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We're including these pages as an update point for B-25 news. We'll post information garnered from any variety of sources, and notate that source at the end of the item. If anyone has anything they'd like to add, please let us know.

November 2009

• Begin the update with a bit of mysterious news. Coert Munk reports that there is an ex USSR B-25 in storage near London (England). No other details are available at this point, other than he has promised to visit the airplane soon and we shall have photo. First I have seen mentioned of this airplane so it might prove interesting. Stay tuned and thanks, Coert, for the heads up.

• Added the above B-25 and noted also the movement of several airplanes are noted and updated on the B-25 Locator page right here at Aero Vintage Books. Coert was also nice enough to politely let me know that Switzerland and France are different places. Good to know, and the locator page has been updated to reflect this, apparently, new development.

• Mike Derry sent in some interesting photos telling part of the story of a bit of an obscure B-25, this being TB-25N 44-86715 (N3442G). These photos were taken in November 1980 as this airplane was being resurrected for a ferry flight.

  

  The story behind this airplane was that it was that, after use as a USAF trainer, it was sold surplus in May 1959 to United Aerial Applicators at Papillion, Nebraska, for $1,100. United Aerial Applicators bought three surplus B-25s in the 1958-1959 period with the thought of converting them to aerial sprayers. One of the principals of the company was Richard Whited. As related in B-25 Mitchell in Civil Service, Whited recalled the purchase of 44-29839 (N7669C) in 1958, which was ferried in from Davis-Monthan and converted. The next year, N3442G and sister ship 44-44-28738 (N3441G) were purchased. They also were ferried in from Davis-Monthan, but before any conversion work was done the bottom fell out of the big-plane spraying and dusting business. Overblown environmental concerns spotlighted the business of aerial spraying and the industry suffered a quick collapse. The B-25 spraying business collapse occurred at the same time as the B-25 air tanker business collapse, and the three B-25s at the South Omaha Airport were just as worthless as a dozen or more B-25 tankers parked at airports around the U.S. The three B-25s sat at the airport for the next twenty years, slowly going downhill. Two of them, N3441G and N3442G, were sold to a Denver company, Midwest Seafoods, in 1968, supposedly for eventual conversion to a fish carrier. However, all three remained on the field as derelicts. N3442G was the only one that made it out intact, with N7669C being sold to the state of Nebraska for a technical school and eventually being disassembled for parts and then scrapped. N3441G enjoyed a bit better fate, with its fuselage eventually being used as a cut-away display at the old Strategic Air Command Museum at nearby Offutt AFB. (The museum has since moved to Ashland, Nebraska...is this B-25 fuselage still displayed?).

  Well, for N3442G, in January 1975 it was technically purchased by Joe Davis, then of Oxnard, California, but there were some court related paperwork travails and the airplane ownership was not straightened out until 1980. Joe Davis was one of the early principals of Aero Trader. Along with Carl Scholl, the company was getting into the B-25 business and Joe purchased this B-25 with the intent of restoring it. So, he and his compatriots came to Papillion, Nebraska, in November 1980 to get his airplane ready for a ferry flight to California. Mike Derry recorded two photos of the airplane on the old airport being prepared for a short flight to the nearby Millard airport, showing engine runs and operational checks.

  

  On the morning of November 15, 1980, it returned to the air for the first time since 1959, as shown in this dramatic photo:

  

  It enjoyed some further preparations at the Millard Airport before its departure the next day for its ferry flight to California.

  

  The airplane kicked around for a few years and was then sold in 1986 to Bill and Larry Klaers, then based at Rialto in Southern California. It was to be the subject of a ground-up restoration, but got shelved in the early 1990s when Bill Klaers obtained an interest in 44-29199 (N9117Z), that now flies as In the Mood. In 2008, Bill Klaers and partner Al Wojciak moved their business, Westpac Aviation, to Colorado Springs, and N3442G came along in pieces. The airplane remains a candidate for a complete restoration back to flying condition, but will remain in storage for the indefinite future.

• Speaking of In The Mood (44-29199, the Westpac airplane currently based at Colorado Springs, here is view of the airplane taken in the beautiful new Westpac facility in October 2009.

  

  Stablemates in the hangar are a P-47 and a TBM. In pieces in the restoration area are shiny parts of a P-38 and a P-51. I made a visit to the Westpac facility and had a chance to speak at some length to Bill Klaers, a very helpful individual who, along with his partner Al Wojciak and talented team, produce some landmark airplane restorations. The new facility is, in a word, incredible, but that encompasses some amazing capability which I hope to detail a bit in a future magazine article going into FlyPast magazine. Here is a link to the Westpac website, certainly worth a visit.

• And speaking of FlyPast magazine, there's an article in the November 2009 issue by this webmaster, yep, me, about VB-25N 44-30823 (N1042B) that details the history of that airplane currently operated as Pacific Prowler and based at Meacham Field at Fort Worth. Check it out.

• Had a chance to attend the annual Offutt Air Show at the end of August and the FAA DC-3 ended up parked right next to 44-86777 (N345BG), otherwise known as Martha Jean, a fine looking B-25 based at Tulsa, Oklahoma.

  

  Also had a chance to speak with owner David Wheaton and sit in the cockpit of the airplane making airplane noises for awhile. David still has the airplane for sale but one gets the idea it would take the right prospective owner with the right offer for him to pull his hands off the airplane. Nice time talking with him about his airplane and his history with it. Not too many out there operating a B-25 privately so kudos to him and his airplane.

• Craig Thorson was in some correspondence with the Leatherneck Museum at MCAS Miramar (San Diego) when he found out quite by accident that its TB-25J, 44-86727, has been pulled from display and is undergoing a long term restoration back to static condition. Craig sent this photo that shows just the nose of the airplane sticking out in the museum shop area. The museum told Craig to expect about a three to five year effort for the long term restoration. Seems like a bit long but I presume that is based on other workload.

