The B-24D, Hail Columbia, 41-11825, was assigned to the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombing Squadron. It was first assigned to the 344th Squadron's CO, Col. John R. Kane's, personal aircraft until Kane became the 98th Bomb Group's CO and turned it over to Herman "Big Dog" Lewis. Lewis changed the name to Little Chief Big Dog on the RH side of the forward nose section, but retained, Hail Columbia, in block letters on the left side. Following Lewis's death in another B-24, Little Chief Big Dog/Hail Columbia, was transferred back to the 98th Bomb Group's 343rd Bomb Squadron, where the right side art work was changed to a picture of, and the name, Grumpy, in compliance with the "Snow White Squadron" directive. Wilfred Brann was the crew chief and nose art artist for, Grumpy, in the 343rd Squadron. The name, Little Chief Big Dog, was removed prior to the Rome mission of July 19, 1943.

Just prior to the low level Ploesti mission, the 98th Bomb Group's CO, John R. Kane, returned his former plane back to the 98th's 344th Bomb Squadron, where a new form of the original, Hail Columbia, name and nose art quickly replaced, Grumpy's. According to Scott Flood, great nephew of 41-11825's crew chief, Charles Wilfred Brann, the name, Grumpy, had been chosen by TSgt Brann, "reflecting his personality, a short, stocky man, rather gruff and grumpy on the outside." Flood also wrote that, by Col. Kane's directive, Hail Columbia, was again repainted in red block letters over new nose art chosen by Col. Kane : a flying bald eagle carrying a large club, on both sides of Hail Columbia with stars in a circle under the eagle, on both sides of the forward nose section, for the Ploesti mission. So, Hail Columbia, was chosen by Col. Kane, for the second time, as his personal airplane and was one of the lead aircraft for the Ploesti mission.

John Kane and the crew of, Hail Columbia, bombed their target, White IV, and escaped Ploesti with one engine destroyed, two propellers on other engines damaged, and with over 150 counted flak holes in the airplane, and several crewmen wounded by flak shards, but recovered. They flew all the way south through Turkey to the Island of Cyprus. Col. Kane and his Copilot, John Young, crash landed, Hail Columbia, in the dark at Nicosia, Cyprus, after running over a ditch the British had dug across the runway's threshold, which took out their landing gear when they hit it at high speed. Hail Columbia was abandoned at Cyprus. 2 Aug 43.

The next day, while Col. Kane was looking over the plane, Young reported that there were tears in the normally stoic, Col. Kane's eyes, as he surveyed the damage of his crashed and wrecked airplane that he had carefully chosen as his personal plane for the second time and renamed, Hail Columbia, after his alma mater, Columbia University. Likely, Kane was thinking of the friends and men he had just lost on the terrible and deadly Ploesti mission, like his wrecked airplane. Pilots also had strong feelings, as well, about the airplanes they flew and that they felt had saved their lives and had brought them home to safety.
The crewmen aboard, Hail Columbia, for the Ploesti mission were:

Col. John R Kane - Group Leader and Command Pilot
First Lieutenant John S. Young - CoPilot -
First Lieutenant Norman Whelan - Navigator -
Staff Sergeant Neville C. Benson - Waist Gunner -
First Lieutenant Raymond B. Hubbard - Radio Operator -
Second Lieutenant Harold F. Korger - Bombardier -
Sergeant Joseph W. LaBranche - Gunner -
Technical Sergeant Frederick A. Leard - Waist Gunner -
Sergeant William Leo - Tail Gunner -
Staff Sergeant Harvey L. Treace - Top Turret Gunner -

All of the crewmen who flew on the Ploesti mission received the Distinguished Flying Cross for flying the mission. Lt. Whelan was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for navigating his airplane and several others to safety at Nicosia, Cyprus. Lt. John Young received another Oak Leaf Cluster to his DFC and Silver Star. Col. John Kane was awarded the Medal Of Honor and another Oak Leaf Cluster to those already on his DFC.

Service

Events

Event	Location	Date
Survived Ploesti mission	Ploiești, Romania	1 August 1943
A veteran of the low-level Ploesti, Romania mission on August 1,43. She survived the Ploesti mission, though badly damaged with one engine out and two others damaged but running.
Crashed	Cyprus	1 August 1943
A veteran of the low-level Ploesti, Romania mission on August 1,43. She crashed on the island of Cyprus returning from the mission and was abandoned.
Assigned	Benghazi, Libya
9th Air Force, 98th Bomb Group, "The Pyramiders", 344th Bomb Squadron.