text:
Talk:Brian De Palma

Untitled
What happened to AMBROSE CHAPEL? That would have been a logical choice for De Palma to have made into a movie. It would have restored De Palma to critical and box-office glory after his most popular film MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE, if not one of his most disappointing films from an appalling script with so many plot-holes. Such skilled direction by De Palma with MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE would have made a definitive film out of AMBROSE CHAPEL if all the elements of production came together! AMBROSE CHAPEL and THE DEMOLISHED MAN are the two films I've always wanted to see De Palma direct. I hope THE DEMOLISHED MAN and AMBROSE CHAPEL have not been lost forever. With the sucess of INCEPTION one would think these two films were no-brainers for someone like De Palma. AMBROSE CHAPEL and THE DEMOLISHED MAN would have been more successful then MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE at the world-wide box-office instead De Palma is to direct a french remake of female corporate murder that doesn't sound so promosing. I hate the people in the Hollywood studio system who decide what gets made and not and who directs. AMBROSE CHAPEL and THE DEMOLISHED MAN should get green-lit immediatly. Hopefully with De Palma, Oliver Stone or Christopher Nolan!!!!!HARRY GEORGATOS

Untitled
HARRY GEORGATOS:Doesn't De Palma have final cut in his movies? According to a website Hollywood bigwigs treat De Palma with contempt. His films have generated little box-office buisness with only a small handful making respectable takings. MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE and THE UNTOUCHABLES have been his most successful. SNAKE EYES and MISSION TO MARS did some minor buisness. SNAKE EYES and MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE seem like severely compromised films. MISSION needed more real sweat and violence. The scene where Ethan has the black hood removed to finally meet Max was building to an explosive piece of gun violence. When there was no extensive gun battle it seemed like the film was desperatly missing something. The way Max Von Sydow CIA assassin crew eliminated Robert Redfords bookworms in THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR was a scene that should have been applied at that moment in MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE. SNAKE EYES would have to have the worse ending in Hollywood history! There was an extensive CGI set-piece removed from the film by the brutal force of the studio to that appalling ending. De Palma had a more violent version with a higher sex quotient in his original cut. The studio forced him to change the film and thus damage the movie. It's like telling Scorsese, Spielberg or the Coen brothers to water down the violence in films like THE DEPARTED, MUNICH or NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. If anyone has a bootleg director's copy of De Palma's original cut of SNAKE EYES contact me harry.georgatos@yahoo.com.au, and will pay good money! Organic violence is what one expects in a De Palma film. SNAKE EYES and MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE should have been a volatile cocktail of secret spy violence. Tarantino's INGLORIOUS BASTERDS was a violent piece of mayhem and has become Tarantino's most successful film alongside PULP FICTION. Why shouldn't De Palma be given the same freedom then some compromised film as a result of market research test screenings which have destroyed so many films in Hollywood. De Palma has been unable to make a great film since CARLITO'S WAY. FEMME FATALE was brilliantly directed with appalling performances from the two leads. De Palma's great films started with SISTERS, OBSESSION, CARRIE, THE FURY, DRESSED TO KILL, BLOW OUT, SCARFACE, THE UNTOUCHABLES, CASUALTIES OF WAR and his last great film CARLITO'S WAY. De Palma's other films have failed to excite as those previous films. I would desperately love to see De Palma's original cut of SNAKE EYES on Blu-Ray. HARRY GEORGATOS. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.120.16.131 (talk) 02:26, 29 November 2009 (UTC)

Bio
HARRY GEORGATOS: De Palma's career comes in phases. His early life was part of the counterculture, experimental period MURDER A LA MOD and DIONYSUS AT '69. With SISTERS he experimented with his idol Hitchcock. GET TO KNOW YOUR RABBIT went back to anti-establishment period of his counterculture films as an executive gives up his high-paying job to become a Magician. Apparently De Palma has disowned the film. PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE is a comic book satire illustrating the venality of the music industry. At the time it was a cult-classic but films such as Alan Parker's PINK FLOYD THE WALL in my opinion is such a complex 2 hour music video clip that demonstrates the self-destructive and nihilist flavour of the music industry that PHANTOM becomes irrelevant. My favourite era of De Palma films started with OBSESSION, CARRIE, his first masterpiece in my opinion THE FURY(a sci-fi spy chiller that had me mesmerised). Then came DRESSED TO KILL, and his other masterpiece BLOW OUT, followed by the trash masterpiece SCARFACE and BODY DOUBLE. Then came one of his most commercial films in THE UNTOUCHABLES. This being a studio picture it is still a vintage De Palma film with thrilling set-pieces put together by a master of cinema. CASUALTIES OF WAR is De Palma's most personal film. It is also some of the most gutwrenching scenes to come out of a mainstream studio. It failed at the box-office because of the nature of it's subject matter. REDACTED too met the same fate. Americans simply don't want to be confronted with such ugly subject matter. WISE GUYS was not the De Palma I was expecting but a formulaic studio comedy that fell flat. RAISING CAIN had a spellbinding first half. THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES was a slick piece of filmmaking but not a typical De Palma film. This was the type of material Kubrick should have done with William Hurt playing the master of the universe. CARLITO'S WAY was more a reflective gangster film then SCARFACE'S inflammotory nature. In CARLITO'S WAY Al Pacino is released from prison on a technicality to only find himself in a bigger prison, New York City. There are forces in the city that won't let Carlito start a new life and draw him back into a life of crime. Once out of prison Carlito cannot see the angles, and this leads to his demise at Grand Central station. CARLITO'S WAY has a stunning climax set-piece as Carlito escapes his nightclub, chased by the gangsters on a night train to Grand Central Station for an edge of your seat shoot-out. Still the set-pieces in this film are vintage De Palma. The premise to MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE just doesn't ring true. CIA would not implicate Ethan as the assassin and mole without recovering all the dead bodies first. The only 2 bodies not recovered were that of JIM and CLAIRE. Unless Jim's body was on a morgue slab Ethan would not be implicated. That's a huge question mark hanging over the films credibility. The IMF sting operation was extremely boring. The only reason the film works is because of De Palma's direction. He was given a dog of a script and made it more interesting. SNAKE EYES is a terrific film with a terrible ending. MISSION TO MARS is a rescue movie with an embarrassing ending in how life originated from Mars onto Earth. That's it! End of movie! It has some of the worse dialogue I've seen on film. The way I expect astronauts to talk and interact is like THE RIGHT STUFF. The definitive movie on the cavalier attitude of astronauts. De Palma has come good with films such as FEMME FATALE, THE BLACK DAHLIA and the powerful REDACTED. This is a film very similar to CASUALTIES OF WAR but stylisticaly a recall to his early experimental films GREETINGS and it's sequel HI,MOM! I wish De Palma gets to make THE DEMOLISHED MAN. His film technique would make a mindbending film out of this premise. Spielberg made the sci-fi film De Palma never made in MINORITY REPORT. The technique Spielberg uses is straight out of a De Palma film: HARRY GEORGATOS

Lists
The normal way to present lists is with the oldest item first. Also, I think it's more legible to write "year: title" than "title (year)". --Pinkunicorn

I don't think the ordering of the items is so important (but it should not be random!). I looked at a few of the wikipedia director entries, and it seems that the consensus is "title (year)", see Bille August, Wim Wenders. --css

IBM
I'm looking forward to the entry for 660124 The Story of an IBM Card. Sounds gripping. Wikipedia contains spoliers, no?

What windbag wrote this?
It is this tension, at once removed from the superficial elements of the plot or characters, yet intended to elicit emotional responses, that drives De Palma's work; the somewhat notorious reputation he has earned and the critical dismissal De Palma has experienced is a direct result of the distantiation techniques he employs in films that use the methodology of thrillers to engage the audience.

-That was me in 2006. My first experience writing on Wikipedia. My bad. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.28.227.107 (talk) 21:24, 27 April 2014 (UTC)

Sisters
Sisters was tongue-in-cheek? I don't think so.

Well, I saw it yesterday. It is tongue in cheek. :) It looked like a send-up of the genre - everything from the blatant contradictions in the story to that ending. Really funny in a macabre way.

Source
This is a good article to use as a source or to update the article with Mad Jack 18:47, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Bizarre article
The author seems to know a number of biographic details, but shows a quite limited understanding of his films. The attempts at film theory are also questionable. The biggest problem with the article is the Career Beginnings and Highlights section. The problem with this section is that it doesn't actually provide an overview of his career highlights. Blow Out, Dressed to Kill, and Body Double are considered by many to be the core of his filmography, and these are not even mentioned. Blow Out particularly, is considered by many to be the quintessential De Palma film. This section also contains an obvious inaccuracy. Carlito's Way was not controversial for its violence like Scarface, and is not a particularly violent film (for its genre). Similar films made around the same time such as Goodfellas or Reservoir Dogs are considerably more violent.

