The B-24D Liberator, 42-40127, was flown on Operation Tidal Wave to Ploesti by Lt. Charles T. Merrill and his crew, with the 329th Bomb Squadron, the 93rd Bomb Group, TDY to the 9th Air Force, to Ploesti, supposedly, returning to Benghazi, Libya, safe but not unscathed. 1 Aug 1943. - See note at the end of this biography.

- The 1 Aug 43, damage report for A/C [42-40127] : "Bulkhead in fuselage badly damaged by [a 40mm flak round]. Elevator control cables damaged. AFCE rudder, elevator, and trim tab control cables damaged. Left vertical stabilizer damaged by light flak. Leading edge left wing damaged by barrage balloon cable."

On another mission the A/C [42-40127] took a direct 88mm hit in the [ball] turret well aft of the bomb bay. No ball turrets were carried [on the Ploesti mission], so the crew used this space to store their heavy flying clothes and other supplies. The shell detonated in those clothes, and the concussion knocked all the gunners to the floor and knocked the tail gunner from his tail turret.

After its return to the ETO, the B-24D, 42-40127, was given a new crew and the name, Bucket of Bolts, and was also given further missions. Later, the airplane was declared "War Weary", and renamed, First Sergeant, and became a high visibility assembly ship for the 458th Bomb Group.

On, 27 May 44, while preparing for a mission, 42-40127, was destroyed by a fire on the ground at Horsham St. Faith/Sta 123, England, caused by a radio operator accidently discharging a flare gun at his station. Four crew members on board escaped the fire via the open bomb bay, with the pilot and engineer suffering 2nd degree facial burns.

Note : "Literally every book on [Operation] Tidal Wave claims the B-24D-30-CO, 42-40127, a verified Ploesti participant, was named either, Thar She Blows, or, Thar She Blows Again. The confusion comes, initially, from the 93rd Bomb Group’s, 1 Jul 1943, letter listing the nicknames for all 93rd Bomb Group ships in the [Libyan] desert, which states, "42-40127, was named, Thar She Blows." Further confusion has arisen, since it is conclusively documented that Capt. Chuck Merrill flew, 42-40127, to Ploesti, and that he had previously flown a ship named, Thar She Blows. "Official" letter and all that, right ? " - Dave Klause

"But the [aircraft's] name [Thar She Blows, and, Thar She Blows Again] is not correct, and here’s why. The actual [photographic] proof [of the airplane in question, 42-40127], is immutable, but there are still some open questions at the bottom of this article. It is now very clear that neither, Thar She Blows, nor, Thar She Blows Again, were ever the same ship as, 42-40127." - Contributor : Col. David H. Klause, USAF, Ret.