(Last updated on 12/29/23)

I shall be the first to confess that my knowledge of World War I aviation is limited at best. However, based on a photo that recently surfaced, I spent some time researching the history of the  Paul Mantz/Tallmantz Aviation Eberhardt SE.5E that operated as N4488 and last operated in the UK as G-BLXT. There are several questions about this airframe that remain unanswered, but since the FAA registration file is on hand, I think getting the available information out there is worthwhile.

First, a brief history gleaned from the marginally reliable world-wide web. When the U.S. entered World War I in April 1917, it lacked a combat worthy fighter aircraft. It was decided that the U.S. Army Air Service would adopt the Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a, and arrangements were made to have Curtiss produce them in the U.S. Thirty-eight SE.5as were purchased directly from the Royal  Aircraft Factory for assignment to U.S. units already arriving in Europe. Curtiss only built a few SE.5a prior to the war ending in November 1918, but assembled a further 56 from components imported from the UK. In 1922, the Eberhardt Steel Products Company received a contract from the AAS to rebuild 50 airframes using 180-hp Wright-Hispano “E” engines. Other changes to the airframe included covering the fuselage structure with plywood.  The 50 rebuilt airframes were redesignated as SE-5E for the AAS and utilized for advanced training. They were among the first aircraft to receive the revised Army aircraft fiscal year serial numbering system, and were assigned 22-276 though 22-325, inclusive. 

Early History of 22-296

There is little to document the early history of AS 22-296. The actual USAF record cards for the block of SE.5Es is a bit sparse, but does contain one card…that of 22-325, the last of the bunch. It indicates assignment at Bolling Field (Washington, D.C.) in January 1923, and then Langley Field the following month. (It was transferred to the University of Nebraska In January 1929 and dropped from the inventory. This aircraft ended up at the National Museum of the USAF where it remains displayed.) 

So, the best presumption is that 22-296 was rebuilt by Eberhardt in late 1922. Several sources state the base airframe had the RAF serial of B4863, though I can’t find where that tie-up was made. Service history is unknown, but the FAA file shows it was manufactured by Eberhardt Steel Products and remodeled by the U.S. Army in 1923 at Duncan Field, San Antonio. The engine it had when it went civil in March 1926 was a Hispano Model E engine, later refined in the paperwork as a Wright Aeronautical Corp. E Hispano Suiza, 180 hp, with a serial number of 83804.

The definitive service history of 22-296 is unknown. However, most (if not all) AAS SE.5Es were assigned to the 43rd School Squadron at Kelly Field at San Antonio, Texas, to be used for flight training. As can be seen below, 22-296 was indeed at Kelly Field in December 1924, and used for flight training.

Charles Lindbergh Flies 22-296

There is an entry in the flight records of Charles Lindbergh, then a lowly Army Air Service pilot-in-training, that he flew 22-296 at Kelly Field on December 11, 1924, for five flights for a total duration of 60 minutes in the airplane. Two and half years later, Lindbergh was the most famous person on earth after his Spirt of St. Louis flight.

Initial Civil Sale of 22-296

At some point, probably in 1927, 22-296  ended up in the hands of Southern Airways. It may have been sold or transferred by the Army directly to Southern Airways or there was perhaps an intermediate owner. However, the first recorded information in the FAA file on the aircraft shows the Bureau of Air Commerce issuing the identification mark of 4488 to the unlicensed AS 22-296 on March 10, 1928. It was issued to Jack C. Neal of San Antonio, Texas, who purchased the aircraft from Southern Airways. No information is provided about the transfer from the Army to Southern Airways. Jack Neal was a distributor of Nash Motor Cars in San Antonio, and he stated the plane was for ‘pleasure flying.’

During this period, aircraft could be issued an identification mark but not be licensed by the federal government, as was the case with 4488. 

A few months later, in August 1928, it was sold by Neal to Henry Phelps, also of San Antonio.  No information is in the file about Phelps, and he retained ownership of 4428 for just a week before selling the plane to a new owner in southern California on September 5, 1928.

September 1928 Sale to J. Danner Bunch

Hell’s Angels?

There are many sources out there that say 4488 was used in the 1930 release of Hell’s Angels. My initial research suggested this was doubtful, but new information has surfaced that confirms its use in the film. 

