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| USAAF 5th AF 345th BG 499th BS Former Assignments 3rd BG 90th BS 38th BG 71st BS |
Aircraft History Built by North American Aviation (NAA). Constructors Number 87-8411. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-25D-10 Mitchell serial number 41-30246. Ferried overseas via Hickam Field then across the Pacific to Australia. Converted to a model D-1 strafer version at the 4th Air Depot at Garbutt Field in Townsville. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 3rd Bombardment Group (3rd BG), 90th Bombardment Squadron (90th BS). Nicknamed "Feather Merchant 2" with the shark mouth and eye motif on the nose. The term Feather Merchant was slang meaning a person in a position that involves little effort or responsibility or that calculatedly evades effort or responsibility. Sometime after May 25, 1943 nicknamed "Feather Merchant 2" when B-25C "Feather Merchant" 41-12442 was heavily damaged on a mission over Lae and was removed from the squadron for extensive repairs. During 1943, flown by pilot Captain Clifford "Kip" L. Wonderly. On September 27, 1943 flew a low level strike against Japanese shipping in Victoria Bay bordering Kairiru Island. Over the targeted, photographed over the target flying over Taisei Maru sunk during the attack. During January 1944 assigned to the 38th Bombardment Group (38th BG) "Sun Setters", 71st Bombardment Squadron (71st BS) "The Wolf Pack". No known nickname or nose art. On February 3, 1944 at 9:00am took off from 17 Mile Drome (Durand) on a low level strike against But Airfield, this was the bomber's first combat mission with the squadron. On July 27, 1944 took off from Mokmer Drome on Biak on a low level strike against Galela Airfield on Halmahera, this was the bomber's last combat mission with the squadron. On September 26, 1944 assigned to the 345th Bombardment Group (345th BG) "Air Apaches", 499th Bombardment Squadron (499th BS) "Bat Outta Hell". No known nickname or nose art. On October 17, 1944 when transfered to a service squadron as war weary. Ultimate fate unknown, likely scrapped or otherwise disappeared. References Note, some sources list the nickname as "Feather Merchant II" (with the Roman numeral) or "Feather Merchant #2" (with number sign), it is assumed those two variations of the nickname all refer to this same B-25D 41-30246. USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-25D-10 Mitchell 41-30246 Merriam-Webster - Definition of feather merchant (noun) Warpath Across The Pacific (1996) page 388 (499th BS, 41-30246) Sun Setters of the Southwest Pacific Area (2011) pages 275-276 (February 3, 1944), 365-367 (July 27, 1944), AIII-8 (71st BS, 41-30246) Thanks to Scott Wonderly and Edward Rogers for additional research and analysis Contribute
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