B-24 Liberator
B-24D, 42-40364, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, of the 343rd Bomb Squadron, the 98th Bomb Group, in the 9th Air Force. Lost on the Ploesti oil refinery mission. Pilot Lt. James Gunn, Jr. 1 Aug 1943.
B-24D - 'Snow White - And The Seven Dwarfs' - #42 40364 - 343rd Bomb Squadron - 98th Bomb Group - 9th Air Force - 1943. Lost on the Ploesti mission. Aug 1, 1943
B24D - 'SNOW WHITE and the Seven Dwarfs' - B-24 - D - 53 - CO - SN #42-40364 - 9th Air Force - 98th Bomb Group - 343rd Bomb Squadron. Lost on the Ploesti mission. Aug 1,1943.
B-24D - 'Snow White' Crew : left to right : Technical Sergeant John A. Harkell, Captain Rolo C. Lawrence, Sargeant George A. Brunnell and Sergeant Kermit E. Gregory. lost on the Ploesti mission. Aug 1,1943
The B-24D, 42-40364 - has the name, The Pink Elephant, painted on the RH side of the nose - It was the second, Snow White, in the 98th Bomb Group, the first one being the B-24D, 41-11913, Lt. Rollo Lawrence's airplane. This airplane, The Pink Elephant, 42-40364 was lost on Operation Tidal Wave over Ploesti Romania. Aug 1, 1943 - MACR 165 - Pilot Capt. James A. Gunn, Jr. Contributor - Robert Livingstone Info Contributor - Bill Whitney The B-24D, The Pink Elephant, 42-40364, started combat ops, May 13, 1943, and was shot down on the low level Ploesti mission, Aug 1, 1943, with the crew of Pilot Capt. James A. Gunn, Jr. It was shot down near the Yugoslavia/Bulgaria border by enemy fighters during withdrawal from the target in the same action that downed The Witch, 41-11840, flown by Pilot Lt. Julian Darlington. The sole survivor, Tail Gunner Stanley Horine, and Pilot Julian Darlington from The Witch, were POWs together in Bulgaria. 1 Aug 1943
The Pink Elephant, 42-40364, was in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, who called themselves, "The Pyramiders", and the 343rd Bomb Squadron. First named, The Pink Elephant, 42-40364, was the second B-24D, that was later renamed, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". The first B-24D, named, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was the aircraft with the serial number, 41-11913. After both airplanes were renamed, they both had the same name and stunning nose art, a picture of Walt Disney's "Snow White" and the ship's names in large letters : "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" on the forward nose. In both of the nose art pictures of, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, she held a wand with stars on the tips of the wand. Each star on the wand depicted 2 missions completed.
Pilot Captain James Gunn, his crew, and, The Pink Elephant, 42-40364, with the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 343rd Bomb Squadron, left the United States July, 1942, and flew to South America, to the Gold Coast, then, across the Atlantic ocean to Egypt, and was based near Haifa, Egypt. The aircraft's first mission was on Aug 14, 1942, starting combat operations on May 13, 1943, in the MTO, flying out of Benghazi, Libya.
The, Pink Elephant, was flown by Capt. James A. Gunn, Jr, on Operation Tidal Wave, the low level mission to Ploesti, Romania. The aircraft was shot down and lost on the mission. It was shot down near the Yugoslavian - Bulgarian border by enemy fighters during withdrawal from the target in the same action that downed, The Witch, 41-11840, flown by Lt. Julian Darlington. The pilot, Capt. James A. Gunn, Jr. and his crew of, the, Pink Elephant, failed to return - FTR - and were killed in action. KIA. Aug 1,1943. MACR 165
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Crew of the Pink Elephant over Ploesti :
Capt. James Gunn, Jr. - Pilot (KIA) -
2nd Lt. Richard C. Williamson - Co-Pilot (KIA -
1st Lt. Bernard E. Leimbach - Navigator (KIA)
2nd Lt. Robert C. Courtney - Bombardier (KIA)
T/Sgt. Edwin L. Turner - Eng/Top Turret (KIA)
T/Sgt. Delmar E. Smith - Radio Operator (KIA)
S/Sgt. Frederick L. Stukey - Waist Gun (KIA)
S/Sgt. Charles R. Ruark - Waist Gun (KIA)
S/Sgt. Stanley M. Horine, Jr. - Tail Gun (POW)
B-24 Liberator
The Pink Elephant, 42-40364, was in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, who called themselves, "The Pyramiders", and the 343rd Bomb Squadron. First named, The Pink Elephant, 42-40364, was the second B-24D, that was later renamed, "Snow White and...
B-24 Liberator
The aircraft, 41-11840, named, The Witch, was in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 343rd Bomb Squadron left. It deployed for duty in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations in July, 1942. It's pilot, Lt. Glade Jorgenson, played a...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, 41-11913, was the original 9th Air Force, 98th Bomb Group, and 343rd Bomb Squadron's, B-24D, named, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, after the Walt Disney movie characters. The aircraft's nose art depicted the Disney princess, Snow White,...
Group
The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B-24 Liberators during the first half of 1942.
