This is, perhaps, the most elaborate of all Ebbeson's nose paintings incorporating tremendous detail into the ten individual caracatures of crew members. It is believed to show Ray Hill's crew who were regularly assigned to the ship and who also applied a long list of targets attacked onto the left nose of the B24 beside the squadron emblem. These targets included Ipo Dam, Aparri, Baguio, Takao, Hosan, Taichu, Toshien, Saigon, Canton, Balikipapan as well as Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. A list that was as impressive as Ebbeson's artwork but which saw the plane sustaining damage at some point -- as is witnessed by the shiny new panel of aluminium which is seen in the photo, obscuring a large part of the painting. The B24 survived the war and returned to the USA. Like so many others, it was scrapped in late 1945.



 

You May Also Be Interested In

Yo-Yo Buddy B-17G-105-BO 43-39199 100th Bomb Group, 418th Bomb Squadron

Maloney's Pony P-38J 1st Fighter Group Nose art painted by T/Sgt Warren K PERRYMAN

© Ray Bowden 10 December 2023