North American B-25 Mitchell

Mitchells Fly in IMC












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A series of videos about the transatlantic flight of John "Jeff" Hawke by five B-25's
 
Mitchells Fly in IMC  - one of the best warbird documentaries ever IMHO. Features Jeff Hawke and his gang achieving the impossible - ferrying B25 Mitchells across the Atlantic for the movie 'Hannover Street'
 
 
 
The five Mitchell's were
44-29121/N86427 - went to the Museo del Aire at Cuatro Vientos
44-29366/N9115Z - now in the RAF Bomber Command museum at Hendon
44-30210/N9455Z - now at the USAF Museum at March AFB - was at Avignon
44-30925/N9494Z - at Coventry with Visionair in 1988
44-86701/N7681C - Stored at the Musee de L'Air, Le Bourget in 1988.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Watch B-25 Mitchells do fly in IMC Part 1
 
 

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John "Jeff" Hawke
 
Jeff Hawke was very much into locating and flying film aircraft.
One time President of American based company Euramericair, amongst other things he flew one of the Mosquitos in 633 Squadron. He also operated the camera ship for Battle of Britain 'The Psychedelic Monster'.
At the time of his death, press reports said John Hawke had hired a Piper Aztec some months previously and was later fished up out of the Adriatic.
The body on board carried a Miami driving licence in the name of John Hawke.
The a/c was said to have had u/c and flaps down and showed damage inconsistant with that expected in a ditching. In the period since the a/c was first hired it had been repainted in "anti radar paint". There were several rumours going the rounds at the time.
This happened at the beginning of the troubles in Yugoslavia
The Aztec that John 'Jeff' Hawke apparently died in was G-OESX (Below) 
The aircraft was recovered on 28th December 1991 and could well have been there for up to 2 months
 
John ‘Jeff’ Hawke had a chequered history and there rumours that he once tried to chase a U2 over Cyprus when in the RAF, and also ‘smuggled’ B26s to Portugal.
 
As well as piloting the B25 camera ship in ‘The Battle of Britain’ and also worked on Empire of the Sun, Sky Bandits, White Nights, Sweet Dreams, and Hanover Street. With the exception of Hanover Street, he was aerial co-ordinator or advisor on all of them.
 
 

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Air accident report on Hawke's accident