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Nose art painted by Sgt Eugene Townsend
301st Bomb
Group, 32nd Bomb Squadron
England, North Africa, Italy
SPECIAL DELIVERY II B-17F-5-BO 41-24418
301st Bomb Group
32nd Bomb Squadron
Assigned to the 352nd Bomb squadron at Westover, this B17F was initially named
as "Mickey Finn" and flew eleven missions from Chelveston bearing that name.
Lt Walter A Williams flew the Fort on the 301BG's first combat sortie to Rouen on 5th
September 1942.
When the group redeployed to Tafaraoui in North Africa, #418 was transferred
into 32BS and re-named as "Special Delivery II" after the originally named Fort
suffered flak damage in mid December and was scrapped.
Sixty-eight more missions were completed before "Special Delivery II" was
considered "War Weary" and sent back to the USA proudly sporting at least eight
swastikas for fighter kills. Here it was used to train
the seemingly endless line of fledgling aircrews at Rapid City AAB, including
men destined for service with 398BG. In October 1944, it was worn out and written off.
© Ray Bowden
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