Wildly unfounded article
This article seems to contain a great deal of unfounded commentary that ignores NPOV - particularly concerning the so-called violent reactions to De Palma's gangster films. The article also substantially glosses over a lot of De Palma's major successes in the 1990s such as The Untouchables and Mission: Impossible, as well as the notorious flop of The Bonfire of the Vanities

I am going to try and tackle this entry over the next week or two. It's a mess. I'm thinking of using Martin Scorsese's entry as my model.
 * The Untouchables was mid-80s. The problem I see with this article is a clear inflation of the director's influence and talent by fans, with virtually no criticism of a filmmaker who has often been accused of ripping off other directors like Hitchcock, has had few (or no) unqualified successes, very few box office successes, many critical flops, and a large comparative number of horrible "Mission to Mars"-like films, compared to the relatively even careers of those who are considered his contemporaries. —Preceding unsigned comment added by A. Swearengen (talk • contribs) 13:59, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

Weird balance
There's an entire section of this article dedicated to Redacted, one of his least-known films, but no sections on Scarface or The Untouchables? --Delirium 01:26, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

 * Redacted wasn't just another film. It's a steep dive over the deep end of political activism, and some would call it a gift to fascism.  A lot of people who loved those others will never watch another DePalma film.  That's a world of difference from The Untouchables.
 * -- Randy2063 (talk) 02:27, 18 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I sure hope your POV stays out of the article. -- Zim Zala Bim talk  02:30, 18 November 2007 (UTC)
 * BTW, I removed that section a few days ago as it was redundant to the existing article on the film. -- Zim Zala Bim talk  02:32, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

 * I'm just explaining why it's notably different than his other films. You may disagree with my side of that view, but you did not say I was wrong.  The NPOV standard means the article itself should be neutral.  It does not mean we should strip out the controversies related to the topic.
 * Someone else will eventually replace that section. Otherwise, it would be like having an article about Jane Fonda without noting her support for anti-American causes.
 * -- 03:02, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

By the way, I'd like to point that the "supposed atrocities" the film talks about are very real and were prosecuted ! There was a trial and it was king of a big deal as is summed here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmudiyah_killings

It is very weird that acknowledged US army horrific behavior is considered a "supposition". It even shocked me actually. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A01:E34:ED05:91A0:A07F:985E:D0AD:8432 (talk) 09:02, 19 June 2012 (UTC)

Re-write?
This article is in pretty bad shape for an important film director, especially in comparison to the articles on some of his contemporaries/peers. It also hasn't changed appreciably in content or structure in the past 5 years, despite several noted criticisms on this page.

I may endeavor to re-do this entry in the coming weeks; I just revamped the article on Blow Out, so I've got a lot of my De Palma materials out. Any objections or thoughts? Jedgeco (talk) 15:24, 16 March 2009 (UTC)

Catholic?
Is he a Catholic now? If not, the cat American Roman Catholics should not be present. Qzm (talk) 02:30, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Science Fair
A remember very well Brian De Palma's prizewinning entry in the Philadelphia-area science fair...1957-58 school year, I believe, the same year I got an honorable mention in the same science fair for a mathematical project. I remember being quite impressed by it. When later Mr. De Palma became famous as a film director, I was really surprised that he hadn't followed a career in electronics/computers where it was clear he had many talents. I appreciate the article having discussed how he changed from a science/engineering orientation to his life in film. Bill Jefferys (talk) 20:15, 19 September 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Criticism Edits
Hey, figured I'd start the thread about the ongoing edits in the Criticism section. Vaselineeeeeeee's concern is about the sources I've cited being unreliable/blogs and the number of paragraphs/length of the quotes being undue for the topic. While the sources are reliable and none are blogs (Film Comment is a magazine published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Lola is an online film journal), I've removed the long block quote about Dressed to Kill, which in retrospect would be more appropriate on the page for the film itself. 2601:1C0:CF00:6D2:59F4:1E72:9711:7C4D (talk) 21:44, 6 September 2020 (UTC)
 * References in this new area were incorrectly formatted, causing a number of errors in the page rendering. I've fixed the problems, though since it seems like the changes might be contentious, I feel like it's important to point out that the fix is just a fix -- it's not an endorsement of the material. -- Mikeblas (talk) 21:00, 8 September 2020 (UTC)

Frequent collaborators
It's been suggested that this section be removed, so what does the community think about this? YouCanDoBetter (talk) 17:54, 10 June 2021 (UTC)

Unsourced information removed
Just a heads up that I deleted unsourced claims in this article per WP:V and WP:OR. Please don't add unsourced information. If there are sources that can support this (including ones already in this article), please do re-add the table, but with proper semantics per MOS:TABLECAPTION, etc. ―Justin ( koavf ) ❤T☮C☺M☯ 01:58, 23 September 2022 (UTC)

 * It seems you re-added this material without adding citations. Did you read WP:V? ―Justin ( koavf ) ❤T☮C☺M☯ 21:48, 24 September 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Brian De Palma


text:
North American B-25 Mitchell

The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II, and after the war ended, many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 B-25s were built, It was the most-produced American medium bomber and the third most-produced American bomber overall. These included several limited models such as the F-10 reconnaissance aircraft, the AT-24 crew trainers, and the United States Marine Corps' PBJ-1 patrol bomber.

Design and development
The US Army Air Corps issued a specification for a medium bomber in March 1939 that was capable of carrying a payload of 2400 lb over 1200 miles at 300 mph North American Aviation (NAA) used its NA-40B design to develop the NA-62, which competed for the medium bomber contract. No YB-25 was available for prototype service tests. In September 1939, the Air Corps ordered the NA-62 into production as the B-25, along with the other new Air Corps medium bomber, the Martin B-26 Marauder "off the drawing board".

Early into B-25 production, NAA incorporated a significant redesign to the wing dihedral. The first nine aircraft had a constant-dihedral, meaning the wing had a consistent, upward angle from the fuselage to the wingtip. This design caused stability problems. "Flattening" the outer wing panels just outboard of the engine nacelles nullified the problem and gave the B-25 its gull wing configuration. Less noticeable changes during this period included an increase in the size of the tail fins and a decrease in their inward tilt at their tops.

NAA continued design and development in 1940 and 1941. Both the B-25A and B-25B series entered USAAF service. The B-25B was operational in 1942. Combat requirements led to further developments. Before the year was over, NAA was producing the B-25C and B-25D series at different plants. Also in 1942, the manufacturer began design work on the cannon-armed B-25G series. The NA-100 of 1943 and 1944 was an interim armament development at the Kansas City complex known as the B-25D2. Similar armament upgrades by U.S-based commercial modification centers involved about half of the B-25G series. Further development led to the B-25H, B-25J, and B-25J2. The gunship design concept dates to late 1942 and NAA sent a field technical representative to the SWPA. The factory-produced B-25G entered production during the NA-96 order followed by the redesigned B-25H gunship. The B-25J reverted to the bomber role, but it, too, could be outfitted as a strafer.

NAA manufactured the greatest number of aircraft in World War II, the first time a company had produced trainers, bombers, and fighters simultaneously (the AT-6/SNJ Texan/Harvard, B-25 Mitchell, and the P-51 Mustang). It produced B-25s at both its Inglewood main plant and an additional 6,608 aircraft at its Kansas City, Kansas, plant at Fairfax Airport.

After the war, the USAF placed a contract for the TB-25L trainer in 1952. This was a modification program by Hayes of Birmingham, Alabama. Its primary role was reciprocating engine pilot training.

A development of the B-25 was the North American XB-28 Dragon, designed as a high-altitude bomber. Two prototypes were built with the second prototype, the XB-28A, evaluated as a photo-reconnaissance platform, but the aircraft did not enter production.

Flight characteristics
The B-25 was a safe and forgiving aircraft to fly. With one engine out, 60° banking turns into the dead engine were possible, and control could be easily maintained down to 145 mph (230 km/h). The pilot had to remember to maintain engine-out directional control at low speeds after takeoff with rudder; if this maneuver were attempted with ailerons, the aircraft could snap out of control. The tricycle landing gear made for excellent visibility while taxiing. The only significant complaint about the B-25 was its extremely noisy engines; as a result, many pilots eventually suffered from some degree of hearing loss.

The high noise level was due to design and space restrictions in the engine cowlings, which resulted in the exhaust "stacks" protruding directly from the cowling ring and partly covered by a small triangular fairing. This arrangement directed exhaust and noise directly at the pilot and crew compartments.

Durability

The Mitchell was exceptionally sturdy and could withstand tremendous punishment. One B-25C of the 321st Bomb Group was nicknamed "Patches" because its crew chief painted all the aircraft's flak hole patches with bright yellow zinc chromate primer. By the end of the war, this aircraft had completed over 300 missions, had been belly-landed six times, and had over 400 patched holes. The airframe of "Patches" was so distorted from battle damage that straight-and-level flight required 8° of left aileron trim and 6° of right rudder, causing the aircraft to "crab" sideways across the sky.

Asia-Pacific
Most B-25s in American service were used in the war against Japan in Asia and the Pacific. The Mitchell fought from the Northern Pacific to the South Pacific and the Far East. These areas included the campaigns in the Aleutian Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, New Britain, China, Burma and the island hopping campaign in the Central Pacific, as well as in the Doolittle Raid. The aircraft's potential as a ground-attack aircraft emerged during the Pacific war. The jungle environment reduced the usefulness of medium-level bombing, and made low-level attack the best tactic. Using similar mast height level tactics and skip bombing, the B-25 proved itself to be a capable anti-shipping weapon and sank many enemy sea vessels. An ever-increasing number of forward firing guns made the B-25 a formidable strafing aircraft for island warfare. The strafer models were the B-25C1/D1, the B-25J1 and with the NAA strafer nose, the J2 subseries.

In Burma, the B-25 was used to attack Japanese communication links, especially bridges in central Burma. It also helped supply the besieged troops at Imphal in 1944. The China Air Task Force, the Chinese American Composite Wing, the First Air Commando Group, the 341st Bomb Group, and eventually, the relocated 12th Bomb Group, all operated the B-25 in the China Burma India Theater. Many of these missions involved battle-field isolation, interdiction, and close air support.

Later in the war, as the USAAF acquired bases in other parts of the Pacific, the Mitchell could strike targets in Indochina, Formosa, and Kyushu, increasing the usefulness of the B-25. It was also used in some of the shortest raids of the Pacific War, striking from Saipan against Guam and Tinian. The 41st Bomb Group used it against Japanese-occupied islands that had been bypassed by the main campaign, such as the Marshall Islands.

