She was my plane. Yes, Joe Moore of Lakeland, Ohio (who named her) was crew chief, but I was his mechanic and I was with 9-D every day, almost, since she was commissioned until we returned to the States from Rimini, Italy. I feel that I knew 9-D better than anyone except Joe Moore.
Almost from the beginning, 9-D flew in the lead position. Of course credit for this must go to her flying crews, but Joe and I had to keep her in top condition.
I recall that some of the men who piloted this plane were Bus Taylor, Fred Dyer, Len Kaufmann, and Bill Chapman. She was a steady, well-balanced platform-type that bombardiers loved. The Norden bombsight and Shoran equipment were at home in 9-D.
9-D never came home with a feathered prop, never aborted a mission, and never had an injured crewmember. Truly, she was a great plane. As I recall, 9-D logged over 1,200 flying hours and had only three engine changes. (She flew 126 missions without a return due to maintenance.)
As you can tell, I loved that B-25.1
The following photos were taken of Briefing Time in 2008 where she resides: renovated, restored, and refreshed at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Note the painted bombs for perilous trips plus the one ship for the sinking of the Taranto.
Bombardier/Navigator “Greenhouse.”
Bombs
