World War II-era bomber returning to Springfield airport

Photos provided by Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum

Those who missed the opportunity last year to ride in a World War II-era bomber will have a second chance.

The nonprofit Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum is scheduled to fly in a B-25 Mitchell aircraft to Springfield-Branson National Airport later this month. The Springfield airport is one of about 50 cities in the United States and Canada on this year’s tour by the Commemorative Air Force, according to a news release.

Named Made in the Shade, the B-25 medium bomber will be available for Springfield ground tours and flights Sept. 25-Oct. 1. Limited to seven passengers per flight, costs range from $325 for the waist gunner compartment seat to $650 for the flight deck jump seat. Tickets for the ground tour in the traveling museum are $10 for individuals or $20 for families of four.

Built in 1944, Made in the Shade is one of nearly 10,000 B-25 Mitchell planes produced. The planes, which weigh 33,400 pounds at full capacity, were used by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle in what’s known as the Doolittle Raid, when 16 B-25s bombed targets across Japan, according to a fact sheet from the Commemorative Air Force.

The Commemorative Air Force offers flights via seven warbirds. The Arizona airbase is one of 76 worldwide units of Dallas, Texas-based CAF.