  

  This was an ex-RCAF TB-25J sold as surplus back to the U.S. in 1962, where it kicked around with several owners until it went to the USMC Museum in 1976. It was first displayed at MCAS El Toro, California, and then was moved to Miramar when El Toro was closed.

• Not the hottest news on the planet, but worth mentioning (if its news to you, its news) is that B-25D 43-3318 (N88972) has indeed made its transatlantic delivery flight from Duxford in the U.K. to Paine Field, Everett, Washington. That delivery flight was completed in September 2009 and the airplane now physically part of the Historic Flight Collection. Check out some details of the delivery flight right right here.

• Speaking of B-25Ds, here is an oldy but not moldy photo sent in by John Voss of B-25D 44-3308 that he took back in 1987 when it was on display at the USMC Museum.

  

  At this point, it was painted as a PBJ-1D. This airplane has since been placed on loan with the B-25 Preservation Group at Pampa, Texas. Any available updates on its status these days?

• Also not really hot news is that B-25H 43-4106 (N5548N), operating as Barbie III, was, in fact, sold in July by its long time owner Weary Warriors Squadron. This B-25H is distinctive because of its B-25H cannon nose, the only B-25 out there flying as such. It's new owner is the History Flight, Inc., and it is now based at Marathon, Florida. This airplane had long been based at Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona, but has not made the trek eastward to its new home. It will be made available for flight experiences.

  Good article on this airplane, by the way, written by Frank Mormillo, that also appears in that November 2009 issue of FlyPast magazine. Check it out. Same issue also has an article on operating a B-25H (Barbie III in this case) by Lou Fulgaro, one of the former owners of the airplane. Sounds like a good magazine to own, eh?

• Good news to see a new air museum at the Orange County Airport in Southern California. The new Lyon Air Museum is now open on the west side of the airport and displays, among other things, a highly polished TB-25J 44-29465 (N25GL), marked as Guardian of Freedom.

  

  The Lyon Air Museum is set up to display the collection of Gen. Bill Lyons who also operates Martin Aviation at KSNA. The collection includes a B-17G, an A-26 Invader, and two C-47s. Check out this page dedicated to the Lyon TB-25J.

  Orange County Airport was no stranger to B-25s as Paul Mantz Air Services began operating from the airport in 1955 or so, and Tallmantz operated from the same base until 1985 or so. Operated B-25s, many B-25s.

August 2009

• We shall start with a Quiz to test your knowledge. What airport in Southern California has a name that begins with a "C" and ends in an "O" and used to be a military airfield and is full of warbirds and is a great little airport to visit and see interesting airplanes? If you answered "Chino" you would be right but if you answered "Camarillo" you would be even more right because there's a lot of stuff going on there for "El Buffos del B-25 Mitchell," loosely translated as "The Buffs of the B-25 Mitchell." First of all, we have Camarillo Story Number One, about the American Aeronautical Foundation (AAF) TB-25N 44-30801 (N30801), otherwise known as Executive Sweet. I want to make it clear that this is not a CAF airplane as a typo in the June Point Five update below would have it. No, the AAF operates this B-25 and it is flying out and about. Dave Green politely let me know of my error recently, and it is now corrected. I bury my blushing face under my humbled arm and quickly regret doing that.

  

  Anyways, as noted, it is out and about flying, selling rides and showing up places. Check out the website right here, but pay attention to the schedule where we see the airplane specifically at the Camarillo Airshow during the weekend of August 22-23, at the Coalinga (CA) airshow on September 5-6, and the Reno Air Races on September 18-20. More dates are added all the time, so keep up, keep current, and keep 'em flying. (I just made that up.)

• Camarillo Story Number Two would be the CAF (yes, the CAF) B-25J 44-30988 (N5865V). Now, this airplane was built at Kansas City as a B-25J but it should be noted that is actually a gen-u-ine PBJ-1J (back in the days when the Navy got to have its own designations), delivered to the USN on March 20, 1945, gaining the Navy Bureau Number of 35857. To explain for those wondering how a B-25 can also be a PBJ, the Navy had its own special way to designate airplanes, in this case: P=Patrol, B=Bomber, J=North American (it seems all the good letters were already taken), -1=first variant, J=confuser, thus, "PBJ-1J". Okay, the last "J" is not a confuser maybe, but ties to the AAF "J" suffix i.e. B-25J. B-25 is easier, don't you think? Go Army.

  Not to digress (oops, too late), this particular PBJ-1J served the USN for two years at the Naval Aircraft Modification Unit (NAMU) at Philadelphia and was then surplused out in February 1947. It is the only surviving PBJ that was actually a PBJ and not just painted like a PBJ. It was also one of the earliest civil B-25s, uh, er, PBJs, and had many decades of civil use before coming to the CAF in 1985. This airplane has been under meticulous rebuild for many years and is making slow but steady progress back to airworthy condition. When it is finished, it will be a gen-u-ine PBJ-1J that is painted as a PBJ-1J in the USN tri-color scheme that this airplane most likely wore between 1945 and 1947. In fact, it probably looked just about like this surplus PBJ-1J, this one being sister ship 44-30982, PBJ-1J 35851, N5857V as seen here in late 1947 in this illustration from B-25 Mitchell in Civil Service (hint hint):

  

  In the spirit of how everybody, virtually everybody, in the CAF talks, y'all need to take the occasional look at the WIX Maintenance Hangar forum site under this topic for current news of the progress of this restoration. The airplane will fly as Semper Fi, a tip of the hat to USMC PBJ-1J. Okay, okay, then, I will "borrow" a photo from that update site (sorry guys, I'll give it back if y'all (there it is) don't want me to post it here) so y'all (there it is again, mint juleps and all---) can see just what's going on down there at CxxxxxxxxO (the place that's not Chino).

