"Strawberry Bitch"
 

In the course of browsing over the Ploesti (August 1st) raid I have come across a conflicting issue regarding "Strawberry Bitch".
A few sources (the blurb in the Corgi B24 model. The Osprey "B24 Units Of The 15th Air Force, which gives the serial number as 42-72842 !) puts the SB at the August 1st raid.
On the other hand, "Ploesti" Hill, " The Ploesti Raid" Freeman and " The Liberandos" Walker, make no mention of SB 42-72843 (the correct number) as having been on the raid.....
Lastly I remember reading in "Log Of The Liberators" Birdsall! that SB arrived later in the year to the 376th. I am open to correction here as I do not have the book any longer.
Anyone out there with the correct answer...........

Re: "Strawberry Bitch"
 

Hello,

Have you tried the B24 Best Web forum ? They may be able to give a full answer.
Also this from the 376th Bomb Group website.
http://www.376hbgva.com/memoirs/rice.html
Hope this helps
All the best
Alex

Re: "Strawberry Bitch"
 

Many thanks for that information, and as I suspected, it would seem indeed that "Strawberry Bitch" did not take part in the August 1st raid..
As an aside I am beginning to wonder about the OSPREY Combat Aircraft series for accuracy, and although I rather like them, some would appear to have accuracy issues. For instance along with putting the "Strawberry Bitch" at Ploesti, the " Us Navy And Marine Corps A4 Skyhawk Units Of The Vietnam War" has the Estocin A4 with an "Avionics Hump" wheras the aircraft in fact did not have one........