B-25s

photo: Robert O’Dell

The B-25H owned by the EAA and long displayed at the Eagle Hangar at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is undergoing a restoration back to flying condition. It should be flying for AirVenture 2019 after several years of effort to raise money and complete extensive work on engines, propellers, mechanical systems, paint, and markings. This particular aircraft was built by North American Aviation at the factory that adjoined what is now LAX and delivered to the Army Air Forces in February 1944. It’s wartime service was as a stateside trainer and it was surplus in 1946. It enjoyed a long civil career primarily as an executive transport. Above photo shows the airplane in January 1960 at Westchester, New York. The photo below was taken at AirVenture 2018 as the restoration nears completion. The new markings and name applied to the B-25 are the same as it carried for the filming of “Catch-22” in 1969, though it also appeared in that film as a plushed-out VIP B-25 with, among other perks, white side-wall tires.

photo: Scott Thompson