STEVONOVITCH II (PIC 4)

NAME

SER

BLK

SERIAL #

RCL/#

V#-P

PHOTO CREDITS

STEVONOVITCH II

44-49710

464

779

00-4

NARA

Starboard (Right) Side - AKA "Black Nan"
Lost 10 Apr 45, ITA - MACR 13711 - Pilot James H. Gilson
Featured in "A Young Man's Journey Through World War II"

Info Contributor - Bob Hoskinson
This radar aircraft was also commonly referred to as "Pathfinder" or "Mickey". Lost due to flak on a so-called "Milk-Run" (target area Lugo, Italy). Piloted by 779th Squadron Commander Colonel James Gilson, ten crew members were killed with only the Radar/Bombardier (Lt. Edward F. Walsh, Jr.) surviving, and remaining in the Air Force for 27 years, retiring as a Colonel. The original image was taken by a good friend of mine (Leland Conrad, now deceased) who was a Radio Operator on John Tomlinson's crew, flying off the left wing of "Black Nan".

Info Contributor - John K. Griswell, Jr.
I was the bombardier on the airplane almost directly behind and below Colonel Gilson's airplane that sad day, 10 Apr 45. I have in my possession a sequence of four pictures taken by Leland Conrad that day. "Black Nan" is flying along normally. Then came a few bursts of flak and then the famous picture of the wing coming off. I was in the nose of our plane and threw up my arms instinctively, fearing that we were going to hit the wing but, of course we didn't.