Middle East and Italy
The first B-25s arrived in Egypt and were carrying out independent operations by October 1942. Operations there against Axis airfields and motorized vehicle columns supported the ground actions of the Second Battle of El Alamein. Thereafter, the aircraft took part in the rest of the campaign in North Africa, the invasion of Sicily, and the advance up Italy. In the Strait of Messina to the Aegean Sea, the B-25 conducted sea sweeps as part of the coastal air forces. In Italy, the B-25 was used in the ground attack role, concentrating on attacks against road and rail links in Italy, Austria, and the Balkans. The B-25 had a longer range than the Douglas A-20 Havoc and Douglas A-26 Invader, allowing it to reach further into occupied Europe. The five bombardment groups – 20 squadrons – of the Ninth and Twelfth Air Forces that used the B-25 in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations were the only U.S. units to employ the B-25 in Europe.

Europe
The RAF received nearly 900 Mitchells, using them to replace Douglas Bostons, Lockheed Venturas, and Vickers Wellington bombers. The Mitchell entered active RAF service on 22 January 1943. At first, it was used to bomb targets in occupied Europe. After the Normandy invasion, the RAF and France used Mitchells in support of the Allies in Europe. Several squadrons moved to forward airbases on the continent. The USAAF used the B-25 in combat in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.

USAAF

The B-25B found fame as the bomber used in the 18 April 1942 Doolittle Raid, in which 15 B-25Bs led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle attacked mainland Japan, four months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (a 16th plane which participated was forced to abort, landing in Russia, where it and the crew were initially interned). The mission gave a much-needed lift in morale to the Americans and alarmed the Japanese, who had believed their home islands to be inviolable by enemy forces. Although the amount of actual damage done was relatively minor, it forced the Japanese to divert troops for home defense for the remainder of the war.

The raiders took off from the carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) and bombed Tokyo and four other Japanese cities. Fifteen of the bombers subsequently crash-landed en route to recovery fields in eastern China. The losses resulted from the task force being spotted by a Japanese vessel, which forced the bombers to take off 170 mi early, fuel exhaustion, stormy nighttime conditions with zero visibility, and the failure to activate electronic homing aids at the recovery bases. Only one B-25 bomber landed intact, in Vladivostok, where its five-man crew was interned and the aircraft confiscated. Of the 80 aircrew members, 69 survived their historic mission and eventually made it back to American lines. Following additional modifications, including the addition of a Plexiglas dome for navigational sightings to replace the overhead window for the navigator, and heavier nose armament, de-icing and anti-icing equipment, the B-25C entered USAAF operations. Through block 20, the B-25C and B-25D differed only in the location of manufacture: C series at Inglewood, California, and D series at Kansas City, Kansas. After block 20, some NA-96s began the transition to the G series, while some NA-87s acquired interim modifications eventually produced as the B-25D2 and ordered as the NA-100. NAA built a total of 3,915 B-25Cs and Ds during World War II.

Although the B-25 was designed to bomb from medium altitudes in level flight, it was frequently used in the Southwest Pacific theatre in treetop-level strafing and missions with parachute-retarded fragmentation bombs against Japanese airfields in New Guinea and the Philippines. These heavily armed Mitchells were field-modified at Townsville, Australia, under the direction of Major Paul I. "Pappy" Gunn and North American technical representative Jack Fox. These "commerce destroyers" were also used on strafing and skip bombing missions against Japanese shipping trying to resupply their armies.

Under the leadership of Lieutenant General George C. Kenney, Mitchells of the Far East Air Forces and its existing components, the Fifth and Thirteenth Air Forces, devastated Japanese targets in the Southwest Pacific Theater during 1944 to 1945. The USAAF played a significant role in pushing the Japanese back to their home islands. The type operated with great effect in the Central Pacific, Alaska, North Africa, Mediterranean, and China-Burma-India theaters.

The USAAF Antisubmarine Command made great use of the B-25 in 1942 and 1943. Some of the earliest B-25 bomb groups also flew the Mitchell on coastal patrols after the Pearl Harbor attack, prior to the AAFAC organization. Many of the two dozen or so antisubmarine squadrons flew the B-25C, D, and G series in the American Theater antisubmarine campaign, often in the distinctive, white sea-search camouflage.

Use as a gunship
In anti-shipping operations, the USAAF had an urgent need for hard-hitting aircraft, and North American responded with the B-25G. In this series, the transparent nose and bombardier/navigator position was changed for a shorter, hatched nose with two fixed .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and a manually loaded 75 mm (2.95 in) M4 cannon, one of the largest weapons fitted to an aircraft, similar to the British 57 mm gun-armed Mosquito Mk. XVIII and the autoloading German 75 mm long-barrel Bordkanone BK 7,5 heavy-caliber ordnance fitted to both the Henschel Hs 129B-3 and Junkers Ju 88P-1. The B-25G's shorter nose placed the cannon breech behind the pilot, where it could be manually loaded and serviced by the navigator; his crew station was moved to a position just behind the pilot. The navigator signaled the pilot when the gun was ready and the pilot fired the weapon using a button on his control wheel.

The Royal Air Force, U.S. Navy, and Soviet VVS each conducted trials with this series, but none adopted it. The G series comprised one prototype, five preproduction C conversions, 58 C series modifications, and 400 production aircraft for a total of 464 B-25Gs. In its final version, the G-12, an interim armament modification, eliminated the lower Bendix turret and added a starboard dual gun pack, waist guns, and a canopy for the tail gunner to improve the view when firing the single tail gun. In April 1945, the air depots in Hawaii refurbished about two dozen of these and included the eight-gun nose and rocket launchers in the upgrade.

The B-25H series continued the development of the gunship version. NAA Inglewood produced 1000. The H had even more firepower. Most replaced the M4 gun with the lighter T13E1, designed specifically for the aircraft, but 20-odd H-1 block aircraft completed by the Republic Aviation modification center at Evansville had the M4 and two-machine-gun nose armament. The 75 mm (2.95 in) gun fired at a muzzle velocity of 2362 ft/s. Due to its slow rate of fire (about four rounds could be fired in a single strafing run), relative ineffectiveness against ground targets, and the substantial recoil, the 75 mm gun was sometimes removed from both G and H models and replaced with two additional .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns as a field modification. In the new FEAF, these were redesignated the G1 and H1 series, respectively.

The H series normally came from the factory mounting four fixed, forward-firing .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in the nose; four in a pair of under-cockpit conformal flank-mount gun pod packages (two guns per side); two more in the manned dorsal turret, relocated forward to a position just behind the cockpit (which became standard for the J-model); one each in a pair of new waist positions, introduced simultaneously with the forward-relocated dorsal turret; and lastly, a pair of guns in a new tail-gunner's position. Company promotional material bragged that the B-25H could "bring to bear 10 machine guns coming and four going, in addition to the 75 mm cannon, eight rockets, and 3,000 lb (1,360 kg) of bombs."

The H had a modified cockpit with single flight controls operated by the pilot. The co-pilot's station and controls were removed and replaced by a smaller seat used by the navigator/cannoneer, The radio operator crew position was aft of the bomb bay with access to the waist guns. Factory production totals were 405 B-25Gs and 1,000 B-25Hs, with 248 of the latter being used by the Navy as PBJ-1Hs. Elimination of the co-pilot saved weight, and moving the dorsal turret forward partially counterbalanced the waist guns and the manned rear turret.

Return to medium bomber
Following the two-gunship series, NAA again produced the medium bomber configuration with the B-25J series. It optimized the mix of the interim NA-100 and the H series, having both the bombardier's station and fixed guns of the D and the forward turret and refined armament of the H series. NAA also produced a strafer nose-first shipped to air depots as kits, then introduced on the production line in alternating blocks with the bombardier nose. The solid metal "strafer" nose housed eight centerline Browning M2 .50 caliber machine guns. The remainder of the armament was as in the H-5. NAA also supplied kits to mount eight underwing 5 inch High Velocity Airborne Rockets just outside the propeller arcs. These were mounted on zero-length launch rails, four per wing. The final, and most numerous, series of the Mitchell, the B-25J, looked less like earlier series apart from the well-glazed bombardier's nose of nearly identical appearance to the earliest B-25 subtypes. Instead, the J followed the overall configuration of the H series from the cockpit aft. It had the forward dorsal turret and other armament and airframe advancements. All J models included four .50 in (12.7 mm) light-barrel Browning AN/M2 guns in a pair of "fuselage packages", conformal gun pods each flanking the lower cockpit, each pod containing two Browning M2s. By 1945, however, combat squadrons removed these. The J series restored the co-pilot's seat and dual flight controls. The factory-made kits available to the Air Depot system to create the strafer-nose B-25J-2. This configuration carried a total of 18 .50 in (12.7 mm) light-barrel AN/M2 Browning M2 machine guns: eight in the nose, four in the flank-mount conformal gun pod packages, two in the dorsal turret, one each in the pair of waist positions, and a pair in the tail – with 14 of the guns either aimed directly forward or aimed to fire directly forward for strafing missions. Some aircraft had eight 5-inch (130 mm) high-velocity aircraft rockets. NAA introduced the J-2 into production in alternating blocks at the J-22. Total J series production was 4,318.

Postwar (USAF) use
In 1947, legislation created an independent United States Air Force and by that time, the B-25 inventory numbered only a few hundred. Some B-25s continued in service into the 1950s in training, reconnaissance, and support roles. The principal use during this period was undergraduate training of multiengine aircraft pilots slated for reciprocating engine or turboprop cargo, aerial refueling, or reconnaissance aircraft. Others were assigned to units of the Air National Guard in training roles in support of Northrop F-89 Scorpion and Lockheed F-94 Starfire operations.

During its USAF tenure, many B-25s received the so-called "Hayes modification" and as a result, surviving B-25s often have exhaust systems with a semi collector ring that splits emissions into two different systems. The upper seven cylinders are collected by a ring, while the other cylinders remain directed to individual ports.

