Cockpit of the North American B-25J Mitchell (M-464) as used by the 18th Squadron of the
Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (ML-KNIL) at the Military Aviation Museum, Kamp Zeist (the Netherlands)
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation.
It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended,
and saw service across four decades. The B-25 was named in honour of General Billy Mitchell, a pioneer of United States military aviation.
By the end of its production, nearly 10.000 B-25s in numerous models had been built.
This Mitchell (serial 44-31258) was put into Dutch service in September 1945. Original code was N5-164, but later this changed to M-464, and flew for the 18th Squadron of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (ML-KNIL). After Dutch redrawal from Indonesia, it was transferred to the 1st Squadron of the AURI (Angkatan Udara Republik Indonesia), the new Indonesian Air Force until about 1964. Later in the early seventies it was attained, restored and displayed at the Dutch Military Aviation Museum (Militaire Luchtvaart Museum or MLM).