consolidated (ford) b-24j-20-fo liberator 44-48816 ginnie · aircraft of the 453rd! forward! my...

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! !Consolidated (Ford) B-24J-20-FO Liberator 44-48816 "Ginnie"

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! !!Consolidated (Ford) B-24M-10-FO Liberator "721" 44-50721

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Consolidated(Douglas-Tulsa) B-24H-1-DT Liberator 41-28610"Curly" !

Aircraft of the 453rd Page D1

!!Aircraft of the 453rd !Forward !My interest in aircraft at Old Buckenham started several years ago and recently David Moth and I have been involved in creating a web-based photographic record of visiting aircraft, “OLDBUCKSHOTS”. !With December 2013 being the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the 453rd Bomb Group, I thought it appropriate to try to put together a record of all the B24 Liberators that were based at Old Buckenham during World War II. I was particularly interested in recording the individual aircraft identities including the names the crews gave their aircraft. (Details of missions flown and aircrews are already well covered in existing publications.) !My initial research was based on what I was able to glean from existing published material, and, as far as I am aware, the information I have put together in this booklet is not available in this format anywhere else. !The project became even more interesting when I had the pleasure of meeting Pat Ramm who, as a schoolboy during the war, was a frequent visitor to Old Buckenham airfield. He very kindly allowed me to copy his large collection of photographs and also shared his clear memories of the period with me. This spurred me on to undertake more thorough research, the results of which I am now able to share with you. !I am also indebted to the generous help from the members of the 453rd Memorial Association in particular to Tom Brittan for sharing his personal records and also to Tim Ramsey, without whom this booklet would not have been possible. !Information and records from this period are far from complete. Should you be able to add any more details, or provide photographs, I will be only too pleased to hear from you. !!!Keith Sowter December 2013 [email protected]


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Aircraft of the 453rd !

Index !!!! !

Foreword Page 2

Introduction

Detailed List of Known Aircraft Page 5

List of Known Aircraft – Serial order Page 52

List of Losses Page 59

List of Unidentified Aircraft Page 62

Long Serving Aircraft Page 63


!Aircraft of the 453rd !Introduction !Personnel of the 453rd arrived at Old Buckenham the week before Christmas 1943. The exact date of the first B24 arriving is not known but is believed to have been 2nd January 1944. A total of 60 aircraft are thought to have been delivered before the Group started operations on 5th February 1944. By the end of the war over 200 different aircraft had been attributed to the Group !Initially the Unit Identification code was a Black J in a white circle – painted on the Tail Stabilisers and Right Upper Wing surfaces. Later in 1944 the tail markings were changed to all black with a diagonal white band . !The 453rd Bomb Group was made up of 4 Bomb Squadrons

• 732 coded E3 • 733 coded F8 • 734 coded E8 • 735 coded H6 !

The unit code was carried on the either side of the rear fuselage, with the aircraft serial number facing inwards on both the rear stabilisers !Aircraft assigned to each Squadron carried its own RCL ( Radio Call-sign Letter) on the Tail Stabiliser. !Many aircraft were unofficially named by their crews and carried nose art mainly on the port side of the aircraft !The unit operated the B24 Liberator throughout its stay. Various models were operated including the B24D, B24H, B24J, B24L and B24M variants. The aircraft were supplied in two colour schemes OD – Olive Drab or NMF Natural Metal Finish !The 453rd carried out its 259th and last mission on 11th April 1945 receiving orders to stand down the following day. All the aircraft departed Old Buckenham shortly thereafter. !


! !Detailed Aircraft Histories !Below is a list of B24s that have been confirmed as having been flown by the 453rd whilst flying out of Old Buckenham . Aircraft are listed in numerical order based on the last 3 digits of the Serial Number. !Each record below gives details ( where known) of the Aircraft Type, Serial , Call Sign Letters , Bomb Sqdn. No., Code and Aircraft Finish . Followed by further information. !B-24H-20 DT 41-29005 I+ 734 E8 DOLLY'S SISTER NMF I- 734 E8 First trace: 7 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from I+ to I- between 13 & 19 May 44. Lost 21 Nov 44 - landed at Bulltofta (Malmö), SWEDEN, having lost an engine over the target. (Hamburg) MACR 10406 Brought back to England on 28 May 45. !B-24H-20 FO 42-95019 T+ 735 H6 OD First trace: 25 Apr 44. Lost 25 Apr 44 on its only mission - flown by a 733rd BS crew, last sighted in the vicinity of Paris and believed to have exploded in mid-air after being hit by flak over France. (Mannheim) MACR 4305 !B-24J-125 CO 42-110025 P+ 735 H6 OD P+ 734 E8 Assignment under 2 BD Operations Order #23 dated 2 Apr 44 confirming VOGC 30 Mar 44. First trace: 30 Mar 44. Transferred from 735th to 734th BS on 1 May 44. Lost 8 May 44 - collided in mid-air (under fighter attack) with 42-50278 and exploded - went down in a meadow 1 km NE of Tündern, 5 km S of Hameln, and burned out. (Brunswick) MACR 4598 !B-24H-25 FO 42-95047 N 733 F8 NMF M+ 733 F8 First trace: 12 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from N to M+ between 7 & 12 Jul 44. Fitted with RCM equipment on 19 Oct 44 or earlier. Repaired at Lympne (Ashford), Kent, 26 May - 22 Jun 44 - battle damage on 25 May 44 mission to Troyes, France. Lost 19 Oct 44 - received a direct hit by flak over the target, rolled over, caught fire and spiralled down in a slow spin. Crashed at Kalkheim im Taunus. (Mainz) MACR 10177 !


B-24J-130 CO 42-110047 B 732 E3 HUMPSHOT OD Q 732 E3 X 732 E3 Assignment under 2 BD Operations Order #23 dated 2 Apr 44 confirming VOGC 31 Mar 44. First trace: 8 Apr 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from B to Q between 8 & 13 Jul 44 and from Q to X between 19 Sep & 22 Oct 44. 467th Sub-Depot determined fuel leak and changed nose turret 7 - 14 Feb 45. On 7 Apr 45 mission to Düneberg, landed at Woodbridge, Suffolk, where nose gear was repaired 7 - 11 Apr 45. Transferred to 467th BG after 11 Apr 45. !B-24H-25 FO 42-95048 W+ 735 H6 JABBER-WOCK! NMF W- 735 H6 First trace: 6 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from W+ to W- between 9 & 11 May 44. Lost 7 Jul 44 - caught in intense and accurate flak, went down at Mendenheim. (Halle) MACR 7226 ! !B-24JSH-5 FO 42-51063 Y 732 E3 DANNY BOY NMF ex 389th BG - kept YO squadron code - first trace in 453rd BG: 15 Jan 45. Transferred to 93rd BG after 26 Feb 45. !B-24J-145 CO 44-40072 A- 734 E8 B T O NMF ex 489th BG, originally 492nd BG with which it flew 29 missions. First trace with 453rd BG: 11 Dec 44. Fitted with RCM equipment from 29 Jan 45 or earlier. Repaired at Leiston, Suffolk, 11 Jan 45 - hydraulic system damaged on 10 Jan 45 mission to Steinbrück. Landed at B-51, Lille/Vendeville, France, on 16 Jan 45. Returned with a runaway propeller and landed at Tibenham on 29 Jan 45 mission to Hamm - nose wheel collapsed. Nose turret changed from Consolidated MPC A-6B to Emerson A-15 by 467th Sub-Depot, Old Buckenham, 23 & 24 Feb 45. Last trace with 453rd BG: 11 Apr 45. Transferred to 466th BG with which it was RZI. !!B-24H-25 FO 42-95073 Y 735 H6 FLYING HOME NMF Unk 732 E3 Departed U.S. 29 May 44. First trace in 453rd BG: 7 Oct 44 - where was it from May 44 Transferred from 735th to 732nd BS on 1 Apr 45. Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 15 Mar 45 or earlier.


Repaired at Framlingham, Suffolk, 29 Jan - 8 Feb 45 - # 4 engine – having landed there on return from 28 Jan 44 mission to Dortmund due to bad weather, #4 engine out and flak damage. Transferred to 467th BG between 9 & 25 Apr 45. !B-24H-25 FO 42-95076 C 732 E3 LACE NMF N 732 E3 First trace: 9 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from C to N between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Fitted with RCM equipment from 12 Dec 44 or earlier. Repaired at Beccles, Suffolk, 21 Oct - 9 Nov 44 - #1 engine, main landing gear wheel and battle damage (no record on missions between 9 Oct 44 when it aborted after 1h04, and 21 Oct 44) Crashed 21 Jan 45 at Shadoxhurst, near Kingsnorth, Kent. (Heilbronn) Salvaged 22 - 24 Jan 45 - left main landing gear gave out. !B-24J-130 CO 42-110076 E+ 734 E8 OD Assignment under 2 BD Operations Order #23 dated 2 Apr 44 confirming VOGC 30 Mar 44. First trace: 8 Apr 44. Lost 8 Apr 44 on only mission - shot down by enemy fighters at Tylsen, near Salzwedel. (Brunswick) MACR 3924 !B-24J-130 CO 42-110078 A 734 E8 LIBERTY RUN OD P 735 H6 SHOO SHOO BABY P 735 H6 Unk 732 E3 First trace: 9 Apr 44. Transferred from 734th to 735th BS on 1 May 44. Transferred from 735th to 732nd BS on 1 Apr 45 - call letter unknown. Assignment under 2 BD Operations Order dated 31 Mar 44 confirming VOGC. Named LIBERTY RUN on 24 Dec 44 on the occasion of a Christmas party at Old Buckenham for local children and flew to Paris with gifts for French children. Had previously carried no visible nose art but was known as SHOO SHOO BABY. Fitted with RCM (from 14 Oct 44?) Landed at Brussels, Belgium, on 18 Oct 44 mission to Cologne. Flew through a tree on take-off for 9 Nov 44 mission to Metz, France, - co-pilot did not have hand on the throttles and they slipped - taken to Sub Depot after mission for left flap and vertical stabiliser change. Repaired at Woodbridge, Suffolk, 4 & 5 Mar 45 – hydraulic system - on return from 3 Mar 45 Magdeburg mission. Last trace: 4 Apr 45 - landed at B-53 (5 SAD Merville, France) ETR Old Buckenham: 8 Apr 45. RZI. Salvaged 24 Sep 45 at Albuquerque NM. !!!


B-24J-130 CO 42-110085 W 733 F8 FLAK HACK OD P 733 F8 P+ 733 F8 Assignment under 2 BD Operations Order #23 dated 2 Apr 44 confirming VOGC 31 Mar 44. First trace: 8 Apr 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from W to P between 22 & 23 May 44 and from P to P+ between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Lost 8 Sep 44 - ditched in the North Sea, about 70 miles north-east of Scarborough, Yorkshire. (Karlsruhe) MACR 15217 !B-24H-25 FO 42-95086 O+ 735 H6 SQUEE-GEE NMF O 735 H6 First trace: 11 May 44 when assigned to Crew Chief M/Sgt Harold H Fox. Individual aircraft letter changed from O+ to O bar below between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 29 Jan 45 or earlier. 467th Sub-Depot determined fuel leak 21 - 23 Feb 45. Force-landed 25 Feb 45 with a shell hole through the left wing at Dijon, France. (Giebelstadt) Salvaged on the Continent 28 Feb 45. IARC shows this aircraft as RZI, arriving at Altus, OK, on 3 Jul 45. Consequently, despite being listed as salvaged, it was flown back to the ZI. !B-24H-20 DT 42-51087 R 733 F8 HOT STUFF NMF R+ 733 F8 DUCHESS First trace: 7 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from R to R+ between 7 & 13 Jul 44. Named HOT STUFF on the starboard side and also known as DUCHESS. Repaired at Manston, Kent, 14 - 27 Oct 44 (#1 engine) following mechanical failure on the 14 Oct 44 mission to Kaiserlautern. Repaired at Bradwell Bay, Essex, 17 & 18 Feb 45 - hydraulic system damaged on 16 Feb 45 mission to Bergsteinfurt. Transferred to 389th BG after 8 Apr 45 and RZI 21 May 45. !B-24H-20 DT 42-51089 V 733 F8 STAR EYES NMF V+ 733 F8 First trace: 15 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from V to V+ between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Fitted with RCM equipment from 6 Dec 44 or earlier. Repaired at Manston, Kent, 26 May - 3 Jun 44 - surface changes, hydraulic system, battle damage on 25 May 44 mission to Troyes, France. Landed at Brussels-Melsbroek to re-fuel on return from 1 Jan 45 mission to Remagen. Photo taken at A-93 Liège/Bieset, Belgium, on page 214 of "The Mighty Eighth - The Colour Record". Lost 10 Apr 45 - received a direct hit by flak over Wittenburg, broke in two, blew up and went down in flames, disintegrating with the tail coming off. (Rechlin) MACR 14443 !


B-24J-135 CO 42-110089 E+ 734 E8 STRICTLY BUSINESS OD N- 734 E8 ex 491st BG - first trace in 453rd BG: 6 Jun 44. See also 44-10577 with the same name. Individual aircraft letter changed from E+ to N- between 7 & 12 Jul 44. Lost 11 Aug 44 - ditched 10 miles south east of North Foreland, Kent. (Strasbourg, France) MACR 16006 !B-24H-20 DT 42-51096 A 734 E8 HUSTLIN' HUSSY NMF F- 734 E8 First trace: 8 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from A to F- between 8 & 11 May 44. Repaired at Manston, Kent, 5 - 25 Nov 44 - #4 engine and battle damage on 5 Nov 44 aborted mission to Karlesruhe. Transferred to 446th BG after 10 Apr 45 and RZI in Jun 45. !B-24H-25 FO 42-95099 Q 733 F8 RAG DOLL NMF Q+ 733 F8 First trace: 22 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from Q to Q+ between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Shown on Form No 8 for Mission 157 (7 Oct 44) as MIA but the pilot (Fischer) flew more missions from 12 Oct 44 and IARC mentions "Repaired 30 Nov 44". Flew missions again with 453rd BG from 21 Jan 45. Last trace: 28 Feb 45 - landed at Le Bourget (A-54, AAF 385), near Paris, France. RZI - arrived Bradley Field on 17 Jun 45. RFC Altus (OK) 17 Oct 45. !B-24J-135 CO 42-110100 O 733 F8 SWEDE, THE OD S 733 F8 MAYTAG I+ 733 F8 I 732 E3 First trace: 8 Apr 44. Assignment 31 Mar 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from O to S on 25 Jun 44 (according to formation diagram, retained call letter O on 24 Jun 44 mission although 42-110138 had already taken call letter O while 42-110100 was being repaired after damage on 8 May 44 mission). Again changed from S to I+ between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Transferred from 733rd to 732nd BS between 16 Jan & 3 Feb 45. Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 19 Oct 44 or earlier. Landed on one wheel at Watton on return from the 8 May 44 mission to Brunswick but was repaired - see page 19 of 453rd BGA Newsletter Mar 99. Crashed 3 Mar 45 at Jouy-le-Potier, 15km S of Orleans, France, after crew bailed out near A-50 (Orléans-Bricy, France) - see page 24 of No 2, Vol 7, 453rd BGA Newsletter. (Magdeburg) Salvaged battle damaged 1 Apr 45 by 5 SAD. !B-24H-20 DT 42-51102 F 732 E3 JUG HEAD NMF P 732 E3


