Remembering the Crew of PB4Y-2 Privateer (BuNo 59645)

On April 8, 1950, Soviet La-11 fighters shot down a US Navy PB4Y-2 Privateer (BuNo 59645) over the Baltic Sea, off the coast of Liepāja, Latvia.

The privateer was a World War II and Korean War era patrol bomber of the United States Navy derived from the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. Named the Turbulent Turtle, the aircraft was assigned to Patrol Squadron 26 (VP-26), Det A. In addition to other types of missions, privateers were used by the US Navy for signals intelligence (SIGINT) flights off of the coast of the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China.