B-25 BOMBER "YANKEE
WARRIOR"
The "Yankee Warrior”, one of only two flying World War II
B-25D aircraft, will be on display at this year’s Hot Air Jubilee. This
aircraft served in the Mediterranean theater, completing eight combat
missions
over Italy, Sicily and Corsica. Later, it was used as a trainer for new
pilots.
In 1986, this B-25D was donated to the Yankee Air Museum in Ypsilanti,
Mich.,
where it still resides.
The B-25, also known as the North American Aviation
Mitchell
Bomber, was designed by John Leland "Lee” Atwood. It has the distinction
of
being the only American military aircraft named after a specific person,
General Billy Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. The
aircraft first
gained fame as the bomber used in the Doolittle Raid on April 18, 1942. In this raid, 16 B-25Bs, led by the legendary
Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, took off from the carrier USS Hornet
and
successfully attacked mainland Japan four months after the bombing of
Pearl
Harbor.
Almost 10,000 B-25s were built, in numerous models.
They
could reach a maximum speed of 275 mph and carry a crew of six: two
pilots, a
navigator/bombardier, a turret gunner/engineer, a radio operator/waist
gunner,
and a tail gunner. They could also carry a huge supply of armament,
including
6,000 pounds of bombs, eight high-velocity aircraft rockets and two .50
inch
machine guns.
Rides on the "Yankee Warrior" will be available for $400 each.
T-6 SCREAM'N REBELS
Once again, the crowd-pleasing Scream’n Rebel air show will
fill the skies over
Jackson
County
Airport
during the Hot Air Jubilee. Their large, noisy warbirds will shoot out
huge amounts
of smoke as they perform exciting aerobatics. Pilots in North American T-6 planes will
demonstrate vertical roles, Immelmann turns, Cuban eights and other
fighter
maneuvers taught to American pilots during World War II. The show
concludes
with the exciting "Fan Break” from a close trail just before landing.
The T-6 "Texan” is an
Oshkosh
award winner and has the markings of a Forward Air Control (FAC)
aircraft used
in the Korean War. This aircraft was designed as a trainer for future
combat
pilots. Its authentic nose art contains a snake and the words "Scream’n
Rebel”
and "Don’t Tread on Me.” For more information, visit their Web site at
http://sites.google.com/site/screaminrebelairshows/Home
The Scream’n Rebel air show will perform three times at
the
Jubilee.
Friday – 6:30 p.m.
Saturday – 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The 8:30
p.m. show will
include a spectacular simulated bombing run.