Most of the aerial scenes for the Howard Hughes-directed aerial epic were shot between August 1927 and November 1928 at locations in the San Fernando Valley (Southern California) and Oakland. During most of this period, AS 22-296 was registered to Texas owners. It was not until September 1928 that the aircraft was registered to an owner in Southern California. Almost all of the aircraft used in the film were gathered between August  and October 1927. However, there is a photo of 4488 in the movie paint scheme along with a known film pilot and a good source, John Underwood, who states it was indeed used in the filming.

Some sources state that originally there were four SE.5s, all SE.5As, used in the film and that came from an eastern skywriting company (Skywriters, Inc. of New York). Indeed, a review of the film does show several SE.5As used, but no identified shots of SE.5Es with the distinctive cowling vents showing. However, at least one of the SE.5As was destroyed in an early 1929 crash and was replaced by another SE.5, so it is possible that is where 4488 comes into the film. There were some added scenes filmed in the spring of 1929 that may have utilized 4488 and, if so, it was leased from owner J. Danner Bunch while it was based at Lincoln Airlines Field.

Again, there are no definitive lists of what aircraft were used to make up the fifty-plus air force gathered for filming Hell’s Angels, so we are relying on photographic evidence to deduce that 4488 was indeed used in the film, though it is not identifiable, to these eyes anyway, in the resulting film.

1930s Ownership Changes of 4488 And More Movies

Suzy (1936)

Aviation film historian Bruce Orriss has noted that 4488 probably was one of the two SE.5Es used in the filming of the 1936 MGM release of Suzy, which starred Jean Harlow. Paul Mantz was the aerial coordinator. At the time of the filming, which began in April 1936, 4488 was possibly owned by broker Charles Babb. I say apparently because, as noted above, of the confusing chain of ownership contained in the aircraft registration record.

But Paul Mantz and his United Air Services were already dominating the business of providing planes and pilots for Hollywood filming, and he was good at begging, borrowing, or stealing aircraft for such efforts and apparently procured 4488 for the film.

Men With Wings (1938)

In March 1938, 4488 was sold to Paramount Pictures. Paramount Pictures, under the direction of Paul Mantz, was assembling a small air force for the production of Men With Wings. The airplane was issued the experimental license by the new CAA of X-4488. At about the time of the sale to Paramount, Otto Timm of the Timm Aircraft Corp. did a major repair to the fuselage as part of the effort to get the airplane airworthy for the filming.

From the research done by Bruce Orriss, there was only one SE.5E used for the filming, so it can be concluded that 4488 was most likely that SE.5E. Filming began in May 1938, with most of the air field scenes shot at Metropolitan Airport (now Van Nuys) in the San Fernando Valley, plus a few other locations in the Los Angeles area. However, there is no obvious view of the SE.5E in the released film, though it may be present in the background of some scenes.

Paramount Pictures retained ownership of X-4488 after the filming. A logbook excerpt provided by Darren Pitcher shows aircraft activity in October 1938. Among other flights, Paul Mantz flew the airplane on a test hop on October 1 from Grand Central Airport in Glendale to Metropolitan Airport (Van Nuys) and then to United Air Terminal (Burbank). On  October 24, it was flown from Metropolitan Airport to the Oakland Airport via Fresno. On October 26, it was flown to nearby Treasure Island, and then on October 29 it returned to Los Angeles, presumably the Metropolitan Airport.

In May 1940, registration paperwork shows the total aircraft time of 15 hours and 30 minutes, not much for an aircraft then nearly twenty years old.

Sale to United Air Services (Paul Mantz) in 1941

Paramount sold X-4488 to United Air Services on May 4, 1941. Actually, the bill of sale shows the airplane going to United Air Services, Paul Mantz Air Services, and Paul Mantz, evidently covering all the bases. Registration was issued in the name of United Air Service. There is no subsequent activity in the registration file from the purchase in April 1941 until 1962.

During those years, my research suggests that the SE.5E, now registered as N4488, had turned from a marginal airframe into a basket case by 1955. The only photo located through the period is seen below and is most likely that of N4488 circa 1955 at the Mantz ‘storage yard’ at the south end of Orange County Airport. It is probable that the remnants of markings on the airplane are the ones it wore in the last film it was used in, a no-doubt late 1930s as-yet-unidentified effort.

