“Duchess, The / Evelyn”

Known as both The Duchess and Evelyn, this aircraft was one of the Circus's original B-24Ds and, by wide acclaim in the unit, a ship that refused to die. Early in the war, flown by Captain Ramsay Potts on an anti-submarine patrol over the Bay of Biscay, it was attacked by five German fighters; Potts's gunners shot down two Junkers 88s and claimed a probable before Potts escaped into clouds. Co-pilot Delbert Hall logged 27 missions aboard her.

As Circus B Force leader flying The Duchess on the low-level Ploesti mission of August 1, 1943, Major Ramsey D. Potts, Jr. could not correct back onto the proper heading to Floresti after the formation's mistaken turn at Targoviste, but the aircraft came through the raid and withdrawal intact, landing safely just ahead of Thundermug with its own tanks nearly dry. Potts later served as commanding officer of the 453rd Bomb Group from May 18 to July 6, 1944.

By late 1943, under crew chief Herbert "Pop" Hastings, The Duchess had flown at least 30 missions without a turnback, carrying General Timberlake (with pilot Frank Llewellyn) on the November 16, 1943 raid on the Rjukan/Vemork heavy-water plant in Norway. It went on to complete 52 to 53 missions without an abort, a mark unmatched by other Circus aircraft at the time. Roger Freeman called her a sister ship of Bomerang and the next Liberator to 50 missions, and unlike Bomerang she reached the half century with no turnbacks for mechanical reasons.

The run ended on February 25, 1944, on a mission to Furth. Piloted by Lieutenant David Thompson, The Duchess lost engines to flak and was set upon by fighters that damaged her controls, sending her into a spin and down east of Landau (also reported as west of Herxheim, near Landau, after the aircraft caught fire). Two crew members were killed and seven bailed out and became prisoners of war; MACR 2924. Pop Hastings, grounded by the loss of his aircraft, took over a replacement, the silver-finished Maulin' Mallard.