TB-25J-25-NC Mitchell, 44-30854, the last B-25 in the USAF inventory, assigned at March AFB, California, as of March 1960, was flown to Eglin AFB, Florida, from Turner Air Force Base, Georgia, on 21 May 1960, the last flight by a USAF B-25. It was presented by Brigadier General A. J. Russell, Commander of SAC's 822d Air Division at Turner AFB, to the Air Proving Ground Center Commander, Brigadier General Robert H. Warren. He in turn presented the bomber to Valparaiso, Florida, Mayor Randall Roberts on behalf of the Niceville-Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce. Four of the original Tokyo Raiders were present for the ceremony, Colonel (later Major General) David Jones, Colonel Jack Simms, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Manske, and retired Master Sergeant Edwin W. Horton. It was donated back to the Air Force Armament Museum c. 1974 and marked as Doolittle's 40-2344.

U.S. Navy and USMC

The U.S. Navy designation for the Mitchell was the PBJ-1 and apart from increased use of radar, it was configured like its Army Air Forces counterparts. Under the pre-1962 USN/USMC/USCG aircraft designation system, PBJ-1 stood for Patrol (P) Bomber (B) built by North American Aviation (J), first variant (-1) under the existing American naval aircraft designation system of the era. The PBJ had its origin in an inter-service agreement of mid-1942 between the Navy and the USAAF exchanging the Boeing Renton plant for the Kansas plant for B-29 Superfortress production. The Boeing XPBB Sea Ranger flying boat, competing for B-29 engines, was cancelled in exchange for part of the Kansas City Mitchell production. Other terms included the interservice transfer of 50 B-25Cs and 152 B-25Ds to the Navy. The bombers carried Navy bureau numbers (BuNos), beginning with BuNo 34998. The first PBJ-1 arrived in February 1943, and nearly all reached Marine Corps squadrons, beginning with Marine Bombing Squadron 413 (VMB-413). Following the AAFAC format, the Marine Mitchells had search radar in a retractable radome replacing the remotely operated ventral turret. Later D and J series had nose-mounted APS-3 radar; and later still, J and H series mounted radar in the starboard wingtip. The large quantities of B-25H and J series became known as PBJ-1H and PBJ-1J, respectively. These aircraft often operated along with earlier PBJ series in Marine squadrons.

The PBJs were operated almost exclusively by the Marine Corps as land-based bombers. The U.S. Marine Corps established Marine bomber squadrons (VMB), beginning with VMB-413, in March 1943 at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. Eight VMB squadrons were flying PBJs by the end of 1943 as the initial Marine medium bombardment group. Four more squadrons were in the process of formation in late 1945, but had not yet deployed by the time the war ended.

Operations of the Marine Corps PBJ-1s began in March 1944. The Marine PBJs flew from the Philippines, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa during the last few months of the Pacific war. Their primary mission was the long-range interdiction of enemy shipping trying to run the blockade, which was strangling Japan. The weapon of choice during these missions was usually the five-inch HVAR rocket, eight of which could be carried. Some VMB-612 intruder PBJ-1D and J series planes flew without top turrets to save weight and increase range on night patrols, especially towards the end of the war when air superiority had been achieved.

During the war, the Navy tested the cannon-armed G series and conducted carrier trials with an H equipped with arresting gear. After World War II, some PBJs stationed at the Navy's rocket laboratory in Inyokern, California, site of the present-day Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, tested air-to-ground rockets and arrangements. One arrangement was a twin-barrel nose that could fire 10 spin-stabilized five-inch rockets in one salvo.

Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) was an early customer for the B-25 via Lend-Lease. The first Mitchells were given the service name Mitchell I by the RAF and were delivered in August 1941, to No. 111 Operational Training Unit based in the Bahamas. These bombers were used exclusively for training and familiarization and never became operational. The B-25Cs and Ds were designated Mitchell II. Altogether, 167 B-25Cs and 371 B-25Ds were delivered to the RAF. The RAF tested the cannon-armed G series but did not adopt the series nor the follow-on H series.

By the end of 1942, the RAF had taken delivery of 93 Mitchells, marks I and II. Some served with squadrons of No. 2 Group RAF, the RAF's tactical medium-bomber force, including No. 139 Wing RAF at RAF Dunsfold. The first RAF operation with the Mitchell II took place on 22 January 1943, when six aircraft from No. 180 Squadron RAF attacked oil installations at Ghent. After the invasion of Europe (by which point 2 Group was part of Second Tactical Air Force), all four Mitchell squadrons moved to bases in France and Belgium (Melsbroek) to support Allied ground forces. The British Mitchell squadrons were joined by No. 342 (Lorraine) Squadron of the French Air Force in April 1945.

As part of its move from Bomber Command, No 305 (Polish) Squadron flew Mitchell IIs from September to December 1943 before converting to the de Havilland Mosquito. In addition to No. 2 Group, the B-25 was used by various second-line RAF units in the UK and abroad. In the Far East, No. 3 PRU, which consisted of Nos. 681 and 684 Squadrons, flew the Mitchell (primarily Mk IIs) on photographic reconnaissance sorties.

Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) used the B-25 Mitchell for training during the war. Postwar use continued operations with most of the 162 Mitchells received. The first B-25s had been diverted to Canada from RAF orders. These included one Mitchell I, 42 Mitchell IIs, and 19 Mitchell IIIs. No 13 (P) Squadron was formed unofficially at RCAF Rockcliffe in May 1944 and used Mitchell IIs on high-altitude aerial photography sorties. No. 5 Operational Training Unit at Boundary Bay, British Columbia and Abbotsford, British Columbia, operated the B-25D Mitchell in the training role together with B-24 Liberators for Heavy Conversion as part of the BCATP. The RCAF retained the Mitchell until October 1963.

No 418 (Auxiliary) Squadron received its first Mitchell IIs in January 1947. It was followed by No 406 (auxiliary), which flew Mitchell IIs and IIIs from April 1947 to June 1958. No 418 operated a mix of IIs and IIIs until March 1958. No 12 Squadron of Air Transport Command also flew Mitchell IIIs along with other types from September 1956 to November 1960. In 1951, the RCAF received an additional 75 B-25Js from USAF stocks to make up for attrition and to equip various second-line units.

Royal Australian Air Force
The Australians received Mitchells by the spring of 1944. The joint Australian-Dutch No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF had more than enough Mitchells for one squadron, so the surplus went to re-equip the RAAF's No. 2 Squadron, replacing their Beauforts.

Dutch Air Force
During World War II, the Mitchell served in fairly large numbers with the Air Force of the Dutch government-in-exile. They participated in combat in the East Indies, as well as on the European front. On 30 June 1941, the Netherlands Purchasing Commission, acting on behalf of the Dutch government-in-exile in London, signed a contract with North American Aviation for 162 B-25C aircraft. The bombers were to be delivered to the Netherlands East Indies to help deter any Japanese aggression into the region.

In February 1942, the British Overseas Airways Corporation agreed to ferry 20 Dutch B-25s from Florida to Australia travelling via Africa and India, and an additional 10 via the South Pacific route from California. During March, five of the bombers on the Dutch order had reached Bangalore, India, and 12 had reached Archerfield in Australia. The B-25s in Australia were used as the nucleus of a new squadron, No. 18. This squadron was staffed jointly by Australian and Dutch aircrews plus a smattering of aircrews from other nations and operated under Royal Australian Air Force command for the remainder of the war.

The B-25s of No. 18 Squadron were painted with the Dutch national insignia (at that time a rectangular Netherlands flag) and carried NEIAF serials. Discounting the ten "temporary" B-25s delivered to 18 Squadron in early 1942, a total of 150 Mitchells were taken on strength by the NEIAF, 19 in 1942, 16 in 1943, 87 in 1944, and 28 in 1945. They flew bombing raids against Japanese targets in the East Indies. In 1944, the more capable B-25J Mitchells replaced most of the earlier C and D models.

In June 1940, No. 320 (Netherlands) Squadron RAF had been formed from personnel formerly serving with the Royal Dutch Naval Air Service, who had escaped to England after the German occupation of the Netherlands. Equipped with various British aircraft, No. 320 Squadron flew antisubmarine patrols, convoy escort missions, and performed air-sea rescue duties. They acquired the Mitchell II in September 1943, performing operations over Europe against gun emplacements, railway yards, bridges, troops, and other tactical targets. They moved to Belgium in October 1944, and transitioned to the Mitchell III in 1945. No. 320 Squadron was disbanded in August 1945. Following the war, B-25s were used by Dutch forces during the Indonesian National Revolution.

Soviet Air Force
The USSR received 862 B-25s (B, C, D, G, and J types) from the United States under Lend-Lease during World War II via the Alaska–Siberia ALSIB ferry route. A total of 870 B-25s were sent to the Soviets, meaning that 8 aircraft were lost during transportation.

Other damaged B-25s arrived or crashed in the Far East of Russia, and one Doolittle Raid aircraft landed there short of fuel after attacking Japan. This lone airworthy Doolittle Raid aircraft to reach the Soviet Union was lost in a hangar fire in the early 1950s while undergoing routine maintenance. In general, the B-25 was operated as a ground-support and tactical day bomber (as similar Douglas A-20 Havocs were used). It saw action in fights from Stalingrad (with B/C/D models) to the German surrender during May 1945 (with G/J types).

The B-25s that remained in Soviet Air Force service after the war were assigned the NATO reporting name "Bank".

China
Well over 100 B-25Cs and Ds were supplied to the Nationalist Chinese during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In addition, a total of 131 B-25Js were supplied to China under Lend-Lease.

The four squadrons of the 1st BG (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th) of the 1st Medium Bomber Group were formed during the war. They formerly operated Russian-built Tupolev SB bombers, then transferred to the B-25. The 1st BG was under the command of Chinese-American Composite Wing while operating B-25s. Following the end of the war in the Pacific, these four bombardment squadrons were established to fight against the Communist insurgency that was rapidly spreading throughout the country. During the Chinese Civil War, Chinese Mitchells fought alongside de Havilland Mosquitos.

In December 1948, the Nationalists were forced to retreat to the island of Taiwan, taking many of their Mitchells with them. However, some B-25s were left behind and were pressed into service with the air force of the new People's Republic of China.

