The 11th Airforce ...the "Pink Elephants" [28TH , 404th]Bombgroup.
With individual names of birds..such as .."Whistlin Shithouse"...which is in the below photo.
Excerpt from a personal testimony :
B-24 Raid on Paramashiro
by Richard Korpanty
I had my 19th birthday in Anchorage and flew my first mission from Shemya to Paramashiro in 1945. It was a rough one!...I flew #2 position. My windows would not defrost and the co pilot kept a 6" spot clear with his hand while i flew formation.
In the number 3 spot was a kid named Talbot. Just as I looked over at him a shell hit his bomb bay gasoline tanks and he caught on fire.
I believe he was going to try and land in Russia(Siberia),but before he could do anything his plane blew up.
I did not see any parachutes open.
Then all of a sudden the fighters started attacking from every side like wild animals.
Then I heard the nose turret was frozen and would not move but the guns did work.
As usuall we had no ball turret and the tail guns were frozen.
**U.S. Navy submarines played a key role in these long bombing/photo recon missions.
staged with destroyers..they worked the flight route..and were successfull in saving many downed aircrews.