764th Nose art

764th Nose Art

War Eagle

War Eagle

Ship No. - 1

B-24H-10-DT

Serial No. - 41-28693

Shot down 25 July 1944, while Lt. Richard E. Freeman was piloting. Crashed at St. Peter i.d. Austria. See Losses.

One Eyed Jack

One Eyed Jack

Ship No. - 02

B-24H-15-FO

Serial No. - 42-94729

J.R. Baker's aircraft. It is believed that this aircraft was eventually enlisted as a Squadron "hack" and was the transport that crashed at Torretta returning from Naples on 23 December 1944 flown by Gerald Vanderhoeven. See Losses.

Stinky

From "Consolidated B-24 Liberator" by Martin W. Bowman

Courtesy of Walt Farmer

During conversion to squadron hack for cargo carrying.

Stinky

Ship No. - 3

B-24H-10-CF

Serial No. - 41-29333

Originally flown by the James O. Bean crew, this airframe eventually had all turrets removed for use as a squadron "hack".

Ship No. - 4

B-24J-10-CO

Serial No. - 44-40896

This is the aircraft on the right in the above photo taken at Lyon, France when the aircraft on the left suddenly caught fire. The serial number on the tail of the aircraft on the right appears to be 440856 rather than 440896, but that appears to be in error. This aircraft was eventually lost on 4 October 1944 with Lt. Herrin and Maj. Tallant at the controls.

Battle Crate

Richard Durand photo

"BATTLE CRATE"

Ship No. - 05

B-24H-10-CF

Serial No. - 41-29289

Crashed due to mechanical failure 3 July 1944 near Trebjne with Lt. Mac L. Lucas in command. See Losses.

Mister Period

Mister Period

Ship No. - 06

B-24H-10-DT

Serial No. - 41-28726

Named in honor of the pilot's wife. He was notified just before leaving for Italy.

Bingo

Ship No. - 6

B-24L/M-15-FO

Serial No. - 44-49887

Lucky Seven

Lucky Seven

Ship No. - 07

B-24H-15-CF

Serial No. - 41-29362

Crashed due to flak damage 22 July 1944 near Alexandria with Lt. Clarence W. Bloxom in command. See Losses.

Uninvited Guest

Thanks to Daniel Stockton of B-24 Best Web

The Uninvited Guest

Ship No. - 08

B-24L/M-FO

Serial No. -

Evil Weevil

Evil Weevil

Ship No. - 9

B-24H-10-CF

Serial No. - 41-29335

The last B-24H-10-CF built, it was originally flown by the Robert Hefling crew. Lt. Hefling was forced to bail out of the stricken "Chippiedall" over Yugoslavia on 11 June 1944.

Ol-Bird

OL-BIRD

Ship No. - 11

B-24H-10-CF

Serial No. - 41-29334

Lazy Lady

Lazy Lady

Ship No. - 12

B-24H-30-FO

Serial No. - 42-95383

Lazy Lady was lost on the mission to Linz, Austria on 25 July 1944 with Grover F. Mitchell in command. See Losses.

Chippiedall

Chippiedall

Ship No. - 13

B-24H-15-FO

Serial No. - 42-52458

Lost to enemy fighters near Raska 11 June 1944. See Losses.
See also "Ode to Chippiedall" in the LIBERAIDER section.

El Pagliaccio

Il Pagliaccio

Ship No. - 14

B-24G-5-NT

Serial No. - 42-78176

Seems to be an Olive Drab B-24 G. Pilot was Farrold Stephens, (thanks Del), but is listed in another document as Harold Q. "Quint" Danford.

Nov Shmoz Ka Pop

NOV SHMOZ KA POP?

Ship No. - 15

B-24H-10-DT

Serial No. - 41-28734

More than once I've been asked the meaning of the name of this aircraft. Unfortunately I don't know. Thanks to Dan McKinley I've been able to find out a little about this phrase:

"Nov shmoz ka pop?" is from a cartoon header feature by Gene Ahern called "The Squirrel Cage," which debuted on 21 June 1936, and ran through 1960.

It appeared as the header or topper for the main Sunday feature, a cartoon called "Room and Board," which Ahern began drawing in 1936, and it featured the character Judge Homer Augustus Puffle (not unlike Ahern's star of his other popular strip, "Our Boarding House," Major Hoople).

The phrase was associated with a character known as the Little Hitchhiker who had an oversized white beard, wore a black coat and an oversized tam o'shanter. He would start at a crossroads, muttering incomprehensible phrases and trying to thumb a ride, and regardless of his travels, he always ended up in the same place he started. Ahern translated a few of the Hitchhiker's phrases, but he died in 1960 without ever revealing what "Nov shmoz ka pop?" meant. The Little Hitchhiker acquired a cult following and cartoonist Robert Crumb acknowledges that his character, Mr. Natural, was inspired by the Little Hitchhiker."

Swee' Pea

"Swee' Pea"

Ship No. - 18

B-24H-10-DT

Serial No. - 41-28732

Crash landed at Torretta 25 July 1944 returning damaged after mission to Linz, Austria. See Losses.

Fertile Myrtle

"Fertile Myrtle"

Ship No. - 19

B-24G-5-NT

Serial No. - 42-78123

Male Box

George Miller Photo

MALE BOX

Ship No. - 01

B-24-J-190-CO

Serial No. - 44-41039

Hit by bombs and crashed at Mining 10/4/44 with Lt. William Powell in command. See Losses.

Miss Kay

Miss Kay

Ship No. - 05

B-24J-60-CF

Serial No. - 44-10550

Comments?

Iggy

Iggy

Ship No. - 09

B-24J-5-FO

Serial No. - 42-51606

This is the aircraft that Col. Glantzberg flew as he left the 461st BG after his tenure as Group C.O. He is seen here waving farewell before his departure. E-Mail me if you would like to add more to this story.

Ship No. - 11

B-24J-10-DT

Serial No. - 42-51406

Courtesy of Chuck Parsonson

Miss Lace

Ship No. - 15

B-24L-10-FO

Serial No. - 44-49511

Lost over Linz Austria 25 April 1945 -- L.R. Toothman, Pilot. All but co-pilot Bill Jones, who was killed by the 88mm shell burst that disabled the aircraft, bailed out successfully. Miss Lace was the last combat loss of the 461st Bomb Group. See Losses.

Bubble Trouble

Courtesy Len Cole

BUBBLE TROUBLE

Ship No. - 6

B-24J-1-NT

Serial No. - 42-78497

Transferred to 451st 11-21-44 and returned to ZI with that group.

Lady Duzz

Courtesy of Lester Brown

LADY DUZZ

Ship No. 18

B-24J-190-CO

Serial No. 44-41044

Lester Brown (pictured here with the Lady Duzz) flew as command pilot of this aircraft until it lost two engines on a mission to Munich, Germany on 4 Oct 1944.

Courtesy of Gino

This shows #18, Lady Duzz, 44-41044 undergoing engine repair at Vis. (By the way, it was the vertical stabilizer from Lady Duzz that was grafted onto #77 which caused its misidentification for years.)

Holy Joe

Courtesy of Gary Ferrell (34th BG, 8th AF)

Courtesy of Ken Alexander

Ship No. 5

B-24J-1-FO

Serial No. 42-50613

Gary Ferrell from the 34th BG Association contacted me to say he had a picture of "Holy Joe". I've added the nose art of this aircraft to our files. This aircraft was known as Holy Joe while assigned to the Eighth Air Force, but was just Jo while in the 461st.

Myra G