Hanover street mitchells

I was an Ops officer at Luton Airport and managed to get into the hangar at midnight . They had already been painted and the nose art done that evening(fast work !).

I fondly remember them arriving at Luton following their trans Atlantic ferry flights and being towed into the old Court Line hanger rather rapidly after arrival!

I recently found these photos for sale at www.airlinehobby.com. Just type in B25 and they will pop up. I would imagine this is what you saw at Luton back then?

N7681C

N9455Z

N86427

N9115Z

N9494Z

I haven’t seen much in the way of photos of these a/c in their pre-movie colors. I imagine they donned warpaint very quickly after arrival in Luton.

T J

There’s an interesting set of photos of the Hanover Street Mitchells seen at Little Rissington on ebay – Item number: 200157099796

Nothing like a plug by the seller! Good luck Steve – I was there also and flew in that formation that got ‘attacked’ by flak!!:eek:

There’s an interesting set of photos of the Hanover Street Mitchells seen at Little Rissington on ebay – Item number: 200157099796

I thought I’d post this on this thread as it wasn’t mentioned on the old thread. I was told this by a very good friend who was part of the restoration team for the B25 at Duxford at the time of filming of Hanover Street.

The film company asked if they could borrow it to film the interior shots for the film, DX said yes and the 25 was moved to wherever for filming. On return to DX the 25 was in a rough state because of the size of the camera equipment the film company had taken a chainsaw to the fuselage and cut it in two. So the camera could sit between both sections a film the action. To remedy the surgery the film company pushed the 2 parts back together and put a strap of metal over the join and bolted it together and returned it to DX. To say DX and the resto team were unhappy is probably an understatement, and to top it off I don’t think DX got and compensation for the damage done.

Tyler.

I remember a fusalage in the sound stage at Elstree Studios for the internal scenes. They fired the machine guns, borrowed from an armoury somewhere, and fired blanks on the set. Some wooden and perspex turrets were added to the B25’s at Luton before filming started. I remember the top turret on Big Bad Bonnie came off in flight and hit the tail, denting the leading edge. Also we found a few holes in the skin near the cockpit caused by Flak.

I thought I’d post this on this thread as it wasn’t mentioned on the old thread. I was told this by a very good friend who was part of the restoration team for the B25 at Duxford at the time of filming of Hanover Street.

The film company asked if they could borrow it to film the interior shots for the film, DX said yes and the 25 was moved to wherever for filming. On return to DX the 25 was in a rough state because of the size of the camera equipment the film company had taken a chainsaw to the fuselage and cut it in two. So the camera could sit between both sections a film the action. To remedy the surgery the film company pushed the 2 parts back together and put a strap of metal over the join and bolted it together and returned it to DX. To say DX and the resto team were unhappy is probably an understatement, and to top it off I don’t think DX got and compensation for the damage done.

Tyler.

The aircraft sequences for Hanover Street were shot in May 1978 at Bovingdon and early June at Little Rissington. The Mitchell referred to here wasn’t present at Rissington. I take it that this Mitchell is N7614C now a resident in the American display at Duxford. N7614C was the first B25 I ever saw when it was resident in April 1971 at Luton.

I thought I’d post this on this thread as it wasn’t mentioned on the old thread. I was told this by a very good friend who was part of the restoration team for the B25 at Duxford at the time of filming of Hanover Street.

The film company asked if they could borrow it to film the interior shots for the film, DX said yes and the 25 was moved to wherever for filming. On return to DX the 25 was in a rough state because of the size of the camera equipment the film company had taken a chainsaw to the fuselage and cut it in two. So the camera could sit between both sections a film the action. To remedy the surgery the film company pushed the 2 parts back together and put a strap of metal over the join and bolted it together and returned it to DX. To say DX and the resto team were unhappy is probably an understatement, and to top it off I don’t think DX got and compensation for the damage done.

Tyler.

I’m just doing some copies of Mitchells in IMC/Airline for people. I’ll add you to the list…..;)

.

If you have the TV series “Airline” staring Roy Marsden may I request the series on DVD please. I am, of course, happy to pay.

I fondly remember them arriving at Luton following their trans Atlantic ferry flights and being towed into the old Court Line hanger rather rapidly after arrival!

Here is a Photo of “BIG BAD BONNIE” with Jeff in the front row. I am behind his left shoulder. This was taken in early 1980.

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x278/UKAVIATOR/scan.jpg

I’m just doing some copies of Mitchells in IMC/Airline for people. I’ll add you to the list…..;)

.

Thank you. I will try and get the video onto my PC, of Big Bad Bonnie’s last airshow in Switzerland. It also has the Roll out at Cranfield in Early 1980. You can see Jeff there with us all lined up.