Brazilian Air Force

During the war, the Força Aérea Brasileira received a few B-25s under Lend-Lease. Brazil declared war against the Axis powers in August 1942 and participated in the war against the U-boats in the southern Atlantic. The last Brazilian B-25 was finally declared surplus in 1970.

Free French
The Royal Air Force issued at least 21 Mitchell IIIs to No 342 Squadron, which was made up primarily of Free French aircrews. Following the liberation of France, this squadron transferred to the newly formed French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) as GB I/20 Lorraine. The aircraft continued in operation after the war, with some being converted into fast VIP transports. They were struck off charge in June 1947.

Biafra
In October 1967, during the Nigerian Civil War, Biafra bought two Mitchells. After a few bombings in November, they were put out of action in December.

Variants

 * B-25
 * The initial production version of B-25s, they were powered by 1350 hp R-2600-9 engines. and carried up to 3,600 lb (1,600 kg) of bombs and defensive armament of three .30 machine guns in nose, waist, and ventral positions, with one .50 machine gun in the tail. The first nine aircraft were built with constant dihedral angle. Due to low stability, the wing was redesigned so that the dihedral was eliminated on the outboard section (number made: 24).

 * B-25A
 * This version of the B-25 was modified to make it combat ready; additions included self-sealing fuel tanks, crew armor, and an improved tail-gunner station. No changes were made in the armament. It was redesignated obsolete (RB-25A) in 1942 (number made: 40).

 * B-25B
 * The tail and gun position were removed and replaced by a manned dorsal turret on the rear fuselage and retractable, remotely operated ventral turret, each with a pair of .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns. A total of 120 were built (this version was used in the Doolittle Raid). A total of 23 were supplied to the Royal Air Force as the Mitchell Mk I.

 * B-25C
 * An improved version of the B-25B, its powerplants were upgraded from Wright R-2600-9 radials to R-2600-13s; de-icing and anti-icing equipment were added; the navigator received a sighting blister; and nose armament was increased to two .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, one fixed and one flexible. The B-25C model was the first mass-produced B-25 version; it was also used in the United Kingdom (as the Mitchell Mk II), in Canada, China, the Netherlands, and the Soviet Union (number made: 1,625).

 * ZB-25C
 * B-25D
 * Through block 20, the series was near identical to the B-25C. The series designation differed in that the B-25D was made in Kansas City, Kansas, whereas the B-25C was made in Inglewood, California. Later blocks with interim armament upgrades, the D2s, first flew on 3 January 1942 (number made: 2,290).

 * F-10
 * The F-10 designation distinguished 45 B-25Ds modified for photographic reconnaissance. All armament, armor, and bombing equipment were stripped. Three K.17 cameras were installed, one pointing down and two more mounted at oblique angles within blisters on each side of the nose. Optionally, a second downward-pointing camera could also be installed in the aft fuselage. Although designed for combat operations, these aircraft were mainly used for ground mapping.

 * B-25D weather reconnaissance variant
 * In 1944, four B-25Ds were converted for weather reconnaissance. One later user was the 53d Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, originally called the Army Hurricane Reconnaissance Unit, now called the "Hurricane Hunters". Weather reconnaissance first started in 1943 with the 1st Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, with flights on the North Atlantic ferry routes.

 * ZB-25D
 * XB-25E
 * A single B-25C was modified to test de-icing and anti-icing equipment that circulated exhaust from the engines in chambers in the leading and trailing edges and empennage. The aircraft was tested for almost two years, beginning in 1942; while the system proved extremely effective, no production models were built that used it before the end of World War II. Many surviving warbird-flown B-25 aircraft today use the de-icing system from the XB-25E (number made: 1, converted).

 * ZXB-25E
 * XB-25F-A
 * A modified B-25C, it used insulated electrical coils mounted inside the wing and empennage leading edges to test the effectiveness as a de-icing system. The hot air de-icing system tested on the XB-25E was determined to be the more practical of the two (number made: 1, converted).

 * XB-25G
 * This modified B-25C had the transparent nose replaced to create a short-nosed gunship carrying two fixed .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and a 75 mm (2.95 in) M4 cannon, then the largest weapon ever carried on an American bomber (number made: 1, converted).

 * B-25G
 * The B-25G followed the success of the prototype XB-25G and production was a continuation of the NA96. The production model featured increased armor and a greater fuel supply than the XB-25G. One B-25G was passed to the British, who gave it the name Mitchell II that had been used for the B-25C. The USSR also tested the G (number made: 463; five converted Cs, 58 modified Cs, 400 production).

 * B-25H
 * An improved version of the B-25G, this version relocated the manned dorsal turret to a more forward location on the fuselage just aft of the flight deck. It also featured two additional fixed .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in the nose and in the H-5 onward, four in fuselage-mounted pods. The T13E1 light weight cannon replaced the heavy M4 cannon 75 mm (2.95 in). Single controls were installed from the factory with navigator in the right seat (number made: 1000; two airworthy ).

 * B-25J-NC
 * Follow-on production at Kansas City, the B-25J could be called a cross between the B-25D and the B-25H. It had a transparent nose, but many of the delivered aircraft were modified to have a strafer nose (J2). Most of its 14–18 machine guns were forward-facing for strafing missions, including the two guns of the forward-located dorsal turret. The RAF received 316 aircraft, which were known as the Mitchell III. The J series was the last factory series production of the B-25 (number made: 4,318).

 * CB-25J
 * Utility transport version

 * VB-25J
 * A number of B-25s were converted for use as staff and VIP transports. Henry H. Arnold and Dwight D. Eisenhower both used converted B-25Js as their personal transports. The last VB-25J in active service was retired in May 1960 at the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

Trainer variants
Most models of the B-25 were used at some point as training aircraft.
 * TB-25D
 * Originally designated AT-24A (Advanced Trainer, Model 24, Version A), trainer modification of B-25D often with the dorsal turret omitted, in total, 60 AT-24s were built.

 * TB-25G
 * Originally designated AT-24B, trainer modification of B-25G

 * TB-25C
 * Originally designated AT-24C, trainer modification of B-25C

 * TB-25J
 * Originally designated AT-24D, trainer modification of B-25J, another 600 B-25Js were modified after the war.

 * TB-25K
 * Hughes E1 fire-control radar trainer (Hughes) (number made: 117)

 * TB-25L
 * Hayes pilot-trainer conversion (number made: 90)

 * TB-25M
 * Hughes E5 fire-control radar trainer (number made: 40)

 * TB-25N
 * Hayes navigator-trainer conversion (number made: 47)

U.S. Navy / U.S. Marine Corps variants

 * PBJ-1C
 * Similar to the B-25C for the U.S. Navy, it was often fitted with airborne search radar and used in the antisubmarine role.

 * PBJ-1D
 * Similar to the B-25D for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, it differed in having a single .50 in (12.7 mm) machine gun in the tail turret and waist gun positions similar to the B-25H. Often it was fitted with airborne search radar and used in the antisubmarine role.

 * PBJ-1G
 * U.S. Navy/U.S. Marine Corps designation for the B-25G, trials only

 * PBJ-1H
 * U.S. Navy/U.S. Marine Corps designation for the B-25H
 * One PBJ-1H was modified with carrier takeoff and landing equipment and successfully tested on the USS Shangri-La, but the Navy did not continue development.

 * PBJ-1J
 * U.S. Navy designation for the B-25J (Blocks −1 through −35), it had improvements in radio and other equipment. Beside the standard armament package, the Marines often fitted it with 5-inch underwing rockets and search radar for the antishipping/antisubmarine role. The large Tiny Tim rocket-powered warhead was used in 1945.

Operators

 * An ex-USAAF TB-25N (s/n 44-31173) was acquired in June 1961 and registered locally as LV-GXH, it was privately operated as a smuggling aircraft. It was confiscated by provincial authorities in 1971 and handed over to Empresa Provincial de Aviacion Civil de San Juan, which operated it until its retirement due to a double engine failure in 1976. Currently, it is under restoration to airworthiness.
 * An ex-USAAF TB-25N (s/n 44-31173) was acquired in June 1961 and registered locally as LV-GXH, it was privately operated as a smuggling aircraft. It was confiscated by provincial authorities in 1971 and handed over to Empresa Provincial de Aviacion Civil de San Juan, which operated it until its retirement due to a double engine failure in 1976. Currently, it is under restoration to airworthiness.
 * Royal Australian Air Force – 50 aircraft, including three joint units with Military Aviation – Royal Dutch East Indies Army (ML-KNIL):
 * No. 2 Squadron RAAF;
 * No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF;
 * No. 19 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF and;
 * No. 119 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF.
 * Biafra
 * Biafran Air Force operated two aircraft.
 * Bolivian Air Force operated 13 aircraft
 * Brazilian Air Force operated 75 aircraft, including B-25B, B-25C, and B-25J.
 * 🇨🇦 Canada
 * Royal Canadian Air Force operated 164 aircraft in bomber, light transport, trainer, and "special" mission roles.
 * No. 13 (P) Squadron Mitchell II at RCAF Station Rockcliffe
 * No. 406 Auxiliary Squadron Mitchell III
 * Republic of China Air Force operated more than 180 aircraft.
 * People's Liberation Army Air Force operated captured Nationalist Chinese aircraft.
 * Chilean Air Force operated 12 aircraft.
 * Colombian Air Force operated three aircraft.
 * Cuban Army Air Force operated six aircraft.
 * Fuerza Aérea del Ejército de Cuba
 * Cuerpo de Aviación del Ejército de Cuba
 * Dominican Air Force operated five aircraft.
 * French Air Force operated 11 aircraft.
 * Free French Air Force operated 18 aircraft.
 * Indonesian Air Force – in 1950, received some B-25 Mitchells previously operated by the Military Aviation – Royal Dutch East Indies Army (ML-KNIL). The last of these served the Indonesian military until 1979.
 * Mexican Air Force received three B-25Js in December 1945, which remained in use until at least 1950.
 * Eight Mexican civil registrations were allocated to B-25s, including one aircraft registered to the Bank of Mexico, but used by the President of Mexico.
 * Dominican Air Force operated five aircraft.
 * French Air Force operated 11 aircraft.
 * Free French Air Force operated 18 aircraft.
 * Indonesian Air Force – in 1950, received some B-25 Mitchells previously operated by the Military Aviation – Royal Dutch East Indies Army (ML-KNIL). The last of these served the Indonesian military until 1979.
 * Mexican Air Force received three B-25Js in December 1945, which remained in use until at least 1950.
 * Eight Mexican civil registrations were allocated to B-25s, including one aircraft registered to the Bank of Mexico, but used by the President of Mexico.
 * Indonesian Air Force – in 1950, received some B-25 Mitchells previously operated by the Military Aviation – Royal Dutch East Indies Army (ML-KNIL). The last of these served the Indonesian military until 1979.
 * Mexican Air Force received three B-25Js in December 1945, which remained in use until at least 1950.
 * Eight Mexican civil registrations were allocated to B-25s, including one aircraft registered to the Bank of Mexico, but used by the President of Mexico.
 * Eight Mexican civil registrations were allocated to B-25s, including one aircraft registered to the Bank of Mexico, but used by the President of Mexico.

