NAME

TP

-

M#

SER

-

BLK

-

MF

SERIAL #

AF

BG

BS

SC

RCL/#

V#-P

PHOTO CREDITS

MUD FISH

B

-

24

D

-

25

-

CO

41-24308

14

308

375

~

~

00-2

N/A

Starboard (Right) Side

Info Contributor - Jack Gross
On 8 July 43, elements of the 425th BS departed Kunming to raid shipping in Haiphong harbor. As MUD FISH was getting off the ground, another B-24 drifted into its path in a crosswind. The Pilot, Lt. Arthur Karp, veered to the side and his nose wheel struck a large concrete paving roller, knocking it out of one socket, dangling in the slipstream. Stories vary about where the wheel dropped - one version has it falling off or being kicked off over the target with a salvo of bombs (unlikely); another is that, after dropping the bombs on target, the Flight Engineer, Sgt. Brainard Ferguson, beat it with an axe until it fell away. Lt. Karp was commended for a smooth, two-wheeled, tail-low landing. The aircraft was repaired and returned to duty. It was eventually condemned 27 Mar 44.

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Copyright © 1997 B-24 Best Web. Published on Veterans Day 11/11/97. Last modified: 27-Mar-2021