B-25J-25-NC SN 44-29939 "Briefing Time"
History
The B-25J-25-NC SN 44-29939 now flying as "Briefing Time" was delivered on November 29, 1944. She accepted surplus to military needs and initially placed in storage at Mobile, Alabama. In March of 1945, she was flown to South Plains, Texas for storage. In route to South Plains, she had a layover at Lubbock Field due to damage received on landing on March 31, 1945. She would remain inactive until assigned to Bolling Field for staff transport duties in June of 1945. After a short assignment there, she was transferred to Hunter Field, Georgia for type rating duties in July of 1945. By the end of the war, she was assigned to March AAF, California as a pilot trainer. She would be there for four years until transferred to Mather Field, California for use as a trainer. In January of 1954, she went through a Hayes modification and was redesignated as a TB-25N. She was assigned to a pilot training wing at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas until December of 1958 when she was flown to storage. The following summary of assignments are listed on her record card:
Base Assignments
| Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 11/30/1944 | Mobile, AL | Storage |
| 03/28/1945 | Reese AFB, TX | Repairs |
| 04/02/1945 | South Plains, TX | Storage |
| 06/29/1945 | Washington, DC | 1100 Air Base Unit |
| 07/20/1945 | Hunter Field, GA | 302 Base Unit |
| 01/22/1946 | Castle AFB, CA | 482 Base Unit |
| 08/31/1946 | Kirkland AFB, NM | 33 Base Unit |
| 10/30/1946 | March AFB, CA | 33 Base Unit |
| 02/20/1950 | Mather AFB, CA | 3535 Bomber Training Wing |
| 08/14/1951 | Vance AFB, CA | 3575 Primary Training Wing |
| 12/19/1951 | Mather AFB, CA | 3535 Bomber Training Wing |
| 09/25/1952 | Vance AFB, CA | 3575 Primary Training Wing |
| 11/16/1952 | Foster AFB, TX | 3580 Pilot Training Wing |
| 01/25/1954 | Birmingham, AL | Maintenance to TB-25N |
| 02/16/1954 | Foster AFB, TX | 3580 Pilot Training Wing |
| 06/30/1954 | Goodfellow AFB, TX | 3545 Primary Training Wing |
| 05/05/1957 | Birmingham, AL | Hayes Conversion |
| 09/17/1957 | Goodfellow AFB, TX | 3545 Primary Training Wing |
| 12/1958 | Davis Monthan AFB, AZ | Storage |
| 01/1959 | Davis Monthan AFB, AZ | Surplus |
In January of 1959, she was sold to National Metals of Phoenix, Arizona. Her registration of N9456Z was reserved. In May of 1960, she was sold to Les Bowman of Long Beach, California and Paul Mantz of Santa Ana, California. In November of 1960 she was sold to Paul Mantz Air Services of Santa Ana, California. She would be used as freight support for many movies. In March of 1962, terrain avoidance radar and precision radar altimeter were installed for an FAA test program. She was utilized in the filming of "Catch 22" in 1969 as tail #6C. She was sold to Donald Buchele of Columbus Station, Ohio in January of 1971. In August of 1978, she was sold to F. Gene Fisher of Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. In 1981, she was donated to the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum and restored. In May of 1997, she made a hard landing at Midland, Virginia and had extensive damage to the landing gear, engines, and props. Repairs were made.
- Model: B-25J-25-NC
- Serial Number: 44-29939
- NAA Mfg. Number: 108-33214
- FAA Registration: N9456Z
- Mfg. Plant: Fairfax - Kansas City, Kansas
- Completion Date: November 27, 1944
- Delivery Date: November 29, 1944
- Status: Flying
- Owner: Mid-Atlantic Air Museum
- Location: Reading, Pennsylvania
- Website: http://www.maam.org/
- Notable info: She was utilized in the filming of "Catch 22" in 1969 as tail #6C. She also appeared in 6 other movies with her last appearance being the television miniseries "War and Rememberance".
Photos
This page represents the most current information we have on this aircraft. The information above was last updated 09/2017 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.