B-25H N1203
A publicity photo showing Paul Mantz and B-25H N1203 taken on March 17, 1948. The photo caption provided with the distributed photo reads: Pilot Paul Mantz, equipped with a B-25 bomber flying laboratory, has now embarked on a new venture…he’s selling rain at two cents an acre to Arizona ranchers. ‘It’s all very scientific,’ he explained and declared that rain making is no longer a pipe-dream. To coak rain from a reluctant cloud, all you have to do is spray dry ice or silver iodide over the right kind of cloud formation. In case that doesn’t work, Mantz sends out a bucket of water to start off the rain-making chain reaction. (Photo via Dan Johnson)
B-25H N1203
The Paul Mantz Air Service B-25H, N1203, in a view showing an early adaptation of the camera nose for the installation of the Cinerama cameras, this most likely for the first Cinerama film This Is Cinerama, in 1952. Note the early modification to the standard greenhouse B-25 nose section to accommodate the bulky camera installation. A cleaner and more functional camera nose that featured a cylindrical piece of nose glass was later developed using the modified structure of the standard greenhouse nose. Note also the nose had sliding metal covers to protect the camera view when filming was not in progress. This Is Cinerama, a full-length film, featured low-level aerial filming of American locations as flown by Mantz in the B-25. Mantz and his B-25 were used all of the Cinerama productions though to the last effort, How The West Was Won, in 1962. (photo via J.D. Davis)
B-25H N1203
Paul Mantz standing alongside his B-25H cameraship with a detail view of the Cinerama camera installation in the nose. The Cinerama system incorporated three cameras shooting synchronized 35mm film and, though it was a very complicated process with significant drawbacks, produced the ultimate widescreen experience. The cameras had a single rotating shutter that explains the unusual appearance of the business end of the Cinerama installation. This photo was probably taken during the initial This Is Cinerama filming in 1952. (photo via J.D. Daviss
B-25H N1203
Paul Mantz and his familiar B-25 as seen probably circa 1956 or 1957, after both the filming of the Cinerama production of Seven Wonders of the World (1955) and The Spirit of St. Louis (1956). The B-25 was emblazoned with large maps on both sides of the fuselage below the cockpit detailing its world-wide filming journeys. Mantz was at the top of his game at this point…he was the go-to guy for any projects that needed aircraft on either side of the camera. (Is that Cort Johnston, flight engineer, in the cockpit?) (Photo via J.D. Davis)
Paul Mantz and Cort Johnston
Photo of Mantz and long-time flight engineer Cort Johnston. Johnston was usually part of a Paul Mantz flight crew through the 1950s in the B-25. (photo via J.D. Davis)
B-25H N1203 and Cinerama
One of the few times N1203 actually appeared in front of the camera was during a sequence shot for the Cinerama production of Seven Wonders of the World in 1956. This screenshot clearly shows that the bulky Cinerama three-camera assembly was mounted on the Mantz TBM, N9394H, for this sequence. The modified nose compartment of the B-25 normally mounted the Cinerama cameras for the spectacular aerial footage shot around the world for the film. (Screenshot via J.D. Davis)
Paul Mantz and Lowel Thomas
Paul Mantz and producer/narrator Lowel Thomas in the cockpit of B-25H N1203 during the filming of the three camera Cinerama production Seven Wonders of the World in 1956. This scene appeared in the film though J.D. Davis, who captured this screenshot, notes that this sequence was shot with a conventional single camera, no doubt due to the bulky Cinerama camera and tight space. (Screenshot via J.D. Davis)
B-25H N1203
John Voss shot this great photo of B-25H N1203 at Orange County in late 1958. Note that the camera nose has been nearly perfected at this point, with a piece of cylindrical, optically-clear glass incorporated into the structure. The numerous glass panels remaining in the nose section were eventually painted over due to issues with reflections that interfered with filming. Though the modified nose section was ideal for Cinerama and other aerial filming, the modified tail-gunner’s compartment on the airplane was heavily utilized for air-to-air filming. (John Voss)
Boeing 100
A Bill Larkins photo showing the Paul Mantz Boeing 100 at the San Francisco Bay Airdrome at Alameda, California, in 1939. Mantz was born and raised in Alameda (east bay side). (William T. Larkins)
Paul Mantz Magazine Cover
August 1959 cover of Model Airplane News showing Paul Mantz with a couple of lucky kids in front of his TP-40N, N923. Anyone have a better scan of this cover shot? Where was this photo taken? Not Orange County.