First trace: 23 May 44 as a spare that was not used. Individual aircraft letter changed from F bar below to P between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 28 Jan 45 or earlier. Crashed 31 Jan 45 at Old Buckenham - according to Form No 8, it ran off the runway on an instrument take off and cracked up. As a result, 13 other aircraft were unable to take off. (Hallendorf - mission recalled) Salvaged 31 Jan 45, according to 3 SAD Field Engineering salvage list which indicates that left main landing gear gave out. (USAF HRC Report of Aircraft Salvaged erroneously states that the incident occurred on the date of Operation No 811 (29 Jan 45), that the date of salvage was 30 Jan 45 and that the main landing gear collapsed on landing.) !B-24H-25 FO 42-95102 H- 734 E8 SPIRIT OF NOTRE DAME NMF First trace: 19 May 44. Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 30 Oct 44 or earlier. Repaired at Snetterton Heath 25 - 31 Dec 44 - hydraulic and electrical systems and battle damage (according to Form No.8, landed at Woodbridge on 24 Dec 44 mission.) 467th Sub-Depot changed main fuel cell and carried out general maintenance 3 - 5 Feb 45. 467th Sub-Depot carried out sheet metal work and checked the nose gear 10 - 15 Feb 45 following a mid-air collision on 9 Feb 45 (on return) with 42-50703 THE WORRY BIRD which crashed and burned and was salvaged. Repaired at Snetterton Heath 24 & 25 Feb 45 - # 2 engine. 93 missions but at least 119 mission symbols (bombs) were displayed. Transferred to 448th BG after 11 Apr 45. !B-24H-25 DT 42-51108 D 732 E3 ARROWHEAD NMF O 732 E3 First trace: 19 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from D to O between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Survived the war with 110 or 113 missions. Transferred to 44th BG after 10 Apr 45 and RZI 28 or 31 May 45. !B-24H-25 FO 42-95111 P 733 F8 PORKY NMF K+ 733 F8 First trace: 13 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from P to K+ between 7 & 17 Jul 44. Lost 13 Sep 44 - pulled out of the formation over Eich, received a burst of flak almost directly and went down in a spin with the cockpit in flames at Biblis, near Worms. (Weissenhorn) MACR 8853 !B-24H-25 DT 42-51112 R 733 NMF H+ 733 First trace: 6 Jun 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from R to H+ between 8 & 11 Jul 44.


Crashed 31 Mar 45 near Wesel at a place named Tünern (not found on maps seen - according to John Hey, it may have been Tüddern, a small village on the German-Dutch border, approx. 25 km NE of Maastricht) after being hit by a Me 262 and reporting two engines out. Trailing the formation, it dropped out at the Dümmer Lake area and attempted to land in Allied controlled territory. (Brunswick) MACR 13735 Salvaged battle damaged on the Continent 15 Apr 45 by 5 SAD. !B-24H-25 DT 42-51114 Q 733 WHISKEY JINGLES NMF J+ 733 First trace: 19 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from Q to J+ between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 3 Feb 45 or earlier. Repaired at Manston, Kent, 20 Dec 44 - 6 Jan 45 - #2 engine - damaged on 19 Dec 44 mission to Bitburg, near Trier. Last trace with 453rd BG: 4 Apr 45. RZI with 466th BG on Operation "Home Run". !B-24J-135 CO 42-110138 O 733 F8 FLYING BULL OD O+ 733 F8 BUFFALO Probably this is the aircraft said to be named BUFFALO. ex 491st BG - first trace with 453rd BG: 10 Jun 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from O to O+ between 29 Jun & 18 Jul 44. Lost 16 Aug 44 - shot down over the Netherlands on the way home. (Dessau) MACR 8424 !B-24H-10 FO 42-52139 B+ 734 BRINEY MARLIN OD Original airplane. Individual aircraft letter unknown but may have been B+. Lost 20 Feb 44 - was attacked by enemy fighters 10 minutes beyond the target after bombs away, caught fire, exploded in mid-air and went down near Göttingen. (Brunswick) MACR 2780 !B-24H-10 FO 42-52147 M 732 E3 PUG OD shark nose Original airplane (pesky # 582). Aborted 20 Feb 44 mission and made an emergency landing at Thorpe Abbotts. Lost 8 May 44 - shot down by German fighters. Crashed at Hassbergen, 12 km SE of Hoya/Weser, in the direction of Anderten. (Brunswick) MACR 4593 !B-24HSH-25 DT 42-51149 U+ 733 F8 BLOOD AND GUTS NMF ex 389th BG - first trace with 453rd BG: 24 Aug 44. Received by 453rd BG between 15 & 23 Aug 44. Ceased to be used as an H2X lead airplane (PFF) after 11 Dec 44. 467th Sub-Depot determined fuel leak 8 - 10 Feb 45.


Lost 17 Feb 45 - ditched in the North Sea approximately 9 miles due north of Cromer after icing-up on return from a mission to Magdeburg which was recalled before reaching the enemy coast. MACR 16087 !B-24J-140 CO 42-110149 Z 733 F8 MARY HARRIET OD Z+ 733 F8 ex 491st BG - first trace with 453rd BG: 8 Jun 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from Z to Z+ between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 9 Feb 45 or earlier. On the 25 Sep 44 mission to Koblenz, after bombs away, the formation lost altitude and began to gain speed for the trip back to England. At this point a B-17 and this aircraft were involved in a mid-air collision in which this aircraft had some 6ft of wing torn away. Landed at Manston, Kent, where it was repaired 25 Sep - 10 Oct 44 - left wing panel, left aileron. Landing accident 17 Dec 44. Last trace with 453rd BG: 6 Apr 45. Assigned to 458th BG on Operation "Home Run". !B-24H-10 FO 42-52154 G+ 734 E8 MALE CALL OD G- 734 E8 Original airplane (pesky # 562). Individual aircraft letter changed from G+ to G- between 30 Apr & 25 May 44. Landing accident 24 Aug 44 at Bovingdon. Repaired 3 - 25 Sep 44 - nose and tail damaged by flack. Landing accident 21 Nov 44. Repaired at Thorpe Abbotts 11 - 17 Mar 45 - #1 engine - damaged on 10 Mar 45 mission to Paderborn. Completed 95 missions and said to be the only survivor of the original 61 ships (but see 41-28631 and 42-64452) Last trace with 453rd BG: 8 Apr 45. Probably transferred to 44th BG whose 67th BS included aircraft 154 (Pilot's name: Lee) in its inventory as of 21 May 45. !B-24H-25 FO 42-95166 O- 735 H6 GALLOPING GHOST NMF M 735 H6 CENTURY QUEEN Unk 734 First trace: 11 May 44. Named GALLOPING GHOST when it landed at Kenley in Jan 45. Individual aircraft letter changed from O- to M between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Transferred from 735th to 734th BS on 1 Apr 45. Fitted with RCM from 15 Oct 44 or earlier. Landed with #4 feathered at Manston, Kent, on 17 Jul 44, where it was repaired 20 - 26 Jul 44 - #4 engine. Landed badly shot up by flak at Woodbridge, Suffolk, on 11 Sep 44 where it was repaired 12 - 28 Sep 44 - hydraulic system, battle damage. Landed at Brussels, Belgium, due to lack of fuel on 30 Nov 44 mission to Homburg.


Landed at Kenley, Surrey, on 15 Jan 45, where it was repaired 17 Jan - 4 Feb 45 - #4 engine. 467th Sub-Depot carried out modification 9 - 12 Feb 45. Survived war with 106 missions. Last trace with 453rd BG 9 Apr 45. RZI - arrived US 15 Jun 45. RFC Altus (OK) Oct 45. !B-24H-25 FO 42-95167 A+ 734 E8 NEVER MRS NMF A- 734 E8 First trace: 11 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from A+ to A- between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Landed safely 8 Sep 44 at A-67 (Vitry, France), having sustained flak damage. Was repaired. Fitted with RCM equipment from 14 Oct 44 or earlier. Lost 11 Nov 44 - bomb bay caught fire over the Ruhr valley on 70th mission after being hit by flak. Just before bombs away, a wing came off when the plane went into a dive and crashed between Buer and Essen. (Bottrop) MACR 10342 !B-24H-10 FO 42-52169 J+ 734 E8 LUCKY PENNY OD LOST & FOUND DEPT. Original airplane. See also 42-95312, the second LUCKY PENNY. Coincidentally 491st BG had 42-110169 with the same last three and the name LUCKY PENNY. Lost 8 May 44 - attacked by fighters, # 2 engine caught fire and the fire spread to all parts of the aircraft, which exploded and went down at Feldmark Buehne, 5 km NW of Osterwieck and 19 km NE of Goslar, near Stotterlinger. (Brunswick) MACR 4594 !B-24H-25 FO 42-95171 J- 734 E8 DIANA-MITE NMF First trace: 11 May 44. Lost 21 Jul 44 when it collided in mid-air with 41-29259 in the Karlsruhe area. Both aircraft exploded. It is not clear whether the collision occurred before or after the formation was ordered to turn about to bomb Saarbrücken marshalling yards when it ran up against a towering cloud front. (Munich) MACR 7253 !B-24H-25 FO 42-95173 C+ 734 E8 SKY CHIEF NMF Q- 734 E8 First trace: 19 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from C+ to Q- between 8 & 16 Jul 44. Force landed 24 Dec 44 at Cambrai-Niergnies, France, - the plane was hit several times near the target, dropped on time, plastered the target and limped out with # 1 engine out, # 4 engine feathered, # 2 turbo out and # 2 & # 3 leaking oil badly. (Mayen) Salvaged 11 Mar 45 on the Continent by 5 SAD. !B-24J-150 CO 44-40173 K 735 H6 OUR BABY NMF F+ 733 F8 ERNIE'S BEAVERS ex 492nd BG with which it flew 20 missions and was named ERNIE'S BEAVERS


and/or T S - first trace with 453rd BG: 12 Aug 44. See also 41-29259 named OUR BABY. Transferred from 735th to 733rd BS on 1 Apr 45. Waist windows with gun socket mounted and a Fairchild compensating sight on both guns were fitted 27 Oct - 3 Nov 44. Nose turret changed from Consolidated MPC A-6B to Emerson A-15 probably at the same time or during Dec 44 (no missions between 4 & 19 Dec 44). Last trace with 453rd BG: 10 Apr 45. Transferred to 466th BG (RZI with 466th BG on Operation "Home Run"). !B-24H-10 FO 42-52174 K+ 734 E8 HOO JIVE OD K- 734 E8 Original airplane (pesky # 550). Individual aircraft letter changed from K+ to K- between 8 & 23 May 44. Repaired at Bovingdon, Hertfordshire 24 - 28 Jun 44 - #3 engine damaged on 24 Jun 44 mission to Brétigny, France. Landed on return from 17 Jul 44 mission to Belfort, France, at Manston, Kent, having lost # 1 engine over the target and low on fuel. Repaired there 18 & 19 Jul 44 - engine trouble. Lost 25 Aug 44 - landed at Bulltofta (Malmo), SWEDEN, - having been hit by flak shortly after making landfall and having developed engine trouble, the plane was forced to drop out of the formation and instead of carrying on to the target (Wismar), it bombed Kiel docks. MACR 8293 Brought back to BAD 1, Burtonwood, Lancashire, 7 or 12 Jul 45. !B-24H-10 FO 42-52175 P+ 735 PORTLAND ANNIE OD Original airplane. Lost 8 Mar 44 flown by 732 Sqn pilot (Lt Ehrman) and crew - hence probably the belief that 732 Sqn had an aircraft named PORTLAND ANNE – force-landed 2 km south-east of Meppen, near Balkbrug, Netherlands, after being hit by flak over Berlin. (Berlin-Erkner) MACR 2928 !B-24H-10 FO 42-52176 N 733 F8 VALKYRIE OD Original airplane. Landed at Watton on 26 Mar 44. Crashed and burned 8 May 44 at Long Stratton in a thicket after being abandoned on return. (Brunswick) Salvaged 13 & 14 May 44. !B-24H-10 FO 42-52178 Unk 735 LITTLE AGNES OD Original airplane. Crashed 6 Feb 44 at Abbey Farm, Old Buckenham, on take-off. Flew into the ground on take off due to mechanical failure of #1 and #4 engines and struck a ditch. Two 500 lb bombs exploded as the plane crashed resulting in its complete destruction. (Siracourt, France) Salvaged 6 & 7 Feb 44. !


B-24H-1 CF 41-29179 OD ex Air Service Command where used as mock-up ship for proposed modifications at Langford Lodge, Northern Ireland. Not suitable for combat. May have been the "Prototype ditching aircraft" (serial quoted by Roger Freeman: 41-28179) recorded on 7 Mar 44 as "not assigned to 2nd BD. Recorded on 9 Jul 44 as having never flown on operations. Became 2nd Bomb Division VHF radio relay and air-sea rescue control plane from Jul 44. Recorded on 9 Jul 44 that it was proposed to rotate assignment of aircraft among Groups. 458th BG on 12 Jun 44. In 453rd BG mission records seen, it appears only on formation plans for the Group's 12 & 15 Oct 44 missions, the one for the latter mentioning "VHF - 179 - Markovic". Lt (or Capt?) Francis X Markovic Jr was a 453rd BG pilot assigned to 732nd Sqn who completed his 35 missions four days later. Was at BAD 3, Langford Lodge, Northern Ireland. Transferred to 496th Fighter Training Group at Halesworth. !B-24H-10 FO 42-52180 F+ 734 E8 LIL EIGHT BALL OD Original airplane (pesky # 548). Lost 8 Apr 44 with a 733rd BS crew - shot down by enemy fighters - exploded, disintegrating in mid air as it dived, the wreckage going down at Elmendorf in Oldenburg, 4 km NW of Bad Zwischenahn. (Brunswick) MACR 3927 !B-24H-10 FO 42-52182 V+ 735 RUMPLESTILSKIN OD Original airplane (pesky # 571). Call letter may have been V+ but see also 42-64453 V+. Crashed 23 Feb 44 at Thorpe Abbotts on landing in fog and ice on a wood-chipped runway, having flown from Old Buckenham to pick up 42-52147 M (732nd BS) PUG, which had made an emergency landing when aborting a mission on 20 Feb 44. Salvaged 24 & 25 Feb 44 - overshot runway. !B-24H-10 FO 42-52185 D 732 E3 LITTLE JOE OD shark nose Original airplane (pesky # 651). Named LITTLE JOE (as reported to 2nd Bomb Div. on 26 Mar 44 and as in photo in possession of Roger Freeman) but also named SON OF THE BEACH (as reported to 2nd Bomb Div. on 22 Feb 44). Lost 8 Apr 44 - shot down by enemy fighters - last sighted near Salzwedel. (Brunswick) MACR 3926 !B-24H-10 FO 42-52186 O+ 735 H6 OD Original airplane. Repaired at Great Saling (Andrewsfield), Essex, 22 - 28 Feb 44 – battle damage - where it landed after being hit by armour piercing shells on 20 Feb 44 mission to Brunswick.


