Barbie III Flies to Bring Them Home

“BE AT THE FIELD at 0900 and we’ll y.”
That was going through my mind a heartbeat
after a thunderous crash of thunder sent me
ying out of bed at 06:30. At 07:30 I called
John, “Not looking good; call back at 08:30.”
I called at the appointed hour to hear John
say, “Get here now; there’s a window in the
weather so we can y!” Twenty minutes later I
was on the eld just as the chocks were being
pulled and the window in the weather started
to slide by. Moments later I was in the AT-6
taxing down the runway and taking to the skies.
Eighteen minutes later I was back down on the
ground as the weather had started to close back
in on us and Barbie III had to ferry to its next show.
While the ight was short, it was great to be ying
alongside this unique piece of history
and a small part of its mission today.
The Barbie III and its crew do more
than just make the public aware of our
historic past, they bring it home!
The B-25H Barbie III is
a magni cent example
of a rare warbird that is
still ying. She has an
amazing past and continues with an important
new mission. History
Flight, Inc. uses this
show stopper to sells
rides for a cause—to
raise funds for expeditions to bring home the
remains of veterans left
on distant shores and
forgotten battle elds.
Barbie III
Flies to Bring Them Home
Story and Photography by Moose Peterson
WARBIRD DIGEST #40 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012
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B-25H Barbie III History
Barbie III is the only ying B-25H in the world.
Starting in 1943, 1000 B-25H were manufactured
with the Barbie III (SN 43-4106, manufactured in
1943) being the prototype #2. The B-25H was an
improved version of the B-26G with the intention
to raise mayhem with its additional four nosemounted .50-cal. machine guns and four more .50cal. guns in fuselage mounted pods. The 75mm M4
cannon of the G model was changed to the T13E1
75mm cannon (all red by the pilot). In addition,
other updates included the top turret moved aft
from waist location to behind the cockpit, lower
turret removed and replaced by a single .50-cal.
machine gun in each of the two waist positions. A
tail turret housing with a pair of .50-cal. machine
guns was reintroduced bringing the repower total
to 14 .50-cal. machine guns and a 75mm cannon.
The primary role of the B-25H, which featured a
distinctive 75mm cannon that red through the nose,
was that of a ground attack platform. It was commonly
referred to as a “commerce destroyer,” a name well
earned from the manner in which it wreaked havoc
on enemy shipping. The pilot red the canon and the
navigator/radio operator served as the cannoneer,
loading the 75mm rounds into the canon’s breech,
located just below the ight deck. It carried up to 24
rounds—more than enough repower to destroy a
small Japanese convoy. After ring two dozen 75mm
projectiles the maintenance personnel usually had
to service the nose section due to the wear and tear
caused from the enormous recoil of the canon.
With John Makinson at the controls, Barbie III , the only
ying B-25H, provides a rare sight over central Florida.
Barbie III’s wartime service was stateside until 1946.
It was then stored at the Oklahoma Agricultural &
Mechanical College, OK 1946-1951. The Bendix
Corp. acquired it in 1951 and until 1969 used it as
a testing platform for developing jet ghter landing
gear systems. In 1969 Richard Lambert purchased the
B-25H at auction for $3500 and ew it to his farm
in Plain eld, IL where it was parked on a corner
of his farm as a static display until 1981. In 1979 a
group with the Heritage Flight Museum, along with
Walter Wild and Louis Fulgaro of the Weary Warriors
Squadron, acquired this neglected piece of history
and made plans to move it from the farm in 1981.
Ten years of restoration work at a reported cost of
$400,000 included the reinstallation of the solid nose
with its cannon. With its rst ight on May 19, 1992,
in Rockford, IL, Barbie III became the only ying
B-25H in the world. The B-25H traded hands a few
times until 2005 when it was purchased by Weary
Warriors / Warbirds Unlimited Foundation, and it
became a highly visible resident at Falcon Field, AZ on
the ramp outside of Anzio Landing Italian Restaurant.
In June 2009, History Flight, Inc. purchased Barbie III
through the support of generous donors.
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WARBIRD DIGEST #40 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012
(op-bottom) Parked at the Punta Gorda
Air Show, Barbie III waits to be taxied for
departure to another show.
The B-25H is easily identi ed but its distinctive nose and armament package,
which includes a nose full of 50-caliber machine guns and a 75mm cannon.
How did this B-25H become Barbie III? When the
restoration group looked for a tting combat veteran
for their B-25H to represent, they decided on Barbie
III 43-4380, which was own by Lt. Col. Robert
T. “R.T.” Smith in 1944. Smith was one of the rst
pilots of the American Volunteer Group (AVG),
better known as the Flying Tigers. When the U.S.
entered World War Two, Smith returned stateside and
became the Commanding Of cer of the 337th Fighter
Squadron, 329th Fighter Group in California. Smith
then volunteered to return the China-Burma-India
Theater of war, going into the 1st Air Commando
Group. In that group he commanded the group’s
B-25 squadron, which specialized in low-level attack
and bombing missions. His aircraft was the Barbie
III, named in honor of his wife, Barbara Bradford,
whom he married just before departing for the CBI
Theater in June, 1943. Lt. Col. R.T. Smith ew a total
of 55 combat missions in the B-25 over Burma and
was awarded the Air Medal, Distinguished Flying
Cross, and Silver Star.