Lockheed Sirius 8A NC117W
Paul Mantz’s Lockheed Sirius 8A, NC117W, shown here probably in 1940. Bill Larkins thinks he shot the photo while the film House Across the Bay was being filmed. (William T. Larkins)
Lockheed Sirius 8A NC117W
The Lockheed Sirius was featured on the cover of Popular Aviation for the July 1938 issue. This photo shows Paul Mantz on the right and shows the obvious purpose Mantz had for the airplane, here being used to film the 1938 film Men With Wings. This cover scan comes from the excellent website on the Davis-Monthan Airfield and was contributed to that site by Tim Kalina.
Lockheed Sirius 8A NC117W
An inspired view of the Mantz Lockheed Sirius 8A, NC117W, as photographed by Bill Larkins. As can be seen in the above magazine cover, the “gun ring” was actually a mount for a 35 mm motion picture camera. The Sirius was lost in May 1940 near Downey, California, in a mid-air collision with a Vultee. The crew of three on the Sirius was lost. (William T. Larkins)
Sikorsky S-39 NC804W
The Mantz Sikorsky S-39, NC804W, as seen in the late 1930s/early 1940s. (William T. Larkins)
Amelia Earhart
This was photo of Amelia Earhart that Mantz had on his office desk when his personal effects were collected after his July 1965 death. James Rogers was able to save the photo before it went into the dumpster. (James Rogers Collection)
A Caricature of Paul Mantz
A caricature of Paul Mantz done by Don Barclay, apparently completed in 1948. This was found by Craig Covner at a swap meet! (Craig Covner)
Goodyear FG-1D N63382
Mantz purchased this FG-1D, the old Dave Weyler Bendix racer, in 1957. It came to Tallmantz with the merger in 1961 and was part of the collection sold to Rosen-Novak in 1966. It is now owned by Kermit Weeks and was last reported (2007) to be under restoration in Australia. Anyone have the current status? (John Voss)
PB4Y-2 Privateer N7683C
This PB4Y-2 Privateer, N7683C, was parked at the southeast end of the Orange County Airport in this view taken in the spring of 1959. It was not connected to Mantz, but was parked across the taxiway on the infield along with another surplus PB4Y-2. Courtesy of information uncovered by Nick Veronico, N7683C was purchased by Cameron Lazone in June 1959, and it was modified for cargo use and operated for several years in Honduras, eventually going to the Honduran Air Force. It was reportedly scrapped in Honduras in the late 1970s. (John Voss)
Orange County PBYs
There were also a bunch of PBYs out at the southeast end, reportedly thirteen of the Navy surplus patrol bombers. They were owned by Catalina Limited, purchased with the intent of converting them to flying yachts. That business plan did not materialize, and several ended up being used (and destroyed) in the filming of Tora Tora Tora in 1968. This example, N5591V, was seen in Mexico during the filming of Catch-22 in 1969, supposedly owned and operated by movie pilot Don Hackett. Eventually, as the story goes, Hackett was asked to get his PBY off the set as it did not fit into the wartime setting of the film, an Italian B-25 base. (John Voss)
Paul Mantz Advertisement
Drawn advertising for Union 76 Triton Oil featuring Paul Mantz. Rick Jackson found this advertisement in the January 1949 issue of Desert magazine and sent it in. This is indicative of the high profile Mantz had at the time as his fame spread beyond aviation and Hollywood to the general public.
