41-28711 - Little Sheppard
B-24 Liberator
The B-24H, 41-28711, named, Little Sheppard, was assigned to the 712th Bomb Squadron, the 448th Bomb Group, in the 8th Air Force in the U.K.
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B-24 Liberator
- NOTE : The B-24D, 42-23722, named, Bomerang, should not be confused with the B-24D, 42-40115, named, Boomerang, which was also based in Britain. Boomerang was shot down and lost on the Ploesti mission. FTR. 1 Aug 43.
The B-24D, 42-23722, Bomerang, was also originally based in Britain, but in the 93rd Bomb Group. It flew on the 93rd Bomb Group's maiden mission, 9 Oct 1942, and sustained the worst battle damage of the ten Liberators damaged on that mission, with over 200 holes in the plane. Due to shortages of B-24 parts in the U.K. early in the war, common practice dictated, 41-23722, was to be cannibalized to repair other aircraft, but the aircraft's crew chief, Master Sergeant Charles Chambers, adamantly refused to scrap his plane, and the aircraft was saved with the support of the pilot, Lieutenant John Stewart.
Bomerang, was flown on Operation Tidal Wave by Pilots Lt. Roy G. Martin and Col. Luther Smith Bird, both of whom, survived the mission to return with their plane, safely to Benghazi, Libya. RTB. 10 RTB. 1 Aug 1943.
Bomerang, became the first B-24D Liberator of the 8th Air Force to complete it's 50 mission total, qualifying to be sent home from combat. On completion of the aircraft's 53rd mission on, 4 Apr 1944, General Ted Timberlake visited the plane and crew at Hardwick, U.K. for their "50 Mission" going away party.
On 17 April, 1944, Bomerang, flown by Walter Stewart, returned to Fort Worth, Texas, and embarked on a national war bond tour, returning to the U.S. with its crew led by Col. Walter Stewart, with Lt. Royden Lebrecht in, The Squaw, and Lt. John Young in, The Blue Streak.
Bomerang's Crew On The Ploesti Mission :
Roy G. Martin - Pilot
Luther C. Bird - Copilot
Donald R. Dahl - Copilot
James W. Reid - Navigator
Jack M. Roach - Bombardier
Charles R. Molina - Top Turret Gunner
George H. Kelly - Waist Gunner
Herschel W. Dodd - Waist Gunner
Francis A. Sullivan - Ball Turret gunner
Robert O. Sparks - Tail Gunner
Harry A. Strand - Engineer
When Bomerang's crew arrived back at the 36th Street Airport, Miami, Florida, for it's bond tour, it's crew members were:
Col. Walter Travis Stewart - Pilot
M/Sgt. George E. Ewald
M/Sgt. Charles A. Chambers
S/Sgt. Enos H. Lee
Lt. George G. Everhart
T/Sgt Alfred B. Bergkamp
Lt. William N. Ford
B-24 Liberator
The B-24H, 41-28711, named, Little Sheppard, was assigned to the 712th Bomb Squadron, the 448th Bomb Group, in the 8th Air Force in the U.K.
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B-24 Liberator
This B-24D, 42-40115, in the 8th Air Force, the 389th Bomb Group, and named, Boomerang, should not be confused with the B-24D, 41-23722, which was named, Bomerang, not, Boomerang.
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B-24 Liberator
- NOTE : The B-24D, 42-23722, named, Bomerang, should not be confused with the B-24D, 42-40115, named, Boomerang, which was also based in Britain. Boomerang was shot down and lost on the Ploesti mission. FTR. 1 Aug 43. ...
Group
The 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 1 Mar 42 at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. On 15 May 42. the Group moved to Ft. Myers, Florida, to continue advanced flight training and also to fly antisubmarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico. They...
