"Flying Flivver", 42-52345, crashed at Metkovic, Rumania, 21 April 1944,  after a raid on Bucharest. Entire crew was taken POW.

Two photos above of A/C 41-29312 "Raunchy But Right", crashed 3 April 1944. "Assigned to me at Hamilton Field, CA in Dec. 1943 for 745th Sqd, 456th Bomb Group, 304th Wing, 15th Air Force. Aircraft crashed April 3, 1944, (returning from a bombing mission to Budapest, Hungary) 4 miles north of "Newbox" runway after losing 3 engines at about 700 ft. Serious injuries but all survived. Heavy damage to aircraft. Ran out of fuel with runway in sight. We named it " Raunchy But Right". It was a total loss and scrapped. Ed Moore was crew chief. Roy A. Lassiter AO-745912." Photos taken by / courtesy of T/Sgt. George Dancisak, via Dave Abner.

Crew of the "Lonesome Polecat," S/N 42-78098, of the 747th Squadron. Note the rough, rocky terrain on which the aircraft is parked. This photo was furnished by Frank Gagliostro, tail gunner, via Bill Kane. Crew pilot was Lawrence J. Ceretti. No other information available.

The Donald C. Manlove crew of "Curly Top," S/N 42-64487, of the 746th Squadron. Note the steel matting runway surface on which the aircraft is parked. The crew consisted of 1st Lt  Donald C. Manlove, pilot; MSgt Oscar Ahlstrand, Jr, engineer; 1st Lt Kenneth A. Bein, bombardier; SSgt Theodore Campbell, nose turret; SSgt James C. Cheatham, tail turret; SSgt James Dougherty, ball turret; 2d Lt Donald D. Fuller, co-pilot; TSgt Charles J. Kelly, top turret; MSgt Juney L. Patterson, radio operator; 1st Lt Arthur Serafinski, navigator.

Aircraft 42-64499, believed to have been named "Taboo," as photographed by TSgt Dancisak just prior to its fatal flat spin from the sky over Ploesti on mission 45, 5 May 1944. The wing was severed by the impact of the body of SSgt Bill Garcia who had jumped from the flak stricken "Yo-Yo," 42-78235.  

Below is the same photo as shown in the 456th Bomb Group Photo Album from 1945, but with a caption driven by the needs of the propaganda of the times. The aircraft never recovered and all crew were lost. The entire photo album can be viewed on this site here.

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