The B-24D, 42-40768, named, Pistol Packin' Mama's, regularly assigned command pilot was Lt. Robert O'Reilly and Copilot Lt. Lewis Ellis, and was part of the 8th Air Force and the 389th Bomb Group, and the 565th Bomb Squadron, sent down from Britain to help fly the large mission to bomb the Romanian oil refineries at Ploesti. They arrived overseas at Benghazi, Libya, June 29, 1943. And, Pistol Packin' Mama, flew it's first mission in the MTO on 9 Jul 43. It was scheduled to make the Ploesti mission, but was scratched due to mechanical problems. It flew a total of 14 combat missions for the 389th Bomb Group in the Mediterranean theater. Lt. Lewis Ellis flew the Ploesti mission as command pilot in the B-24D, Daisy Mae, and returned safely to home base at Benina Airfield, Benghazi, Libya. 1 Aug 43. The, Pistol Packin' Mama, landed at Lisbon, Portugal, with engine trouble on 2 Jul 43, en route from Portreath to North Africa and was interned. Shown as MIA. 28 Aug 43.



Note: "Pistol Packin’ Mama", was a popular name for the artistically decorated WW2 bomber planes, inspired by one of the very popular and bestselling songs of WW2, recorded by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters, and many more. Always check aircraft serial numbers for correct identification of airplanes with common and popular names because there will often be duplicate planes with the same, or similar names, or, even triplicate planes with the same popular name.