B-25J (44-31504/N9753Z) on static display

Honolulu, Hawaii (HI), US

B-25J (44-31504/N9753Z) on static display

Honolulu, Hawaii (HI), US

Airplanes - Military - Static Display - Bombers, Airplanes - Classic Aircraft
By: Parabellum

Nearby:

Douglas RB-26C Invader

McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender

Lockheed C-141 Starlifter

F-15A Eagle, F-102A Delta Dagger, and F-86E Sabre on static display

Submarine entering Pearl Harbor

F-4 Phantom II used for fire training

Submarine in drydock

Flooding a drydock containing a submarine

Comments

Pdunn

@ 2007-06-16 06:56:53

From the Pacific Air Museum Website:
North American B-25J Mitchell USAAF s/n 44-31504/N9753Z which was delivered on 14 June 1945. With the end of the war near, the aircraft went into storage but was overhauled as a TB-25J in 1951. The Royal Canadian Air Force acquired the machine and operated it as RCAF 5218 at the Advanced Flying School, Saskatoon. The RCAF disposed of the aircraft in February 1962.
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The Mitchell, along with N9754Z, gravitated to Hawaii. The planes were used in the 1964 film In Harm's Way and N9754Z was heavily damaged when an apparently drunk pilot hit a building during a low-altitude buzz. He managed to make a safe landing. Over the years, the planes rotted away at the airport, but N9753Z was acquired by at technical school at Honolulu Airport. N9754Z was eventually mocked-up with a single tail and blown up during the filming of Tora! Tara! Tora! After the tech school was finished with the Mitchell, it became a gate guard at Hickam AFB where it remained until being recently moved to Ford Island for the new museum.