  

  (Camarillo, or CMA, is a great airport, by the way. Good lunch stop, good folks, interesting airplanes, not TSA worthy yet. Bad TSA!!! Hiss, boo!! TSA go away and leave America alone!! Note to TSA: "Sorry, but I really was using my civil rights so I can't give them to y'all." Can I still say that?)

  Also, very nicely, Chris Sheppard passed along a copy of some fine artwork he has created showing what this airplane will look like when it is once again flying. It is to be finished in the USN tri-color scheme as worn by gen-u-ine PBJ-1Js between 1945 and 1947 (see above also). Take a look at some of Chris's other fine historic aviation artwork by jumping right here.

  

• Speaking of the CAF, I also received some information from John Schauer about his experiences with another CAF B-25, this one recently returning to the air as per the June update below. Okay, if y'all (damn, there it is again) didn't read that yet, it is the Arizona Wing's TB-25N, 43-35972 (N125AZ) that returned to the air on Friday, May 29, from its base at Falcon Field near Mesa, Arizona. The CAF obtained the airplane in October 1981 as N9552Z and it has been at Falcon Field nearly that long. John had some early history with this airplane, and writes:

  "Back in the late 70's I helped ferry 9552Z from San Marcos, Texas with the new owner Don Ericsson, to South St. Paul. Minnesota. He had just purchased it from John Stokes. I did an inspection of it, signed the ferry permit, and did an engine run on the day we arrived and service it up for our next day departure. I found some severe corrosion in the nose gear trunnion area. The cables for the firewall shutoff valves were rusted open so I disconnected them and ran some safety wire from the valve into the lower rear cockpit. Don Ericsson, Jim Jacobson (copilot) and myself carried parachutes with us and departed the next day. About half way north the right engine started to backfire and belch a lot, after about five minutes it smoothed out again. Somewhere in northern Iowa the oil pressure on the right engine started to drop along with the weather. We decided to stop at Albert Lea, Minnesota and drive home. The oil pressure in the right engine dropped to almost zero as we crossed the airport boundary. On engine shut-down I checked the oil quantity in the right engine and could see the bottom of the tank. We had burned 37 gallons of oil during the 5 hour flight. A week or so later another crew and Don serviced the oil and finished the flight. About six months later is when it was sold to the Arizona Wing of the CAF and ferried down to Mesa, Arizona."

  I think this was back in the day when men were men and airplanes used lots of oil. There is a more complete accounting of the civil history (actually, all the histories of all the civil B-25s) in B-25 Mitchell in Civil Service, or did I mention that already?

  Just to celebrate, here is a modly-oldy photo of that airplane from back in the 1960s when it was a fire ant duster for Dothan Aviation, from the collection of Dick Phillips. Y'all enjoy it. Okay, we're done with that.

  

• B-25 For Sale: Yep, B-25J 44-86777 (N345BG), otherwise known as Martha Jean, is for sale on the Courtesy Aircraft Sales site. The asking price is $750,000, a bit surprising but since there are so few B-25s on the market, it tends to be a seller's market. It would be interesting to know what the eventual sales price turns out to be if it indeed sells. The site shows the total airframe time on this B-25 as 9,744 flight hours and the airplane comes with a couple of low time engines. The current owner of this airplane is shown by the FAA to be Blue Yonder, Inc. of Jones Airport at Tulsa, Oklahoma.

  

  This particular airplane was delivered at Kansas City on July 2, 1945 and was used by the AAF and USAF for air crew, probably navigator training. It was updated in 1954 by Hayes Aircraft at Huntsville, Alabama, then becoming a TB-25N. It was surplus after 1959, and was first registered as N9167Z. It's transitioned from a working airplane to a warbird in the 1970s and has gone through many owners, including Tom Reilly who did much restoration work on it. It looks to be in excellent condition and just what you might be looking for. Good luck with that.

• Nick Veronico sent me a few photos a few months back, photo stills that noted author/photographer/editor Bob O'Hara had shot during the filming of Tora! Tora! Tora! back in 1969. You old fogies may remember Bob O'Hara as the editor of Air Classics magazine back in the 1960s, back when that was an infant publication and one that foreshadowed the growing interest in warbirds that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s that morphed into the cottage industry it is today. Anyways, back to the photos that Nick sent, they are from Bob's collection, ones that both Nick and I were privileged to obtain copies of in years past (Thanks again, Bob!). There were a series of photos of the lone B-25 used in the film, that being the ill-fated 44-30478 (N9754Z). This B-25 appears in the film for a very brief scene when a Japanese Zero crashes through the roof of an Air Corps hangar. Here is a screen capture of that scene showing the B-25.

  

  The photo that Nick sent along shows the airplane as it was prepared for the scene as seen here:

  

  What was peculiar about the airplane, obviously, was its tail, with one of the vertical stabilzers mounted to the fuselage, detailed here:

  

  Note also the fiberglass P-40s in the background of this shot. Anyways, it was always a bit mysterious to me why this modification was done. I've researched the filming of the movie through the years and someone many years ago pointed out the obvious: the filmmakers were trying to duplicate the A-20s parked at Hickam Field during the attack. Instead of a bizarre B-25, it was instead a marker of how much attention to detail had been paid during the making of the film. It would have been easier to just paint the B-25 up and put it in the hangar, but there were no B-25s at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. There were, however, a good number of A-20s parked at Hickam, most of which survived the raid and went on to fight another day. However, when you watch the scene in the completed film, it does look a bit like an A-20 if you don't know exactly what an A-20 looks like, and who does? Maybe 0.05% of the population. Okay then.