Lost 9 May 44 - went down at Arendonk, Belgium, between Turnhout and the Netherlands border - not in formation, it was shot down by a fighter. (Florennes) MACR 4595 !B-24H-10 FO 42-52191 N+ 735 LILLIE BELLE OD Original airplane. Lost 6 Mar 44 - ditched in the North Sea on return. (Berlin-Genshagen) MACR 2969 !B-24H-10 FO 42-52196 A+ 734 WAR BRIDE OD A- 734 E8 Original airplane. Taxiing accident 2 Feb 44. Repaired at Manston, Kent, 3 Feb 44 by Sub-Depot (Roger Freeman has a photo dated 2 Feb 44 right main landing gear collapsed). Last trace with 453rd BG: 20 Jun 44. Transferred to Air Transport Command (possibly after conversion to CB-24) and lost 9 Sep 44 over Norway (on the internee run to Sweden?). !B-24H-10 FO 42-52201 L 732 E3 BATTLE PACKAGE OD shark nose Original airplane (pesky # 585). No name visible on starboard side of nose but it appears to have a shark nose on a photo taken on 20 Apr 44 in lead position with EL FLAKO in deputy lead position and KEN O KAY II. However, it does not have a shark nose in the photo on page 71 of "In Search of Peace". Lost 11 Jul 44 - ditched in the North Sea, 38 miles off Great Yarmouth. (Munich) MACR 8715 !B-24H-30 DT 42-51204 O- 734 E8 NMF First trace: 6 Oct 44. 467th Sub-Depot carried out sheet metal work 26 & 27 Feb 45. Last trace with 453rd BG: 10 Apr 45. Transferred to 467th BG and RZI '45. !B-24H-25 FO 42-95206 G 732 E3 OHIO SILVER NMF J 732 E3 Accepted 28 Mar 44, delivered Birmingham 31 Mar 44, departed Birmingham 24 Apr 44, departed US 7 May 44, first trace with 453rd BG: 28 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from G to J between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 6 Feb 45 or earlier. Survived the war with 107 combat missions. Last trace with 453rd BG: 10 Apr 45. RZI Jun 45 - Cincinnati OH 27 Jun 45, Altus OK 28 Jun - 20 Sep 44. Disposed of in Oct 45 by Reconstruction Finance Corp. !B-24H-5 CF 41-29210 -X 733 HEAVENLY BODY


OD M 733 T 733 F8 T+ 733 F8 Original airplane. Individual aircraft letter changed from -X to M between 25 Feb & 6 Mar 44, from M to T between 6 & 18 Mar 44 (shown as I on some documents for 3 Mar 44 mission but this may be an error) and from T to T+ between 8 & 16 Jul 44. Repaired at Hawkinge, Kent, 1 - 20 May 44 - #2 & #4 engines and battle damage on 27 Apr 44 mission to Blainville, France. Last trace in 453rd BG: 17 Sep 44 (truckin' mission) but shown as an Old Buckenham aircraft when flown by a 389th BG crew on a 21 Sep 44 truckin' mission out of Horsham St Faith. RZI. RFC Altus OK 7 Aug 45. !B-24H-25 FO 42-95214 Z- 735 H6 WANDERING WANDA NMF Z 735 H6 PIN UP PIP Unk 732 E3 Was named either PIN UP PIP changed to WANDERING WANDA or had both names simultaneously. First trace: 9 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from Z- to Z between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Transferred from 735th BS to 732nd BS on 1 Apr 45. Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 19 Dec 44 or earlier. 467th Sub-Depot carried out sheet metal work 26 & 27 Feb 45 - damaged on 25 Feb 45 mission to Giebelstadt. Survived the war with 117 missions (113 in 735th BS and 4 in 732nd BS). Last trace: 10 Apr 45. Transferred to 392nd BG. B-24H-25 FO 42-95216 H 732 E3 BECKY NMF BILLIE MAE First trace: 20 May 44. Name changed from BILLIE MAE to BECKY (or LITTLE BECKY) after the Crew Chief, M/Sgt Albert V Coswell's, new baby. Also said to have been named BLACK WIDOW. Picture of young child painted on port side of nose between end Sep and end Dec 44. Landed on 16 Jan 45 at A-81, Creil, France. Landed on 1 Mar 45 at A-84, Chièvres, Belgium. Landed on 4 Apr 45 at A-90, Toul/Croix de Metz, France. Completed 98 missions and aborted only 3 times. Transferred to 458th BG after 10 Apr 45. !B-24H-10 FO 42-52218 O 733 F8 OD Original airplane (pesky # x35). Crashed and burned 18 Mar 44 between Kilndown and Goudhurst, Kent, on return (Friedrichshafen)- Pilot: Lt S D Kelly of 734th BS. Salvaged 27 & 28 Mar 44. !!


B-24H-10 FO 42-52226 E+ 734 BETTY BOOP OD Original airplane. Lost 6 Mar 44 - shot down by a fighter on return and crashed in the Ijsselmeer, 2 miles north of Edam, Netherlands. (Berlin-Genshagen) MACR 2970 !B-24H-25 FO 42-95233 E 732 E3 NMF - This aircraft may have been named PAY DAY but the name is more likely to have been associated with the aircraft in error because it superseded the original PAY DAY (41-28938) as E in 732nd BS. First trace: 6 Jun 44. Lost 24 Jun 44 - hit by flak, it blew up while crossing the coast over Coxyde, Belgium, on the way out and went down at Oostduinkerke, 6 km west of Nieuwpoort, Belgium. (Pont-à-Vendin, France) MACR 6233 !B-24H-10 FO 42-52234 D+ 733 F8 CORKY OD N 733 F8 BURGUNDY BOMBERS N+ 733 F8 W+ 733 F8 Original airplane (pesky # 656). Initially thought to have been transferred from 734th to 733rd BS before 15 Feb 44 (flew no missions with 734th BS). This would explain its individual aircraft letter D+ but, in fact, it was an original 733rd BS aircraft flown to UK by 1/Lt John A Nortridge and his crew. Letter changed from D+ to N between 11 & 25 May 44, from N to N+ between 8 & 11 Jul 44 and from N+ to W+ between 19 Jul & 14 Oct 44. (Was W+ on 20 Jul but again N+ on 24 Jul 44 according to some mission documents!!!) Landed safely 8 Sep 44 in France having sustained flak damage. Was repaired. Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 29 Jan 45 or earlier. Had "MISS ELLA MAE" on its nose as well as "BILLSO" which, according to Bob Jordan, was the nickname of Bill Eagleson, the Bombardier. Transferred to 446th BG after 23 Feb 45. !B-24H-10 FO 42-52237 C+ 734 E8 PAPER DOLL OD D- 734 E8 Original airplane (pesky # 653). Individual aircraft letter changed from C+ to D- between 1 & 25 May 44. Also said to have been Q- but this seems unlikely and, in any event, would have been after 24 Dec 44, date of loss of 42-95173 Q- SKY CHIEF. Last trace in 453rd BG: 13 Sep 44 mission but shown as an Old Buckenham aircraft when flown by a 389th BG crew on a 21 Sep 44 truckin' mission out of Horsham St Faith. Salvaged war weary 29 May 45 by BAD 3, Langford Lodge, Northern Ireland. !B-24H-10 FO 42-52240 T+ 735 H6 OD Original airplane.


Lost 9 Apr 44 - landed at Rinkaby, near Kristianstad, SWEDEN, flown by a 732nd BS crew - had only 2 hours' fuel left. (Tutow) MACR 3925 Left Sweden 4 Jun 45. !B-24H-10 FO 42-52244 Z+ 735 H6 BLACK JED OD Original airplane. On 6 Mar 44 mission to Berlin, the pilot (Lt Bill Adams) was wounded by flak. Lost 9 Apr 44 - landed at Rinkaby, near Kristianstad, SWEDEN. (Tutow) MACR 3921 !B-24H-5 CF 41-29249 M+ 734 E8 LONESOME POLECAT OD M- 734 E8 Original airplane (pesky # 512). Individual aircraft letter changed from M+ to M- between 9 & 20 May 44. Last trace: 13 Sep 44. Salvaged war weary 29 May 45 by BAD 3, Langford Lodge, Northern Ireland. !B-24H-5 CF 41-29250 Y+ 735 H6 OLD BUTCH OD Y- 735 H6 BUTCH Y 735 H6 Original aircraft (pesky # 519). Was named OLD BUTCH or BUTCH. Individual aircraft letter (originally R+ on some documents) changed from Y+ to Y- between 8 May & 6 Jun 44 and from Y- to Y between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Lost 27 Sep 44 - blaze in # 2 engine then one more went out and plane dropped back trying to make Brussels but went down in flames after all ten crew bailed out over front lines. (Kassel) An entry in records on 12 Nov 44 merely states that the plane had gone missing on operations without giving a date. !B-24H-25 FO 42-95252 B+ 734 E8 SHACK HAPPY NMF O- 734 E8 First trace: 19 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from B+ to O- between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Repaired at Woodbridge, Suffolk, 21 - 23 Jun 44 - No. 4 propeller, hydraulic system damaged on 21 Jun 44 mission to Berlin/Nordban. Hit by flak, returned to base and landed without hydraulics on 6 Aug 44 mission to Hamburg - repaired by Sub-Depot during next 10 days. Lost 2 Oct 44 - trailed the Group over the target and 30 seconds after bombs away, burst into a sheet of flames and broke into two, having been hit behind the top turret by a bomb dropped by a 389th BG aircraft and which went through the fuselage without exploding. The tail broke off and the two parts spiralled down to crash at Pelkum, near the target. (Hamm) MACR 9418 !B-24H-5 CF 41-29254 O+ 734 OD Original airplane. Crash landed 10 Feb 44 at Ash Hill Farm, Hilgay, near Southery, on return. (Gilze-Rijen) Salvaged 11 & 12 Feb 44.


!B-24H-5 CF 41-29257 L+ 734 E8 NOTRE DAME OD L- 734 E8 Original airplane. Named NOTRE DAME on the starboard side (photo on page 238 of "In Search of Peace" and in Roger Freeman's collection). Individual aircraft letter changed from L+ to L- between 11 & 24 May 44. Crash-landed 30 May 44 at Halesworth with one engine burned out, the fire having broken out over the sea, necessitating the mission to be aborted. Two waist gunners baled out and were rescued safely. (Oldenburg) Salvaged 31 May 44 at Halesworth, Suffolk - severe operational damage. !B-24H-10 CF 41-29259 M 733 LITTLE MIKE OD B+ 734 E8 B- 734 E8 Original airplane. Transferred from 733rd BS (individual aircraft letter possibly M) to 734th BS (flown to Morrison Field (FL) and thence probably to UK by 2/Lt Patrick D Tobin and his 733rd BS crew). Its first combat mission was in 734th BS on 20 Mar 44. The cause of its non-participation in the Group's first 20 missions is unknown. Individual aircraft letter changed from B+ to B- on 10 May 44. Lost 21 Jul 44 when it collided in mid-air with 42-95171 in the Karlsruhe area. Both aircraft exploded. It is not clear whether the collision occurred before or after the formation was ordered to turn about to bomb Saarbrücken railway yards when it ran up against a towering cloud front. The aircraft crashed near Darmsheim, 12 miles SW of Stuttgart. (Munich) MACR 7252 !B-24H-25 FO 42-95267 E+ 734 E8 SILVER QUEEN NMF First trace: 24 May 44. Transferred to 491st BG after 30 May 44 and almost immediately (between 1 & 6 Jun 44) to 489th BG. !B-24H-25 FO 42-95276 O 733 F8 MY BABS NMF L+ 733 F8 First trace: 11 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from O bar to L+ between 7 & 12 Jul 44. Taxiing accident 26 Sep 44. Fitted with RCM equipment from 14 Oct 44 or earlier. Survived the war with 120 missions. Last trace: 10 Apr 45 when it was unaccounted for. RZI. RFC Altus OK 28 Sep 45. !B-24H-10 FO 42-52277 Q 733 SHACK RABBIT II OD T 733 Q 733 F8 Original airplane (pesky # 564).


Individual aircraft letter quoted as T on some mission documents between 3 & 5 Mar 44. Probably the B-24H FO with the name SHACK RABBIT II on the starboard side of the nose. SHACK RABBIT II also had the pesky number 564 stencilled between the nose turret and bombardier's window. Lost 23 Mar 44 - dropped bombs, headed north at Uchte and went down at Amelo or Hardenberg, Netherlands. (Handorf) MACR 3553 !B-24H-20 CF 42-50278 F+ 734 E8 OD Assignment under 2 BD Operations Order #28 dated 18 Apr 44 confirming VOCG 15 Apr 44. First trace: 20 Apr 44. Lost 8 May 44 - the formation was attacked by waves of German fighters after bombing. This aircraft collided in mid-air with 42-110025 at 20,000 ft near Hameln and exploded, going down 2 km NW of Salzdahlum. (Brunswick) MACR 4591 !B-24J-155 CO 44-40292 N+ 735 H6 HATTIE BELLE NMF N 735 H6 Unk 733 F8 First trace: 10 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from N+ to N between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Transferred from 735th to 733rd BS on 1 Apr 45. Survived the war with between 112 & 116 missions. (According to 735th BS records, it flew 108 missions, excluding 3 aborts, with that Squadron, the last being on 31 Mar 45. It also flew 6 missions with 733rd BS. However, according to "Lee" Quesnel, a member of Joe Miele's ground crew, HATTIE BELLE was retired in early 1945 after 116 missions and 2,000 flight hours without an abortion - see page 17 of Vol 4 No 1 of The 453rd Bomb Group Association Newsletter). Last trace: 10 Apr 45. RZI. RFC Altus OK 15 Oct 45. !B-24H-20 CF 42-50296 A 732 E3 FORD'S FOLLY OD shark nose First trace: 22 Apr 44. Fitted with RCM equipment from 11 Oct 44 or earlier. See also 42-94842 with the same name. Repaired at Manston, Kent, 13 - 20 Jul 44 - #4 engine damaged on 13 Jul 44 mission to Saarbrücken. Crashed and burned 10 Jan 45 in a wood at Rushford Hall, Rushford, east of Thetford, after the crew bailed out over East Harling. (Steinbrück) Salvaged 12 & 13 Jan 45. !B-24H-10 FO 42-52296 E 732 E3 RIP TIDE OD shark nose Landing accident 12 Feb 44 at Old Buckenham (Pilot: Frederick Campbell) First combat mission: 8 Apr 44 (but was an original airplane - pesky # 627).


