A question for Skoshi Tiger about the B-25 pic

[BP_Tailspin]

Love the B-25 picture from New Guinea; do you have more pictures that you can post?

Looking at the engines on the ground I see Curtiss four-bladed propellers, they are most likely from a B-26 Marauder? not from the B-25 Mitchell.

Thanks for posting the picture, great find

On my last adventure to New Guinea, (July this year) I took a few photo 's of 'Bar Fly' a B25A-5-NA (SN43-4450) She's guarding the airport at Popondetta (North East coast of New Guinea)

[Skarphol]

According to this site:http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1943_1.html is the plane with serial number 43-4450 a B-25H-5, not an A model. The engines are pretty much the same on the A and H-models, R2600-9 on the A model and R2600-13 on the H model, both rated at 1700 Hp. So they should have the same 3-bladed propeller.
B-25H-5 serial no 4406 was modified as NA-98X with R2800 engines. First flight Mar 31, 1944. Maybe it got 4-bladed propellers? And maybe the same thing happened to this plane? Just a thought.

Skarphol

[BP_Tailspin]

The engines are definitely Pratt and Whitney R-2800 with 4 blade Curtiss Electric propellers and the only aircraft I can think of would be the Martin B-26 Marauder.

The B-25 had the Wright R-2600 with 3 blade Hamilton Standard propellers.

The mismatched airframe and engines make a interesting photo.

[Skoshi Tiger]

Hi,

I got my serial number from the book "Field Guide to the Kokoda Track" (by Bill James who we met on the track!)

It said that the aircraft is a composite. The engines do not belong to the plane.

Here is the paragraphs about the plane and engines. (sorry about my transcription errors in advance!)

"You can still see the wartime earthen aircraft parking bays (revetments) now covered by kunai grass. Several aircraft were set up on display at the side of the terminal in the 1970s and '80s, but today only the Mitchell B-25 remains; the others have been removed by private restorers, some with, and some without, permission. Mitchels first entered service with the US Army Air Corps in mid-1941 but large-scale production ......(short description of Mitchell and payload)
....
The engines displayed next to the plane do not belong to the Mitchell. They are two R-2800 engines that have come from seperate US single-engine P47D Thunderbolts (note the four blades). The Mitchell on display is 'Bar-Fly" number B25A-5-NA, Serial Number 43-4450. The nose was replaced at some stage, perhaps becaused of damage, and has a different serial number. The Bar-Fly was flowen across the Pacific in late 1943, piloted by Second Lieutenant Robert Schalkle, and accompanied by his crew of Duvall, McGourty, Hellstrom, Davis, and [and get this!!!!] Maddox. They flew via Hawaii, Nadi (in Fiji) and New Caledonia and landed at Amberley, west of Brisbane. [Quesland, Australia]"

Maybe there is a mix up with the aircraft being a composite? It also talks about the the plane being modified to incorporate the the gun pods on the cheeks, The pods were not present but the shadows where they had been were quite visible, also the ammo feed holes were quiet roughly cut through the sides of the plane.

Coulds this sort of alteration change the designation????


Theres about a page devoted to the service history of the plane if any one is interested which I can type in later. (my wife is giving me 'that look' as I am typing this so my time on the PC at the moment is limited)

I took about 800 picture on my 10 or so days in New Guinea (very few related to the air war I was more interested in the bits related to where my dad served) I'll try to get a few more posted later.

Cheers!


History's a bit more hads on in PNG!

Here are a few more photo's



Close up of the engine.




Just forward of the propellor blade you can see the shadows from the side machine gun pods. The square holes were roughly cut through the side of the plane!



An interior shot

[BP_Tailspin]

The engines displayed next to the plane do not belong to the Mitchell. They are two R-2800 engines that have come from seperate US single-engine P47D Thunderbolts (note the four blades).

Yes the F4U, F6F and P-47 and some transports used the same engine, after doing some research I found this picture of an early P-47. They changed to a paddle blade prop latter in the war.

Looking at a twin engine bomber and seeing two engines I had tunnel vision and was only thinking "twin engine bomber" ... I must be getting old.




Thanks Skoshi, I love researching this stuff.

[322Sqn_Dusty]

The B25 is a merge.
The nose section is from the original B-25D-15 "Bar-Fly" Serial Number 41-30593. This B25 crashed February 29, 1944 on take off for a night mission. 1 KIA. Plane written off.

The rest of this relic is indeed B-25H 43-4450.
The nose is put on to make a whole aircraft for display.

[Skarphol]

Now I'm really nitpicking, but according to the serialnumber, 41-30593 should be a B-25D-20. Most of the planes around that serial number went to 245th Bomb Group.

[322Sqn_Dusty]

I'm only getting as far as Townsville. This was a modification line. And probably there were some re-assignments of this plane.

Tail picture is from B25 N320 SQ (as N5-149 Sarinah) while under maintanance at EHGR. It is missing the rudders and elevator section.

[Azimech]

Interesting to see that the firewall makes up so much of the space and that there where only two engine mounts.

[Skoshi Tiger]

Originally Posted by Skarphol

Now I'm really nitpicking, but according to the serialnumber, 41-30593 should be a B-25D-20. Most of the planes around that serial number went to 245th Bomb Group.

No doubt your info is correct. I didn't see the identification plaque or serial number on the plane, just going by what is in the guide book.

I found another link where they call it a B25D. (From what I understand Girua was the wartime name of the airstrip.)
http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraf...25-barfly.html

Cheers!