“Ronnie” was a B-24 attached to the 446th Bomb Group, which came to be known as “the Bungay Buckaroos” after the name of their Suffolk base.
They flew B-24 Liberators on strategic, support and interdictory missions over Europe. The Group led the Eighth Air Force and 2nd Bomb Division on the first heavy bomber mission on D-Day, 6 June 1944 and continued to support the ground forces’ move eastwards, dropping airborne troops into Wesel, north-west Germany as part of the advance across the River Rhine.
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In the opening phase of the assault on Malta, there were in fact 18 Gloucester Gladiators, serial numbers N5518 to N5535 inclusive, which had been delivered in crates by HMS Glorious early in 1940. With the island not yet under attack, it was decided that six of these should be made ready and held in reserve.
Throughout the defence of Malta, all of the original eighteen were assembled or stood down for spares so it is impossible to know which, if any, formed the mythical trio. It is thought to be the invention of the Press, trying to create some sort of embodiment of the incredible resistance that the islanders had presented.
This set includes only the Insignia. We recommend our TNM32-178 mask for the camouflage pattern.