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41-11761
B-24 Liberator
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B-24 #4111761 "The Squaw", famed Liberator of 71 missions in the Mediterranean area, grounded and surrounded by large crowd.
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B-24 Liberator #4111761 'The Squaw' 'Sleepy' 343rd BS, 98th BG, 9th AF. Survivor of 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid. Returned to the USA for war bonds tour.
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B-24 #4111761 'The Squaw' took part in the low level Ploesti mission and was flown by the Royden LeBrecht crew.
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Major Joe M. Kilgore standing next to the famous B-24 Liberator, #4111761 "The Squaw". Kilgore is looking at the list of decorations won by the crew members of "The Squaw" during it's 71 missions in the Middle East.
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Image of three aviation crew members standing below the fuselage of the famous B-24 Liberator, #4111761 "The Squaw". Above the men are the awards presented to the AAF men who successfully covered 71 missions without a casualty. L to R is: S/Sgt Paul E Davidson, Lt Clinton H. Killian, and S/Sgt Adney J Harmon.
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Four gunners who protected B-24 #4111761 "The Squaw" on 35 of it's 71 missions. The gunners are looking out of the waist window of "The Squaw" with a 50 Cal next to them. Left to right: Sergeant Weir, Sergeant Givens, Sergeant Rielly, and Sergeant Guana.
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Crew standing and sitting atop of the famous B-24 Liberator, #4111761 "The Squaw", that successfully covered 71 missions without a casualty.
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Lieutenant Albert J. Mickish standing beside B-24 #4111761 "The Squaw" that successfully covered 71 missions without a casualty.
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L to R Capt Royden L LeBrecht, 1LT Albert J. Mickish (L), Perry, OK - bombardier aboard B-24D serial 41-11761 "The Squaw" of the 343rd Bomb Sq, 98th BG. Standing with him is MSGT John R. Dowdy. Taken during a stopover at Fort Worth Army Air Field, part of a two-ship team with "The Blue Streak" visiting the local Consolidated factory on a War Bond tour.
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Back Row L to R Gen Hoyt S Vanderberg P 1st Lt Royden L Lebrecht, Denison, TX C 1st Lt Clinton H Killian, Roosevelt, Utah N 1st Lt Grover A Zink, Qron, Kansas B 1st Lt Albert J Mickish, Perry, OK Lt Col Robert H Parham Radio T/Sgt JohnR Reilly, Utica, NY Front Row L to R E T/Sgt Harold F Weir, Lapeer, MI Rad Ast S/Sgt Paul E Davidson, Springfield, Mo Ast Eng S/Sgt John A Givens Jr, Louis, Mo Crew Chief M/Sgt Paul T Bashis, Cambridge, Mass Tail S/Sgt John Gunnu, Albany, NY Gunner S/Sgt Adney J Harmon, Sacco, Maine
B-24 Liberator #4111761 'The Squaw' flew on the 1st Aug 43 Ploesti raid, recovering to Cyprus, piloted by Royden L Lebrecht. On completion of its tour, returned to Fort Worth, TX, USA for a war bond tour.
Service
Units
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98th Bomb Group
Group
The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B-24 Liberators during the first half of 1942. ... -
343rd Bomb Squadron
Squadron
Established as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomb squadron and trained by Third Air Force. Deployed to Egypt in June 1942 over South Atlantic Transport Route transiting from Morrison Field, Florida though the Caribbean to Brazil; performed trans-Atlantic...
People
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Paul Bashis
Military | Master Sergeant | Crew Chief
Crew Chief on B-24 Liberator #4111761 'The Squaw' flew on the 1st Aug 43 Ploesti raid, recovering to Cyprus. On completion of its tour A/C, returned to Fort Worth, TX, USA for a war bond tour. -
Paul Davidson
Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner
Crew member B-24 #4111761 'Little Squaw' flew on the 1st Aug 43 Ploesti raid, diverted to Cypress. Returned to Fort Worth, TX, USA for war bonds tour with A/C. -
John Givens
Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner
Crew member B-24 #4111761 'Little Squaw' flew on the 1st Aug 43 Ploesti raid, diverted to Cypress. Returned to Fort Worth, Texas, USA for war bonds tour with A/C. -
John Gunnu
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner
Crew member B-24 #4111761 'Little Squaw' flew on the 1st Aug 43 Ploesti raid, diverted to Cypress. Returned to Fort Worth, TX, USA for war bonds tour with A/C. -
Adney Harmon
Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner
Crew member B-24 #4111761 'Little Squaw' flew on the 1st Aug 43 Ploesti raid, diverted to Cypress. Returned to Fort Worth, TX, USA for war bonds tour with A/C. -
Joe Kilgore
Military | Major | Pilot
Joe Madison Kilgore (December 10, 1918 – February 10, 1999) served from 1955 to 1965 as a U.S. Representative from Texas's 15th congressional district. Born in Brown County, near Brownwood in west central Texas, Kilgore attended the public schools of... -
Clinton Killian
Military | First Lieutenant | Co Pilot
Co Pilot B-24 #4111761 'Little Squaw' flew on the 1st Aug 43 Ploesti raid, diverted to Cypress. Returned to USA for war bonds tour with A/C. -
Royden LeBrecht
Military | Captain | Pilot
Pilot B-24 #4111761 'Little Squaw' flew on the 1st Aug 43 Ploesti raid, diverted to Cypress. Returned to USA for war bonds tour with A/C. -
Albert Mickish
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier
Bombardier B-24 #4111761 'Little Squaw' flew on the 1st Aug 43 Ploesti raid, diverted to Cypress. Returned to Fort Worth, TX, USA for war bonds tour with A/C. -
John Reilly
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator
Radio Operator B-24 #4111761 'Little Squaw' flew on the 1st Aug 43 Ploesti raid, diverted to Cypress. Returned to Fort Worth, Texas, USA for war bonds tour with A/C.
Missions
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Operation Tidal Wave
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57 B...
Places
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Benina
Military site : airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Survived Ploesti | Ploiești, Romania | 1 August 1943 |
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B-24 Liberator #4111761 'The Squaw' flew on the 1st Aug 43 Ploesti raid, recovering to Cyprus, piloted by Royden L Lebrecht. |
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| Assigned | Benghazi, Libya | |
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343 BS, 98 BG, 9 AF. |
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| War Bond Tour | Fort Worth, TX, USA | |
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B-24 Liberator #4111761 'The Squaw' returned to Fort Worth, TX, USA for a war bond tour. |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 21 November 2016 04:51:38 | 466thHistorian | Changes to production block number, nicknames, unit associations and place associations |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 31 March 2015 18:38:12 | Al_Skiff | Changes to events |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 31 March 2015 17:20:03 | Al_Skiff | Created entry with serial number, aircraft type, production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, description, events, unit associations, person associations, mission associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
