8th Air Force
Command
41-23724
B-24 Liberator
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First Lieutenant Llewellyn L. Brown and First Lieutenant Robert J. Quinlivan admire the nose art of a B-24 Liberator (serial number 41-23724) nicknamed "Flying Cock" at Alconbury. Image stamped on reverse: '231046' [Censor no].' passed for publication 6 Nov 1942' [stamp]. Printed caption on reverse: 'PHOTO SHOWS: Pilot and co-Pilot of a "Liberator" on which is painted their mascot the "Flying Cock"', photographed at a U.S. Army Air Corps station somewhere in England. They are 1st Lieut. L.L. Brown (left), from Malvern Arkanas, and 1st Lieut, R.A. Quinlivan, from Rosselle, New Jersey. 6th Nov. 1942. P.N. 'USA(BRI)CCC:EIMB'
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B-24 #41-23724 'Doodlebug' Ploesti crew: Standing L-R SGT Robert T. Butler, gunner, S/SGT Joseph E. Tamueircz, waist gunner, S/SGT Libert T. Hurt, waist gunner, T/SGT Kenneth W. Smith, flight engineer/top turret , T/SGT William G. Jordan, radio operator, S/SGT Murray L. Heckert, tail gunner Seated L-R 2LT Robert J. Johnson, navigator, 2LT Israel Soloff, bombardier, 1LT James W. Welch, Jr, copilot, 1LT John E. McAtee, pilot.
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B-24 #41-23724 'Doodlebug' and John E McAtee Ploesti crew.
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B-24D Liberator #41-23724 'Doodlebug' plexi glass glazing getting a good clean, prior to a mission.
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B-24D Liberator #41-23724 'Doodlebug' 512th BS, 376th BG, 9th AF. Flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid.
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B-24D Liberator #41-23724 'Doodlebug' 512th BS, 376th BG, 9th AF. Flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid.
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B-24D Liberator #41-23724 'Flying Cock' 409th BS, 93rd BG, 8th AF. Later renamed 'Doodlebug'. Flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid. The original Pilot, Llewelleyn "Lew" Brown (center looking down), would finish his tour of duty with the Low Level Ploesti mission 1 Aug 43. (L to R) J. C. Gardner - Gunner, Harold M. Serna - Engineer, R. J. Laffler - Tail Gunner, John T. Sparks - Bombardier, Llewelleyn L. Brown - Pilot Robert J. Quinliven - Co-Pilot, John Hunt - Navigator, Ernest K. Kish - Top Turret Gunner, Charles C. Stercher - Radio Operator.
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B-24D Liberator #41-23724 'Flying Cock' 409th BS, 93rd BG, 8th AF. Later renamed 'Doodlebug'. Flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid. (L to R) J. C. Gardner - Gunner, Harold M. Serna - Engineer, R. J. Laffler - Tail Gunner, John T. Sparks - Bombardier, Llewelleyn L. Brown - Pilot Robert J. Quinliven - Co-Pilot, John Hunt - Navigator, Ernest K. Kish - Top Turret Gunner, Charles C. Stercher - Radio Operator.
B-24D Liberator #41-23724 "Doodlebug" from the 512th BS, 376th BG, 9th AF. Originally assigned to 409th BS, 93rd BG, 8th AF she was badly damaged in a crash landing due to battle damage on Jan 15, 43. They repaired her and transferred her to the 512th BS, 376th BG. Flown on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid, piloted by James A McAtee, returned safely to Libya. Ended her days as a transport for the 449th Bomb Group.
Service
Units
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376th Bomb Group
Group
Constituted as 376th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 19 Oct 1942 and activated in Palestine on 31 Oct. Began combat immediately, using B-24 aircraft. Operated with Ninth AF from bases in the Middle East, Nov 1942-Sep 1943, and with Twelfth AF from Tunisia... -
449th Bomb Group
Group
The group was constituted as 449th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 6 April 1943 and activated on 1 May at Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona.[2] its original components were the 716th,[3] 717th,[4] 718th,[5] and 719th Bombardment Squadrons.[6] ... -
93rd Bomb Group
Group
93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 1-March-1942 at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. On 15-May-1942 the Group moved to Ft. Myers, Florida to continue advanced flight training and also to fly anti-submarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico; they... -
409th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
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9th Air Force
Misc
People
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Llewellyn Brown
Military | Captain | Pilot | 93rd Bomb Group
Flew Ploesti raid on 1 Aug 43 as pilot B-24 #41-24298 'Queenie', diverting safely to Sicily. 15th Jan 43 pilot of B-24 #41-23724 'Flying Cock' hit by flak, crash landed at Benghazi, Libya, with major damage due to flak. -
John Hunt
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 93rd Bomb Group
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Ernest Kish
Military | Sergeant | Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) 15 January 1943. Hit by flak in B-24 41-23724 'Flying Cock'. North African Cemetery near Carthage, Tunisia AM/ PH -
Richard Laffler
Military | 93rd Bomb Group
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Robert Quinlivan
Military | 93rd Bomb Group
Co Pilot B-24 41-23724 'Flying Cock' flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid. -
Harold Sena
Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) 15 January 1943 when plane hit by flak in B-24 41-23724 'Flying Cock'. AM/ PH -
John Sparks
Military | 93rd Bomb Group
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Charles Starcher
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio operator | 93rd Bomb Group
MIA January 15, 1943 -- pictured at far right of crew photo
Missions
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Operation Tidal Wave
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B24Ds that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Crashed | Benghazi, Libya | 15 January 1943 |
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Badly damaged in a crash landing due to battle damage on Jan 15, 43. |
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| Survived Ploesti | Ploiești, Romania | 1 August 1943 |
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Flown on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid, piloted by James A McAtee, returned safely to Libya. |
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| Assigned | Benghazi, Libya | |
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409th BS, 93rd BG, 8th AF. |
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| Assigned | Benghazi, Libya | |
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512th BS, 376th BG |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 20 April 2015 18:18:53 | Al_Skiff | Created entry with serial number, aircraft type, production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, description, events, unit associations, mission associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.b24bestweb.com / http://www.freewebs.com / http://www.fold3.com |
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