It is actually a bit surprising that Mantz would have let it and other such airplanes deteriorate to such a condition. However, above all, Mantz was a business man and the airplanes he owned and operated served mostly just the purpose of making money in film work or otherwise. He maintained a few older airplanes in better condition, but he had a large stock of parts and airframes that he could draw upon and rebuilt if a contract surfaced that needed a particular airplane.

And so it was. The fuselage of the SE.5E was cleaned up for a brief appearance in the 1957 film The Spirit of St. Louis. It appears about thirty minutes into the film as a backdrop in the Ryan Airplane factory when construction of the Spirit was started. Those scenes were most likely filmed in late 1955 or early 1956 on a sound stage in Hollywood.

It is an interesting coincidence that an airplane Lindbergh flew in 1924 was one that appeared in a film about him in 1957. It is doubtful that any involved in the filming knew of the connection.

Aside from its appearance in The Spirit of St. Louis, there is no record of any film work or other use for the SE.5E in the 1940s or 1950s. In October 1956, one source shows that Mantz reported the SE.5E as “being rebuilt;” at that point, the airplane was possibly in indoor storage after the Spirit of St. Louis work earlier in the year.

It should be noted that there are reports that this aircraft was also used for backdrop, in Lafayette Escadrille (filmed in October and November 1956). Based on the available information, I think this is incorrect. Lafayette Escadrille was purely a Frank Tallman effort; Paul Mantz was not involved in the project at any level.

N4488 Goes To Tallmantz in 1961

So Mantz and Tallman merged their operations in November 1961. It appears that Tallman wanted to get the SE.5E put back together because in May 1962, Tallman applied for an experimental airworthiness certificate for N4488. Citing that prior records were lost, the airframe and engine time (since overhaul) were stated as 1.0 hours.

Peculiarly, the registration remained in the name of United Air Services until July 1963, when it was transferred to Paul Mantz and Paul Mantz Air Services. However, there was also an application for registration in the name of Tallmantz Aviation a year earlier, in May 1962. Obviously, the paperwork was not a major concern at the time.

In any event, the airplane was in fact rebuilt back to airworthy condition. Photos from 1963 show the airplane externally in good condition with an post-war Army Air Services paint scheme and the serial 22-296 prominently added to the fuselage as part of that scheme. The finished airplane and scheme have all the earmarks of a Tallman effort to get the airplane flying and properly marked.

In Tallman’s 1973 book Flying the Old Planes, he has a chapter entitled SE.5A. There is one photo of it being flown, but Tallman admits that “…my experience in the SE5 is limited and just flying it is a considerable thrill…” so it is apparent that it did not fly much after it was rebuilt in 1962 There is no record of Tallmantz using it in film projects during the 1962-1966 period.  As a matter of interest, the information provided in the subsequent auction brochure in 1968 states that the pages of the combined aircraft and engine logbooks that came with the airplane cover the period from May 24, 1962, until September 22, 1962. It is thus presumed that the Tallman flight(s) in the SE.5E occurred during that period. 

The only recorded use of N4488 by Tallmantz is a 1966 project recorded as “‘Mag Wheels’ Ad Stills,” presumably a print advertisement photo shoot. A diligent search of such an advertisement turned up only one possibility, located at the Vintage Wheel Catalog website. This 1966 Fenton Mags advertisement does show a Tallmantz aircraft and, from all appearances, was shot at the Movieland of the Air Museum, but is of Tallmantz Nieuport 28 N4728V with, not-coincidently, a Fenton Mag wheel. So, a conclusion is either the Tallmantz records are not correct and the Nieuport was shot instead or there is another not-yet-located advertisement out there. I suspect the former.

Sale to Rosen-Novak in February 1966

On February 18, 1966, it was sold by Tallmantz to Rosen-Novak Auto Co. of Omaha, Nebraska, along with a large portion of the Tallmantz collection. As noted elsewhere on this site, this was done to raise cash to keep Tallmantz Aviation solvent during a difficult period. The SE.5E and the rest of the collection remained on display at the Movieland of the Air Museum while awaiting Rosen-Novak to dispose of the collection.