Barbie III Mission
It was at the Florida Int’l Airshow that I was
introduced to the Barbie III, its crew, and its
mission—to support our veterans. Parked next
to the B-25J Panchito and Killer B, at rst many
would lump them all together as the “same” kind
of aircraft. When you see the 75mm cannon round
on the ground by the front landing gear and you
look up and see the nose hatch open with four .50cal guns, cans, and racks that you realize this is not
your typical B-25. This keen marketing display does
its job as hordes of spectators stop to look, read,
and learn. Barbie III’s crew is there to share their
knowledge of the aircraft and its role in history. But,
Barbie III doesn’t travel alone. Next to the B-25 the
group has their AT-6 Texan and PT-17 Stearman,
to sell rides. While the rides serve the purpose of
an additional history lesson and a rare and thrilling
opportunity to ride in a World War Two warbird, the
funds raised from the rides go much further than
keeping the planes in ying condition.
History Flight’s underlying mission is to research
military aviation losses and underwrite annual
expeditions to search for the remains of American
MIAs. Since History Flight acquired Barbie III
in 2009, they have raised $1.3 million through
their “Until They’re Home” Barnstormer Tours.
In 2008, History Flight funded and conducted
two, six-week long searches in the Marshall,
Caroline, and Gilbert Islands. One search
resulted in the nd of U.S. Navy pilot Lt. Harry
Brown, who was shot down over the Paci c
island of Yap. A very moving discovery and
avenue to closure, his remains were still in the
wreckage of his Hellcat. This is just one example
of History Flight’s effort to ful ll an important
service to all the missing but not forgotten
American heroes.
WARBIRD DIGEST #40 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012
(op-top-left) John Makinson, pilot of Barbie III ,
enthralls all who stop and
ask questions about the
plane. The most common
question is, “Why is there a
cannon in the nose of this
plane?” John is a natural
educator as he explains
why and how.
(op-middle-left) A 75mm
cannon round and one
of the “All Nine Yards”
50-caliber belts give a hint
at the repower this powerful aerial attack platform
brought to the ght.
(op-top-right) The business end of Barbie III,
including four 50-caliber
machine guns and a 75mm
cannon. One can only
imagine the terror the enemy must have experienced
as a B-25H bore down on.
In one documented case
a Japanese destroyer was
blown completely in half by
the explosion caused by
the 75mm projectile.
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(top-right) In 2008 History Flight, Inc. funded and
conducted two searches in
the Marshall, Caroline, and
Gilbert Islands. One of the
successes was nding the
resting place of U.S. Navy
pilot Lt. Harry Brown, who
was shot down over the
Yap Island. it was a very
somber and respectful occasion because Lt. Brown’s
remains were still with his
F6F Hellcat.
(above) From an underwater resting site this
B-25 nose wheel was
resting next to an
unexploded bomb.
(middle-right) The Tarawa
expedition team that was
instrumental in nding ve
large burial sites and three
individual sites, which
combined contained the
remains of over 500 United
States Marines who were
left on the island in unmarked graves after the war.
History Flight Inc. contracted
experts in geophysical inspection and utilized modern
technology, including ground
penetrating radar, to locate
grave sites.
(bottom-right) This
50-caliber machine gun
was recovered in the
Summer of 2011 from a
B-24 crash site in Europe.
A serial number at the site
matched a missing plane
and the pilot and navigator
were still in the wreckage.
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History Flight brought in an expert to head their
mission to Tarawa. They hired a geophysical
inspection rm and a geophysicist with ground
penetrating radar. Their mission was to search
for “lost” Marine graves using these experts and
modern technology. In the six weeks the History
Flight team spent on Tarawa, interviewing local
residents who had accidentally unearthed twenty
American skeletons during a construction project,
they were able to locate, identify and survey ve
large American burial sites and three individual
sites that together contained over 200 U.S. Marines
left behind after World War Two.
To put this into perspective, this is the largest
single MIA nd in the history of the American
Armed Forces! History Flight took this success
and produced a 400 page report in May 2009 on
their Tarawa ndings and submitted it to the U.S.
Government. They hoped their efforts would result
in a recovery operation of the Tarawa gravesites
by the U.S. Government. In August of that same
year Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-IL) introduced
a non-binding resolution in the U.S. House of
Representatives supporting the recovery of the
Tarawa Marine gravesites. In September of that year
the Joint Personnel Accounting Command spent
two weeks on Tarawa in a preliminary exploration
into a major recovery effort planned for this year.
Largely due to the dedication and perseverance of
the Barbie III team and the entire History Flight
organization and those working with them, the
2010 Defense Spending Authorization Bill Section
523 specifically directs the Dept. of Defense to
recover the Marine graves from Tarawa!
This view of a Yap Island mangrove shows one
example of the daunting obstacles encountered
on expeditions to bring home American
servicemen. It stands to reason that our
missing veterans are often located in the most
inhospitable locations.
This same Bill recognized the bene t provided by
civilian research and search efforts that made the
discovery possible. History Flight was invited to
brief the 2nd Marine Division Tarawa Veteran’s
Reunion on the subject and they received the
thanks from senior USMC leaders for their role in
the nding, and for their dedication to the recovery
of our World War Two MIAs. History Flight hasn’t
stopped with this success—there are an estimated
78,000 World War Two MIAs.
We Americans are amazingly fortunate to have so
much of our aviation heritage still ying for all to
see and enjoy. We’re even more fortunate to have
the mutually bene cial opportunity to support their
preservation while experiencing flight, through
donations and ride programs. Each thrilling ride
experience provides the operators of these aircraft
the very needed funds to keep them in the air. The
B-25H Barbie III provides this same opportunity
and thrill with the extra reward of knowing that with
each ight Barbie III ies to bring them home.
WARBIRD DIGEST #40 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012