Consolidated (Ford) B-24J-20-FO Liberator 44 …

1 !!! ! Consolidated ( ford ) B-24J-20-FO Liberator 44-48816 "Ginnie" !! !! Consolidated ( ford ) B-24M-10-FO Liberator "721" 44-50721 !! ! Consolidated (Douglas-Tulsa) B-24H-1-DT Liberator 41-28610"Curly" !Aircraft of the 453rd Page D1!!Aircraft of the 453rd !Forward !My interest in aircraft at Old Buckenham started several years ago and recently David Moth and I have been involved in creating a web-based photographic record of visiting aircraft, OLDBUCKSHOTS . !With December 2013 being the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the 453rd Bomb Group, I thought it appropriate to try to put together a record of all the B24 Liberators that were based at Old Buckenham during World War II. I was particularly interested in recording the individual aircraft identities including the names the crews gave their aircraft.

2 (Details of missions flown and aircrews are already well covered in existing publications.) !My initial research was based on what I was able to glean from existing published material, and, as far as I am aware, the information I have put together in this booklet is not available in this format anywhere else. !The project became even more interesting when I had the pleasure of meeting Pat Ramm who, as a schoolboy during the war, was a frequent visitor to Old Buckenham airfield. He very kindly allowed me to copy his large collection of photographs and also shared his clear memories of the period with me. This spurred me on to undertake more thorough research, the results of which I am now able to share with you. !I am also indebted to the generous help from the members of the 453rd Memorial Association in particular to Tom Brittan for sharing his personal records and also to Tim Ramsey, without whom this booklet would not have been possible.

3 !Information and records from this period are far from complete. Should you be able to add any more details, or provide photographs, I will be only too pleased to hear from you. !!!Keith Sowter December 2013 Aircraft of the 453rd Page D2!!Aircraft of the 453rd !Index !!!!!ForewordPage 2 IntroductionPage 4 Detailed List of Known AircraftPage 5 List of Known Aircraft Serial orderPage 52 List of LossesPage 59 List of Unidentified AircraftPage 62 Long Serving AircraftPage 63 Aircraft of the 453rd Page D3!Aircraft of the 453rd !Introduction !Personnel of the 453rd arrived at Old Buckenham the week before Christmas 1943. The exact date of the first B24 arriving is not known but is believed to have been 2nd January 1944. A total of 60 aircraft are thought to have been delivered before the Group started operations on 5th February 1944.

4 By the end of the war over 200 different aircraft had been attributed to the Group !Initially the Unit Identification code was a Black J in a white circle painted on the Tail Stabilisers and Right Upper Wing surfaces. Later in 1944 the tail markings were changed to all black with a diagonal white band . !The 453rd Bomb Group was made up of 4 Bomb Squadrons 732 coded E3 733 coded F8 734 coded E8 735 coded H6 !The unit code was carried on the either side of the rear fuselage, with the aircraft serial number facing inwards on both the rear stabilisers !Aircraft assigned to each Squadron carried its own RCL ( Radio Call-sign Letter) on the Tail Stabiliser. !Many aircraft were unofficially named by their crews and carried nose art mainly on the port side of the aircraft !

5 The unit operated the B24 Liberator throughout its stay. Various models were operated including the B24D, B24H, B24J, B24L and B24M variants. The aircraft were supplied in two colour schemes OD Olive Drab or NMF Natural Metal Finish !The 453rd carried out its 259th and last mission on 11th April 1945 receiving orders to stand down the following day. All the aircraft departed Old Buckenham shortly thereafter. !Aircraft of the 453rd Page D4!!Detailed Aircraft Histories !Below is a list of B24s that have been confirmed as having been flown by the 453rd whilst flying out of Old Buckenham . Aircraft are listed in numerical order based on the last 3 digits of the Serial Number. !Each record below gives details ( where known) of the Aircraft Type, Serial , Call Sign Letters , Bomb Sqdn.

6 No., Code and Aircraft Finish . Followed by further information. !B-24H-20 DT 41-29005 I+ 734 E8 DOLLY'S SISTER NMF I- 734 E8 First trace: 7 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from I+ to I- between 13 & 19 May 44. Lost 21 Nov 44 - landed at Bulltofta (Malm ), SWEDEN, having lost an engine over the target. (Hamburg) MACR 10406 Brought back to England on 28 May 45. !B-24H-20 FO 42-95019 T+ 735 H6 OD First trace: 25 Apr 44. Lost 25 Apr 44 on its only mission - flown by a 733rd BS crew, last sighted in the vicinity of Paris and believed to have exploded in mid-air after being hit by flak over France. (Mannheim) MACR 4305 !B-24J-125 CO 42-110025 P+ 735 H6 OD P+ 734 E8 Assignment under 2 BD Operations Order #23 dated 2 Apr 44 confirming VOGC 30 Mar 44.

