In 1942, the first B-25Bs arrived in Egypt just in time to take part in the Battle of El Alamein. From there the aircraft took part in the rest of the Western Desert Campaign, the invasion of Sicily and the advance up Italy. The five bombardment groups that used the B-25 in the North African desert and the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) were the only US units to use the B-25 in Europe. In addition to the bombardment groups, the F-10 photographic reconnaissance variant of the Mitchell was widely used by reconnaissance units.