Aircraft History
Nicknamed "Miss Jones".

Mission History
Took off from Mokerang for a mission against Yap. 24 B-24s from the 307th "Long Rangers" departed at different times to try to catch enemy fighters and other personnel on the ground. The bombers were carrying fragmentary cluster bombs. it was one of the longest missions the 307th flew 1,300 mils and required two extra fuel tanks in the bomb bays. This aircraft was shot down. There were reports of several chutes opening and other planes in the group dropped llife rafts. also reports of men in the rafts.

Memorials
The entire crew were declared dead the day of the mission and are memorialized on the tablets of the missing at Manila American Cemetery.

Relative
John Painter (nephew)
"When the rescue flight got there no trace was found of them. probably lost to straffing or sharks. none of this is confirmed as the sources have been forgotten. Waiting on MACR and other official documents. also, not sure if the crew of rum dum was the same plane they went down in and that is what the crew called themselves or if it was another a/c thata they flew missions in. also, my aunt tells me that after the war on of the planes ground crew came to visit my grandmother and said they sat up by the runway far hours waiting for them to return because they were a very popular crew and no one wanted to admit that they weren`t coming back. once i can confirm the stories i would be honored to give you the details to post on the site. part of the reason i`m posting is to possibly help relatives of the other crew members who might be looking for information."

References
Thanks to Pat Ranfranz for additional information
B-24 Nose Art Name Directory listed this B-24 as "Miss Jones", with a picture of the nose art and several men standing beside it.

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Last Updated
October 1, 2009

B-24

MIA