BIG NOISE FROM KENTUCKY: Serial number 42-52149. Combat #26. 718th Squadron. An original cadre ship acquired 5 November '43 and assigned to Porter's crew who flew her overseas in December '43. Crew chief was Sgt. Francis Weaver. The ship was named by the first pilot, Fletcher S. Porter, whose hometown was Georgetown, Kentucky. Porter was KIA on 30 January '44 while flying as copilot with Ben Kendall's crew. The original copilot, 2nd Lt Thomas N. Turner was KIA while flying as copilot with Hank Silver's crew on 17 May '44. "Big Noise" was downed by flak near Bor, Yugoslavia on 5 May '44 returning from Ploesti with Paul Harper's crew aboard. Harper's crew bailed out. Nine of the crew were ultimately rescued by the "Chetnik" forces and subsequently returned to Grottaglie. The copilot, who broke an ankle on landing, became a POW. MACR 4661.

BUZZER: Serial number 41-29307. Combat #04. 719th Squadron. A replacement ship arriving 4 February '44 from Chatham AAF, Savannah, GA. Crew Chief was Sgt. Bart Peluso. Adopted by Norm Rogers crew. Peluso named her after seeing his ship fly a "buzz job" over the runway on a test flight! The "Buzzer" got in at least 77 sorties and had flown 41 consecutive missions without a turn back. In the Fall of '44 the ship was retired from combat and converted to perform administrative support flights. She was de-armed by removal of all turrets and guns. The open fuselage areas were covered with sheet metal and seating for passengers was installed. In December '44 she was lost on a ferry flight to Naples with Caldwell's minimum crew aboard plus 11 passengers, most of whom were 50-mission men being ferried to Naples for the boat ride home. Many search flights were made but failed to locate the lost aircraft. A 1970 rumor of her going down in the sea-bay area of Naples proved false. The aircraft had actually been found in the April/May time frame in 1945 in a mountain crevasse southeast of Naples after a local Italian report to the Allied authorities in Naples. All aboard had been recovered by units of the Graves Registration Teams. This ended the long and mysterious searching for the crew and those aboard. Former ball gunner Ben Yedlin of Rogers' 719th crew followed up with a complete personal investigation during the 1980's meeting the Italian residents and contacting the families of the men lost on the flight to put the story to rest.

TH' INHOOMIN CRITTER: (name taken from one of the characters of the "Lil Abner" comic strip). Serial number 42-78341. Combat #21. 718th Squadron. A radar-equipped replacement ship received into the 449th on 5 May '44. Crew chief was Sgt. Edmund Dickman. The "Critter" was downed on the 9 July '44 Presidential Unit Citation mission to Ploesti. Drigger's crew bailed out over Yugoslavia. They were initially reported as POW but actually successfully evaded with the aid of the local Chetniks. MACR 7011.

YE OLDE RUGGED CURSE: Serial number 42-07762. Combat #28. 717th Squadron. An original cadre ship acquired 31 October '43 and assigned to Rasbach's crew who flew her overseas in December '43. Crew chief was Caleb Hogshed. Assistant crew chief was Edmund Dickman. As a result of combat damage, Rasbach crew made an emergency landing at Foggia on 2 April '44. The aircraft was subsequently salvaged.

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