Possibly also named EHRMAN'S BEATS - an aircraft of this name was flown to England by Lt Everett G Ehrman and his crew # 11. It is said to have flown 105 missions and to have been discarded at the end of the war by bulldozing. 42-52296 flew only 36 combat missions (the last on 13 Sep 44) but it does seem to have been retained by 453rd BG after that date because 42-50296 is quoted as 0296 (presumably to distinguish it from 2296) well after that date. Repaired at Ford (Yapton), Sussex, 28 Jul - 12 Aug 44 - # 4 engine damaged on 28 Jul 44 mission. Last trace with 453rd BG: 13 Sep 44 but see above. Salvaged war weary 29 May 45 by BAD 3, Langford Lodge, Northern Ireland. !B-24J-155 CO 44-40297 X- 735 H6 SILENT YOKUM NMF X 735 H6 Unk 734 E8 First trace: 10 May 44. See also 44-50685 with the same name. Individual aircraft letter changed from X bar to X bar below between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Transferred from 735th to 734th BS on 1 Apr 45. Repaired at Woodbridge, Suffolk, 29 & 30 Jan 45 - hydraulic system – after landing there on return from 28 Jan 45 mission to Dortmund. Landed at Chièvres, Belgium, (735th Sqn Engineering Office records state it landed in France) on 11 Feb 45 mission to Dülmen - next mission with 735th Sqn was 3 Mar 45. Transferred to 392nd BG after 11 Apr 45. !B-24H-10 FO 42-52298 H 732 E3 CHOO CHOO BABY OD JELLY BELLY Original airplane. According to Frank Hendershot, Navigator with Keith Hamby's crew, the latter named the plane JELLY BELLY. Landed at Watton on 26 Mar 44 - next combat mission: 30 Apr 44. Lost 8 May 44 - either rammed by a German fighter whose pilot is believed to have been dead at the controls or riddled by shots from German fighters and went down 10 km W of Celle, 1 km NE of Ovelgönne. (Brunswick) MACR 4596 !B-24H-10 FO 42-52299 B 732 E3 HARD T'GET OD shark nose Original airplane. Seriously damaged on the 6 Mar 44 mission to Berlin-Genshagen - ran off runway on return (no shark nose visible on photo of landed plane on grass). Lost 1 Aug 44 - went down in the English Channel on return after the crew bailed out and abandoned it, on fire, over the Ashford area, Kent, (Montereau, France) !B-24M-1 FO 44-50299 NMF


No trace on any 453rd BG formation diagrams but received by 491st BG from 453rd BG on 18 Apr 45. !B-24H-10 CF 41-29301 G 732 E3 VAMPIN' VERA OD R 732 E3 shark nose S- 734 E8 Z 732 E3 Original airplane. Individual aircraft letter changed from G to R between 9 Jul & 9 Sep 44, from R to S- between 9 & 17 Sep 44 and changed later to Z (war weary). Repaired at East Fortune, East Lothian, Scotland, 14 Jul - 3 Aug 44 – repair nose wheel (last previous mission: 8 Jul 44 which was aborted with #2 feathered). Last trace in 453rd BG: 17 Sep 44 (truckin' mission) but shown as an Old Buckenham aircraft when flown by a 389th BG crew (Burkett) on a 21 Sep 44 truckin' mission out of Attlebridge. Declared war weary. RZI - was at Altus, OK, on 29 Oct 45. !B-24H-20 CF 42-50301 T+ 735 H6 SWEET SUE OD T- 735 H6 T 735 H6 First trace: 27 Apr 44. See also 44-49926 with the same name. Individual aircraft letter changed from T+ to T- between 9 & 11 May 44 and from T- to T between 8 & 17 Jul 44. Crash landed 5 Nov 44 at Bungay - weather interfered with pilot's vision and he found himself landing half way down the runway, unable to take off again and unable to stop the aircraft in time with the result that it ran off the runway. (Karlsruhe) Salvaged battle damaged 6 Nov 44 by 3 SAD – landing gear pulled out. !B-24J-5 DT 42-51301 T+ 733 RUTH MARIE NMF Arrived in England on 26 Jul 44. First trace with 453rd BG: 21 Sep 44. Fitted with RCM equipment from 21 Jan 45 or earlier. Repaired at Woodbridge, Suffolk, 19 Oct 44 - hydraulic system (entered on 3 SAD Field Engineering repair list for 466th BG but this is an error because 42-51301 is recorded on 453rd BG formation diagram for that day's mission). Completed 75 missions. Last trace: 10 Apr 45. Transferred to 491st BG (assuming this is the airplane entered as '501 in the North Pickenham control tower log on 21 Apr 45). RZI Jun 45. !B-24H-10 FO 42-52301 C 732 E3 KEN O KAY II OD shark nose Original airplane.


Lost 29 Apr 44 - ditched 30 miles due east of Great Yarmouth after being damaged by German fighters and flak - was running out of gas. (Berlin) MACR 4940 !B-24H-10 FO 42-52302 F 732 KEN O KAY OD Original airplane. Lost 25 Feb 44. (Fürth) MACR 2802 !B-24H-30 FO 42-95303 D+ 734 E8 CROW'S NEST NMF P- 734 E8 Unk 734 E8 First trace in 453rd BG: 29 May 44. Brought over by a 448th BG replacement crew (Pilot: Lt Lawnicki) under a Movement Order dated 4 May 44, but plane and crew were separated on arrival in the UK. Crew Chief: T/Sgt Clinton G Colvin. Individual aircraft letter changed from D+ to P- between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 15 Oct 44 or earlier. First abort on 61st mission (453rd BG mission #153 - 2 Oct 44). On 81st (not 101st) mission (24 Dec 44) an engine was lost and the pilot (Lt Rollins) force landed at Athies/Laon, France. Flew back to Old Buckenham a couple of weeks before 453rd BG were taken off operational status and flew on missions on 8, 9 & 10 Apr 45. Transferred to 93rd BG. !B-24J-5 DT 42-51304 U- 734 NMF ex 36th BS - 2nd Organisation - to which it was assigned as a radio bomb release aircraft - first trace with 453rd BG: 15 Feb 45. Individual aircraft letter probably U- (not J-). 453rd BG Divisional insignia painted on and modification carried out by 467th Sub Depot, Old Buckenham, 15 & 16 Feb 45. Last trace with 453rd BG: 24 Mar 45 when it landed on the Continent with one crewman KIA. RZI 17 Jun 45 after transfer to another Group (Identity unknown but possibly 491st BG as 17 Jun 45 was one of their departure dates. However, a photo of BIG GAS BIRD taken at Willow Run in 1945 shows this airplane in the background with no apparent tail markings other than the serial on the inner surfaces.) !B-24MHO-5 FO 44-50310 NMF No trace on any formation diagrams. Transferred to 445th BG. !B-24H-30 FO 42-95312 C- 734 E8 LUCKY PENNY II NMF First trace: 9 May 44.


This was the second LUCKY PENNY (shown as LUCKY PENNY II on the starboard side). The first was 42-52169 lost 8 May 44. Fitted with RCM equipment from 15 Oct 44 or earlier. Lost 17 Oct 44 - at bombs away it sustained flak damage, limped onward until it crossed the battle line at 1500 ft and after being abandoned by the crew who landed near Spa, Belgium, the plane crashed a short distance away near Malmédy, Belgium, on its 63rd mission. (Cologne) (Entered in some records on 8 Dec 44 as missing in action) !B-24H-20 CF 42-50317 E+ 734 E8 BALLS O' FIRE OD E- 734 E8 Probably named BALLS O'FIRE because this is the airplane most likely to correspond to the one with this name described by Frank Thomas on page 141 of "8th Air Force at War" by Martin W Bowman. Departed the USA on 10 Apr 44. First trace: 1 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from E+ to E- between 9 & 27 May 44. Landed at Florennes, Belgium, 5 Jan 45 with engine trouble. 467th Sub-Depot repaired top turret plexiglass dome 5 & 6 Feb 45 (last previous mission: 5 Jan 45). Last trace: 11 Apr 45. RZI 11 Jul 45. !B-24LHO-5 FO 44-49318 S 735 H6 NMF ex 389th BG between 25 Feb & 7 Mar 45. First trace: 8 Mar 45. Flew on missions with 735th BS from 8 Mar 45 through 10 Apr 45 when it was unaccounted for. Disassembled at 1 SAD, Honington, Suffolk, - see photo on page 204 of "Consolidated B-24 Liberator" by John M & Donna Campbell. !B-24LHO-5 FO 44-49321 J- 734 E8 HERBY NMF P 735 H6 Named HERBY after transfer to 93rd BG. First trace in mission documents: 7 Mar 45. Transferred from 734th to 735th BS on 1 Apr 45. 467th Sub Depot repaired nose gear and carried out general maintenance 21 & 22 Feb 45 and further work on 6 Apr 45 (also recorded on a mission on 6 Apr 45). Transferred to 93rd BG after 8 Apr 45. !B-24H-20 CF 42-50322 I+ 734 E8 OD First trace: 29 Apr 44. Lost 29 Apr 44 on only mission - went down in the Dümmer Lake area. (Berlin) MACR 4493 !B-24H-20 CF 42-50327 X+ 735 H6 GYPSY QUEEN


OD First trace: 27 Apr 44. Lost 8 May 44 - was attacked head-on by a German fighter, exploded in mid-air and came apart at the end of the flight deck. The cockpit and parts fell into the River Weser. Other parts were strewn over 1500 metres, 1 km north of Tuendern and 3 km south of Hameln. (Brunswick) MACR 4592 !B-24H-20 CF 42-50333 D 732 E3 PARTIAL PAYMENT OD shark nose First trace: 1 May 44. Crash landed 31 Dec 44 at Florennes, Belgium, with a P-38 escort after losing #3 & #4 engines, abandoning the formation and being set upon by enemy fighters. (Koblenz) Salvaged battle damaged 5 Jan 45 by 5 SAD. !B-24H-30 FO 42-95353 P+ 735 H6 ZEUS NMF First trace: 17 May 44. Landed 30 May 44 at Old Buckenham with only the right landing wheel down and receiving power from only two engines after being forced to leave the formation, reduce speed and fly home at low altitude. Landed on the short alternative runway in a strong cross wind, left wing tip dragged when the plane reduced speed and #1 propeller dug into the ground off the runway causing the plane to swing round viciously. Main runway was still blocked by the burning 41-28645. (Oldenburg) Salvaged 31 May 44. !B-24J-5 DT 42-51361 X+ 733 F8 NMF First trace: 22 Sep 44. Crashed and burned 28 Dec 44 on the bank of the River Severn at Shrawardine, approximately 5 miles west-north-west of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, after # 3 and # 4 engines failed while on a training flight to a practice bombing range and the pilot attempted an emergency landing at nearby RAF Montfort Bridge. The survivor was taken to Copthorne Hospital, Shrewsbury. Salvaged 31 Dec 44 - 3 Jan 45. !B-24H-25 CF 42-50363 R 733 F8 SECTION 8 NMF First trace: 24 May 44. Transferred to 491st BG after 31 May 44. !B-24H-25 CF 42-50366 U 733 F8 NMF U+ 733 F8 U 732 E3 First trace: 6 Jun 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from U to U+ between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Transferred from 733rd to 732nd BS on 4 or 5 Aug 44. Transferred to 389th BG after 18 Aug 44. !


B-24J-5 DT 42-51373 P- 734 E8 NMF First trace: 14 Jan 45. Fitted with RCM equipment from 28 Jan 45 or earlier. Transferred to 458th BG after 8 Apr 45. !B-24H-25 CF 42-50379 M 732 E3 MAID OF FURY II NMF First trace: 13 May 44. Forced to land at Merville (Le Bourget, according to Form No.8), France, 16 Jan 45 owing to bad weather over England. The previous B-24 which landed stopped on the wet, icy and slippery runway. To avoid hitting it, 42-50379 skidded to the right off the runway and stopped with its tail just over the edge of the runway. The next B-24 to land had plenty of room to get round 42-50379 but instead skidded into it, its right wing smashing the tail and almost knocking off the tail turret of 42-50379. (Magdeburg) No trace on salvage lists but is recorded as "missing on operations" on 16 Jan 45. !B-24H-30 CF 42-50426 P+ 735 H6 SLEEPY TIME GAL NMF V 735 H6 First trace: 2 Jun 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from P+ to V between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Crash landed 17 Sep 44 at Old Buckenham with a flat tyre and ground looped on return from a trucking mission (freight haul) to Clastres, France. Salvaged 17 - 19 Sep 44, badly damaged throughout. !B-24H-30 CF 42-50441 L- 734 E8 HOLLYWOOD AND VINE NMF First trace: 6 Jun 44. Hydraulics shot out, left main landing gear collapsed, damaging the left wing and engines on return from 12 Jul 44 mission to Munich/Riem. Force landed or crashed 13 Jan 45 on the Continent. (Rüdesheim) Salvaged battle damaged 18 Jan 45 on the Continent by 5 SAD. !B-24H-15 CF 41-29447 Q 733 F8 OD Assignment under 2 BD Operations Order #23 dated 2 Apr 44 confirming VOCG 25 Mar 44. First trace: 27 Mar 44. Force landed 11 May 44 at Forncett - ran out of fuel on return. (Chaumont) Salvaged 12 - 14 May 44. !B-24H-10 CF 42-64452 S+ 735 H6 RUMPLESTILSKIN II OD S- 735 H6 LEADING LADY S 735 H6 J 735 H6 Unk Unk Original airplane.


Individual aircraft letter changed from S+ to S- between 2 & 12 May 44, from S- to S between 8 & 11 Jul 44 and from S to J between 30 Sep & 24 Dec 44. On loan to 458th BG for truckin' missions and crash-landed at Watton on 30 Sep 44 (not 41-29452). Fitted with RCM equipment from 11 Feb 45 at least. Transferred from 735th to another unidentified squadron on 1 Apr 45. The name RUMPLESTILSKIN II was never shown on the ship but, according to the late Mike Benarcik, it was so named. 735th Squadron history gives the name as LEADING LADY which, it states, Rush set down on 10 Jan 45 at Halesworth where it was repaired 11 Jan 45 - hydraulic system. Landed at A-55, Melun/Villaroche, France, or at A-54, Le Bourget, France, on 21 Jan 45. Landed at B-58 Brussels/Melsbroek, Belgium, with #3 engine out on 21 Feb 45 mission to Nürnberg - last recorded mission with 453rd BG. Transferred to 491st BG on 25 Apr 45. !B-24H-10 CF 42-64453 V+ 735 H6 OD Original airplane. Lost 8 Apr 44 - last sighted near Salzwedel - shot down by enemy fighters and crashed between Henningen and Wistedt, 18 km W of Salzwedel, Germany. (Brunswick) MACR 3922 !B-24H-10 CF 42-64457 R 733 OD Original airplane. Lost 6 Mar 44 - went down in the North Sea after being damaged by flak over the target and suffering further damage during the return flight – crew bailed out 5 miles off Great Yarmouth. (Berlin-Genshagen) MACR 2971 !B-24H-10 CF 42-64460 S 733 SHACK RABBIT OD Original airplane. Lost 6 Mar 44 - shot down by fighters near Plantlüne during the return flight. The aircraft exploded after four of the crew had bailed out. It went down in a small wood at Biene after the pilot had pulled up the plane to avoid crashing in the city of Lingen/Ems. (Berlin-Genshagen) MACR 2972 !B-24JSH-5 FO 42-51463 L 732 E3 NMF First trace: 9 Sep 44. Crash landed 13 Sep 44 at Prouvy, near Denain, France, flown by a 734th BS crew with Maj Walsh as Command Pilot. (Weissenhorn) Salvaged by 8 ASC - salvage recorded on 14 Nov 44, an administrative date, not the date on which the aircraft was actually salvaged. !B-24JSH-5 FO 42-51464 N- 734 E8 PATIENT PAT NMF N 735 H6


