The B-24D, 41-24226, Joisey Bounce, was assigned to Pilot Lt. Walter Travis Stewart of the 330th Bomb Squadron, the 93rd Bomb Group, and the 8th Air Force, for the large mission to bomb the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. Col. Stewart changed his assigned plane's name from, Joisey Bounce, to, Utah Man, for the Ploesti mission, to underscore his Utah Morman background to all the Texans in the 98th Bomb Group. Col. Stewart, the Deputy Commander of the 93rd Bomb Group, took command of the 93rd Bomb Group over Ploesti after his Group Leader, Col. Addison Baker and copilot, Maj. John Jerstad, were shot down and killed in, Hell's Wench, approaching their target of opportunity, White IV, the Astra Romano refinery. Stewart in, Utah Man, was one of several pilots who had elected to follow his Group leader, Col. Addison Baker in, Hell's Wench, who had turned north and west back to Ploesti after Gen. Ent, the mission commander, had ordered his pilot, Col. K.K. Compton, to turn away from Ploesti at Targoviste, his IP, instead of turning north to bomb his assigned target refinery. After successfully bombing White IV, which was not his assigned target, ahead of the 98th Bomb Group coming in from the north, Stewart and the B-24s following him flew right through the 98th's formation of airplanes, including, John Kane and John Young, leading the 98th in, Hail Columbia, and, then, headed for the island of Cyprus, ahead of Col. Kane, following in his shot up, damaged, and struggling lead aircraft. Lt. Royden LeBrecht in, The Squaw, and Robert Sternfels in, The Sandman. But Gilbert Hadley never made it home. He drowned with his copilot, caught in their crushed plane's cockpit after crashing, Hadley's Harem, in the ocean just off the Turkish coast, out of engine oil and gasoline, before reaching safety at Nicosia, Cyprus. The crews of the other planes made it to Cyprus, and all flew home to Benghazi, the next day, minus Lt. Hadley's bombardier, killed (KIA) over Ploesti, Lt. Hadley, and his copilot, drowned in the Aegean Sea off the Turkish coast (KIA). Seven crewmen survived, Hadley's Harem's crash, swam to shore, and were captured and interned by the Turks, (INT). Aug 2 1943.

After the Ploesti raid, Col. Stewart's B-24D, Joisey Bounce, that he had renamed, Utah Man, just for the Ploesti mission, was renamed, Joisey Bounce, and returned to Britain with the rest of the 93rd Bomb Group. At that time, Walter Stewart's name, Utah Man, on the right side of the nose, was repainted back to, Joisey Bounce. Later, flying out of Britain, Joisey Bounce, was lost and failed to return (FTR) from a mission to Bremen, Germany. On the way to their target, the crew of, Joisey Bounce, suffered a midair collision with the B-24D, 42-40765, The Valiant Virgin, with ten crewmen (KIA). - Nov 13, 1943. MACR 2179.

Col. Stewart and his crew returned, first, to Britain and, then, to Fort Worth, Texas, in the B-24D, Bomerang, with Lt. Royden LeBrecht and his crew, flying their plane, The Squaw, and Lt. John S. Young and his crew, who flew the B-24D, The Blue Streak, to Britain, and back to Fort Worth, Texas, for a war bond tour of America in 1944.

Service

Events

Event	Location	Date
Manufactured	San Diego, TX 78384, USA	1943
Built at Consolidated.
Delivered	Texas, USA	1943
Delivered to USAAF.
Assigned	Hardwick, Cambridge CB23, UK	1943
Assigned to 330BS, 93BG, 8AF USAAF.
Crashed	Bremen, Germany	13 November 1943
Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Bremen, en route to target suffered a mid air collision with B-24 42-40765. 10 x KIA. 13-Nov-43. MACR 2179.