Squadron
Military | Captain | 93rd Bomb Group
Date of first mission 9 October 1942 (first mission of 93rd BG); total missions - 25
DFC/ Air Medal w/ 3 Oak Leaf Cluster
Military | Technical Sergeant | 93rd Bomb Group
Assigned to 329BS, 93BG, 8AF USAAF. Flew Ploesti raid on 1-Aug-43. ETD
Awards: AM, DFC, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | B-24 Command Pilot | 93rd Bomb Group
Luther Bird was assigned to the 8th Air Force, the 93rd Bomb Group, and the 328th Bomb Squadron. He flew on 23 combat missions and took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti, flying the B-24D Liberator, 41-23722, named, Bomerang. Returned...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
Assigned to 328BS, 93BG, 8AF USAAF. Lt John Stauffacher crew. ETD
Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Technical Sergeant | B-24 Waist Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
TSgt. Ralph Carroll was assigned as a waist gunner to the 330th Bomb Squadron, the 93rd Bomb Group, in the 8th Air Force, USAAF. he flew 25 combat missions. He flew on the famous Ploesti mission in aircraft, 41-24109, Ready & Willing - The Silver...
Military | Master Sergeant | Crew chief / Flight Engineer | 93rd Bomb Group
Assigned to 329BS, 93BG, 8AF USAAF. B-24 41-27322 'Bomerang's original crew chief, later became flight engineer. ETD
Awards: AM, GC, WWII Victory, EAME
Military | Staff Sergeant | 93rd Bomb Group
Assigned to 3428BS, 93BG, 8AF USAAF. ETD
Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
Assigned to 328BS, 93BG, 8AF USAAF. Flew on famous Ploesti mission of 1-Aug-43. ETD
Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Captain | 384th Bomb Group
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
Shot down 16 April 1943 in B-24 #41-23983. Some crew members had baled out when the plane exploded blowing some crew clear. Daly was killed in his turret.
DFC, AM w/ 3 Oak Leaf Cluster, PH
9 October 1942
Bombers are dispatched to bomb the steel and engineering works of the Compagnie de Fives at Lille, France and the locomotive and freight car works of Ateliers d'Hellemmes at Lille which are the Primary (P) targets. Other targets are Courtrai Airfield,...
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...
Military site : airfield
Alconbury had been constructed as a satellite airfield for RAF Upwood and Wyton and was used by RAF Squadrons: Nos. 15, 40 and 156. In preparation for the arrival of American heavy bombers, the base was developed in 1942 with the runways extended. When...
Military site : airfield
Planned as an RAF bomber airfield, Hardwick was used first by the 310th Bomb Group, equipped with B-25 Mitchells. B-24 Liberators of the 93rd Bomb Group moved in briefly in March 1943, then returned in June 1943 remaining until the end of the war and...
Military site : airfield
Event | Location | Date |
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Assigned | Benghazi, Libya | 1943 |
Temporary Duty with 9th Air Force. |
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Ploesti Survivor | Ploiești, Romania | 1 August 1943 |
Survivor of 1 Aug 43 raid on the Ploesti oil refinery complex. Returned safely to Libya. |
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War Bond | Miami-Dade Aviation Department, Miami International Airport (MIA), 4200 Northwest 36th Street, Miami, FL 33166, USA | 17 April 1944 |
First 8th AF Liberator to complete 50 missions. After completing 53 missions, was flown back to the States by Walt Stewart for a War Bond tour. |
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15 May 2022 17:46:44 | Al_Skiff | Changes to unit associations |
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20 March 2022 14:08:25 | decwriter | Changes to description |
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Updated crew for the Ploesti mission to include Lt. Donald R. Dahl as Copilot per 93rd BG sortie report for 1 Aug 1943. |
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18 March 2022 11:17:26 | Kickapoo | Changes to aircraft associations |
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Best Web - B-24 - 42-40115 - Boomerang |
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18 March 2022 11:11:55 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Details added, word spacing. - Kickapoo |
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18 March 2022 09:42:01 | Kickapoo | Changes to nicknames |
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Best Web - B-24 - Bomerang |
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05 December 2021 10:48:27 | Kickapoo | Changes to nicknames |
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Punctuation, details changed. - Kickapoo |
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05 December 2021 10:38:28 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Black Sunday-Ploesti - Michael Hill |
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05 December 2021 09:15:34 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Best Web - B-24 - 41-23722 - Boomerang - ( not : Bomerang ) |
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20 November 2021 10:07:30 | Kickapoo | Changes to nicknames, markings and description |
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Name spacing. - Kickapoo |
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18 November 2021 06:46:27 | Kickapoo | Changes to markings and description |
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Punctuation, spelling errors corrected. - Kickapoo |
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26 August 2021 07:16:08 | Kickapoo | Changes to markings |
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Best Web - B-24 - 41-23722 - Bomerang |
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26 August 2021 07:10:13 | Kickapoo | Changes to markings, description and unit associations |
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Best Web - B-24 - 41-23722 - Bomerang |
