Radio Operator-Mechanic: 31283606Theodore A Birkmaier SSgt ME 14-12-1944 B-29 #42-24726

SSgt Theodore A Birkmaier (1923-1944) - Find a Grave Memorial

B-29-45-BW (Boeing Wichita) Superfortress serial #42-24726, tail fin marking: four red horizontal rudder stripes, assigned to the 25th Bomber Squadron, 40th Bombardment Group (VH), 58th Bomb Wing, XX Bomber Command, 20th Air Force, USAAF, stationed at Chakulia Airfield, India in the CBI Theatre of Operations.

MACR 10401

Note: According to Robert A. Mann's B-29 Comprehensive Registry of the planes and their missions, B-29-5-BW serial #42-6269 was nicknamed "SMOKY STOVER"

B-29 #42-6269, construction number C-3403, was delivered to the 40th Bomb Group on 21 Dec 1943 and 'reclaimed' at Pyote, Texas on 21 Dec 1949. Pyote Field had been nicknamed the "Rattlesnake Bomber Base" and after World War II, thousands of excess aircraft were stored there, one of which was the B-29 Enola Gay.