RAMP QUEEN, Serial Number 42-63513, was initially assigned
to the 505th Bomb Group on Tinian.
She arrived 30 November 1944 and
may have flown on some training missions.
Sometime during January 1945 she was transferred to
the 499th Bomb Group, 877th Bomb Squadron, on Saipan.
Her first mission was flown on 4 February 1945,
followed by 20 with 1st Lt Tallha flying the majority of these.
His final mission with Ramp Queen was flown 23-24 May 1945.
The 1st Lt Edward K Burrell Crew was a replacement crew,
arriving on Saipan 4 May 1945.
There is no crew photo and also no information as to
where the crew formed within the Continental United States.
The crew would most likely have flown shakedown
and training missions prior to their first combat mission.
Lt Burrell's first mission as Aircraft Commander took place 25-26
May 1945.
This was 73rd Bomb Wing Mission #73, Target Tokyo.
Below the photo of Ramp Queen is a page from what
may be a history of the 499th Bomb Group.
In the lower right corner is a paragraph about the Burrell Crew.
Other documents include two Morning Reports from
the 877th Bomb Squadron, and one page
from the 499th Bomb Group Narrative History.
Below these is a page from Randy Watkins book
You Are Not Forgotten.
Randy's focus is on Group Burials in National Cemeteries
and in this page he has the names of the six men
buried in Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.
At the bottom of the page are the other crew members with the notation
" Burial Site Unknown "
These men can be found in the below 499th Bomb Group Burial Sites.
The final document is from POW Research Network Japan
and contains the Japanese version of
what took place following Ramp Queen's crash.
