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PARD
42-97956
B-17G
91/323
OR-L
A
Vega-built
Fortress
that
was
assigned
to
the
323rd
Squadron
on
3rd
June
1944,
just
prior
to
D-Day
when
it
flew
its
first
mission
to
bomb
a
tactical
target,
with
Colonel
Terry
on
board
to
oversee
the
momentous
day.
Pard
was
a
lead
plane
used
by
Colonel
Terry
to
guide
the
group
on
two
further
occasions
-
to
Merignac
airfield
near
Bordeaux
on
15th
June
and
later
to
Mulhouse
on
3rd
August.
In
all
probability,
the
ship
was
named
by
or
after
one
of
the
group’s
lead
navigators,
William
‘Pard’
Young.
He
flew
in
the
aircraft
on
the
mission
to
Merignac
with
Colonel
Terry
and
on
several
other
sorties.
Other
pilots
took
the
ship
as
lead
aircraft
to
a
variety
of
targets
between
18th
June
and
11th
September,
flying
a
total
of
37
combat
missions
until
enemy
fighters
caught
up
on
2nd
November.
The
terrible
mission
to
Merseburg
cost
the
91st
thirteen
heavy
bombers
when
the
formation
was
viciously
attacked
by
an
estimated
200
fighters.
The
main
concentration
hit
the
group
at
about
1247
and
continued
their
attack
until
1310,
the
most
ferocious
attacks
occurring
in
the
first
ten
minutes.
1st/Lt.
Hanford
Rustand
was
seen
to
slide
Pard
under
#116
Hi-Ho
Silver
to
help
protect
that
ship
from
attacks.
The
move
may
have
proved
to
be
a
tragic
sacrifice
because
Pard
itself
became
the
focus
of
attention
and
went
down
with
the
loss
of
Lt.
Rustand
and
five
others
on
his
crew.
21
different
pilots
and
crews
took
off
in
the
plane
for
its
38
combat
sorties
-
no
single
crew
flying
more
than
six
missions
in
the
plane.
The
nose
art
was
undoubtedly
that
of
the
talented
Tony
Starcer
using
a
cartoon
style
reminiscent
of
his
earlier
Hi-Ho
Silver.
It
is
somehow
fitting
that
the
plane’s
loss
was
probably
due
to
her
pilot’s
attempts
to
protect
that
same
ship
from
attack.
"Story
taken
from
Plane
Names
&
Fancy
Noses,
by
Ray
Bowden"
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