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SUPER
MOUSE
43-38642
B-17G
91/323
OR
 When
David
Hettema’s
plane
Old
Battle
Axe
was
taken
away
from
him
to
become
a
‘Mickey’
radar
ship
he
was
assigned
to
another,
brand
new
silver
B17G.
The
plane
had
arrived
at
Bassingbourn
on
the
4th
November
1944
and,
just
two
days
later,
Hettema's
crew
took
it
on
its
first
combat
mission
to
Hamburg.
Having
previously
painted
his
Old
Battle
Axe,
David
Hettema
determined
to
do
likewise
for
his
new
plane.
As
with
its
predecessor,
his
new
design
would
have
to
be
suitable
to
send
home
to
his
fiancee
and
he
eventually
came
up
with
Super
Mouse.
The
colored
rough
he
produced
on
a
piece
of
brown
corrugated
cardboard
was
superb,
and
it
still
survives
today
in
the
family
album,
but
the
finished
nose
art
was
even
better.
The
coy
little
mouse
in
his
blue
suit,
red
feather
and
cloak
on
a
yellow
background
circle
was
beautifully
executed.
Sadly,
Hettema's
Super
Mouse
did
not
survive
even
two
months
of
combat
flying.
Indeed,
tragedy
almost
overtook
the
plane
and
crew
before
November
was
out
when
a
duck
was
sucked
into
one
of
the
engines.
It
was
the
second
time
the
plane
had
hit
a
duck
and
the
roasted
bird
was
discovered
by
the
crew
chief,
Howell
Lovell,
on
return
from
Zeitz
on
30th
November.
It
was
fortunate
that
the
engine
had
not
overheated
and
caught
fire.
David
Hetterna's
crew
flew
eight
of
Super
Mouse's
15
credited
missions
and
he
finished
his
tour
of
duty
in
the
plane
on
12th
December
by
flying
to
Merseburg.
Max
Shambaugh
took
over
the
plane
in
late
December
but
on
his
third
trip
in
Super
Mouse,
to
Wittlich
on
29th
December,
flak
ripped
through
two
engines.
As
the
plane
started
to
lose
speed
and
altitude
the
bomb
load
was
jettisoned
but,
soon
after,
Shambaugh
ordered
his
crew
to
abandon
the
plane.
He
himself
remained
at
the
controls
and
succeeded
in
belly
landing
near
Nazons
in
France
causing
only
minor
damage
to
the
aircraft.
At
Bassingbourn,
it
was
initially
thought
that
Sharnbaugh
and
his
crew
were
missing
in
action
but
this
was
soon
rectified
when
it
was
realized
that
all
were
safe,
although
seven
of
the
crew
had
minor
injuries.
However,
Super
Mouse
was
considered
uneconomical
to
repair
and
was
salvaged
where
it
had
landed.
"Story
taken
from
Plane
Names
&
Fancy
Noses,
by
Ray
Bowden"
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