B-25 Mitchell Minicraft Kit. 1/144 scale. Skill Level 2. Manufactured by Minicraft Model Kits. On April 18, 1942, the B-25 Mitchell became the first United States aircraft to bomb the Japanese mainland. Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle commanded sixteen Mitchells which took off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet and flew 800 miles to Japan to attack their targets. The majority of them made forced landings in China. They were the heaviest aircraft to date to be flown from a ship at sea.