Biography of 7th BG CBI PIlot and Nose Art Painter

[Edward]

Pilots and Painted Ladies: 493rd Bomb Squadron and the Air War in the CBI
(Casemate - January 15, 2025)
by Lawrence V. Drake
240 pages w/ 60 b&w photos - hardcover (6" x 9")
$34.95 US

"Raised on a Montana farm, Vernon Drake enlisted in the Army Air Corps, piloting B-24 bombers and painting nose art while enduring perilous missions in the Himalayas during World War II.

Vernon Drake enlisted in the Army Air Corp in the spring of 1942. Assigned to the 493rd Bomb Squadron, 7th Bomb Group of the 10th Air Force stationed in India, he piloted B-24 bombers into Burma in a fight to prevent the Japanese from advancing north to China, then flew C-108 gas-hauling tankers across the formidable Himalayas to support the U.S. and Allied armies. This dangerous airlift saw tons of fuel and supplies flown daily over the tallest mountain range in the world, regardless of the weather.

He and the other airmen—aged only eighteen to twenty-five—flew dangerous missions over unforgiving territory against a brutal enemy. To provide some personal identity in an impersonal war, aircrews often painted artwork and identifying names onto the nose of their aircraft. As a talented artist, Lt Drake would spend many off-duty hours painting aircraft at the request of their crews, becoming a significant contributor to the nose art of the 10th Air Force.

Drake’s story, pieced together from his meticulous records, contrasts the hours spent creating works of art with the moments of sheer terror in combat over enemy targets and navigating through towering mountains engulfed in murderous storms while carrying thousands of gallons of highly explosive fuel."

Table of Contents
Prologue
Heavens to Betsy
Across the Atlantic
Casablanca
Pyramids
Karachi
Across India
Karnani Estates
Calcutta
Cultural Orientation
Train to Nowhere
Pandaveswar
Introduction to War
Rookie
A Time Of Testing
Dreaming
Goon at Noon
Hero
Bombs Away
The Girls
War Never Stops
Dangerous Drake
Birth of a Nose Artist
Azon
The Last Liberator
Grounded
Tezpur
In The Clouds
Kunming
Floating Mountains
No News
Aircraft Commander
Ups and Downs
Lost
News From Home
Miracles
The Stack
USS Missouri
Going Home
Epilogue

About the Author
"Born and raised in Montana, Lawrence V. Drake has lived all over the U.S. He has worked as a flight instructor, crop duster, and aerobatic instructor, owning and flying a variety of airplanes including antiques and amateur-built. He became an entrepreneur in manufacturing and established a national trade association. Fascinated by his father’s WWII experience from a young age, Lawrence has collected an extensive library on the CBI (China, Burma, India) Theater including first-hand accounts and audio histories. Two of his father’s original nose art paintings are in the Commemorative Air Force collection and a reproduction is in the National Museum of WWII Aviation. Lawrence V. Drake is the author of a number of books including Schellville, Red Boots Rebel, and When Silence Calls. He has written articles in dozens of national periodicals."

https://www.casematepublishers.com/9...ainted-ladies/