First trace: 9 Sep 44. Repaired at Woodbridge, Suffolk, 12 - 15 Sep 44 - hydraulic system – after being hit by flak over the target (Misburg) on 11 Sep 44 and having to force land. Repaired at Woodbridge 30 Dec 44 - 12 Jan 45 - hydraulic system, engine trouble - probably due to damage on the 29 Dec 44 mission to Remagen. Repaired at Horsham St Faith 29 Jan 44 by 469th Sub-Depot - damaged on 28 Jan 45 mission to Dortmund. Repaired at Woodbridge 29 Jan - 14 Feb 45? (landed at Horsham where it was repaired on 29 Jan 45 and recorded on 6, 9, 11 & 14 Feb 45 missions). Flown by Lt James Scanlon 21 Feb 45 Transferred from 734th to 735th BS on 1 Apr 45. Transferred to 93rd BG after 10 Apr 45. !B-24H-10 CF 42-64464 V 733 F8 WAITER'S ONLY OD Original airplane. Known to the original crew # 38 (Pilot: 2/Lt Joseph G. Waiter) as WAITER'S ONLY (information from Al Thomale, a crew member) but the name was never painted on to the aircraft. Also said to have been named CLOUD HOPPER when flown by the Bergman crew and lost on 8 Apr 44 but this is unsubstantiated. Lost 8 Apr 44 - shot down by enemy fighters - went down near Wistedt (or Sistedt), Salzwedel County. (Brunswick) MACR 3923 !B-24H-10 CF 42-64469 I 732 E3 EL FLAKO OD shark nose Original airplane (pesky # 721). Crew Chief: M/Sgt Marlin Drellick. Repaired at Pershore, Worcestershire 29 Jul - 7 Aug 44 - # 4 engine, battle damage on 28 Jul 44 mission. Lost 2 Nov 44 - received a direct hit by flak behind the bomb bay. Immediately afterwards one wing came off and the ship nosed into a dive with the tail and waist section hanging by three stringers. Chaff and oxygen bottles came spewing out then the aft section broke off. Went down at Lünen Süd on the south bank of the canal harbour basin - 78th mission. (Castrop-Rauxel synthetic oil refinery) MACR 10165 !B-24J-401 CF 42-50471 Q 732 E3 LIL' NEMO NMF First trace: 27 Sep 44. Last trace with 453rd BG: 25 Mar 45. RZI (photograph taken in the USA after the war with a B-24D glasshouse nose). Was at Ypsilanti (Ford) and then went to Altus for eventual disposal. !B-24H-15 FO 42-52472 K 732 E3 LITTLE NANCY OD Possibly ex 458th BG. First trace: 9 May 44. Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 28 Jan 45 or earlier.


Repaired at Old Buckenham 1 Jan 45 - damaged when it was hit by 42-51865 which slid off the slippery runway on take-off on 1 Jan 45. Repaired at Attlebridge 29 Jan 45 - hydraulic system damaged on 28 Jan 45 mission to Dortmund. Lost 9 Feb 45 - ditched in rough water in the North Sea off Great Yarmouth on return with 3 engines feathered when last engine quit at 700 ft. (Magdeburg) MACR 12219 !B-24H-10 CF 42-64472 F 732 E3 LUCKY 13 OD First trace: 6 Jul 44 (but could have been an original airplane - pesky # 567). 467th Sub Depot carried out sheet metal work and checked the generator 15 - 17 Feb 45. 467th Sub-Depot checked landing gear and changed nose gear 22 - 24 Feb 45. Last trace: 28 Feb 45 - landed at A-89 (Le Culot, Belgium). Salvaged 15 Sep 45. !B-24J-401 CF 42-50473 R 735 H6 NMF - Recorded on missions with 735th BS from 27 Sep 44. Fitted with RCM equipment on 25 Feb 45 or earlier. Last trace: 25 Feb 45 -landed on the Continent at B-58 (Brussels-Melsbroek). RZI. RFC Altus OK 26 Oct 45. !B-24H-10 CF 42-64473 R+ 735 H6 LOVER'S LANE OD R- 735 H6 YUVADIT R 735 H6 Original airplane. LOVER'S LANE was on the port side and YUVADIT was on the starboard side. Individual aircraft letter changed from R+ to R- between 9 May & 24 Jun 44 and from R- to R between 8 & 16 Jul 44. Repaired at Oulton 7 - 17 Aug 44 - #1 & #3 engines - after landing there with two engines feathered on return from 5 Aug 44 mission to Brunswick Last trace in 453rd BG: 13 Sep 44 mission but shown as an Old Buckenham aircraft when flown by a 389th BG crew on 21 Sep 44 truckin' mission. Was probably declared war weary because 42-50473 R flew missions with 735th from 27 Sep 44 onwards (were there two 473 R in the same Squadron or was 42-64473 transferred to 734th BS as R-?). Salvaged war weary 29 May 45 by BAD 3, Langford Lodge, Northern Ireland. (IARC: 02OCT44 SOXO CON SAL and immediately after it shows 03OCT44 Repaired. !B-24J-401 CF 42-50474 V 735 H6 NMF Unk 732 E3 First trace: 3 Oct 44. Taxiing accident on 4 Mar 45. Transferred from 735th to 732nd Sqn on 1 Apr 45. Transferred to 389th BG after 10 Apr 45. !


B-24M-5 FO 44-50477 I 732 E3 NMF First trace: 12 Mar 45. Crash landed 15 Mar 45, on its second mission, at 5225N 1550E, about 10 km east of Miedzyrzecz, Poland, after being fired upon by two Soviet fighters when it made for the Soviet lines after losing two engines on the bomb run. (Gardelegen) Salvaged 15 Mar 45. MACR 13092 !B-24H-10 CF 42-64478 X+ 735 H6 CABIN IN THE SKY OD Original airplane (pesky # 57x). Lost 27 Mar 44 - received a direct hit by flak while flying as lead ship with Major Curtis H Cofield, Group Operations Officer, on board - went down with flames coming out of the bomb bay in the Pertuis d'Antioche, 3 – 5 miles off Pointe-de-Chassiron, Ile d'Oléron, France, and blew up on hitting the water. (Pau-Pont Long airfield, France) MACR 3554 !B-24H-10 CF 42-64484 734 OD Original airplane (pesky # 666?). Salvaged 19 Jan - 3 Feb 44 at Old Buckenham after crashing on take-off in a field beyond the end of the runway, the other side of Abbey Road, due to icing - left landing gear broken off (I have the recognition lights switch box which I removed from the flight deck). !B-24H-10 CF 42-64490 U+ 735 H6 CEE GEE II OD Original airplane. Crashed in flames 22 Apr 44 at Girling's Farm, Reydon Marsh, near Southwold, Suffolk, after being hit on return by Me 410 intruders (or by a JU-88) 10 - 15 miles off the Suffolk coast. (Hamm) Salvaged 23 & 24 Apr 44. MACR 4781 !B-24J-401 CF 42-50494 D 732 E3 SQUIRT NMF First trace: 13 Jan 45. Fitted with RCM equipment from 21 Jan 45 or earlier. 467th Sub-Depot changed electronic wiring 28 Feb 45. Transferred to 448th BG after 11 Apr 45. !B-24H-10 CF 42-64496 K 732 E3 BORSUK'S BITCH OD X+ 735 H6 Original airplane. Named BORSUK'S BITCH after transfer from 732nd to 735th Sqn (where the Crew Chief was M/Sgt. Borsuk) between 20 Feb & 31 Mar 44 but the name may not have been painted on the nose. Lost 25 Apr 44 - said to have been hit by flak over Paris and to have gone on to bomb the target but, according to the pilot, whose recollection of the mission is recorded on page 27 of "Strangers in a Strange Land", the circumstances were


different. The aircraft landed at Dübendorf, Zürich canton, SWITZERLAND. (Mannheim) MACR 4304 Subsequently flown bearing Swiss Air Force markings, the first flight taking place on 28 Apr 44. Flown back to BAD 1, Burtonwood, Lancashire, on 8 Oct 45. !B-24JSH-5 FO 42-51503 J- 734 E8 NMF First trace: 22 Sep 44. Crashed and burned 26 Nov 44 at Park Common, Kenninghall. Unable to get the aircraft to climb, Capt Conard jettisoned the bomb load but, never over a few hundred feet above the ground, the aircraft lost altitude steadily and headed for two houses 40 - 50 ft apart, which it could not fly over or between. An engine damaged a corner of one house as it dislodged from the aircraft. The occupants of the houses were unharmed but the crew lost their lives. (Bielefeld) Salvaged 26 & 27 Nov 44. !B-24JSH-5 FO 42-51508 R 732 E3 NMF R 735 H6 First trace: 21 Sep 44. Transferred from 732nd to 735th BS on 1 Apr 45. Landed at Clastres, France, on return on 5 Jan 45. 467th Sub-Depot carried out modification 5 & 6 Feb 45. Transferred to 44th BG after 9 Apr 45. !B-24JSH-1 FO 42-50510 I 735 H6 SHAMROCK NMF - ex 389th BG, where its individual aircraft letter was N (retained for its first mission with 453rd BG on 16 Aug 44) First of 735th BS's own PFF aircraft. Crashed and burned 8 Jan 45 at East Wretham after being abandoned on return from a recalled mission - flown by a 732nd BS crew. Salvaged 9 & 10 Jan 45 - crashed in woods, fuselage and wings off. !B-24J-60 CF 44-10512 B 732 E3 NMF First trace: 16 Aug 44. Repaired at Honington, Suffolk, 29 - 31 Jan 45 - hydraulic system damaged on 28 Jan 45 mission to Dortmund. Transferred to 448th BG after 25 Feb 45. !!B-24JSH-1 FO 42-95515 J- 734 E8 NMF Probably ex 389th BG. First trace: 16 Aug 44. Crash landed 11 Sep 44 at Woodbridge, Suffolk, on one wheel. (Misburg) Salvaged 18 & 19 Sep 44 - belly landed.


!B-24J-60 CF 44-10515 J- 734 E8 NMF First trace: 4 Dec 44. Crashed and burned 6 Feb 45 at Crown Farm, Deopham, - its tail was chopped off in a mid-air collision with 42-94766, as a result of which the plane spun to earth. (Magdeburg) Salvaged 6 & 7 Feb 45. !B-24J-1 FO 42-50522 K+ 733 F8 IRON DUKE, THE NMF May have been named THE IRON DUKE - see e-mails with Stan Duncan and Michael Eyre. First trace: 28 Sep 44. Transferred to 448th BG between 9 Apr & 7 May 45. !B-24J-60 CF 44-10522 C- 734 E8 NMF First trace: 25 Nov 44. Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 28 Jan 45 or earlier and with RCM equipment from 17 Mar 45 or earlier. Repaired at Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1 & 2 Jan 45 - hydraulic system damaged on 30 Dec 44 mission to Euskirchen. Transferred to 392nd BG after 10 Apr 45. !B-24M-5 FO 44-50527 T 732 E3 HAZEE NMF Delivered to AAF 9 Jan 45. Arrived in the UK 7 Feb 45. First trace in 453rd BG: 17 Mar 45. Transferred to 392nd BG after 10 Apr 45. !B-24M-5 FO 44-50529 U 732 E3 FLAMIN' MAMIE NMF First trace: 19 Mar 45. Last trace with 453rd BG: 11 Apr 45. Transferred to 491st BG on 18 Apr 45. !B-24J-1 FO 42-50568 M- 734 E8 LONESOME POLECAT TOO NMF First trace: 26 Sep 44. Ran off the runway on 18 Dec 44 at Old Buckenham on landing from a recalled mission. Salvaged 18 - 19 (or 29) Dec 44. !B-24H-15 CF 41-29571 W+ 735 H6 OD Assignment under 2 BD Operations Order #23 dated 2 Apr 44 confirming VOCG 31 Mar 44


First trace: 31 Mar 44. Lost 8 Apr 44 on only mission - while on the bombing run, enemy fighters shot out the controls and # 4 engine - went down at Uelzen, near Hannover. (Brunswick) MACR 3928 !B-24J-1 FO 42-50571 S 732 E3 MY ACHIN' BACK NMF DIRTY GERTIE Name was MY ACHIN' BACK according to S/Sgt Richard G Ghaster, waist gunner in Lt Robert J Crowley's crew, because their airplane on 26, 27 & 28 Sep & 26 Nov 44 was thus named and Form 8 and formation charts indicate that Lt Crowley flew 42-50571 on 27 & 28 Sep 44. The name DIRTY GERTIE has also been attributed to this airplane perhaps because an OD H CF named DIRTY GERTIE is wrongly identified on the 392nd BG Website as 42-50571. Possibly ex 389th BG? - first trace with 453rd BG: 27 Sep 44. Repaired at North Coates, Lincolnshire, 19 Jan - 25 Feb 45 - # 1 engine, battle damage on 16 Jan 45 mission to Magdeburg. Transferred to 392nd BG after 7 Apr 45. !B-24J-65 CF 44-10575 T 735 H6 BECOMING BACK NMF Unk 733 F8 First trace: 6 Dec 44. Had 35.41 on nose Transferred from 735th to 733rd BS on 1 Apr 45. 467th Sub-Depot patched left rudder and carried out general maintenance 16 & 17 Feb 45. Last trace with 453rd BG: 10 Apr 45. Transferred to 491st BG on 22 Apr 45. !B-24J-65 CF 44-10577 V 735 H6 STRICTLY BUSINESS NMF V- 734 E8 See also 42-110089 with the same name. 1st trace: 21 Sep 44. Transferred from 735th to 734th BS between 28 Sep & 4 Dec 44. Crash landed near Amiens, France, on return from 28 Sep 44 mission to Kassel after suffering flak damage to # 3 engine. Crashed and burned 1 Apr 45 at Shotesham while an engine was being slow timed. Salvaged 3 & 4 Apr 45. !B-24M-5 FO 44-50577 R- 734 E8 NMF First trace: 17 Mar 45 - fitted with RCM equipment. Last trace: 7 Apr 45. Transferred to 458th BG and RZI. RFC, Walnut Ridge, 29 Dec 45. !!!!


