WWII B-24 Liberator nose art from 864th, 865th, and 866th Bombardment Squadrons of the 494th Bombardment Group and 392nd Bombardment Squadron of the 30th Bombardment Group. Source: U.S. Air Force photographs.
B-24 “Lady Leone” of the 864th Bombardment Squadron, 494th Bombardment Group. (U.S. Air Force Photo)
B-24 “Queen of Hearts” of the 866th Bombardment Squadron, 494th Bombardment Group. (U.S. Air Force Photo)
B-24 Liberator “Crash Kids” of the 865th Bombardment Squadron, 494th Bombardment Group. (U.S. Air Force Photo)
B-24 “Hell’s Belle” of the 864th Bombardment Squadron, 494th Bombardment Group. (U.S. Air Force Photo)
B-24 Liberator “Bathless” of the 392nd Bombardment Squadron, 30th Bombardment Group. (U.S. Air Force Photo)
B-24 “Riot Call” of the 864th Bombardment Squadron, 494th Bombardment Group. (U.S. Air Force Photo)
B-24 “Plunderbus” of the 864th Bombardment Squadron, 494th Bombardment Group. (U.S. Air Force Photo)
Nothing was as cool as the old WWII nose art. I wish planes still carried classic nose art like these.
“Bathless” was my grandfather’s B-24 through the end of WWII. It was named “Bathless” because he and the surviving members of his crew floated in the Pacific for days after their previous Lib went down returning from a joint Navy/USSAF mission to photo recon Saipan prior to the Battle of Saipan.