Warbird Information Exchange

Apparently, according to a Los Angeles Times article, there was a man named Walter Kurilchyk who started looking for the airplane as far back as 1980. So even 10 years ago it was far from a new idea.

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

The idea that a Doolittle B-25 is a valuable relic is an old one, even predating that AE-obsessed group.

In February 1979, the second episode of Andy Griffith's short lived series "Salvage 1" used the search for a Doolittle ship as a plot.
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0693802/?ref_=m_ttep_ep_ep3

If course they seemed to think it was on a deserted Pacific island...
I think the Doolittle crews were better navigators than that.

The linked synopsis seems to indicate Griffith's character was a pilot on the raid.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

This is a worthwhile thread - it is missing, however, junkyard photos of the belly of a B-25 that showed features that make it likely one of the Raider airplanes. I don't recall if it was in a Pacific junkyard or Russian. I'm sure the search gurus can find it again. Love this topic.

Ken

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

I believe that one was Japanese.

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

I actually remember watching when it originally aired, just the thing to fire the imagination of a 10 year old already facinated with the idea of finding and saving WWII airplanes. If anyone else is interested in seeing it now, I found a link to the video here ...

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6w4iyj


In reviewing the opening scene, it turns out that Griffith's character says "After the raid we ran out of gas and had to put down in the Burmese foothills" (which still represents a major navigation foul up to so drastically overshoot the landing fields prepared in China. No wonder they exhausted all their fuel )

Double post (mods please delete)

It was indeed: http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.o ... =3&t=66250

My guess is there aren't any of them remaining. They were all crashed except the one that landed in Russia. Russia would've probably sent it by train to their research and aircraft factories to dismantle and study or worst case, flown it in service until it got shot down or crashed. It was simply consumed during the war. The ones that went down in agricultural areas probably ended up being chopped into small pieces and used for pots, pans., plows and building materials. You might find an engine hulk at best.
We lend leased hundred of B-25s to Russia and it is also a possibility that one aircraft was assigned to a squadron or broken up for parts.
Can't think of any reason to believe any of those aircraft survived. A more interesting possibility is one of the many AVG P-40's that were lost.

I think there's a good likelihood that parts of the ones that were ditched are still out there somewhere, but probably in pretty poor shape.

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.