First Lt. Ralph L. Turner, a Tuskegee Airman, poses with an unnamed crew chief and his P-51 Mustang in Rammatelle, Italy, circa 1945.

Red tail airmen

Venegono Inferiore, near Varese, Lombardy, March 29, 1944. Over this airport occupied by German and Repubblica Sociale Italiana’s forces appear an American bomber. It’s the Consolidated Vultee B-24J Liberator serial number 42-52106, tail number 05, “Sunshine” of 719th Squadron, 449th Bomb Group of the 15th Air Force based on Grottaglie, Southern Italy. After few minutes the large four engine bomber land on the airport. Only after the landing the crew realize the grim reality: the landing site is an enemy airport, but it’s too late. The aircraft is captured intact and the entire crew became prisoner and spent the rest of the war on a Stalag in Germany. That’s in brief the odd history of “Sunshine”.
The official history of 449th say: “Circumstances of Loss: On 29 March 1944, between 0740 and 0821 hours, thirty-eight 449th B-24s took off to make an attack on the marshalling yard at Bolzano, Italy. The last ship to take-off ship #5, Sunshine, with Hemphill's crew aboard -- was destined on this day to a fate which was unique among 449th aircraft. Thirty-six of the aircraft reached the target and dropped 87-1/2 tons of bombs on the target area. By 1530 hours, thirty-five of the 449th aircraft had returned to base. The missing aircraft was Sunshine. Its fate was a mystery to Group personnel. In the months to come, it would be learned that Sunshine, flying at the very rear of the 449th formation, was hit by flak over the target which knocked out two engines. Hemphill's crew knew they could not make it back to southern Italy. The safe haven of Switzerland, however, was less than 75 miles away. Therefore, rather than bail out, the pilots turned westward and began trading distance for altitude in an attempt to make it to a Swiss airfield. A few minutes later, what was believed to be an airfield in Switzerland was located, and Hemphill brought Sunshine in for a safe landing. Ironically, it was not Switzerland. It was northern Italy. The entire crew was immediately taken prisoner, and turned over to the Germans. Sunshine, completely intact, was taken over by the Luftwaffe for propaganda purposes. Among 449th aircraft, it was a unique fate”. Note a mismatch in the story: the first part tell “knocked out two engines”, the final part tell “completely intact”. And in effect in the photos the plane appear intact like in this picture showing the moment of arrival at Venegono with the engines still running and the Germans and Italians approaching to arrest the crew. Victor Sierra


The odd history of “Sunshine”

"Irmgard" before application of US markings being worked on by American ground crew.