Bomber B-24D (B-24D-1-CO, serial number 41-23711) with its own name “Jerk’s Natural” from the 93rd bomber group of the 328th Bomber Squadron at Gambut Airfield in Libya.
“Jerk” in the name of the aircraft – a reference to the name of the commander of the crew, John (Jack) Jerstad (Jack Jerstad), “Natural” – a combination of 7 and 11 in the dice, and 711 aircraft number (41-23711) ends. Dice are drawn in the nose of the aircraft fuselage. Clover-four-leaf, drawn to the right – a sign that the aircraft was visiting Northern Ireland. Closer to the nose of the aircraft – the silhouette of a submarine, a sign about a sunk German submarine in the Gulf of Mexico in mid-1942. Below – marks on the combat flights of the aircraft.
The B-24D plane successfully returned from the raid to the Romanian refineries in Ploesti on August 1, 1943, during which 60 American planes out of 179 were lost.
B-24D “Jerk’s Natural” was lost in October 1943 during the raid on Austria.
Location: Libya
Date: August 1943