42-52106 was a Consolidated B-24H-5-FO Liberator.
History
Built under licence by Ford, 42-52106 received the name Sunshine after assignment to the 449th BG, 719th BS[1] on 23 October 1943, flying overseas in December 1943.[2]
On 29 March 1944, “Sunshine” was damaged by flak over Bolzano, North Italy. The crew elected to try to make it to Switzerland rather than to bail out. However, having difficulty identifying their exact location from the air, they landed at a German held airfield in Venegono, Italy. The entire crew was taken POW. “Sunshine” was taken over by the Luftwaffe propaganda squadron and, after being equipped with Meddo and Berlin type radios,[2] was flown by the Luftwaffe, on penetration missions in RAF bomber streams, at night, in Luftwaffe markings.
42-52106 was shot down by German AAA on 6 April 1945, during a ferry flight from Hildesheim to Bavaria.[1]