  Well, the mock A-20 did not fare so well in the scene. Here is a shot of the airplane post-film:

  

  Okay, so what of this airplane, the B-25 that appeared in the film? Well, turning to my trusty copy of B-25 Mitchell in Civil Service, we see that this airplane was delivered at Kansas City on January 20, 1945, and after a short AAF domestic utilization, went into storage. It was transferred to the RCAF in November 1951, gaining the RCAF serial of 5219. It served in the RCAF until 1962, then sold as surplus to a Canadian company. Never registered in Canada, it came back to the U.S. in 1962, sold to Ocean Marine of Seattle, Washington. It then became N9754Z. It was sold shortly afterwards to L. Fredrick Pack Associates of Honolulu and, in 1964, was shipped to Hawaii along with B-25J 44-31504 (N9753Z), the latter being reportedly flown over, the former barged over. In any event, they were in Hawaii for use in the making of the film In Harm's Way though, it would appear that only N9754Z was actually used. After the filming they were stored at Honolulu but, in May 1965, N9754Z was stolen by a frustrated fighter pilot who put on a dramatic aerial demonstration near the airport until a collision and/or collisions with objects damaged the nose and wing. The airplane languished at Honolulu until the Tora crew showed up. Here is a 1968 view of the B-25:

  

  So, after its second film appearance, it was in very rough condition. Though not confirmed by any source, the smart money would bet that the airplane was scrapped shortly after the filming was completed. Can anyone else shed more light on its fate? Sister ship N9753Z fared a bit better, by the way, going on static display at Hickam Field as a gate guard, then slated for display at the Pacific Air Museum near Hickam. Corrosion issues resulted in it being traded to Aero Traders, who provided a nice display "mock" B-25B Doolittle Raider in its stead. Presumably, the remains of that B-25 remain in storage with Aero Trader in California.

• Nick Veronico also passed along a tiny nugget of information that he got from Nige Howarth related to the well known Paul Mantz/Tallmantz B-25H 43-4643 (N1203). Now, this was the famous B-25 known as The Smasher that Mantz obtained as war surplus in 1946 and used as his primary post-war camera airplane through 1961 when he merged to form Tallmantz Aviation, and then by that company until 1975 when it was sold. It's fate after 1975 is murky at best. After one other civil owner, it ended up registered to one Vicki Meller of Burbank, California. Meller also had her name attached to TB-25N 44-30535 (N9462Z) during the same period. N1203 drops off the proverbial radar screen after 1976 but I have it on good account that the airplane was seen at nearby Van Nuys with the name Talisman Aviation painted on the nose instead of Tallmantz Aviaton (Michael, any sign of that photo??!). The elusive Miss Vicki, who may or may not have had anything to do with the airplane disappearing and/or being used to run drugs from Colombia and/or other rumors of its fate, has remained elusive to this sleuth, as has the airplane. I've looked everywhere (well, except Colombia) but no sign of it in the web world or other real places. Vicki or, as her good friends call her, Vick, may have married and moved off to Ohio; circumstantial evidence is there. However, all of this is the very long winded way of saying that now, after some thirty-three years after it was last seen, the FAA has taken action to cancel the civil registration of N1203. Miss Vicki was still said owner of said B-25H when, in late June 2009, the FAA stamped a big red CANCELLED!! VOIDED!! FORGOTTEN!! ADIOS!! across the file (well actually across the computer screen of a nameless registration specialist working in his or her cubicle in a big building in Oklahoma City, and it's possible it didn't say all that stuff and just maybe a big red stamp wasn't really stamped on a computer screen but you get the idea). The legacy of Mantz and Tallmantz remains, but one little piece just got chipped away. In respect to Paul Mantz and his airplane, here is an incredible photo of the airplane in its heyday, courtesy of John Voss:

  

• This is great stuff, right? Almost Pulitzer worthy, eh? Does anybody read it? Does an elusive VB-25N make a sound when it's posted on the internet when no one sees it? Are mixed metaphors always bad? We think "I don't understand" is the answer to all these questions. Sleeper questions hidden in the B-25 News. Not sure this effort is worth it. Maybe to twelve people. I read somewhere (Wikipedia, maybe?) that Leonardo Da Vinci's first painting was of a jar of Mott's Applesauce and it went nowhere. Just like him, I figure I need to keep trying until something works, so I press onwards. Mona's out there somewhere. Arghhh! So, I'm taking a poll: if you read this, send me an email that says "Read it." That's all.

• Way back in June, like ancient history, I posted this photo of B-25J 44-30861 (N9089Z) as part of a query about its use in the making of War Lover in 1961.

  

  Well, Tony Avis came through with some more information about the photo posted:

  "The colour picture was taken at Biggin Hill outside the Surrey and Kent Flying Club Hangar--you can see their hut in the background together with a very rare Peel Microcar made in the Isle of Man. From the condition of the Mitchell I should think it was taken soon after she arrived at Biggin Hill. I also found the following link to a picture on another forum.
  Jump to it
  The posting was about Lancaster G-ASXX/NX611 and said the photo was taken shortly after the Lanc was delivered to Biggin which, from my research, was 13 May1965. The Mitchell seems to be in poorer condition in the black and white picture and the cars parked in front of her suggest that by this time the locals had got used to the fact that she was unlikely to move. From this it looks like the colour picture was taken pre-1965 but this is only a best guess."

  Thanks much to Tony for a bit more information about this particular Mitchell.

• Mostly because it is a cool photo, I had to post this one taken by Paul Gordon at Denver in early June. This airplane is VB-25N 44-30823 (N1042B) flown as Pacific Prowler and operated by Jim Terry out of Meacham Field at Fort Worth, Texas. Check out the website.

  

• Coming soon: a large sub-site devoted to the movie Catch-22 will be added to the Tallmantz section of this website. All the -25s, specifics on the filming, crews that flew the airplane, etc. etc. Hope to have it up there by the middle of August. Check it out.

• Finally got around to updating my B-25 Locator page. Did a bit of checking around, looked in my files, pumped the guy who keeps his ear to the ground about all things B-25 (that would be Carl Scholl of Aero Trader....thanks much, Carl!). Anyways, by my count, there are about 42 B-25s around that are flyable or near flyable (you know, pump up the tires, clean the bird stuff off). Another 61 are static display airplanes. Others in restoration or storage. Total of 122 B-25s out and about. As always, looking for corrections and/or additions.

