Keeping the old warbird alive; WWII bomber at Cd'A Airport through Sunday
<p>Jerry Briggs, a pilot on the "Maid in the Shade" B-25 bomber, stands near the tail section of the plane on Wednesday at the Coeur d'Alene Airport. The plane flew 15 combat missions in Italy in late 1944. The 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 war plane is parked at the Coeur d'Alene Airport on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, where it'll be throughout the weekend. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944, mostly targeti…
<p>The interior of the gunner's cockpit of the 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 warplane features bomb-dropping instruments as well as two .50 caliber machine guns. The 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 war plane is parked at the Coeur d'Alene Airport on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, where it'll be throughout the weekend. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944, mostly targeting railway bridges.</p>
<p>Shelly Gurr, Rick Linscott and Tank the dog admire the 1944 B-25 "Maid in the Shade," on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, at the Coeur d'Alene Airport. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944, mostly targeting railway bridges.</p>
Maid in the Shade B25 Warplane
<p>Rick Linscott takes pictures of the 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 war plane on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016 at the Coeur d'Alene Airport. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944, mostly targeting railway bridges.</p>
<p>The 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 war plane is parked at the Coeur d'Alene Airport on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, where it'll be throughout the weekend. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944, mostly targeting railway bridges.</p>
<p>The 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 plane is parked on Thursday at the Coeur d'Alene Airport. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six.</p>
<p>The instrument panel of the cockpit in the 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 war plane. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944, mostly targeting railway bridges.</p>
<p>A view inside the tail section of the 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 war plane. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944, mostly targeting railway bridges.</p>
<p>Rick Linscott checks out a prop on the 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 war plane on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016 at the Coeur d'Alene Airport, where it'll be throughout the weekend. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944, mostly targeting railway bridges.</p>
<p>The signatures of men who flew missions in the "Maid in the Shade" are still on the inside of the bomb bay of the warplane. The 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 war plane is parked at the Coeur d'Alene Airport on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, where it'll be throughout the weekend. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944, mostly targeting railway bridges.</p>
<p>Shelly Gurr waves out the turret window of the "Maid in the Shade" B-25 war plane near a .50-caliber machine gun on Thursday at the Coeur d'Alene Airport. The 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 war plane will be at the airport throughout the weekend. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944, mostly targeting railway bridges.</p>
<p>The 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 war plane is parked at the Coeur d'Alene Airport on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, where it'll be throughout the weekend. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944, mostly targeting railway bridges.</p>
<p>The 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 war plane is parked at the Coeur d'Alene Airport on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, where it'll be throughout the weekend. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944, mostly targeting railway bridges.</p>
<p>Original passenger seats in the 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 war plane. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944, mostly targeting railway bridges.</p>
<p>The 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 war plane is parked at the Coeur d'Alene Airport on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, where it'll be throughout the weekend. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six. The plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944, mostly targeting railway bridges.</p>
HAYDEN — As Michael Siefer rounded a corner at the Coeur d'Alene Airport and a gleaming World War II B-25 bomber came into view, his imagination began to wander.
"I saw her sitting here, and I thought, ‘What would it look like if there were 300 of them?’ You see it in pictures, but not in real life,” he said Thursday afternoon. “I got here and I got to thinking about not only the visual but the hearing aspect of it when they were running, and that was just day-to-day routine wherever they were at."
The nearly 53-foot-long, 18-foot-tall silver beauty known as the "Maid in the Shade" was manufactured at the North American Aviation plant in Kansas City and delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force on June 9, 1944. It was delivered to the 319th Bomb Group, 437th Squadron at Seraggia Airbase in Corsica and assigned Battle No. 18.
With a wingspan of 67.5 feet, a gross weight of 41,800 pounds and a top speed of 275 miles per hour, the "Maid in the Shade" had a maximum bomb load of 3,000 pounds and dropped bombs over Italy, then-Yugoslavia and Brenner Pass throughout 15 combat missions.
"Here this piece of history sits on the complex that’s got (World War II combat pilot and hero) Greg Boyington’s name," Siefer said. "I met the man. Rode hard and put away wet, but what a wonderful guy. The whole thing, to me, they just piece it together and it just comes out with a big capital ‘P’ for perfect."
The "Maid in the Shade" now belongs to the Commemorative Air Force Arizona Wing Aviation Museum, which is flying the old warbird to different western states for its four-month Flying Legends of Victory Tour.
Col. Jerry Briggs worked on the "Maid in the Shade" for seven years of its 28-year restoration process. He said it was a labor of love, "a lot of labor and a lot of love," to bring her back to her full glory.
"It feels like you're a part of history," Briggs said of flying the "Maid." "We’re reliving the good part of it. Nobody’s shooting back at us and we get all the thrill of the flight out of it."
Several dates and signatures are scrawled on the walls of the "Maid's" bomb bay. Col. Spike McLane, another "Maid" pilot, explained that the signatures have been collected in the seven years the bomber has been touring. They belong to those who worked on B-25s during World War II.
"Whether they were Rosie the Riveters who worked on the B-25 in the factory or young men who flew it during the war, that’s what the signatures are all about," he said. "We’d be like in Des Moines, Iowa, and an old guy would come up and say, ‘I flew these out of England over Belgium and dropped bombs,’ I say, ‘Well, it's a good time to sign it. As a tribute you can sign your name."
The signatures include two of the pilots who were involved in Doolittle's Raid over Tokyo, which was a pivotal time in the war and a turning point that made the B-25 famous. Although the "Maid in the Shade" was not on that mission, it represents America's retaliation for Pearl Harbor and has its own history of combat.
"Most of the airplanes you see from World War II around now didn't serve in any combat. It's very rare," Briggs said. "This is one of them that actually did."
Briggs said the purpose of the tour is to educate younger generations about World War II and to serve as a reminder of what American heroes went through to win the war.
"It's not a job to fly this," he said. "It's an honor and a privilege."
The "Maid in the Shade" will be at the Coeur d'Alene Airport through Sunday. It is open for tours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a $5 donation that will support the Commemorative Air Force, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring and preserving historic aircraft.
Living history flights are still available. B-25 flight deck seats are $650 each; waist gunner seats are $395. To reserve a flight call (480) 322-5503 email B25RC@azcaf.org.
On Sunday, the Coeur d'Alene Aviation Club is hosting a $7 pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. followed by a $5 hamburger lunch from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The club is also inviting classic car clubs and Experimental Aircraft Association members to bring their cars/crafts and have photos taken with the "Maid" for $10 each.
The Coeur d'Alene Airport is located at 10375 Sensor Ave. in Hayden.
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JAKE PARRISH/Press Jerry Briggs, a pilot on the "Maid in the Shade" B-25 bomber, stands near the tail section of the plane on Wednesday at the Coeur d'Alene Airport. The plane flew 15 combat missions in Italy in late 1944.
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JAKE PARRISH/Press Shelly Gurr, Rick Linscott and Tank the dog admire the 1944 B-25 "Maid in the Shade," on Thursday at the Coeur d'Alene Airport.
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JAKE PARRISH/Press The 1944 "Maid in the Shade" B-25 plane is parked on Thursday at the Coeur d'Alene Airport. With a 67.5 foot wingspan and a length of 52 feet, 11 inches, the war plane has a top speed of 275 miles-per-hour and can carry a crew of six.
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