B-24D 41-24109 Assembly Ship of 466th Bomb Group “READY AND WILLING” covered with a red zig-zag pattern
The B-24 Liberator, serial number 41-24109, originally named “Ready and Willing,” participated in the perilous Ploesti mission as part of the 93rd Bomb Group. Successfully completing this and an additional forty-five combat missions, it was subsequently assigned to the 466th Bomb Group at RAF Attlebridge to serve as an assembly aircraft. Though given the name “Silver Streak,” it was more commonly identified by its last three serial numbers, “109.”
Converted for its new role, the bomber was stripped of its defensive armament, with its upper and rear turrets replaced by observation domes. Initially painted in natural metal finish, it was later adorned with striking red diagonal stripes against a white background on the fuselage, wings, and tail sections. The vertical stabilizers were originally white with a black “L,” but later changed to a red base with a white stripe and a large white “L” encompassing the national insignia and equipped with navigation lights.
The aircraft’s assembly duties were eventually replaced by another plane named “Dumbo,” and was ultimately scrapped at Watton in May 1945.