• B-25 For Sale: yep, got one on the market.....in case you missed it.

June Point Five 2009

• Okay, a couple of quickies here as I incorporate a correction in the regular June update (bummer...an error). Thanks to Ben Gilbert for keeping me straight.

• Spent the weekend of June 6-7 at the fine burg of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, with the FAA DC-3, pretending to be an airshow guy. Had a chance to see a fine looking B-25, that being Miss Mitchell, more properly known as 44-29869 (N27493) and operated by the Southern Minnesota Wing of the CAF. Airplane looked mighty fine.

  

  

  The crew was there to show the airplane and offer rides. Weather did not cooperate too well, but the mighty roar of two R-2600s graced the airfield a couple of times. Check out this website for more information about flying in this B-25.

  Okay, okay, enough already! I'll show a picture of my ride, the last FAA DC-3 (actually C-47B, then R4D-7) that is used as an airshow display on behalf of the FAA and FAA flight inspection.

  

• Dave Green added some more information about and a few photos of the AAF (note to self: not CAF, you fool!) B-25 Executive Sweet, which is actually TB-25N 44-30801 (N30801), noted in the June update below as flying again for the first time in a long time after some heavy maintenance that included the wing attach angles.

  

  Dave notes:

  "Our team of about 12 volunteers removed and replaced both inboard and outboard upper attach angles. There was only slight corrosion on the trailing edge of the angles, which is the B-25 standard location for it. This was all that was identified by our annual teardown and the FAA's complete inspection of the airframe. It started mid to late November last year and was completed the week of Madera's Airshow. Just 2 weeks late for the Shafter Fly-In which we were suppose to be at. Rides will be made up at a date TBD for those who signed up at our booth at Shafter's Fly-In. Rides can be reserved via our website, gift cards will be available for purchase as of 22 June 2009. This year at the Camarillo Airshow we will be showing off our new addition to the fleet, C-47B 43-49531. Which at that point, we hope to have in a flyable condition, the before years' end, selling rides on her also.

  I want to say thank you on your site to American Airlines for all the stands and support equipment donated to our 2 aircraft this year and to Skywest Airlines for the new Tow Tug they donated, a 2002 Eagle Tug. Also thanks to PPG for the donation on paint for both aircraft!"

  Okay, then. Glad the bird's flying again.

• John Voss sent in some real nice photos of TB-25N 44-28938 (N7946C) taken at the Marina Airport near Monterey, California, in October 2008. Great photos...here's one of them:

  

  This airplane is owned by John Ward and last I heard, was based at Atwater, California, in the Central Valley.

• Just today, Lance Jones sent along a nice view of TB-25N 44-30535 (N9462Z, flying as Iron Laden Maiden in the late 1980s. At that time, the airplane was based at the Liberal Air Museum at Liberal, Kansas. This airplane has dropped off my personal radar screen. Anybody know where it's at?

• Finally, somebody from Belgium passed along a taken at a Belgian airshow in late May. This is a photograph of B-25J 45-8811 (F-AZZU) in the air:

  

• Okay, that's all for a half-month update for the B-25. For those few select fellows and fellow-ettes reading this, thank you for your loyalty and contributions...I hope it is worth it.

June 2009

• I've neglected the B-25 side of the house a bit....just not as much going on as compared to the B-17 business, but there's been some stuff of late that bears some attention.... First off, we have two B-25s return to the air in the last part of May.

• After a very long and arduous restoration, the Arizona Wing's TB-25N, 43-35972 (N125AZ) returned to the air on Friday, May 29, from its base at Falcon Field near Mesa, Arizona. The return to the air has been a long time coming. The CAF obtained the airplane in October 1981 as N9552Z and it has been at Falcon Field nearly that long. What is particularly significant is that this B-25 has a documented combat history with the 319th Bomb Group, 12th Air Force, flying fifteen missions in November and December 1944. During that time it carried the name Maid In The Shade. It went on to serve, unusually, in the post-war USAF and was modified as a TB-25N in 1955. It was surplus after 1959 and purchased by Dothan Aviation for conversion to a fire ant duster in September 1960.

  

  Not particularly successful as a duster, it languished at Dothan for the better part of fifteen years, and then was purchased by John Stokes (of CAF fame) in 1975. It went through a few more owners before the CAF obtained it. Here is a November 1982 view of the airplane when it was mostly in storage, its future just a glimmer in the eye of some determined people:

  

  Now, after two decades of hard work this bird is back in the air and is complete with markings that duplicate its wartime heritage, complete down to the name and nose art it carried in 1944. A very hearty congratulations to a dedicated effort by a dedicated team from a dedicated organization. Here is a view taken during a recent engine start:

  

  Allright!!!

• And, we've mentioned the travails of B-25J 44-30801 (N30801) that flies for the American Aeronautical Foundation as Executive Sweet out of Southern California's Camarillo Airport. Well, it was down for extensive repairs of its angle attach fittings for its outer wing section, a dependably metallurgic weakness of the B-25 through the years. I'm only guessing but the guys at Aero Trader (Carl Scholl and Tony Ritzman) are angle experts and they probably supplied the parts for that repair. Well, the work was completed and the B-25 took to the air again on Tuesday, May 26, in time for some quick test flights and then on to Madera, California, where it appeared at the weekend air show. The airplane is now also being used to provide B-25 rides as an way to help support its operation, and it spent the last week in May at Madera doing just that. Here's a nice shot of the airplane taken by Roger Cain at Madera, just you know that I'm not lying about the thing flying:

  

• Another B-25 team continues to struggle with a few "issues," this being the Yellow Rose Wing of the CAF operating B-25J 43-27868 (N25YR), otherwise known as Yellow Rose at San Marcos, Texas. This airplane suffered some engine problems that turned into some structural repair problems. One wing was reattached in late May and engine runs were in the near future, but then some corroded ribs were found in the flap area of both wings, so that needs to be addressed now. Frustrating for operators as corrosion issues continue to surface. These airplanes were only supposed to be around for a few months but now its pushing seventy years for some of them. Good luck to the Yellow Rose guys but don't rush it. I'm sure they know that make it right is better than make it fast. I'd post some pictures but I don't have any. Any photos out there? I'm right here.

