Wednesday, 2 March 2022

Boeing B-29-40-BW Superfortress 42-24614: Delivered to the USAAF 28 July 1944. First B-29 to arrive at Saipan, on 12 October 1944. Flown by General Hansell, commander of XXI Bomber Command. Assigned to 873rd Bomb Squadron, 498th Bomb Group, named "Joltin' Josie, The Pacific Pioneer". Written off (destroyed) when burst into flames and fell into sea at Magicienne Bay, Tinian Island, Northern Mariana Islands, shortly after takeoff, on April 1, 1945. No survivors among the eleven crew on board. 42-24614 was taking part in "Mission 51": One hundred and fifteen of 121 B-29's dispatched from the 73rd BW to attack the Nakajima aircraft plant in Tokyo. They claim 1-1-0 Japanese aircraft. Six B-29's were lost.

 

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