B-25J-30-NC SN 44-86725 "Super Rabbit"

History

The B-25J-30-NC SN 44-86725 now flying as "Super Rabbit" was delivered on June 20, 1945. She was first placed into storage in Sacramento, California. By July, she was moved to Smokey Hill, Kansas to be consolidated in September of 1945 to storage in Independence, Missouri. She was moved with other B-25s first to South Plains, Texas in August of 1947, then to Pyote, Texas in January of 1948. She was taken out of storage in October of 1951 for preparation to be transferred to the RCAF. The following summary of assignments are listed on her record card:

Base Assignments

The Royal Canadian Air Force took possession of her in January of 1952. Her serial number was assigned as RCAF 5243. In the RCAF she was used by the No. 1 ASF unit for various training and was later assigned to the CEPE for testing. She was also used as an administrative aircraft while with the RCAF until retired to Dunnsville, Ontario September 26, 1962. Records indicate that she was the last active B-25 officially retired from the RCAF fleet. She was removed from the RCAF inventory in October of 1963. She was sold to Columbus L. Woods of Lewistown Montana on October 24, 1963. Her registration was assigned as N92889 in November of that same year. Mr. Woods sold the aircraft to Bellomy Aviation of Miami, Florida who refurbished her for the Venezuelan Air Force along with eight other B-25s. Her U.S. registration was cancelled in December of 1963. The following summary of assignments are listed on her record card:

RCAF Base Assignments

She served with the FAV for six years and was eventually assigned the FAV serial 5880 sometime in the late 1960s. The original FAV serial in 1963 has been reported as 19A40 but this has not been confirmed. Like the other ex-Canadian B-25s in Venezuela, she was converted back to military configuration including a new glass nose replacing the RCAF solid nose, side gun packs and some armor plating. She was attached to No. 40 Squadron of the FAV where most of the Venezuelan B-25s served. Eventually, she was retired from active duty by 1972. In 1975, she was acquired by the Bolivian Air Force. The following summary of assignments are listed on her record card:

FAV Base Assignments

She was transferred to FA Bolivian as FAB-541 and served with the FAB for several years as an administrative and transport aircraft. The last flight by the FAB was recorded in l979. She holds the distinction of being the last B-25 to fly for the Bolivian Air Force just as she had been for the RCAF many years earlier. She was retired from active duty and stored at the military section of La Paz Airport, Bolivia.

FAB Base Assignments

In July of 1984, she was sold to C. A. Bird. The aircraft was not removed from La Paz. In May of 1985, she was sold to Doan Helicopters of Daytona Beach, Florida. Her current registration of N25NA was assigned. She was rebuilt to ferry condition and flown to Florida. The first leg of the trip was to Manaus, Brazil over 975 miles mostly over the Amazon jungle. The second portion of the trip was 1129 miles to Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles and the final portion of the trip to Fort Pierce, Florida covered 1131 nautical miles. Near Titusville, Florida on April 2, 1978, she was damaged in an off-field landing after a dual engine failure. She was sold in May of 1992 to Air Power, Ltd. of Hillsboro, Oregon. They sold her in June of 1993 to Stallion Aircraft of Bensenville, Illinois. In November of 1996, she was again sold to JDM Family Limited Partnership of Aumsville, Oregon. She underwent an IRAN at Aero Trader in mid-1997. In 2008, she was sold to Steve Searle of Brisbane, Australia. Prior to her move to Australia, Searle passed and she sat idle for a year prior to her purchase by Doc Hisey. She has been with the Oklahoma Museum of Flying since undergoing a complete restoration. Her first flight since restoration was mid-2014.

• Model: B-25J-30-NC
• Serial Number: 44-86725
• NAA Mfg. Number: 108-47479
• FAA Registration: N25NA
• Mfg. Plant: Fairfax - Kansas City, Kansas
• Completion Date: June 18, 1945
• Delivery Date: June 20, 1945
• Status: Flying
• Owner: Oklahoma Museum of Flying
• Location: Bethany, Oklahoma
• Website: http://www.oklahomamuseumofflying.org/
• Nose Art Artist: Mel Blanchard
• Artist's Website:
• Notable info:

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.