  Okay, then...... Mark Renc, Operations Officer for the Yellow Rose Squadron, let me use one of his photos, just taken, showing the corrosion on the supporting structure near the flap installation. Just a bit corroded.

  

• Coert Munk very nicely advised me that B-25D 44-3318, the ex-Fighter Collection Grumpy is actually based at Duxford and not Bournemouth as I have on my B-25 Locator page, and it has been just as nicely corrected. The rare B-25D until recently was owned by Vulcan Warbirds (Paul Allen, sort of, at Everett, Washington) but remains operational in the UK and makes the "really big shews" (that's my Ed Sullivan impression for the month, er, year...promise). Well, Coert also sifted out that this B-25 has officially changed ownership, and is now owned by the Historic Flight Foundation of Seattle, Washington, as of March 20, 2009. And, its old civil registration of N25644 has gone by the wayside, and it has become, ta da, N88972 which, peculiarly, is the same civil number it first gained in 1966 when it came on the U.S. register and off the Canadian register where it had been CF-OGQ (pause for breath). We are guessing that the Historic Flight Foundation is really part of t Vulcan Warbirds, but the only other airplane currently registered to the Historic Flight Foundation is a Beech Staggerwing.

  Correction....(June 11, 2009): Oooppss...my mistake, not Coert's....I was out to lunch on this one. As Ben Gilbert pointed out to me:

  "The B-25D is now owned by John Sessions from KILO-6 collection (http://kilo6.us/index2.html). It's indeed registered to the Historic Flight Foundation and a close look to the FAA database will reveal you all aircraft owned by John Sessions shares the same address."

  Ahh, but what worries me most is that Ben was the only one who noticed the error. I fear no one is reading all my wise and witty things. Oh well.... Note also a late report that this airplane is finally coming back to the U.S., possibly to its new home at Paine Field, Everett, Washington, soon.

  It's all very, very confusing...it's almost like you need a program to follow along, or maybe even a book, maybe even B-25 Mitchell in Civil Service but you need a pen for the book also because this change isn't in that book. But you could write it in there and your wife would be impressed by your diligence. Buy her a book too, eh?

  Anyways, not to digress, but Coert keeps me honest, though I must admit that the B-25 locator page is seriously out of date. Help to those who know things...tell me and I will correct and update the page. Thank you very much.

• Coert also passes along a new link to the Royal Netherlands Air Force Historical Flight B-25 page. The RNAFHF is now the operator of B-25J 44-29507 (N320SQ) after its merger with the Duke of Brabant Air Force in 2004. Check it out!

• Coert keeps feeding me good stuff. Here's an obscure bit about an obscure B-25,

  Recently a nice picture popped up showing B-25C 41-12499 with NEIAF serial N5-149. The picture might have been made at Townsville, Australia.

  The picture raised several questions amongst specialists in NEI aviation. The comments were concluded by Jos Heymans. He states: “I have checked my records on this specific B-25 (ie. 41-12499 aka N5-149). Gerben Tornij, in his 1999 book De Nederlandse Mitchells, has stated that N5-149 (second batch) was USAAF 41-12438 and that 41-12499 was in that second batch too but without mentioning the ML-KNIL serial. Peter Boer, in his 2006 article "Early B-25C Mitchells for the ML-KNMIL" in World War II Quarterly (Vol.3 No. 1), links 42-12499 to N5-171. The aircraft left the US on 1 April 1942 and arrived at Amberley on 6 April 1942. By then it was already earmarked for the USAAF. Peter Boer's information is based on USAAF record cards. One thing is clear: there’s a puzzle to be solved!

  Coert welcomes further information or comments and can be contacted here.

• Loïc Desguin and Yves Cartilier both passed along some information (and yes, so did Coert!) that B-25J 45-8811 that, until of late, operated as HB-RDE while based at Sion, Switzerland, and carrying the name Russell's Raiders, has been sold. This was, like, back in April but I've been busy. Yves reports it will become F-AZZU on the French registry, while Coert adds the following about the airplane: "Swiss Mitchell 45-8811 HB-RDE moved from Sion (CH) to the well known French airport at La Ferté Alais (South of Paris) to join the ever expanding fleet of warbirds. The new owner is “Société de Développement et de Promotion de l’Aviation” at the La Ferté Alais Aerodrome. This organization operates a P-40, P-51D and C-47 as well."

  Okay then. And another change to the B-25 Locator page....and done.

• So, you're just sitting around munching on some Oreos when, blam!, out of your email pops some information. And here it is, the long suffering TB-25J, 44-86844 that got to be a water park display in Florida far longer than it should have and was last seen disassembled at Roanoke, Texas, well, blam!, up it pops at Bristow, Oklahoma, in a T-Hangar. And here it is, with the info courtesy of Dan Stroud and the photo courtesy of Dan's friend:

  

  Actually, it doesn't look too bad, eh? This airplane, for those who don't read these pages enough or own your own, personal, private, mark-up copy of B-25 Mitchell in Civil Service, once operated as N3453G and then went derelict at the New Orleans-Lakefront Airport in the late 1960s, then was pulled back together enough for the water park. Not too good a shape inside, sadly, what with water and time, etc. Nothing a coat of paint can't take care of, though.

