B-25 Yellow Rose - first photos

[Lynn Allen]

Thanks Gary! I wonder if the one whose tail is showing just past the "ROSE" is the one that is now "MAID IN THE SHADE"?

Sure wish I'd have taken more photos back then, like the A-26 that John bought out of El Salvador, painted in lizzard camo (over the old CAF Bomb Wing markings!).

Or the Corsair painted the same way when it arrivedin San Antonio from El Salvador. Was 25Z parked behind the Braniff hangar in San Antonio instead of the Rose??

[gary1954]

9552Z is the B-25 that went on to become the "Maid in the Shade"! It was also at San Marcos, having been bought by John Stokes, and brought to San Marcos at the same time as the Yellow Rose was. I think Vernon Thorpe flew N9552Z to San Marcos for John.

Would you happen to have any photos of 52Z?

43-35972 B-25J-10-NC ex-N9552Z now N125AZ "Maid In The Shade" former Myrex Sprayer taken April 1974 at Wheelless Airport, Dothan, Alabama. Photo - Collection of Gary Lewis

[D Fisher]

Heres an old ad from Trade a plane I have listing N9077Z.

[Holedigger]

[bluehawk15]

Chris, you are awesome! That is way too cool!!! One change though, it should be "Fire Ant Bomber" not "Mosquito Sprayer". The B-25's (and others there) had augers from the bomb bay to the engine nacelle, I'm thinking on the right side, and Myrex soaked corncob crumbles were top loaded into the bomb bay (which was enclosed by sheet metal), then it would be pulled out by the auger and dropped so the Fire Ants would take it to their mound and be killed.

Lynn, yes, it would explain a lot, knowing the story came from Don! There are some photos around, somewhere, of the lizard camo Corsairs, or one of them. I'll see what Ron Iberg might have. Maybe I can borrow on and scan it.

Gary, you are awesome too! Thanks for the photo of the Rose's sister ship! I wonder if the AZ Wing has seen that?

D Fisher, thanks for putting the ad in here. Boy, those were the days! You pay more these days for an engine than you could have bought an entire, flying B-25 for back then. Warbirds of the World was John Stokes' company, in addition to CenTex Aviation and Central Texas Engines.

[bluehawk15]

Oh, and you note in the ad that John was asking $12,500 for the one that became the Rose. On our website they say that it was bought for $12,500. But that is not quite true. I think John actually sold it to the group for $10,500 since it was going to the CAF, with the condition that he got a sponsorship on it. He got the sponsorship, but then the group never put his name on the plane's sponsor list on the side. We have fixed that now. I couldn't remember the exact details, as I couldn't remember what John was asking for it originally, but thanks to the for sale ad, now it comes together for me. John sold the plane to them for the amount of their three sponsorships ($3,500 x 3 = $10,500) plus he got a sponsorship for $2000 that way. At least that's close to how it happened.