Nose art painted by Cpl Dick Ebbeson
380th Bomb Group
Fenton, Australia & New Guinea

A WING AN' 10 PRAYERS B-24M-30-CO 44-42378
528th Bomb Squadron

This is, perhaps, the most elaborate of all Ebbeson's nose paintings incorporating tremendous detail into the nine individual caracatures of crew members. It is believed to show Ray Hill's crew who were regularly assigned to the ship and who also applied a long list of targets attacked onto the left nose of the B24 beside the squadron emblem. These targets included Ipo Dam, Aparri, Baguio, Takao, Hosan, Taichu, Toshien, Saigon, Canton, Balikipapan as well as Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. A list that was as impressive as Ebbeson's artwork but which saw the plane sustaining damage at some point -- as is witnessed by the shiny new panel of aluminium which is seen in the photo, obscuring a large part of the painting.

The B24 survived the war and returned to the USA. Like so many others, it was scrapped in late 1945.



© Ray Bowden