A while ago I built a B-24, I then did a number of paint jobs, with these I told of little known acts of bravery and tragedy as well as of some little known artists who painted amazing nose art. This is none of the above....I recently had an e-mail from a gentleman called Wendel, new to Poser, he had downloaded my B-24 and wanted some help in 'using' it. He wanted to do a render for his Father, a tail gunner of the 740th BS, 455th BG of the 15th AF, based at Cerignola Italy. I offered, in exchange for a little information, to do a paint job. Wendel's Father recalled, aircraft where allocated on a mission by mission basis, but he remembered several 'trips' in The Bucket 'o' Bolts. The plane carried them into combat, and brought them home....even on the day they landed with 'The Bucket' so badly damaged by flak and hostile aircraft, it was simply towed away for scrap. The 455th flew 252 combat missions over France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Austria, and the Balkans. They dropped 13, 249 tons of munitions with the following approximate targeting breakout: Marshalling yards, railroads, bridges, rolling stock 6,239 tons Oil refineries and storage 2,704 tons Air fields 2,093 tons Harbors and shipping 1,035 tons Troop concentrations 974 tons Gun emplacements 204 tons. Authorized personnel strength was over 4,000 personnel. The group lost 118 aircraft, 31 directly to fighters, 36 directly to flak, and 51 from all other causes combined. The figure for combined causes includes causes such as collisions, ditchings, and crashes attributable to fighter or flak damage. As time passed, the fighter opposition decreased but the Germans concentrated their anti-aircraft guns around the fewer remaining targets, so the threat from flak remained intense. They suffered 147 KIA, 268 MIA, 179 POW, and 169 wounded in action. On the other hand, the group is credited with 119 enemy aircraft destroyed and another 78 probables. Only about 40% of the original crews returned. Just another aircraft in a line of 1000's, just another airman in a line of 10000's.....every single one MUST be remembered! To Wendels Father, to the men of the 455th BG, to all who carried and still carry the torch....THANK YOU!! B-24 and 'Bucket 'o' Bolts' texture by me. Cerignola, Italy background courtesy of Google Earth....