May 1968 Tallmantz Auction

The May 1968 event was actually the Rosen-Novak auction held at Tallmantz Aviation, as Rosen-Novak owned all the airplanes and parts that were sold. The Aeroflex Foundation of New York… placed the winning bid for SE.5E N4488 at $9,500. Aeroflex purchased five other aircraft at the auction, including a Spad D7 (N4727V) and a Pfalz (N43C). 

Aeroflex Museum and N4488

The Aeroflex Foundation ran the Aeroflex Museum located on a private airstrip at Andover, New Jersey. An application was made by the Aeroflex Foundation to register N4488 in its name in June 1968, though there is no indication in the FAA file that it was actually issued to Aeroflex. The airplane was displayed at Andover until financial difficulties cause the museum to be closed in the late 1970s.

Sale to Patrick Lindsay in the UK

On October 14, 1981, Aeroflex sold N4488 to Patrick Lindsay of London, England. Lindsay was better known as an auto racer/collector but also managed a significant aircraft collection through the years. The U.S. registration of the SE.5E was subsequently cancelled. Tony Bianchi and his Personal Plane Service rebuilt the SE.5E to airworthy condition at its shop at Booker in Buckinghamshire (UK). It emerged in December 1985  and registered as G-BLXT. At this point, it carried the markings of B4683 with an RAF scheme.

It was flown in the presence of its owner, Patrick Lindsay, as he was suffering from cancer and passed away the following March. Ownership of the plane went to his wife and, later his children. 

It was operated by the Old Flying Machine Company at Duxford in the UK, though the CAA record for G-BLXT does not show an ownership change from the Lindsay children. The CAA shows the civil registration subsequently canceled in October 2000. The status of the aircraft between the mid-1990s and 2013 needs to be determined, though there are reports it was still operated by the Old Flying Machine Company in the 2008 timeframe. As seen below, G-BLXT was also exported to the U.S. for a year or two in the 1994 timeframe. One would think there would be a somewhat more definitive record of this rare aircraft’s location and use in the 2000-2013 timeframe, but verified information has proven elusive. 

Displayed at the U.S. Army Aviation Museum?

There are several sources that state that G-BLXT was placed on loan to the U.S. Army Aviation Museum at Fort Novosel in Alabama. Most of this comes, I think, from a 1995 notice in the American Aviation Historical Society newsletter by Al Letcher that stated he was preparing an “SE-5A” for display and it carried the U.S. civil registration of N4488. One report indicates it was actually exported to the U.S. and Letcher did indeed have possession of the aircraft on, presumably, a loan basis.

However, contacting the museum, it has no records to support that N4488 was ever displayed at the museum. One of the museum’s staff has but a distant memory that a deal may have been struck but never completed, and the Lindsay SE.5 never went on display. The airplane actually displayed at the museum through the years (and remains on display) is replica SE.5A. At some point, N4488 was returned to the UK.

Sale to Richard Grace in 2013

The CAA records the sale of G-BLXT on August 30, 2013, to Richard Grace of the Spitfire Blister at Sywell Airport in Northhampton (UK).

According to a reliable source, the sale to Grace was only a temporary one as Grace handled the re-import of the SE.5E back to the UK, and then undertook the restoration work. The actual impetus behind the project was David Arnold, a surviving son of renown aircraft collector Doug Arnold, and to whom G-BLXT was ultimately transferred to in 2018.

In any event, Grace restored it again to airworthy condition with sources indicating it flew once more in October 2016 from the Sywell Airport. At this point, the aircraft was painted overall olive drab with U.S. Army Air Service markings and 22-296 marked again on its fuselage.

2018 Sale to Flying A Services

On October 2, 2018, G-BLXT was sold to Flying A Services at Greenham Commons airport at Newbury in Berkshire (UK). Flying A Services is, from information available, a remnant of Doug Arnold’s Warbirds of Great Britain that is managed by a surviving son, David Arnold.  The CAA registration was subsequently transferred to the new owner.

Current Status?

Depending on what source you are looking at, the Tallmantz SE.5E is now either in long-term storage at Greenham Commons or is still at Sywell and possibly in storage. However, a reputable source tells me that this aircraft is not currently at Sywell but is stored a private location still located in the UK.

(Thanks to Darren Pitcher, Dave Welch, Ron Cole, and Bruce Orriss in the preparation of this material.)