 pounds

The F-4D and E Phantoms were the most numerously built, widely exported, and also extensively used under the SAGE- U.S. air defense system.
Empty weight: 30,328 lbs
Max. takeoff weight: 61,795 lbs
Powerplant: 2 × General Electric J79-GE-17A axial compressor turbojets, each 11,905 lbf dry thrust, 17,845 lbf in afterburner
Maximum speed: 1,472 mph at 40,000 ft.
Cruise speed: 585 mph; Combat radius: 422 miles
Ferry range: 1,615 mi with 3 external fuel tanks
Service ceiling: 60,000 ft

P-51D Mustang
One of the most famous and effective fighter aircraft of World War II, the P-51 was originally designed to fulfill a British requirement submitted in April 1940. The North American Aircraft Corporation was contracted to design and build the new fighter. Early versions were powered by 1,100-hp Allison engines, but later models, starting in 1943, used the more powerful Packard-built Merlin V-1650. The Merlin-powered Mustangs were exactly what the Allied bombers in Europe desperately needed, and they became famous for their long range and potent high-altitude escort capability.

The most significant variant, the P-51D, featured a 360-degree-view bubble canopy, a modified rear fuselage, and six 12.77-mm machine guns. Along with the fighter role, Mustangs were used for ground attack and reconnaissance. After 1945, over 50 air forces around the world acquired and used the Mustang for many more years, some as recently as the early 1980s.

Engine: One 1,695-hp Packard Merlin
Weight: Empty 7,125 lbs.
Max Takeoff 12,100 lbs
Maximum Speed: 437 mph
Ceiling: 41,900 ft. Range: 1300 miles
Production: 15,386
Flying Today: 150 (approx.)