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.