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B-24 Liberator - 41-11636 - WASH'S TUB, was in the 9th Air Force, the 376th Bomb Group, and the 514th Bomb Squadron. It was originally a Halverson Project aircraft, #24, then, was transferred to 98th Bomb Group before being sent to the 376th Bomb Group. It was flown by the James Bock crew on the low-level mission to Ploesti, Romania. August 1,1943. Recoded #636 at the end of the war bond tour when it became a training aircraft.
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B-24 Liberator, 41-11636, Wash's Tub, crew attend to painting their nose art. 1943
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B-24 Liberator #4111636 'Wash's Tub' "Wash's Tub" 514th BS, 376th BG, 9th AF. Was originally Halpro aircraft #24 then was transferred to 98th Bomb Group before being sent to 376th. Flown by the James Bock crew on the August 1,1943 low-level mission to Ploesti, Romania.
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B-24 Liberator, 41-11636, Wash's Tub, was in the 9th Air force, the 376th Bomb Group, and the 514th Bomb Squadron. It was originally a Halpro aircraft, #24, then was transferred to 98th Bomb Group before being sent to 376th. Flown by the James Bock crew on the low-level mission to Ploesti, Romania. August 1,1943
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The B-24D Liberator, 4111636, WASH'S TUB was originally a Halpro aircraft, then was transferred to 98th Bomb Group before being sent to 376th. Flown by the James Bock crew on the low level mission to Ploesti, Romania. August 1,1943
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B-24D Liberator, 4111636, WASH'S TUB's ground crew load 1000 pound bombs in the desert heat. 1942-43.
The B-24D, Liberator bomber, 41-11636, first named, Wash's Tub, was first flown by Martin Walsh and was originally Halpro aircraft, #24, first, in the Halverson Project in 1942 in the 9th Air Force. It was later transferred to the 8th Air Force, the 376th Bomb Group, and the 514th Bomb Squadron. Wash's Tub, 41-11636, was transferred to the 98th Bomb Group before being sent to 376th Bomb Group. It was flown by Lt. James Bock's crew on the low level mission to Ploesti, Romania. 1 Aug 1943. During this plane's 15 months in the Middle East: It flew 73 missions, dropped 219 tons of bombs, flew 551 hours in combat, shot down 22 fighters, and flew 100,000 miles.
It redeployed to the U.S. on Sept. 13, 1943, for a War Bond Tour and later became a personal and training aircraft for it's original pilot, Martin Walsh, with the number, 636, on the nose.
Martin Walsh, the original HALPRO pilot, who took Wash's Tub overseas in May of 1942, told how, many years ago, after he completed his North African tour, he was assigned to the Pueblo Army Air Base as an instructor. When he arrived at the base, he spotted his old airplane sitting forlorn and forgotten in a remote area of the field, where it had been abandoned after its war bond tour. He was able to commandeer the necessary people and parts to put the plane back in shape, and used it as his own personal hack for the rest of his time at Pueblo. Nobody else would fly such an "ancient B-24", but Walsh said, "It still flew like the champion it was!". The plane was scrapped in Nov. 1946.
Service
Aircraft
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B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, Liberator bomber, 41-11636, first named, Wash's Tub, was first flown by Martin Walsh and was originally Halpro aircraft, #24, first, in the Halverson Project in 1942 in the 9th Air Force. It was later transferred to the 8th Air Force, the...
Units
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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...
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Detachment
HALPRO or the Halverson Detachement was a group of 23 B-24 Liberators originally destined to join the 10th Air Force in the China, Burma, India Theatre of operations.
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People
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Military | Lieutenant General | B-24 Command Pilot - Squadron Commander - Commanding Officer | 376th Bomb Group
Keith Karl Compton was an American Air Force Lieutenant General who was Vice Commander in Chief, in the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command. He flew as the Element Lead Aircraft's Command Pilot with Gen. Uzal Ent, the Ploesti Mission...
Missions
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12 June 1942
The first Army Air Force Combat mission in Europe during the Second World War, saw 13 B-24 Liberators, originally destined for China, bomb oil refineries in Ploesti, Roumania. While the raid had little impact, it proved the concept that Heavy bombers...
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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...
Events
Event |
Location |
Date |
Ploesti Survivor |
Ploiești, Romania |
1 August 1943 |
Flown by the James Bock crew on the August 1, 1943 low-level mission to Ploesti, Romania.
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War Bonds Tour |
United States |
September 1943 |
Aircraft was returned to the U.S. in September 1943 for a War Bond tour and was then used for a training aircraft.
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Scrapped |
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19 November 1946 |
Scrapped at Spokane, WA. Nov. 19, 1946.
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Assigned |
Benghazi, Libya |
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514th BS, 376th BG, 8th AF.
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