Jesse Pettey has found some very interesting information
about his old B-24 Liberator, 59 years later.
by Jesse Pettey
Book Review
B-24 Liberator Bomber Books
the One More Mission
Tour Below
Photo Scanned by C. Jeff
Dyrek
This top photo is the original B-24 Liberator Shady
Lady
where the bottom photo is the new Shady Lady B-24
Liberator number 2
| If you enjoy
war-time coincidences, this might interest you:
Several weeks
ago, while reviewing links to my book website, ONE MORE MISSION, from other
B-24 websites, I accidentally came across a photograph of a B-24 named
the SHADY LADY. The nose art work was identical to the painting on
my aircraft, also the SHADY LADY -- yet it was a different airplane.
In 1944, I
was ordered to fly a new
B-24 just off the assembly line from San
Francisco to Goia, Italy, where it was to be outfitted for combat,
and then to fly it on to our air base near Cerignola, Italy. The
airplane would then be our personal airplane for bombing missions.
While it was being outfitted with guns, bomb rack, and other instruments
during its stay at Goia, our air crew decided to hire a sergeant who was
stationed in Goia to paint a photo of a SHADY LADY on either side
of the nose of our aircraft. At that time, crews were very attached
to and proud of their airplane. We flew her on eight missions
before another crew, assigned to fly it on 8/24/44, crashed it near Pesaro,
Italy. They were shot down by flak. See Photo:
Imagine my
surprise when I found a photo of a B-24 with the same nose art but with
a different serial number and assigned to a different bomb group.
How was it possible that a strange and different B-24 would display
the same nose art -- that a photo of it would be submitted to the "B-24
Best Website"? I e mailed the person who had submitted the
photo and asked if he had any information about this aircraft. He
replied that he collects B-24 nose art, mostly from the 10th Air Force,
and had no information about this airplane. He could not even remember
how he had acquired this photo. See his photo below ( I do
not recognize the man in the photo, perhaps he is the sergeant who painted
it):
I again
went to the website where the photo is displayed and discovered that the
B-24 had been attached to the 451st Bomb Group, 727th Squadron of the 15th
Air Force. I was assigned to the 461st Bomb Group, 766th Squadron
of the 15th Air Force. Upon further research, I found that the 451st
Bomb Group was stationed in Goia, Italy and had flow many missions with
my bomb group. It then became apparent to me that -- not only was
it possible but more than likely -- the same sergeant, who was also
stationed in Goia, had painted both airplanes -- no doubt using the same
stencil for both. Of course, he was not supposed to do that
since we had paid him to paint our aircraft with an original painting and
had believed it was original for all these many years. But during
wartime, who would ever discover his betrayal of our trust?
I did but,
Not until 59
years later!
AND THAT IS
THE END OF THE STORY.
(I wish
I had know this and written about it in my book, ONE MORE MISSION, before
publishing it).
Jesse Pettey
Write
to Jesse Pettey here
Click Here's
another real good B-24 Liberator link and story
Read about the B-24 Liberators in the
8th Air Force in WW2
|
Jesse Pettey
To
Order this Book
One
More Mission: A Journey from Childhood to War
by Jesse Pettey
I really enjoyed reading about this young boy's life in east
Texas during the Depression. Gives one a good idea of what life was really like
back then. The small town boy then grows up to go fight in a world war as a
bomber pilot. Interesting accounts of each mission he flew over Europe. A
well-written book.
With a special interest in World War II and the 461st
Bombardment Group in particular, I found this book excellent. Most of the men
who fought during WWII were in their late teens and early 20s. It's amazing to
be able to read about their activities.
I highly recommend this book for readers of any age. However
it was particularly interesting to me as a fellow member of the same squadron
and group. We were both on many of the same missions and his recollections
matched my own. An excellent contrast of what bomb raids were like in those days
with 700-800 bombers compared to more precision bombing done today with far, far
fewer planes. The first half of the book describes life in the 20's, 30's and
40's in Texas. Although my experiences were in NJ many were similar and for
those not living in those times a glimpse of what it was like. |
B-24 Liberator Movies
B-24 Liberator Models
B-24 Liberator Books
B-24
Liberator Aviation Art
|
|
Made of Philippine mahogany, this 1/72 scale model measures 12"
in length and has a wingspan of 18½". Hand painted
and detailed, model comes ready to display on the included mahogany
base.
.....#0009297
|
|
Interesting
Books that you can buy
|
Book
Description
The Consolidated B-24
Liberator first saw combat in June of 1942, making a daring raid into
Nazi-occupied Romania to bomb the oil fields at Ploesti. Nearly 18,500
Liberators were built during the war years, making it by far the most-produced
American combat aircraft. It served in many roles beyond heavy bomber,
transport, and anti-submarine patrol, and flew in Africa, Europe, India, the
Atlantic, India and the Pacific Theatre. Originally printed by the United States
Army Air Force in 1942, the
B-24 Liberator Pilot's
Flight Operating Manual taught pilots everything they needed to know before
entering the cockpit. Originally classified "Restricted", the manual was
declassified long ago and is here reprinted in book form. This affordable
facsimile has been reformatted, and color images appear as black and white. Care
has been taken however to preserve the integrity of the text. |
1855327813B-24
Liberator Units of the Pacific War
Born out of an approach made by the US Army Air Corps to Consolidated
for a bomber with superior performance to the
B-17, the Liberator
was built in record numbers as the Allies' most abundant heavy bomber.
From the first to see combat, the B-24D, to the ultimate Liberator,
the heavily modified PB4Y-2 Privateer, all navy versions are featured in
this, the first of four volumes on the
B-24 family.
Book Description
Ever present in the Pacific from Pearl Harbor to VJ-Day, the B-24 Liberator
proved to be the staple heavy bomber of the campaign. From its ignominious
beginnings in the Allied rout in the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies, the
bomber weathered the Japanese storm with a handful of bomb groups, which played
a crucial role in checking the enemy's progress firstly in New Guinea, and then
actively participating in the 'island hopping' campaign through the south-west
Pacific. |
ie=UTF8&location=http:// amazone.com/s?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=B-24+Nose+Art+Name+Directory&Go.x=11&Go.y=11&tag=&linkCode=ur2&ca" target="_blank">
B-24 Liberator Nose Art Name Directory
Forman.
A companion to the same author's
B-17 nose art
and name directory. This
volume details the Group, Squadron, serial number and photo availability
of over 9,000 WWII B-24 Liberators. Great for the historian, researcher
and model builder. 32 pages of vintage photos. 8½"x
11", 192 pgs., sfbd. A must for B-24 Liberator Buffs! Wally has expanded his
format to include data on AF Wings and their component bomb groups for most of
the USAAF. His B-17 Nose Art Directory was concerned with the 8th, 15th, and
20th AFs. And rather than searching the total list for group aircraft he has
listed the a/c assigned to each group by group number. Definitely a source book
for important data (names, serial numbers, photo availability) on this aircraft. |
|
Click Here
for B-24 Liberator Exhibits. One More Mission
by Jessie Petty
Click Here for the Willow Run Exhibit, Production of the B-24 Liberator, by
Warren B. Kidder |
|
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