Tallmantz TP-40N N923 was widely seen in the 1970s at western airshows, often dueling with a Tallmantz mock-Zero (T-6). It came to Tallmantz through Paul Mantz as he purchased the airplane in late 1958 as only its second civil owner.
44-47923 was factory-built as a two-seat trainer, one of thirty TP-40Ns so built, and delivered from the Curtiss factory at Buffalo, NY, on March 20, 1944. It was assigned to Foster Army Airfield at Victoria, Texas, for the duration of its military service. One of the missions conducted at Foster Field was the assignment of the Air Corps Advanced Flying School (single engine) that utilized P-40s as well as other fighter types. The aircraft record card shows it assigned to the 2539th Base Unit at Foster. The TP-40N was deemed excess to requirements and assigned to the RFC for disposal on October 3, 1945.
It was placed in storage at the RFC field at Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, one of hundreds of P-40s available for sale or scrapping on the field. On March 25, 1946, TP-40N 44-47923 was purchased by Howard LaVerne Pemberton of Kalamazoo, Michigan, for the sum of $1,250 (equivalent to $17,192 in 2021 dollars). Pemberton applied for to the CAA for the assignment of a civil registration and N923 was assigned on September 5, 1946.
According to a 1955 newspaper article, Pemberton was a former test pilot for Curtiss-Wright and participated in the 1946 Thompson and Bendix air races, and lived at Kalamazoo, Michigan. One source shows Pemberton raced P-63F 43-11719 (NX1719) in the 1946 Thompson Race.
However, the use and location of N923 in the twelve years between 1946 and 1958 are unknown at this point, but it was de-registered by the CAA in March 1954 because Pemberton had not complied with the civil air regulations (possibly because on airworthiness certificate had been issued?). N923 was reinstated by the CAA on December 12, 1957.
On July 25, 1957, Pemberton applied for a Limited Airworthiness Certificate. He recorded that the airframe and engine had a total of 60 hours and 50 minutes of flight time accrued on that date. However, for an unknown reason, there is no CAA or FAA record that an airworthiness certificate was ever actually issued.
On November 5, 1958, N923 was purchased by Paul Mantz Air Services at Orange County Airport. Why Mantz purchased a P-40 is a bit of mystery as he may have had as many as three in his possession, in storage or on static display, leftovers from his surplus warplane purchase in 1946 (P-40Ns 44-7192, 44-7263, and 44-7983). There is no indication it was purchased for a film or TV project, though it is possible that one was anticipated that never materialized.
Nonetheless, Mantz added N923 to his collection, painted in a Chinese-marked Flying Tiger scheme.
N923 at Orange County in 1960 (William T. Larkins photo)
August 1959 cover of Model Airplane News.
Side view of N923 while owned by Paul Mantz Air Services in July 1960. Note the Chinese Nationalist markings on the wings and the Air Corps marking on the fuselage. (Scott Thompson Collection)
On November 12, 1961, N923 was sold by Mantz Air Services to Tallmantz Aviation as the two airplane collections were brought together. The TP-40N took up residence at the Tallmantz facility at Orange County Airport, It was incorporated into the Movieland of the Air museum when it opened in 1December 1963, alongside sistership P-40E N1207V that Tallman brought with him to Tallmantz. There is no record of either P-40 being used or even flown between 1961 and 1965, though it is probable some airshow appearances occurred. In February 1966, N12107V was sold along with much of the Tallmantz collection to Rosen-Novak.
N923 remained in the Tallmantz fold, however, and was utilized in a number of films and TV productions over the succeeding years. There is a report that N923 made an appearance in the 1968 John Wayne movie Hellfighters, though I have yet been able to confirm this information. Tallmantz records show they did participate in that project on April 23, 1968, but further information is lacking and I have not been able to view the film myself to see how a P-40 might have figured in the plot.
Tallmantz records do show that a P-40, presumably N923, and also a B-25, were utilized on August 11, 1969, for a project for Paramount (Television?) and Thomas-Spelling Productions. No further details are available in the records.
By 1970 or so, the TP-40N had been refinished in a (sorta) desert camouflage scheme with the requisite tigershark markings on the nose and Chinese nationalist insignia on the wing. Frank Tallman used N923 to perform memorable aerobatic displays at airshows, including mock-dogfights with a mock-Zero (modified T-6) for various airshows in the late 1960s and into the 1970s.
