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WICKED WITCH
42-102490
B-17G
91/323 OR-V

Tony Starcer’s artwork for Wicked Witch was a departure from his usual glamour girl painting. A cartoon witch riding her broomstick and surrounded by flying bats featured on this ship’s right nose. As with Hi Ho Silver, the original nose art image was transformed as the long list of mission symbols was added. The first twenty mission bombs started at the top and curved down the front of the circular background, thereafter the lengthening row of markers stretched backwards in a line towards the wing root. This layout of markers visually strengthened the entire nose art image and gave the plane a ‘racy’ look. Prior to its 20th mission, Wicked Witch had a small relief tube, or chaff dispenser outlet, through the nose which gave the impression of the witch having a tin leg. This was later removed, patched over, and the witch’s leg fully painted in.

Assigned to the 91st on 22nd April 1944, Wicked Witch flew its first sortie just two days later to Erding. Two days beyond that, on the 26th,the plane flew the first of 19 group leads under a series of pilots and their lead crews. Lt. Col. Berry took the ship to Troyes marshalling yards, on 1st May and later to Bordeaux on the 19th June. Lt. Col. Milton flew it on several occasions after Sheriff’s Posse was salvaged. Almost all of the plane’s missions up to early August were flown in the lead role but thereafter other, newer planes took over that function and Wicked Witch began an even longer run of regular combat flights. By late August, John O’Neil and his crew had taken over the plane to begin the first of their 19 sorties in the aircraft that would take them to Neubrandenburg twice, Cologne twice, Merseburg twice, Brunswick, Hamburg, Zeitz and many other tough targets.

The last mission in the plane by John O’Neils crew was on the 12th December to Merseburg and following them came the crew of Eddie McKnight. Wicked Witch was out of action during most of December, probably due to battle damage repairs and it was the 28th before McKnight could take it to Ludendorf. Other missions, most with the McKnight crew, then followed throughout January 1945 and the first three weeks of February which brought the plane’s total to over 70 sorties.

On 20th February, the 91st’s target was Nurenburg’s marshalling yards and flying high over the target area Wicked Witch received a direct hit from flak. The defensive flak was described as being meager over the target that day but to the men who were over it in Wicked Witch it was accurate and devastating. The aircraft took the hit just below the pilot’s compartment and an explosion ripped through the ship starting a fire that streamed from the cockpit’s right side. A brilliant flash was seen within the plane’s bomb bay as it fell away from the formation about two minutes after bombing. No chutes were observed by other crews, but a small object was seen to tumble from the ship at around 10,000 feet and this may have been a man making a delayed jump. In fact three men clawed their way out of the plummeting ship and parachuted to safety but another six died, including the pilot Eddie McKnight. It was the crew’s eleventh mission in Wicked Witch.

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