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Military
Captain James H. McClain Navigator 389th BG - 564th BS Later served as a navigation instructor at Keesler AAF, Mississippi, where this photo was taken.
Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1 August 1943, flying B-24 Liberator 42-40776.
12 July 1943 TDY to 9th AF, B24 42-40697 was hit by flak before target at Reggio Marshalling Yards. Diverted to recently captured area of Sicily crash landing NW of Pachino. Canadian unit transported them to a friendly base. Crew originally reported Missing in Action (MIA)
Group
The 389th Bomb Group, known in more familiar terms as "the Sky Scorpions", flew strategic bombing missions in B-24 Liberators from Hethel, England. They also sent detachments to join bases in North Africa at Benghazi No. 10, Libya, between 3 July 1943...
Squadron
B-24 Liberator
B-24D Liberator #42-40776 'H' 'Old Blister Butt' 564th BS, 389th BG, 8th AF, flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by Robert L Wright, returning safely to Libya.
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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 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57 B...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Waterloo, Iowa |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 18 October 2019 14:21:45 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to biography, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:14:29 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Dugan & Stewart 'Ploesti', Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop & Hey pp. 179-180 |
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