42-40722 - The Little Gramper
Removed associations which are not depicted in the image. Associations to be made in the AIRCRAFT record.
Initially, the B-24D Liberator, 42-40723, The Little Gramper, was in the 8th Air Force, the 389th Bomb Group, and the 566th Bomb Squadron in Britain. It was temporarily deployed to North Africa and the 9th Air Force, and flew on the Ploesti oil refinery bombing mission piloted by Lt. Jack W. Dieterle and his Copilot Lt. Thomas Baum, returning safely to Libya. 1 Aug 43.
The airplane was transferred to the 491st Bomb Group, noted as,"War Weary", and it became 491st Group's first bomber formation assembly ship. It was repainted in a high visibility overall yellow paint scheme, with red polka dots and trim, which took many man hours. Most replacement aircraft for this duty were not as exotically decorated as, The Little Gramper, was. 15 May 44.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Flight Officer
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 36344292
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
Missions
- Date: 1 August 1943
- Official Description:
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: - Sand Witch
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Assigned |
Benghazi, Libya | 3 July 1943 | 566th BS, 389th BG, 8th AF. TDY 9th AF. |
Other Survived Ploesti |
Ploiești, Romania | 1 August 1943 | Flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by Lt. Jack W. Dieterle, returning safely to Libya. "I was the only ship to get back out of my flight and on the way back I didn't think I was going to make it into my home base because of my dwindling gas supply. I thought I was going to have to make a landing in the sea but as luck would have it I set my ship down on the old home grounds with sputtering engines, crew intact, and but one machine gun bullet in my number one engine to show for my efforts in the raid." |
Assigned |
Metfield AAF-366, | 15 May 1944 | Transferred to the 491st Bomb Group 15 May 44. Noted as War Weary repainted in high visibility paint scheme and became Group's first assembly ship. |
Other Struck off Charge SOC |
England, UK | 31 May 1945 | Struck off Charge, scrapped, England. |
Other Origin of Nickname |
It most likely was named by its first pilot, Jack Dieterle. Around his family, he sometimes referred to his plane as the "Little Grampus." "Gramper" is the Dutch variant of the word "grampus" which denotes Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus), which is the size of a whale and sometimes confused with a killer whale. The most famous grampus was Pelorus Jack, who was famous for piloting ships through perilous straights around New Zealand. The idea seems to have been that Jack (Dieterle), piloting a whale-like plane, aspired to lead his crew to safety through perilous straights. His mother Ruby, however, was very reluctant to tell people the name of her son's plane because she thought the obscure word had pornographic connotations. |
Revisions
389th Bomb Group (H) Aircraft Roster where the color is described as OD.
Duane Schultz, Into the Fire: Ploesti the Most Fateful Mission of World War II (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2007) 171-172.
Information is based upon my (Richard Lewis Dieterle) personal acquaintance as his son, and upon genealogical records, the testimony of his parents and siblings, and a set of letters that he wrote his aunts during the war. Biographical information is found in his obituary in the Novato Advance, Weds., 9 October 1985. Little Gramper 1943 is from World War Photos (https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/usa/aircrafts-2-3/b-24-bomber/b…); the painting of this ship comes from Warbirds Wiki (http://warbirds.wikia.com/wiki/B-24D_(The_Little_Gramper)_42-40722); the Little Gramper in flight comes ultimately from the National Archives.
Information is based upon my (Richard Lewis Dieterle) personal acquaintance as his son, and upon genealogical records, the testimony of his parents and siblings, and a set of letters that he wrote his aunts during the war. Biographical information is found in his obituary in the Novato Advance, Weds., 9 October 1985. Little Gramper 1943 is from World War Photos (https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/usa/aircrafts-2-3/b-24-bomber/b…); the painting of this ship comes from Warbirds Wiki (http://warbirds.wikia.com/wiki/B-24D_(The_Little_Gramper)_42-40722); the Little Gramper in flight comes ultimately from the National Archives.
Information is based upon my (Richard Lewis Dieterle) personal acquaintance as his son, and upon genealogical records, the testimony of his parents and siblings, and a set of letters that he wrote his aunts during the war. Little Gramper 1943 is from World War Photos (https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/usa/aircrafts-2-3/b-24-bomber/b…). Biographical information is found in his obituary in the Novato Advance, Weds., 9 October 1985.
Lt. Jack Dieterle, from a letter to his aunts dated 12 September 1943.