B-25J-1-NC SN 43-27712
History
43-27712 was delivered on April 11, 1944. After factory modifications, she was flown to Hunter Field, Georgia where she was assigned to the 11th Air Force in Alaska. She was flown to Great Falls AAF, Montana and modified for cold weather operations before continuing to Anchorage, Alaska in June 1944. On arrival in Alaska she was placed into an aircraft storage pool for the 11th Air Force. She was never assigned to a combat unit and remained in this replacement pool until the end of the war. In 1945 she was in open storage with a group of other B-25s at Elmendorff Field, Alaska when she was chosen by then 11th Air Force Commander, Brigadier General Harry Johnson as his command aircraft. General Johnson selected 43-27712 for his personal transport having previously used a B-25D for his transport. General Johnson returned to the lower forty-eight in June 1946 and he continued to use 43-27712 as his personal aircraft for official use until he retired. She spent most of the remaining post war years assigned to Selfridge AFB, Michigan where she performed administrative and transport duties for the 56th Fighter Group and later the 10th Air Force Headquarters. In 1953 she had a landing accident when her landing gear would not fully extend. She was repaired and put back into flying operations. The last unit to operate her was the 2242 RFCUU a radar testing and calibration unit at Selfridge. She remained on active duty until June l959 when it went to Davis-Monthan AFB for storage.The following summary of assignments are listed on her record card:
Base Assignments
| Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 05/28/1944 | Hunter Field, GA | Storage |
| 06/08/1944 | Great Falls, MT | Modifications |
| 06/24/1944 | Departed USA | Code "Bronze" 11 AF, Alaska |
| 07/22/1946 | Returned to USA | Returned to USA |
| 07/23/1946 | Brooks AAF, TX | 170 Base Admin. |
| 09/27/1948 | Offut AFB, NB | 2463 Base Unit |
| 12/12/1949 | Brookley AFB, AL | Maintenance |
| 07/07/1953 | Selfridge Field, MI | 10th Air Force HQ |
| 09/17/1957 | Birmingham, AL | Maintenance |
| 09/17/1957 | Selfridge Field, MI | 2242 RFCCN |
| 05/1958 | Davis Monthan AFB, AZ | Storage |
| 08/1960 | Davis Monthan AFB, AZ | Surplus |
She was never sold but was known to be on display as a gate guard at Davis-Monthan from 1965 through 1969. In 1969, she was transferred to the Pima Air and Space Museum where she currently resides on loan from the United States Air Force. She was repainted as T-180 "The Spirit of Al Penn" in honor of a museum volunteer that was killed in a car accident while traveling to the museum.
- Model: B-25J-1-NC
- Serial Number: 43-27712
- NAA Mfg. Number: 108-34725
- FAA Registration: Never Registered
- Mfg. Plant: Fairfax - Kansas City, Kansas
- Completion Date: April 7, 1944
- Delivery Date: April 11, 1944
- Status: Static Display
- Owner: United States Airforce
- Location: Tucson, Arizona
- Website: http://www.pimaair.org/
- Notable info:
Photos
This page represents the most current information we have on this aircraft. The information above was last updated 09/2019 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.