Stoney wrote:
This was written in 1983
MITCHELLS OVER MEXICO
.......................
Dedicated to those who have "gone west" Frank Tallman,
Frank Pine, Tom Mooney W.G.F.P., Skip March, Bill Reid,
Bill Fritz, and to all the rest who helped make
"Catch-22", for me, a truly memorable aviation event.
Dear Stoney (Len),
This is such an amazing story! I'm sorry I didn't answer earlier, but I haven't been in the forum for some time.
As you can guess (see my nickname) I'm a big fan of "Catch 22" - the book and the movie. And yes, they are different and I love them both. I have read the book for the first time when I was in grade 9 or 10. After that I read it several more times. I don't know how many times I watched the movie, especially since I have it on a disk. During the last 10-15 years I'm collecting articles, memoirs and essays about Heller, his war time, the real people behind the novel, about the movie etc. Exactly 10 years ago I bought the Warbirds International Magazine (Vol.24, No.4, Mai-June 2008) and what a lucky moment this was for me: there was a long article by Frank Tallman in that issue, about the making of "Catch 22". It's very similar to your story, but from a different perspective. The photos below are part of that article. I don't know where are you in the pilots photo, but I believe you'll tell us.
There is also a list with all a/cs used during the filming and I'm attaching it as well. Compared to your own list there is some more information about every B-25 e.g. real serials, "battle number" in the movie etc.
And here is "your" "Mitchell":
Since 2008 AFAIK some of the above "Mitchells" changed their owners and/or names.
If somebody wants to read the whole article, please inform me and I'll post a copy for download.
Best Regards!