When the 1970 film adaption of ''Catch-22'' began preliminary production, Paramount made a decision to hire the Tallmantz Aviation organization to obtain sufficient

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in e ...

(B-25) bomber aircraft to recreate a Mediterranean wartime base as depicted in the Joseph Heller novel of the same name. Tallmantz president, Frank G. Tallman found the war-surplus aircraft. He also gathered personnel to fly and maintain the fleet.

Aircraft

''Catch-22s budget could accommodate 17 flyable B-25s, and an additional non-flyable hulk was acquired in Mexico, made barely ferriable, and flown with its landing gear down to the

Guaymas Guaymas () is a city in Guaymas Municipality, in the southwest part of the state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. The city is south of the state capital of Hermosillo, and from the U.S. border. The municipality is located on the Gulf of Califo ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, filming location, only to be burned and destroyed in the landing crash scene. The wreck was then buried in the ground next to the runway, where it remains. Paramount planned to film the'' Catch-22'' aerial sequences for six weeks but the production required three months to shoot; the bombers flew a total of about 1,500 hours and appeared on-screen for 12 minutes. Fifteen of the 18 bombers used in the film remain intact, including one housed at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...

. ;6A:B-25H-1NA ''43-4643'' (N1203), " The Bug Smasher ", Olive Drab B-25C - Destroyed in a crash in 1978. Used as a camera ship during filming. ;6B:B-25J-30NC ''44-86843'' (N3507G), " Passionette Paulette 03507G " - presently displayed at the

Grissom Air Museum The Grissom Air Museum is a military aviation museum at Grissom Air Reserve Base near Peru, Indiana with over twenty aircraft on display. History The museum's origins date to 1981, when the Grissom Air Force Base Heritage Museum Foundation was for ...

Grissom Air Reserve Base Grissom Air Reserve Base is a United States Air Force base, located about north of Kokomo in Cass and Miami counties in Indiana. The facility was established as a U.S. Navy installation, Naval Air Station Bunker Hill, in 1942 and was an active ...

, Indiana, (D) ;6C:B-25J-25NC ''44-29939'' (N9456Z), (girl on bomb) 09456Z ", Camouflage B-25J - airworthy with the

Mid-Atlantic Air Museum The Mid-Atlantic Air Museum (MAAM) is an aviation museum and aircraft restoration facility located at Reading Regional Airport in Reading, Pennsylvania. The museum, founded by Russ Strine, the current President, collects and actively restores ...

in Reading, Pennsylvania. Flies as Briefing Time. ;6D:B-25J-30NC ''44-31032'' (N3174G), " Free, Fast and Ready 13174G ", Olive Drab B-25J - on display at the

March Field Air Museum The March Field Air Museum is an aviation museum near Moreno Valley and Riverside, California, adjacent to March Air Reserve Base. History The museum was founded in 1979 as March Air Force Base Museum. One of the first exhibits at the museum was ...

March Air Reserve Base March Air Reserve Base (March ARB), previously known as March Air Force Base (March AFB) is located in Riverside County, California between the cities of Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Perris. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Command's Fo ...

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

. Marked as Problem Child. ;6F:B-25J-15NC ''44-28925'' (N7687C), " Tokyo Express " - airworthy with the

Cavanaugh Flight Museum The Cavanaugh Flight Museum is an aviation museum in Addison, Texas, with a non-profit 501(c)(3) status for aviation educational. Mission The Museum promotes aviation education, research and American aviation heritage. Further, the Museum pro ...

Addison, Texas Addison is an incorporated town in Dallas County, Texas, in the United States. Addison is situated to the immediate north of the city of Dallas, with a 2020 census population of 16,661. Addison and Flower Mound were the only two Texas municipaliti ...

. Flies as How 'Boot That!? ;6G:B-25J-5NC ''43-28204'' (N9856C), " Booby Trap 39856C ", Olive Drab B-25J - airworthy with Aero Trader in

Chino, California Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino is adjacent to Chino ...

. Flies as Pacific Princess. ;6H:B-25J-25NC ''44-30748'' (N8195H), Camouflage B-25J - airworthy with th
Erickson Aircraft Collection
in

Madras, Oregon Madras ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Oregon, United States. Originally called "The Basin" after the circular valley the city is in, it is unclear whether Madras was named in 1903 for the cotton fabric called " Madras" ...

