B-25C-NA SN 41-12442
History
The B-25C-NA SN 41-12442 was delivered on February 6, 1942. She was originally intended for transport to the Netherlands East Indies Air Force, assigned serial number N5-124, and was flown to Long Beach in February. In March, she was acquired by the 3rd Bombardment Group, 13 Bombardment Squadron in Melbourne, Australia. Initially, she flew as "Feather Merchant". In April of 1942, participated in the Royce Mission, flying bombing missions against Cebu Harbor and Davao. On May 25, 1942, she was damaged in an attack in the vicinity of Lae Airfield. She returned to base, and spent the rest of 1942 in Charters Towers and then Brisbane undergoing extensive repairs. During these repairs, she was fitted with a strafer conversion and returned to combat with the 90th Bombardment Squadron. On November 30, 1943, she was transferred to the 345th bombardment Group, 499th Bombardment Squadron. She flew in combat until October of 1944 when she was transferred to a service squadron and converted to a supply and transport plane. By July of 1944 she had been stripped of her olive drab paint. Her tail was red and white striped and she had a "Bat Outta Hell" nose markings. At the end of the war, she was abandoned at Tadji Airfield, Papua New Guinea. The following summary of assignments are listed on her record card:
Base Assignments
| Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 02/15/1942 | Long Beach, CA | Modifications |
| 03/13/1942 | Departed USA | 5th AF South Pacific |
| 03/22/1942 | Australia | 13 Bomb Squadron |
| 11/30/1943 | Jackson AF, New Guinea | 499 BS, 345 BG |
| 10/40/1944 | Jackson AF, New Guinea | Removed from Service |
| 11/04/1944 | Jackson AF, New Guinea | Condemned as Salvage |
She remained in a boneyard until 1974 when she was placed on display at the Aitape High School. At the time, her tail was missing, so the tail of B-25D-5-NC SN 41-30074 was used to complete the display. No restoration work was done to the aircraft. Her original tail was eventually found, but not reunited with the airframe.
- Model: B-25C-NA
- Serial Number: 41-12442
- NAA Mfg. Number: 82-5077
- FAA Registration: Never registered
- Mfg. Plant: Inglewood, California
- Completion Date: January 31, 1942
- Delivery Date: February 6, 1942
- Status: Static
- Owner: Aitape High School
- Location: Tadji, Papua New Guinea
- Website:
- Notable info: As the 9th B-25C-NA produced, she is the oldest existing B-25C-NA airframe.
Photos
This page represents the most current information we have on this aircraft. The information above was last updated 05/2018 with information provided by Bob Haney. Our goal is to have the most current and correct information possible. If you have any information about this aircraft not listed here or see anything posted in error, please contact the B-25 History Project so we may update our records.