B-26 41-17792 "NANA" crashed on 8 July, 1943 take-off for the Massicault, Tunisia mission. The pilot was Lt. Robert C. Burns, copilot Douglas Taylor was injured, one or more vertebra were broken or cracked. Taylor was confined to a body cast and returned to duty in September 1943. Taylor is the send from the left the remaining crew are not identified. Note: This photo was scanned in 2004 from 35mm negatives discovered the Taylor Family collection. Damage due from improper handling and storage.

1st Lieutenant Douglas Newton Taylor, presumably at the 320th Bomb Groups' operational base in Tafaraoui, Algeria. The date on assumed to be on or about March 1943. He flew 20 Combat missions with the 444th Bomb Squadron until he suffered a back injury in a crash landing on 8 July 1943. He remained with the Group and was pilot of the Group’s courier aircraft until 1945. At the end of the war, Doug landed near Barth, West Pomerania, Germany to transport freed POWs from Stalag Luft I. One of the former prisoners was Francis Stanley "Gabby" Gabreski of the 56th Fighter Group.

8 July, 1943 41-17792 crashed Massicault, Tunisia on takeoff piloted by Lt. Robert C. Burns. Copilot Douglas Taylor was injured, one or more vertebra were broken or cracked. Taylor was confined to a body cast and returned to duty in September 1943. Taylor is the send from the left the remaining crew are not identified. This photograph was scanned from the original 35mm negatives in the Taylor family collection.

1LT Douglas Newton Taylor, unrecorded date and place, most likely Algeria or Tunisia in 1943 - Doug flew 20 Combat missions until he suffered a back injury in a crash landing on 8 July 1943. He remained with the Group and was pilot of the Group’s courier aircraft until 1945. At the end of the war, Doug landed near Barth, West Pomerania, Germany to transport freed POWs from Stalag Luft I. One of the former prisoners was Francis Stanley "Gabby" Gabreski of the 56th Fighter Group.

Douglas New Taylor, Aviation Cadet, Shaw Field, SC, May, 1942

Douglas Newton Taylor was born in New Haven, CT on 19 February 1915. His mother passed away when Doug and his brother Howard were young. Their father, Albert, was an engineer working in the Central Americas, so Doug and Howard lived with their aunt in Columbus, OH. They attended Ohio State University and served with Ohio National Guard, Doug reaching the rank of Master Sergeant. Doug had obtained his private pilot’s license and began Aviation Cadet training 9 December 1941, then was assigned the B-26 Operational Training Unit, McDill Field, Tampa, FL. In early 1943 he met Quinnelle Bass [nickname Quinney] in nearby Lakeland; she was in the U.S, Army working on recruiting campaigns and considered a radio pioneer, the first women in broadcasting in the Southern US. They married on 2 February prior to Doug’s deployment to the 320th Bomb Group in North Africa. On March 12 he departed Mobile, Alabama crossed the Gulf of Mexico, flew over Tarpon Springs, Florida and dropped a note tied to a rock [See photo: Object number UPL 45125]. He eventually flew the South Atlantic Air Route to join the 320th Bomb Group in Tafaraoui, Algeria. Doug he served with the 444th Bomb Squadron, and then pilot of the Group’s courier service aircraft until end of the War. He flew 20 Combat missions, 4 as Group lead, with the 444th Bomb Squadron until he suffered a back injury in the crash landing of 41-17792 “NANA” [See Photo: Object number UPL 45122] on 8 July 1943. He remained with the Group as pilot of their courier aircraft [See photo: Object number UPL 45132 “Li'L Woman”, tail number: 43-49203] until War’s end. At the end of the war, Doug landed near Barth, West Pomerania, Germany to transport freed POWs from Stalag Luft I. One of the former prisoners was Francis Stanley "Gabby" Gabreski of the 56th Fighter Group. Doug remained in the Air Force serving tours in the 36th Fighter-Bomber Wing, commanded by BG Robert L. Scott, in Furstenfeldbruk, Germany, later Ashiya Air Field, Japan, and finally in 1963 to Langley Air Force Base where retired.

B-26 41-17792 “NANA” following a crash on takeoff from Massicault, Tunisia the personnel in this image are unidentified. The pilot was Lt. Robert C. Burns. Copilot Douglas Taylor was injured, one or more vertebra were broken or cracked. Taylor was confined to a body cast and returned to duty in September 1943. Taylor is the send from the left the remaining crew are not identified. This photograph was scanned from the original 35mm negatives in the Taylor family collection.