6th Bomb Group Squadron Name Charts
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PHOTO: ©Bill Webster. All Rights Reserved.
AIRCRAFT MARKINGS: Rudder and General Markings
FEBRUARY – MARCH 1945
- Most crews gave their aircraft nicknames, which were painted on the side of the aircraft.
- When the 6th Bomb Group aircraft first entered service in February, they did not have a lot of decoration.
- A name might be stenciled on the side and the rudder might have the old rudder markings.
- By the end of the war, all of the aircraft had the “Circle R” on the rudder. Lead aircraft had vertical stripes on the rudder.
APRIL – AUGUST 1945
- The aircraft group number appears on the front bottom and the sides of rear fuselage.
- The aircraft serial number is sometimes shown on the tail.
- Later in the war, the aircraft were painted red on the tip of the tail and on the engine cowlings. This was presumably done to help the groups form up after takeoff. Aircraft used to drop supplies to POWs after the war had POW SUPPLIES written on the bottom of the wings.
The letter and circle were arbitrary tail designations, with each Wing of the 20th Air Force assigned a different outline (circle, square, triangle….) and each bomb group assigned a different letter within that outer shape.
—58th Bomb Wing (triangle outline symbol):
40th BG – S, 444th BG – N, 462nd BG – U, 468th BG – I
—73rd Bomb Wing (square outline symbol, 10.5-foot letters):
497th BG – A, 498th BG – T, 499th BG – V, 500th BG – Z
—313th Bomb Wing (circle outline symbol):
6th BG – R, 9th BG – X, 504th BG – E, 505th BG (January to March) – K, (April to September) – W
—314th Bomb Wing (solid black square):
19 BG – M | 29th BG – O | 39th BG – P | 330th BG K
—315th Bomb Wing (diamond outline):
16th BG – B, 331st BG – L, 501st BG – Y, 502nd BG – H
THE 6TH BOMB GROUP FLEW B-29s, INCLUDING B-29As AND B-29Bs. Almost all crews gave nicknames to their airplanes. Initially, the nicknames were just painted on the side. Later, the crews began to also decorate their aircraft with artwork, often of scantily-clad women. In response to complaints from the home front, many Group commanders censored the pictures. The 6th Bomb Group avoided the problem by issuing an order requiring that all aircraft bear the pirate insignia. The decoration around the pirate insignia evolved over time. Some early examples are plain. Others show a black circle behind the insignia. Later aircraft show a white circle behind the insignia. Initially, the aircraft nickname was simply painted to the rear of the insignia. Other planes inserted the insignia in trailing red and white flames. The final version of the insignia was fairly standardized. However, the script used to write the names could vary. Artwork was improved as time permitted. The older paint jobs were not always updated immediately. Some crews did not get around to painting the names on the aircraft. On any given mission, the planes could have different styles of markings.
24th SQUADRON
NOTE: These Name Charts are still being worked on and are not official.
No. | Nickname | Aircraft Commander | Serial # | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
01. | Ernie Pyle’s Milkwagon Uncle Sam’s Milkwagon | Parks | 42-93906 | Destroyed May 23 |
Spirit of Sammy | Hume | 42-63535 | ||
02. | Unknown | Ramsey, Moreno | 44-61549 | |
03. | Sharon Linn | Jordan | 44-70116 | Lost July 19 #66 |
04. | El Pajaro de la Guerra | Litchfield | 42-24874 | aka “The War Bird” |
05. | Big Joe | Haki, Johnstone | 42-24885 | |
06. | Irish Lullaby | Cooney | 42-24830 | |
07. | Incendiary Journey | Holton, Bereznoff | 44-61784 | |
08. | Bataan Avenger | Jones | 44-61635 | Returned to Wichita in June |
Fortune | ||||
09. | Meadows | 44-69864 | ||
10. | Anonymous IV | Howett | 44-61688 | |
11. | Mutoh | 42-24889 | Destroyed Apr 22 | |
Miss America ’62 | Alger, Henshaw | 42-65281 | On display at Travis AFB, SFO | |
12. | The Wolfpack | Guay | 42-94063 | |
13. | Jake’s Jernt [Some Punkins] | Schad, Hurd | 44-61558 44-27296 | |