Uk

Hello

I joined this morning, after a google search looking for an update on the B25 Big Bad Bonnie. I was involved in some of the restoration of N9455Z after the film was made, in Hanger 2 at Cranfield airfield.

Good morning UKA and welcome to the Forum and thanks for the ‘frontline’ report. Look forward to seeing the photos!

J HAWKE MITCHELLS

At one time it seemed that Mitchells were spread all over europe,and i certainly saw them at biggin, shoreham, (poss the same one),and dinard, (sick engine)
I also had a first hand experience of flying in one at a bournemouth airshow,when his copilot was late arriving.
my brief was to operate the bomb doors, u/c,and flaps.and for this exercise the details were covered whilst taxying out (two minutes)
The display was mostly carried out at zero height followed by wing overs with calls for flaps at the appropiate times.and passes looking up at the control tower (with me waving to the staff hanging out of the windows)
Due to the non appearance of the next act we then had to repeat the whole thing again!!!
He flew the machine very well,and i was impressed with the care he gave the engines.
One of lifes characters he was a hoot.

Hawke always said he was CIA but I have my doubts. In 1965 when you get caught gun running A-26 Invaders it was an easy to say you were doing it for the CIA. The actual court case details were a bit more interesting. Authoritative author Dan Hagedorn, on page 101 of his book Foreign Invaders, notes Hawke’s “lame attempt” to tie his smuggling to the CIA. In the end, though, Hawke was acquitted by a jury of his peers.

Most of his time after 1966 appears to be tied up with filmwork or can be accounted for, so his time in Southeast Asia flying for the CIA would have had to been brief at best.

A man who’s legend may have been greater in his mind, though his documented accomplishments were certainly legendary.

I worked on Big Bad Bonnie after the Film

Hello

I joined this morning, after a google search looking for an update on the B25 Big Bad Bonnie. I was involved in some of the restoration of N9455Z after the film was made, in Hanger 2 at Cranfield airfield.

My father worked at Elstree Film Studios and did spend quite some time on the film doing some sound work and special effects. When the filming had finished, the Aircraft was on it’s way back to David Tallichet, when one of the engines suffered a Magneto failure over Ireland. It landed at Dublin airport where it remained for a short time. The story from my father is that the owner at the time decided to sell the B25 as the IRS were wanting some back dated tax, so the Aircraft was sold to Jeff Hawke and a small consortium of enthusiasts.The Aircraft was put into Hanger 2 at Cranfield after being repaired and flown over from Dublin by Jeff, where it stayed for about a year. I spent most of my weekends there working on “Big Bad Bonnie”
and listening to Glenn Miller over and over again.

The airshow season then started, and “Big Bad Bonnie” was the only airworthy B25 able to go to most of the shows in this country. I flew in it on quite a few occasions, and i did find the whole experience a white Knuckle ride. There were no seats in the back by the waist guns, so we had to just lie on the floor. The waist gun positions had been fitted with a perspex window either side to stop anyone from falling out, and to keep the draft and fumes out. What those guys went through in the war is truly amazing.

After a few years of airshow work, the Plane was on it’s way back from a show in Switzerland, when over France the oil pressure light came on. An Emergency landing was made at a Military base. Not too sure the exact location. The crew were arrested, standard procedure, and then came back by train and ferry to see if they could get the parts to repair Big Bad Bonnie.
Duxford did loan us an engine to get Bifg Bad Bonnie back, and was also having hardly any oil pressure when fitted a few weeks later. The aircraft then was left in France for a number of years, after Jeff and a few others in the consortium, fell out over expenses. As far as i am aware, the B25 was purchased by David Tallichet and was dismantled, then taken back to the US.
I believe it is in pieces still at Chino.

The other thing i found out about John (Jeff) Hawke, was that in the newspaper report in the Daily Star of his death, he was apparantly an ex CIA employed Pilot. During the Vietnam War he was Flying all sorts of Aircraft all over the place. Just like in the film Air America. He was a great Pilot and he flew the B25 very well. He flew so low one day at the Elstree Airshow, we had twigs and bushes wrapped around the undercarriage leg. The Flypast wheels down was very low.

My father has most of the photos of the restoration at Cranfield. I will get some pictures on here shortly. I do have “Mitchell’s Do Fly IMC” on video, but would like a copy on disc if anyone has a one to send to me. I do have some footage of the hanger work and roll out of “Big Bad Bonnie”, but will have to figure out a way of getting the video onto my PC.

OK thanks Dave.

Discussed here Peter……….

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=56816

Where are they now?

44-29121 N86427 Museo del Aire, Madrid.
44-29366 N9115Z Traded to RAF museum.
44-30210 N9455Z Still owned by Dave Tallichet.
44-30925 N9494Z Brussels Air Museum Foundation.
44-86701 N7681C Destroyed in museum fire Paris.

T J