This plane was sponsored by the 6th construction brigade, whose emblem is painted on its nose. Seabee painter 1/c John E Anderson who had decorated the plane with caricatures of its crew, poses with two of the aircraft crewmen.
At Tinian circa late 1944, with some of its crewmen and two Navy "Seabee" Artists who had painted on its nose art, and added caricatures of its crew. Present are (L-R) PTRL/C William P. Kantz, MS3/C George E. Lawrence TSGT WM. E. Sunningham and SGT WM. L. Patton
505th Bombardment Group
XXI BC; 313th Bombardment Wing
482d Bombardment Squadron
Circle W Tail Code; North Field, Tinian
B-29-25-BA Superfortress s/n 42-63504
“Flag Ship” became the first Superfortress to land on Tinian. It was damaged while parked at North Field, Tinian by a crashing B-29 42-24913 "Thunderin' Loretta" which crashed into 7 B 29s, damaging 5 so bad they were written off. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=98511
Reclaimed at Tinker AFB, OK 11 Sep 50
Thanks Allen!
In this undated photo, the U.S. Navy team poses with airmen. Among the players in the image are Pee Wee Reese, Fred Hutchinson and Johnny Mize.
43 visible service members. Twelve of the men in baseball uniforms were wearing the road gray navy flannels while 14 were decked out in the pinstripes and blue home togs. Other men posing in the image are in the Army Air Forces and Navy military uniforms.
https://chevronsanddiamonds.wordpress.com/2018/02/26/struck-out-swinging-pee-wee-reese-johnny-mize-and-fred-hutchinson-on-tinian/
Dang son, good job! So much history during those years Jesse, and we don't even know the half of it. Thanks for posting. I kind a figured it was crew painted on there.
ReplyDeleteWell done Jesse! I'm looking to see if there's a list of B-29 serial numbers. The last three should be enough to track this plane and the unit it was assigned to.
ReplyDeleteFOUND IT! It is Bell-Atlanta B-29-25-BA Superfortress s/n 42-63504. It was assigned to 504th Bomb Group. 24 July 1944. Not long after the Marines began their assault on 24 July 1944, B-29 serial number 42-63504 “Flag Ship” became the first Superfortress to land on Tinian. It was damaged while parked at North Field, Tinian May 20, 1945 by a crashing B-29 42-24913. Reclaimed at Tinker AFB, OK 11 Sep 50
ReplyDeleteOh far out! Wow! Thanks!
DeleteYou're welcome. Were any of these flown or maintained by Bruce's uncle?
Deletebut wait! There's more! Since you hooked me up with the serial number, i found ANOTHER photo of it, with a cool story! See updated post! Quick, hit refresh!
DeleteNo, just photographed
DeleteUnbelievable. I am so pleased that by passing on that old black and white photo to you that it would result in this !! Thanks for your continuing in finding further information. It will please my Aunt (who just turned 94)to learn that the pic. her husband Bill took ever so long ago came back alive. Thanks again !!
ReplyDeletenew news! I found another photo of the "Flag Ship" B29, the one I was most interested in because of the nose art, and it's got a story! I just updated the post, so, check it out again!
DeleteHere's a link to another photo of Flagship, https://chevronsanddiamonds.wordpress.com/2018/02/26/struck-out-swinging-pee-wee-reese-johnny-mize-and-fred-hutchinson-on-tinian/2018-02-18_10-39-39/
ReplyDeleteLol... I posted that about 15 minutes before your newest comment note, Ha! great minds think alike!
Deleteplus, our timelines crossed over, as happens when I only work on one page at a time, and meanwhile, other people like yourself are paralleling what I'm doing, but neither of us know until we check our emails, or the comments!
HA! Well, how cool! 3 photos of the Flag Ship B29 so far! None very close up on the paintings of the crew, but oh well. I found out what I wanted to know the most, who the painter was, and the name of the airplane