B-25J-25-NC SN 44-30210

History

The B-25J-25 SN 44-30210 was delivered on December 19, 1944 and assigned to Douglas AAF, Arizona direct from the factory. At Douglas she was assigned to the 3014th advance twin-engine pilot training unit. She was used at Douglas until February 1945 when she was transferred to Randolph Field, Texas. At Randolph she performed proficiency and staff transport duties. Following a short stay at Randolph she was transferred to Chanute Field, Illinois in March 1945 for aircrew training. She became a permanent fixture at Chanute until retired in l958 a total of thirteen years. While stationed at Chanute she was attached to the base training unit but in 1947 this training element was changed to a new USAF designation. She was incorporated into the 3345th Technical Training Wing at Chanute from August 1948 until December 1958. Training at Chanute was mostly in electronics and electronic systems as well as new avionics that were available to the Air Force at the time. She was retired from the USAF and sent to storage at Davis-Monthan AFB in December l958. She was sold surplus a year later. The following summary of assignments are listed on her record card:

Base Assignments

Paul Mantz saved her from the smelter after she had been purchased by the National Metals Company in May l960. She was modified to carry a 1,000-gallon water tank for use as a borate tanker. She flew as tanker 82 both in the service of Paul Mantz and Sonora Air Service being based mainly out of southern California. When the tanker days of the B-25s were ended by order of the US Forest Service in 1962 there was little flying for her or the other B-25 tankers. Dave Tallichet through his Military Aircraft Restoration Corporation acquired her in l975. No major work had been done on the aircraft during the previous ten years she sat idle as she was not regularly used by any of the interim owners between 1962 and 1975. Shortly after being obtained by Mr. Tallichet she was painted and named "Tokyo Express".

After acquired by Mr. Tallichet she made a round trip across the Atlantic although the flights were almost ten years apart. The first Atlantic crossing was in 1978 to England for a role in the film "Hanover Street". Four B-25s staged through the Azores Islands before going to England. One additional B-25 followed later. 44-30210 arrived in England in early 1977 and was painted in a military olive drab scheme and named "Big Bad Bonnie". All the aircraft for the film were given fake serial numbers and she flew with the film serial of 151863. The ground shots for the film were done at Bovingdon Airfield outside London which still had the appearance of a WW II base while the flying shots were from Little Rissington Airfield. At the completion of the filming the B-25s were for the most part left idle. Reports indicate that the English government had restricted these B-25s from a return flight to the United States due to insufficient paper work. Eventually the export problems would be worked out but by this time the B-25s were scattered over Europe. She had actually departed England for the return trip before she was stopped in Dublin, Ireland due to mechanical problems. She was later returned to England and stored. Several years later she was under a lease agreement with an aviation group in England, was back in an olive drab paint scheme wearing the tailcode 8U. The 8U represented the 488th Bomb Squadron of the 340th Bomb Group, circa 1944 in the MTO. During an appearance at an air show in France in l982 her starboard engine developed power troubles and it put down at Aix-en-Provence in southern France for repairs. Logistics in repairing the aircraft and getting a new engine to this location resulted in a stay of several years in the south of France. Finally, an engine replacement was worked out and she was flown back to California in l988. Soon after, she was loaned to the base museum at Castle AFB, California and placed on display. After a time there she was returned to Chino, California in l991 and repainted in an olive drab scheme to represent the markings of the Doolittle’s Tokyo Raid aircraft to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Doolittle Raid of April 18, l942. In 1994 she was displayed near the Air Museum hangers at the Chino Airport. In 1997 she was moved into Dave Tallichet's hanger at Chino for restoration back to airworthy status. Under an on again off again restoration for many years she is currently at Aero Trader under restoration.

• Model: B-25J-25-NC
• Serial Number: 44-30210
• NAA Mfg. Number: 108-33485
• FAA Registration: N9455Z
• Mfg. Plant: Fairfax - Kansas City, Kansas
• Completion Date: December 19, 1944
• Delivery Date: December 19, 1944
• Status: Restoration
• Owner: Trent Latshaw
• Location: Chino, CA
• Website:
• Notable info: Flew in "Hanover Street"

This page represents the most current information we have on this aircraft. The information above was last updated 09/2020 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.