 * Military Aviation – Royal Dutch East Indies Army (ML-KNIL; 1942–1950): 149 aircraft (initially in three joint units with the Royal Australian Air Force) during World War II and the Indonesian War of Independence:
 * No. 18 Squadron (NEI) RAAF/18 Squadron ML-KNIL (1942–1950) – bomber
 * No. 119 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF (1943–1943) – bomber
 * No. 19 Squadron (NEI) RAAF/19 Squadron ML-KNIL (1944–1948) – transport
 * 16 Squadron ML-KNIL (1946–1948) – ground attack
 * 20 Squadron ML-KNIL (1946–1950) – transport
 * Naval Aviation Service (MLD) – 107 aircraft; initially in a joint unit with the UK Royal Air Force:
 * No. 320 (Netherlands) Squadron RAF (1942–1946)
 * Peruvian Air Force received eight B-25Js in 1947, which formed Bomber Squadron N° 21 at Talara.
 * Polish Air Forces on exile in Great Britain
 * No. 305 Polish Bomber Squadron
 * 🇪🇸 Spain
 * Spanish Air Force operated one ex-USAAF example interned in 1944 and operated between 1948 and 1956.
 * Soviet Air Force (Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily. VVS) received a total of 866 B-25s of the C, D, G*, and J series. * trials only (5).
 * Royal Air Force received just over 700 aircraft.
 * No. 98 Squadron RAF – September 1942 – November 1945 (converted to the Mosquito
 * No. 180 Squadron RAF – September 1942 – September 1945 (converted to the Mosquito)
 * No. 226 Squadron RAF – May 1943 – September 1945 (disbanded)
 * No. 305 Polish Bomber Squadron – September 1943 – December 1943 (converted to the Mosquito)
 * No. 320 (Netherlands) Squadron RAF – March 1943 – August 1945 (transferred to Netherlands)
 * No. 342 (GB I/20 'Lorraine') Squadron RAF – March 1945 – December 1945 (transferred to France)
 * No. 681 Squadron RAF – January 1943 – December 1943 (Mitchell withdrawn)
 * No. 684 Squadron RAF – September 1943 – April 1944 (Replaced by Mosquito)
 * No. 111 Operational Training Unit RAF, Nassau Airport, Bahamas, August 1942 – August 1945 (disbanded)
 * Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm
 * operated 1 aircraft for evaluation
 * United States Army Air Forces
 * see B-25 Mitchell units of the United States Army Air Forces
 * Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm
 * operated 1 aircraft for evaluation
 * United States Army Air Forces
 * see B-25 Mitchell units of the United States Army Air Forces
 * see B-25 Mitchell units of the United States Army Air Forces

 * United States Navy received 706 aircraft, most of which were then transferred to the USMC.
 * United States Marine Corps
 * Uruguayan Air Force operated 15 aircraft.
 * Venezuelan Air Force operated 24 aircraft.
 * Venezuelan Air Force operated 24 aircraft.
 * Venezuelan Air Force operated 24 aircraft.

Empire State Building crash
At 9:40 on 28 July 1945, a USAAF B-25D crashed in thick fog into the north side of the Empire State Building between the 79th and 80th floors. Fourteen people died — 11 in the building and the three occupants of the aircraft, including the pilot, Colonel William F. Smith. Betty Lou Oliver, an elevator attendant, survived the impact and the subsequent fall of the elevator cage 75 stories to the basement.

French general Philippe Leclerc was aboard his North American B-25 Mitchell, Tailly II, when it crashed near Colomb-Béchar in French Algeria on 28 November 1947, killing everyone on board.

Lake Erie skydiving disaster
A bit after 16:00 on 27 August 1967, a converted civilian B-25 mistakenly dropped eighteen skydivers over Lake Erie, four or five nautical miles (7.5–9.3 km) from Huron, Ohio. The air traffic controller had confused the B-25 with a Cessna 180 Skywagon that was trailing it to take photographs, causing the B-25 pilot to think he was over the intended drop site at Ortner Airport. Sixteen of the jumpers drowned, while two were rescued. A National Transportation Safety Board report faulted the pilot, and to a lesser extent the skydivers, for executing a jump when they could not see the ground, and faulted the controller for the misidentification. The United States was subsequently held liable for the controller's negligence.

Surviving aircraft

Many B-25s are currently kept in airworthy condition by air museums and collectors.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: North American B-25 Mitchell


text:
British Open (disambiguation)

The British Open often refers to the Open Championship men's golf tournament.

British Open may also refer to:
 * British Open (ballroom), the dancing competitions of the Blackpool Dance Festival
 * British Open (darts), a darts tournament
 * Women's British Open of golf
 * British Open Show Jumping Championships
 * British Open (snooker), an annual tournament which was originally run from 1980 until 2004 before it was revived in 2021.
 * British Open Squash Championships
 * British Open (tennis) or Wimbledon Championships (informally known as The Championships, Wimbledon)
 * British Open Wheelchair Championships, a wheelchair tennis tournament that Nimrod Bichler has coached some participants of

title: British Open (disambiguation)


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Bobby Charlton

Sir Robert Charlton (11 October 1937 – 21 October 2023) was an English professional footballer who played as an attacking-midfielder, left-winger or centre-forward. Widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the year he also won the Ballon d'Or. He finished second in the Ballon d'Or voting in 1967 and 1968. He played almost all of his club football at Manchester United, where he became renowned for his attacking instincts, passing abilities from midfield, ferocious long-range shooting from both left and right foot, fitness, and stamina. He was cautioned only twice in his career; once against Argentina in the 1966 World Cup, and once in a league match against Chelsea. With success at club and international level, he was one of nine players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the European Cup and the Ballon d'Or. His elder brother Jack, who was also in the World Cup–winning team, was a former defender for Leeds United and also for ten years was the manager of the Republic of Ireland.

Born in Ashington, Northumberland, Charlton made his debut for the Manchester United first-team in 1956, aged 18, and soon gained a regular place in the team, during which time he became a Football League First Division champion in 1957 then survived the Munich air disaster of February 1958 after being rescued by teammate Harry Gregg; Charlton was the last survivor of the plane crash from the club. After helping United to win the FA Cup in 1963 and the Football League in 1965 and 1967, he captained the team that won the European Cup in 1968, scoring two goals in the final to help them become the first English club to win the competition. Charlton left Manchester United to become manager of Preston North End for the 1973–74 season. He changed to player-manager the following season. He next accepted a post as a director with Wigan Athletic, then became a member of Manchester United's board of directors in 1984.

At international level, Charlton was named in the England squad for four World Cups (1958, 1962, 1966, and 1970), though he did not play in the first. At the time of his retirement from the England team in 1970, he was the nation's most capped player, having turned out 106 times at the highest level; Bobby Moore overtook this in 1973. Charlton was the long-time record goalscorer for both Manchester United and England, and United's long-time record appearance maker – his total of 758 matches for United took until 2008 to be beaten, when Ryan Giggs did so in that year's Champions League final. With 249 goals, he was the club's highest all-time goalscorer for more than 40 years, until his record was surpassed by Wayne Rooney in 2017. He is also the third-highest goalscorer for England; his record of 49 goals was beaten in 2015 by Rooney, and again by Harry Kane in 2022.

Early life
Robert Charlton was born on 11 October 1937 in Ashington, Northumberland, England, to coal miner Robert "Bob" Charlton (24 May 1909 – April 1982) and Elizabeth Ellen "Cissie" Charlton (née Milburn; 11 November 1912 – 25 March 1996). He was related to several professional footballers on his mother's side of the family: his uncles were Jack Milburn (Leeds United and Bradford City), George Milburn (Leeds United and Chesterfield), Jim Milburn (Leeds United and Bradford Park Avenue) and Stan Milburn (Chesterfield, Leicester City and Rochdale), and legendary Newcastle United and England footballer Jackie Milburn was his mother's cousin. However, Charlton credited much of the early development of his career to his grandfather Tanner and his mother Cissie. His elder brother, Jack, initially worked as a miner before applying to the police, only to also become a professional footballer with Leeds United.

Club career
On 9 February 1953, then a Bedlington Grammar School pupil, Charlton was spotted playing for East Northumberland schools by Manchester United chief scout Joe Armstrong. Charlton went on to play for England Schoolboys and the 15-year-old signed amateur forms with United on 1 January 1953 along with Wilf McGuinness, also aged 15. Initially his mother was reluctant to let him commit to an insecure football career, so he began an apprenticeship as an electrical engineer; however, he went on to turn professional in October 1954.