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10 August 2021 14:14:24 | Emily | Changes to nicknames, markings, description, events, unit associations, place associations and mission associations |
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Account of 41-23722's first mission in ' The Mighty Eighth', Roger Freeman, p20 Edited biography for coherence and relevance, transferring content not applicable to the history of the aircraft to other records as required, and changing all instances of aircraft name into sentence case to as per best practice for accessibility. |
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06 August 2021 06:40:47 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Word spacing, punctuation, for clarity and accuracy - Kickapoo |
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06 August 2021 04:51:52 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Word changes - Kickapoo |
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06 August 2021 04:47:09 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Word changes, punctuation - Kickapoo |
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03 August 2021 08:02:17 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill - Note: Error on p. 209. 41-23722-C's name is mistakenly listed as, "BOOMERANG". It was named, BOMERANG. - Kickapoo |
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29 July 2021 16:15:46 | Kickapoo | Changes to markings and description |
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Best Web - B-24 - 41-23722 - BOMERANG |
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29 July 2021 16:06:48 | Kickapoo | Changes to nicknames and markings |
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Best Web - B-24 - BOMERANG - |
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06 May 2021 09:51:31 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Best Web - B-24 - 'Bomerang' |
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24 April 2021 02:37:08 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Best Web - B-24 - 'Bomerang' |
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24 April 2021 02:27:12 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Best Web - B-24 - 'Bomerang' |
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24 April 2021 02:16:59 | Kickapoo | Changes to production block number, markings and description |
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Best Web - B-24 - 'Bomerang' - Info Contributor - Kent Jaquith |
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03 January 2021 11:12:03 | Al_Skiff | Changes to description, events and place associations |
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02 January 2021 07:45:58 | Kickapoo | Changes to markings |
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The Great Ground-Air Battle Of 1 August 1943 - James Dugan & Carroll Stewart |
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02 January 2021 07:35:13 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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The Great Ground-Air Battle Of 1 August 1943 - James Dugan & Carroll Stewart |
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02 January 2021 07:29:49 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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The Great Ground-Air Battle Of 1 August 1943 - James Dugan & Carroll Stewart |
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02 January 2021 07:21:36 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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The Great Ground-Air Battle Of 1 August 1943 - James Dugan & Carroll Stewart |
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02 January 2021 07:15:31 | Kickapoo | Changes to description |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- The Great Ground-Air Battle Of 1 August 1943 - James Dugan & Carroll Stewart |
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19 December 2020 11:10:59 | Kickapoo | Changes to description and person associations |
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personal archives - John S Young Jr |
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28 November 2019 17:58:33 | Al_Skiff | Changes to events and media associations |
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http://www.b24bestweb.com / http://warbirdinformationexchange.org |
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28 August 2019 14:44:22 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to person associations |
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19 November 2018 01:07:05 | RayWells | Changes to nicknames |
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From various photos |
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31 January 2018 02:40:41 | JohnMelson | Changes to media associations |
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This signed photo was given to James Edward Melson, Sr. who was the plant manager at Rockwell-Marlin Bearing Company in Plainville, Connecticut. My father, Robert Melson, has it now. |
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31 January 2018 02:27:17 | JohnMelson | Changes to media associations |
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This was given to James Edward Melons, Sr. who was the plant manager at Rockwell-Marlin Bearing Company in Plainville, Connecticut. My father, Robert Melson, has it now. |
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11 April 2015 15:16:00 | Al_Skiff | Created entry with serial number, aircraft type, production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, description, events, unit associations, person associations, mission associations and media associations |
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http://www.b24bestweb.com / http://warbirdinformationexchange.org |