Warbird Information Exchange

I heard that the B-25 Miss HAP is the fourth B-25 ever made. Does that mean it is the fourth production runned B-25 made? So is it a straight B-25 or B-25A? Just wondered. Eithor way Miss HAP is my favorite B-25 and being an early model makes in even more interesting.

-Nate

Nate,

Miss HAP is simply a B-25 with no suffix. There were no XB or YB-25s, so that makes this airplane the fourth B-25 built period! Amazing how some aircraft survived all the hazards of military and civilian use and are still with us today. I seem to recall that another one of General Arnold's personal transports survived and is in a museum or at an active USAF installation, hopefully someone knows the answer to that question.

Scott

Nate,

Miss HAP is simply a B-25 with no suffix. There were no XB or YB-25s, so that makes this airplane the fourth B-25 built period! Amazing how some aircraft survived all the hazards of military and civilian use and are still with us today. I seem to recall that another one of General Arnold's personal transports survived and is in a museum or at an active USAF installation, hopefully someone knows the answer to that question.

Scott

Oops! Double clicked when I meant to single click.

I didn't realize the plane was that early..does that mean she had her wings replaced at some point? The first dozen or so B-25s had straight wings..they removed the dihedral from the outer wing panels early in production (I understand it was easier than trying to reduce the dihedral of the entire wing..by simply adding a "break" outboard of the engines, it saved having to re-engineer the nacelles and fuselage mounts.)

SN

Yeah she is #4 B-25. The first 9 had the constant dihedral wings and #4 had her wings re-fitted to the horizontal outer wing panels

Thanks guys for the info. I just love the early model B-25's and it's nice to see such a rare(the most rare)? B-25 still in flying condition. Miss HAP is schedualed to come to this years Geneseo airshow. I hope she can make it.

Cheers,
Nathan

What is the interior like in Miss Hap?

If I remember correctly i heard that the aircraft was modified with a different wing strut. Is this true? Does anybody have any interior shots?

Thanks in advance!

_________________
Don't touch my junk!!

Yeah, im probably wrong.

Just somthing floating around in my brain.

It has been maybe 15 or more years mind you since I was in the aircraft when it was at Aero Trader having the glass nose and early tail bubble installed. As I recall it had a more "executive" interior with the bomb bay "lowered" to allow seating over the bomb bay. I think it even had a "stairway" installed where the rear hatch went. The wing "strut" you are talking about may be the spar that passes through the fuselage and usually it is not noticed because it passes right by the bomb baby but when the bomb bay was removed it is more noticeable in the fuselage.

Ryan

thanks ryan.

If I remember correctly that particular bird was AAF
modified as Hap Arnold's personal aircraft transport.
It had the sheetmetal nose and other interior mods
by the AAF. Along it's civilian life some other "exectuive
transport" type mods were preformed. It was a real
one of a kind plane before it was remodified back to
production configuration.

I don't think the interior has been modified from it's transport interior. I think the only major change is going from the solid nose to glass nose and I think that the tail cone had been modified to a late greenhouse style at one point or maybe just skinned over I can't remember but the early style bubble type was installed. I think that the original single gun position was removed as part of the transport mod.

This is a crappy pic but this is the old solid nose with my father and I in front of it. You have got to love the old school roping off "ah just rap the rope around the prop"

Hey rwdfresno, that shot was when the B-25 belonged to Dewey
Miller. Gotta ask, when/where was the photo taken??