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| USAAF 5th AF 90th BG 400th BS  90th BG 1943  90th BG 1943  90th BG 1943  90th BG 1943  90th BG April 1945  90th BG April 1945 |
Aircraft History Built by Consolidated at San Diego. Constructors Number 1466. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-24D-53-CO Liberator serial number 42-40389. Flown overseas via Hickam Field then across the Pacific to Australia. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 90th Bombardment Group (90th BG), 400th Bombardment Squadron (400th BS). Nicknamed "Mission Belle" on the left side of the nose in a white cursive font with the nose art of a female nude inspired by the artwork "Temptation" by Alberto Vargas. The tail had the skull and cross bomb motif of the group. Assigned to pilot Captain Lark E. "The Lark" Martin. Below the cockpit were bomb markings indicating bombing missions flown. Initially, the markings were in a vertical row then changed to a horizontal row. Directly below the pilot window were Japanese flags indicating aerial victory claims by gunners. On May 20, 1943 took off piloted by Major Dale J. Thornhill with B-24 piloted by Porter on a search mission over the Madang area in bad weather to search for B-24D 41-24269 that went missing the previous day and were intercepted by nine Zeros [sic Oscars] and had to fight their way back claimed three shot down with both bombers damaged. Afterwards, flown to Garbutt Field at Townsville for repairs and modified by the 4th Air Depot into a B-24D-1 Liberator replacing the greenhouse nose with a nose turret. Around the same time, the nickname was repainted larger in a more of a cursive calligraphy style with shadow and double quotation marks. On October 18, 1943 took off from 5 Mile Drome (Wards) near Port Moresby on a bombing mission against Vunakanau Airfield near Rabaul. Part of a formation of B-24 Liberators from the 43rd Bomb Group (43rd BG), 90th Bomb Group (90th BG) and 380th Bomb Group (380th BG). During January 1944, attached to 8th Radar Calibration Detachment, V Fighter Command for trails with SCR-602 ground based radar. Later, stripped to a bare aluminum finish, but kept the nose art surrounded by a border from the original olive drab paint. The nickname was repainted in a different cursive style closer to the artwork. The bomb markings and Japanese flags were removed. On the left side of the nose below the pilot's window was stenciled "Lt. D. G. Ross". Fate On April 30, 1945 condemned inventory at Nadzab Airfield with an "S" painted on the nose to indicate it was to be salvaged. Later, broken up for scrap. References USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-24D-155-CO Liberator 42-40389 "40389 (90th BG, 400th BS, "Mission Belle") condemned Apr 30, 1945. Was attached to 8th Radar Calibration detachment V Fighter Command Jan-Feb 1944 for trials with SCR-602." Australian War Memorial (AWM) P05147.014 caption incorrectly states this bomber as shot down 12 October 1943 [sic B-24D 42-72789]. The Jolly Rogers (1981) incorrectly lists this bomber as lost October 18, 1943 piloted by Smeltzer, in fact the bomber lost was B-24D "Sky Lady" 41-24043. Legacy of the 90th Bombardment Group (1994) pages 36 (photo), 57 (photo, May 20, 1943), 205 (index Mission Belle) Thanks to Bob Livingstone and Pete Johnson for additional information Contribute
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