Hi,i am searching for information on a B-25 called "Mitch the Witch."(#42-87293)My grandfather,andrew anderson, served in the south pacific and was crew chief for the airplane from 1943-1945.his discharge papers state that he served with the 5AAF,25TH observation squadron and I also have a picture of him with a sign from the 3rd observation squadron. I also have pictures of "Stinky Jo"(42-87444) and another plane called "Charmin lady" of which i do not have a clear view of the tail section.I was hoping someone could provide some information on what bomb group he was attached to and also names of any crew members of mitch. I also recieved some sketchy information that mitch may be restored and be somewhere in california.Thanks in advance. [signature]

Hello Tom... Here's a little info for you. "Mitch" and "Stinky" are shown as 17th Sqdn 71st Recon Group A/C. "Charmin" is shown as a 5th AF -25, but doesn't give either Sqdn or Grp. Since your Grandfather had the pics, pretty good chance of "Charmin" also being a 71st Group plane. "mtch" was one of the old stagers and a pic in Steve Birdsall's book "Flying Buccaneers" shows a shot of her nose art and a caption stating that she had flown 190 Missions. Drop a line to Mike Clairingbould by getting on his web site : [url "http://www.aerothentic.com"]www.aerothentic.com[/url] Mike is one of the better Historians on the 5th AF and could probably help with more info.. Regards, Bill [signature]

Hi All, [url "http://www.onmarkint.com/feature/aww2_corgi.htm"]http://www.onmarkint.com/feature/aww2_corgi.htm[/url] gives an account of the action for which MITCH THE WHICH is renowned. Try inputting "MITCH THE WITH" B-25 into GOOGLE.com. Also try "Google-ing" the serial number. Lots of places to go. Re STINKY JO (JOE?) Any chances that you could post a photo. My refs, both from Michael Claringbould's books are 42-87282 STINKY JOE - The Forgotten Fifth, and 42-87292 STINKY JO - Forty of the Fifth. I have 42-87444 as CHARMIN' LADY on my books as follows: MACR 14468. - Charmin' Lady lurched into the Caquaten Valley in Northern Luzon on 18th May 1945 after taking hits from Japanese groundfire. This is typical nose-art of the later model B-25D strafers which equipped the 17th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. Most of these were -25 models, Charmin' lady being B-25D-25-NA serial # 42-87444. Pilot 1/Lt Frederic E. Kluth and four others lost their lives in the crash. Ref: [url "http://www.aerothentic.com/art/b-25/b25charmin.html"]http://www.aerothentic.com/art/b-25/b25charmin.html[/url] Cheers Pete [signature]

HI BILL: I APOLOGIZE FOR MY LATE RESPONSE TO YOUR ORIGINAL REPLEY TO MY POST.I WAS VERY NEW TO THIS WEB SITE AT THE TIME.I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR ORIGINAL INFORMATION. IT WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN MY FINDING OUT ALL OF THE INFORMATION I HVE BEEN ABLE TO OBTAIN THUS FAR.THANKS AGAIN,HOPE ALL IS WELL.

Hello!!!

I'm excited to find this!

I just for some reason today decided to type the name of my grandfather's plane into Google.

My grandfather was Jene L. Haehnel and he was the copilot of Mitch the Witch and flew in Southeast Asia and Japan.

I'm not sure on the exact dates but he was in the copilot's seat when the plane crashed into a coral reef in the Phillipines. 

He passed away in 1997 but my grandmother still has a lot of his old pictures and items from the military. 

I could share them if anyone is interested.

You can email me at

joe-rybicki AT att.net

replace the AT and two spaces with @

Thanks!!!