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SUGAR
BLUES
42-37939
B-17G
91/323
OR
A
beautiful
half-nude,
grass-skirted
girl
adorned
the
nose
of
this
ship,
painted
on
by
Tony
Starcer
soon
after
it
arrived
at
Bassingbourn
on
20th
December
1943.
Given
the
time
of
year
and
the
fact
that
the
painting
almost
certainly
had
to
be
done
outdoors
it
is
a
masterful
achievement
that
reveals
Starcer's
great
skill.
The
work
was
probably
carried
out
during
the
323rd
Squadron's
lull
in
operational
flying
immediately
after
Christmas
although
the
ship
had
flown
its
first
mission
on
Christmas
Eve.
Roman
Maziarz
was
the
pilot
on
that
occasion
and
his
crew
would
fly
Sugar
Blues
five
more
times
before
going
down
with
the
plane
in
late
February
1944
on
its
15th
mission.
On
February
22nd,
the
91st
headed
for
the
Focke-Wulf
plant
at
Oschersieben
but
the
weather
intervened
and
caused
a
diversion
to
a
target
of
opportunity
at
Bunde,
25
miles
southeast
of
Osnabruck.
Four
Fortresses
from
the
group
were
shot
down
by
determined
and
aggressive
attacks
from
Luftwaffe
fighters
in
the
target
area
and
during
the
run
in.
Sugar
Blues
was
hit
by
repeated
passes
causing
severe
damage
and
forcing
the
plane
out
of
formation.
Faced
with
the
prospect
of
a
long
flight
back
without
the
safety
p
of
the
formation's
firepower,
Roman
Maziarz
dropped
Sugar
Blues
down
to
the
deck
and
tree-
topped
his
way
towards
the
coast
barely
able
to
remain
flying
at
times.
Out
over
the
sea
and
in
relative
safety
from
aerial
attack
and
flak
the
crew
assessed
their
predicament.
It
was
clear
they
would
not
make
it
back
across
the
water
to
England,
ditching
was
the
only
option
available
to
them
and
the
crew
huddled
in
their
crash
positions
in
the
radio
room
and
prepared
for
the
impact
as
the
pilots
brought
the
plane
down
into
the
water.
The
ditching
was
carried
out
with
great
skill
and
only
the
copilot
sustained
any
injuries.
Some
sources
indicate
some
of
the
crew,
maybe
three
or
four
men,
may
have
balled
out
earlier
over
land
but
others,
including
the
323rd
Squadron
record,
state
that
all
were
still
on
board
and
ditched
with
the
ship.
Having
scrambled
into
their
rubber
life
raft
and
paddled
clear
of
the
plane,
they
watched
Sugar
Blues
slide
silently
below
the
surface.
One
raft
is
known
to
have
contained
four
men,
Roman
Maziarz,
Robert
Vaughan,
Robert
Haller
and
Urban
Jacoboski.
They
were
in
the
water
for
about
four
and
a
half
hours
before
Air
Sea
Rescue
arrived
and
picked
them
up.
The
injured
copilot
was
hospitalized
but
the
rest
returned
to
Bassingbourn,
according
to
the
squadron
record,
to
continue
their
tour
of
duty.
"Story
taken
from
Plane
Names
&
Fancy
Noses,
by
Ray
Bowden"
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