“Tarfu”

Circus pilot Earl Hurd, a 22-mission veteran, flew Tarfu home from the low-level Ploesti raid of August 1, 1943, helping carry out a wounded gunner, Thomas D. Gilbert, who was flying his first combat mission that day. Shaken by what he'd seen, Gilbert asked Hurd if every mission was like that; Hurd told him no, some were rougher, before quickly softening the remark. Gilbert would be shot down over France six weeks later and spend the rest of the war as a German prisoner.

B-24D serial 41-23810, call sign 810-R, piloted by 2nd Lt. Andrew M. Reynolds, departed AAF Station 104 (Hardwick) on 4 January 1944 on an operational mission to Kiel.

The aircraft was last seen flying in formation approximately 20 minutes inside the Dutch Coast. Anti-aircraft fire severed the control cables, causing the aircraft to enter a spin. The crew had little time to exit; those who were wounded could not be assisted by those who were able to escape.

German casualty records indicate the aircraft came down approximately 2 km southwest of Gunderschenck, south of Flensburg, near the German-Danish border. Four members of the nine-man crew were killed in action; three were taken prisoner.

The Missing Air Crew Report was compiled on 26 April 1944. Engines were R-1830-43 series, serial numbers 42-57807, 42-36683, 43-32833, and 42-32880.