B-25 bomber lands in the Hat

Aircraft flew 15 Second World War missions and is available for tours, flights this week

Airmen in the Second World War sat in this aircraft on their way to drop bombs on bridges and railways in Italy and Yugoslavia, and decades later on Monday, it arrived in Medicine Hat.

It was an opportunity to relive a little history made extra special because May Sherwin (nee Oakes) 96, who had served for two years in Europe with the Canadian Women’s Army Corps, was along for the ride that several media personnel were treated to. After the initial effort it took to climb into the aircraft up a steep ladder Sherwin sat quietly looking out the window.

The aircraft is powerful and noisy and immediately evokes images of the crews who flew the 15 missions it carried out. There were thoughts of how they would have been feeling and what memories the fuselage has harboured all these years.

The crew of this B-25 bomber, squadron 437, included a pilot and co-pilot, a tail gunner, a radio operator/waist gunner and a bombardier/navigator. The tail gunner sat in an elevated position, on something similar to a bicycle seat without the comfort, with a 360-degree view in a bubble of plastic. He would have crawled on his knees to reach the seat, which put him in a vulnerable position — highly visible to the enemy.

It took 28 years to restore the B-25 bomber that is in Medicine Hat this week. It is one of only 34 in the world in working order. Restoration of the aircraft, making it available for flights, and a base in Arizona where aircraft such as this are preserved, is all thanks to the dedicated volunteers of the Commemorative Air Force in the U.S.

Rides are available for the general public this week, with tickets ranging in price from US$325 to US$650, and can be booked online: www.azcaf.org/location/medicine-hatab-tour-stop

“It’s a living history flight experience,” said Gord Johnsen, volunteer from Oyen who spends the winter in Arizona and hosts tours of the facility there.

There is no government funding for the Commemorative Air Force, and tickets help to cover operating costs, said Johnsen.

The B-25 would typically carry a load of 3,000 pounds and had a range of 1,350 miles. It is a medium bomber as opposed to a high altitude bomber such as a Lancaster, said Johnsen. There were 15 recorded missions for this specific aircraft that operated from the Seraggia base in the Mediterranean.

There were only 9,889 B-25 bombers built by North American Aviation in Kansas. This one was built in 1943.