41-11593 Black Maria II

Black Maria II, serial number 41-11593, was one of the 23 B-24s that was part of HALPRO.  The original "Black Maria" was an automobile owned by the John H. Payne, the pilot who ferried Black Maria II overseas.

She was assigned RCL #18, and was on the first HALPRO mission of June 12, 1942 to the Ploesti oilfields.  She was also on the second HALPRO mission against the Italian fleet, June 15, 1942.

Official USAF photo

Newspaper article from Alphonse Izzo

She was reassigned to RCL 50.  Black Maria II was lost on January 11, 1943 with the John Payne crew.

Missions Flown


Group      Date      A/C # and   Mission Target         Pilot
Mission #               letter

  1   1   6/12/1942 18       Polesti Romania                     John Payne
  2   2   6/15/1942 18 O    Convoy Mediterranean           John Payne
  3 10   7/  2/1942 18       Tobruk Libya                          John Payne
  4 13   7/  4/1942 18 O    Benghazi Libya                      John Payne
  5 14   7/  6/1942 18       Benghazi Libya                       John Payne
  6 16   7/  8/1942 18 O    Benghazi Libya                       John Wilkinson
  7 19   7/11/1942 18       Tobruk Libya                          John Payne
  8 22   7/15/1942 18 O    Benghazi Libya                       John Payne
  9 24   7/17/1942 18       Tobruk Libya                          Martin Walsh, Jr
10 26   7/19/1942 18 O    Tobruk Libya                          John Payne
11 28   7/21/1942 18 O    Suda Bay Crete                       Richard Sanders
12 30   7/23/1942 18 L     Benghazi Libya                      Robert Paullin
13 32   7/25/1942 18 O    Tobruk Libya                         Therman Brown
14 34   7/28/1942 18 O    Suda Bay Crete                       John Payne
15 37   8/  1/1942 18 J     Convoy Mediterranean            John Payne
16 38   8/  4/1942 18 O    Convoy Mediterranean           Charles Blankenhorn
17 39   8/  6/1942 18       Tobruk Libya                          John Payne
18 40   8/24/1942 18 O    Tobruk Libya                          Homer Adams
19 42   8/30/1942 18 O    Tobruk Libya                          John Payne
20 43   9/  1/1942 18 O    Canea Crete                           George Uhrich
21 44   9/  3/1942 18 O    Convoy Mediterranean           Delmar Rogers
22 45   9/  7/1942 18       Convoy Mediterranean           Therman Brown
23 51   9/27/1942 18 O    Benghazi Libya                      Richard Sanders
24 52 10/  1/1942 18 O    Convoy Mediterranean           John Payne
25 54 10/  9/1942 18 O    Benghazi Libya                      Mark Mooty
26 55 10/11/1942 18 O    Convoy Mediterranean           Sam Oglesby
27 58 10/16/1942 18 O    Benghazi Libya                      George Uhrich
28 60 10/20/1942 18 O    Tobruk Libya                         Cecil Patterson, Jr
29 63 10/26/1942 18 O    Convoy Mediterranean          Cecil Patterson, Jr
30 66 10/30/1942 18 O    Maleme Crete                        John Kidd

Liberandos Patch

376 ARCHIVES

The website 376bg.org is NOT our site nor is it our endowment fund.

At the 2017 reunion, the board approved the donation of our archives to the Briscoe Center for American History, located on the University of Texas - Austin campus.

Also, the board approved a $5,000 donation to add to Ed Clendenin's $20,000 donation in the memory of his father. Together, these funds begin an endowment for the preservation of the 376 archives.

Donate directly to the 376 Endowment

To read about other endowment donation options, click here.


My Trip to San Pancrazio

October 2019


Reunion

NOTE change in month !!!

DATES: Oct 26-29, 2024

CITY:Tucson, AZ

HOTEL: Double Tree Suites Airport hotel

7051 South Tucson Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85756

520-225-0800


Click here to read about the reunion details.

previous reunions


For Sale

The Other Doolittle Raid


The Broken Wings of Zlatibor


The Liberandos


Three Crawford Brothers


Liberando: Reflections of a Reluctant Warrior


376th Bomb Group Mission History


The Last Liberator


Full Circle


Shadows of Wings


Ten Men, A "Flying Boxcar," and A War


I Survived Ploesti


A Measure of Life


Shot Down In Yugoslavia


Stories of My Life


Attack


Born in Battle


Bombardier's Diary


Lost Airmen


Langdon Liberando