. Flies as Heavenly Body. ;6I:B-25J-30NC ''44-30925'' (N9494Z), " Laden Maiden ", Desert Tan B-25J - under restoration with the Belgian Aviation Preservation Association, Belgium, (R) ;6J:B-25J-30NC ''44-86701'' (N7681C), " Annzas " - 25 missions, Camouflage B-25J - destroyed in a hangar fire at ''Musee de l'Air'' in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. ;6K:B-25J-25NC ''44-30801'' (N3699G), " Vestal Virgin 13699G ", Olive Drab B-25J - airworthy with the American Aeronautical Foundation at

Camarillo Airport Camarillo Airport is a public airport located three miles (5 km) west of the central business district of Camarillo, a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The airport has one runway and serves privately operated general avi ...

Camarillo, California Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...

. Flies as Executive Sweet. ;6M:B-25J-20NC ''44-29366'' (N9115Z), " aBominable Snowman ", Olive Drab B-25J - displayed at the

Royal Air Force Museum London The Royal Air Force Museum London (also commonly known as the RAF Museum) is located on the former Hendon Aerodrome. It includes five buildings and hangars showing the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force. It is part of the Royal Air Forc ...

at the former

Hendon Aerodrome Hendon Aerodrome was an aerodrome in London, England, that was an important centre for aviation from 1908 to 1968. It was situated in Colindale, north west of Charing Cross. It nearly became a central hub of civil aviation ("the Charing Cros ...

London, United Kingdom London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. ;6N:B-25H-1NA ''43-4432'' (N10V), " Berlin Express 410V ", Camouflage B-25J - airworthy with the Experimental Aircraft Association Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Flies as Berlin Express. ;6Q:B-25J-25NC ''44-30077'' (N2849G), " The Denver Dumper ", Olive Drab B-25J - presently displayed at the

Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum (formerly the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor) is a non-profit founded in 1999 to develop an aviation museum in Hawaii. Part of Senator Daniel Inouye's vision for a rebirth of Ford Island, the museum hosts a vari ...

Ford Island Ford Island ( haw, Poka Ailana) is an islet in the center of Pearl Harbor, Oahu, in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It has been known as Rabbit Island, Marín's Island, and Little Goats Island, and its native Hawaiian name is ''Mokuumeume''. The isl ...

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, (D) ;6S:B-25J-35NC ''44-8843'' (XB-HEY), Camouflage B-25C - Destroyed during filming. ;6V:B-25J-25NC ''44-30493'' (N9451Z), " Dumbo 39451Z ", Olive Drab B-25C - displayed at

Malmstrom AFB Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place (CDP) in Cascade County, Montana, United States, adjacent to the city of Great Falls. It was named in honor of World War II POW Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom. ...

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. ;6W:B-25J-25NC ''44-30649'' (N9452Z), " Hot Pants 32452Z ", B-25C - displayed at

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. ;6Y:B-25J-20NC ''44-29887'' (N10564), " 6Y Luscious Lulu, Olive Drab - in storage at the

. Marked as Carol Jean. ;6?:B-25J-25NC ''44-30823'' (N1042B), (nude on bomb) Olive Drab - airworthy with th
Mid America Flight Museum
in

Mount Pleasant, Texas Mount Pleasant is the county seat of and largest city in Titus County, in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, Mount Pleasant's population was 16,047; it is situated in Northeast Texas. History Mount Pleasant was founded May 11, 184 ...

. Flies as God and Country. Used as a camera ship during filming. ;''Dumbo'':B-25J, nose section, Tennessee Air Museum,

Sevierville, Tennessee Sevierville ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sevier County, Tennessee, located in eastern Tennessee. The population was 17,889 at the 2020 United States Census. History Native Americans of the Woodland period were among the first human ...

, (D) All the B-25s had the tip of the vertical stabilizer painted blue. For the film, mock upper turrets were installed. To represent different models several aircraft had the turrets installed behind the wings representing early (B-25C/D type) aircraft. Initially, the camera ships also had the mock turrets installed, but problems with buffeting required their removal.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Dolan Edward F. Jr. ''Hollywood Goes to War''. London: Bison Books, 1985. . * Farmer, James H. "The Catch-22 Air Force." ''Air Classics'', Volume 8, No. 14, December 1972. * Harwick, Jack & Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies". ''The Making of the Great Aviation Films'', General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989. * Orriss, Bruce. ''When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II''. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. .

External links

B-25 Mitchells at Warbird Registry

* ttp://www.aerovintage.com/b25loc.htm B-25s: Where to find them* {{IMDb title, id=0065528, title=Catch-22 Catch-22 North American Aviation aircraft 1930s United States bomber aircraft

Aircraft

See also

References

External links