B-24JSH-1 FO 42-95582 X+ 733 NMF ex 389th BG (retained 567th BS code: HP - see Alan Rowsell's photo taken on 15 Mar 45 mission). First trace: 31 Jan 45. Last trace: 21 Mar 45 - landed at A-70 (Laon/Couvron, France) RZI. RFC Walnut Ridge AR 3 Jan 46. !B-24H-1 DT 41-28591 N 732 E3 INSPECTOR'S SQUAWKS OD N 735 H6 Original airplane. According to Harry Godges, 735th BS Engineering Officer, this plane was named JABBER WOCK but a photo of JABBER-WOCK! shows that the plane thus named was NMF (a B-24H-25 or 30 FO see 42-95048) Transferred from 732nd to 735th Sqn on 19 Mar 44. Lost 21 Jun 44 - went down near Müggelsdorf near Berlin, after being separated from the formation and attacked by four Ju 88s. (Nordban, near Berlin) MACR 5933 !B-24LSH-10 FO 44-49594 C 732 E3 SHY ANN NMF C 735 H6 IS THIS TRIP NECESSARY? Had two names: SHY ANN on the left side and IS THIS TRIP NECESSARY? on the right. Call letter painted on and general maintenance carried out by 467th Sub Depot, Old Buckenham, 28 Feb 45 First trace on formation diagrams: 7 Mar 45. Transferred from 732nd to 735th BS on 1 Apr 45. Last trace with 453rd BG: 9 Apr 45. Transferred to 466th BG. !!B-24H-15 CF 41-29595 S 733 F8 ARCHIBALD OD S+ 733 F8 P+ 733 F8 First trace with 453rd BG: 12 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from S to S+ between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Abandoned in Ghent, Belgium, on 27 Sep 44 mission to Kassel but returned to 453rd BG and individual aircraft letter changed from S+ to P+ before 26 Nov 44. Abandoned over France on 21 Jan 45 when the crew (9 of whom were reported OK at A-54 - Le Bourget, near Paris, France) failed in attempts to transfer fuel due to frozen pump and crashed at Charleville, about 6 miles north of Sézanne (Marne), France. (Heilbronn) Salvaged battle damaged on the Continent by 5 SAD 28 Jan 45. B-24JSH-1 FO 42-50602 M+ 733 F8 BODY AND SOUL NMF M 735 H6 First trace: 12 Dec 44. Transferred from 733rd to 735th BS on 1 Apr 45.


467th Sub-Depot checked left outer wing panel 3 & 4 Feb 45. Transferred to 93rd BG after 8 Apr 45. !B-24H-1 DT 41-28610 X 733 F8 CURLY OD X+ 733 F8 G+ 733 F8 Original airplane (pesky # 463). Taxiing accident Dakar 14 Jan 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from X to X+ between 8 & 11 Jul 44 and from X+ probably to G+ between 19 Sep & 12 Dec 44. On 25 Aug 44 afternoon mission to La Louvière, Belgium, flak over the Zuider Zee on the way in caused the loss of #3 and #4 engines and damage in the bomb bay where a gas line was severed and the doors had to be kicked free by crew members. The aircraft left the formation, salvoed bombs and was escorted back to Old Buckenham by a P-47. It landed with no brakes or flaps and was believed by the crew to have been damaged beyond repair. However, it was repaired and is recorded on missions as X+ on 9, 10, 11 & 13 Sep 44. Last trace on formation plans: 24 Dec 44. 467th Sub-Depot changed superchargers from manual to electric 14 - 20 Feb 45. Transferred to 491st BG. !B-24H-1 DT 41-28613 W 733 MAID OF FURY OD W+ 733 F8 W+ 732 E3 Original airplane. Individual aircraft letter changed from W to W+ between 8 & 16 Jul 44. Transferred from 733rd to 732nd BS between 4 & 6 Aug 44. Nose wheel collapsed 15 Mar 44 on landing at Old Buckenham (on return from mission to Brunswick?) but the airplane was repaired. Last trace in 453rd BG: 16 Aug 44. Salvaged war weary 29 May 45 by BAD 3, Langford Lodge, Northern Ireland. !B-24H-1 DT 41-28615 T 733 GINNIE OD Original airplane. Lost 22 Feb 44 flying with 44th BG - hit by enemy aircraft, it went down hit water and exploded in the North Sea. (Mission to Gotha recalled when 100 miles inland - targets of opportunity sought but strong winds caused the formation to drift over the Netherlands where some aircraft bombed Enschede, Arnhem, Nijmegen and Deventer unintentionally) MACR 2895 !B-24H-1 DT 41-28619 M 732 E3 BEGIN THE BEGUINE OD J 732 E3 Original airplane. Individual aircraft letter changed from M to J between 26 Feb & 5 Mar 44 or was always J from first mission on 22 Feb 44? The name is shown as BEGIN THE BEGUINE in a communication dated 26 Mar 44 from 453rd BG HQ to 2nd Bomb Division in accordance with 2BD instruction 45-1.


Lost 23 Jun 44 - shot down by flak on the way home and crashed at Souburg, near Vlissingen, Walcheren, Netherlands, (Juvincourt, France) MACR 6232 !B-24H-1 DT 41-28627 Y 733 F8 HER MAN OD Y+ 733 F8 Original airplane. Badly damaged on 8 May 44 mission to Brunswick - see photos at the Ken Nellis 453rd BG Web site of the McCrocklin crew inspecting the damage. Individual aircraft letter changed from Y to Y+ between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Last trace: 13 Sep 44. Fate? !B-24H-15 FO 42-52627 Z 733 F8 STOLEN MOMENTS OD N- 735 H6 EVLIBSBUNNY First trace: 27 Mar 44. Assignment 2BD Ops Order 2 Apr 44 conf VOCG 25 Mar 44. Originally named STOLEN MOMENTS. Believed to have been re-named EVLIBSBUNNY by the Bill Banias crew when it returned to 453rd BG after repairs following the 29 Apr 44 crash-landing. Transferred from 733rd to 735th BS between 21 Jun & 7 Jul 44. Repaired at Beccles 30 Apr - 1 Jun 44 - #1 & #3 engines, wing panel, main wheels, electrical system - damage on 29 Apr 44 mission to Berlin. Lost 12 Jul 44 - hit by flak, went on fire and was last seen heading for Switzerland - crash landed at Ensisheim, 15 - 20 km north of Mulhouse, France, was repaired by the Germans, given German markings and was being prepared for take off when it was shot up by a P-38 Lightning and destroyed, the position having been communicated to the Allied forces by the French resistance organisation. (Munich) MACR 6936 !B-24H-1 DT 41-28629 P 733 F8 BLONDES AWAY OD Original airplane. Name supplied by Jonathan Smith at Hethel who had received an enquiry from the son of a deceased 2 AD man who also has some photographs of the airplane showing in particular the Project No. 92311. (Confirmed by photo on page 229 of "In Search of Peace") Lost 13 Apr 44 - landed at Dübendorf, Zürich canton, SWITZERLAND. (Oberpfaffenhofen) MACR 3834 !B-24H-1 DT 41-28631 Q+ 735 H6 QUEENIE OD Q- 735 H6 WITCHCRAFT II Q 735 H6 Original airplane. Douglas Tulsa line number: 223 Individual aircraft letter changed from Q+ to Q- between 20 Apr & 6 Jun 44 and from Q- to Q between 8 & 16 Jul 44. Very badly damaged in tail section on 20 Apr 44 mission. Direct burst made it necessary to change whole tail assembly. Tail gunner killed.


Last trace with 453rd BG: 11 Nov 44 on a practice mission (Pilot: Schauerman). Exhibited as WITCHCRAFT II under the Eiffel Tower in Paris after the war, the new name being a tribute to WITCHCRAFT of 467th BG. !B-24H-5 DT 41-28641 Unk 735 CEE GEE OD Original airplane. Call letter may have been O or W+. Lost 4 Feb 44 - took off from Old Buckenham with a 732nd BS crew on a training mission, made a turn to the left climbing on a heading of 80° through the overcast and after breaking out on top at 6500 ft, never joined the formation but continued in an easterly direction. Was captured by the Germans, had its under-surfaces painted yellow, was flown by the Luftwaffe with German markings (A3? + KB), particularly to fly supplies to the Island of Rhodes, and was re-taken later by the advancing US Forces at Salzburg Airport, Austria, where it had had a nose wheel collapse (see photo on page 27 of 2 ADA Journal, Vol.39, No.1 (Spring 2000). May have landed at Eger, Czechoslovakia. See coloured photo on page 121 of "Bombardiers Lourds de la Dernière Guerre" par Mister Kit & J.-P. De Cock (serial erroneously quoted as 42-8641). See also page 109 of "In Search of Peace". MACR 2968 !B-24H-5 DT 41-28642 H+ 734 LIBBY RAIDER OD Original airplane (pesky # 668). Crash landed 2 Mar 44 at Old Buckenham - salvaged 3 - 5 Mar 44 – left landing gear and aux spar pulled out. !B-24H-5 DT 41-28644 I+ 734 E8 YANKEE DOLL OD Original airplane. Crash landed 22 Apr 44 at Tibenham on return after being damaged by Me 410 intruders which infiltrated the formation on that evening. (Hamm) Salvaged 23 - 26 Apr 44 - right gear collapsed, severe battle damage. !B-24H-5 DT 41-28645 U 733 F8 GOLDEN GABOON, THE OD Original airplane. Repaired at Staplehurst, Kent, 4 - 20 Apr 44 - # 4 engine. Crash landed and burned 30 May 44 at Old Buckenham, after returning severely battle damaged and being caught in the slipstream of the preceding plane. (Oldenburg) Salvaged 30 & 31 May 44. !B-24H-5 DT 41-28649 Z 733 LITTLE BRIAN OD LITTLE BRYAN Original airplane. Named LITTLE BRIAN but, according to the report from 453rd BG HQ to to 2nd Bomb Div. dated 22 Feb 44 the name was LITTLE BRYAN.


Lost 18 Mar 44 - left the formation with one engine out and another one smoking at 1324 hours, 48°20'N 05°50'E, over France near Chaumont, on the way to the target with Col Joseph A Miller, Group Commanding Officer, on board and was last observed heading south toward Switzerland. Went down at Saint-Marcel, France. (Friedrichshafen) MACR 3552 !B-24H-5 DT 41-28650 A 732 E3 ROOSTER OD Original airplane. No shark nose on 27 Mar 44 photo. Lost 8 Apr 44 - shot down by a Me 109 and crashed about 90 miles north-east of Brunswick, near Brueck or Lüneburg. (Brunswick) MACR 3929 !B-24H-5 DT 41-28654 Unk 732 E3 CONSOLIDATED MESS OD F 732 E3 shark nose Original airplane. Named CONSOLIDATED MESS on the starboard side. Also said to have been named SPARE PARTS. According to a report dated 22 Feb 44 to 2nd Bomb Div. this plane had a picture of an Indian Head but no name. First traced with individual aircraft letter F on 3 Mar 44. Original letter unknown. (Original F was 42-52302 KEN O KAY lost 25 Feb 44.) Seriously damaged on the 6 Mar 44 mission to Berlin-Genshagen but was repaired. Last trace with 453rd BG: 20 Jun 44. Said to have been salvaged by 4 SAD on 24 Jun 44 but it was subsequently assigned to secret operations and was shot down by "friendly" fire over Murmansk in Sep 44 (see also 42-52196). !B-24JSH-10 FO 42-51665 A 732 E3 LITTLE GRAMPER JUNIOR

3RD, THE NMF A 735 H6 ex 389th BG (kept, at least initially, the 566th Sqn code RR) First trace: 31 Jan 45. Transferred from 732nd to 735th BS on 1 Apr 45. Transferred to 467th BG after 8 Apr 45. !B-24JSH-10 FO 42-51681 D- 734 E8 NMF D 735 H6 First trace: 31 Oct 44. Transferred from 734th to 735th BS on 1 Apr 45. Repaired at Woodbridge, Suffolk, 30 Dec 44 - 2 Jan 45 - hydraulic system, engine trouble - aborted 29 Dec 44 mission to Remagen. Last trace in 453rd BG: 10 Apr 45. Transferred to 458th BG. !B-24MHO-10 FO 44-50685 V 735 H6 SILENT YOKUM NMF - See also 44-40297 with the same name


Only trace: 10 Apr 45. Transferred to 389th BG. !B-24J-1 FO 42-50703 I- 734 E8 WORRY BIRD NMF First trace: 10 Jan 45. Fitted with RCM equipment from 21 Jan 45 or earlier. Crashed and burned 9 Feb 45 on return at Bury's Hall Farm, Carleton Rode, 100 yards from the runway, in full view of all those who daily came to "sweat them in", following a mid-air collision with 42-95102 SPIRIT OF NOTRE DAME which did not crash. (Magdeburg) Salvaged 9 & 10 Feb 45. !B-24M-10 FO 44-50704 Unk 733 F8 NMF First trace: 9 Apr 45. Transferred to 467th BG after 11 Apr 45. !B-24JSH-10 FO 42-51707 H 735 H6 DOROTHY NMF ex 445th BG - first trace with 453rd BG: 14 Jan 45. Transferred to 389th BG after 9 Apr 45. !B-24J-1 FO 42-50715 S 735 H6 BOISE BABE NMF - First trace: 2 Oct 44. Modified by 467th Sub-Depot 1 & 2 Feb 45. Crash-landed 23 Feb 45 at Corner Farm, Scott's Corner, Carleton Rode, on return - ran out of fuel. (Paderborn) Salvaged 24 & 25 Feb 45. (According to 735th Squadron Engineering Office mission record, it flew on the 24 Feb 45 mission and the crash occurred in the traffic pattern returning from that mission. The date is incorrect) !B-24M-10 FO 44-50715 O 735 H6 FORD'S FOLLIES NMF Unk 734 E8 First trace: 19 Mar 45 - fitted with RCM equipment. Transferred from 735th to 734th BS on 1 Apr 45. Transferred to 458th BG after 11 Apr 45. !B-24M-10 FO 44-50718 U+ 733 RUM 'N COKE NMF First trace with 453rd BG: 12 Mar 45. Brought over to UK by a 448th BG replacement crew but aircraft and crew were separated on arrival and the plane flew no missions with 448th BG. Fitted with RCM equipment from 19 Mar 45 or earlier. Transferred to 466th BG between 11 & 20 Apr 45. !B-24J-1 FO 42-50720 B- 734 E8 BASTARD


NMF First trace: 31 Jul 44. Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 15 Oct 44 or earlier. Transferred to 458th BG after 7 Apr 45. !B-24M-10 FO 44-50721 Unk 732 E3 NMF First trace: 30 Mar 45. Individual aircraft letter possibly M. Transferred to 389th BG after 11 Apr 45. !B-24D-1 CO 41-23738 J 733 WHAM BAM OD 732 ex 44th BG under 2BD Operations Order dated 29 Jan 44, originally 93rd BG. Assembly ship. Damaged on the ground on 1 Jan 45 by 42-51865 which crashed on take off. 467th Sub-Depot installed demand oxygen system 13 & 14 Feb 45. Salvaged war weary 11 May 45 by 3 SAD, Neaton (Watton) - uneconomical to repair. (Entry appears on 3 SAD Field Engineering salvage list for 445th BG indicating that the aircraft may have been transferred to that Group) !B-24H-10 DT 41-28745 P 733 F8 OD ex 486th BG - flew no missions with that Group. Received by 453rd BG between 13 & 27 Apr 44. Taxiing accident 27 Apr 44 at Old Buckenham (first trace with 453rd BG) Lost 8 May 44 - went down 2 km west of Salzdahlum, 4.5 km north-north-east of Wolfenbüttel, near Punkt. (Brunswick) MACR 4590 !B-24H-15 FO 42-52755 P 732 E3 PERCOLATIN' PETE OD PETE A painting on the port side of the nose, accompanying the name PETE, depicted a large yellow coffee pot with a lid open at a 45ø angle. A large cloud of steam was coming out of the spout and open lid. Hence the PERCOLATIN' but this word did not appear. No name or nose art on the starboard side. ex 492nd BG - 2nd Organisation, previously 34th BG, where it was named the second DYNAMITE 'N DODO, originally 486th BG - first trace with 453rd BG: 4 Feb 45. 467th Sub-Depot checked all turrets and carried out modification 4 - 8 Feb 45. Last trace: 15 Mar 45 - landed at B-78, Eindhoven, Netherlands, needing two new engines. Fate unknown. !B-24J-5 FO 42-50764 W 735 H6 LINDA LOU NMF W 732 E3 First trace: 31 Jul 44. Landed at Brussels, Belgium, on 18 Oct 44 mission to Cologne - next mission 6 Dec 44.


