July 31, 1944.
The B-24 The Irishman's Shanty returns safely to her home base at North Pickenham, England. Inside she carried the jubilant O'Sullivan Crew 713 returning from their 30th mission combat tour.
Of the original 70 B-24s and the roughly 700 men who served aboard them, only 15 original crews remained.
The 492nd BG was in action 89 days... less than 3 months, then it was retired.
To this day the 492nd stands alone as the only heavy American bombardment group to be removed from combat during WWII, and remains the only heavy bomb group removed from combat in the proud history of the United States Air Force due to high losses.
Crew 713 tells the story of O'Sullivan's Iron Men and the sad, short and violent history of the 492nd BG
http://www.crew713.com/
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