7 First trace: 30 Mar 44. Transferred from 735th to 734th BS on 1 May 44. Lost 8 May 44 - collided in mid-air (under fighter attack) with 42-50278 and exploded - went down in a meadow 1 km NE of T ndern, 5 km S of Hameln, and burned out. (Brunswick) MACR 4598 !B-24H-25 FO 42-95047 N 733 F8 NMF M+ 733 F8 First trace: 12 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from N to M+ between 7 & 12 Jul 44. Fitted with RCM equipment on 19 Oct 44 or earlier. Repaired at Lympne (Ashford), Kent, 26 May - 22 Jun 44 - battle damage on 25 May 44 mission to Troyes, France. Lost 19 Oct 44 - received a direct hit by flak over the target, rolled over, caught fire and spiralled down in a slow spin. Crashed at Kalkheim im Taunus. (Mainz) MACR 10177 !Aircraft of the 453rd Page D5B-24J-130 CO 42-110047 B 732 E3 HUMPSHOT OD Q 732 E3 X 732 E3 Assignment under 2 BD Operations Order #23 dated 2 Apr 44 confirming VOGC 31 Mar 44.

8 First trace: 8 Apr 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from B to Q between 8 & 13 Jul 44 and from Q to X between 19 Sep & 22 Oct 44. 467th Sub-Depot determined fuel leak and changed nose turret 7 - 14 Feb 45. On 7 Apr 45 mission to D neberg, landed at Woodbridge, Suffolk, where nose gear was repaired 7 - 11 Apr 45. Transferred to 467th BG after 11 Apr 45. !B-24H-25 FO 42-95048 W+ 735 H6 JABBER-WOCK! NMF W- 735 H6 First trace: 6 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from W+ to W- between 9 & 11 May 44. Lost 7 Jul 44 - caught in intense and accurate flak, went down at Mendenheim. (Halle) MACR 7226 !!B-24 JSH-5 FO 42-51063 Y 732 E3 DANNY BOY NMF ex 389th BG - kept YO squadron code - first trace in 453rd BG: 15 Jan 45. Transferred to 93rd BG after 26 Feb 45.

9 !B-24J-145 CO 44-40072 A- 734 E8 B T O NMF ex 489th BG, originally 492nd BG with which it flew 29 missions. First trace with 453rd BG: 11 Dec 44. Fitted with RCM equipment from 29 Jan 45 or earlier. Repaired at Leiston, Suffolk, 11 Jan 45 - hydraulic system damaged on 10 Jan 45 mission to Steinbr ck. Landed at B-51, Lille/Vendeville, France, on 16 Jan 45. Returned with a runaway propeller and landed at Tibenham on 29 Jan 45 mission to Hamm - nose wheel collapsed. Nose turret changed from Consolidated MPC A-6B to Emerson A-15 by 467th Sub-Depot, Old Buckenham, 23 & 24 Feb 45. Last trace with 453rd BG: 11 Apr 45. Transferred to 466th BG with which it was RZI. !!B-24H-25 FO 42-95073 Y 735 H6 FLYING HOME NMF Unk 732 E3 Departed 29 May 44. First trace in 453rd BG: 7 Oct 44 - where was it from May 44 Transferred from 735th to 732nd BS on 1 Apr 45.

10 Fitted with S-27 special radio equipment from 15 Mar 45 or earlier. Aircraft of the 453rd Page D6 Repaired at Framlingham, Suffolk, 29 Jan - 8 Feb 45 - # 4 engine having landed there on return from 28 Jan 44 mission to Dortmund due to bad weather, #4 engine out and flak damage. Transferred to 467th BG between 9 & 25 Apr 45. !B-24H-25 FO 42-95076 C 732 E3 LACE NMF N 732 E3 First trace: 9 May 44. Individual aircraft letter changed from C to N between 8 & 11 Jul 44. Fitted with RCM equipment from 12 Dec 44 or earlier. Repaired at Beccles, Suffolk, 21 Oct - 9 Nov 44 - #1 engine, main landing gear wheel and battle damage (no record on missions between 9 Oct 44 when it aborted after 1h04, and 21 Oct 44) Crashed 21 Jan 45 at Shadoxhurst, near Kingsnorth, Kent. (Heilbronn) Salvaged 22 - 24 Jan 45 - left main landing gear gave out.