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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.

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 CAF 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 idenfied 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 reseerved 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 Laiden 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, Loïc Desguin from Belgium passed along a to what I think are his photos taken at a Belgian airshow in late May. Among those he photographed was B-25J 45-8811 (F-AZID) in the air:

  

  There's a large number of interesting and well-shot photos on that site...check it out.

• 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 Sholl 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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1999-2003 B-25 News