A veteran of 15 combat missions in the Second World War, still flying and in top condition, has touched down at the Victoria International Airport.
A B-25J medium bomber, whose nose art proclaims her name to be Maid in the Shade, is an honoured guest of the Victoria Flying Club, open to the public for tours, and some flights.
The American plane is a member of the Commemorative Air Force, Arizona Wing, and a former member of the 319th Bombardment Group, which flew missions out of Corsica into Italy and the Balkans during the Second World War.
Pilot Jerry Briggs said after the war ended, the Maid was brought back to the U.S. and sold into civilian hands. For at least one mission, she was dropping pesticide over Texas on red ants.
Later, enthusiasts brought her to Mesa, Arizona, where she spent 27 years being restored to her former combat condition. Because the plane spent so much time in the shade of a hangar sheltering from the desert sun, restorers painted her nose with her name, Maid in the Shade, and a reclining woman with a flower in her hair.
Maid in the Shade has been flying for five years, one of 160 working vintage aircraft flown by the Commemorative Air Force. Each one is a working tribute to the men who flew, crewed and maintained combat aircraft during the Second World War.
Briggs, who flew commercial airliners before he retired, said the experience flying Maid in the Shade is a far cry from his working days.
“We fly very low and she’s very agile, more like a fighter than a bomber,” he said. “I spent half my life at 41,000 feet, so this is a real treat.”
Maid in the Shade will be at Victoria International Airport, behind the Victoria Flying Club, 1852 Canso Rd., until Monday. The public is invited for a tour from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tours of the plane while parked, including peeks into the interior, cost $5.
Flights lasting about 35 minutes can be arranged for those who can afford the cost — $395 US to ride in the rear section or $650 US to ride up front near the pilots.
