Ole King Solomon, serial number 41-11617, was one of the 23 HALPRO B-24s. Her RCL was # 12. She was on HALPRO's first mission of June 12, 1942 to the Ploesti oilfields.
During her return, the crew diverted to Iraq, where they landed her near the RAF base at Habbaniya. The map below shows her approximate location. (Provided by the son of Hugh Powell.)
RAF maintenance crews were dispatched to the crash site to secure the plane and bring the nose gear into the down and locked position with lumber framing.
On June 23rd Lt. Whitlock assumed command of the “Old King Solomon”.
On June 25th, Lt. Whitlock flew the aircraft from its crash site either to RAF Fayid or the repair depot at Gura in the Eritrean hills.
Lt. Whitlock returned to the Halverson Detachment’s new base in Lydda, Palestine on July 6th.
She flew 22 missions. When the 376th HBG was formed in November 1942, her RCL was changed to #35. She flew another 10 missions as #35.
Following the realignment of aircraft RCLs with the various squadrons, she carried 2 different RCLs. The first was #50, when she was damaged on the May 4 1943 mission to Reggio Italy. When she returned to service, she was given the RCL #49.
In total, she flew 43 missions.
But that was not the end of her service. She was transferred to the 515th squadron, given the RCL #96. In addition, her name was changed to Dream Street Rose. She flew no missions in this configuration.
The photo was taken after her 24th mission.
Photo from Grover Buxton
Group Date A/C # and Mission Target Pilot
Mission # letter
1 1 6/12/1942 12 K Polesti Romania James Soloman
2 28 7/21/1942 12 K Suda Bay Crete Homer Adams
3 30 7/23/1942 12 K Benghazi Libya George Uhrich
4 32 7/25/1942 12 K Tobruk Libya Martin Walsh, Jr
5 34 7/28/1942 12 K Suda Bay Crete Walter Clark
6 36 7/30/1942 12 D Suda Bay Crete George Whitlock
7 37 8/ 1/1942 12 K Convoy Mediterranean Walter Clark
8 38 8/ 4/1942 12 K Convoy Mediterranean George Whitlock
9 39 8/ 6/1942 12 Tobruk Libya John Toomey
10 40 8/24/1942 12 K Tobruk Libya George Whitlock
11 41 8/27/1942 12 Convoy Mediterranean George Whitlock
12 42 8/30/1942 12 K Tobruk Libya George Whitlock
13 43 9/ 1/1942 12 K Canea Crete Paul Long
14 44 9/ 3/1942 12 K Convoy Mediterranean George Whitlock
15 45 9/ 7/1942 12 Convoy Mediterranean John Wilcox
16 46 9/ 9/1942 12 K Tobruk Libya George Whitlock
17 48 9/13/1942 12 K Benghazi Libya Paul Long
18 49 9/16/1942 12 Benghazi Libya Charles Blankenhorn
19 50 9/22/1942 12 K Benghazi Libya George Whitlock
20 51 9/27/1942 12 K Benghazi Libya James Brereton
21 53 10/ 6/1942 12 K Benghazi Libya Homer Adams
22 54 10/ 9/1942 12 K Benghazi Libya James Sibert
23 82 12/ 7/1942 35 Tripoli Libya
24 84 12/16/1942 35 Sfax Tunisia
25 84 12/20/1942 35 Sousse Tunisia
26 89 1/ 7/1943 35 Palermo Sicily
27 90 1/ 8/1943 35 Bizerte Tunisia
28 91 1/11/1943 35 Naples Italy
29 92 1/16/1943 35 Tripoli Libya
30 94 1/26/1943 35 Naples Italy
31 97 2/ 7/1943 35 Naples Italy
32 103 3/ 3/1943 35 Naples Italy
33 108 4/ 2/1943 50 K Palermo Sicily Charles Hinson
34 109 4/ 4/1943 50 K Naples Italy Charles Hinson
35 110 4/ 6/1943 50 Messina Sicily Charles Hinson
36 111 4/10/1943 50 K Naples Italy Charles Hinson
37 114 4/16/1943 50 Catania Sicily Charles Hinson
38 117 4/26/1943 50 C Bari Italy Ernest Fogel
39 119 4/30/1943 50 R Messina Sicily Ernest Fogel
40 120 5/ 1/1943 50 R Reggio Italy James deVeuve
41 121 5/ 4/1943 50 R Reggio Italy Ernest Fogel
42 151 8/13/1943 49 I Weiner Neustadt Austria James deVeuve
43 154 8/21/1943 49 I Cancello M/Y Italy James deVeuve
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
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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.