MONTGOMERY – A special squadron of Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons, known as the US Air Force Thunderbirds was performing maneuvers in the skies over the Hudson Valley on Friday in preparation for this weekend’s New York Air Show at the Orange County Airport in Montgomery. Their practice stopped as they made way for a WWII B-25 Bomber, the “Panchito” to land at the airport after a flight up from its base in Georgetown, Delaware.
The restored replica of the original B-25 Panchito, owned by the Delaware Aviation Museum Foundation, is in town for this weekend’s air show and interested parties can book a 30-minute flight on the incredible craft this weekend by clicking here. It is one of only about 30 still flying out of the 9,816 produced, according to pilot Max Hodges, who brought the plane up with a co-pilot and a crew member. “You really don’t see these planes very often and shows like this give people a chance to fly in the same planes that our forefathers went to war in,” said Hodges, a pilot of 52 years, with 17 years flying B-25s.
The B-25 is one of the most recognizable twin-engine medium bombers used during WW II. The plane achieved its everlasting place in history when Lt. Colonel James Doolittle used 16 of the craft to attack five Japanese cities on April 18, 1942. Doolittle’s Raiders were the first foreign military to attack the Japanese homeland in 2600 years. The B-25 is the only combat plane to see action in every theater of WW II. It was the most heavily-armed aircraft in the war, with weapon configuration varying among the squadrons and their missions.
The Panchito that will be on display and available to take six passengers up at a time this weekend was built in 1944 and restored to its original condition by Tom Reilly Vintage Aircraft in Florida in 1986. The original Panchito served with the 396 Bomb Squadron, 41st Bomb Group, 7th Air Force, stationed in the Central Pacific. The original Panchito was scheduled for its 13th bombing run on Japan on the day the Japanese surrendered.
Mid Hudson News reporter Todd Bender has a tie to the B-25 aircraft. His uncle Jack Bender served as a tail gunner on a B-25 in WW II. Jack Bender flew on the bomber based in India. On Friday’s flight, the descendant took flight on the Panchito and crawled back to the tail gunner position to view the sky from the same perch as his uncle. “It was an experience of a lifetime,” he said, adding “The men that went to battle in these planes are true heroes. You need to climb in and see for yourself what they had to endure while fighting for our freedoms.” The reporter captured some video of the flight as they flew over New York Stewart International Airport, including the hangar where the Thunderbirds were resting, before heading out over the Hudson River before returning to Montgomery.
