Editor, The Auburn Plainsman
While I was in Auburn this past weekend for daughter Katherine Gay Zito's MBA extravaganza, I spoke to the Plainsman's own Kim concerning an item of historical interest, and perhaps, of interest to your readers.
Some years ago, Hollywood made an adventure picture about a mythical nuclear submarine named the "Crimson Tide." The good people in Tuscaloosa made much of this bit of fiction!
In July 1944, myself and my crew were assigned to a brand new B-17 Flying Fortress, No. 397977.
After a brief crew meeting, and with my encouragement, the aircraft was named "War Eagle." Since there were no artists available at our base in Chelveston, England, and since it was my idea, I personally painted the inspiring cartoon, and more, I did my best to impart the Auburn spirit to strengthen a good crew to start with.
By way of explanation of the photo of the old girl in flight, the letters "KY" on the fuselage are the code designation for the 366th Bomb Squadron. The letter "D" is simply the phonetic alphabet of the time for "dog." The black triangle indicated that the War Eagle was a member of the first Air Division of the Historic Eighth Air Force. The letter "G" identified the 305th Bomb Group, which was the proud creation of Gen. Curtis LeMay.
A horizontal green stripe was added to the rudder to identify the 40th Combat Wing. This three-group unit was best known for its part in the Schweinfurt raid of October 1943.
As near as I can find out, the War Eagle flew close to a hundred mission between July 1944 and VE Day in April 1945. The last time I saw the War Eagle was in Romulus, Mich., in June 1945.
She had flown the Atlantic in the company of 10 other aircraft who had been selected for historical preservation.
She had the dings and patches enough to prove an illustrious career. I remember one patch about a square foot under the pilot's flight bridge. There was a 4-inch square patch on the big patch. A round machine gun bullet patch centered number two.
The War Eagle has flown many times, and many places, but never more proudly than in the flame-filled skies of WWII Europe.
Charlie Gay
One of her pilots
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