Maid in the Shade, a restored B-25 Mitchell bomber, will be on display June 5-11 at the Heber City Airport as part of a 75th anniversary commemoration of Jimmy Doolittle’s raid over Tokyo during World War II.
HEBER CITY — Maid in the Shade, a restored B-25 Mitchell bomber, will be on display June 5-11 at the Heber City Airport as part of a 75th anniversary commemoration of Jimmy Doolittle’s raid over Tokyo during World War II.
The plane, maintained by Commemorative Air Force Airbase Arizona, will be open for tours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults or $10 per family.
During the week, the airport will also host demonstration flights, aircraft and military vehicle displays, and museum tours. Patrons can take a ride in the B-25, a Stearman biplane or a North American T-6.
Cost of the B-25 rides is $650 per person for a front seat and $325 per person for an aft window seat. Open cockpit rides in a Stearman biplane are $275 per person. Rides in a North American T-6 are $375 per person. To reserve a spot, call 435-503-7903.
Other activities include a swing dance party 6-10 p.m. Friday, June 9, and a pancake breakfast 8-10 a.m. Saturday, June 10. Cost of the dance is $15 for adults or $25 per couple; children and WWII veterans can get in free. Cost of the breakfast is $8 for adults, $3 for children and senior citizens, and free for WWII veterans.
The B-25 Mitchell was named after Gen. Billy Mitchell, an Army Air Corps general of the 1920s and 1930s. Its most distinguishing role was in the historic raid over Tokyo by the Doolittle Raiders.
Led by Jimmy Doolittle, 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers departed April 18,1942, from the USS Hornet. They flew 2,000 miles before bombing military sites in Japan.
After the raid, 15 aircraft crash-landed in China; the 16th landed in the Soviet Union. The mission, which boosted American morale, served as retaliation for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, proving that Japan was vulnerable to American air power. All but three of the original 80 Raiders survived the mission.