Transferred from 735th to 732nd BS between 31 Dec 44 & 16 Feb 45. 467th Sub-Depot carried out sheet metalwork and modification 12 & 13 Feb 45. Repaired at Woodbridge, Suffolk, 31 Mar - 11 Apr 45 - after landing at 155 mph with hydraulic system out, requiring landing gear to be cranked down, and no brakes, on return from 30 Mar 45 mission to Wilhelmshaven when it was badly damaged by flak which killed radio operator Joe DeCusati. Transferred to 458th BG after 11 Apr 45. According to Roger Freeman it had completed 60 missions when seen on VE-Day (NOTE: 31 of these were with 735th Squadron without an abort) !B-24H-15 FO 42-94766 K- 734 E8 IRON PANTS OD ex 34th BG after 7 Aug 44 - first trace with 453rd BG: 9 Sep 44. Landed in France on 24 Dec 44 mission. Repaired at Woodbridge, Suffolk, 5 - 22 Jan 45 - #1 engine damaged on 5 Jan 45 mission to Neustadt and Sobernheim. Repaired at Shipdham 7 Feb 45 by 464th Sub Depot - damaged in a mid-air collision with 44-10515 on 6 Feb 45 mission to Magdeburg. Last trace: 10 Apr 45. RZI. RFC Altus OK 25 Sep 45. !B-24HSH-15 DT 41-28781 G 732 E3 NANI WAHINE OD CHIEF Ex 389th BG - first trace as assigned to 453rd BG: 24 Aug 44 – originally 482nd BG. Last trace with 453rd BG: aborted as deputy lead on 8 Nov 44 mission to Rheine. Assigned to 492nd BG - 2nd Organisation before 6 Dec 44 (appears on 492nd BG monthly inventory report of aircraft dated 6 Dec 44) and later designated as a B-24HSH (NITE) and named CHIEF which appears on MACR 12908 (492nd BG). !B-24H-15 FO 42-94783 Y+ 733 F8 JO OD ex 489th BG - first trace with 453rd BG: 24 Dec 44. Landed at Laon/Athies, France, on 5 Jan 45 mission to Neustadt and Sobernheim - engine trouble - next mission: 8 Mar 45. Last trace in 453rd BG: 9 Apr 45. RZI - arrived Bradley 20 Jun 45. Altus, OK, 16 Aug - 25 Sep 45. (see page 93 of "The Mighty Eighth - The Colour Record"). !B-24M-10 FO 44-50790 J 735 H6 NMF Unk 732 E3 First trace: 4 Apr 45 when, described as a 735th BS aircraft, the 734th BS crew flying it failed to find the formation and aborted . Transferred to 446th BG after 9 Apr 45. !B-24H-20 FO 42-94805 U+ 735 H6 FOIL PROOF OD U- 735 H6 U 735 H6


Unk 733 F8 First trace: 23 Apr 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from U+ to U- between 8 & 11 May 44 and from U- to U between 8 & 17 Jul 44. Transferred from 735th to 733rd BS on 1 Apr 45. Went to Depot [Probably 3 SAD, Neaton (Watton)] for overhaul between 8 Jan 45 (recorded on 7 Jan 45 mission to Zweibrücken) and 1 Mar 45. Survived the war with 110 missions (According to 735th BS mission record it flew 104 missions and had 7 aborts with that Squadron. Also flew 4 missions and had 1 abort with 733rd BS) The paint was almost certainly stripped off while at the Depot because this aircraft has all the characteristics of the NMF aircraft named FOIL PROOF photographed with 93rd BG after transfer from 453rd BG. Transferred to 93rd BG after 10 Apr 45. !!B-24H-20 FO 42-94806 Z+ 735 H6 OD Assignment under 2 BD Operations Order #28 dated 18 Apr 44 confirming VOCG 15 Apr 44. First trace: 17 Apr 44. Lost 8 May 44 - after dropping bombs it was hit by a large formation of fighters and went down on fire in the bomb bay 15 miles south of the target. (Brunswick) MACR 4597 !B-24JSH-20 FO 44-48816 I 735 H6 GINNIE NMF First trace: 21 Jan 45. 467th Sub-Depot re-installed scope camera mount 6 & 7 Feb 45. 467th Sub-Depot checked complete pitot system 20 & 21 Feb 45. Transferred to 467th BG after 6 Apr 45. !B-24H-20 FO 42-94820 L 735 H6 LUCKY LUCKY OD M- 734 E8 PLUCKY LUCKY ex 489th BG - first trace with 453rd BG: 25 Nov 44. Original name PLUCKY LUCKY but changed to LUCKY LUCKY after armour plate covered the PL and part of the U of the word PLUCKY. Transferred from 735th to 734th BS between 24 & 28 Dec 44. Fitted with RCM equipment from 6 Dec 44 or earlier. Repaired at Old Buckenham 25 Feb 45 (aborted on that day's mission) or 27 Feb 45 by 467th Sub Depot - tail section from Sta 5.2 changed - see letter from Jim Peterson on page 21 of Vol 6, No 2 of The 453rd Bomb Group Association Newsletter. Last trace with 453rd BG: 9 Apr 45. RZI with 466th BG on Operation "Home Run". !B-24H-20 FO 42-94842 Unk 732 E3 FORD'S FOLLY OD


See also 42-50296 with the same name. ex 489th BG - first trace with 453rd BG: 8 Apr 45. Transferred to 389th BG after 10 Apr 45. !B-24H-20 FO 42-94850 V+ 735 H6 OD V- 735 H6 Assignment under 2 BD Operations Order #28 dated 18 Apr 44 confirming VOCG 15 Apr 44. First trace: 10 Apr 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from V+ to V- on return from 11 May 44 mission. Lost 20 Jun 44 - landed at Bulltofta (Malmö), SWEDEN, shot up, short of fuel and in danger of blowing up. (Politz) MACR 5934 Brought back to England on 27 Jun 45. RZI. !B-24M-15 FO 44-50861 Unk Unk NMF No trace on mission formation diagrams. Transferred to 389th BG !B-24JSH-15 FO 42-51865 H 735 H6 NMF First trace: 22 Oct 44. Crashed and burned 1 Jan 45 at Old Buckenham while attempting to take off in thick fog. The plane slipped off the runway, slithered across the frozen airfield, unable to rise or stop and crashed into 42-52472 LITTLE NANCY and 41-23738 WHAM BAM, both of which were parked and sustained only minor damage. (Remagen) Salvaged 2 & 3 Jan 45. (According to 735th Squadron Engineering Office mission record this crash occurred on 29 Dec 44 but the aircraft appears on the formation chart for the 1 Jan 45 mission, its crash on that day is confirmed by Bill Garrett and the incident is described in "The Liberator Men of Old Buc" as having occurred on 1 Jan 45) !B-24M-15 FO 44-50887 Unk Unk NMF No trace on mission formation diagrams. Transferred to 389th BG !B-24J-115 CO 42-109896 N+ 733 F8 GYPSY QUEEN OD ex 392nd BG - first trace with 453rd BG: 14 Oct 44. Transferred to 44th BG after 11 Apr 45 but flew no missions with that Group. !B-24JSH-5 FO 42-50898 Y 732 E3 NMF First trace: 3 Oct 44. Crashed 27 Dec 44 at Old Buckenham near the edge of the airfield, on take-off from a salt-strewn and slippery runway, after refusing to rise more than a few feet


off the ground. The tail broke off aflame and flames in the remainder set off ammunition and caused the bombs to explode - 453rd BG mission cancelled. !B-24LHO-15 FO 44-49926 W 735 H6 SWEET SUE NMF First trace: 21 Feb 45. See also 42-50301 with the same name. 453rd BG Divisional insignia painted on and general maintenance carried out by 467th Sub Depot, Old Buckenham, 21 & 22 Feb 45. Transferred to 458th BG after 11 Apr 45. B-24H-15 DT 41-28938 E 732 E3 PAY DAY NMF - See also 42-95233 which may have had the same name. First trace: 23 May 44. Transferred to 491st BG between 30 May & 5 Jun 44. !B-24H-20 DT 41-28943 Q+ 735 H6 DUMBO NMF L 735 H6 PISTOL PACKIN PACHYDERM, THE Unk 732 E3 First trace: 22 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from Q+ to L between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Transferred from 735th to 732nd BS on 1 Apr 45. Landed at Brussels on 27 Sep 44 mission to Kassel - next mission: 21 Jan 45. According to 735th BS mission record, it flew 75 missions and had only one abort with that Squadron. NOTE: The olive drab panel on top of the nose to avoid glare from the natural metal finish was extended to the nose turret housing instead of tapering-off to the astrodome as was the case with other B-24H & J DTs. Last trace with 453rd BG: 7 Apr 45. Transferred to 491st BG (it is assumed this is the airplane entered as '942 in the North Pickenham control tower log on 22 Apr 45). !B-24H-20 DT 41-28949 S+ 733 F8 OLD DEACON NMF First trace: 5 Oct 44. Fitted with RCM equipment from 20 Mar 45 or earlier. On 21 Mar 45 mission to Essen, took flak damage over the target, lost #4 engine and feathered. #2 turbo waste gate went full closed, so cut back to half power to avoid over-heating and because of the late hour and potential enemy intruders over Old Buckenham, landed at St-Trond, Belgium. After repair returned to Old Buckenham on 23 Mar 45. Last trace with 453rd BG: 9 Apr 45. RZI with 466th BG on Operation "Home Run" where it was named DOG PATCH CLIPPER !B-24JSH-15 FO 42-51955 O+ 733 F8 GEORGE NMF K 735 H6


First trace: 10 Nov 44. An H2X aircraft transferred from 733rd to 735th BS on 1 Apr 45 but flew no missions with 735th BS. Last trace: 9 Mar 45. !B-24LHO-15 FO 44-49972 P+ 733 F8 RUM COLLINS NMF First trace: 28 Feb 45. 467th Sub-Depot carried out general maintenance 28 Feb 44. Lost 31 Mar 45 - top turret malfunctioned and shot out the two right hand engines on the way to the target. The crew bailed out and the aircraft went down at Lutjewinkel (Friesland), Netherlands. (Brunswick) MACR 13734 !B-24H-20 FO 42-94990 C 732 E3 KEN O KAY III OD First trace: 7 May 44. Fitted with RCM equipment from 6 Dec 44 or earlier. Crashed 3 Jan 45 on return at Pontpierre, just south of St-Avold, France, as it crossed the battle lines after being abandoned when #1 & #2 engines were lost. (Homburg) Salvaged battle damaged 22 Jan 45 by 5 SAD. MACR 11560 !!!!!


List of Known Aircraft – Sorted by Serial Number !Serial Type Name

41-23738 Consolidated B-24D-1-CO Wham Bam #

41-28591 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-1-DT Archibald / Inspector's Squawks

41-28610 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-1-DT Curly #

41-28613 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-1-DT Maid of Fury #

41-28615 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-1-DT Ginnie

41-28619 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-1-DT Begin the Beguine

41-28627 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-1-DT Riptide / Jake

41-28629 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-1-DT Blondes Away #

41-28631 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-1-DT Witchcraft II / Queenie #

41-28641 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-5-DT Cee Gee/ Jabber Wock #

41-28642 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-5-DT Libby Raider #

41-28644 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-5-DT Yankee Doll

41-28645 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-5-DT The Golden Gaboon #

41-28649 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-5-DT Little Bryan / Little Brian

41-28650 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-5-DT Rooster

41-28654 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-5-DT Consolidated Mess/Spare Parts #

41-28745 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-10-DT Pete

41-28781 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-15-DT Nani Wahine #

41-28938 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-15-DT Pay Day

41-28943 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-20-DT Dumbo / The Pistol Packin Pachyderm #

41-28949 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-20-DT Old Deacon #

41-29005 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-20-DT Dollys Sister #

41-29179 Consolidated B-24H-1-CF

41-29210 Consolidated B-24H-5-CF Heavenly Body #

41-29249 Consolidated B-24H-5-CF Lonesome Polecat #

41-29250 Consolidated B-24H-5-CF Big Axe / Old Butch #

41-29254 Consolidated B-24H-5-CF Little Mike

41-29257 Consolidated B-24H-5-CF Notre Dame / Lil Mike #


41-29259 Consolidated B-24H-10-CF Our Baby

41-29301 Consolidated B-24H-10-CF Vampin' vera #



41-29595 Consolidated B-24H-15-CF Archibald #


42-50296 Consolidated B-24H-20-CF Fords Folly

42-50301 Consolidated B-24H-20-CF Sweet Sue

42-50317 Consolidated B-24H-20-CF Balls O' Fire/Dizzy E Easy #


42-50327 Consolidated B-24H-20-CF Gypsy Queen #

42-50333 Consolidated B-24H-20-CF Partial Payment #



42-50379 Consolidated B-24H-25-CF Maid of Fury II / Cooter #

42-50426 Consolidated B-24H-30-CF Sleepy Time Gal #

42-50441 Consolidated B-24H-30-CF Hollywood & Vine #

42-50471 Consolidated B-24J-401-CF Lil' Nemo #

42-50473 Consolidated B-24J-401-CF

42-50474 Consolidated B-24J-401-CF n/a

42-50494 Consolidated B-24J-401-CF Squirt #

42-50510 Ford B-24J-1-FO Shamrock

42-50522 Ford B-24J-1-FO

42-50568 Ford B-24J-1-FO Lonesome Polecat Too42-50571 Ford B-24J-1-FO My Achin' Back / Dirty Gertie42-50602 Ford B-24J-1-FO Body and Soul #

42-50703 Ford B-24J-1-FO Worry Bird

42-50715 Ford B-24J-1-FO Boise Babe

42-50720 Ford B-24J-1-FO Bastard

42-50764 Ford B-24J-5-FO Linda Lou #

42-50898 Ford B-24J-5-FO Youthful Rocket

42-51063 Ford B-24J-5-FO Danny Boy #Aircraft of the 453rd

Page D48

42-51087 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-20-DT Hot Stuff / Duchess #

42-51089 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-20-DT Star Eyes #

42-51096 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-20-DT Hustlin Hussy #

42-51102 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-20-DT Jug Head #

42-51108 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-25-DT ArrowHead #

42-51112 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-25-DT "112" #

42-51114 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-25-DT Whiskey Jingles #

42-51149 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-25-DT Blood and Guts #

42-51204 Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-30-DT

42-51301 Douglas-Tulsa B-24J-5-DT Ruth Marie #

42-51304 Douglas-Tulsa B-24J-5-DT



42-51463 Ford B-24J-5-FO

42-51464 Ford B-24J-5-FO Patient Pat

42-51503 Ford B-24J-5-FO

42-51508 Ford B-24J-5-FO42-51665 Ford B-24J-10-FO The Little Gramper Junior 3rd #42-51681 Ford B-24J-10-FO "681"

42-51707 Ford B-24J-10-FO Dorothy #

42-51865 Ford B-24J-15-FO

42-51955 Ford B-24J-15-FO George

42-52139 Ford B-24H-10-FO Briney Marlin

42-52147 Ford B-24H-10-FO Pug

42-52154 Ford B-24H-10-FO Male Call #

42-52169 Ford B-24H-10-FO Lucky Penny/ Lost & Found Dept.

