The Plane in the Sunday Strip on June 8th 2025

Stephen East
Jun 8
3 min read

One of our phavourite games to play here at Chronicle Chamber is trying to guess what direction Tony DePaul's stories will go. Anyone who tunes into the podcast will know that we often spend a bit of time discussing events, dialogue, perceived threads, and any other tid bits that we think might be important for a later payoff in a story. Recently we did a deep dive into the Walker Family Crest that appeared in the Daily Strip on January 28th, 2025.

If you have been reading the current Sunday strip, "The Ungraved" (S195), you will know that The Phantom is investigating a mysterious plane, believed to be from World War II, that is circling above the Wambesi Forest before 'crashing' into the forest and disappearing. After tracking the plane's trajectory into the forest, The Phantom has come across its wreckage.

The final frame in Sunday Strip published on 8th June, 2025. (Tony De Paul & Jeff Weigel). https://comicskingdom.com/phantom/2025-06-08

It didn't take long for us here at Chronicle Chamber to notice the letters and numbers that are emblazoned on the plane's tail fin. Knowing that Tony and his team don't do anything by coincidence, we shook the dust off the ol' Google-pedia to see if we could find some trace of this mysterious aircraft.

It didn't take long.

Our first result was actually a facebook post in a "Captured Aircraft" group by Vittorio Valentino that stated that the plane is a B-17 named "Miss Nonalee II" from the 548th Bomb Squadron, 385th Bomb Group based at Great Ashfield Airfield, England. On 9th October 1943, the plane was on a bombing mission targeted against the Arado Component Factory at Anklam in East Prussia.

"While on the way to the target, "Miss Nonalee II" lost pitch control on the Number Two propeller and the pilot had to feather it. Lagging behind the rest of its formation the plane would soon become a target for enemy fighters. The crew decided to make their way to Sweden, who were neutral, to find safety but had to fly low over enemy territory to get there.

Pilot of the "Miss Nonalee II", 1st Lt. Glyndon Darwyn Bell — Pilot of the "Miss Nonalee II", 1st Lt. **Glyndon Darwyn Bell**

Once the crew spotted an open meadow, in what they thought was Sweden, they bailed out and parachuted down. Unfortunately they weren't in Sweden, they were in occupied Denmark and they were immediately captured by the local police. They were later transferred to Interrogation Camps in Germany.

The pilot did manage to land the plane near Varde, Denmark and attempted to burn the plane to prevent its use by the enemy, as was procedure, but to no avail. Danish civilians soon approached the pilot and let him know where he was and then, with assistance from the Danish Underground, were able to smuggle him into Sweden.

A number of websites corroborate with Valentino's post, with Airwar Over Denmark stating that the pilot made a perfect wheels down landing at 11:15 in a field belonging to Norholm Gods estate. The plane was captured and 'rebranded' by the Germans and given the code 7+8 and is known to have flown until December 1944.

The "Miss Nonalee II" under new management

This leaves us with a mighty puzzle to ponder. How does a B-17 that is suffering from engine failure and lands in Denmark end up in the Wambesi Forest? Earlier in the story some characters found some German WWII paraphernalia, could it be a result of the "Miss Nonalee II"'s 'rebranding'?

As always, we look forward to how Tony and Jeff will uncover this mystery before us.

Happy Phantoming!

The crew of the "Miss Nonalee II" when it was forced to land in Denmark.

Pilot- 1st Lt. Bell, Glyndon Darwyn - ESC

Co-Pilot- 2nd Lt. Martin, Arnold P. - POW

Navigator- 2nd Lt. Bachman, Frank L. - POW

Bombardier- 2nd Lt. Ostermann, Joseph E. - POW

Top Turret Gunner- T/SGT. Elliott, Henry P. - POW

Radio Operator / Gunner- T/SGT. Rodemar, Lloyd E. - POW

Ball Turret Gunner- S/SGT. Rudick, Harold (NMI) - POW

Tail Gunner- S/SGT. Spencer, Albert W. Jr - POW

Left Waist Gunner- SGT. Edli, John (NMI) - POW