41-24198 - The Vulgar Virgin - Hell From Heaven - Shoot Youre Faded

Object Number - UPL 47566 - B-24D - The Vulgar Virgin - B-24-D-20-CO - 41-24198 - 98th Bomb Group - the 344th Bomb Squadron - and the 9th Air Force - The Vulgar...

- The B-24D, 41-24198, in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bomb Squadron, was one of 2 B-24Ds in the MTO based at Benghazi, Libya, with identical nose art pictures, and both with the same names, The Vulgar Virgin, this one, 41-24198, was flown by Capt. Wallace Taylor, and was in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombardment Squadron, based at Benghazi, Libya, It should not be confused with Lt. Claude A. Turner's B-24D, 42-40608, from the 8th Air Force, also named, The Vulgar Virgin, but was from the 8th Air Force, the 93rd Bomb Group, and the 328th Bombing Squadron, from Britain, temporarily detached (TDY) to the 9th Air Force, at Benghazi, with exactly the same nose art as Capt. Wallace Taylor's B-24D aircraft, 41-24198. On the Ploesti mission, Capt. Wallace Taylor bailed out of, The Vulgar Virgin, 41-24198, over Ploesti, was taken prisoner (POW), and survived the Ploesti mission. The rest of his crew failed to bail out in time and were killed, KIA. 1 POW. 9 KIA. 1 Aug 43.

Along with the rest of the 8th Air Force, Lt. Claude Turner's B-24D, 42-40608, had been sent from the U.K. to North Africa, in late 1942, or early 1943, temporarily detached (TDY) to the 9th Air Force in Benghazi, Libya, to help with Operation Tidal Wave, to destroy the oil refineries at Ploesti. Lt. Claude Turner, in 42-40608, from the 8th Air Force, the command pilot of, 42-40608, also flew on the Ploesti mission. Lt. Turner's, Vulgar Virgin, 42-40608, was damaged by two direct flak hits over it's target and flew to Chorlu, Turkey, and was interned (INT-TURK) in Turkey. Aug 1, 1943. Lt. Turner and his bombardier, James Marquis, escaped from the Turks, and both men returned to Britain to the 8th Air Force (RTS).
                                                                                                                                          Later, after returning to Britain, Lt. Claude Turner, was flying another B-24D, Birmingham Blitzkrieg, when he was shot down and killed (KIA) by an FW-190 fighter over the North Sea after a mission to Bremen, Germany. - Pilot Turner and all of his crewmen, minus James Marquis, who was not on this mission, were killed, KIA. 10 KIA. Nov 13, 1943.

~ Note : To add to the confusion between these two B-24Ds, 42-40608 and 41-24198, is the fact that both of the airplanes' names and nose art were exact copies of the same pin up painting, and were painted with their identical names and nose art portraits, almost exactly the same, on the noses of both airplanes. However, the 8th Air Force plane, Claude Taylor's plane, was painted overall in olive drab for it's ETO camouflage scheme. The 9th Air Force's plane, The Vulgar Virgin, Wallace Taylor's plane, was painted overall in the USAAF's sand color (faded to pink) for the MTO's camouflage scheme.

Capt. Wallace C. Taylor's B-24D, The Vulgar Virgin, 41-24198, in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, The Pyramiders, and the 344th Bomb Squadron, based Lete Air Base at Benghazi, Libya, with the same name and nose art of a beautiful scantily clad woman lying on her side talking on a telephone, with even more names on it's tail, added later : Hell From Heaven, and, Shoot You're Faded. Capt. Taylor also flew his twin named B-24D, 41-24198, The Vulgar Virgin, on Operation Tidal Wave while in the 9th Air Force's 98th Bomb Group. Taylor's target was also White IV, the Astra Romano refinery. As the two groups, the 98th and the 44th Bomb Groups, led by Col. John R. Kane and Col. Leon Johnson, respectively, approached their targets, the entire Ploesti refinery area was already on fire and compromised by the flames, smoke, and exploding delayed action bombs previously dropped by some of the planes from the 93rd and 376th Bomb Groups, completely out of the attack plan. When the 98th Bomb Group, led by Col. John Kane, and several planes following him, entered a wall of smoke and flames over the Astra Romano refinery complex, Wallace Taylor's B-24D, did not reappear coming out of the smoke. It was shot down, lost over their target, and failed to return (FTR) from the mission. The only survivor from, 41-24198, was Capt.Taylor, the only one who bailed out successfully at low altitude,and was captured, and became a prisoner. 1 POW. MACR166