N923 on the Tallmantz ramp in April 1971. (Photo by Scott Thompson)
N923 in October 1972. (Photo by Scott Thompson)
According to Tallmantz records, it appeared in a TV’s Cannon episode that was filmed on January 10, 1972. That episode was A Flight of Hawks that first aired on February 22, 1972, and used two Tallmantz B-25s (N9451Z and N9452Z) wearing their old and faded Catch-22 schemes and, also, one B-25 camera ship (N1203). Also in view was an A-26C (N2825G) and an unidentified P-51D, the Mustang being used extensively. However, a viewing of episode shows no P-40 on site at an unnamed desert airfield.
Later in 1972, N923 was used in the TV movie Birds of Prey in which it appeared early in film being towed down a surface street to a radio station for a promotional event. It makes more sense in the context of the plot that it makes writing it down here. That filming was done October 6-8, 1972, with Tallmantz pilot Jim Appleby running the show for Tallmantz Aviation. That TV film was first broadcast on January 30, 1973.
Screen capture from Birds of Prey showing N923 in the parking lot of a supposed radio station. No flying scenes with the P-40 in the film.
Tallmantz Aviation had a big role in the filming of an unsold pilot episode for a TV version of the movie Catch-22. Identically title, the concept was evidently to take advantage of the sentiment of the successful TV show MASH but not be as clever or funny. Over the period of November 20-25, 1972, and December 18-20, 1972, Tallmantz brought a small fleet of airplanes, including N923 and several B-25s, to the El Mirage airport east of Palmdale in the southern California desert. Though the pilot episode featured B-25s and B-25 footage from the movie, it also used N923 as set dressing and it had a role in one scene featuring Richard Dreyfuss in the cockpit.
Screen capture from the unsold TV pilot Catch-22 showing a young Richard Dreyfuss in the cockpit of N923. Tallmantz provided several B-25s, the P-40, and a few light aircraft for set dressing on location at El Mirage in the high desert above Los Angeles for the 1972 filming.
The first and only network showing of the pilot episode was on May 21, 1973.. By that time, it had no doubt been decided by important people not to pick up Catch-22 for a television series…for obvious reasons if anybody watches it. Nonetheless, it is interesting to watch today if only for the featured Tallmantz aircraft, and is available for viewing through the wonders of YouTube. Check it out.
TP-40N N923 was featured in the 1973 ABC Movie of the Week Death Race (later retitled State of Division). It and John Paul’s P-40E (RCAF 1057 N94466) were used for the filming but N923 had the prominent role. The plot mostly revolves around a ground-bound P-40, this being N923, being chased across the desert by a German tank in North Africa in November 1942. It sounds a bit far-fetched but it actually is a pretty good movie. It has some great P-40 operational and taxiing (across the desert) shots. Its human stars were Lloyd Bridges and Doug McClure. The Tallmantz records indicate that its participation in the filming occurred between September 7 and September 20, 1973, and also employed one of the Tallmantz B-25 camera ships, either N1042B or N1203, for some air-to-air filming of the P-40s and some air-to-ground shots. Frank Tallman, Frank Pine, and several other Tallmantz crew were assigned to the filming for Tallmantz. The rear canopy of N923 was painted over to mask it TP-40Nish features. The film was first broadcast on November 10, 1973 (they made movies quicker back then).
TP-40N N923 seen in the Death Race scheme at Tallmantz on October 13, 1973. The photo clearly shows the attempt to cover the rear cockpit and depict P-40E style aft cockpit windows. (Photo by R.A. Scholefield; used with permission)
It reportedly made appearances in Baa Baa Blacksheep (later Blacksheep Squadron). Tallmantz records show the company directly supported the TV series with work between March 8-May 1, 1976, July 26, 1976, and July 26-29, 1977.
As the Tallmantz operation began to wind down in the early 1980s, the TP-40N remained parked and largely unused at the museum facility. It was finally sold, along with the remaining parts of the Tallmantz collection, to Kermit Weeks, in February 1985. The collection was moved to one of the several Weeks facilities in Florida. It has been flown by Kermit Weeks on occasion through the years and is maintained in airworthy condition. It remains based at the old Fantasy of Flight facility at Polk City, Florida.
TP-40N N923 with Kermit Weeks (Fantasy of Flight) in 2003. (Tony Andrews via WIX)