B-25H-1-NA SN 43-4106 "Barbie III"

History

The B-25H-1-NA SN 43-4106 now known as "Barbie III" was delivered on August 23, 1943. She was the second B-25H built and likely the first operational as the first B-25H was used in a stress test at Eglin Field, Florida until it was written off. Never leaving the states, she was used in the AAF testing program in a variety of tests ranging from armament testing of the canon to electronic and flight characteristics. She remained in the testing program until the end of the war, being last assigned to Wright Field. In December of 1945 she was sent to storage. The following summary of assignments are listed on her record card:

Base Assignments

In May of 1946 she was released to the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in Stillwater, Oklahoma for use in their technical program. The Federal Security Administrator took control of the aircraft in June of 1951 and subsequently transferred her to the Bendix Aviation Corporation in Detroit, Michigan. There she was used primarily to test landing gear and auto pilot systems for the military. November of 1955, she was fitted with fully operating F101 nose gear for testing. On February 7, 1967, she was sold to Barber's Flying Service and transferred to Union National Bank of Chicago in September of 1970. In April of 1971, she was sold to Richard Lambert of Plainfield, Illinois and stored at a private airfield. In August of 1981, she was sold to Weary Warriors Squadron of Chicago, Illinois. On an initial ferry flight, suffered engine failure and landed in Springfield, Illinois for long term restoration on one engine. There, she was disassembled and later trucked to Rockford, Illinois to complete restoration. That restoration took 10 long years. Her distinctive "H" nose was restored during this restoration with the help of the Kansas City Warbirds, the owners of "Fairfax Ghost". They had purchased a group of surplus B-25 parts for use with their aircraft. Among those parts was the majority of a B-25H nose section. The remainder of the nose was salvaged elsewhere, restored, and fitted to the airframe. The center section was reportedly replaced with the center section of 44-28765, but there is some conflicting information about this. In June of 2009 History Flight Inc. purchased the aircraft and flew her as "Barbie III". In 2015, she was purchased by Cavanaugh Flight Museum.

• Model: B-25H-1-NA
• Serial Number: 43-4106
• NAA Mfg. Number: 98-21107
• FAA Registration: N5548N
• Mfg. Plant: Inglewood, California
• Completion Date: August 25, 1943
• Delivery Date: August 26, 1943
• Status: Flying
• Owner: Cavanaugh Flight Museum
• Location: Addison, Texas
• Website: http://www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com/
• Notable info: Second B-25H built. The only airworthy B-25H. The only B-25H with installed 75mm cannon.

This page represents the most current information we have on this aircraft. The information above was last updated 08/2017 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.