B24 Liberator

Norman Gene Lieske WW II History

This B-24 Build is special to me as my Dad (Norman G. Lieske) flew 13 missions as a brave tail gunner in a B-24 over Germany late in the war. He was part of the Mighty 8th Army Air Force, 466th Bomb Group stationed in Attlebridge, England

When Kathryn and I went to the 8th Air Force Museum in Savannah, GA in the Fall of 2017, the historian there found a book "ATTLEBRIDGE ARSENAL, The Men and Aircraft of the 466th Bomb Group" by Earl Wasson and Chris Brassfield. In it we found a picture of Dad's plane, What's Cookin' Doc and the crew, including him! Steve also provided some information on his service including pictures of his service air medal, a hand written note from Dad and some of his notes from prior discussions he had with him. Thanks Steve!

Service Details

Name:           Norman Lieske 
Service Number: 16 192 791
Service Dates : April 19, 1944 - February 8, 1946
Rank:           Staff Sargent 
Role:           Tail Gunner
Missions Flown: 13
Distinction:    Air Service Medal 
    
Army:           Mighty 8th Army Air Force
Bomb Group:     466th
Bomb Squadron:  786th    
Stationed:      Attlebridge, England    
    

The following was provided by Steve based on discussion he had with Dad.

Dad's background was somewhat similar to the guy in the book, which is why I found it so interesting. Dad grew up in a small town (Oshkosh, WI) and the army was really the first time that he was away from home. He was at Attlebridge for almost the same period of time as the guy in the book ("Wings of Morning", Childers). Dad was in the 786th bomb squadron while the Black Cat flew with all three squadrons since they were a pathfinder aircraft. Dad said that he only went to London once on leave while he was there. He remembered the big party on the base. Some of the missions described in the book were ones that he flew. In particular he said he remembered the one where the 466th BG bombed a bridge in Austria, which is described in some detail in the book.

The mission in the book where the Black Cat is hit and loses an engine is very similar to the experience that Dad had on his last mission. The What's Cookin' Doc got hit by flak and had to drop out of formation because they couldn't keep up with the rest of the group. Usually German fighters would watch for stragglers because they were much easier to attack than the entire formation. Four P51's escorted the What's Cookin' Doc all the way back to France where they crash landed. A long time ago Dad showed me a movie he took of the four Mustangs flying in formation off their wing. Many years later in Boise Dad and I went to an air show and they had a lot of old WWII aircraft. When four mustangs flew over the airfield in formation he got wistful and said that after all those years, he still thought it was one of the most beautiful sites he had ever seen. It was obviously a very powerful memory for him.

BTW, the 466th BG has a facebook page where they post a lot of photos of people, aircraft and places around Attlebridge.

I also wrote to the Veterans affairs to inquire about his service and his missions. I did get a little information (incl above) but, they said a fire had destroyed much of the archives from that period so, no mission info.

Some more B24 Pictures

Model Build

Model:      B24D Liberator 
Nose Art:   Fighten Sam 
Manu:       Revell 
Scale:      1/32 
Length:     17 3/8" 
Wingspan    17 1/8" 
Pieces:     167 
    

This is a big model. Since I did the P51 at 1/32 Scale I figured I should do other planes to the same scale. Not sure where I am going to put the finished model tho! It was a fun and challenging build. I really liked the painting best and did a decent job on this airplane. Unfortunately, once the model is complete, the interior painting details are pretty much out of view. The assembly went together pretty well although, I did have a fail on the landing gear. I positioned them properly and let the glue dry over night. In the morning both gear were cocked poorly with the glue firmly set. I ended up melting the struts off the wings. Then, drilled a hole where the strut attaches to the wing and drilled a hole in the strut and inserted a small metal nail, re-attached and it worked fine! The finished model is really fragile. All the 50mm guns sticking out waiting to be broken off.

Built!

Specifications