N5865V —

As I promised when I posted the first photo of the CAF So. California Wing's newest warbird to take to the skies again, here is a second snap of "Semper Fi," a North American B-25J Mitchell bomber (formerly 44-30988, now N5865V), captured here while on static display at the annual Truckee Airport Family Air Fest event. This second picture, clicked from the sunlit side of the Camarillo, CA., based "Semper Fi," brightly highlights the tri-color camo paint scheme and, flying openly and freely in the strong wind, the flags of the United States and of the US Marine Corps. The "MB-11" lettering honors Marine Bombing Squadron 611. To the best of anyone's knowledge, "Semper Fi" is the only PBJ-1J model to be flying today. The restoration project took over two decades to complete, and it was just two months ago, in May (2016), that this superb Mitchell bomber made its first flight after being restored.