373rd Bombardment Squadron

S/Sgt Martin S. Waite (ASN 20323598) and 10 other men were lost on a 'routine' flight from Lingling Airbase (in Hunan province) for a short flight to a base at Guilin (in adjacent Guangxi province) on the late afternoon of 28 May 1944, departing during weather conditions 'overcast with thunderstorms.' The Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) lists the cause of...

Crashed American B-24 in the boneyard at the American airbase at Luliang--many of these were used as salvage for spare and repair parts for planes that were still flying. This was B-24L- 1-CO, #44-41442, 'Red Ass,' assigned to the 373rd Bomb Squadron of the 308th Bm Grp when it was transferred to Fourteenth AF Air Service Group on 8 Apr...

This very tired and very worn B-24D bomber is probably at the airfield at Luliang, China. It has been modified, with nose, dorsal, ventral and tail gun turrets removed and those positions capped, similar to a C-87 Liberator Express or C-109 tanker version which had 6 additional fuel tanks carrying 2,400 gallons of fuel. This is believed to be serial...

Nose art showing a women riding a falling bomb. During WWII, this B-24L serial 44-41431 was named "BOMBS AWAY". The plane flew missions in early 1945 assigned to 373rd Bomb Squadron, 308th Bomb Group, with the Fourteenth Air Force in China. After 373 BS operated from Luliang, China from 14 Sep 1944 until it transferred to Yontan, Okinawa 21 July...

B-24 bomber #42-73317 was lost on May 20, 1944, over the sea near the south east coast of China, after a night mission to strike Japanese shipping. The crew were: 1st Lt Donald G. Richardson, Pilot 1st Lt Frank L. Munson, CoPilot 1st Lt James P. ‘Jim\' Gilbert, Navigator 1st Lt Linus J. Austin, Bombardier TSgt Cecil L. Olson, Radio...

B-24 bomber #42-73317 was lost on May 20, 1944, over the sea near the south east coast of China, after a night mission to strike Japanese shipping. The crew were: 1st Lt Donald G. Richardson, Pilot 1st Lt Frank L. Munson, CoPilot 1st Lt James P. ‘Jim' Gilbert, Navigator 1st Lt Linus J. Austin, Bombardier TSgt Cecil L. Olson, Radio...

Page 1 (of 5) for MACR 5156 for B-24 bomber #42-73317, which was lost on May 20, 1944, over the sea near the south east coast of China, after a night mission to strike Japanese shipping. The crew were: 1st Lt Donald G. Richardson, Pilot 1st Lt Frank L. Munson, CoPilot 1st Lt James P. ‘Jim' Gilbert, Navigator 1st Lt...

B-24 bomber #42-73317 was lost on May 20, 1944, over the sea near the south east coast of China, after a night mission to strike Japanese shipping. The crew were: 1st Lt Donald G. Richardson, Pilot 1st Lt Frank L. Munson, CoPilot 1st Lt James P. ‘Jim\' Gilbert, Navigator 1st Lt Linus J. Austin, Bombardier TSgt Cecil L. Olson, Radio...

' B-24 bomber #42-73317 was lost on May 20, 1944, over the sea near the south east coast of China, after a night mission to strike Japanese shipping. The crew were: 1st Lt Donald G. Richardson, Pilot 1st Lt Frank L. Munson, CoPilot 1st Lt James P. ‘Jim\' Gilbert, Navigator 1st Lt Linus J. Austin, Bombardier TSgt Cecil L. Olson...

An image from the Walter S. Polchlopek collection--this is an alternative image of the crew lost on a mission on May 20, 1944. See the story of the loss of this crew here, and more about Walter S. Polchlopek here.