On, 15 October 1945, Pilot Capt. Wallace Taylor, O-729382, was interrogated by 1st. Lt. Lucille Caldwell and the following was stated:

The Vulgar Virgin, 41-24198, was flying as lead aircraft in "E" section of the 98th Bomb Group's attack formation. Over the target, the bomber took a direct flak hit in the nose section and burst into flames. Capt. Taylor pulled out of the formation and reported, " I immediately called the nose and tail gunners over the interphone, but could not contact either one. I, then, gave the bail out order and rang the alarm bell. I saw the copilot, engineer, and assistant engineer bail out. I do not know what happened to the other members of the crew. I bailed out and landed in the vicinity of Ploesti. I left the plane after those with me were out, and it was impossible to stay any longer in the flames and heat. ”

The Vulgar Virgin, 41-24198, likely photographed at Benina, Libya, 1943, was a Consolidated B-24D Liberator, B-24-D-20-CO, part of the 9th Air Force in Libya, in the 98th Bomb Group, the Pyramiders, and the 344th Bomb Squadron. Until September, 1943, the Pyramiders remained in the 9th Air Force, and, after this date, they were under command of the 12th Air Force. Beginning on 1 November 1943, the Pyramiders came under the newly established 15th Air Force and moved to Southern Italy. But Capt. Taylor's, Vulgar Virgin, 41-24198, and its crew, were never part of these later events because they had been one of the many B-24 aircraft shot down and lost on the Ploesti mission. 1 August 1943. On that day, 47 B-24D Liberators from the 98th Bomb Group took off for the raid against the Ploesti oil refineries. Twenty six turned back, and/or were lost over their targets. Only 21 returned. (21 RTB). Capt. Taylor's, Vulgar Virgin, was flying as the lead aircraft in the 98th Group's "E" Section formation. After taking a direct flak hit in it's nose section approaching it's target, it exploded in flames. Capt. Taylor immediately pulled out of formation and ordered a bail out, but they were too low for their chutes to fully open, and Capt.Taylor, was the only one of the four, who successfully bailed out and survived. This was the crew’s fate: 9-KIA. 1-POW.  Aircraft failed to return (FTR).  1 Aug 43.  

Capt. Wallace C. Taylor, Pilot (POW)
FO Paul W. Packer, CoPilot (KIA)
TSgt. Gerald E. Rabb, Engineer/Top Turret Gunner (KIA)
TSgt. Alfred F. Turgeon, Radio Operator/Left Waist Gunner (KIA)
SSgt. Ralph M. Robbins, Gunner/Asst. Eng. (KIA)
SSgt. Louis Kaiser, Right Waist Gunner (KIA)
SSgt. Donald H. Duchene, Tail Gunner (KIA)
Sgt. Arthur B. Van Kleek, Tunnel Gunner (KIA).
1st Lt. Jack K. Wood, Navigator (KIA)
1st Lt. Robert N. Austin, Bombardier (KIA)

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

  • Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
  • Air Force: Ninth Air Force Twelfth Air Force Fifteenth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment
Three airmen of the 389th Bomb Group stand with a B-24 Liberator used as a Flight Assembly Ship. Image via Tim Bivens. Handwritten caption from Bivens: 'My friend remembers it being named "Bucksheesh Benny" that it was used to fly Jack Benny around USA shows. Says it flew in North Africa with Benny and was eventually assigned to 389th as a hack and later as a form-up ship. He thinks it was originally with another group (possibly 376th or 98th).' Handwritten caption on reverse: '389th BG Form-up ship.'
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Ninth Air Force Twelfth Air Force Fifteenth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 32130688 / O-729696
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Bombardier
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 17080319
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 98th Bomb Group 343rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 16036823
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Gunner / Photographer
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 13043772
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner

Places

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Soluch Airfield

Missions

  • Date: 1 August 1943
  • Official Description: 177 B-24’s, of IX Bomber Command (including Heavy Bombers on loan from Eighth AF) are dispatched to bomb oil refineries at Ploesti and nearby Campina. The operation (TIDALWAVE) is costly, 54 planes and 532 airmen being lost, but damage to the targets...

