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41-11766

B-24 Liberator

  • B-24 Liberator #41-11766 'Chug A Lug' 345th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF, flew in 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by LeRoy B Morgan, returning safely to Libya.

    B-24 Liberator #41-11766 'Chug A Lug' 345th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF, flew in 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by LeRoy B Morgan, returning safely to Libya.

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  • B-24 Liberator #41-11766 'Chug A Lug' 345th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF, flew in 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by LeRoy B Morgan, returning safely to Libya. Photo taken on war bond tour. Crew left to right: Front row T/Sgt. Richard A Kraham of Cooperstown, NY radio operator; S/Sgt. John I White of Plainview Arkansas, waist gunner 2nd Row: S/Sgt. John Martko, Mainville, NJ tailgunner; 1st Lt Charles B Hill Shreveport, LA navigator; 1st Lt John W Childers, Talent, OR co-pilot; 1st Lt Reuben J Weltha, Roland, IA pilot; S/Sgt. Donald F Swanson, Walsenberg, CO, waist gunner; 1st Lt Richard J Morrow, Madison, WI bombardier; S/Sgt Prentice Boston, Moundsville, WV, waist gunner; T/Sgt. Russel T Elkin, Markleysburg, PA Engineer, Sgt Boston and Elkin can be seen on top of the plane.

    B-24 Liberator #41-11766 'Chug A Lug' 345th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF, flew in 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by LeRoy B Morgan, returning safely to Libya. Photo taken on war bond tour. Crew left to right: Front row T/Sgt. Richard A Kraham of Cooperstown, NY radio operator; S/Sgt. John I White of Plainview Arkansas, waist gunner 2nd Row: S/Sgt. John Martko, Mainville, NJ tailgunner; 1st Lt Charles B Hill Shreveport, LA navigator; 1st Lt John W Childers, Talent, OR co-pilot; 1st Lt Reuben J Weltha, Roland, IA pilot; S/Sgt. Donald F Swanson, Walsenberg, CO, waist gunner; 1st Lt Richard J Morrow, Madison, WI bombardier; S/Sgt Prentice Boston, Moundsville, WV, waist gunner; T/Sgt. Russel T Elkin, Markleysburg, PA Engineer, Sgt Boston and Elkin can be seen on top of the plane.

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  • Nose art of B-24 Liberator #41-11766 'Chug A Lug' 345th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF, flew in 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by LeRoy B Morgan, returning safely to Libya.

    Nose art of B-24 Liberator #41-11766 'Chug A Lug' 345th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF, flew in 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by LeRoy B Morgan, returning safely to Libya.

    Show caption About this image
    1-5 of 6
  • Nose art of B-24 Liberator #41-11766 'Chug A Lug' 345th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF, flew in 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by LeRoy B Morgan, returning safely to Libya.

    Nose art of B-24 Liberator #41-11766 'Chug A Lug' 345th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF, flew in 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by LeRoy B Morgan, returning safely to Libya.

    Show caption About this image
    1-5 of 6
  • B-24 Liberator #41-11766 'Chug A Lug' 345th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF, flew in 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by LeRoy B Morgan, returning safely to Libya.

    B-24 Liberator #41-11766 'Chug A Lug' 345th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF, flew in 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by LeRoy B Morgan, returning safely to Libya.

    Show caption About this image
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  • T/Sgt James Van Ness at the nose of B-24 'Chug A Lug'.

    T/Sgt James Van Ness at the nose of B-24 'Chug A Lug'.

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Flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by Leroy B Morgan, returning to Libya, 1 KIA [T/Sgt James VanNess, NJ] and 2 WIA (2nd Lt Victor Larson - Navigator, and T/Sgt Robert L. Tipton - Engineer).

Service

Units

  • 9th Air Force

    9th Air Force

  • 98th Bomb Group

    98th Bomb Group

    Group
    The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B-24 Liberators during the first half of 1942. ...

  • 345th Bomb Squadron

    345th 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

  • Prentice Boston

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 345BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. John Childers crew. Completed tour. Returned to USA with B-24 'Chug A Lug' for war bonds tour. Awards: AM, PH, WWII Victory, EAME.

  • John Childers

    Military | First Lieutenant | Co-pilot | 98th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 345BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. Completed tour. Returned to USA with B-24 'Chug A Lug' for war bonds tour. Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.

  • Russell Elkin

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Flight engineer / Top turret | 98th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 345BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. John Childers crew. Completed tour. Returned to USA with B-24 'Chug A Lug' for war bonds tour. Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.

  • Charles Hill

    Military | Captain | Navigator | 98th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 345BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. Completed tour. Returned to USA with B-24 'Chug A Lug' for war bonds tour. Awards: DFC, AM, WWII Victory, EAME, UN and Korean medals. Post war: Served in Korean conflict.

  • Richard Kraham

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 98th Bomb Group
    Dick graduated from Cooperstown High School in 1940 where his exceptional baseball skills were noted by the New York Herald Tribune when they wrote an article about him that the "Birthplace of Baseball May Spawn Star." While working in advertising in...

  • Victor Larson

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator
    Navigator B-24 #41-11766 'Chug A Lug' flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by Leroy B Morgan, returning to Libya, WIA.

  • John Martko

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 345BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. Completed tour. Returned to USA with B-24 'Chug A Lug' for war bonds tour. Awards: AM (4OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.

  • Leroy Morgan

    Military | Captain | Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 345BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. Flew B-24 41-11766 'Chug A Lug', on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid. Awards: SS, DFC, AM (OLC), WWII Victory, EAME (three battle stars).

  • Richard Morrow

    Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Bombardier | 98th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 345BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. John Childers crew. Completed tour. Returned to USA with B-24 'Chug A Lug' for war bonds tour. Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.

  • Donald Swanson

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 345BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. John Childers crew. Completed tour. Returned to USA with B-24 'Chug A Lug' for war bonds tour. Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.

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Missions

  • 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

  • Benina

    Military site : airfield

Events

Event Location Date
Survived Ploesti Ploiești, Romania 1 August 1943

Flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by Leroy B Morgan, returning to Libya, 1 KIA / 2 WIA.
Assigned Benghazi, Libya

345th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF.
Nicknames
Chug A Lug
Production block number
B-24D-CO
Manufacturer
Consolidated
Markings and paint scheme/livery
Not yet known

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
21 November 2016 05:01:53 466thHistorian Changes to production block number, nicknames and place associations
Sources

http://www.forgottenairfields.com/italy/apulia/foggia/foggia-airfield-co...
Date Contributor Update
19 April 2015 16:01:43 Al_Skiff Changes to description and events
Sources

http://usaafdata.com / https://www.flickr.com
Date Contributor Update
19 April 2015 15:45:04 Al_Skiff Created entry with serial number, aircraft type, production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, description, events, unit associations, mission associations and media associations
Sources

http://usaafdata.com / https://www.flickr.com

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