The B-24J Liberator pictured above (S/N 42-109779) was flown out of Marcianise, Italy from February 1944 till the end of the war in 1945. It was part of the 415th Bomb Squadron of the 98th Bombardment Group in the 15th Air Force of the United States Army Air Corps. Upon arrival in Italy the pilot, Lt. Wade H. Andrews of Ogden, Utah christened his plane "Salt Lake Katie" after another Utah native Miss Katherine Kirkham. Interestingly they had never met until they were introduced in New York City while he was awaiting deployment and she was studying at Traphaven Institute. The Vargas inspired nose art was added later by the ground crew.

Also in the crew of Salt Lake Katie was a young officer by the name of Richard E. Miner who served as the nose gunner and mechanic. He was on a training run in another B-24 (S/N 42-109848) piloted by Officer Robert E. Krauser when he was shot down over Austria on April 2,1944. Miner parachuted safely and spent the remainder of the war as a POW in Luftstalag 17b. It is interesting that Miner, who was from California, Andrews and his copilot First Lt. James R. Perry (Utah) and Krauser (Utah) were all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and all ended up in the same bomb squadron in Italy.

A year or so ago a friend I work with mentioned his father flew Liberators during the war. His father happens to be the Richard Miner mentioned above. After he saw my F-15 model he asked if I could build him a B-24 which of course I was happy to do. The original intent was to build a B-24D that had served in Italy but we really had no more information than that. Some research soon found the correct squadron and some pictures of Salt Lake Katie on the web that showed that the plane was in fact a B-24J. Then my friend found an old newspaper clipping from the Deseret News of an interview with Lt. Andrews and another picture of the plane. Other interesting finds included a letter written by Andrews to officer Miner's parents saying that he was missing in action, and some heavily censored letters written from the POW camp on stationary supplied by the Germans to the prisoners.

All this makes this build much more interesting and unique than just building a famous plane that has been done many times over. It is also nice to have a personal connection to a project even if it is vicariously through my friend.

.The Specifics

• Revell/Monogram B-24D Liberator in 1/48 Scale
  

• Which was soon replaced by Revell/Monogram B-24J Liberator in 1/48 Scale
  
  

• Eduard Big Ed B-24D Photoetch Set supplemented later by the Rear Interior set for the ball turret.
  
  

• Aires Quick Boost Engines
  
  

• True Details Wheels
  
  

• Scale AC Conversion Metal Landing Gear
  

• Squadron Vacuformed Canopy
  

• Master Model .50 Caliber Machine Gun Barrels (These are Awesome)
  

• Some Figures to Populate the Diorama From ICM.
  

• Various Decal Sets to Find a Useful "Katie" For The Nose Art.