  

  Here it is in former glory days:

  

  It is stored in a T-hangar. No idea at this point about who owns it or what lies in its future. Last rumor was it was owned by Fighter Factory's Jerry Yagen. Nearby in another hangar, though, is a TBM-3E being rebuilt, with a T-6 and C-47 also close by. Perhaps owned by the same individual. No one knows. Another aviation mystery, clues to ponder. Hmmm. Or, I guess I could call Jerry and just ask him if he knows but it's much easier to endlessly speculate.

• Mark Perez passed along some information recently surfaced about JB-25J 44-30470 (N3443G). This airplane crashed on August 9, 1970, at Orange, Massachusetts, and at the time was being used to haul skydivers up for drops. It's an interesting and tragic story covered as a B-25 Anecdote here with information provided by Mark several years ago. Well, he passes along the following about this airplane and some of the skydiving stories that go with it:

  I have recently found out some information about B-25 44-30470 (N3443G) that I think might be of interest to you. Apparently, about three years before my uncle's accident, it was involved in another tragedy over Lake Erie in Ohio. On August 27, 1967, 18 parachutists were inadvertently dropped eight miles out over Lake Erie. Only two survived - one of the worst (if not the worst) civilian parachute accidents in history. My mom told me years ago that she heard it was involved in some sort of parachute accident but I never knew the details until now. She also believes my uncle was aware of it's notorious history as well. Recently, some parachute blogs have been researching the accident and the final fate of our B-25, which is how I came upon this information. There are also some new photos of 44-30470 and the wreckage at Orange, as well as some newspaper stories I had never seen before, that you can read and see here.

  And there is more here.

  As you can see, this is a very sad story. One of the strange twists is the persistent rumor that there was another plane filled with parachutists on the runway at Orange and my uncle had to quickly pull up and add power to avoid hitting them, setting into motion the chain of events leading to his crash - a sort of "parachutists’ revenge" on the infamous B-25 from Lake Erie. As with most stories, however, this seems at this point to be just that. One of the good things to come from this for me is that I had the opportunity to speak by email with an eyewitness to the my uncle's accident and he assured me there was no other airplane on the runway. There are some other people I would love to speak with about this (and I hope too) but it seems to me that with as many as 100 witnesses or more that if there was another plane on the runway, this would have been easy to confirm. None of the newspaper accounts, quotes from witnesses or any official reports mention another plane on the runway.

  Here is the airplane in better days:

  

  At the risk of invoking the website gods, I'll also post one of the crash photos right here, and pull it down if anyone complains (so look quick).

  

• Finally, way, way back in February (see below), Tony Avis had sent some information in about B-25N 44-30861 and I had made the inquiry about whether or not this airplane was really used as a camera ship for The War Lover in 1961. He sent in some more information that I found interesting and I thus quote. Tony writes:

  When I worked on the Mitchell in Southend it seemed common knowledge among the museum members that it had been used to film The War Lover as well as 633 Squadron. It was also mentioned in one of the museum society newsletters. Most of the people involved had known the Mitchell since it was passed to the BHAM at Biggin Hill which couldn't have been too long after it last flew.

  About 7 or 8 years ago I met Ray Thomas, the son of Peter Thomas who founded the Skyfame Collection. I think during our conversation he mentioned that the Mitchell (which was then sitting at North Weald where he was working on the ex Southend CASA 211/Heinkel HE-111) appeared in the background in some film shots but I have never actually seen the film so I don't know if this is true.

  I was searching the web today and came across a picture of a B-17 being scrapped at Biggin Hill after filming for The War Lover. Ray had mentioned to me that the B-17 had been offered free of charge to Skyfame when filming finished but HM Customs stepped in and wanted Skyfame to pay import duties to retain the aircraft. As you probably know Skyfame was run on a shoestring and the budget just wouldn't stretch to paying the duty so the B-17 was scrapped. For some reason duty wasn't payable on it as scrap!

  As far as ownership of N9089Z goes, I always understood that it was owned by one of Jeff Hawke's companies (possibly Visionaire?). He seemed to use aircraft for a specific job and then it wasn't uncommon for him to abandon them. He had a Meteor at Duxford with another early jet that sat at the endo of the runway by the motorway for a long time. I always understood that the Mitchell was impounded at Biggin for non payment of parking fees and given to the BHAM shortly before BHAM moved to Southend.

  Here's a photo of the airplane in the mid-1960s, still marked with "Aero Associates" on the tail.

  

  Just as a recap, the U.S. civil registration file for this airplane shows it purchased from USAF surplus by American Compressed Steel on December 31, 1959. It was transferred to Aero American Corp., an associated company, in May 1960. It was sold to Hamilton Aircraft at Tucson in July 1963, then immediately sold to another Aero American Corp. subsidiary, Aero Associates, that same month. Aero Associates was based at Ryan Field near Tucson and run by Greg Board. Now, War Lover was filmed in October-November 1961 in England, while the airplane was owned by Aero American. 633 Squadron was filmed in 1963 at Bovingdon, and it is known that N9089Z was used for the filming. At that point it was, in fact, owned by Aero Associates and used by John Hawke for the filming. I seriously question its use in War Lover however, based on the fact that is no "at-the-time" verification of its use (i.e. Martin Caidin's Everything But the Flak (Greg Board having a central role in that book), it was owned by Aero American during the period, and the type of air-to-air shots used in the film were somewhat limited. All the information I've seen to date is of the "everyone knows it was used to film War Lover" variety but that's as much proof as is offered. It does show up in scenes in 633 Squadron but I've watched War Lover closely and have not seen a B-25 there. Maybe I'll look again.

