WWII bomber coming to Great Falls in August

The Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum is sending its B-25J to Great Falls Aug. 3-9 at Holman Aviation at the airport.

The museum tours its WWII warbirds during the summer and offers rides on the historic aircraft.

This summer, the company will offer rides on their B-25J over the weekend for $590 for the front jump seat and $325 for a waist gunner seat. Tours of the aircraft will also be available for $10 per person or $20 per family.

There are three jump seats just behind the flight deck. Passengers in this compartment may crawl through the tunnel into the bombardier position in the nose during the flight.

There are four seats in the waist compartment. Passengers in this compartment may crawl into the tail gunner position during the flight.

Flight time is about 20 minutes in the air.

The B-25J Mitchell was named after Gen. Billy Mitchell, a famous Army Air Corps general of the 1920s and 1930s. The aircraft’s notable role was in the historic raid over Tokyo in 1942 by the Doolittle Raiders. The B-25 saw duty in every combat area flown by the Dutch, British, Chinese, Russian, Australian and U.S. forces.

The Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum’s B-25J Maid In The Shade served her wartime duty with the 319th Bomb Group, 437th Squadron at Serragia Airbase, Corsica. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy and Yugoslavia between November 4 and December 31, 1944. The majority of the targets were railroad bridges, according to the museum.