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: - Kickapoo
  • Unit: 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: - Hail Columbia - Little Chief Big Dog - Grumpy
  • Unit: 376th Bomb Group 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: - The Vulgar Virgin - Hell From Heaven - Shoot Youre Faded
  • Unit: 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron
A B-24 Liberator ( serial number 41-24226) nicknamed "Joisey Bounce" of the 93rd Bomb Group in flight.
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: - Joisey Bounce - Utah Man
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: - Hadley's Harem
  • Unit: 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Failed To Return (FTR)

Ploiești, Romania 1 August 1943 Lost on the low-level Ploesti, Rumania mission on August 1, 1943. 1 x POW 9 x KIA. MACR 166

Assigned

Benina 344th Bomb Squadron, 98th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force.

Manufactured

Willow Run, Ypsilanti, MI Built at Consolidated.

Revisions

Date18 Mar 2023 05:42:08
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

http://www.b24bestweb.com/vulgarvirgin-the1.htm
http://www.b24bestweb.com/vulgarvirgin-the2.htm
http://www.b24bestweb.com/vulgarvirgin-the3.htm
http://www.b24bestweb.com/vulgarvirgin-the4.htm
http://www.b24bestweb.com/vulgarvirgin-the5.htm
http://www.b24bestweb.com/vulgarvirgin-the6.htm
http://www.b24bestweb.com/vulgarvirgin-the7.htm
http://www.b24bestweb.com/vulgarvirgin-the8.htm                                                                                                                                                                                                      Into The Fire  -  Duane Schultz

Date18 May 2022 22:47:58
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Black Sunday-Ploesti - Duane Schultz

Date11 May 2022 17:51:22
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Black Sunday-Ploesti - Michael Hill

Date19 Nov 2021 14:46:08
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Added details for clarity and accuracy. - Kickapoo

Date19 Nov 2021 14:43:14
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Added details for clarity and accuracy. - Kickapoo

Date19 Nov 2021 14:36:11
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Details added. - Kickapoo

Date19 Nov 2021 08:59:04
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Added details. - Kickapoo

Date19 Nov 2021 08:37:12
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Details added. - Kickapoo

Date19 Nov 2021 08:22:45
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Details added. - Kickapoo

Date10 Oct 2021 19:32:24
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Markings added. - Kickapoo

Date10 Oct 2021 19:28:44
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Marking changes. - Kickapoo

Date10 Oct 2021 19:25:48
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Into the Fire - Duane Schultz

Date10 Oct 2021 19:19:18
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Details, wording changes. - Kickapoo

Date10 Oct 2021 19:09:00
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Details added, wording and punctuation changes. - Kickapoo

Date10 Sep 2021 22:35:16
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Removed duplicate events, spelling, and punctuation changes. - Kickapoo

Date27 Aug 2021 11:32:07
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Punctuation. - Kickapoo

Date17 Aug 2021 23:18:33
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Black Sunday - Michael Hill

Date17 Aug 2021 13:25:05
ContributorEmily
Sources

Changed all instances of aircraft name into sentence case to as per best practice for accessibility.

