Accurate Markings Matter ...

[Mark Allen M]

... and here's a great example. Not one 'star' inaccurate.

North American B-25J-30-NC s/n 44-31504 Mitchell - Gate Guardian @ Hickam AFB - Bicentennial in Feb 1976



B-25J-30-NC SN 44-31504
Link here: https://b-25history.org/aircraft/4431504.htm

History

B-25J-30-NC SN 44-31504 was delivered on June 18, 1945. Accepted excess of military needs, she was initially flown to storage in Independence Field, MO. Never being assigned to active duty with the United States Military, she was moved to Pyote Field, Texas in August of 1945. In October of 1951, she was recalled for service with the RCAF and was sent to Brookley AFB, Alabama for modifications. The following summary of assignments are listed on her record card:

Base Assignments
Date Location Notes
06/21/1945 Independence Field, MO 4185 Base Unit - Storage
08/03/1945 Pyote AAF, TX 4141 Base Unit - Storage
07/27/1951 Pyote AAF, TX 2753 Air Storage Sqdn
10/02/1951 Brookley AFB, AL Maintenance to TB-25J
11/20/1951 To Canada T.O.S. RCAF 5218

On November 21, 1951, she was taken on strength with the RCAF and assigned the Canadian serial number 5218. Once received, additional maintenance and modifications were performed. She initially served in a training role as a pilot trainer for multi-engine aircraft crews. Later, she would be used in several testing programs with the RCAF. In early 1959, she was assigned to the Number 2 Air Observer School where she was used in crew training. Here she was used to train crews for the radar intercept role in joint cooperation with the USAF. Her primary use was that of a target aircraft for the radar equipped TB-25K and TB-25M aircraft. By October of 1960, she was retired to the storage facility at Lincoln Park, Calgary. She would be declared surplus and sold in February of 1962. The following summary of assignments are listed on her record card:

RCAF Base Assignments
Date Location Notes
11/21/1951 Saskatoon, SASK Training Command
10/06/1952 Edmonton, Alberta 10 TSU
11/20/1952 Saskatoon, SASK Training Command
04/17/1958 Edmonton, Alberta BAW 6rd
02/10/1959 Winnipeg, Manitoba No. 2 Air Observation School
10/07/1960 Calgary, Alberta Storage
02/16/1962 Calgary, Alberta Surplus

By February of 1962, she was sold to Canspec Air Transport of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. In early 1962, she was sold to A.J. Warlick and J.E. Kowing of Seattle, Washington and her civil registration assigned of N9753Z. By May of 1963, she was sold to Flair, Inc. of Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii. She was flown to Hawaii in 1964 for the filming of "In Harm's Way". After filming, she was stored at Honolulu, Hawaii. By 1971, she was reportedly used by a technical school at the Honolulu Airport. She was obtained by a local Air National Guard unit and restored for display at Hickam Air Force Base. In 1976, she was painted in a red, white, and blue color scheme that would later be removed. In 2001, she was moved to Ford Island with the intention of being restored for the newly announced Pearl Harbor Museum. It was discovered that she was too heavily corroded that restoration would be impractical. At that time, she was traded to Aero Trader as partial payment for restoration of another B-25 that is currently on display at the Pearl Harbor Museum. She sat in storage at Aero Trader's facility until 2016, when she was used as the major part of the restoration of a Russian lend-lease B-25. During her restoration, the heavily corroded center section was replaced with an unidentified center section that was discovered in a fire pit at Porterville, California. Portions of the tail section were replaced by B-25J-30-NC/PBJ-1J 44-31104 and B-25J-35-NC 45-8882. In October of 2017, she was shipped to Russia to be put on display in a new museum.

Model: B-25J-30-NC
Serial Number: 44-31504
NAA Mfg. Number: 108-37579
FAA Registration: N9753Z
Mfg. Plant: Fairfax - Kansas City, Kansas
Completion Date: June 18, 1945
Delivery Date: June 19, 1945
Status: Static
Owner: Russian Air Musuem
Location: Russia

[Michel Lemieux]

Cool story! Tks Mark.

[bdk]

I like that paint scheme. If I had a B-25 I think I would paint it that way. 44 years later it IS a historical scheme! Even painted that way by the USAF.

I remember seeing the remains at Aero Trader. It needed a bit of work. Good that it was incorporated into a static rather than being scrapped.

[mike furline]

Bow star?

[junkman9096]

From Tom Ivie's "Patton's Eyes in the Skies"

[Mark Allen M]

Just start over ...

[Chris Brame]

Looks like it's being struck off charge - note the B-25 in the background with the star-and-bar painted over.

[wolf]

or you can go with twin stars.
.
.

[Noha307]

The markings on the XP-80 at NASM are "correctly incorrect". According to Mikesh's Restoring Museum Aircraft book, the star and bar was applied to the airplane incorrectly originally, so when it was restored it was reproduced with the original inaccuracy.

[ErrolC]

An excellent presentation on Wings Over NZ by NZ Air Force Museum's resident Safety And Surface Technician Nathan "Barf" Bosher.

Barf’s fascinating talk goes into the whys and wherefores, the methodology, the chemical principles, and the decision making and planning involved in a historical Air Force paint scheme, whether it’s for a static museum aircraft or a flying warbird.

http://cambridgeairforce.org.nz/WONZSho ... an-bosher/

[Chris Brame]

The markings on the XP-80 at NASM are "correctly incorrect". According to Mikesh's Restoring Museum Aircraft book, the star and bar was applied to the airplane incorrectly originally, so when it was restored it was reproduced with the original inaccuracy.

Along with the Lockheed paintshop worker's letter of demerit for screwing it up?

[menards]

The stars-and-bars are probably the easiest of markings to replicate correctly. No stencils or complex knowledge of geometry required. Since it is such a simple task....messing it up is the equivalent of one misspelling their own name.... for every wartime photo y'all find of a screwed up/upside down/however else FUBAR'd national insignia...i can guarantee you there was at least one demoted enlisted man who was never allowed near a paint brush ever again and also got his fair share of punishment. The military has never ever overlooked f-ups.... smh...

[Mark Allen M]

The stars-and-bars are probably the easiest of markings to replicate correctly. No stencils or complex knowledge of geometry required. Since it is such a simple task....messing it up is the equivalent of one misspelling their own name....

Agreed.

[Combatmech]

[bdk]

This is nothing new and lessons continuously get relearned.

The first UK C-17 had to have the markings redone during its Charleston stopover before it continued over the pond to Brize Norton. The Long Beach paint shop had inadvertently reversed the colo(u)rs in the markings.