42-52174 Ford B-24H-10-FO Hoo-Jive #

42-52175 Ford B-24H-10-FO Portland Annie

42-52176 Ford B-24H-10-FO Valkyrie / Vampin' Vera

42-52178 Ford B-24H-10-FO Little Agnes

42-52180 Ford B-24H-10-FO Lil Eight Ball #

42-52182 Ford B-24H-10-FO Rumplestilskin #Aircraft of the 453rd

Page D49

42-52185 Ford B-24H-10-FO Little Joe / Sun of a Beach #

42-52186 Ford B-24H-10-FO Sunshine / Cee Gee

42-52191 Ford B-24H-10-FO Little Joe / Lillie Belle

42-52196 Ford B-24H-10-FO War Bride

42-52201 Ford B-24H-10-FO Battle Package #

42-52218 Ford B-24H-10-FO

42-52226 Ford B-24H-10-FO Betty Boop

42-52234 Ford B-24H-10-FO Corky - Burgundy bombers #

42-52237 Ford B-24H-10-FO Paper Doll

42-52240 Ford B-24H-10-FO "663"

42-52244 Ford B-24H-10-FO Black Jed #

42-52277 Ford B-24H-10-FO Shack Rabbit II #

42-52296 Ford B-24H-10-FO Rip Tide 42-52298 Ford B-24H-10-FO Choo Choo Baby Jelly Belly42-52299 Ford B-24H-10-FO Hard to Get #

42-52301 Ford B-24H-10-FO Ken O Kay II #

42-52302 Ford B-24H-10-FO Ken O Kay #

42-52472 Ford B-24H-15-FO Little Nancy #

42-52627 Ford B-24H-15-FO Stolen Moments / EvlibsBunny

42-52755 Ford B-24H-15-FO Percolatin' Pete / Dynamite N' Dodo

42-64452 Consolidated B-24H-10-CF Rumplestilskin II / Leading Lady



42-64460 Consolidated B-24H-10-CF Shack Rabbit

42-64464 Consolidated B-24H-10-CF n/a

42-64469 Consolidated B-24H-10-CF El Flako/Rainbow Goddess #

42-64472 Consolidated B-24H-10-CF Lucky 13

42-64473 Consolidated B-24H-10-CF Yuvadit/Lovers Lane #

42-64478 Consolidated B-24H-10-CF Cabin in the Sky #


42-64490 Consolidated B-24H-10-CF Cee Gee IIAircraft of the 453rd

Page D50

42-64496 Consolidated B-24H-10-CF Borsuk's Bitch #

42-94766 Ford B-24H-15-FO Iron Pants #

42-94783 Ford B-24H-15-FO Jo

42-94805 Ford B-24H-20-FO Foil Proof #

42-94806 Ford B-24H-20-FO Mackey

42-94820 Ford B-24H-20-FO Lucky Lucky / Plucky Lucky

42-94842 Ford B-24H-20-FO Ford's Folly

42-94850 Ford B-24H-20-FO Becky

42-94990 Ford B-24H-20-FO Ken O Kay III #

42-95019 Ford B-24H-20-FO

42-95047 Ford B-24H-25-FO

42-95048 Ford B-24H-25-FO Jabber-Wock! #

42-95073 Ford B-24H-25-FO Flying Home #

42-95076 Ford B-24H-25-FO Lace #

42-95086 Ford B-24H-25-FO Squee-Gee #

42-95099 Ford B-24H-25-FO Rag Doll

42-95102 Ford B-24H-25-FO Spirit of Notre Dame #

42-95111 Ford B-24H-25-FO Porky

42-95166 Ford B-24H-25-FO Century Queen

42-95167 Ford B-24H-25-FO Never Mrs #

42-95171 Ford B-24H-25-FO Diana-Mite #

42-95173 Ford B-24H-25-FO Sky Chief #

42-95206 Ford B-24H-25-FO Ohio Silver #

42-95214 Ford B-24H-25-FO Wandering Wanda #

42-95216 Ford B-24H-25-FO Becky / Black Widow

42-95233 Ford B-24H-25-FO Pay Day

42-95252 Ford B-24H-25-FO Shack Happy

42-95267 Ford B-24H-25-FO Silver Queen

42-95276 Ford B-24H-25-FO My Babs

42-95303 Ford B-24H-30-FO Crows Nest #

42-95312 Ford B-24H-30-FO Lucky Penny II #

42-95353 Ford B-24H-30-FO Zeus #Aircraft of the 453rd

Page D51

42-95515 Ford B-24J-1-FO

42-95582 Ford B-24J-1-FO

42-109896 Consolidated B-24J-115-CO Gypsy Queen #

42-110025 Consolidated B-24J-125-CO

42-110047 Consolidated B-24J-130-CO Humpshot #


42-110078 Consolidated B-24J-130-CO Liberty Run / Shoo Shoo Baby #

42-110085 Consolidated B-24J-135-CO Flak Hack


42-110100 Consolidated B-24J-130-CO The Swede The Maytag #

42-110138 Consolidated B-24J-135-CO Flying Bull /Stinky #

42-110149 Consolidated B-24J-115-CO Mary Harriet #


44-10515 Consolidated B-24J-60-CF "515"


44-10575 Consolidated B-24J-65-CF Becoming Back #

44-10577 Consolidated B-24J-65-CF Strictly Business #

44-40072 Consolidated B-24J-145-CO BTO #44-40173 Consolidated B-24J-150-CO Our Baby / Ernies Beavers #44-40292 Consolidated B-24J-155-CO Hattie Belle #

44-40297 Consolidated B-24J-155-CO Silent Yokum #

44-48816 Ford B-24J-20-FO Ginnie #

44-49318 Ford B-24L-5-FO

44-49321 Ford B-24L-5-FO

44-49594 Ford B-24L-10-FO Shy Ann / Is this Trip Necessary #

44-49926 Ford B-24L-15-FO Sweet Sue #

44-49972 Ford B-24L-15-FO Rum Collins

44-50299 Ford B-24M-1-FO

44-50310 Ford B-24M-1-FO

44-50477 Ford B-24M-5-FO Never Mrs Too

44-50527 Ford B-24M-5-FO Hazee #

44-50529 Ford B-24M-5-FO Flamin Mamie #Aircraft of the 453rd

Page D52

!Key !# A photograph of this aircraft can be found in the Wartime set of the

OLDBUCKSHOTS Website http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldbuckshots/ !

44-50577 Ford B-24M-5-FO "577" / Dizzy R Roger #

44-50685 Ford B-24M-10-FO Silent Yokum

44-50704 Ford B-24M-10-FO

44-50715 Ford B-24M-10-FO Fords Follies #

44-50718 Ford B-24M-10-FO Rum'n Coke #

44-50721 Ford B-24M-10-FO #

44-50790 Ford B-24M-10-FO "790"

44-50861 Ford B-24M-15-FO

44-50887 Ford B-24M-15-FO


List of Aircraft Lost or Interned – Sorted by Date !Serial Name MACR Date of Loss

42-64484 19/01/194441-28641 Cee Gee / Jabber Wock 2968 04/02/194442-52178 Little Agnes 06/02/194441-29254 Little Mike 10/02/194442-52139 Briney Marlin 2780 20/02/194441-28644 Yankee Doll 22/02/194441-28615 Ginnie 2895 22/02/194442-52182 Rumplestilskin 23/02/194442-52302 Ken O Kay 2802 25/02/194441-28642 Libby Raider 02/03/194442-52191 Little Joe / Lillie Belle 2969 06/03/194442-52226 Betty Boop 2970 06/03/194442-64457 2971 06/03/194442-64460 Shack Rabbit 2972 06/03/194442-52175 Portland Annie 2928 08/03/194442-52218 18/03/194441-28649 Little Bryan / Little Brian 3552 18/03/194442-52277 Schack Rabbit II 3553 23/03/194442-64478 Cabin in the Sky 3554 27/03/194442-52185 Little Joe / Sun of a Beach 3296 08/04/194442-52180 Lil Eight Ball 3297 08/04/194442-64453 3922 08/04/194442-64464 3923 08/04/194441-29571 3928 08/04/194441-28650 Rooster 3929 08/04/194442-110076 3924 08/04/194442-52244 Black Jed 3921 09/04/194442-52240 "663" 3925 09/04/194442-52301 Ken O Kay II 4940 09/04/194441-28629 Blondes Away 3834 13/04/194442-64490 Cee Gee II 4781 22/04/194442-64496 Borsuk's Bitch 4304 25/04/194442-95019 4305 25/04/194442-50322 4493 29/04/194442-52176 Valkyrie / Vampin' Vera 08/05/194441-28745 Pete 4590 08/05/194442-50278 4591 08/05/194442-50327 Gypsy Queen 4592 08/05/194442-52147 Pug 4593 08/05/1944

42-52169Lucky Penny/ Lost & Found Dept. 4594 08/05/1944

42-52298 Choo Choo Baby /Jelly Baby 4596 08/05/194442-94806 Mackey 4597 08/05/1944


42-110025 4598 08/05/194442-52186 Sunshine / Cee Gee 4595 09/05/194441-29447 n/a 11/05/194441-28645 The Golden Gaboon 30/05/194441-29257 Notre Dame / Lil Mike 30/05/194442-95353 Zeus 30/05/194442-94850 Becky 5934 20/06/194442-52196 War Bride 8420 20/06/1944

41-28591Archibald / Inspector's Squawks 5933 21/06/1944

41-28619 Begin the Beguine 6232 23/06/194442-95233 Pay Day 6233 24/04/194442-95048 Jabber Wock! 7226 07/07/194442-52201 Battle Package 8715 11/07/194442-52627 Stolen Moments / EvlibsBunny 6936 12/07/194441-29259 Our Baby 7252 21/07/194442-95171 Diana-Mite 7253 21/07/194442-52299 Hard to Get 01/08/194442-110089 Strickly Business 16006 11/08/194442-110138 Flying Bull / Buffalo 8424 16/08/194442-52174 Hoo-Jive 8293 25/08/194442-110085 Flak Hack 15217 08/09/194442-95515 11/09/194442-51463 13/09/194442-95111 Porky 8853 13/09/194442-50426 Sleepy Time Gal 17/09/194441-29250 Old Butch 27/09/194442-95252 Shack Happy 9418 02/10/194442-95312 Lucky penny II 17/10/194442-95047 10177 19/10/194442-64469 El Flako/Rainbow Goddess 10165 02/11/194442-50301 Sweet Sue 05/11/194442-95167 Never Mrs 10342 11/11/194441-29005 Dollys Sister 10406 21/11/194442-51503 26/11/194442-50568 Lonesome Polecat Too 18/12/194442-95173 Sky Chief 24/12/194442-50898 Youthful Rocket 27/12/194442-51361 28/12/194442-50333 Partial Payment 31/12/194442-51865 01/01/194542-94990 Ken O Kay III 11560 03/01/194542-50510 Shamrock 08/01/194542-50296 Fords Folly 10/01/194542-50441 Hollywood & Vine 13/01/194542-50379 Maid of Fury II 16/01/194541-29595 Archibald 21/01/194542-95076 Lace 21/01/1945


!Key !MACR - Missing Air Crew Report

42-51102 Jug Head 31/01/194544-10515 "515" 06/02/194542-50703 Worry Bird 09/02/194542-52472 Little Nancy 12219 09/02/194542-51149 Blood and Guts 16087 17/02/194542-50715 Boise Babe 23/02/194542-110100 The Swede The Maytag 03/03/194544-50477 Never Mrs Too 13092 15/03/194544-49972 Rum Collins 13734 31/03/194542-51112 "112" 13735 31/03/194544-10577 Strictly Business 01/01/194542-51089 Star Eyes 14443 10/04/1945


List of Unidentified aircraft attributed to the 453rd !These aircraft have been attributed to the 453rd but no serial numbers or photographic evidence has so far

been found !

!(Any information to help identify these aircraft would be gratefully received.)

Name Finish SqdnBarrelHouse Bess 735 H6Bayou TigerBuffalo 733 F8Butch 735 H6Channel Shy 732 E3Consoldiated Mess IIDanny Boy NMFFearless Fosdick 735 H6Fertile Myrtle ODGalloping GhostGreen Dragon 735 H6Half n HalfHell for HitlerHer Man 733 H6Humpshot 732 E3Inspectors SquakJe Revien 735 H6LaceyLady JakeMelody Lane 734 E8Mickey MouseMiss Nebopanew NMFNever Mrs Too NMFNokishPatsy 735 H6Pistol Packin Mama 733 F8Purple Shaft 734 E8Reluctant DragonS for Sugar 735 H6Sack Happy 734 E8Sad Sack 733 F8Stolen MomentThe Near Sighted Robin ODThe Shack IIToonerville Trolley 733 F8We GoWe Go IIYou're Safe at Home


Long Serving Aircraft !Of the sixty-one aircraft that first arrived , only one remained at the end of their detachment - "Male Call" which flew ninety-five missions with the 734th BS. . !In all, the 453rd had ten veteran B-24's that carried out 100 or more missions: - !120 missions - "My Babs” of the 733rd Squadron. !117 missions - "Wandering Wanda" of the 735th Squad !116 missions - "Hattie Belle" of the 735th Squadron !113 missions - "Arrowhead" of the 732nd Squadron. !111 missions - "Foil Proof" of the 735th Squadron. !107 missions - "Ohio Silver" of the 732nd Squadron. !103 Missions - "Century Queen" of the 735th Squadron !101 missions - "Crows Nest" of the 734th Squadron. !100 missions - "Becky" of the 732nd Squadron. !100 missions - "Liberty Run" of the 735th Squadron. !!!


! Olive drab scheme showing unit marking on upper wing surface !

! !Natural metal finish – later tail markings – still with unit markings on upper wing


Aircraft of the 453rd

Keith Sowter

B-24 Liberators operated by the 435rd Bombardment Group based at

Old Buckenham 1943 - 194570 Old Buckenh

am USAAF Station 144anniversary

Compiled and written by Keith Sowter, Aircraft of the 453rd is the most up to date resource outlining the fate of the aircraft which operated from and used Station 144: Old Buckenham during it’s wartime service as the home of the 453rd Bombardment Group. This first edition has been published to mark the 70th Anniversary of the opening of the base. !Today, Old Buckenham remains an airfield. It is one of the most vibrant and well respected centres of aviation in the UK. The home of the largest annual airshow in Norfolk, the airfield is open all year round and at it’s heart is a new memorial garden celebrating the life of the 366 USAAF servicemen who dies serving from the base during World War II

oldbuck.com

© 2013 Keith Sowter. Cover Design and pagination by Matt Wilkins

consolidated (ford) b-24j-20-fo liberator 44-48816 ginnie · aircraft of the 453rd! forward! my...

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