Charlton became one of the famed Busby Babes, the collection of talented footballers who emerged through the system at Old Trafford in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s as Matt Busby set about a long-term plan of rebuilding the club after the Second World War. He worked his way through the pecking order of teams, scoring regularly for the youth and reserve sides before he was handed his first team debut against Charlton Athletic in October 1956 where he scored two goals in a game that finished 4–2. At the same time, he was doing his National service with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in Shrewsbury, where Busby had advised him to apply as it meant he could still play for Manchester United at the weekend. Also doing his army service in Shrewsbury at the same time was his United teammate Duncan Edwards.

Charlton played 17 times for United in that first season, scoring twice on his debut and managing a total of 12 goals in all competitions, and including a hat-trick in a 5–1 away win over Charlton Athletic in February. United won the league championship but were denied the 20th century's first "double" when they controversially lost the 1957 FA Cup Final to Aston Villa. Charlton, still only 19, was selected for the game, which saw United goalkeeper Ray Wood carried off with a broken cheekbone after a clash with Villa centre forward Peter McParland. Charlton was a candidate to go in goal to replace Wood (in the days before substitutes, and certainly before goalkeeping substitutes), but it was teammate Jackie Blanchflower who ended up playing in goal.

Charlton was an established player by the time the next season was fully underway, which saw United, as current League champions, become the first English team to compete in the European Cup. Previously, the Football Association had scorned the competition, but United made progress, reaching the semi-finals where they lost to holders Real Madrid. Their reputation was further enhanced the next season in the 1957–58 European Cup as they reached the quarter-finals to play Red Star Belgrade. In the first leg at home, United won 2–1. The return in Yugoslavia saw Charlton score twice as United stormed 3–0 ahead, although the hosts came back to earn a 3–3 draw. However, United maintained their aggregate lead to reach the last four and were in jubilant mood as they left to catch their flight home, thinking of an important League game against Wolves at the weekend.

Munich air disaster
The aeroplane which took the United players and staff home from Zemun Airport needed to stop in Munich to refuel. This was carried out in worsening weather, and by the time the refuelling was complete and the call was made for the passengers to re-board the aircraft, the wintry showers had taken hold and snow had settled heavily on the runway and around the airport. There were two aborted take-offs which led to concern on board, and the passengers were advised by a stewardess to disembark again while a minor technical error was fixed.

The team were back in the airport terminal for barely ten minutes when the call came to reconvene on the plane, and a number of passengers began to feel nervous. Charlton and teammate Dennis Viollet swapped places with Tommy Taylor and David Pegg, who had decided they would be safer at the back of the plane.

The plane clipped the fence at the end of the runway on its next take-off attempt and a wing tore through a nearby house, setting it alight. The wing and part of the tail came off and hit a tree and a wooden hut, the plane spinning along the snow until coming to a halt. It had been cut in half.

Charlton, strapped into his seat, had fallen out of the cabin; when United goalkeeper Harry Gregg (who had somehow got through a hole in the plane unscathed and begun a one-man rescue mission) found him, he thought he was dead. Nevertheless, he grabbed both Charlton and Viollet by their trouser waistbands and dragged them away from the plane, in constant fear that it would explode. Gregg returned to the plane to try to help the appallingly injured Busby and Blanchflower, and when he turned around again, he was relieved to see that Charlton and Viollet, both of whom he had presumed to be dead, had got out of their detached seats and were looking into the wreckage.

Charlton suffered cuts to his head and severe shock, and was in hospital for a week. Seven of his teammates had perished at the scene, including Taylor and Pegg, with whom he and Viollet had swapped seats prior to the fatal take-off attempt. Club captain Roger Byrne was also killed, along with Mark Jones, Billy Whelan, Eddie Colman and Geoff Bent. Duncan Edwards died a fortnight later from the injuries he had sustained. In total, the crash claimed 23 lives. Initially, ice on the wings was blamed, but a later inquiry declared that slush on the runway had made a safe take-off almost impossible.

Of the 44 passengers and crew (including the 17-strong Manchester United squad), 23 people (eight of them Manchester United players) died as a result of their injuries in the crash. Charlton survived with minor injuries. Of the eight other players who survived, two of them were injured so badly that they never played again.

Charlton was the first injured survivor to leave hospital. Harry Gregg and Bill Foulkes were not hospitalised, for they escaped uninjured. He arrived back in England on 14 February 1958, eight days after the crash. As he convalesced with family in Ashington, he spent some time kicking a ball around with local youths, and a famous photograph of him was taken. He was still only 20 years old, yet now there was an expectation that he would help with the rebuilding of the club as Busby's aides tried to piece together what remained of the season.

Between Harry Gregg's death in 2020 and his own in 2023, Charlton was the last living survivor of the crash.

Resuming his career
Charlton returned to playing in a kickabout with local youths first and then in a practise match on 25 February. He initially said "I felt as slow as an old cart horse" but then his vigour returned and he then said "I feel fine and would like to play in the cup game at West Brom". This was an FA Cup tie against West Bromwich Albion on 1 March; the game was a draw and United won the replay 1–0. Not unexpectedly, United went out of the European Cup to A.C. Milan in the semi-finals to a 5–2 aggregate defeat and fell behind in the League. Yet somehow they reached their second consecutive FA Cup final, and the big day at Wembley coincided with Busby's return to work. However, Nat Lofthouse scored twice to give Bolton Wanderers a 2–0 win.

Further success with Manchester United came at last when they beat Leicester City 3–1 in the FA Cup final of 1963, with Charlton finally earning a winners' medal in his third final. Busby's post-Munich rebuilding programme continued to progress, with two League championships within three seasons, in 1965 and 1967. A successful (though trophyless) season with Manchester United saw him take the honours of Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year and European Footballer of the Year into the competition.

Manchester United reached the 1968 European Cup Final, ten seasons after Munich. Even though other clubs had taken part in the competition in the intervening decade, the team which got to this final was still the first English side to do so. On a highly emotional night at Wembley, Charlton scored twice in a 4–1 win after extra time against Benfica and, as United captain, lifted the trophy.

During the early 1970s, Manchester United were no longer competing among the top teams in England, and at several stages were battling against relegation. At times, Charlton was not on speaking terms with United's other superstars, George Best and Denis Law, and Best refused to play in Charlton's testimonial match against Celtic, saying that "to do so would be hypocritical". Charlton left Manchester United at the end of the 1972–73 season, having scored 249 goals and set a club record of 758 appearances, a record which Ryan Giggs broke in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final.

Charlton's last game for Manchester United was against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 28 April 1973. Chelsea won the match 1–0. Coincidentally, this day also marked his brother Jackie's last appearance as well (for Leeds). Charlton's final goal for the club came a month earlier, on 31 March, in a 2–0 win at Southampton, also in the First Division.

Charlton was the subject of an episode of This Is Your Life in 1969 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at The Sportsman's Club in central London.

International career
Charlton's emergence as the country's leading young football talent was completed when he was called up to join the England squad for a British Home Championship game against Scotland at Hampden Park on 19 April 1958, just over two months after he had survived the Munich air disaster.

Charlton was handed his debut as England romped home 4–0, with the new player gaining even more admirers after scoring a magnificent thumping volley dispatched with authority after a cross by the left winger Tom Finney. He scored both goals in his second game as England beat Portugal 2–1 in a friendly at Wembley, and overcame obvious nerves on a return to Belgrade to play his third match against Yugoslavia; England lost that game 5–0 and Charlton played poorly.

Charlton was selected for the squad which competed at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, but he did not play.

In 1959, Charlton scored a hat-trick as England demolished the US 8–1; and his second England hat-trick came in 1961 in an 8–0 thrashing of Mexico. He also managed to score in every British Home Championship tournament he played in except 1963 in an association with the tournament that lasted from 1958 to 1970 and included 16 goals and 10 tournament victories (five shared).

1962 World Cup
Charlton played in qualifiers for the 1962 World Cup in Chile against Luxembourg and Portugal and was named in the squad for the finals themselves. His goal in the 3–1 group win over Argentina was his 25th for England in just 38 appearances, and he was still only 24 years old; but his individual success could not be replicated by that of the team, which was eliminated in the quarter-final by Brazil, who went on to win the tournament.

By now, England were coached by Alf Ramsey, who had managed to gain sole control of the recruitment and team selection procedure from the committee-based call-up system which had lasted up to the previous World Cup. Ramsey had already cleared out some of the older players who had been reliant on the loyalty of the committee for their continued selection. A hat-trick in the 8–1 rout of Switzerland in June 1963 took Charlton's England goal tally to 30, equalling the record jointly held by Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse; Charlton's 31st goal, against Wales in October the same year, gave him the record alone.

Charlton's role was developing from traditional inside-forward to what today would be termed an attacking midfield player, with Ramsey planning to build the team for the 1966 World Cup around him. When England beat the USA 10–0 in a friendly on 27 May 1964, he scored one goal, his 33rd at senior level for England.

His goals became a little less frequent, and indeed Jimmy Greaves, playing purely as a striker, overtook his England tally in October 1964. Nevertheless, Charlton was still scoring and creating freely, and as the tournament was about to start he was expected to become one of its stars and galvanise his established reputation as one of the world's best footballers.

1966 World Cup
England drew the opening game of the tournament 0–0 with Uruguay. Charlton scored the first goal in the 2–0 win over Mexico. This was followed by an identical scoreline against France, allowing England to qualify for the quarter-finals, where they defeated Argentina 1–0. The game was the only international match in which Charlton received a caution.

They faced Portugal in the semi-finals. This turned out to be one of Charlton's most important games for England. Charlton opened the scoring with a crisp side-footed finish after a run by Roger Hunt had forced the Portuguese goalkeeper out of his net; his second was a sweetly struck shot after a run and pull-back from Geoff Hurst. Charlton and Hunt were now England's joint-highest scorers in the tournament with three each, and a final against West Germany beckoned.