Date17 Aug 2021 09:41:09
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Black Sunday - Michael Hill

Date8 Aug 2021 10:43:11
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Punctuation - Kickapoo

Date8 Aug 2021 10:40:04
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Best Web - B-24 - 41-24198 - THE VULGAR VIRGIN

Date8 Aug 2021 10:14:24
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Black Sunday - Michael Hill

Date8 Aug 2021 09:56:53
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Wording changes and additions for clarity and accuracy - Kickapoo

Date5 Aug 2021 13:14:07
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Best Web - B-24 - 42-40608 - Best Web - B-24 - 41-24198

Date28 Jul 2021 06:57:49
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Wording and punctuation changes - Kickapoo

Date28 Jul 2021 06:42:55
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Wording - Kickapoo

Date28 Jul 2021 06:40:02
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Note added to airplane biography - Kickapoo

Date28 Jul 2021 06:25:23
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Best Web - B-24 - 42-24198 - 42-40608

Date28 Jul 2021 06:07:52
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Best Web - B-24 - 41-24198 - THE VULGAR VIRGIN

Date28 Jul 2021 06:07:52
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Best Web - B-24 - 41-24198 - THE VULGAR VIRGIN

Date27 Jul 2021 09:43:43
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Spacing, spelling, wording changes - Kickapoo

Date27 Jul 2021 09:40:31
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Spacing, spelling, wording changes - Kickapoo

Date27 Jul 2021 09:38:22
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Spacing, spelling, wording changes - Kickapoo

Date27 Jul 2021 09:32:34
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Word, spacing changes for clarity - Kickapoo

Date27 Jul 2021 08:56:38
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Word changes for accuracy - Kickapoo

Date27 Jul 2021 08:01:03
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Spelling, punctuation changes for clarity - Kickapoo

Date18 May 2021 19:18:58
Contributorjmoore43
Sources

Added punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.

Date4 Apr 2021 12:00:58
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Best Web - B-24 - '41-24198' - 'THE VULGAR VIRGIN'

Date4 Apr 2021 11:55:05
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Best Web - B-24 - '41-24198' - 'THE VULGAR VIRGIN'

Date4 Apr 2021 11:29:22
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Best Web - B-24 - '41-24198' ---- The Great Ground-Air Battle of August 1, 1943 - James Dugan & Carroll Stewart

Date9 Feb 2021 20:02:26
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

B-24 - Best Web - SN # 41-24198 - 'THE VULGAR VIRGIN' - 'HELL FROM HEAVEN' - 'SHOOT YOU'RE FADED'

Date6 Feb 2021 23:37:07
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

B-24 - Best Web - # 41-24198 - 'The Vulgar Virgin'

Date6 Feb 2021 22:57:21
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

B-24 - Best Web - # 41-24198 (PIC 4)

Date6 Feb 2021 22:53:11
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Best Web - #41-24198 'The Vulgar Virgin' - Fuselage - PIC 4

Date6 Feb 2021 22:11:34
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

B-24 - Best Web - #41-24298

Date31 Jan 2021 00:24:35
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

The Great Ground-Air Battle Of 1 August 1943 - James Dugan & Carroll Stewart

Date31 Jan 2021 00:19:55
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

The Great Ground-Air Battle Of 1 August 1943 - James Dugan & Carroll Stewart

Date29 Jan 2021 03:35:47
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Into the Fire - Duane Schultz

Date20 Dec 2020 02:25:16
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Military B-24 Aircraft - # 41-24198 - The Vulgar Virgin

Date20 Dec 2020 02:06:57
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

B-24 Aircraft - # 41-24198 - The Vulgar Virgin

Date20 Dec 2020 00:01:25
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

www.ww2In color.com > u-s-air-force > B-24D Vulgar Virgin

Date19 Dec 2020 04:30:22
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Ploesti The Great Ground-Air Battle Of 1 August 1943 - James Dugan & Carroll Stewart

Date19 Dec 2020 04:16:08
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Ploesti The Great Ground-Air Battle Of 1 August 1943 - James Dugan & Carroll Stewart

Date19 Dec 2020 04:09:54
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Ploesti The Great Ground-Air Battle Of 1 August 1943 - James Dugan & Carroll Stewart

Date19 Dec 2020 04:05:45
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Ploesti The Great Ground-Air Battle of 1 August 1943 - James Dugan & Carroll Stewart

Date19 Dec 2020 03:46:48
ContributorKickapoo
Sources

Preserving the Past II -- Clarence Simonsen

Date13 Mar 2015 14:38:09
ContributorAl_Skiff
Date13 Mar 2015 14:34:19
ContributorAl_Skiff

41-24198: Gallery (2 items)