History:
This airframe was built in 1944 in Kansas City and served with the training command in WWII and numerous air force bases until 1958. Sold from Davis Monthan in 1961, it was converted to a fire bomber. A few years later is was sold to Bill and Bob Howe in south Florida who mounted spray bars onto the under wing hard points and used it to spray orange fields and mosquitos. In the early 1970’s it was donated to the SST museum in St Cloud Florida where it was parked outdoors for a decade and neglected. Tom Reilly obtained it around 1980 and did a ground up total rebuild/restoration. At that time it was given the markings of Panchito, a B-15J that served with the 396 bomb squadron, 41 bomb group, 7th Air Force on Okinawa during the summer of 1945. All aircraft of the 41 bomb group were flown to Clark Field at the end of the war and destroyed.
| Registration Number | Date of Manufacture |
| N-9079Z | 1944 |
| Aircraft Role | Nickname |
| Bomber | Mitchell Bomber |
| Aircraft Type: | Wingspan: |
| North American B-25 “Mitchell” | 67 feet 7 inches |
| Overall length: | Empty weight: |
| 52 feet 11 inches | 19,480 pounds |
| Gross weight: | Fuel capacity: |
| 35,000 pounds | 1350 miles |
| Oil capacity | Engine type: |
| 37.5 GALLONS per engine | Two 1700 hp Wright R2600-92 radial piston engines |
| Propeller type: | Max Speed |
| Hamilton Standard | 334 mph |
| Rate of Climb | Cruise Speed |
| depending on bomb load! | 200 mph |
| Service Ceiling | Number of Crew |
| 28,000 feet | Two pilots minimum /WWII crew of six |
| Armament | Bomb Load |
| thirteen .50 caliber Browning M-2 machine guns | 4000 lbs bombs/ or combinations of bombs/depth charges/incendary/cluster bombs/ HVAR rockets/torpedo |
| Number Built | Number Surviving |
| 9889 | 34 |
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Restoration
Restoration took approximately 5 years of full time work by Tom Reilly at his facility in Kissimmee Florida where he has restored 10 B-25’s. two B-17’s, a B-24, and numerous fighters and trainer aircraft of WWII. Currently Tom is restoring the prototype XP-82 twin mustang.
Restoration Images
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http://www.delawareaviationmuseum.org
Printable QR Codes for: Larry Kelley’s B-25 Panchito:
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