I received an update and recent photos of the restoration of B-25C 41-13251 (N3968C) from Air Classic’s Michael O’Leary. The work is being done by the craftsmen at Aero Trader under the direction of owners Carl Scholl and Tony Ritzman. The level of detail and skill is clearly seen in the photos. The significant thing about this restoration, besides the rarity of the B-25C, is that it is going back to the corporate configuration as operated by the Hughes Tool Company in the 1950s. Hughes Tool Company, of course, means the unusual and enigmatic Howard Hughes.

Michael O’Leary provides the following details:

“During March (2022), another step forward was made with the ex-Howard Hughes B-25C Mitchell when the horizontal and vertical stabilizers were attached to the fuselage. The aircraft, which was parked on the west end of the Hughes airfield in Culver City for many years in company with an A-20 and BT-13, had been moved to Fox Field, Lancaster, California, where it sat in outside storage at a third-rate aviation museum that eventually failed. The aircraft’s current owner actually flew in the plane as a child and wanted the aircraft restored in its executive condition from the 1950s. This was no small task since all the modifications to turn the plane into a business aircraft were one-of-a-kind and handmade. “A lot of the early history of this aircraft has been lost to time,” states Aero Trader’s Carl Scholl. “For example, we do not precisely know if the executive modifications were undertaken by Hughes or if the plane was purchased by him in modified condition. The modifications to the fuselage are extensive. The very large windows are the biggest ever installed on a B-25 and this fact, combined with the installation for the airstair door, meant the structure of the fuselage had to be greatly reinforced. This reinforcement work was done very well and one of the stories we have heard is that it was done by Glenn Odekirk and Richard Palmer, who designed and built the Hughes H-1 race plane.” With most of the major components now restored, detail work is proceeding on the airframe. Very few Mitchells were converted to executive aircraft and 41-13251/N3968C will be the only example restored to that configuration.“

Thanks much to Michael for providing this update. More can be found on this aircraft restoration in the June 2022 issue of Air Classics magazine.

History of B-25C 41-13251 (N3968C)

Below is the history (with a bit of an update) of 41-13251 as presented in the book B-25 Mitchell in Civil Service:

Built as B-25C-1-NA and delivered on Sept. 30, 1942. Initial assignment to Greenville Field, SC and later to Drew Field. Final assignment to Brooks Field in Feb. 1945. Released to the RFC at Walnut Ridge, AR in Dec. 1945. Sold on Sept. 13, 1946 to Texas Railway Equipment Corp., Houston, TX as part of a sale of 4,861 surplus aircraft. Sold in Dec. 1947 to Robert Harlow, Houston, TX for $1750. Registration of NL75635 assigned in Dec. 1947. Sold in Apr. 1949 to Al Gruff, Dallas, TX for $10,000. Exported for service with the Fuerza Aerea Dominicana (FAD-Dominican Air Force). Serial reportedly assigned as FAD 2502. Registration canceled by CAA in Jan. 1952. Sold on July 8, 1952 by FAD to Charles Mathews & Co., Miami, FL. Sold in July 1952 to the Babb Company, Newark, NJ. Registration of N3968C assigned in July 1952. Sold in Jan. 1953 to Hughes Tool Co., Houston, TX. Transferred in July 1974 to Antelope Valley Aero Museum, Lancaster, CA. Stored at William J. Fox Field, Lancaster, CA in steadily deteriorating condition through the 1980s. Museum name changed in ownership records to Milestones of Flight Museum in Sept. 1986.

It was obtained by SAN SIMEON AIR LLC in 2015. Reportedly, this is a company owned by a member of the media-giant Hearst family, and this is the reason for the restoration of the B-25C to its executive configuration of the 1950s…that family remember fondly recalls flying in the B-25 as a youngster with Howard Hughes at the controls.

By my count, it is one of only four B-25C known to survive and, most likely, will be the only one that will again see wind beneath its wings.