North American Aviation - Kansas (Fairfax District)
North American Aviattion - Kansas (Fairfax District)
NAA-K
NAA-K Bomber Builders Reunion
Wyandotte County Museum
631 N. 126th St. - Bonner Springs, Kansas
Sunday - August 21, 2005
1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
(In Wyandotte County park at 126th & State Ave.)
For former
employees of the North American Aviation plant in Kansas City, Kansas during
WWII and others interested in the B-25 aircraft.
Article
from the NAA-K B-25 Newsletter: "DOOLITTLE'S INSTRUMENTAL BREAKTHROUGH"
- In the very early days of aviation when flying was very risky except when
the weather was clear, 'Jimmy' Doolittle wanted to fly in all kinds of weather
conditions. He thought about and considered how to fly in cloudy, rainy
or foggy weather and he also thought about flying at night. This brought
him to testing navigational instruments including a highly accurate altimeter
and a directional gyro, which replaces the often-inefficient compass. Doolittle
also tested an artificial horizon. All these instruments were added
to an audible radio signal that indicated the end of the runway. After
the experimenting and testing, he climbed into the rear cockpit of a biplane
on September 24, 1929 and he sealed himself under a canvas hood that gave
the sensation and feel of darkness, fog, etc. Using only instruments,
Doolittle flew a 15-mile loop before picking up the radio beacon and 'descended
to the runway in a perfect landing. It was the first flight-takeoff,
cruising and landing by reference to the instruments alone. Airliners
almost immediately adopted the same techniques for instrument flying.
HARRY
and ALICE DESKO - The Deskos have been busy preserving the story and history
of NAA-K and the B-25 Mitchell Bomber. They have done verbal and visual
presentations with their photo display and their B-25 model (with its six
foot wingspan) at the KCKs Community College for a history class; for the
Leavenworth Road Assn. Meeting; the annual NAA-K B-25 Bomber Builders reunion;
for the Butler Mfg. Co. Retirees; and classes at the Truman Library in Independence,
Missouri. They are the publishers and editors of the NAA-K B-25 Newsletter.
NAA-K
B-25 Newsletter
3024 N. 47th Street
Kansas City, KS 66104-2442
(913) 287-7223
The picture directly
below is from a photocopy of a picture. We hope the quality will be
good enough for you to get a clear picture.
The first B-25D-1 from NAA Kansas Plant
Completed Dec. 23, 1941
#41-29648
First Flight Jan 3., 1942 - Pilot: Paul Balfour
(N. L. Avery Collection)
Between
December 1941, and August 1945, over 50,000 employees built 6,608 B-25 bombers
in the Fairfax District. The B-25 Mitchell, the only military aircraft named
for a person (General William "Billy" Mitchell), gained
world-wide notoriety when 16 B-25s were launched from the aircraft carrier
USS Hornet on a secret raid over Tokyo and other Japanese cities on April 18,
1942. The mission, though of limited military value, proved a big morale boost
for the U.S.A.
Though
the 80 fliers who took part in the raid on Tokyo were among the nation's
first World War II heroes, the planes they flew were just as popular. The
B-25 Mitchell medium bomber, built by North American Aviation, flew in every
theater of the war and was as potent as it was versatile. Nearly 10,000 B-25s
were built between 1939 and 1945, with the majority of them rolling out of
North American's Fairfax plant in Kansas City, Kansas. Between December 1941
and August 1945, more than 50,000 employees built 6,608 B-25 bombers at the
Fairfax plant, making it one of the region's main contributors to the war
effort. According to this KMBC public
service announcement from July 1944,
the Fairfax plant needs more workers to help build B-25 bombers. After
the war, plant became GM's Buick-Oldsmobile assembly plant.
BREAKTHROUGH"
- In the very early days of aviation when flying was very risky except when
the weather was clear, 'Jimmy' Doolittle wanted to fly in all kinds of weather
conditions. He thought about and considered how to fly in cloudy, rainy
or foggy weather and he also thought about flying at night. This brought
him to testing navigational instruments including a highly accurate altimeter
and a directional gyro, which replaces the often-inefficient compass. Doolittle
also tested an artificial horizon. All these instruments were added
to an audible radio signal that indicated the end of the runway. After
the experimenting and testing, he climbed into the rear cockpit of a biplane
on September 24, 1929 and he sealed himself under a canvas hood that gave
the sensation and feel of darkness, fog, etc. Using only instruments,
Doolittle flew a 15-mile loop before picking up the radio beacon and 'descended
to the runway in a perfect landing. It was the first flight-takeoff,
cruising and landing by reference to the instruments alone. Airliners
almost immediately adopted the same techniques for instrument flying.
