Washington Square
On April 24, 1943, B-25D-15-NC SN 41-30568 started a journey to Washington Square. The War Department authorized the use of the plane as part of the local bond campaign. At the time, Kansas City had just surpassed 51 million dollars in War Bond sales. This was 11 million over their initial goal of 40 million. The women's division of the bond campaign was to set up a bond booth near the bomber and sell bonds through the week.
To prepare the bomber for transport, the outer wing sections were removed and loaded onto a truck. The bomber would be pulled by tug through the streets with the wing sections following. The 2 hour and 15 minute trip took the procession over the Inter-City viaduct, down Broadway to Pershing road and across to the square. Once there, the wing sections were lifted back into place.
The first part of the journey went well. At Twelfth and Broadway, the crane truck which followed to lift the wing sections for attachment, collided with a street car. The fuse box on the street car ignited and caused a small fire that was quickly extinguished. The remainder of the trip went without incident.
The event drew quite a crowd, as the streets were lined with anxious onlookers. For most, this was the closest they would get to the B-25. This was the bomber that Jimmy Doolittle attacked Tokyo with just one year prior. The pride can be seen in the photographs. Lining the streets, everyone is wearing suits, ties, and dresses. In their eyes, this was an event worth noting. The bomber stayed on display for the week, then returned back to Fairfax without incident.
After returning to the plant, the B-25 apparently went to the modification center where she was converted to the specifications for a Russian lend-lease bomber. This would have included a new paint job. She was delivered to the military on June 22, 1943 and made her way to Long Beach, California by June 30, 1943. From there she likely traveled up the cost to be handed off to the Russians somewhere in Alaska. Information on her disposition after that is not available.
The second time a B-25 was transported across the Inter-city Viaduct was on September 14, 1943 for the third war loan drive. Flight test personnel supervised the transportation of the B-25 through the streets. Maintenance, Methods and production departments worked together to get the bomber through the streets, place her in the square and attach her wings. She followed the same path as the previous bomber across the Viaduct and via Broadway to Pershing road. She then went east on Pershing to the square. The Employment office set up shop at the square to offer jobs to people who came to admire the B-25. Fewer pictures of this event were taken, and I have not yet been able to identify the B-25.
Currently, I do not have any information about any other B-25s that crossed the Viaduct into Washington Square. There were however, other War Bond drives held there. I do know that many other military vehicles were displayed there including a captured Japanese mini sub like the ones used at Pearl Harbor.