14. | Snooky | Preston, Holtzclaw | 42-24825 | First B-29 on Tinian Many crew lost Apr 7 #20 |
Patty Sue | Lazin | ??-?4890 | ||
15. | Blind Date/Lady’s Delight | Boynton | 42-24759 | Lost on May 23 #43 |
Shasta | Schwager, Fortune | 44-87734 | Ditched in ocean | |
16. | Our Lady | Dawson | ||
Tinny Ann | Berry | 44-69865 | ||
17. | Unknown | Snyder | 42-24870 | Lost on May 23 #43 |
Wilson | 42-24836 | Flew in last mission. | ||
18. | Lovely Lois | Rodgers | 44-61905 | |
n/a | Fortunes Follies | Preston | 42-65347 | Lost Apr 7 #20 |
08. | Lucky Leven | 42-93951 | Involved in accident. | |
??. | Holton’s Hellions | Holton |
39th Squadron
No. | Nickname | Aircraft Commander | Serial # | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
25. | ??-?4901 | |||
26. | Tokyo Trolley | Fox | 42-63553 | Lost May 25 [#44] |
Tokyo Trolley II | Treeman | 44-70150 | ||
27. | Lucky Strike | Lemme | 42-63552 | |
28. | Trigger Mortis | Booth | 42-93911 | Scrapped Mar 27 |
Trigger Mortis II | Frank | 44-69744 | [see #39] | |
29. | Look Homeward Angel | Ralph | 44-69736 | |
30. | Rip Van Winkle | Smith | 42-24868 | |
Son of a B-29 | Richards | |||
31. | Lady Jean | Henshaw, Cunningham | 42-93898 | |
32. | Snugglebunny | Smith, Jennings | 44-69667 | 34 missions + 78 in Korea |
33. | Reamatroid | Russell, Joslin | 44-69672 | |
34. | Patrica Lynn | Burwell, Disosway | 42-93901 | |
35. | The Cultured Vulture | Richmond, Crumpton | 42-24901 | |
36. | Grider Gal | Besore | 42-24884 | |
37. | Anne Garry III | Clay | 42-63351 | Destroyed May 25 |
Anne Garry IV | Clay | |||
Anne Garry V | George | 44-87650 | ||
38. | Forever Amber II | Sharp | 44-61686 | |
39. | Here’s Lucky | Ezell, Koser | 44-69744 | [see #28] |
40. | Myas’ Dragon | Catts* | 42-94042 | * from airplane 41 |
41. | Forever Amber | Catts | 44-69839 | Destroyed Jun 5 [#45] |
[Unknown] | Russell | 44-61836 | ||
42. | Speagle Eagle | Olive | 44-69757 | |
43. | – | 4?-? | ||
44. | [Unknown] | |||
??. | Tulsa Barb | Cleverdon | ||
??. | [Unknown] | Casaurang | 42-24842 | Lost Feb 12 [#04] |
??. | Do It Again | Sams | 42-65229 | Destroyed July ? |
40th Squadron
No. | Nickname | Aircraft Commander | Serial # | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
51. | Earthquake McGoon | Patterson | 42-24866 | |
52. | No Name | Triplett | 44-69831 | |
53. | Flak Alley Sally | Vincent | 42-24878 | |
54. | The Peacemaker | Grounds | 42-24916 | Lost Mar 27 #16 |
Battling Betty | Comerford | 44-69847 | ||
55. | Little Giant | Schmid | 42-93939 | Lost Jul 9 #61 |
Rattle N’ Roll | Bunting | 44-61803 | ||
56. | Jolly Roger | Russow | 44-24872 | |
57. | White Mistress | Wilson | 42-24776 | Damaged POW mission |
58. | Virgin Sturgeon | Scurria | 44-70006 | |
59. | Dearly Beloved “The Ramp Tramp” | Kubicek | 44-70069 | |
60. | Tojo’s Nightmare | Christenson | 44-70124 | |
61. | Connecticut Yankee | Bierkan | 42-24783 | Crash landed and destroyed |
Wun Wing Lo | Harp | |||
62. | Gravel Gertie | Somonian | 42-24880 | |
63. | Lady Annabelle | Tucker | 42-93887 | |
64. | Banana Boat | Clay | 42-63551 | Taxiing accident Mar |
65. | Little Jeff | Christie | 44-69855 | |
66. | Unknown | Moulton | 44-69825 | Ditched May 26 off Iwo Jima |
67. | Connecticut Yankee II | Bierkan | 44-69980 | |
?? | Capt. Clay | 42-63514 | ||
??. | Grand Slam | Neal | 42-93902 | Crash landed Mar 10 – All OK |
??. | Steel | 42-63553 | Destroyed Mar 13 | |
??. | The Bad Penny | Steel | 42-69675 | Lost Mar 27 #16 |
??. | The Bad Penny II | Reed | 42-69840 | Destroyed May 16 |
Squadron Unknown
No. | Nickname | Aircraft Commander | Serial # | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
??. | Early Bird | 44-86303 | ||
?? | 42-24788 | MACR | ||
??. | Kinney Dalle | 44-61538 | MACR | |
[Unknown] | Ditched off Tinian |
Planes Used in Stateside Training
No. | Nickname | Aircraft Commander | Serial # | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Queen of ‘Em All | 42-86380 | |||
Take It Off | ??-?6371 |