B-25J-30-NC SN 44-86697 "Killer B"

History

The B-25J-30-NC SN 44-86697 now flying as "Killer B" was delivered on June 15, 1945. She was first test flown by North American test pilot James Malone on June 12, 1945. Total flight time was 45 minutes. On June 13, 1945, James flew her for her second test flight for a 155 minutes. Accepted surplus to military needs, she was initially flown to storage at Smoky Hill AAF, Kansas. In November of 1945, she was transferred to storage in Independence, Missouri. She was moved to Pyote, Texas in September of 1947. In October of 1951, she was removed from storage and overhauled at the Brookley Air Depot, Alabama. She was transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force in January of 1952. The following summary of assignments are listed on her record card:

Base Assignments

She was assigned serial RCAF 5239 and taken on strength by the RCAF in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. After modifications, she was assigned to multi-engine training in Edmonton Alberta. By August of 1954, she was transferred to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her final RCAF assignment was in Winnepeg, Manitoba with the 2 Air Observer School. Here she was used to train radar intercept crews for the RCAF. Although TB-25Ks were used for the radar training, other B-25s were used as the targets. The standard B-25s were also used in administrative and utility roles. She was flown to storage in November of 1961 and in May of 1962, she was removed from the Royal Air Force inventory. The following summary of RCAF assignments are listed on her record card:

RCAF Base Assignments

On April 10, 1962 she was sold to Columbus Woods of Lewiston, Montana. Her civil registration was assigned as N92876. By August of 1963, she was sold to Bellomy Aviation in Miami, Florida who refurbished her for the Fuerzas Aereas Venezolanas. She was delivered in December of 1963 to Fuerzas Aereas Venezolanas. Her initial serial was listed at FAV 11A40. She was attached to the No 40 Squadron. Once in service with the FAV she was converted back to a glass nose and had the side gun packs added back on. She also received additional military hardware including armor plating but did not have her top turret installed. Her serial was later changed to FAV 0953. She was retired in the early 1970's and stored at Palo Negro Airbase, Maracay. She remained here for over 20 years in storage. When the Bolivian Air Force acquired three flying B-25s from the FAV in 1975, they were given access to the others for spare part use. A number of parts were consequently stripped from these B-25s. No further information is available on her time spent with the FAV.

FAV Base Assignments

In July of 1992, she was sold to Aztec Aviation Consulting in Miami, Florida. They sold her in September of 1992 to Steve Detch of Atlanta, Georgia. He almost immediately sold her to Tricon Aero Corp. of Elmwood Park, New Jersey. Her current civil registration was assigned as N62163. She was restored by Tom Reilly with her first flight in August of 1995. She is now owned by Tom Reilly and based out of Titusville, Florida.

• Model: B-25J-30-NC
• Serial Number: 44-86697
• NAA Mfg. Number: 108-47451
• FAA Registration: N62163
• Mfg. Plant: Fairfax - Kansas City, Kansas
• Completion Date: June 14, 1945
• Delivery Date: June 15, 1945
• Status: Flying
• Owner: Tom Reilly
• Location: Titusville, Florida
• Website:
• Notable info:

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.