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“Heavenly Body” a meticulously restored B-25 Mitchell bomber –– the historic World War II aircraft that many credit for turning the war in America’s favor.
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We all have a favorite memory, one that stands out as a seminal moment to be cherished for a lifetime and passed on to family members. When asked what his might be, septuagenarian Mike Pupich doesn’t hesitate even a second.
“It’s the day I flew off the deck of the USS Ranger in my restored B-25 bomber. What was really special was that it was during the 50th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid.” His voice thickening with emotion, Pupich pauses. “Next to the birth of my kids, it was truly the greatest thrill of my life.”
Pupich’s B-25, dubbed Heavenly Body, was restored to perfection through years of team work and painstaking attention to detail. The aircraft is a proud testament to history — both of World War II and of aviation itself.
Heavenly Body will be open for walk-through tours during the Pacific Coast Dream Machines Show on Sunday, April 25th at Half Moon Bay Airport. It is a tour worth taking, a chance to see, up-close-and-personal, one of the reasons the Allies triumphed in WWII.
Reeling from the 1941 devastation at Pearl Harbor and other losses in the Pacific, America greeted April 1942 in desperate need of a hero. It got two.
The first came in the form of Colonel James Doolittle; the second came in the form of the Mitchell B-25 bomber. Doolittle had come up with a brazen plan to use the bomber in attacks on Tokyo.
Many said the charismatic leader was crazy. Smaller, craftier fighter planes routinely departed from the short aircraft carrier runways. But the idea of the B-25, a twin engine, fully loaded bomber, doing the same was thought impossible. Never a man to be told “no,” Doolittle was convinced it could be done--and that such a surprise attack could devastate the Imperial forces and turn the tide of the war.
He was right.
On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25 bombers, each carrying a five-man crew, left the USS Hornet for a one-way sortie over Tokyo. After fulfilling their bombing missions, the plan called for the pilots to fly on to the safety of airfields in China. None of the planes ever reached their final destination; eight airmen were captured and three were later executed.
Even though lives were lost and only minimal damage to military targets was achieve, the raid was considered an overwhelming success. Doolittle’s courageous raiders –– and their trusty B-25s –– took the Japanese completely by surprise. Deeply enraged and humiliated, the Japanese high command then began making catastrophic military missteps. Among them was the Battle of Midway, in which the US triumphed masterfully. It proved to be a turning point in the war.
Although she rolled off the assembly line in 1944 and never saw action during the war, Heavenly Body has not only served admirably—she has also hobnobbed with celebrities. Used stateside as a multi-engine advance trainer for pilots until 1958, she then spent a decade under the ownership of a private aviation firm. In 1969, she appeared in the 1970 Mike Nichols film, “Catch-22,” alongside actors Alan Arkin and Jon Voigt.
“Yes,” acknowledges Pupich with a laugh, “our girl is a movie star.”
Pupich acquired Heavenly Body in 1972. Determined to restore the plane to her former glory, he and a group of passionate volunteers worked on the project for years. Now a flying ode to the stars and stripes, Heavenly Body routinely wows crowds at air shows across the nation.
“My team and I have worked hard to make this living museum available to the public,” Pupich says. “The B-25 is a very important part of the freedom we enjoy today — and that’s something that just shouldn’t be forgotten.”
