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PAPER
DOLLY
422-37746
B-17G
91/323-T
OR-T
 Originally
assigned
to
the
newly
fledged
401st
Bomb
Group
at
Great
Falls,
Montana,
in
September
1943.
On
arrival
in
England
the
ship
was
transferred
to
the
91st
at
Bassingbourn
on
20th
November
and
assigned
to
the
crew
of
2nd
Lt.
Frank
Kolts.
Paper
Dolly
was
prsumably
named
by
the
Kolts
crew
who
flew
twelve
of
the
ship’s
18
missions,
including
trips
to
Breman,
Frankfurt,
Wilhelmshaven
and
Kiel.
‘Paper
Doll’
was
a
1942
hit
song
performed
by
the
British
singer
Vera
Lynn,
known
as
the
forces
‘Sweetheart’
in
many
of
her
popular
radio
broadcasts.
Tony
Starcer
painted
a
cartoon
lady
on
the
nose
in
a
similar
style
to
his
other
‘Betty
Boop”
characters
seen
on
several
of
his
nose
arts.
A
large
bomb
accompanied
the
coy
little
figure
together
with
several
small
cutout
paper
dolls.
The
Kolts
crew
was
described
in
the
squadron
records
as
“an
excellent
crew…each
individual
had
at
least
14
combat
missions
to
his
credit.”
It
was
this
crew
who
took
Paper
Dolly
to
attack
Oschersleben
on
22nd
February
1944.
The
primary
had
been
the
Focke
Wulf
plant
there
but
in
the
event
the
formations
were
forced
to
hit
a
target
of
opportunity
at
Bunde,
south
east
of
Osnabruck.
The
Luftwaffe
intercepted
and
a
determined
battle
developed
which
claimed
four
Fortresses
from
the
91st.
Paper
Dolly
was
last
seen
going
down
near
Gutersloh,
having
left
the
formation
badly
damaged
as
a
result
of
the
intense
fighter
attacks.
Frank
Kolts
and
two
fellow
officers
were
killed
but
the
remainder
of
his
crew
survived
to
be
taken
prisoner.
"Story
taken
from
Plane
Names
&
Fancy
Noses,
by
Ray
Bowden"
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