Several other combat crews were then assigned to the plane. Bud Buschmeier was a gunner and he recalled, "On March 1st, we were assigned to Fletcher's Castoria. This plane had problems such as overheating engines, etc. We flew in this ship on 3rd March, the recalled Berlin mission..... we never flew or saw the ship again."

The problems with the engines may have been the cause for the aircraft not being scheduled for combat again until mid-April when Robert Wegrzynek returned early from Leipzig (recalled). A week later Ed Noordyk struck Lippstadt and then Julian Rogers went to Flottmanville and Berlin at the end of the month.

Up until mid-August 1944, the crews of Lts Ralph Horne, Henry Rosine, John David, Gerald Steussy, Eden Jones, Lawrence Reigel, Murray Johnson, Harold Schulte and Cecil Daniels all flew between one and four missions in the plane which was by now becoming a combat veteran. Detailed records have not yet been established beyond September 1944 but the aircraft was still at Thorpe Abbotts on 4th December when it was damaged on take off. Sent to the depot for repair, it is believed to have then been assigned to 390BG at Framlingham for a time but details of its service there, or any subsequent service with 100BG, have not yet been established.

It did not return to the USA until 16th April 1945 and may well have completed one hundred combat sorties by then, although to date photographs can only confirm 40 or so mission symbols applied. This would be up to late August 1944. It is believed to have been exchanged in April 1945 for a brand new PFF radar equipped Fortress from 482BG when the 100BG re-equipped at the end of hostilities. When it finally left Thorpe Abbotts for the last time, it still sported the extraordinary gremlin artwork Also added by then was a huge horizontal bomb below the pilot's window, sporting two rows of mission symbols. The veteran plane was finally sent for scrapping on 2nd October 1945.