NORTH AMERICAN B-25J "MITCHELL"
Reg. N6123C
The sparkly cool Mitchell takes a very special place in the unique Flying Bulls collection. When she first rolled on to the tarmac in Kansas City in 1945, nobody thought she would end up in an aircraft cemetery at the Davis Air Force Base in Arizona. As one of the most powerful war birds in the USA, the B-25J went into serial production in 1940.
The bombers were named ?Mitchell? in honour of the Air Force general Billy Mitchell. The plane which was to go on to serve on a friendly mission with the Flying Bulls, attracted the interest of a fire-fighting firm in 1970s. Luckily, the plan to convert the Mitchell did not come to fruition and instead a group of aircraft aficionados emerged on the scene. An aviation club in Kansas City acquired the Mitchell in the 1980s and named her ?Fairfax Ghost?.
The name stuck until 1994, when Sigi Angerer spotted her. After much to-ing and fro-ing, he decided to buy the historic Fairfax Ghost, adding her to a growing collection that still only included the Corsair, the T28B and the Grumman Widgeon. A B25-J was to be the icing on the cake. But there was still a lot of work to be done, as the Mitchell was not in great shape. She was restored from the bottom up in the US and converted for civilian use sporting a comfortable interior.
In September 1997, the Mitchell was finally fit to embark on her transatlantic journey to Europe. In early 2001 she found her new home at Salzburg Airport. Here, she poses in front of the stunning Hangar-7 or takes to the skies at many grand air shows, much to the delight of all aircraft fans.