  Greg Board had some problems (i.e. lawsuits) with his corporate bosses at Aero American in September 1962 (nearly a year after War Lover was filmed), and he left their employ at that time. Part of the dispute was ownership issues over two airplanes, a Cessna 180 and possibly a Columbia XJL-1. Things are murky but he appears to have spun off his company, Aero Associates, when he left, and the ownership changes of this B-25 from Aero American to Hamilton to Aero Associates in 1963 may have been related to lawsuits and such murky company issues. Board contracted with Hamilton in 1965 to work up some A-26 Invaders he wanted to export to Portugal with the help of Jeff Hawke, but that's another intriguing story that ended up with Hawke in jail and Board fleeing the U.S. with a bag of money. Board, obviously larger than life, passed away in 2007 and there are a number of great stories about Mr. Board that bear telling. I have, by the way, pursued such a telling of the stories with his family, particularly his son Mark Board but, alas, they are content to leave thing where they lay and me, being a fine gentleman, shall respect their wishes. My big regret is in not trying to get Mr. Board's story years ago from the best source...him. All that aside, Board and Hawke were a pair of excellent pilots and shady operators of a type that, for good or bad, is now largely extinct.

• And that, my friends, wraps up another installment, long overdue. Keep those cards and letter and photos coming. Blah...blah...blah.

February 2009

• Tony Avis filled in some more of the history of B-25N 44-30861 that last flew in the 1960s as a cameraship for at least one movie filmed in England. I quote:

  The aircraft came to England and was used as a camera ship for the films 633 Squadron and the War Lover. She may have appeared in the background in some shots in the War Lover. After filming she was effectively abandoned at Biggin Hill and I believe she was gifted to the British Historic Aircraft Museum around 1966.

  The museum moved to Southend in 1967/8 and a crew from Aviation Traders was tasked with moving the B-25 but the wing spar bolts proved to be very difficult to remove so the crew foreman decided to chop the main spar (allegedly with a chain saw!). After reassembly at Southend she was painted in RAF colours as HD368. The museum folded and after spending some time stored near the railway line on the airfield boundary all the museum aircraft were acquired by a new company who launched The Historic Aircraft Museum with a purpose built hangar / exhibition hall on Aviation Way. During this time Stan and David Brett who later founded the Rebel Air Museum undertook a huge amount of work on the Mitchell including reskinning much of the underside of the wings after they had removed all the birds nests. They also did a fair bit to tidy up the interior and made up wooden dummy guns. The Mitchell was very much Stan and David's "baby" and they did all they could to look after her while they were at the Museum.

  Following the closure of The Historic Aircraft Museum N9089Z was sold to Stephen Grey and was initially at Duxford but later moved to North Weald. She was then sold along with the remains of Lincoln RF342 as part of an abortive deal to establish a new museum following which she spent a long time languishing in the long grass at North Weald. The last time I saw her around 6 years ago it appeared that the interior had been stripped since I last went inside at Southend probably best part of 30 years earlier.

  I hope she has a better future but unfortunately any chance of flying her again was effectively ruined when her spar was cut 40 years ago. This Mitchell has been a real survivor and her story deserves to have a happy ending.

  Just as a comment, I'd sure like to determine once and for all whether or not it was used to film War Lover. My information based on several sources says no, but it keeps coming up. Perhaps Tony can provide a definitive source. Also, I would also be curious about it's legal ownership trail in Britain as the last time I had checked the U.S. civil registry still showed it held by the original U.S. owner. I think there was a chain of title issue that precluded it's legal ownership of record as an airplane being transferred to new owners in the U.K.

• Got an inquiry from Lorne Bohn about a B-25 "W" designation that I'm putting out there in case any of you experts can shed some light. Here is part of his email:

  My hobby is aviation history. I enjoy collecting aviation items and researching them. I recently came across a couple of AAF Aircraft Arrival and Clearance reports (Form 23)

  The first is dated Sept. 11, 1945 from Amarillo Field, Amarillo Texas to Will Rogers Field. listed as a B-25-W Aircraft number 1252 Same pilot as below but different crew (6) The other is dated 2, 1945 cleared from ENID Army Air Field , Oklahoma to Will Rodgers Field and flown by 2nd. Lt. Clayton L. Parkhill Jr. It is strange that he listed the aircraft as a B-25-W. The aircraft number is 1465 and the Arrival report lists it as 43-26465 He had 5 other occupants on board.

  Do you know anything about the B-25 "W" designation or any way I could find out about the aircraft?

  Doesn't make sense to me, but if this rings anyone's bell, please let me know.

• A few continuing problems with 44-86725 (N25NA), still parked at Aurora, Oregon. For the past many months, it has purportedly being under preparation for transfer to the Wirraway Aviation Museum at collection based at Beaudesert in Queensland, Australia. At least one key individual has left the project and the future of the transfer is probably cloudy. Bills were going unpaid and there were some other issues. Rumor has it the airplane will be rolled out of the hangar it is in...a polite way of saying it is being evicted. Not trying to get too much into speculation, but the recent "challenging" economic situation and the monetary exchange rate makes thing much more expensive and difficult that they might have been a year or two ago. This B-25's registered owner was changed to GWG, Inc. of Mercer Island, Washington, late last year. Where and when it will go next is anybody's guess. The Wirraway website shows the airplane still coming, and still coming disassembled. We await further news from those in the "know."

• May I suggest that you take the time to read a very interesting story right here located at the Latin American Aviation Historical Society website. It's the story of B-25J 44-86800 (N9091Z) and its ultimate destruction in a remote area of Guatemala back in 1960. Written by John Kevin McAdams, a friend of the ill-fated pilot, it reads like a spy story but its true. We've covered this airplane a bit in prior B-25 News pages but this is pretty much the most complete account you'll find of what happened to the airplane.

• Little bit on the slim pickin's in the B-25 file this month so I thought I'd go the oldy moldy route with this photo of the Challenge Publications' B-25 taken at the Gathering of Warbirds at Madera, California, in August 1980. A great show, by the way, that orginally started at Fresno's Chandler Field back in the 1970s and then moved to Madera. Had a good show every year with many many warbirds. Things started slowing down in the mid to late 1980s and then the show just sorta went away. Anyways...down memory lane....

  

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