MARY LOU
42-97504 B-17G
91/323 OR-P

The first Varga girl appeared in October 1940 in Esquire magazine and proved an instant success. All through the following year the magazine reproduced the increasingly popular gatefold girls and in October of 1941 departed somewhat from the normal poses. On that occasion Varga produced not one but three girls and, unusually not full figures but portraits. Three beautiful girls modeled a range of headgear, one of which carried the badge of the US Army, another the badge of the US Navy and the third wore goggles and delicately held the fold wings from the USAAF. Tony Starcer painted a beautiful rendition of this young woman alongside the script title of Mary Lou.

This plane arrived at the group on 23rd January 1944 and completed 70 sorties during the next eight and a half months, flying at least six group leads - two with Lt. Col. Berry at the controls, 9th March to Berlin and 24th March to Frankfurt.

The first sortie was flown on 30th January to Brunswick with 1/Lt.Neal Ward's crew. The following mission was its first as group lead aircraft and came on the 5th February bombing the airfield at Avord in France. Other leads followed during February and March, the last being to Brussels on the 10th April. Thereafter, the plane was taken by numerous crews on regular missions until its loss. 1/Lt.Benjamin Bruce began a series of 13 mission in "Mary Lou" on 28th April, including one on D-Day, and James Ransberger's crew added a further six during June. John Pullen added another nine in July and August until the Faris crew took over for eight more.

"Mary Lou" paid visits to Aschersleben, Berlin, Frankfurt, Gdynia and many other difficult targets across Northern Europe that left its beautiful nose art portrait battered and scratched. The final mission was flown on 7th October to Freiburg with 1/Lt.Ed Spawinski's crew but it was not the Luftwaffe's pilots or flak batteries that claimed the plane but a belly landing as a result of mechanical problems.

On 16th October the plane was declared beyond repair and salvaged by crews from the 2nd Strategic Air Depot.

"Story taken from Plane Names & Fancy Noses, by Ray Bowden"