Staff report

The Commemorative Air Force, Minnesota Wing announced a fly over of Hastings with the B25J “Miss Mitchell” on July 4. The route and schedule of the flight were altered because of storms, but the plane ambled over the Hwy. 61 bridge shortly after noon that day.

The B25J was a medium range bomber introduced in 1941 with a range of approximately 1,350 miles.

From commemorativeairforce.org, the Miss Mitchell served in the 310th Bomb Group, 57th Bomb Wing of the 12th Air Force in North Africa and Italy completing over 130 missions. Its legacy of no crew fatalities during all of its missions was a rare accomplishment. Prior to taking command of the 8th Air Force in Europe in 1944, the 12th Air Force was under the command of then Brigadier General Jimmy Doolittle. After a 12year restoration by the Minnesota Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, Miss Mitchell took her first flight on April 18, 1992 ~ exactly 50 years to the day of the daring Doolittle raid.

This beautiful plane is based out of South St. Paul and is powered by two Wright R260092 Twin Cyclone 14cylinder aircooled radial engines with 1,700 horsepower a piece. The overall length of the craft is 52 feet, 11 inches, it stands 16 feet, four inches tall and has a 67foot, seveninch wingspan.

The weather on the fourth did not cooperate for the flight, which was delayed roughly an hour and then needed to be called off due to a low ceiling and bad weather. They made a return trip on Sunday, July 10. The flyover of the Veterans Home took place about 11:52 a.m. Sunday and the plane made two passes. It was an amazing sight to see and hear. To learn more about the Miss Mitchell visit https://www.facebook.com/CAFMNWing/. You can also find a link to donate to the group to help cover the cost of the flight.

The 1941 B-25J medium range bomber known as the Miss Mitchell, as it flew past Hastings on July 10. Photo courtesy of Jerome Brill