Pipe Creek Township in Grissom Air Force Base in Miami County, Indiana — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

North American Aviation B-25J

44-86843

— Grissom Air Museum —

North American Aviation B-25J Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Doda, September 5, 2026

1. North American Aviation B-25J Marker

Inscription.

Specifications:
Manufacture: North American Aviation
Designation: B-25J
Serial Number: 44-86843
Official name: Mitchell
Nicknames: "Tree Top Terror"
Function: Medium Bomber, anti-shipping gunship.
Cost: $109,670 (1943 dollars.)
Crew: 6 (one pilot, one co-pilot, navigator/bombardier, turret gunner/engineer, radio operator/waist gunner, tail gunner).
Wingspan: 67, 7"
Length: 52, 11"
Height: 16, 4"
Power plant: 2 x Wright R-2600-92 Twin Cyclone 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 1,700hp each.
Empty weight: 19,480lb Max T/O weight: 35,000lb
Service ceiling: 24,200ft
Range: 1,350mi
Armament: Guns: 12-18 x .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and 75 mm T13E1 cannon (H model) Hardpoints: 2,000lb ventral shackles to hold one external Mark 13 torpedos
Rockets: racks for eight 5 in high velocity aircraft rockets (HVAR)
Bombs: 3,000lb bombs
Number Built: 9,816
Year built: Our B-25, 1944
Year retired: B-25's remained in service well into the 1950's mostly as trainers. The last USAF flight was in 1960.

Mission:
The North American B-25 Mitchell, a twin-engine bomber that became standard equipment for the Allied

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air forces in World War II, was perhaps the most versatile aircraft of the war. It became the most heavily armed airplane in the world, was used for high- and low-level bombing, strafing, photoreconnaissance, submarine patrol, and even as a fighter and was distinguished as the aircraft that completed the historic raid over Tokyo in 1942.

Our B-25:
Our B-25J was delivered to the U.S. Army in 1944 and avoided combat. In her post-war career this aircraft was modified to TB-25N standards and was used in the training of Air Force navigators until 1958. Retired and destined for the smelter, the airplane was again modified, this time as a fire fighting tanker and flew mostly out of Tucson, Arizona from 1960 until 1968. Two years later our bomber appeared on the big screen as Passionate Paulette in the highly acclaimed dark, World War II comedy Catch 22. Tallmantz Aviation took ownership after the movie production ended, and put her into storage for a year. Finally unemployed, she was donated to the National Museum of the United States Air Force and flown to Grissom before being placed on permanent exhibit in 1972.

This exhibit is the property

Photographed by Craig Doda, September 5, 2026

2. North American Aviation B-25J Marker

of the US Air Force and maintained through your participation in the Grissom Air Museum donor program.

Erected by Grissom Air Museum.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Military • War, World II. A significant historical year for this entry is 1944.

Location. 40° 40.176′ N, 86° 7.783′ W. Marker is in Grissom Air Force Base, Indiana, in Miami County. It is in Pipe Creek Township. It is at the intersection of West Hoosier Boulevard and U.S. 31, on the right when traveling west on West Hoosier Boulevard. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1000 W Hoosier Blvd, Peru IN 46970, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northern Indiana.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Douglas Aircraft C-47D and C-47B

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(a few steps from this marker); Lockheed D-21 (a few steps from this marker); Fairchild Republic A-10A (within shouting distance of this marker); Fairchild C-119G (within shouting distance of this marker); Convair TF-102A (within shouting distance of this marker); Boeing KC-97L (within shouting distance of this marker); Republic Aircraft F-84F (within shouting distance of this marker); North American Aviation F-100C (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Grissom Air Force Base.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 16, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 16, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 4 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 16, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.