Lynn Hunt's B-25J project

Taigh Ramey · **Posted:** Tue Aug 25, 2009 5:50 pm

I am sorry that I do not know what the serial number is. I only know that it is a late J.

I am also sorry for the quality of the photos; better than nothing I suppose:

Here is Lynn and Jim Ricketts in front of Lynn's project. Lynn is one of those guys that makes playing with warbirds so much fun. He appreciates the history as much as anyone and that appreciation is only surpassed by his enthusiasm. Any guy who gets all giddy over a glide bombing attachment is tops in my book. He loves the details and wants them all to be correct in his J model.

His B-25 came from South America and it was never civilianized like most all other surviving J's. It still had the bomb shackles and release mechanisms installed on the bomb racks. It also had spent and live 50 cal rounds in the turret well and under the nose floor boards. It has the pitting from corrosion caused by the package guns.

It had a full compliment of original armor plate throughout the aircraft including the coffin seats as pictured below. Once again I am sorry about the picture quality.

The original QEC's have the short stacks all around just like she came with from the factory along with the Holley carb and scoop. She even still has the ultra rare reverse cowl flap to draw exhaust into the induction for icing. Lynn vows to run her with the Holley's. How cool is that. I think only one or two B-25's still run Holley's if that.

Here is the radio operators station in the forward waist compartment. All of the radio racks and table were still here as well as the life raft compartment. These items are some of the first things to be removed and are very rare. Lynn's B-25 has all of the impossible to find brackets, mounts and fittings that you hardly ever see in any other B-25. Many have tried to reproduce the hardware but Lynn's plane is reference source as they have never been removed.

Lynn's Father flew B-25's which is just one reason why he is so enthusiastic about it. A great project for a great man. I can't wait to see her when she is done. Keep up the awesome work Lynn!

RMAllnutt · **Posted:** Tue Aug 25, 2009 5:59 pm

WOW!!! Fantastic stuff... even has a Bendix mid-upper turret too... so rare to see that. I love the life raft compartment too. I've spent a fair bit of time in B-25's and never seen that before. Very cool. Can't wait to see this fly again... a sure Oshkosh winner!

Cheers,
Richard

Matt Gunsch · **Posted:** Tue Aug 25, 2009 7:48 pm

Could it be this one
44-30302, FAV 3898 Under restoration (also reported as 44-30203) ?

from Aero Vintage.

hang the expense · **Posted:** Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:50 pm

Wow,that looks first rate.I like how you can break the back and work on it in sections yet still roll the bird around.Beautiful job.

Chunks · **Joined:** Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:02 am **Posts:** 361

Thanks for posting the pics. This is the stuff I most enjoy about WIX. We wouldn't get a glimpse at a fraction of these projects otherwise.

Chunks

Ztex · **Posted:** Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:27 pm

Yes! Very cool, thanks for posting these.

The Inspector · **Posted:** Wed Aug 26, 2009 2:40 am

Wonderful stuff! As a life long B-25 freak, I too had never seen a complete WW twice original interior in a MITCHELL. As a modeller-thanx so much for the detail stuff like the correct interior color, I've seen them Gray, dark Gray, bare aluminum, green, O.D., everything but paisley pink and always wondered what is the true color of the interior, even WW2 interior pix don't give a true idea. And the coffin seats are a huge plus for modellers too! :prayer:

Matt Gunsch · **Posted:** Wed Aug 26, 2009 9:36 am

I doubt that interior paint is the original color since it is a glossy finish.

Django · **Posted:** Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:21 am

Thanks Taigh! It's looking great. Do you know what marking's his Dad's aircraft carried?

Bojiboy · **Posted:** Wed Aug 26, 2009 11:07 am

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing them. I'm particularly happy to see the image of the complete upper turret assembly. My wife and I recently donated, to the So. California wing of the CAF, what we believed to be the drive assembly for the Bendix turret used in some B-25s. My dad, who was in the navy during WWII, used this to turn his ham radio antennas for as long as I can remember. He had always told me it was from a navy bomber of some type but I was never sure. He was stationed at Sand Point Naval Air Station in Seattle, Washington for the duration. So you know where he got it. Unfortunately the turret in the PBJ the So. Cal. folks are restoring is a Martin unit so they didn't need the Bendix drive that is now in their museum.

At any rate, I'm really happy to see the photo of the Bendix turret. The drive unit at the bottom of the stack is exactly the same as what we donated. It's nice to finally see and confirm what we had came from a B-25.....

Thanks again!

Greg

rwdfresno · **Posted:** Wed Aug 26, 2009 1:58 pm

Thank you Taigh for positng. That is one of the few B-25s I haven't seen in person.

Ryan

B25PBYGUY · **Posted:** Wed Aug 26, 2009 2:22 pm

That airplane has come a long way since Lynn took me to it's hangar and shared it with me 4 or 5 years ago. And you're right, Lynn's one of the good guys! Glad to know it's progressing nicely.
There are original components intact on this airplane that even Carl Scholl was unaware they existed.

tex-fan · **Posted:** Wed Aug 26, 2009 2:34 pm

a little more info please; when did mr. hunt get this plane? did it fly here from south america, or was it shipped? and the most IMPORTANT:: when will he bring it to TEXAS? get her flying soon, and if you can't bring her to Texas i'm sure the guys here on WIX will share some great pics. it looks GREAT, good job.

Lynn Hunt · **Posted:** Fri Aug 28, 2009 6:59 pm

I've been a long-time reader of WIX but this is my first post. Thought I'd respond to some of the questions about a certain B-25. The correct S/n is 44-30203 (got the data plate) and it has been mis-construed to be 30302 but I think it's a typo. It came back to the US in two open-top containers with DEA following not too far behind but that's another story. I found it down in Venezuela. It was missing lots of parts but made up for that in spades with more original equipment still in it than I'd ever seen, including all of the armor plate and a tail turret. It was also filled to the gills with corrosion which has kept me entertained and broke for the last 15 years. The restoration goal is to bring it back to original condition as close as possible given a limited budget and a slowly diminishing set of skills. I can't begin to tell you how much fun this is and how indebted I am to guys like Taigh who suffer from the same defective chromosome and still put up with the nagging questions and phone calls. I'll keep plugging away, no date set, it's more about the journey than the destination.

Regards to all of you sick, twisted warbird lovers everywhere.

Lynn

Holedigger · **Posted:** Fri Aug 28, 2009 7:14 pm

Welcome to the Nuthouse. Such a great project you have there. I really look forward to updates as she comes back together. So many B-25s have been so gutted that it is hard to tell what a REAL B-25 config should be. Good Luck

Chris
aka Holedigger

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Lynn Hunt's B-25J project

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