“Brewery Wagon”

Brewery Wagon, flown by Lieutenant John Palm with navigator Bob Wright, ended up alone at the head of the Ploesti mission on August 1, 1943 after the lead formation's premature turn at Targoviste sent the rest of the force astray toward Bucharest; Palm held to the correct heading toward Floresti, the proper turning point, on Wright's navigation. The aircraft was later shot down by German fighter pilot Hauptmann Wilhelm Steinmann, who caught her as she pressed on alone. Palm lost a leg in the attack. According to later accounts, the Romanians recovered and repaired the wreck and reportedly returned it to the air.