41-24226 - Joisey Bounce - Utah Man

Object Number - FRE 3773 - The B-24D Liberator, serial number 41-24226, named 'Joisey Bounce', in the foreground, was in the 8th Air Force, and the 93rd Bomb Group. In...
The B-24D, 41-24226, Joisey Bounce, was assigned to Pilot Lt. Walter Travis Stewart in the the 330th Bomb Squadron, the 93rd Bomb Group, and the 8th Air Force, for the large mission to bomb the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. Col. Stewart changed his assigned plane's name from, Joisey Bounce, to, Utah Man, painted on the RH side of the nose only, for the Ploesti mission, to underscore his Utah Morman background to all the Texans in the 98th Bomb Group. Col. Stewart, the Deputy Commander of the 93rd Bomb Group, took command of the 93rd Bomb Group over Ploesti after his Group Leader, Col. Addison Baker and copilot, Maj. John Jerstad, were shot down and killed after they turned away from their Element Leader, Col. K.K. Compton's wrong turn at his first IP away from Ploesti, where his targets were, and turned toward Bucharest. Baker and Jerstad were shot down and killed in, Hell's Wench, approaching their target of opportunity, White IV, the Astra Romano refinery. Stewart in, Utah Man, was one of several pilots who had elected to follow Col. Addison Baker, his Group leader, in, Hell's Wench, who had turned north and west back to Ploesti after Col. K.K. Compton's wrong turn away from Ploesti at Targoviste, instead of turning north and west, to bomb his assigned target refineries. Stewart successfully bombed White IV, which was not his assigned target, ahead of the 98th Bomb Group coming in from the north, and the B-24s following him, and flew right through the 98th's formation of airplanes, including, Hail Columbia, with pilots Col. John Kane and Lt. John Young, leading the 98th Bomb Group, and, then, headed for the island of Cyprus, ahead of Col. Kane, following him in his shot up, damaged, and struggling lead aircraft, Hail Columbia, Lt. Royden LeBrecht in, The Squaw, Lt. Robert Sternfels in, The Sandman, and Lt. Gib Hadley and his plane, Hadley's Harem. But Lt. Hadley never made it home. He crashed and drowned with his copilot, caught in their crushed plane's cockpit after crashing into the ocean just off the Turkish coast, with seized engines out of engine oil and gasoline, before they reached safety at Nicosia, Cyprus. The crews of the other planes made it to Cyprus, and all flew home to Benghazi, the next day, minus Lt. Hadley, his copilot, and his bombardier, both killed (KIA) by flak over Ploesti. Lt. Hadley, his bombardier, and his copilot, all drowned in the Mediterranean Sea off the Turkish coast. 3 KIA. Seven crewmen survived, Hadley's Harem's crash, swam to shore, and were captured and interned by the Turks. 7 INT-TURK. 1 Aug 1943. After the Ploesti raid, Col. Stewart's B-24D, Utah Man, was again renamed, Joisey Bounce, and returned to Britain with the rest of the 93rd Bomb Group. At that time, Walter Stewart's name, Utah Man, on the right side of the nose, was repainted back to, Joisey Bounce. Months later, flying out of Britain, Joisey Bounce, was lost and failed to return (FTR) from a mission to Bremen, Germany. On the way to their target, the crew of, Joisey Bounce, suffered a midair collision with the B-24D, 42-40765, Valiant Virgin, with all crewmen of both planes killed in action. 10 KIA. - 13 Nov 1943. MACR 2179. Col. Stewart and his crew returned, first, to Britain and, then, to Fort Worth, Texas, in the B-24D, Bomerang, with Lt. Royden LeBrecht and his crew, flying their plane, The Squaw, and Lt. John S. Young and his crew, who flew the B-24D, The Blue Streak, to Britain, and back to Fort Worth, Texas, for a war bond tour of America in 1944.
Connections
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Units served with

- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment

- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People

- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner

- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner

- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19074500 / O-733155
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
Places
Missions
- Date: 13 November 1943

- 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: - Sleepy - The Squaw
- Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 98th Bomb Group 343rd Bomb Squadron

- 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 Duchess - Evelyn
- Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron

- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: - The Vulgar Virgin - Hell From Heaven - Shoot Youre Faded
- Unit: 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Crashed Failed to Return (FTR) |
Bremen, Germany | 13 November 1943 | Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Bremen, en route to target suffered a mid air collision with the B-24D, 42-40765. 10 x KIA. 13 Nov 43. MACR 2179. |
Manufactured |
San Diego, TX 78384, USA | Built at Consolidated. | |
Delivered |
Texas, USA | Delivered to USAAF. | |
Assigned |
Hardwick, Cambridge CB23, UK | Assigned to the 330th Bomb Squadron, the 93rd Bomb Group, and the 8th Air Force, USAAF. |
Revisions
Black Sunday-Ploesti - Michael Hill
Punctuation. - Kickapoo
Added information. - Kickapoo
Airplane name changes, and details changed for accuracy. - Kickapoo
Spelling and word spacing. - Kickapoo
Punctuation changes. Details added. - Kickapoo
Details added. - Kickapoo
Changed all instances of aircraft name into sentence case to as per best practice for accessibility.
Into The Fire - Duane Schultz
Black Sunday - Michael Hill
Punctuation, spelling, and spacing of aircraft names for clarity and accuracy. - Kickapoo
Changed all instances of aircraft name into sentence case to as per best practice for accessibility.
Black Sunday - Michael Hill
Best Web - B-24 - JOISEY BOUNCE - UTAH MAN
Best Web - B-24 - 'Joisey Bounce' - 'Utah Man'
Best Web - B-24 - 'Joisey Bounce' - 'Utah Man'
Black Sunday - Michael Hill
Black Sunday - Michael Hill
Into the Fire - Duane Schultz
Into The fire - Duane Schultz
Black Sunday - Michael Hill
He Brought Us Home -- Capt. John S. Young
Black Sunday -- Michael Hill Into The Fire -- Duane Schultz
He Brought Us Home -- Capt. John S. Young
B24bestweb.com
MACR 2179 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database