“Ball of Fire III”

Ball of Fire III flew the first of the Circus's Good Samaritan mercy missions, part of the relief effort headed by Colonel Kendig that came to occupy roughly a quarter of the group's strength. Sent to the aerodrome at Orleans/Bricy outside Paris, the crew found the field closed in by weather and did not attempt to land. The broader mercy operation that followed carried flour, sugar, beans, fuel, ammunition, vehicle parts, medicine, and drinking water to Allied forces and French civilians, with the Circus alone flying 157 relief sorties.