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Squadron
Established as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomb squadron and trained by Third Air Force. Deployed to Egypt in June 1942 over South Atlantic Transport Route transiting from Morrison Field, Florida though the Caribbean to Brazil; performed trans-Atlantic...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 98th Bomb Group
Assigned to 343BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Ploesti raid in B-24 42-40364 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'; shot down near the Yugoslavia/Bulgaria border by enemy fighters during withdrawal from the target. Killed in Action (KIA) MACR...
Military | Captain | B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
~ Capt. James A. Gunn, Jr, was Killed In Action (KIA) on the bombing mission over the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, in his B-24D, 42-40364. 1 Aug, 43.
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Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
Assigned to 343BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Ploesti raid in B-24 42-40364 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'; shot down near the Yugoslavia/Bulgaria border by enemy fighters during withdrawal from the target. Sole survivor Prisoner of War...
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 98th Bomb Group
First Lieutenant Bernard "Bernie" Elmer Leimbach flew on the mission to Ploesti, Romania, and served as the replacement Navigator on the B-24D Liberator bomber, 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', SN #42-40364 Y. He was Killed in Action (KIA) on the...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
Assigned to 343BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Ploesti raid in B-24 42-40364 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'; shot down near the Yugoslavia/Bulgaria border by enemy fighters during withdrawal from the target. Killed in Action (KIA) MACR...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 98th Bomb Group
Assigned to 343BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Ploesti raid in B-24 42-40364 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'; shot down near the Yugoslavia/Bulgaria border by enemy fighters during withdrawal from the target. Killed in Action (KIA) MACR...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Flight Engineer; Top Turret Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
Assigned to 343BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Ploesti raid in B-24 42-40364 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'; shot down near the Yugoslavia/Bulgaria border by enemy fighters during withdrawal from the target. Killed in Action (KIA) MACR...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Assigned to 343BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Ploesti raid in B-24 42-40364 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'; shot down near the Yugoslavia/Bulgaria border by enemy fighters during withdrawal from the target. Killed in Action (KIA) MACR...
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B-24D 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...
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Assigned | 1943 | |
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Assigned to 343BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. |
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| Crashed | Bulgaria | 1 August 1943 |
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Failed to Return (FTR) - Lost during the low-level mission to bomb the oil refineries in Ploesti, Rumania on August 1,1943. She was jumped by fighters while leaving the target and shot down with only the tail gunner, S/Sgt. Stanley Horine, surviving. MACR 165 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 11 September 2021 19:47:25 | Kickapoo | Changes to description, person associations and place associations |
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Best Web - 42-40364 - Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs - Pink Elephant |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 11 September 2021 19:39:48 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Added details. - Kickapoo |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 11 September 2021 18:47:50 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Additions to text. - Kickapoo |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 11 September 2021 18:44:18 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Change of rank - Kickapoo |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 11 September 2021 18:39:10 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Added crew members to list. - Kickapoo |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 11 September 2021 18:37:01 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Added crew members. - Kickapoo |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 11 September 2021 18:32:43 | Kickapoo | Changes to markings and description |
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Best Web - B-24 - 42-40364 - The Pink Elephant - Snow White And The Seven dwarfs |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 August 2021 05:12:22 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Added Lt. James A. Gunn to crew list - Kickapoo |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 August 2021 04:44:40 | Kickapoo | Changes to nicknames, markings and description |
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Best Web - B-24 - 42-40364 - The Pink Elephant - Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 April 2021 18:19:58 | Al_Skiff | Changes to markings and events |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 April 2021 07:49:51 | Kickapoo | Changes to nicknames and description |
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Best Web - B-24 - 'The Pink Elephant' |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 March 2021 11:52:35 | Kickapoo | Changes to markings |
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Best Web - B-24 - 'The Pink Elephant' |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 March 2021 11:48:02 | Kickapoo | Changes to markings and description |
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Best Web - B-24 - 'The Pink Elephant' |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 March 2021 11:39:44 | Kickapoo | Changes to markings and description |
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Best Web - B-24 - 'The Pink Elephant' |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 March 2021 11:13:36 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Best Web - B-24 - #42-40364 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 March 2021 10:55:03 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Best Web - B-24 - #42-40364 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 March 2021 10:52:32 | Kickapoo | Changes to nicknames, markings and description |
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Best Web - B-24 - #42-40364 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 March 2021 08:39:26 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Best Web - B-24 - ' Snow White ' |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 March 2021 08:25:01 | Kickapoo | Changes to nicknames, aircraft associations and place associations |
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Best Web - B-24 - ' Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ' |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 February 2018 00:58:18 | decwriter | Changes to description |
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Corrected to Stanley M. Horine, Jr. per movement order. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 09 February 2018 01:58:27 | decwriter | Changes to description |
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Charles R. Ruark was listed as Roark, so the biography listing is correct now. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 07 February 2018 11:49:41 | Lucy May | Changes to unit associations |
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MACR 165: https://www.fold3.com/image/1/29417957 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 November 2016 04:44:31 | 466thHistorian | Changes to nicknames and place associations |
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"Air Stories of the 12th & 15th Air Forces" - Gerard Paloque |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 13 March 2015 14:06:49 | Al_Skiff | Created entry with serial number, aircraft type, production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, description, events, unit associations, person associations and mission associations |
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