448th BGroup B 24

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448th BGroup B 24

RED

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B-24 `LIBERATOR' GROUPS OF THE 8TH

Many pic's were attached to this file including formation ships. Five 5 pages on the 448th were included for some reason I have been unable to get a good transfer. See one page on the previous page

448th

BOMB GROUP

448th Bombardment Group (H)

Component Squadrons

Squadron Code

712th Sqn CT

713th Sqn IG

714nd Sqn EI

715th Sqn IO

Operational base:

Seething, Norfolk.

First mission

22nd December 1943

Last mission

25th April 1945

Total Combat Missions 262 missions

Group Markings

A white disc containing a dark blue, sometimes black, I on the outer vertical tails and upper right wing. From late May 1944 vertical tails were painted deep yellow with a black

diagonal band.

On this group, squadrons were further identified by a squadron symbol surrounding the individual call-letter.

712th Sqn -Triangle

713rd Sqn - Circle

714th Sqn - Square

715th Sqn - Diamond

Above: The 448th sets out on one of its early missions. This photo illustrates well the unique squadron symbols used on the tails in this group. The nearest plane is `Lady from Bristol' B-24 H-5-FO (42-52100) of the 714th Squadron. She carried the call letter F within a square, symbol for the 714th. She was lost on 25th February 1944 on a mission to Amiens, France.

Above: `The Flying Sac' B-24 J-135-CO (42-110098) sporting the diamond tail symbol of the 715th Squadron. She was photographed at Dubendorf, Switzerland, where she landed after being damaged in combat on 24th April 1944.

Left: The characters from Al Capp's comic strip `Dogpatch' were popular with Eighth Air Force crews. `Daisy Mae!!' was one of the prettier ones; officially B-24 F-20-FO (42-94972) CT-M of the 712th Squadron.

B-24 LIBERATOR

Left: Nine 500 pounders cascade from the bomb bay of `Brownie', a B-24 J-5-FO (42-50809) of the 714th Squadron. Note the blisters for the RCM aerials beneath the nose. In the J-5 block the glazed waist windows were deepened and the gun mount incorporated in the actual glazing.

Left: `Sonia' a B-24 H-25-FO sustained flak damage on the 19th October 1944 mission to Gustavsburg, Germany, but was repaired and saw out the rest of the war.

Below: `Fat Stuff II' B-24 H-1-FO (42-7591) trundles along the Seething perimeter track. When taxiing a B-24 it was normal practice for a crew member, usually the flight engineer, to sit or stand in the top hatch to advise pilots of obstacles which could be snagged by the wingtips. She was attached to the 712th Squadron and ended her war in Switzerland when she limped to Altenrhein severely damaged after combat on 12th July 1944.41

Right: The 448th also had a Lib with the tiger's head, this time adorning the nose of `Rugged But Right' B-24 H-20-FO (42-94953) of the 715th Squadron. She had previously served with the 492nd Bomb Group and flew back to the USA at the end of the war.

Below: One of the first unpainted, natural silver Libs at Seething was `Tarfu' B-24 J-145-CO (44-40099) of the 712th Squadron. She was photographed when visiting Wendling in her interim tail markings. She was lost over Germany on 25th March 1945.B-24 LIBERATOR 42

Above: `Mickey Ship' B-24 J-1-FO (42-50587) of the 712th Squadron, with her H2X radome lowered, heads for the target. She force landed on the continent on 11th December 1944 on the Hanau mission and was salvaged.

Above: `Achtung! Noon Balloon' B-24 M-5-FO (44-50540) EI-K of the 714th Squadron was another B-24 that survived the war.

Left: Two views of B-24 J-1-FO (42-95527) `4F'. 4F was the medical category which declared a man unfit for military service! Unfit or not, she survived the war with the 712nd Bomb Squadron.43

Above: Painted in yellow and black chequers `You Cawn't miss it' displays her plumage. Another ex- 93rd Bomb Group B-24 D-5-CO (41-23809) `Hellsadroppin II' she was used as the 448th Bomb Group assembly ship.

Assembly duty was not the only function these planes performed as they were used as hacks for transportation and other jobs.

Below and right: The replacement for `You Cawn't miss it', B-24 H-15-CF (41-29489) originally named `2nd Avenue El' she was painted in maroon and white segments divided by black lines.