B-25J-25-NC SN 44-30129 "Wild Cargo"

History

The B-25J-25-NC SN 44-30129 now flying as "Wild Cargo" was delivered on December 19, 1944. Her Initial assignment was to Douglas, Arizona as an advance twin-engine trainer. She was used to transition pilots to multi-engine aircraft as well as training foreign aircrews in navigation. In August of 1945, she was assigned to Victorville, California for administrative duties, but may have been placed in storage when the war ended. In December of 1945, she was assigned to Randolph Field, Texas where she was used for administrative duties. By early 1946, she was in storage. She was sent to Chanute AAF, Illinois in April of 1946 and was used in base maintenance training programs. She would later be transferred to Barksdale, Louisiana for pilot training. She moved around quite a bit until March of 1949 when she was assigned to Vance Air Force Base. In late 1951, she was modified by Hughes and redesignated as a TB-25K. She was assigned to James Connally Air Force Base until December of 1957 when she was flown to storage. The following summary of assignments are listed on her record card:

Base Assignments

On June 16, 1958, she was sold to P. J. Murray of Oxnard, California and her civil registration was reserved of N7947C. She was again sold in September of 1958 to American Investments Syndicate from La Mesa, California. She was then sold to Norman Magill from San Diego, California. In June of 1959, she was sold to Antonio Ortiz of Sand Diego, California. She was sold back to American Investments Syndicate in June of 1959. She was sold in November of 1961 to C. C. Wilson of Sand Diego, California. In January of 1963, she was sold to Aero Enterprises of Elkhart, Indiana. Again, in January of 1963, she was sold to Arthur Jones, of Slidell, Louisiana. In February of 1963, while carrying a shipment of snakes and alligators, the right engine died just outside Cincinnati. Unable to operate the landing gear, the co-pilot bailed out and the pilot circled Lunken airport to reduce fuel. The second engine started to fail as the pilot brought the plane in for a gear-up landing. She was then sold to Cincinnati Aircraft in Cincinnati Ohio. In September of 1964, she was sold to Walter A. Soplata of Newbury, Ohio. She was disassembled and moved to his display yard. In December of 1990 she was sold to Steven A. Detch of Aopharetta, Georgia. She was then sold to Gerald Yagen in Suffolk, Virginia in December of 1997. Her first flight after being restored to airworthy was on November 19, 2005. She now resides at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

• Model: B-25J-25-NC
• Serial Number: 44-30129
• NAA Mfg. Number: 108-33404
• FAA Registration: N7947C
• Mfg. Plant: Fairfax - Kansas City, Kansas
• Completion Date: December 14, 1944
• Delivery Date: December 19, 1944
• Status: Flying
• Owner: Military Aviation Museum
• Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Website: http://www.militaryaviationmuseum.org/
• Notable info: In February of 1963, while carrying a shipment of snakes and alligators, the right engine died just outside Cincinnati. Unable to operate the landing gear, the co-pilot bailed out and the pilot circled Lunken airport to reduce fuel. The second engine started to fail as the pilot brought the plane in for a gear-up landing. See this article:
  http://www.cahslunken.org/stories/alligator.htm

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.