The final turned out to be one of Charlton's quieter days; he and a young Franz Beckenbauer effectively marked each other out of the game. England won 4–2 after extra time.

Euro 1968
Charlton's next England game was his 75th, as England beat Northern Ireland; after two more appearances he became England's second most-capped player, behind the veteran Billy Wright, who was approaching his 100th match when Charlton was starting out and ended with 105 caps.

Weeks later he scored his 45th England goal in a friendly against Sweden, breaking the record of 44 set the previous year by Jimmy Greaves. He was then in the England team which made it to the semi-finals of the 1968 European Championships, where they were knocked out by Yugoslavia in Florence. During the match Charlton struck a Yugoslav post. England defeated the Soviet Union 2–0 in the third place match.

In 1969, Charlton was appointed an OBE for services to football. More milestones followed as he won his 100th England cap on 21 April 1970 against Northern Ireland, and was made captain by Ramsey for the occasion. Inevitably, he scored; this was his 48th goal for his country – his 49th and final goal followed a month later in a 4–0 win over Colombia during a warm-up tour for the 1970 World Cup, designed to get the players adapted to altitude conditions. Charlton's inevitable selection by Ramsey for the tournament made him the first – and still, to date, only – England player to feature in four World Cup squads.

1970 World Cup
Shortly before the World Cup, Charlton was involved in the Bogotá Bracelet incident in which he and Bobby Moore were accused of stealing a bracelet from a jewellery store. Moore was later arrested and detained for four days before being granted a conditional release, while Charlton was not arrested.

England began the tournament with two victories in the group stages, plus a memorable defeat against Brazil. Charlton played in all three, though was substituted for Alan Ball in the final game of the group against Czechoslovakia. Ramsey, confident of victory and progress to the quarter-final, wanted Charlton to rest.

England reached the last eight where they again faced West Germany. With England leading 2–1, Ramsey replaced Charlton with Colin Bell in the 69th minute: Germany went on to win 3–2 after extra time. England were eliminated and, after a record 106 caps and 49 goals, Charlton decided to end his international career at the age of 32. On the flight home from Mexico, he asked Ramsey not to consider him again. His brother Jack, two years his senior but 71 caps his junior, did likewise.

Charlton's caps record lasted until 1973, when Bobby Moore overtook him; as of October 2023, he lies seventh in the all-time England appearances list behind Moore, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham and Peter Shilton, whose own England career began in the first game after Charlton's had ended. Charlton's goalscoring record was surpassed by Wayne Rooney on 8 September 2015, when Rooney scored a penalty in a 2–0 win over Switzerland in a qualifying match for UEFA Euro 2016.

Style of play
In his early years as a winger who played on the outside left, Charlton possessed great speed and agility. As he matured, Charlton was placed in an offensive midfield role where he flourished as a player. In his prime, Charlton was considered to be one of the greatest players in the world, being able to dictate a game with his accurate passing, and possessing a powerful shot with either foot, often scoring goals from a distance. Charlton also stood out for his stamina, mentality, leadership and modesty, never arguing with referees or opponents.

Management career and directorships
Charlton became the manager of Preston North End in 1973, signing his former United and England teammate Nobby Stiles as player-coach. His first season ended in relegation, and although he began playing again, he left Preston early in the 1975–76 season after a disagreement with the board over the transfer of John Bird to Newcastle United. He was appointed a CBE that year and began a casual association with BBC for punditry on matches, which continued for many years. In early 1976, he scored once in three league appearances for Waterford United. He also made a handful of appearances for Australian clubs Newcastle KB United, Perth Azzurri  and Blacktown City.

Charlton joined Wigan Athletic as a director, and was briefly caretaker manager there in 1983. He then spent some time playing in South Africa. He also built up several businesses in areas such as travel, jewellery and hampers, and ran soccer schools in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and China. In 1984, he was invited to become member of the board of directors at Manchester United, partly because of his football knowledge and partly because it was felt that the club needed a "name" on the board after the resignation of Sir Matt Busby. In June 2005, when the American Glazer family bought Manchester United amidst fan opposition, Charlton apologised to the new owners: "I tried to explain they couldn't ignore the fans, who are so emotionally involved in the club, but who sometimes do go a bit too far".

Personal life and retirement
Charlton met his wife, Norma Ball, at an ice rink in Manchester in 1959 and they married in 1961. They had two daughters, Suzanne and Andrea. Suzanne was a weather forecaster for the BBC during the 1990s. They went on to have grandchildren, including Suzanne's son Robert, who is named in honour of his grandfather.

In 2007, while publicising his forthcoming autobiography, Charlton revealed that he had a long-running feud with his brother Jack. They rarely spoke to each other after a falling-out between his wife Norma and his mother Cissie (who died in 1996 at the age of 83). Bobby Charlton did not see his mother after 1992 as a result of the feud.

Jack presented him with his BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award on 14 December 2008. He said that he was 'knocked out' as he was presented the award by his brother. He received a standing ovation as he stood waiting for his prize.

Charlton helped to promote Manchester's bids for the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games and the 2002 Commonwealth Games, England's bid for the 2006 World Cup and London's successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. He received a knighthood in 1994 and was an Inaugural Inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002. On accepting his award, he commented: "I'm really proud to be included in the National Football Museum's Hall of Fame. It's a great honour. If you look at the names included I have to say I couldn't argue with them. They are all great players and people I would love to have played with." He was also the (honorary) president of the National Football Museum, an organisation about which he said "I can't think of a better museum anywhere in the world."

On 2 March 2009, Charlton was given the freedom of the city of Manchester. He stated: "I'm just so proud, it's fantastic. It's a great city. I have always been very proud of it."

Charlton was involved in a number of charitable activities, including fund raising for cancer hospitals. After visits to Bosnia and Cambodia, Charlton became involved in the cause of land mine clearance, and supported the Mines Advisory Group as well as founding his own charity Find a Better Way, which funds research into improved civilian landmine clearance.

In January 2011, Charlton was voted the fourth-greatest Manchester United player of all time by the readers of Inside United and ManUtd.com, behind Ryan Giggs (who topped the poll), Eric Cantona and George Best.

He was a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy. On 6 February 2012 Charlton was taken to hospital after falling ill, and subsequently had a gallstone removed. This prevented him from collecting a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Laureus World Sports Awards.

On 15 February 2016, Manchester United announced the South Stand of Old Trafford would be renamed in honour of Sir Bobby Charlton. The unveiling took place at the home game against Everton on 3 April 2016.

In 2015, he received a Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bath.

In October 2017, Charlton had a pitch named after him at St George's Park National Football Centre in Burton-upon-Trent.

In November 2020, it was revealed that Charlton had been diagnosed with dementia and as a result, he withdrew from public life.

Death
Charlton died at Macclesfield District General Hospital in Macclesfield, Cheshire, on 21 October 2023, at the age of 86, from complications of a fall he sustained at the nursing home where he resided; at the subsequent inquest, the coroner recorded his cause of death as "trauma in the lungs, a fall and dementia." His death leaves Sir Geoff Hurst as the last surviving English player of the 1966 World Cup final.

Manchester United paid tribute to Charlton at their Champions League match against Copenhagen at Old Trafford three days later in a number of ways. First, United's players wore black armbands, and manager Erik ten Hag was flanked by Alex Stepney and U-21 captain Dan Gore before ten Hag laid a wreath and a minute's silence was observed before the match began. Another wreath was also laid in Charlton's seat in the director's box. In addition, the cover of United's match programme, the United Review, featured Charlton on the front, and supporters laid flowers and scarves at the United Trinity.

The funeral took place on 13 November. The main ceremony was at Manchester Cathedral but the procession called first at the Old Trafford stadium before going to the city centre. Crowds lined the streets and there were about a thousand guests at the service, including Prince William, Alex Ferguson and many others associated with the club. Elegies were read by David Gill and grandson William Balderston and there was a musical tribute of "How Great Thou Art" sung by Russell Watson.

In popular culture

 * In the episode "Taking Liberties" of the NBC American sitcom Frasier, Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves), who is from Manchester, mentions that one of her uncles tried fanatically to get Charlton's autograph, "until Bobby cracked him over the head with a can of lager. Twelve stitches, and he still has the can!"
 * In the 2011 film United, centred on the successes of the Busby Babes and the decimation of the team in the Munich crash, Charlton was portrayed by actor Jack O'Connell.
 * In the episode "Munich Air Disaster" of the air crash documentary Mayday, Charlton was interviewed as a survivor in the show, alongside Harry Gregg.

Honours
Manchester United Youth
 * FA Youth Cup: 1953–54, 1954–55, 1955–56

Manchester United
 * Football League First Division: 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67
 * FA Cup: 1962–63; runner-up: 1956–57, 1957–58
 * FA Charity Shield: 1965, 1967
 * European Cup: 1967–68

England
 * FIFA World Cup: 1966
 * UEFA European Championship third place: 1968
 * British Home Championship (outright): 1961, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969
 * (shared) 1958, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1970

Individual
 * FUWO European Team of the Year: 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968
 * FWA Footballer of the Year: 1965–66
 * FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: 1966
 * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1966, 1970
 * Ballon d'Or: 1966; runner-up: 1967, 1968
 * PFA Merit Award: 1974
 * FWA Tribute Award: 1989
 * FIFA World Cup All-Time Team: 1994
 * Football League 100 Legends: 1998
 * English Football Hall of Fame: 2002
 * FIFA 100: 2004
 * UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll: 14th
 * BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award: 2008
 * UEFA President's Award: 2008
 * Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award: 2012
 * FIFA Player of the Century:
 * FIFA internet vote: 16th
 * IFFHS vote: 10th
 * World Soccer The Greatest Players of the 20th century: 12th
 * IFFHS Legends

Orders and special awards
 * Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE): 1969
 * Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE): 1974
 * Knight Bachelor: 1994
 * Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class: 2012

title: Bobby Charlton


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