Mission 115.

The aircraft was on its second mission when it was struck by heavy anti-aircraft fire and ground machine gun fire approximately eight miles past the target at Ploesti, Romania. The plane crashed at approximately 3:00 PM on August 1, 1943. No crew members bailed out; the entire crew crashed with the plane. The aircraft did not explode on striking the ground. Several enlisted men and two officers were wounded before the crash. Following the crash, all crew members were eventually accounted for and freed except for the bombardier, 1st Lt. J. Little, who was buried at Senia (Sinaia), Romania.

B-24D serial 42-40265, assigned to the 409th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group, departed Site #7 Bengasi on 1 August 1943 on a combat mission to the Ploesti oil fields in Romania. The aircraft was lost as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during the low-level attack. Anti-aircraft damage forced the aircraft down at approximately 1150pm on 1 August 1943 near the town of Ploesti, Romania. The aircraft crash-landed in flat terrain approximately 5 to 10 miles from Ploesti. Several crew members were seen standing near the aircraft on the ground. The forced landing was confirmed by photographs taken by the 44th Bomb Group, which flew over the same area approximately 15 to 20 minutes later. The aircraft was described as riddled during the low-level attack, with no altitude remaining for any alternative to a crash landing.